Nothing Is Predictable Page 12

  I walked up to him and pretended to be a confident woman, and my God, the closer I got to him the more handsome he became. I asked him very politely if someone could assist me with my luggage to my room as there were no lifts. He smiled at me and said it was a self-service guesthouse, not a hotel. However, he noticed I was classy, and when he saw I was in the private single room, he felt obliged to be accommodating.

  “So, you have the private room, ya?” he said as he was assisting me with my bag upstairs.

  “Ya, ya,” I replied, staring at his behind while he was walking up the stairs ahead of me.

  “So, what’s your name? How long have you been working here?” I asked inanely.

  “My name is Livio and this is my family’s guesthouse, we own it.”

  A gorgeous man with a guesthouse, can you be more blessed than that? The Gods must have been in a great mood when he was conceived.

  “Oh, that’s lovely, family business! And you all work here. That’s wonderful, Livio, anyway, nice to meet you, I’m Zara.”

  “Hello, Zara, nice to meet you too, welcome to our guesthouse. So, will you be coming down later to the bar? I’ll be working there tonight. Come down, it’s lots of fun, we serve our famous schnapps.”

  “Oh! Of course I’ll be coming down. I’ll just settle in, freshen up, and head right down. And I loooooove schnapps, so I’ll see you soon,” I replied.

  Schnapps! Never even tasted it in my life, I was just going with the conversation. I settled in rapidly and had the fastest shower I had ever taken, got dressed, and headed downstairs. I couldn’t wait to see him.

  I was really fit that year and I was racing down the stairs taking several steps at a time when I tripped and tumbled down. He was walking up the stairs and he caught me. I landed smack in the center of his chest. I rose up slowly, holding onto him, mesmerized by how alluring he smelt, and how sexy and charming he was. I can honestly say he took my breath away. I considered bailing out on the rest of the trip, just to stay there and stare at him the whole time. Okay, that was dumb, but it crossed my mind.

  “Are you okay? Lucky I was here to catch you!” he said and smiled his bright smile, his halo shining equally brightly. He was perfect; perfect European tan, perfect height, perfect body, perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect eyes…perfection incarnate.

  “Oh my God, I’m so sorry! Yes, I’m okay. Thank God you were here to catch me. And thank Goooodddd for those biceps,” I mumbled, giggling with embarrassment and excitement. Those biceps! That chest! That cologne! Was he real? I’d always been a sucker for good looks and biceps. Unfortunately, I still am.

  “Let me help you up. You’re going to the bar, ya?” he asked, helping me up.

  “Yaaa, I’m heading down there right now. You’re going to be there, yaaa?” I asked, while I frantically tried to regain my dignity and tidy myself up. My top was crunched into my bra, my trousers were pulled down on one side, and my hair had flicked over to the wrong side.

  “Ya, I’m just getting something from my house and I’ll be down soon.” He continued on his way up the stairs, chuckling at what had happened.

  “See yaaa soon! Hehe,” I said. What an idiot! See yaaa soon? Really, Zara?

  He turned back and looked at me in a subtle charismatic way, chuckling provocatively.

  Wow! We have a connection.

  Now let me tell you, I was a pretty hot-looking thing back in those days. I was fit and attractive, and I had always looked after my body and how I dressed. So I can fairly say, I was worth looking at. Perhaps not as good looking as he was, but more than acceptable.

  I arrived downstairs to find all the girls at the bar, dressed up and looking sexy and waiting for him to return. There was no available chair for me at the bar.

  “Shitfuck!” I mumbled.

  I needed to sit somewhere where I could be close to him. I mingled with everyone else and Sally, one of the friends I became close with on the trip, called me over to sit next to her and her partner Mark.

  “Hey! What happened when he took your luggage up, missy?” she asked me, giggling and with a smirk on her face.

  “Oh, nothing really, he left my bag and went straight back down. Oh my God Sally, how gorgeous is he, seriously?”

