The Virgin Vagabond

Chapter 8

In the shower, Kesia realized that it wasn’t the first time she felt an awkward conversation with Luke being washed off by warm water and relaxation. It was effective to be sure. She closed her eyes and tried to think about something else for a bit. 

”Salinas”.

Kesia jumped at the sound of his voice. He sat on her bed when she came out of the bathroom. 

”Salinas? That’s where we are going? Why can’t we have a short, comfortable flight without transfers and in the same time zone? Salinas must be like nine hours after our time zone.”

”Yes, it is. It will be fine though. I already wrote it into the device. Our flight leaves tomorrow afternoon.”

”Well that is a relief at least. No super early morning then.”

”Well, we still have to make the drive to Pisa and catch the flight from there.”

He suddenly grabbed her and pulled her closer.

”I’m sorry about before” he said. 

Kesia sighed a little and looked at him. How simple everything would be if she could just say ’it’s ok’ and kiss him or something. But it wasn’t just about the comment. Through his actions, he made her feel like a helpless little girl and she wasn’t. She had to prove that to him. 

”It’s not that simple, Luke” she said and stroke his cheek. ”I don’t feel like we’re equal because you make me feel inferior to you. Like your job is to protect me which is wrong. We’re in this together.”

”I know that. I will try and be better.”

”Don’t say that. You are who you are and I love that, you just have to trust me.”

”I do!”

”Then don’t be like that.”

”Like how?”

”Like you need to save me from douchebags. I can handle myself.”

”Ok, but I do feel like I saved you from Ricardo though. He is my friend but he has always been terrible when it comes to respecting women.”

Kesia freed herself from his grip and took out some clean clothes from the closet. She put her panties on and then turned away from Luke and dropped her towel. Quickly she got her bra on and a top. 

”Pants or skirt?” she asked him and held up one of each.

”Skirt” he said and pointed to the skirt in her left hand. 

Kesia put the pants back and put the skirt on. It was tight and she had to wiggle into it. 

”What are we doing for dinner?”

”There is a nice little restaurant a few streets from here. We can go there?”

”Or, we could start the drive today and go to Siena. Our seekers wouldn’t see that coming and you would see your dad a little more.”

She talked without looking at him so she couldn’t see his reaction to this suggestion. He was quiet for a while and Kesia started feeling that maybe she had crossed some kind of line. 

”He was a huge drunk” Luke said, ”and he didn’t care about what I did. When I got involved with the mafia, he didn’t even comment on it. I was so deep in their business that the only way out was to leave the country and change my name. I needed to be saved and my own father didn’t care. He was too busy drinking. And doing other stuff. Ever since my mom died he was stuck in some kind of never-ending self-pity party or something. That’s when Cornelia came around. She saved me. And she convinced my dad to start going to AA-meetings.”

He stopped for a minute. 

”What I have with my dad now is very fragile. We still haven’t even talked about mom. We’re just taking baby steps.”

Kesia realized that she had definitely crossed a line. She turned to look at him. 

”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

She sat down next to him on the bed. 

”It’s ok. I just told you all that because I wanted to. But I’m not comfortable spending more time with my dad at this point. We can still go to Siena though. It’s a beautiful little town.”

A couple of hours later they were back on the road in their miata. Kesia watched the Italian countryside fly by her window and enjoyed the faint smell of rosemary in the air. Italy was one of her favorite countries to visit. She glanced at Luke and wondered if she would dare ask him more about his involvement with the mafia. Maybe when they reached Siena and checked into a new hotel. Or at dinner in some cozy restaurant. Either way would work. Suddenly, Luke slowed down and made a right turn into a small country road. It felt like he was just going between the trees in the olive groves, although there was a small road there, narrow and probably meant for something other than cars.

”What are you doing?”

”I thought we could walk the last few meters. We are almost there.”

”Where?”

”This little farm outside of Siena. It’s very picturesque, you’ll like it” he said and grabbed her hand. They started walking between the trees towards a hill ahead of them. Kesia held on to Luke with one hand and used the other to protect her eyes from the olive branches that hit her in the face. After a short walk Luke stopped and pointed to a large, white villa in front of them. Kesia scoffed at Lukes description ’little farm’ because the building in front of her was not little. It was actually pretty big. Two floors with a roof terrace and balcony. Beautiful pink flowers covered the fasade and the front door was a heavy, old double door. In front of the house, there was a small paddock where a few sheep walked around, grazing slowly. They raised their heads and looked at Luke and Kesia as they appeared among the trees. 

