Between Two Mountains - 3. Chapter 3

Cosmo was concentrating. Crouched on the submerged boulder, up to his trunks in sun-warmed seawater, he planned the tricky lateral dive. If he got it wrong, he was apt to break his bones on the next rock down.

At his back, the little town of Atrani encircled a small sandy beach. Between two rugged, tree-crowned crags, an impossibly dense cluster of whitewashed buildings crowded into the foot of the Valle del Dragone, rising out of the terraced contours like crystals in a geode. The coast road swept by on a great stone viaduct, whose grand stone arches loomed over the small central square.

Below the square, the Dragone stream trickled out into open water, becoming one with the great blue expanse of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The beach was dotted with other visitors, slowly bringing the ancient resort back to life.

Cosmo sprang forwards. He was young, and he had judged the dive perfectly. He arced gracefully into the water, missing by inches the submerged boulders that helped to protect the viaduct from the ceaseless action of the waves, and was enveloped by the wonderfully cooling sea.

He swam under the water for a few metres, his hair streaming out behind him like a mermaid’s, then he broke the surface once more. The air was fresh and clean, and he could taste the salt tang of the sea in his mouth. Revelling in a rare moment of joy, he grinned up into the crystal-clear sky.

I wish I could stay out here forever…!

He threw himself backwards and then corkscrewed over to swim back to the shore on his front. Gripping the boulders with his strong hands, he heaved himself, dripping, back out onto the rocks and sat down to let the sun dry his olive skin.

“That’s dangerous, Cosmo. You could end up killing yourself.”

That was Marco, perched on another boulder a couple of metres away in his trunks. For the moment, he seemed quite relaxed, his mousy brown hair wet and awry, the June sun glinting off the droplets of seawater that beaded on his legs and shoulders.

Cosmo smirked. “Yeah, well. At least I’d die happy.”

Marco rolled his eyes. “Why does everything always have to be life or death with you?”

“Because…” Cosmo spread his arms out towards the sky, “…I’m a PASSIONATE MAN!”

That was too much for Marco; he was overcome at once by a fit of embarrassed laughter.

“Could you shout that a little louder?” he managed after a few moments. “I don’t think they heard it in Milan.”

“All right.” Cosmo took a deep breath –

“No… it’s fine!” Marco panted, holding up a hand to stop him. “Once was enough, really!”

He looked around a little nervously, as if he expected to find half the beach staring at them. Cosmo shook his head in sympathy.

You really don’t like to be the centre of attention, do you…?

“What does it matter if they stare, Marco?” Cosmo asked. “You can’t stay invisible forever.”

“Oh, sure,” Marco muttered. “Come and see the mousy gay kid! Your life will never be the same again.”

Cosmo sighed. The way he saw it, Marco was doing himself down. His complexion was a little fairer than your typical Italian kid in the summer, but he was none the worse for it. His skin was free of spots and blemishes, and there wasn’t an ounce of excess weight on him. His facial features, fingers and toes were slender and elfin, and his eyebrows and eyelashes were perfectly formed. Like his friends, he had spent enough time walking and cycling in the hills to have a few light muscles in the right places, and that cool grey gaze of his, when he plucked up the courage to look you in the eye, had a way of boring into your soul. He was a little too young to be Cosmo’s type, but he was sure Marco would make a decent catch… for someone.

“Give yourself a break, kid,” Cosmo grunted. “You’re not that bad.”

Marco’s grey eyes flicked towards him and just as quickly flicked away again, leaving the younger boy looking down at his feet, a dull flush about his cheeks.

“Ah, c’mon, Cosmo,” he grumbled in an unconscious imitation of his friend Daniele. “Cut it out.”

And he’s supposedly getting BETTER at accepting praise…

“I’m just saying… everyone’s got their something, you know?”

Marco eyed him dubiously. “So, what’s yours?”

Cosmo’s words died on his tongue.

I guess you got me there.

“Ah… I dunno, kid,” he managed. “I think it’s meant to be something other people see in you.”