  “I know, I haven’t seen anything like him, hubba hubba,” she whispered to me so Mark wouldn’t hear.

  “I know, I know! Oh God, here he comes!”

  He walked out from behind the bar and all the girls sighed in awe and blushed as he passed them. He looked around for me and as we made eye contact, he called out my name.

  “Zara! Come try this schnapps.”

  The girls sitting at the bar turned around and looked at me, and if eyes could kill, I wouldn’t be telling this story.

  “Zara? He knows your name, missy?” Sally asked. “Are you sure he only helped you with your luggage?”

  “Later! Can’t talk…busy,” I replied, and was at the bar before I took my next breath, blind to everyone else around me. I had never been bewitched that way before. I was baffled, flustered, electrified, not in control of my actions. What the hell had this guy done to me?

  “Heeeeey! Thanks for the schnapps. Okay, prost!” I took the glass off him, saluted him, and sculled the lot in one hit.

  “Take it easy! You’re only meant to be sipping on this one,” Livio said, and tried to grab the drink from me to slow me down. He was too late.

  “Silly woman, you’re going to feel that burn soon,” he said, shaking his head and laughing at the same time.

  I immediately felt a burning sensation in my throat that almost choked me. I was so embarrassed. I pretended I could handle it, with my red, watery eyes and a head that was about to burst into flames. I tried to cough silently and in a feminine way but it didn’t work, and I thought I was about to die from the burning. I quickly grabbed a glass of water without thinking about who it belonged to. At that moment, it was between dying or being polite.

  “Are you okay?” Livio asked, and laughed loudly at the same time.

  Sally noticed I was choking and walked up behind me. “Hey hun, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good, I’m good, just a little stronger than I expected,” I said while I tried to clear my throat, my voice sounding unfamiliarly like a grinder.

  “Well, you were meant to sip that, not scull it!” he said, leaning across the bar and positioning his face close to mine. He shook his head and smiled. In that split second, I wanted to grab his head and sip him all in one go. If only I’d had the courage, but I was too embarrassed in case he rejected me.

  Calm down, woman, calm down, I repeated in my head, losing myself in his lustful eyes. After a few glasses of water, and a voice that sounded like a woman again and not a grinder, I was back to normal and able to explore the different schnapps he offered. This time, I sipped them slowly.

  I was the only one he chatted to as he served everyone in between talking to me. We talked about Switzerland and America and how beautiful the two countries were. Believe me, the other girls plotted my death that night.

  He had never been to America and I encouraged him to visit. I took so many photos of him I almost used up a whole roll of film. Digital cameras were still in the making back then. He loved to pose, telling me he was a model with a Swiss–German Agency. He had flair and charisma and he pranced and posed while I took the photos, and man, did I approve.

  The girls whispered in my ear and jokingly said he would definitely be visiting my room that night. I was so nervous. I didn’t want the night to end. We were leaving for our next destination the following morning. I wanted to stay up all night at the bar talking to him. When the inevitable came and everyone slowly slipped away to their rooms, it was time for me to do the same.

  I ‘gutenachted’ him and headed toward my room, nervous about whether he would come and knock on my door. Twenty minutes later, the knock came.

  “Oh, God! It’s him,” I said to myself as I approached the door. Before opening the door, I sto
od in front of it, took a few deep breaths, and then opened it slowly, seductively posing like a classical movie star…only to find the girls popping their heads around the door, whispering and chuckling.

  “Is he here? Is he inside?”

  We all giggled with excitement like young children.

  “Go, go! Just in case he’s on his way up. Don’t ruin it for me, go!” I said, laughing and pushing them out.

  For some reason, I had a feeling he wouldn’t show up. He had too much class to do something like that after such a short introduction. In his place, I definitely wouldn’t have come up. I had felt his pride and respect during our conversation, and noticed we had similar standards and morals. I decided to draw the line by waiting only an hour and, as I’d predicted, he didn’t show up.

