In a Heartbeat (Heartbeat #1) (15 page)

If one thing became clear last night, it was that Max didn’t have any intention of leaving Stella alone. He wanted her and he was coming after her. Sooner or later she was going to crack. Again – as she’d done last night. But next time there might not be a phone call to interrupt them.

The only thing she could do was stay away from him, even as a friend. But how was she supposed to do that? He was a permanent feature in Lisa’s life. There was no way she could avoid him for the next eight weeks.

And frankly, she didn’t want to. Max was great and she couldn’t wait to spend more time with him and get to know him better.

The hell with reality.

When Stella came downstairs, Lisa and Niki were already in the kitchen, making coffee and delicious-smelling food.

“Hi guys. You’re up early.”

“Early? It’s 11 a.m.,” said Niki and, walking over to Stella, gave her a peck on the cheek. “Late night last night?”

“Yeah. Sorry about that, Lis. I should have called, but I guess I lost track of time.”

Max had driven her home right after Lisa had called, but they’d stayed in the car and talked for a while. Neither of them had wanted to leave their cosy little bubble. They hadn’t touched any of the ‘minefield’ topics, but instead had talked about music and films and food and childhood memories. It turned out that they had a lot in common – they liked the same kind of films and listened to the same bands. Apparently, after Stella had admitted she liked 80s and 90s rock, Max had beamed and said that he loved it, too. He’d quickly found an Aerosmith CD and they’d sang ‘Crazy’ at the top of their lungs together. Then he’d confiscated Stella’s iPod and scrolled through her playlists.

“Have you got a split personality or something?” he’d asked, after he’d rummaged through her music collection.

“What? Why?” She’d tried to grab back her iPod, but he moved his hand away too quickly.

“Green Day, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Linkin Park and 30 Seconds to Mars should never be on the same device as Rihanna, Destiny’s Child and Lady Gaga,” he’d said, still scrolling through.

“I like having different kinds of music depending on my mood.”

“Seriously? You have Zero Assoluto and Paolo Nutini?” He’d looked at her incredulously.

“Well, yeah. I was trying to get my Italian back on track and I find it much easier to study a language through music.”

“And what the hell is Framing Hanley?”

“It’s a really great band. You’ll like it.”

They had listened to Stella’s favourite Framing Hanley songs after she’d managed to wrestle her iPod from Max’s hands, before he found anything else to make fun of. She’d been right – he did love them. By the time Stella had finally dragged herself away from Max, Lisa had long gone to bed. Stella had crept up the stairs and gone to her bedroom as quietly as possible.

Lisa didn’t look too happy with her right now. Stella realised she wouldn’t have traded the time she’d spent with Max for anything, let alone her cousin’s approval.

“It’s fine, Stella. You told me you were with Max, so I knew you’d be safe. That’s why I went to bed and didn’t wait for you.” Stella would have bet that Lisa’s concern wasn’t just for her safety – especially from the way she’d said it – but she couldn’t care less. At the moment all she wanted to do was have fun and forget about everything. She’d deal with life in eight weeks’ time.

Niki put some pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, jam, salami and butter on the table and motioned for them to sit down. Lisa brought the coffee and suddenly they all seemed happy and content as they tucked in to their food.

“I have news,” said Niki, after waiting for everyone to get some food. Both girls looked at her expectantly. She beamed and said, “I talked to Helen last night.”

“Oh my god! Really? How did it go?” Stella was so excited. She had hoped Niki would make the first step and call her mum, but she honestly wasn’t sure if she’d ever do it. Lisa smiled and looked at her mother with interest.

“It was a bit awkward at first, I guess. But then it was as if we’d never lost touch! We spoke for about an hour and it felt ... right.” Thinking about it, Niki did look glowing this morning, as if a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders.

“I’m so happy for you, Mum.” Lisa stood up and gave Niki a peck on the cheek as she made her way to the counter and refilled her coffee.

“I have to call my mum before we go”, said Stella. “I bet she’s very excited as well.”

