stroll through the streets of my neighbourhood, hoping that the fresh air will help me gently come down from the cottony clouds I'm still floating through. It's hopeless, my thoughts still gravitate towards Diamonds.
What was he doing there?
Is he following me or what?
Did he put a tracking device on my cell phone?
Amandine, you're raving mad!
Here I am in front of the door to my flat. All I want to do is flop down on my couch and eat the leftover penne all'arrabbiata from yesterday. I dig through my pockets, looking for my keys, which I always lose. My fingers find something hard in the right pocket of my coat. It's a cream coloured business card, printed on thick paper. My heart skips a beat when I see the name 'Gabriel Diamonds' engraved in golden letters.
My hands are trembling. This man really drives me crazy and it's starting to exasperate me. I turn the card over. On the back, a few words are written in black ink.
----
Amande, half-sweet, half-bitter.
Let's meet in Tuscany and talk about the exhibition next weekend.
Please arrive on Saturday the twenty-second of December at noon.
----
At the bottom, a cell phone number. My heart beating, I forget about going back to my flat, I stay frozen on the landing for fifteen minutes. I read and re-read the three lines without understanding what's happening.
Gabriel Diamonds inviting me to spend the weekend with him? Me? But what does he see in me?
I have a hard time understanding something I never even dreamed would happen. Overexcited, I call Camille and invite myself over to dinner at her house. I jump back onto the subway, my head spinning. When I get to my sister's house, I tell her the entire story. Her eyes grow wide. Dazed, because she understands, she asks me to repeat everything from the beginning several times. For once, we're on the same wavelength and I realise that maybe I could confide in her more often.
“What are you going to wear?”
Well, maybe we don't have the same priorities, but at least she's listening to me.
When I get back home, I feel relieved after speaking with someone other than Marion. I adore my best friend, we know each other inside-out and we're always there for one another, but sometimes she's just too negative. Camille though doesn't always see things in a bad light and tells me to go for it, to not miss this chance. Without procrastinating for hours, I send a text to the number written on the card.
----
The twenty-second of December is a go. I'll buy my train tickets tonight. See you later. Amandine.
----
I have a hard time sleeping that night, and even more of a hard time concentrating at work over the next few days.
The twenty-second is almost here and I spend my days on the phone with Camille and Marion. I ended up confiding in my best friend, but as I expected, she wasn't particularly thrilled. On the twentieth, my suitcase is already packed and two days later I have to make a huge effort so that Eric doesn't notice my impatience, not to mention my complete disinterest in what's going on at work.
On the train that takes me to Italy, I think of how crazy this is: after all, I barely know this man. We've only met a few times, yet he's already taken full possession of my body. But who is he really? I hope to find that out over this weekend, but at the same time, I'm scared to death. When I get out of the car that picked me up at the train station, I stare breathlessly at the beautiful estate I imagine belongs to Diamonds.
It's nothing much...what was I expecting, anyway?
A large white stone villa overlooks a natural pool surrounded by cypress trees. As far as the eye can see, fields and vines lie underneath the setting sun. I don't have time to dwell on the details of the landscape. I see Gabriel near a building that looks like a barn, and his beauty paralyses me. He's dressed simply in white linen pants, his torso bare. I see his full chest for the first time, and I'm struck by the splendour of his muscular, sun-kissed
What was he doing there?
Is he following me or what?
Did he put a tracking device on my cell phone?
Amandine, you're raving mad!
Here I am in front of the door to my flat. All I want to do is flop down on my couch and eat the leftover penne all'arrabbiata from yesterday. I dig through my pockets, looking for my keys, which I always lose. My fingers find something hard in the right pocket of my coat. It's a cream coloured business card, printed on thick paper. My heart skips a beat when I see the name 'Gabriel Diamonds' engraved in golden letters.
My hands are trembling. This man really drives me crazy and it's starting to exasperate me. I turn the card over. On the back, a few words are written in black ink.
----
Amande, half-sweet, half-bitter.
Let's meet in Tuscany and talk about the exhibition next weekend.
Please arrive on Saturday the twenty-second of December at noon.
----
At the bottom, a cell phone number. My heart beating, I forget about going back to my flat, I stay frozen on the landing for fifteen minutes. I read and re-read the three lines without understanding what's happening.
Gabriel Diamonds inviting me to spend the weekend with him? Me? But what does he see in me?
I have a hard time understanding something I never even dreamed would happen. Overexcited, I call Camille and invite myself over to dinner at her house. I jump back onto the subway, my head spinning. When I get to my sister's house, I tell her the entire story. Her eyes grow wide. Dazed, because she understands, she asks me to repeat everything from the beginning several times. For once, we're on the same wavelength and I realise that maybe I could confide in her more often.
“What are you going to wear?”
Well, maybe we don't have the same priorities, but at least she's listening to me.
When I get back home, I feel relieved after speaking with someone other than Marion. I adore my best friend, we know each other inside-out and we're always there for one another, but sometimes she's just too negative. Camille though doesn't always see things in a bad light and tells me to go for it, to not miss this chance. Without procrastinating for hours, I send a text to the number written on the card.
----
The twenty-second of December is a go. I'll buy my train tickets tonight. See you later. Amandine.
----
I have a hard time sleeping that night, and even more of a hard time concentrating at work over the next few days.
The twenty-second is almost here and I spend my days on the phone with Camille and Marion. I ended up confiding in my best friend, but as I expected, she wasn't particularly thrilled. On the twentieth, my suitcase is already packed and two days later I have to make a huge effort so that Eric doesn't notice my impatience, not to mention my complete disinterest in what's going on at work.
On the train that takes me to Italy, I think of how crazy this is: after all, I barely know this man. We've only met a few times, yet he's already taken full possession of my body. But who is he really? I hope to find that out over this weekend, but at the same time, I'm scared to death. When I get out of the car that picked me up at the train station, I stare breathlessly at the beautiful estate I imagine belongs to Diamonds.
It's nothing much...what was I expecting, anyway?
A large white stone villa overlooks a natural pool surrounded by cypress trees. As far as the eye can see, fields and vines lie underneath the setting sun. I don't have time to dwell on the details of the landscape. I see Gabriel near a building that looks like a barn, and his beauty paralyses me. He's dressed simply in white linen pants, his torso bare. I see his full chest for the first time, and I'm struck by the splendour of his muscular, sun-kissed
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