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Chapter 9

My jaw dropped and I felt my palms sweating like crazy. I tried to think of a more positive thought to this situation to make myself feel better.

Maybe John really isn't supposed to be here. I might have gotten to the wrong car.

"I'm sorry." I blurted as I stood outside, looking in. "This isn't the car for me, right?"

"What car is it you're looking for exactly?" John asked me as he stared at me curiously. He wasn't aware that I was noticing how he started to ball his fists a bit. I was starting to feel uneasy too but I managed to brush the feeling off.

"See, Vince McMahon told me to take the day off. He promised he'd provide a car for me, so yeah, I'm looking for that car." I explained as fast as I could.

"Well, this is it." John's reply was almost a murmur. Somehow I'd heard it perfectly and the idea made me froze. He seemed to be somewhat surprised as well.

"We're leaving..together?" The nervousness was so obvious in my voice that it made me scold myself inside.

"Scusarmi, la signorina." The driver interrupted John before he could answer my question. "I'm the only driver. Mi chiamo Cristiano." He pointed at himself then smiled at me.

"Nice to meet you." I gave him a small smile back. Basing from his looks, Cristiano was only a bit older than us, maybe around his late 30's. His smile was warm as if to calm me. I assumed that I must've looked like I needed some reassurance.

"Are you sure this is the only car?" I asked him.

"Si." He nodded at me.

I nodded back at him then looked back at John, feeling helpless. There was nothing else I could do but to go inside the car, so I did. I went inside and sat as far away from John as possible. It wasn't because I hated him or anything. It would just be somewhat awkward if we would bump knees or something like that, at least for me.

Despite the gap between us, there was an obvious tension between John and I. I looked out of the window and sighed unconsciously. There I was thinking that I'd have this day all for myself only to be confronted otherwise. The car started to leave at the same time my thoughts drifted away. Obviously Mr. McMahon didn't mean for this to happen, he never knew what happened between John and me, I'm sure his intentions were good. I got my sense of guarantee from that idea.

"We don't necessarily have to go to each place together. We can drop you off where you want to then agree to meet somewhere so we can ride the car back to the hotel." John seemed to have come up with a solution.

I looked at him and nodded. "Yeah sure."

He gave me a small smile showing off his dimples. "Where are you planning to go first?"

I swallowed a lump on my throat and subtly rubbed my sweaty palms on my dress. Those dimples of his were like my own kryptonite- it could make me weak in just one instance. In some way, I managed to find my voice after a short while. "I was planning on going shopping for a while in the thrift stores by the side of St. Mark's square. I guess we're lucky enough to have come this season, they're holding their last minute sale before the winter season. Maybe I'll start from there."

"Wow, that's great." He looked at his wristwatch then back at me. "It's 2 o'clock. Maybe we'll meet somewhere, let's say, around 5pm? Would you be done by that time?"

I nodded again.

"Great." He was really smiling now. "We'll meet at St Mark's Cathedral, then. It's just across of the square, the one next to the gondolas. You wouldn't miss it."

"Okay. Sure." I realize that I've done nothing but agree to what he's saying but I guess I had no better idea than what he proposed. His smile was enough to convince me to do anything. I'm basing that fact from past experience, of course.

We looked at each other for a while and I examined him like I always did. John looked way better than the last time, it was evident that he himself had a great sleep last night. He was dressed in a pale blue shirt and denim jeans that perfectly matched his eyes. He had white sneakers on and a beautiful silver watch on his left wrist. I couldn't see his hair because a yellow baseball cap covered it. His style was always laid back and that was one of the things that I admired about him. Whenever I was with John, I'd always feel like I didn't have to put on so much effort on what I looked like. I initially noticed it when we first met, a year before John and Trish started dating. Despite everything's that changed, somehow that feeling was constant.

"It's funny." His voice distracted me from my thoughts. "I thought I was the only one Vince allowed a day off."