“Where are you going?” asked Lisa as she came back to the table.

“Not me – we. We’re going to the match, remember?” Judging by the confused look on Lisa’s face, she didn’t. “Genoa vs Sampdoria, the charity game? Beppe told us about it on Monday.”

“Oh, right. I’d completely forgotten about that.”

“You’re still coming, right?”

“Yeah.” Lisa shrugged as if she’d come only because she didn’t have anything better planned.

“You OK?” asked Stella, because her cousin seemed to have been acting strangely all morning, and it wasn’t just because of her coming home late last night.

“I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“You wanna talk about it?”

“Maybe later. We have to get ready.” She gave Stella a reassuring smile, as if to show that she wasn’t the reason for her crappy mood and, taking her coffee cup with her, climbed up the stairs to her room.

“What’s up with her?” Stella asked her aunt.

“Don’t know. She hasn’t told me anything. When I got home last night she was in her studio and didn’t come out until I went to bed. Maybe she’s in some kind of artist mood. It’s happened before.”

Stella nodded, accepting her aunt’s explanation because she didn’t seem worried. They were very close, so if Niki was sure Lisa was OK, then she must be.

“So, Lisa tells me you’ve spent a lot of time with Max.” Niki smiled cheekily at her and Stella blushed.

“Yeah, he’s great. Don’t look at me like that; we’re friends.”

“Riiiight.” Her aunt laughed. “You know you can always talk to me about anything, right? I’m here for you, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Aunt Niki. I know.”

“Good. I have to go now, but I hope we can all be here for dinner, no? I miss you guys.”

She gave Stella a kiss and walked out of the front door, heading to work.

Smiling, Stella went up to her room to get ready. Just as she closed the door, she heard her phone vibrate on her nightstand.

It was a text.

Max: Are you wearing my shirt yet?

Stella grinned and typed back.

Stella: Just about to.

Almost instantly she got a reply.

Max: So you’re not wearing anything right now?

That made her laugh, but it also turned her on. She imagined him still in bed, in his boxer shorts, propped on his elbow and typing on his phone.

Stella: Are you?

Where did that come from? She wasn’t supposed to encourage his flirting now, was she? But it was so damn hard to resist.

Max: A little. But it’s easily removable. Just say the word.

Stella: Keep your pants on, big guy. Or we’ll be late for the match.

Max: Spoilsport.

Stella shook her head and, smiling, went into the bathroom to take a shower.

Half an hour later she was almost ready. Her hair was freshly washed, but she couldn’t be bothered to blow-dry and style it, so she just put it up in a ponytail and tied a blue-and-red ribbon around it to match the club’s colours. Her make-up was minimal – just some mascara and lip gloss. It was time to decide what to do about Max’s shirt.

It was huge. When she first put it on, it reached her knees and the sleeves covered two-thirds of her arms. Oh, and there was space for two more people inside it as well. On the plus side, it smelled wonderful. It was freshly washed, but Max’s scent still lingered on it. The moment Stella put it on it felt as though he was right there next to her.

Right. Back to styling the shirt.

Only one appropriate thing came to mind – leggings and a belt. Stella had a dark blue pair of leggings which came down to just under her knees. She usually used them for yoga, but they’d do perfectly for this occasion because the shirt was half red, half dark blue. Rummaging through her accessories drawer in the wardrobe, Stella found a skinny red belt which she tied around her waist in a messy knot.

There. It looked as though she had a football
dress
on, but it was still casual and, she thought, original. Lastly, she put her trainers on and was out of the bedroom door just as the front doorbell rang.

“Lisa, are you ready?” she called as she passed her room on her way to get the door.

“Coming,” Lisa shouted back.

Swinging the front door open, Stella stood face to face with Beppe and Gia, who were both grinning.

“You’re such an idiot,” Gia told him in Italian, as she removed his hand from her shoulders and walked in, kissing Stella on both cheeks. “Wow, you look adorable!”