“Sorry,” Marco mumbled. “I didn’t mean to be… you know…”

Cosmo shrugged. “No worries.” He turned and glanced out to sea, watching a few pigeons wheel across the sky as they flew from one side of the little bay to the other. “Vincenzo has something. He has lots of somethings.”

Behind him, he heard Marco sigh. “Yeah, I know.”

“He just makes me feel… I dunno, alive, in a way I hardly ever do.”

Marco spoke again, sounding reluctant, but engaging with the subject all the same. “You’ve liked him for months, right?”

Cosmo nodded, staring out at a small pleasure boat that was tracking along the coast, dazzlingly white in the bright sunlight. “Yeah.”

“So… why not just ask him out, then? What have you got to lose?”

Cosmo glanced over his shoulder, so he could look the other boy in the eyes. “Everything.”

Marco shrugged and glanced back down at his feet. “I guess. But… maybe it’s better just to know.”

In frustration, Cosmo picked up a shard of rock from between two of the boulders and flung it out to sea as hard as he could. As it sank beneath the crystal blue waves, he reflected on what the younger boy had said. A coward could live in hope for years, never risking the pain of rejection to roll the dice for something better. But… in the end…

Maybe it’s better just to know.

* * *

Monday morning found Cosmo waiting outside the front of Da Rossi, in the tiny square outside the ancient church above the valley road. The church doors were shut, but there were baskets of colourful geraniums outside. A couple of skinny feral cats lay in the shade of the baskets, sheltered from the worst of the morning sun, patiently washing their dusty fur.

Cosmo kicked gloomily at the sun-drenched paving stones and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. It was the day of his planned supply run with Fabrizio. He supposed he should be happy to be getting out of town, but he was tired. He hadn’t slept well; preoccupied with thoughts of how he might talk to Vincenzo, he had lain awake for hours, tossing, turning and disturbing Luca, who had eventually hurled a pair of dirty socks at him in frustration. They had hit Cosmo right in the face, giving him a lungful of his brother’s sweaty foot smell. He had eventually dropped off some time after two in the morning, and had practically had to drag himself out of bed when his phone alarm had gone off what felt like only minutes later.

Still, he had remembered to take a shower last night. He had decided to do it every day until he made Vincenzo see him.

Yes, Marco’s words had taken root in his head. For better or for worse, he meant to ask; he meant to know. He just needed to figure out how.

The closed restaurant doors clunked open behind him, and Pietro emerged, clutching a folded sheet of paper in one hand.

“Buongiorno, Cosmo,” he said, clapping an amiable hand on his shoulder. “How are you this fine morning?”

“Sleepy,” Cosmo grunted.

Pietro chuckled. “Show me a teenager who isn’t. Still, you’re here. That’s the main thing.”

“Where’s your cousin?”

Pietro checked his wristwatch. “He should be along in a minute. Have you met Fabrizio before?”

“Don’t think so,” Cosmo replied. “What’s he like?”

“You’ll like him, I hope. He’s my sort of age, and good fun to be around. He was the youngest child and, as the only boy, he was totally spoiled by his mother and his older sisters Rosa and Valentina. You know how it is with youngest children. They never completely grow up.”

“And this man-child is your business partner?” Cosmo asked dubiously.

Pietro laughed. “I don’t mean it in a bad way. We were good friends when we were kids… he was even best man at my wedding.”

“So, you trust him then.”

“Of course.” Pietro chuckled again. “He has a good energy about him. Perfect for charming our suppliers.”

“What are we buying today?”

“Wine, mostly,” Pietro replied. “I’m sending you both to Tramonti.” He passed Cosmo the folded paper. “Here’s a list of the vintners I’d like you to visit. We like to use local producers, as far as we can.”

Before long, they heard the sound of an engine running at a low tickle, and they turned to see a small, rather scratched and scuffed white Fiat Fiorino van reversing slowly through the narrow, crazy-paved street that led in from the valley road.

