Chapter 4

Marco watched her walking away and he followed her with his eyes. There was something alluring about her, but he found himself being drawn to her. She wasn’t his usual type, but then again his usual type were for one night and he didn’t even remember their names. Melina. That is an

interesting name. He never heard of it before. It was unique. As unique as the girl who the name belong to.

When he first saw her looking at him, he was sure that she would be like all the other women that would throw themselves at him, but she didn’t. She actually walked out from him on her own and didn’t even look back. And then there was Johnny. He loved his dog, but he never showed any interest to any of the women he had met. If anything he seemed to be appalled by them and kept his distance, but he run to Melina, he kissed her and played with her.

He found the incident fascinating. He had never felt like chasing a woman before, but there is a first time for everything. He would have his men look into this girl. She wasn’t from here for sure. Her name was exotic and her accent was clearly not American. He was even convinced that English was not her native language. She looked Mediterranean, like him, but she wasn’t Italian for sure.

He called Alessio and asked him to look into the girl. He didn’t have much information to give him, but Alessio was good at his job. He would find anything there was to be found about her. Alessio was his consigliere and his second in command. He was also his best friend and he knew that eventually he would have to tell him why he had him look into this girl. It didn’t help that Alessio was nosey and he wouldn’t let it go, but that was a problem for a different day.

He could still see her walking away and he thought “Till we meet again bella”.

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Melina continued her stroll and took some pictures of the scenery to send to the group chats with her family and with her friends. It has been a few hours she has been walking in the park and she decided to find an exit and then find someplace to eat. The few days she had been here she had ordered in and she wanted to explore a bit more of the food options in the city.

Once she exited the park, she found a nice little italian corner restaurant with tables outside and she decided to give it a try. She sat on a table and started looking at the menu. The Italian cuisine is pretty straight forward in no matter which country you are, but reading the ingredients in some of the plates, she could tell that this restaurant had a real Italian chef, so she was looking forward to try it. She ordered tagliatelle a la carbonara and she was very pleased with her choice. She paid and grabbed a menu before she left. The place wasn’t too far from her apartment so she could order from it if she needed it.

She contemplated on calling a taxi or walking to her apartment. She wasn’t very familiar with the bus routes yet, so didn’t want to chance it. She decided to walk and enjoy the city a little but more. After a while, a car stopped next to her and when the window was lowered she saw the face of the person she couldn’t take off her mind since he met him. Marco. He called her name and she stopped walking. He got from the back seat of the car and walked towards her.

”So…we meet again” he said.

”Yes, small world” Melina said and again kicked herself in her mind. Why can’t she think of anything witty to say?

”Do you need a ride? It is not safe to walk around alone at night” Marco said.

Melina was tired and she wouldn’t mind not having to walk the whole distance, but at the same time no matter how good looking he was, she didn’t know him well enough to get in his car. She started thinking about all the crime shows she had watched and considered multiple scenarios that she could get brutally murdered. Then she started thinking how worried her parents would be that they wouldn’t know where she is and what happened to her. The mind is amazing, as she managed to think all these in a matter of a few seconds, before she replied to him.

”I appreciate the offer, but I think the universal response when a stranger is asking you to get to his car is no”

”But we are not strangers” Marco said

”I think I am a better acquaintance with Johnny than with you. I mean no offense and I really appreciate the offer, but I would feel very uncomfortable getting in your car. You are right though, I shouldn’t be walking at this time alone. I will call a taxi” Melina said.

Marco found her amusing, especially considering who he was, but he had never before had a woman refusing anything from him. This was uncharted territory.

“Fair enough. You are right to be cautious. Let me help you find a taxi” he said.

He whistled and a taxi stopped immediately.

“Thank you for the help” Melina said and walked towards the taxi.

Marco opened the door for her and said “How about we have a drink tomorrow night? This way I won’t be a stranger anymore”.

Melina looked at him and she was trying to understand why this unruly handsome man was asking her out.

“I am not sure it’s a good idea. I am not much of a drinker” she eventually said. She thought it would be better to avoid him. She already couldn’t take him off her mind and she was certain there was no happy ending starting anything with him.

”How about an ice cream? Everyone likes ice cream” he said.

”I do like ice cream” Melina replied.

”How about tomorrow afternoon?” Marco tried again.

“Can I think about it?” Melina said.

”You can, but maybe you should give me your number and let me know when you decide. I don’t think the driver is very happy with the delay” he half whispered.

”Oh yes, right. Fine, I will give you my number” she said. Marco handed her his phone and she typed her number quickly. She thought about calling her phone, but she decided against it. Maybe he would change his mind and he wouldn’t contact her again.

Marco took his phone back and he smiled at her. His smile made her knees go weak, but she held herself at the taxi door and got in.

“Ciao, bella” Marco said and he closed the door.

In a few minutes Melina was in her apartment.