The Space Between (The Book of Phoenix) (2 page)

This is it
, I thought as I slipped on my collection of bracelets and rings. My final farewell to any hopes of a dance career.

My eyes followed my hand as it caressed the old, abused vanity before looking up into the lighted mirror. With a sigh, I pulled off the band keeping my wild curls in a tight bun. They sprang from my head in every which way, celebrating their freedom. I smoothed my hands over the light brown spirals, trying to control them, but as always, they refused to cooperate. The best I could do was what looked like a curly lion’s mane. I dabbed at smudged mascara under my green eyes, rubbed some of the excess make-up off my cheeks and decided I was as good as I’d get.

The overhead lights fell dark for the last time when I opened the dressing room door. The rear exit stood open at the end of the hall, and the streetlamp spilled dim light down the corridor, the scuffed wooden floor dully reflecting its glow. I inhaled slowly, cherishing the musty smell of an old theater mixed with the rancid odor of dancers’ sweat and the sweet fragrance of roses. I silently said my goodbyes as my feet carried me outside.

“Thank you, Uncle Theo,” I whispered as I left the theater for the last time. Only because of him did I even have this opportunity. I couldn’t wait to tell him all about it.

A large, muscular body flew at me, swept me into his arms and twirled me around as though we were still on stage. Laughter bubbled out of my chest.

“You ready to celebrate,
cara mia
?” Alberto asked as he set me down.

“Celebrate that you’re finally getting rid of me?” I teased.

He clapped his hand over his heart, and his face fell into an exaggerated expression of pain. “Oh, Leni, you do not know how I will miss you and your mane.”

He swatted playfully at the bottom of my curls. He had no idea how I would miss the way he said my name, drawing out both syllables, “laaaay-neee,” like only an Italian could do.

“But you won’t miss my heels on your toes or my arm in your face?” I said in mock disbelief.

He took my hand and danced me down the cobbled street toward the plaza at the center of town. “You are a stunning dancer,
cara mia
. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” He spun me under his arm, my duffle bag smacking against my butt the whole time. “Of course, you have become much better since becoming my partner. But everyone does.”

He winked at me before dropping me into a dip. My bag slid off my shoulder and a hand darted beneath me to catch it. Alberto swung me up and around, bringing me face-to-face with the most unbelievably stunning vision I’d seen my whole time in Italy. Which was saying a lot. His eyes—blue, I thought, though the light from the corner post wasn’t enough to be sure—enraptured me. He held my bag out with a small smile that hinted at dimples.

“
Grazie
,” I said breathlessly as I wrapped my hand around the strap of my bag. He gave me a nod almost deep enough to be a bow, his shaggy blond hair falling in his face. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away. My mouth fell open. “How rude.”

“Must be American,” Alberto said. I punched him in the arm.

“Who goes out of their way to catch a falling object and then can’t even say ‘you’re welcome’?” I asked absent-mindedly as I stared after the retreating body that rivaled Alberto’s. No, scratch that. It totally beat out Alberto’s even on his best day.

“What an ass,” Alberto muttered.

“Rude, yes, but I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

“No, I mean what an
ass
that man has.” He let out a low whistle.

I laughed and admired the view as well. “I
can
agree with that.”

“He’s going to Alonzo’s. Lucky us.”

Alberto held out his arm, I looped mine into it, and we sauntered toward the club, the heels of my boots clacking on the cobblestones. Discotheque music pounded from inside, drowning out the noise of my steps and even the fountain as we crossed the center of the plaza. Bruno waited for us outside. He flicked his cigarette to the ground and took my other arm. We made a scene as the three of us squeezed through the door, and then the party swallowed us whole.

We drank and danced and drank some more. Since I couldn’t take it on the plane tomorrow, I opened the bottle of wine my fellow dancers had given me, took a swig and passed it around. It never found its way back to me. Almost all of the fifteen dancers and five crewmembers had come, including Bruno and Alberto, who was also the director.

I found this funny, in a drunken kind of way. Up until tonight, Alberto and Bruno had pretty much been the only ones to provide any kind of friendship. The rest of the dance company had grown from hating me to barely tolerating me to finally accepting me, on a temporary basis, anyway. I was American, I didn’t speak Italian well enough, I was too short, too round, too pretty but not pretty enough, and definitely didn’t dance at their level. In other words, I wasn’t one of them. Tonight, however, they acted as though they might actually miss me.

Dancing with them at the disco was much different than our dances on stage. Maybe this difference was what had finally brought them all around to me in the last week. Throughout the tour, we’d traveled every night, crossing the countryside to get to the next town in the wee hours of morning, grabbed some sleep, performed, then boarded the train again. But for this leg, this village had been our home base, centrally located between the six towns we’d visited this week. We’d taken bus trips to the dance theaters for our performances, returning each night early enough to let loose for a little while at Alonzo’s. And that meant dancing how we wanted to, and I was much better at modern freestyle than the structured ballroom numbers Alberto had us doing on stage. The other dancers finally saw how I could
move
.

