"The beginning of a story." (15)

As I got out of the shower, I stood in front of the mirror staring at my body.

Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I hated it.

My olive skin was pretty much tanned, now and as I was drying my dark brown hair, I was happy that they had naturally taken their wavy shape.

I wore my flower black dress and I texted Bella first.

>

> She replied.

My friend Delilah told me that opening up with Bella would help me since we had both experienced a painful past.

The problem was... that I still hadn't fully come to terms with my past.

There were two reasons I was so scared to let people in;

The damage they could do, and the damage they could find inside of me.

~

As I arrived at the lobby, I stepped out of the elevator and took a few steps.

But I was interrupted.

"Hey, Ellie..." I felt someone gently press my forearm.

At that contact I gasped.

"Hi..." My voice barely came out.

Bella turned her gaze: "I was looking for a restaurant..."

"Did you find anything interesting?"

Bella shook her head in an tired way then raised an eyebrow and smiled:

"Maybe... if we could get out of this resort...."

I laughed: "Sure. Why not?"

~

As we walked ouf of the resort for the first time... I had this odd feeling that it was wrong... but terribly exciting at the same time.

"We have the bracelets with the name of the hotel. If we get out, then we can come back..." Bella said to me, bursting out laughing.

Her laughter was so hearty that I immediately laughed too.

And she was right though, that was no reason to see a problem in what we were doing.

"Look, Ellie..." Bella whispered, becoming serious again.

"For what I said to you... in the sauna... I thought about it... and maybe I shouldn't have said that. I know that my story it's difficult, I didn't want to upset you..."

Her hand gestures hinted that she was genuinely worried.

I stopped walking and I looked into her eyes.

"I swear, I don't feel upset at all, Bella.

I'm just glad you opened up... to me." I said hoping that she could really catch the sincerity of my words.

Suddenly I felt my cheeks turning red as I wasn't really used to express what I wanted to say this easily.

Bella smiled sweetly, and I had no doubt that she believed me.

Eventually, we stopped in a nice and colorful cafè overlooking the sea.

It was such comfortable and pleasant space that I feel somehow relieved by this all situation.

That was my chance to talk with Bella... to find out more about her relationship with her boyfriend.

But how do I began?

Straight to the point... maybe.

"So ... you and Leo ... how long have you been together?" I asked.

I don't know why but now I felt awkward saying those words.

Bella raised her eyebrows as if she didn't expected that question.

Maybe I had been too impulsive...

"Three years." She simply replied.

"We met through mutual friends."

I nodded.

"I know that he and Joe have been best friends since middle school, now." I spoke.

"Yeah. Well, good for them." Bella replied politely as she take a sip of her drink.

Ok. Maybe she was still having hard feelings towards her boyfriend... but I feel the urge to ask her one more quesion, I don't know why:

"Do you miss him?"

Bella shrugged: "I'd say it's been too short of a time to tell you that I miss him..." She answered me with a strange, sarcastic smile.

She rested her elbows on the table and leaned slightly closer to me.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" She asked me.

Then she looked at me with a penetrating gaze that I could not escape.

"It is possible..."

My heart raced.

"It wasn't love at first sight with Leo." She commented.

"In fact, it wasn't a good start... I hadn't even noticed him, initially. Then some time passed, and ... I guess everything evolved." She continued hastily, then she looked at me.

"Well... then not all loves are born at first sight, yours is an example."

I was keeping a confident smile, even if I felt a little awkward.

Bella smiled too, a strange wistful smile: "Love can manifest in unexpected ways."

Unexpected... That is exactly what I told Delilah on the phone, just before.

Bella continued to talk lowering her gaze:

"For me, love can emerge from the first understanding, the first connection, the first shared laughter, the first shared pain."

Shared pain...

Why do we think the same things?

I was too stunned to being able to speak.

I just helplessly stared at her, without blinking an eye.

"Was it not?" Bella asked seriously, keeping an eye on me.

"What?" I widened my eyes.

"With Joe."

Bella and I were looking at each other again, her face was close to mine, and our shoulders were gently touching.

I tried to pull myself together and talk:

"Sort of... we've been through a lot... I mean... Joe and I met six years ago, I was seventeen. He was the first."

I lowered my gaze:

"So I have always been there for him..."

Bella was carefully listening to me.

"Of course I was there when he opened the society with Leo..."

I expected Bella to smile or talk

since I had just mentioned her boyfriend and the society in which they are working together as well... but she remained impassive.

"What about you?" She asked me in a calm voice.

I don't why but that question made me jump, as I wasn't used to someone taking an interest in me.

"Well, me... university is been hard too... It is hard. But I never regretted it, although..."

Damn. Why did I said that?

"Although...?" Bella repeated when I stopped talking.

"Well... Joe wasn't that happy for my choice..."

I had to confess.

"Why is that?" She asked right away.

"I think he would have liked me to choose  a different degree course... rather than a simple degree in english literature." I let out my words.

It was easier to talk to her than to others.

Bella didn't hide her shocked expression at all:

"No one should ever tell you what to do with your life. I'm glad you chose what you really like."

I nodded, pleasantly impressed by her words: "Yeah, I know. I was determined

about that. It is my path."

I smiled and Bella smiled back.

"But that doesn't mean I do not care about his opinion...." I whispered in an innocent yet involuntarily defensively way.

I don't know why but I regretted saying that right away.

My insecure mind...

Bella froze as she stared at me with a tormented gaze.

I felt the need to change the subject right away.

"And then, six years later, we find ourselves like this..." I noticed how my smile had become rather forced.

"... In this resort..." Bella finished my cryptic sentence.

I slowly nodded.

"Hope you like where you ended up..." She intertwined her hands as she talk in that warm voice.

"I'm starting to..." I whispered, smiling.

There was something in the way that she looked deep into my eyes.

Bella has a beautiful amber eyes with an almond shape.

Her long copper hair fell gracefully over her shoulders; she was still wearing that red dress and her full lips had a dark pink lipstick.

I feel I can't handle her gaze for too long.

"The sea is incredibly beautiful today...." I whispered awkwardly, shifting my eyes to that beautiful horizon.

I can sense her gaze was still on me.

"We can call Vincent for the boat once we finish lunch..."  She said.

She raised her bottle: "Let's have a toast..."

I made the same gesture.

Bella smiled as she whispered:

"To us."  And she slammed the glass bottles together.

"I feel like after what happened, we deserve it." She added, taking a sip.

Her eyes were so deeply confident.

I smiled, nodding.

Bella sighed slightly: "You know, this could be the beginning of a story."

Her voice warm.

Her lips trembled.

I felt a warm shiver inside me as she said that.

"Story?" I laughed, resting my drink on the table to focus on her.

"Yes, a story. That one day we might tell." Bella replied, smiling faintly at me.

As the waiter brought us our lunch, I stared dazzed at the plate in front of me, pondering her words for too long.

Especially on the word "story."

She's probably just being nice.

"With what happened we can tell an incredible story... although it didn't start in the best way." I laughed nervously.

Bella did not say a word.

She barely smiled as she lowered her face and her soft hair fell over her eyes.

I was looking for her gaze with the intent to understand what was really going on through her mind... but she was keeping her self-control.

Yet I had the strong feeling she had something else to tell me, but she didn't.

What a nonsense...

Probably I was the one who was starting to misunderstand everything.