I laughed a bit. "I was actually thinking the same thing last night. I was teasing Maria about it. Well, not so much anymore after this. "

"Well, look at the bright side." He told me. "At least we didn't get to be paired up with Kane or something. He'd be pretty hard to please." We both started laughing as we remembered Kane, a wrestler for the company. The last time he was given a day off he decided to shop in Wal-Mart and scare some unknowing kids for fun. He had a lot of fans come up to him but those kids were really frightened of him that they pushed each other as they ran out of the store.

"Yeah, too bad." I said sarcastically. "Randy wanted to go sight-see too, but I guess he had appointments that Vince couldn't cancel."

"You and Randy are getting pretty close now." John's face was somehow amused but his voice was serious.

"Yeah, he's great." I smiled. "He's one of the nicest wrestlers around. We're good friends."

"That's great to hear."

A sudden silence erupted between us and I found myself struggling with words to say. Just in time, the car halted to a stop. I looked outside of the window and saw that we had arrived in the Shopping District. People were swarming the place like bees to honey. Everyone had shopping bags on their hands and smiles on their faces. It was like I arrived in heaven.

I started to open the door handle when I heard John talking.

"Be careful. We'll meet you in the church later on, okay?" He reminded me.

"Yeah, thanks. Have fun. See you later." I opened the door and stepped outside.

"Be careful, signorina." Cristiano called out to me as well.

"Thank you Cristiano. I'll see you later." I closed the car door and watched as it started and left, turning on a street corner and disappearing completely from view.

Sighing, I somehow congratulated myself for keeping my cool around John. I almost completely forgot what it was like to talk to him like that. I was too absorbed in trying to obscure my feelings for him that I completely overlooked the fact that we were really good friends before everything got out of hand.

I took out my small map of Venice and hugged my shoulder bag as I started to walk to the market, determined to give myself a reward for my accomplishment. This day was the mark of a new chapter in my life, I was sure of it.

*

By 4:30pm, I had about 10 paper bags around me. Shopping in thrift stores was definitely my guilty pleasure. I went from buying clothes to make-up in a small span of time and soon I was feeling exhausted. My feet we're killing me so I decided to head to the church earlier than the agreed time. Holding the paper bags was a struggle so I opted to stop in front of the church and try to combine some of the paper bags together to make it easier for me. The only bag I separated from the rest was that of the black leather boots I decided to buy for Trish. She was always fond of boots so I knew it'd be perfect for her.

When I was finished, I went inside the cathedral and was immediately struck with awe. The interior of the place was surreal, the walls were gothic and the ceiling was covered with paintings of landscapes and angels. It looked was like it was taken right out of a fantasy book. I dipped my hand in the holy water basin at the side of the entrance and rubbed a cross on my forehead as I walked to the pews. I dropped the paper bags at the side of it before I kneeled and started to pray.

Lord, I don't really know what to tell you right now. I'm sorry for what I did to Trish, there isn't a day or minute or even second that I don't think of it. I'm sorry that I did it, but I'm not sorry for falling in love with John- or staying in love with him. I know you have plans for me, good ones. Please, just give me a sign.

I looked up at the cross in the middle of the altar and felt a sudden burst of energy. It's been a while since I last attended mass because of my busy schedule, so I almost forgot what it felt like to just be inside a church. The kind of serenity and inner peace you get. I closed my eyes and tried to pull the positive energy inside of me, determined to keep it there as long as I could. I opened my eyes and slowly got up, pulling the paper bags up with me. I was surprised that John was sitting right beside me, looking at me intently as he smiled.

"Hey, sorry." I gave a small smile back. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to see how serene you looked." He replied. "What were you thinking?"

I blushed a little as I sat back down beside him. "Just, you know, the things I've done."

"Do you regret it?" I wasn't sure what he was referring to but I was fearful to ask more. He just looked at me as he waited for my answer.

"My dad taught me to never regret things." I looked back at the altar and smiled. "I don't regret anything."

I turned to him and found him staring at me again. It made me a bit self-conscious, the way his eyes seemed to be scanning my whole being. I decided to remain calm and gave him a small smile.