“Our little Dirty Dancer,” Alberto teased me as he moved around me and another girl on the dance floor. I twisted and swayed, my hips writhing to the beat, and I became lost in the music and the way it slid over me like a silken gown. Alberto pressed against my back and ground his pelvis against my butt.

“Like you should talk,” I murmured without pulling away.

“Just making you look sexy and desirable,
cara mia
.”

I looked over my shoulder at him for meaning. His eyes glanced to our right, to a table by the window. The man from the plaza sat by himself, and his gaze was locked on us. His eyes shifted away as soon as he caught me catching him.

“Me or you?” I asked.

“Trust me—he’s not my type. And I’m definitely not his. He’s straighter than a nun’s ruler and can’t take his eyes off you.”

On its own volition, my gaze returned to the guy who could have anyone in this bar, but sat alone. He stared out the window now. Alberto had to be mistaken. He was too pretty to be straight. And even if, by the smallest chance, he was into girls, it didn’t matter. The intriguing thought of a one-night-stand on my last night here made my stomach do an excited little flip, but I shut the thought down immediately. Thinking like that would get me in trouble, as it always did.

Throughout the night, however, he proved Alberto right. Every now and then I’d feel the burn of someone watching me, and when I turned, his eyes would flit away. The one time they didn’t, I began to make my way to his table to ask him to join us, but he gave a slight shake of his head and turned to gaze out the window. I hadn’t caught his eye again the rest of the night. Probably for the better. The way my body reacted to him meant not only trouble, but Trouble with a capital T.

“I believe the sun rises soon,” Alberto said some time later when the bar had essentially cleared out. We sat in a booth, his arms spread out on the seatback across from me, over Bruno’s shoulders. Bruno’s head lolled a little to the side as he obviously fought the desire to pass out. “You finally succeeded in closing the bar down, Leni.”

“You worked my ass off, Alberto. I deserved one night to party.”

“You forget about Rieti and Pizzoli?” he asked, referring to the couple of Saturday nights we partied in our hotel. “And last week, right here at Alonzo’s?”

I giggled. “Okay, okay. But still. My last night here, and I don’t want it to end.”

“Ah,
cara mia
, it’ll always be here,” he pointed to my forehead, “and here.” He pointed to my heart.

“Thank you, Alberto,” I said solemnly, “for taking the chance with me.”

“No, thank
you
, Leni. You did me a favor.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing this wasn’t exactly true. He could have found a much more qualified replacement if he hadn’t been pressured into taking me. I picked up my martini glass and raised it in a sloppy toast—half my drink sloshed over my hand.

“To you, Alberto, for making my dream come true. And to Uncle Theo.”

“Who?” he asked as he clinked his glass against mine, more sticky liquid spilling over my hand.

“Uncle Theo, of course. The one who made you bring me on.”

Alberto’s brow wrinkled, as if he’d never heard of the man.

“My great-uncle. Your father’s best friend from way back. He talked you in to giving me this chance, remember? Probably even paid you to do it.” I tried to remind him of how he couldn’t stop talking about Theo when I’d first arrived, how much he admired him and would do anything for the man, but Alberto shook his head. I laughed as I stood on unsteady legs. “Okay. I think you’ve had too much to drink.”

“And you have a train to catch in a few hours.” He stood and pulled Bruno out of the booth. With one arm holding Bruno up, he gathered me into a hug. “Take care, Leni. It has been a true pleasure.”

“You, too, Alberto. And I mean it. Thank you for everything. I’ll tell Uncle Theo you were an outstanding host and a terrific boss.”

He gave me a squeeze and then let me go to rub his jaw. “And don’t forget sexy. Is this Uncle Theo guy single?”

I fought a shudder. I didn’t want to think that way about eighty-three-year-old Uncle Theo. How could Alberto even say such a thing?

“Go,” I said, shoving on his shoulder and making him stumble. For a moment, I thought he and Bruno were both going down, but they caught themselves. We all cracked up with inebriated laughter. “You need to get to bed before you forget me or even Bruno.”

I watched as they left with more tears stinging my eyes.

“Ah, finally, I can close up,” Alonzo said from behind the bar as I grabbed my duffle bag.

I hadn’t realized everyone else had left. My eyes automatically glanced over at the table by the window. Of course, the guy was gone. But sitting on his table was my wine bottle with a single white rose in it, like the ones the audience had tossed at me earlier. I said goodbye to Alonzo and grabbed the bottle on my way out.

Back in my room at the little inn, I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, the stunning face with the enrapturing blue eyes wavered behind my eyelids. After updating Facebook with tonight’s pictures and seeing if Mira had put up a rare status update—no, she hadn’t—I sat in my bed and stared at the rose in the bottle perched on the windowsill. Of the whole time I’d been in Italy, even the whole week I’d been in this village, why did he show up on my last night? Why not sooner, when we might have had a chance to meet, to get to know each other? He’d been the only person to truly catch my eye and I his.

Well, I thought maybe I’d caught his attention. It was hard to know for sure, the way he kept looking away. Maybe I reminded him of someone, maybe even his wife. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were married, which would explain his strange behavior.
You’re being ridiculous.
I shook my head. It didn’t matter if he was married or not, or if the interest was mutual. I would never see him again and that was that.