”This is not a little farm, Luke, this is a beautiful country house” Kesia said as they walked up to the door.

”If you say so. But I’ve seen bigger country houses. Let’s knock” he said and knocked on the door. An old woman answered it and lit up when she saw Luke. She said something in Italian and hugged him, long and hard. Luke answered something and then he turned to Kesia.

”This is Ariana, she is my aunt. She practically raised me.”

Ariana embraced Kesia before she could say anything about it. When she let go she said something in Italian again and then she disappeared around the corner.

”She went to fetch my uncle. He is in the fields, checking the property.”

”Luke, this is amazing. You grew up here?”

”Not really. My aunt always came to pick me up when Don was… you know. They had a room upstairs that was mine. Come, I’ll show you.”

When the sun set over the olive trees and the massive dinner that Ariana had cooked for them was over, Kesia and Luke just sat on the roof terrace and enjoyed the view in peace. Their hosts were both busy in the kitchen. Kesia heard the crickets play among the olives and the faint scent of rosemary that she had sensed before increased at night. The air felt a bit more wet and she drew in a deep breath. 

”I could stay here forever” she said.

”I know, It’s pretty amazing. Unfortunately we have to continue soon, in a few minutes.”

”What? Can’t we just spend the night here?”

”No. This place is nice but we can’t stay here tonight. I will explain everything in the car.”

Ariana came up to the roof and gave them each a small glass of vino Santo. Luke drank all of his in one mouth and urged Kesia to do the same. He talked to Ariana for a while in Italian and then they hugged. Ariana gave Kesia another hug and grabbed her face, saying something in Italian. 

”What is she saying?” asked Kesia.

”She’s telling you to take care of me” answered Luke.

”Tell her I will.”

Luke translated her reply and Ariana let go of Kesias face. They went downstairs and said goodbye to Lukes uncle before they left the house. Kesia grabbed Lukes hand before they went into the olive trees. It wasn’t as beautiful in the dark and Kesia kept hearing weird noises. She held on to Luke with a firm hand until they came upon the car. She quickly got in.

”Are you okay?” asked Luke who thought Kesia acted a little weird. 

”Yes, yes. I just don’t like the dark on the countryside, it’s so… dark.”

Luke smiled.

”Let’s get into town then.”

He started the car and then backed it up, faster than Kesia was comfortable with, until they came back to the road. There, he quickly turned it into position and continued driving towards Siena which turned out to be really close. Luke pulled up and parked the car right outside the walls of the city. He took their bags out of the trunk and started walking with Kesia into the city. 

Compared to the other hotel rooms they had been staying at, this was not very impressive. It was only three stars and kund of small. There was no couch for Luke to slope on and there was only the one room. The bathroom had no tub and the view was only of the next building, that stood less than a meter from theirs. Kesia laughed a little.

”Now, I feel more like home” she said and looked at Luke who had already laid down on the bed. 

”You do do you? Well, then at least one of us is happy.”

”What, you don’t like this? You don’t think it’s cozy?”

”I am prepared to admit that it is cozy but I really do prefer a little more space.”

”Kesia sat down on the bed next to him.

”Do you want to sleep right away or should we go out?”

Luke had already sliced his eyes. 

”It’s after ten and we have had a very intense day…” he said.

”So… sleep?”

Suddenly he sat up.

”No, let’s go out. Although I might as well warn you, the people I used to work with still are kind of mad at med for leaving. I’ve stayed away from them by being in Sweden but now that I’m here they might… come after me.”

Kesia dropped her jaw and grabbed Lukes arm.

”What the hell is that supposed to mean? What should I be prepared for, Luke?”

”No, nothing is going to happen” he said, trying to calm her down again. ”I just wanted you to know in case we have to leave very suddenly or some stranger seems to be following us.”

”Luke, you’re making me very nervous…”

”I can see that. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

”Maybe not. Can we still go out?”

”Of course, like I said, you don’t have to worry.”