The feral cats glared suspiciously as the van pulled to a halt in front of them. The driver cut the engine; it ticked and creaked quietly as it settled and cooled; then the door opened and he hopped out to greet them.

If Cosmo hadn’t known better, he would have placed Fabrizio in his late twenties. He looked sort of like a young lion, lean in figure with a mane of full-bodied, curly black hair that hung down to his shoulders. He wore a pair of clean cargo trousers and a respectable white polo shirt with Da Rossi embossed on the breast in black thread. The gold chain of a pendant of some kind shone in the open neck of his polo. The only thing that spoke of his real age was the pair of rimless spectacles that he had perched on his nose. A band of gold glinted on one finger.

So, he’s married. Someone’s managed to pin him down, at least.

“Ciao, boss,” Fabrizio called, leaning over to bump elbows with his cousin.

“Ciao, Fabrizio,” Pietro replied. “How’s Stefania?”

“Much better, thanks. No symptoms for ten days.”

Pietro nodded approvingly. “Glad to have you back on board.”

“And you must be Cosmo,” the new arrival went on, turning to greet him.

“Buongiorno,” Cosmo replied, offering him his hand through force of habit.

Fabrizio looked at it for a moment, then shrugged and gave it a shake. “Piacere.” He moved round to the back of the van, flung the doors open, then started to heave out crates of mineral water; the glass bottles, green for sparkling and clear for still, chinked cheerfully as he deposited them on the paving stones. “I picked these up yesterday,” he told Pietro. “I thought you’d probably be running low by now.”

Pietro’s eyes lit up at the sight of them. “Ah! Perfetto. You’re a life saver, Fabi.”

Once Fabrizio had unloaded his cargo, Pietro produced a sack truck from somewhere in the restaurant and began to take the crates inside. Fabrizio offered to help, but Pietro waved the offer away, and they were free to go.

A minute later, Cosmo was strapped into the passenger seat and off they went. It was comfortable enough, and the van had air conditioning, but on balance he had to say that he preferred Vincenzo’s Ferrari.

They swept through the main road tunnel and soon they were following the sun-drenched Naples road, which wound around the seaward side of the mountain ridge on which Ravello stood. Whitewashed villas tumbled down the terraced slopes on the way down to the bright blue sea.

After a while, they began to leave the town behind them as the road traversed the side of the deep, verdant Sambuco valley. Now, they were surrounded by silver cliffs and wild scrub. Across the valley was an undulating, tree-crowned ridge seemingly untouched by civilisation.

Cosmo looked critically at the young man sitting next to him. It was difficult not to see him as a young man, somehow, even though he must be in his mid-thirties at least.

“What’s your secret?” Cosmo asked.

“To what?” Fabrizio countered with a smile.

“Still looking so young.”

Fabrizio chuckled. “Few responsibilities. I let Pietro and Anna do the worrying. Plus,” he ran a hand over his smooth cheeks and jawline, “an impeccable grooming regime.” He flashed Cosmo a teasing look. “I moisturise, you see.”

Cosmo snorted. “Yeah, as if.”

He decided he liked this young man. Not in the way he liked Vincenzo, but in the way you could be drawn to someone who didn’t seem to take things too seriously… who somehow managed to maintain a refreshing, light-hearted attitude to life.

He’s not an energy sucker like me.

“How long have you been married?”

Fabrizio raised an eyebrow in surprise. “You noticed my ring? That’s some sharp eyes you’ve got there, Cosmo.”

Cosmo shrugged. “I guess.”

I can’t help it if I check out every guy I meet. I’m just wired that way.

But the young man next to him didn’t need to know it.

“Stefania and I have been together for a couple of years,” Fabrizio went on. “She caught pregnant a couple of months ago. Anyone would think we didn’t have enough to do during lockdown.” He laughed ruefully. “I guess my free and easy life is on borrowed time now, but my mother and sisters are thrilled. Rosa says it’s high time someone in the Rossi family started producing children.”

“How did you meet?”