“Yeah – I wouldn’t use the same word, though,” said Beppe, as he winked at her and hugged her, kissing her cheeks as well.

As Beppe walked in too, Stella saw Max coming along behind. He was wearing a Genoa shirt as well, but his was the away one – white with two blue-and-red stripes at the front. The other difference was that his actually fitted him.

“
Ciao, tesoro
,” he said as he leaned in to kiss her cheeks. “And here I thought you couldn’t make my shirt look sexy,” he whispered in her ear, making her heart rate speed up.

“Glad you like it. I wouldn’t dream of disgracing your shirt.”

“Disgracing? Are you kidding me? I’m never washing it again.”

“Uh, gross,” Stella scrunched up her nose and laughed.

They left Max’s car in front of Lisa’s house, because Luigi Feraris stadium – or the Marassi, as it was known – was right bang in the middle of the city and there was no parking. They took the bus to the railway station and from there they took one of the buses provided especially for fans going to the stadium.

The atmosphere in the city was electric. People dressed in the two teams’ colours were walking everywhere, singing, laughing and flying flags. Stella couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. It was exactly as she had imagined this historic derby would be!

Max had been holding Stella’s hand ever since they’d left her house. It had provoked a judgemental look from Lisa and a few cheeky ones from Beppe and Gia, but soon nobody cared. Even Lisa’s mood perked up as they reached the station and climbed into the special bus. It was as if everybody knew one another – people stopped and talked to each other and it didn’t really matter which team colours they wore. A cute guy in a Genoa shirt complimented Stella on her outfit and would have probably flirted a bit if Max hadn’t pulled her close and shot a menacing look in his direction. Stella laughed and shook her head. In other circumstances she would have probably been annoyed, but today was such a good day that she couldn’t find it in herself. Then she noticed another guy, in a Sampdoria T-shirt, talking to Lisa and just before they got off the bus he slipper her his number, which she tucked in her back jeans pocket with a smile.

The bus stopped right in front of the stadium and they headed inside, with Beppe moaning for the hundredth time that they’d be sitting in
Tribuna Centrale
instead of
Gradinata Sud
, where all self-respecting Sampdoria fans were. Max had insisted that he’d never set foot in
Gradinata Sud
, because all Genoa fans were in
Gradinata Nord
. So
Tribunata Centrale
had been the compromise when they’d been buying the tickets. Even though they had known where they were going to sit weeks in advance, the moaning didn’t stop right up until they took their seats and the girls threatened them to shut them up.

The stadium was full to the brim. Stella couldn’t see an unoccupied seat anywhere. The place was alive with so much energy that the floor was vibrating under her feet. All thirty-five thousand people here had football in their veins. They’d probably been spoon-fed with love for one club or the other since they were babies. And it showed.

Stella took the seat next to the steps and Max sat next to her, still holding her hand. He was buzzing with anticipation. His eyes were bright and he never lost the smile on his face. Beppe sat between Lisa and Gia and immediately started teasing them, grinning widely as they teased him back. He didn’t even notice how the women around them stared at him, but it wasn’t because he wasn’t aware of how attractive he was. Stella thought it had more to do with Gia – when she was around, Beppe didn’t have eyes for anyone else.

“You OK?” Max asked, leaning towards Stella. She had been lost in thought for a minute and imagined it showed on her face.

“Yeah. I’m great. I can’t believe I’m here, at the Marassi. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be right now,” she grinned at him and meant every word.

“Even though that’s near the top of my list, I can think of a couple of other places I’d rather be right now,” whispered Max in her ear, and very softly bit her earlobe. It was so gentle that for a second Stella thought she’d imagined it, but the stirring in her belly confirmed it.

Just then, the stadium erupted as the two teams came out to warm up on the field. Stella was on her feet too, trying to get a better look. As she did so, what she saw didn’t please her. Rico and that girl Antonia – the one who’d kissed Max at the club – along with a group of other people were climbing the stairs in their direction. Rico was talking to another guy in front, while Antonia was holding someone’s hand and laughing at something he’d said.