  “Oh well, I guess he meets so many people working here. What was I thinking anyway? As if I’m the only one he chats to. He has tours coming in weekly,” I blabbered to myself, annoyed I’d even thought it was a possibility.

  I hardly slept, tossing and turning the entire night and before I knew it, it was 6 am and I had to prepare for our departure. I didn’t see him that morning. As I boarded the coach, I looked back at that guesthouse, sad and dejected that I would never see that stunning man again.

  Exhausted from the anxiousness of the previous night, I finally knocked some sense into my head and focused on enjoying my upcoming destinations.

  Auf wiedersehen Switzerland, and ciao Italy.

  Rome, Florence, and Venice, I lost myself in the history and architecture. The group trip to Italy was too short and I knew somehow, I would go back and spend more time on my own to explore further. As we disembarked the gondola in Venice, three police officers were patrolling the area on foot. What the hell is it with gorgeous European men? Even the police officers were stylish and attractive. It’s bad enough women love men in uniform, but gorgeous hot-looking men in uniform, with biceps, that’s another reason for your legs to go weak and give way.

  I walked up to them with my wrists together and asked them to cuff me and take me away, as a joke of course. My friends were in stitches at my audacity, but as for the police officers, well, I’m not sure if they understood my flirtatious play. They seemed on guard, making sure I wasn’t plotting a diversion for some criminal activity while they were occupied with me. They didn’t speak English fluently, which made them even sexier speaking in Italian. So there I was, innocently and obliviously fooling around, mesmerized by the sex on legs surrounding me, and there they were, slowly stepping backwards, on guard, with one hand on their guns in their side pockets, and one hand outstretched to keep me away from them.

  Our tour guide eventually stepped in and explained to them in Italian that I was harmless and was simply flirting with them. They finally understood, dropped their defenses, and laughed at the situation. After all that, I tried to ask for a photo with them. They were not accommodating at first, until they realized I was not going to give up easily, so they reconsidered and relented, just to get rid of me I’m sure.

  Although I enjoyed that little episode, I realized it could have turned out to be disastrous and so I never attempted anything like that again with foreign officials, particularly if they didn’t speak English.

  Our final destination was Paris. Oh Paris! J’aime Paris, the history, the culture, the architecture…and the croissants. I knew Rome and Paris were two places I would return to visit on my next trip.

  Two weeks later, I was back in London ready to depart Heathrow for America.

  Chapter 24

  Back to reality

  USA 2002

  I arrived home on Saturday, jetlagged and unable to sleep, so I decided to go to my office to catch up on work. On Monday, I could surprise my staff with my return and be all up to date with my workload without constant disruptions. On the way to the office, I took the films to the photo store. Yes, photo store; smart phones and digital photos were not common then. All I wanted to see were Livio’s photos, so I could reminisce about that amazing night. I worked all day and night until 3 am Sunday to catch up on my backlog.

  Sunday was a complete right-off and I slept most of it. By Monday, I was all ready for work, fresh and rejuvenated. Of course, my first stop was to pick up the photos. Hundreds of dollars later and thirty-six films developed, I rushed to my car and anxiously shuffled through them to find the Swiss batch.

  Oh my! When I saw his photos, I thought he looked just as handsome as in real life.

  Unannounced, I walked into the office and shouted, “I’m back people! Woohoo!”

  Everyone jumped out of their seats and ran to hug me. They had been expecting me to arrive the following week. My staff were like my family, one big happy bunch working together. I made sure work was a great environment for everyone equally. I told them all to stop what they were doing so I could take them out to breakfast for a brief catchup and of course, to show them my photos from the trip.

  Their jaws dropped when they saw the photos of Livio, and they were all intrigued and excited to know what had happened. I told them nothing had happened other than embarrassing myself in front of him a few times and spending most of one night mesmerized by him while we chatted away at the bar. That memory was enough for me to last the rest of my life, one of the highlights of the trip. I had felt so alive that night.