Fabrizio seemed completely unfazed by his interrogation. “Actually, she’s the daughter of one of the vintners we’re going to visit today. I met her on a supply run just like this one. She crept up on me to give me some paperwork while I was loading a crate of wine into the back of my van – I had no idea she was there.” He twisted his mouth ironically. “I was so impressed when I saw her that I dropped the crate right on my big toe.”

Cosmo gaped. “Ah… ouch?”

Fabrizio laughed. “Oh, yes, it hurt… but there were compensations. A few minutes later, she had my foot up on her lap and she was bathing it with a muslin cloth filled with ice.” He sighed theatrically. “It was terrible.”

Cosmo gave a reluctant snicker. “It sounds it.”

Fabrizio gave him a sideways glance. “What about you? You seem very interested in my love life. Does that mean you’ve got your eye on someone?”

Oh… he DID notice…

“I was, ah… just thinking… if you’ve only been with Stefania for a couple of years, maybe you’ve had some practice at asking people out?”

This time, Fabrizio raised both his eyebrows. “Are you calling me a player, Cosmo?”

Cosmo blanched. “No!” he said hastily. “I just mean… you seem like a fun guy, and maybe…”

But the young man next to him was beginning to smirk, and Cosmo realised he was just being messed with.

“Ah, Jesus…” he mumbled, flushing dully.

“Look,” Fabrizio went on, “it’s not like there’s any great science to it. If you like someone and you think there’s a chance that they might like you, you’ve just got to grit your teeth and go for it. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“They say no and my life is over,” Cosmo replied dully.

Fabrizio chuckled. “Right, how could I forget? But honestly, you must be in with a chance. You’re in good shape, you’re obviously not stupid, and you’ve got those vivid green eyes going on… whoever this girl is, I’m sure she won’t be able to resist you. And, if you really feel you need a bit of extra help…” he winked, “…you can add a little gift. Maybe some flowers, some chocolates, a bottle of her favourite perfume…?”

Cosmo sighed inwardly.

Of COURSE you assume it’s a girl.

Still, the young man had meant well. He couldn’t really fault him for that.

“Thanks, man,” he murmured.

* * *

Tramonti turned out to be a deep valley in the heart of the mountains where there were several linked villages. They had climbed steadily since leaving Ravello and, instead of the olive groves and steeply terraced lemon orchards of the coast, the rolling landscape bristled with chestnut trees and bracken.

In the depths of the valley, where the woods had been cleared, grape vines carpeted all but the steepest, rockiest spaces. Cosmo and Fabrizio did the rounds of the local producers, and Fabrizio always seemed to know the right thing to say – to ask after a family member or a business venture, as if he were catching up with a good friend over a morning cappuccino. In this way, he always seemed to come away with a generous supply of wine at a better price than was advertised.

Cosmo had to admit to a certain reluctant admiration for his companion. Fabrizio was clearly a people person. If only he, Cosmo, could have had half his natural talent… it would probably have made his recalcitrant brother much easier to deal with, not to mention the frightening task that now stood before him.

Asking out Vincenzo…

He had decided to put an end to the waiting this very night. With a bit of luck, he might have a boyfriend by tomorrow.

And then what…? We move in together? Seriously, how likely is that?

But perhaps anything that offered even the slightest chance of change to his aimless life was worth a try. And Fabrizio’s well-meaning, but ultimately useless advice? Well, he’d take from that what he could. Maybe a small gift wouldn’t hurt.

The way Fabrizio had taken time to notice and remember things about the vintners they visited had also not been lost on Cosmo.

When’s the last time I asked Vincenzo anything meaningful about his life? I don’t know what his hopes and dreams are, or what really makes him tick… apart from fast cars. Been too busy fancying the pants off him to think. I’ve got to get better at this.

After what felt like a very long morning, they returned to the restaurant and delivered the first crate of wine into a grateful Pietro’s arms. He led the way to the wine cellar, then Cosmo and Fabrizio handled the rest of the delivery themselves so their host could return to the lunchtime service. They tracked in and out of the restaurant carrying the crates of wine, attracting barely a glance from the diners who were enjoying their meals.