So why couldn’t I get him out of my head?

*
*
*

My heart grew heavier than the humongous suitcase I lugged behind me as I boarded the train and took a seat by the window. I should have known better than to expect anyone to see me off, even Alberto who probably still snored away his multiple martinis. Although I hadn’t made any real friends besides him, I’d still miss all the people I’d met while here. I’d also miss the beautiful countryside and the quaint little villages with their cobblestone streets and old stone buildings. I leaned my head against the window and pressed my palm to the pane. The train car jolted as the engine began its pull.
Goodbye, Italy. I’ll be back.

The train had barely begun to move when I saw Alberto rush out to the platform. His eyes scanned the train, and I swore they stopped at my window. I wiggled my fingers in a wave. His brow furrowed and he cocked his head, looking befuddled, like he had last night when I’d mentioned Uncle Theo. Was he still drunk? But he’d come out here to see me off, right? Perhaps he didn’t actually see me through the window. Then Bruno and the rest of the company gathered around him, and I realized their train would be coming soon. Maybe he hadn’t come to say goodbye, after all. I waved anyway. Nobody waved back.

But a blond-headed man rushed to one of the cars of my train. Was it
him
? The guy from last night? I pressed my head harder against the window, as if trying to push through it to see if he made it aboard, but I couldn’t see that far down. The train picked up speed, and I sat back in my seat with a snort. I was probably imagining things.

I pulled my phone out of my skirt pocket, hoping to find a reply from Uncle Theo. Still nothing. My mouth pulled down in a frown as worry again niggled its way into my mind. This wasn’t like Uncle Theo. He’d at least take the time to wish me safe travels, knowing I was on my way home. International phone calls were expensive, so I’d been avoiding calling Mira unless it was an emergency. This was close enough.

I dialed her number but her voicemail picked up. I didn’t know if she ever listened to it—she was sixty-seven, quite a bit younger than Uncle Theo, but still not a big fan of technology. So I called Uncle Theo’s house phone, thinking she was probably there anyway. Dread began to weigh my heart down as the phone rang and rang. What if he’d been hurt? He wasn’t as steady on his feet as he used to be.
Oh, God, what if he’s de—
No, I wouldn’t finish that thought.

Dude, relax. Mira’s probably at the store and Uncle Theo can’t hear the phone.
After all, if something was wrong and Mira couldn’t reach me, surely she would have called my parents, and they would have called me. This thought, along with knowing I’d see him soon, calmed me.
Everything’s okay. No news is good news.
I told myself I was tired after being awake for over twenty-four hours, letting my imagination get to me. But I suddenly couldn’t wait to get home.

The rhythm of the wheels on the tracks eventually lulled me to sleep. The two-hour ride was long enough to leave me feeling even groggier than before. I was surprised I found my way through the maze of transfers to get from the train to the airport.

After checking my bags and receiving my boarding pass, I went straight to the airport coffee shop, grabbed a cup of cappuccino and then headed for my gate, only to find I had a three-hour delay. The waiting area was already full, so I made my way down the corridor, looking for a seat. As I passed a bar and considered taking a seat inside, a blond head turned toward me, and this time I wasn’t imagining things.

Our eyes locked, and I halted in my tracks as my breaths stuttered in my lungs. He was even more gorgeous in the light of day . . . but also more dangerous. I could feel that even across the many yards of space between us. The tattoos on his arms didn’t tell me this. Something in the way he held himself, the cock of his head, the gleam in those eyes that were pulling me in.

A movement next to him broke my trance. A dark-haired beauty sat in the chair beside him, although she may as well have been sitting in his lap, her body was welded so tightly against his as she looked over his shoulder at the phone on the table. She was nearly as beautiful as he was—definitely model material. She looked up at me with sharp eyes as a well-manicured, bright red fingernail traced his collar.

I withdrew my stare that by now had to be bordering on rude and ridiculous and hastened my pace along the corridor as the search for a seat resumed. The bar was definitely not an option.

A pounding of feet sounded behind me, followed by someone yelling in Italian. I stepped to the side to move out of the way and turned toward the commotion. Gorgeous guy was running toward me, and the bartender ran after him. I stepped farther out of the way until my back pressed against the wall, but he stopped in front of me. I stared at him, my mouth gaping.

The bartender yelled something about paying his tab, and my eyes widened as I looked over his shoulder. Did he really so blatantly ditch his bill? The guy turned to follow my gaze, then rolled his eyes as he dropped his phone into his t-shirt pocket. His hands moved in front of him—the ASL sign for “sorry” then “hold on.” I only knew this because Uncle Theo and I had learned sign language together when he began to lose his hearing. Was gorgeous guy deaf?

He turned to me as he reached into his back pocket, probably for his wallet. I hoped for his wallet and not something crazy, like a knife or a gun. Yep. Wallet. But he hadn’t been fast enough. The bartender’s hand landed on his shoulder and forced him to turn. Gorgeous guy’s fist went up as though to throw a punch.