  You might think I sound like a lost immature soul reaching out for the impossible. I was just looking for adventure, to overtake the ugliness and distress of my early years and my marriage. I had never given up hope that I would find happiness somehow.

  I decided to mail a few photos to Livio to his family’s guesthouse, for their wall of fame. Tourists from around the world had their photos posted there and I wanted him to add mine. Some of them were of us together from that night but they were mostly just of him. I included a little note with my number and email address to contact me should he ever decide to visit America.

  A few weeks went by. I focused on work and the expansion of the business. I had almost forgotten about my trip when one morning, I opened my email and the name ‘Livio’ jumped out of the screen at me. My heart pounded, and I yelled out to my staff, “Team! I’ve got an email from Livio!”

  The girls ran in and crowded around my computer.

  “Wait, wait! Let me read it first!” I said, pushing them aside before they could see it.

  “Hello Zara, this is Livio from Switzerland. Thank you for sending me the pictures, they are great, I put them up on the wall, you look very nice in them too. I am coming to visit LA in a couple of weeks. I hope to catch up with you, let me know if you have time. Here is my number and email, I hope to hear back from you.”

  “He’s coming to America!” I screamed and jumped out of my chair, boxing in triumph like Rocky when he reached the top of the stairs.

  “Zara, you have to bring him to the office!” Stephanie one of my employees shouted, and they all cheered and agreed. We mucked around and jumped with joy immaturely, not because I was going to see him but because they were going to see him.

  I was so thrilled, remembering how sad I’d been when I’d left the guesthouse on the coach, thinking I’d never see that Godly gorgeous man again. Now, he was coming to America. Woohoo!

  I replied to his email and assured him I was very pleased he was coming and not to worry, I would look after him. I’m not trying to be conceited, but I know I’m good company. I’m also generous and have classy tastes, so I would be the perfect host for Livio’s first trip to LA.

  I prepared myself for his arrival and in the meantime, helped him with hotel recommendations in West Hollywood.

  Chapter 25

  Swiss God take 2

  USA 2002

  On his arrival at the airport, I arrived in a limousine to pick him up and take him to the hotel. A man like that needed to be treated with class and be left with an impression of America he would never forget. As the driver escorted him to the car, you should have seen the smile on his face when he saw the
greeting I had prepared. He entered the limo to see me holding out a bottle of Moet. Livio’s smile momentarily stopped my heart from beating. He was obviously grateful for receiving him this way and for the effort I’d made.

  I’ve always loved to surprise others and experience the joy of seeing their smiles. Livio shuffled and sat next to me, leant across, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  I melted.

  “Thank you, Angel, my parents will be happy I’m in good hands. I knew you had class from the night we met. You’re my kind of woman.” He always used to say, “You’re my angel.” Livio was six years younger than me, twenty-four to my thirty. I gracefully accepted the name Angel from this twenty-four-year-old sex on legs with biceps.

  Around him, I felt alive and vibrant. I loved his culture and his family values, not to mention his European class. I took him to many fabulous restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. I don’t think he would have received better treatment from anyone else. Occasionally, we met ‘my girls’, Debbie, Helen, and Karen, for drinks or dinner.

  Now let me tell you about my girls. We were like the Sex and the City girls and of course, I was Samantha, not so much for her openly sexual appetite – believe it or not, I’m far from that – but more so because I was the eldest, the most outspoken, and the one with the vibrant personality. As well as getting on well as a group, we had a unique relationship with each other. We had the best time going out, and we always looked out for one another during both the fun and the hard times. We would wine and dine and go out dancing until all hours of the morning. We were all single except for Debbie (Charlotte), who was in a serious relationship.

  The girls loved Livio. As for Livio, it was almost like being with a celebrity every time we went out, because he was repeatedly stopped and asked if he was one. He had a magnanimous disposition, he had unbeatable class, and he had off-the-Richter-scale beauty. Of course, I took him to meet my staff, who were ecstatic. It was like a fantasy that had turned into a reality for all of us.