The pub-life of Siena turned out to be very Kesia-friendly. A lot of people were out but the atmosphere was still kind of tranquil and pleasant. Luke took her to a really nice place where they had a cute little courtyard filled with tables. They sat down at one of them, under a huge fig tree. A waiter immediately came around and lit the candle on the table and gave them menus. Kesia glanced at Luke where he sat, under the fig tree, in the candle light. He had surprised her in so many ways and turned out to be so much more than she had thought at first. Of course that is often the case when you get to know someone new. It takes a while to wrap your head around them. Kesia had a feeling that there was still a lot she didn’t yet know about Luke. 

”We are only getting some snacks, right? Like a bowl of olives, maybe some bread?” he said and looked at her.

”Yes, of course, we already ate dinner. I’m still so full.”

”And what drink do you want to start with?”

”How about you choose a nice bottle of wine for the both of us?”

Luke smiled and seemed to think that was a good idea. He waved the waiter over. As it turned out the little restaurant had a few locally produced wines to choose from and Luke seemed to know the owner of one of the vineyards. Of course he chose the wine from that vineyard and as he poured the wine into Kesias glass, he told her the story about how he got to know a winemaker.

”It was back in the day, my employer gave me the assignment to find a vineyard he could purchase. He wanted to get into the winemaking business.”

”Your employer?”

”Yes, you know. Back then, I lived outside of the law - to put it lightly.”

Kesia just nodded and wondered when they would taste the wine.

”Anyway, he sent me on a mission to find a vineyard that he could purchase since he wanted to learn about winemaking. I found the nicest little vineyard in the middle of the country and formed a contact with the owner. I tasted the wine and, on behalf of my boss, made a very generous offer to the owner. He accepted it and a month later we had access to the vineyard. My boss kept the old owner as an employee to be head winemaker and we kept producing the wine. The wine in your glass is the same as I tasted all those years ago so this is very nostalgic for me. Cheers!”

He raised the glass and Kesia raised her. They tasted the wine and Kesia liked the feeling of it against her palate. It was quite dry and made her tongue all coarse. She could also taste a faint nuance of figs and apples. 

”What do you think?” asked Luke, eager for her opinion.

”It’s nice! I imagine it goes well with cheese.”

He nodded and made contact with the waiter again. He came over and Luke ordered some cheese to go with the wine. 

Kesia practically poured herself onto the bed when they got back. It had been a long day that they had rounded up very nicely with good wine and cheese. Kesia considered sleeping in the clothes she was wearing to not have to stand up again and go through the whole undressing-process. Just as she was drifting off, Luke turned her over and pulled at her arms to make her sit up.

”What are you doing? I just want to sleep” she whined.

”I’m not about to let you sleep in the same clothes you’ve worn all day” answered Luke and pulled  off her t-shirt. He laid her down again, carefully, and took off her skirt. Kesia crawled under the duvet and fell asleep almost instantly. 

When the sun found its way through the blinds the next morning Kesia woke up with a pounding head. She just made a sleepy sound and fell back asleep, covering her head with the duvet. Luke turned over, crawled under the duvet and put his arm around her. She moved closer towards him and cuddled up against his hairy chest.

”Could we stay like this all day?”

”That would be nice” he said and kissed her head. ”But unfortunately we have to get up pretty soon and get ready to continue to Pisa. We can’t miss the flight.”

Kesia sighed.

”But we can stay like this for a while? A half-hour or so?”

”Sure. Then, we can order breakfast.”

Kesia rubbed her face against his chest and wrapped her legs around his body. His skin against hers felt so warm and nice. He tightened his grip around her body.

”Kesia, I think you’re still a little drunk” he said.

”So?” she said and started kissing his neck. He gasped and tightened his grip even more.

”So, we can cuddle all you want, maybe even kiss, it’s up to you. But you’re not gonna lose your virginity in this bed.”

Kesia stopped kissing his neck and looked at him.

”If I weren’t drunk I would be upset with you right now, for always deciding everything for me, but weirdly, the drunk version of me appreciates the concern.”

He smiled and kissed her lightly. She kissed him back and suddenly she was there again, at the airport, with the cold feet. She lost the sense of time and space, completely consumed by his lips, his tongue and his hands on her body.