"Are we leaving?"

He sighed and shook his head as he looked down. "The car had to go back to the hotel for Vince. Cristiano said he'd come back for us around 7pm. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I figured you'd not finish early."

"Oh." I took my cellphone out and checked the time. it was already 5 in the afternoon. "Well, it wont hurt to wait for 2 hours, right?"

"Not if you don't mind."

I chuckled a bit as I turned to him. "John, you don't have to be so formal." I stood up and took all of my paper bags. "I don't think we can stay here for two hours, people might not be able to concentrate."

He nodded at me as he stood up, taking some of the paper bags from my hands. "I'll take some of those."

"Wait-" I tried to stop him but obviously, I couldn't do much against him because of his size. He took almost all of the paper bags except for the one with Trish's shoes inside. We both started to walk out of the Cathedral and were greeted by the heat of the almost-setting sun. The view of Venice from where we stood was beyond amazing. I immediately took out my digital camera and snapped some pictures. I've taken about a hundred pictures earlier in the day, the place was too beautiful to resist.

"Stand there." I told John as I pointed to the middle of the square where the pigeons were. As soon as he reached the center of the square, most of the pigeons flew away, startling John. He started to cover himself with the paper bags and I snapped a picture just in time the incident happened. The picture came out to be a great shot.

"Cute!" I exclaimed as I called John over. He came running to me and looked at the picture from the digital camera.

He started laughing. "I look like I have a phobia of pigeons."

"Take my picture." I handed him the digital camera and ran to John's former spot. One pigeon landed on my shoulder, as I stood motionless. A few seconds passed before John took my picture.

I said goodbye to the pigeon as I watched it fly away. John walked to me and handed me the camera.

"You look perfect here." He showed me my picture. I looked like I was actually a friend of the pigeon and it made me laugh.

"The pigeon is terrified. It looks like I would eat him." We were both laughing now. John took out something from his pocket that turned out to be bird feeds.

"I bought some earlier." He explained as he gave me some. We both started feeding the pigeons, laughing and running as we did so. We were both like kids in a playground, taking pictures and scaring pigeons like the tourists that we were. I had no idea how long it took before we finally decided to stop and rest. We sat on a nearby bench while we waited for our heartbeats to slow down. Then I realized I was hungry the moment I heard my stomach grumble.

"Want some hotdogs?" John pointed at the hotdog stand not far from where we were. I nodded and watched as he dropped the paper bags beside me and rushed to the hotdog stand. I was left with the bags and my digital camera, so I just decided to scan through the pictures. We both looked so goofy with the pigeons, I almost forgot what it was like to be this way, like I didn't have a care in the world.

After a while, John arrived with two hotdog sandwiches in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. The other bottle was squeezed in his arm. He sat down, handed me the sandwich and we both began eating silently.

"Want to go for a gondola ride before we leave?" John said after a few minutes.

The word 'gondola' immediately sparked the energy inside of me. I've always wanted to ride that and the idea that I would finally have that chance made me jump up.

"Let's go!" I exclaimed as I devoured my sandwich as fast as I can, not a very feminine thing to do, I know, but I got excited. I pulled him up and urged him.

"Move it! We have to ride before Cristiano arrives!"

"Yeah, yeah, wait!" He was laughing as he stood up and took the bags with him.

The gondolas were parked not far from St. Mark's square, in fact it was just located left of the cathedral. The dock lined up all the boats while the boatmen were waiting for customers. We were almost there when I realized that I'd been holding John's hand the whole time we walked to the location. We were actually holding hand-in-hand like an actual couple that I jumped upon comprehension. I immediately released my grip as we approached a boatman.

"Buona Sera! How may I help you lovebirds?" The boatman greeted us with a cheerful smile.

"Uhh.. we're not really a couple-"

"We'd like a boat ride please." John cut me off before I could further explain myself.

