Summer Long

July 2 - Open wounds (7)

I was walking near Bella when she leaded us to that restaurant she was talking about.
A beautiful hawaiian restaurant by the sea.
With an incredible view.

I ordered a caesar salad with chicken, she ordered a plate with tofu and vegetables.
After the waiter left, I was intrugued by her choice of food, but I didn't say anything, since it was clear.

"Are you waiting for my confirmation?" Bella asked me, raising an eyebrow.
She was sitting right in front of me as we speak.
"Only if you want." I replied, pretty embarrassed by how she was reading my mind.
"I've been vegetarian since I was fourteen." She said calmly.

I nodded at her, but I was left with a doubt:
"It's okay with you... if I eat chicken?"
She smiled: "Absolutely. I have never forced anyone to follow my diet."
I smiled in return.

I took the phone in my hand and unlocked it; it was two o'clock in the afternoon.
"We should tell the boys that we are okay..." I thought out loud.
"Why?" She asked with an interested smile.
"Well, I think they would like to know..."

"I think they are having fun on their own, probably not thinking about us." She laughed.

I put the phone down on the table and noticed that there was no notification on the screen.
I did not add more because she was obviously right...

The waiter brought our respective plates.
"So how do you feel?" Bella asked me while taking a bite of her tofu.
My facial expression must seemed confused at that question.
"About the wedding, I mean..." She added.

"Hmm..." I swallowed.
"Actually, right now ... I wasn't thinking about it."
Bella tasted her drink and looked at me: "It's good that you're not so concerned about it."
I smiled nervously: "Believe me, I am."

Bella nodded understandingly.
" I guess you'd want everything to be in the right place, that day."
"But not only that..." I whispered.
Bella smiled at me, waiting for me to speak again.

"I wish things not to change... or if they ever do... to change for the better." I whispered.
I was surprised at myself for saying that important sentence to a stranger.

"This makes sense..." Bella whispered softly, but I noticed how her gaze changed abruptly.
Her amber eyes suddenly became darker.
She dropped her fork on the table and looked steadily into my eyes.

Those amber eyes of hers were getting more expressive every time I looked at them.
I was almost in awe of how limpid her eyes were.

"I didn't have parents who transmitted certain kinds of marriage values to me." Bella said dryly.
Her voice was broken.

I could see that her wound was still open, and if she felt like talking about it I would have gladly listened ... but after all, I was just a stranger and that was a far too sensitive a topic.

"But, I'm not going go bore you..." She said, her voice more peaceful now.
I was impressed by her self-control.

Her soft smile in her lips again.
Her eyes rested on the plate in front of her, her hands with rings moved harmoniously.
Her long hair below her bare shoulders.

"If you wanted to, I would listen..." I said.
I did not know exactly what to say in that moment.
But I wanted to help.

Bella smiled, but her gaze remained serious: "Who knows, maybe these days..."

~

As soon as we finished eating lunch, we left the restaurant and took a walk along the beach.
It is hot and the sun is high and fiery.
But it is pleasant to walk.

The island, was very calm, the tourists were few, but I could sense that they were all classy people, wearing extremely flashy things.

"People are strange..." I thought out loud and immediately regretted that.

"Why is that?" Bella asked me with an interested gaze.
She was near me, following my slow step.

"... I feel like people do everything to show off themselves..." I whispered in a very low voice.
So that maybe she didn't even hear me...

Bella fell silent.
Sure... I just said a bullshit.

"You would like to go unnoticed?" She asked right away.
I looked at her shocked, as if she was reading my mind... again, then I lowered my gaze.

"Sometimes..." I whispered and made an effort to smile.

"I'm sorry, but at your wedding, I don't think you will go very unnoticed." She laughed, but good-naturedly.
"Thank you for reminding me." I joked.

We continued to laugh, and it was nice, but suddenly she became more serious.

"I was joking, really, if you have a problem with that, you should talk with Joe about it..."
She was taking the matter seriously...

I nodded at her nervously: "Yeah, he knows that. But I think it will be such a happy day that I won't even think about it..."
I was convincing myself too at that point.

Bella smiled at me with that ironic but damn straightforward manner: "Well, I think that..."

"It's still my decision, anyway." I interrupted her, in an attempt to abandon that part of the conversation.
I had been too impetuous, I regretted that immediately, but talking about one of my problems... was bringing me discomfort and embarrassment.

That was definitely my open wound.
Although she couldn't know it.

We continued walking, in silence, along the beach, circling almost its entire diameter.
I wanted to talk... but I felt guilty, somehow.

Bella stopped suddenly to admire the sea.
Her profile was illuminated by the sunlight, her expression focused but serene.
"I didn't want to tell you what to do... just give you a hand." She said quietly.

I lowered my head to look at the sand beneath my feet.
"Yes, I know..." I whispered, hoping she might catch my regret.

Bella smiled sincerely at me, then she looked at the sea again.
In a moment, she slipped off her dress with a grace I had always wished to have,
with a gesture she also removed her hoop earrings and without adding anything else, she stepped into the sea.

She was wearing a high-waisted white bikini.
Her body is incredible: she is skinny but toned in the right places.
She is tall, with a pair of long, tapered legs, candid skin, a generous breasts and a particularly sculpted butt.

Bella went underwater and when she came up, it was like seeing a mermaid in her natural habitat.

"You are not coming?" She exclaimed in the distance.
I was still stunned.

I put down my bag, and spread my towel on the sand.
I put my hands on my dress, paused for a moment, and hesitantly took it off.
I was wearing a total black bikini.

I entered in that wonderful crystal clear water, as well.
When I looked up, I saw Bella once again return to the surface: she moved her hair in front of her eyes like the models in advertisements, only she did it with an impressive naturalness and grace.

I walked until I reached the point where the water reached my shoulders.
Bella came closer and smiled warmly at me.

I looked at that beautiful horizon and I finally noticed how beautiful and immaculate it was and I smiled with gratitude.