That’s my proper place, right? The invisible man.

When Fabrizio took his leave, Cosmo thanked him for his time and told him he’d enjoyed the morning… which, in a strange sort of way, he had. Being out on the road and seeing new places and people hadn’t been so bad. It gave him pause for thought: maybe there was a future for him in this sort of work, after all?

Pietro sent Cosmo on his way for the day with a friendly clap on the shoulder and, as an extra thank you for his efforts, a takeaway lunch of freshly made spaghetti alla carbonara to enjoy at his leisure.

The heat of the day was approaching its afternoon zenith. Cosmo made the short walk to the square and sank down onto a bench in the welcome shade of the umbrella pines with the cardboard street food box in his lap. To the soporific song of the cicadas and the cooing of the pigeons, he tucked into the warm and savoury meal.

Marta Rossi and her kitchen crew had done their usual annoyingly excellent job. The pancetta was crisped to perfection, and the pasta glistened with just the right amount of perfectly set egg and parmigiano cheese. There was no alien cream, and no drab, dried out omelette at the bottom of the box.

Cosmo sighed. Well, if he could find nothing to criticise, he supposed he had no choice but to enjoy it.

He made short work of his meal, twirling the pasta round his fork with accustomed skill, idly people-watching between mouthfuls. He blinked and did a double-take as he saw a family with two teenage daughters walking across the square; with fair skin and light hair, rucksacks on their backs, sun hats on their heads and cameras around their necks, they stood out in sharp contrast to the gregarious locals who were catching up over drinks at the bars.

Tourists. Actual foreign tourists!

The two girls had caught sight of him. One of them whispered something in the other’s ear, and she giggled. Cosmo gave them an intentionally blank sort of look, just shy of hostile; the smiles on their faces faltered, and they turned away.

Go find someone else to titter about.

Maybe once he would have played along, but not now. He was committed to another course of action entirely… and it was time to bring his closest thing to a best friend into the loop.

Setting his empty carton aside, he pulled out his phone to text Marco.

‘I’m doing it. I’m going to ask Vincenzo out. Tonight!’

There was a pause, then three telltale dots appeared on the screen to indicate that the other boy was typing. After a few moments, they disappeared again.

Cosmo frowned, wondering what Marco was up to. He was about to text again, when the three dots reappeared, and the other boy’s reply finally came through.

‘Good luck,’ was all it said.

Cosmo exhaled, feeling a little deflated. He had hoped for a more excited reaction.

‘U ok?’ he wrote.

‘Yeah,’ the other boy replied. ‘Just out with Giaco and Dani. Talk later.’

Cosmo rose from his bench, scrunched up his food box and took it to the nearest rubbish bin. It was time to go in search of a gift for Vincenzo.

* * *

As darkness finally began to fall that night, Cosmo waited anxiously in the courtyard outside the small house in Monte. He sat at a small round table in the warm glow of the outside lamp, surrounded by the glossy leaves of a climber that rambled up the courtyard walls; the best gesture Luisa and Mario could make to their non-existent garden. This late in the evening, the cicadas had finally stopped scraping, and all was quiet save for the occasional chirp of a cricket and the faint, tinny sound of a television drifting out through an open window in one of the surrounding houses.

Cosmo reached for his phone and checked the time for the third time in as many minutes. Half past ten: Vincenzo should be appearing on his terrace any minute now. He wasn’t sure why he’d asked the older boy to meet him so late. Perhaps, subconsciously, he’d thought it would be easier, or more romantic somehow, to ask him out at night.

You know you’re crazy, right? He’s never going to want you.

Cosmo stamped on the rebellious thought. This wasn’t the time for self-doubt: it was all or nothing, now.

I think it’s POSSIBLE he might like me. He didn’t have to keep hanging out with me after the lockdown ended. And… just look at our day out in Sorrento!

When he had texted Vincenzo to invite him for a night walk, he had received a willing, if slightly nonplussed, response. He looked at it again now.