The man nodded at us. "Of Course! My boat is the best in Venice!" He had a thick Italian accent that made me smile. He seemed like he was used to greeting customers in such a lively manner. He ushered us inside his boat and made us sit down on a soft cushion by the floor. John placed the paper bags on one side before he sat down comfortably.

"Sorry about all the things. I couldn't stop myself from buying." I gave him an apologetic smile.

"No, it's fine." He replied as we tried to sit down comfortably. "Maria and Trish would probably get angry if you don't buy them something."

I cringed a bit when I heard John mention Trish. I guess he still does still think about her.

The boatman handed John a single red rose. He pointed at me as smiled at John. "Venice is the city of love, so share it my good friend. L'amore รจ nell'aria."

"I have no idea what he just said, but it sounded beautiful." I whispered as I started to look around.

"Let me take picture!" The boatman spotted my camera and I handed it to him carefully. He urged us to move closer to each other and I felt John put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me a little bit closer. We both smiled as the camera flashed.

"Si! Perfecto!" The boatman exclaimed as handed me back my camera and started preparing the boat for the journey.

"I think this is for you. He told me to share the love." John handed me the rose, as the boat started moving. I stared at it for a while before finally taking it.

"Thanks." I moved away a bit, I didn't like the feeling that was forming at the bottom of my stomach. Maybe riding the gondolas with John wasn't the best idea in the world and unfortunately, I just realized it now. I guess I had too much fun that I seemed to have lost sight of reality for a few hours. Being with John like this was like recreating the past, the time when we could do anything and never feel sorry for it. The time before Trish came to the picture. I don't blame her for anything, it wasn't her fault that she fell for John the same way I did. In fact, I think I should be the one to blame for all the complications, if I didn't feel this way, John and Trish would probably be so happy together.

The gondola continued to move swiftly through the water. The skies were a perfect shade of orange as the sun was setting. The view was the most romantic one I've seen my entire life. The boat turned left towards the inner city, preparing to pass under a bridge.

"You two are together?" The boatman asked as he grinned at us.

I shook my head. "We're friends."

"Ahhh." He nodded. "Us Italians believe that love is from friends. It starts there."

I gave him a small smile back but said nothing.

"Now, we shall test it." He turned to John. "Kiss her."

"What?" John sat up a bit, seemingly alarmed.

"Si. Tradition for rides. Couples kiss when they pass under the bridge. It is Italian tradition!" His words were accented.

"We're not a couple, you know." I tried to explain.

"Non!" He pointed his finger to John and me. "Two people, couple! Si! It is for tradition, not doing means bad luck! Here's the bridge!"

John and I stared at each other as the boat continued on towards the bridge. It was as if we wanted to but we were waiting for the other to make a move. I clenched my fists to stop myself from feeling so nervous.

"Kiss!" The cheerful voice of the man echoed to us and obliged us to follow.

Before I knew it, John's lips were on mine.

I kissed him back, in the same intensity that he had. It was as if we had longed for that moment for a long time, the need and the passion was apparent that it scared me. I could feel his hand at the back of my head, pulling me closer to him. My knees became weak that I almost couldn't feel them anymore. How I've longed for this moment. I've played this over and over in my head for months. It was wrong but it felt so right. Before I completely lost myself in him to the point that couldn't control myself, I pulled away.

"Now! That kiss was not a kiss by friends! Good work!" The boatman commented as I moved away from John.

The boat stopped by the end of the second bridge where a small dock was located. I quickly sat up as the boatman helped me out of the gondola.

"Thank you signorina." He smiled at me.

I smiled back as I stepped onto the dock. 'Thank you."

"Thank you signor. I wish you both well." He said to John who was quick to follow me out to the dock.

"Thank you." He handed him money and bid him goodbye. John got the paper bags as I walked up the flight of stairs to the city grounds. I spotted Cristiano by the end of the street next to the parked car. He seemed to have seen me as well since he waved at me.

"The car's here!" I called to John trying to not catch his eyes. I ran to the car without waiting for him, somehow instead of opening up a new chapter in my life, I ended up revisiting a previous one.