‘Not normally my sort of thing, but why not? U never no, might be cool. XD’

And, moments later:

‘Anyway I always was a creature of the night, lol.’

Cosmo reached into his right pocket to check on the gift that presently resided there: safely wrapped in tissue paper, it seemed intact.

Choosing a present had been tough. In a high street that catered mainly for tourist souvenirs and daily necessities, what could you really expect to find for an eighteen-year-old boy with a love of fast cars? Vincenzo would hardly be interested in chilli oil, lemon soap or lame Amalfi Coast branded clothing.

He had eventually ended up in one of Ravello’s many ceramics shops, where he had purchased a small, hand-glazed keepsake bowl with a standard local motif of olives and lemons. He wasn’t really satisfied with it, but he thought maybe the older boy could keep his car keys in it, or something. Either way, it was the thought that counted, and at least it would remind Vincenzo of him.

Now Cosmo slipped a hand into his left pocket and pulled out the ceramic thimble that he carried there. Like the bowl, it was glazed in a cheerful colour scheme of white, yellow and green, with two tiny lemons roughed out around the sides. He wasn’t sure what, exactly, had possessed him to slip it into his pocket while the shopkeeper’s back was turned. It sort of felt like a talisman… but it seemed unlikely that a stolen charm would bring him any good luck.

I took a risk to get it, and it went okay. Maybe it’s a good sign. Maybe the same thing will happen tonight.

He played with the thimble, liking the way it felt to pop his thumb inside and pull it out again, but then he heard the terrace door open, and he shoved it hastily back into his shorts.

Vincenzo stepped out onto the terrace and leaned on the railings, and for a moment Cosmo’s breath caught in his throat.

Dio, he’s HOT…

The young man was dressed in a relaxed fashion, with a button-up t-shirt artfully undone about his chest to reveal just the right amount of muscle, and a soft cardigan that stopped him looking too harsh. The highlights in his hair, which he had freshly washed and casually thrown back, glinted in the warm glow from Cosmo’s outside light. He had just the right amount of stubble, enough to make him look mature without being untidy.

Once again, Cosmo felt inadequate… but at least he had picked his best polo shirt, and washed and brushed his own untidy hair. It was such a warm night that he didn’t need any more layers than that.

“Ciao, Cos.” Vincenzo grinned. “Are you ready for our big adventure?”

Cosmo nodded fervently. “You bet!” he blurted out. “I mean… ciao, Vincenzo.”

The older boy chuckled. “Cool. I’ll meet you outside.”

Vincenzo vanished back inside. Heart beating nervously, Cosmo let himself through the arched wooden door that led out into the street.

Play it COOL, Cosmo. He’s not going to be impressed if you come across like some desperate, geeky kid.

Vincenzo’s villa had its own gate leading out onto the mountain road, but Cosmo’s house only had access to the steep, narrow, pedestrian stairway that led down towards town. He stepped out into the ‘street’ now, the gritty sound of his trainers on the crazy paving echoing off the high stone retaining wall opposite and waited for the other boy to appear.

Vincenzo arrived a few moments later, jogging down the stairway from just below the road, his footsteps also reverberating in the enclosed space. At once, he took Cosmo by the upper arm and leaned in as if to share some great secret. Cosmo stayed as still as he could, trying not to let his body language betray his rapidly quickening heartbeat.

“Say, did you see the girl who was hanging around here earlier?” Vincenzo whispered. “She was totally giving me the eye.”

Cosmo’s heart plummeted slightly. “No…” he replied uncertainly.

Vincenzo snickered. “Too bad for her, though. Emo chicks so aren’t my type.”

Cosmo found he could breathe again.

“Good,” he replied, smiling before he could stop himself. “Ah, I mean… you can do better.”

Vincenzo fetched him a gentle punch on the arm. “Too right.”

They began the long descent towards town, winding between small villas, stone walls and terraced gardens. Compared to the fancy streets around the centre of town, the homes were simple, scruffy even, but every so often the path opened out onto the view down the valley towards the sea: at this hour, a dark chasm flecked with strings of golden lights, leading to a distant, indigo blanket.

“What do they call this street, again?” Vincenzo asked.

“Salita Monte,” Cosmo replied distractedly. He was too busy figuring out his plan of attack to reflect too hard on the other boy’s unawareness of his surroundings.

Vincenzo snorted. “Figures.”

“I guess you usually drive, huh?” Cosmo said dully.

Vincenzo grinned. “Absolutely. Who wants to spend their lives walking up and down these stairs like a dope?”

Cosmo gave him a sideways glance. “Some of us don’t have a choice,” he observed.

Vincenzo had the good grace to look a little embarrassed. “Oh, right. Heh.”

Damn it… even his BLUSHES are cute.

Cosmo paused at the outer wall and took a deep breath of the clean mountain air, fumbling for the gift in his pocket once again. The tension was killing him… but some lines were difficult to cross, weren’t they? Maybe… when they got to somewhere a bit further away from everyone else…

“You okay, Cos?” Vincenzo asked, placing a hand on Cosmo’s shoulder with every appearance of genuine concern.

Oh, Jesus…

“I’m, ah… I’m fine,” Cosmo stammered, glancing over his shoulder and finding himself disconcertingly close to the older boy’s eyes. They drew him in like depthless black pools in the gathering gloom. “Stuff on my mind, you know.”

“I hear you.” Vincenzo smiled slightly. “I bet it’s a love thing, isn’t it?”

Cosmo flushed at once. Hoping it didn’t show in the darkness, he nodded. “Ah… how can you tell?”

“I can tell because I’ve felt it myself,” Vincenzo half-whispered. “There’s someone I’ve been crushing on, too…” he ran a hand distractedly through his hair, as if made vulnerable by his admission; it fell back into place quite effortlessly and looked just as perfect as before. “I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to tell them.”

Cosmo felt his heartbeat quicken again.

Does he mean ME…?

“Who’s your crush, Cos?” Vincenzo went on gently. “Wanna tell me?”

Cosmo floundered. “Maybe in a bit. I’m… ah… working my way up to it.”

Vincenzo nodded. “Check. Talking about this stuff isn’t easy, is it?”

Cosmo shook his head. “No… it isn’t…”

Vincenzo fetched him another punch on the arm. “So… what are we standing around here for?” he laughed. “Let’s get going, kid.”

Cosmo laughed awkwardly and they set off down the steps at a slightly faster pace, Cosmo’s heart beginning to kindle with a strange, fragile feeling.

Was it… hope? There hadn’t been much of that in Cosmo city, lately.

They crossed a little branch of the mountain road, and then they were on an even steeper section of stairway which led down into the hillside community of San Martino, a quiet spur of Ravello that shadowed the Naples road.

Joking and larking about a little, they made the final descent and touched down on the main street through the suburb, a narrow alleyway lined with densely packed, tatty but well-loved houses. After a moment’s thought, Cosmo turned left, away from town and towards the wilds of the Sambuco valley. Vincenzo followed without complaint.

It was dark in the lane, but modern, semi-decorative streetlights cast pools of cool white light every few metres. As they flitted from light to light, Cosmo’s other senses felt heightened by the darkness; his nostrils were full of the earthy aromas of soil, damp concrete and stone dust. Every so often, another cricket chirped among the terraced gardens above them. Cosmo’s heart was in his mouth; they were nearly out of road, and what would happen if they got out to the darkness of the valley and he still hadn’t plucked up the courage to talk?

Soon they had reached the end of the line: the town cemetery, where a small church looked out over the junction with the Naples road. Below them, three rows of raised stone tombs nestled within the junction. Small lights glimmered in front of them, casting a flickering orange glow on the statues and floral tributes, which looked shadowy and faintly sinister in the gloom. Cosmo came to a halt against the stone boundary wall, looking out into the darkened valley beyond. At the distant foot of the valley, the small seaside town of Minori stood out in sharp contrast, a cluster of glittering lights at the water’s edge.

Vincenzo leaned on the wall next to him, unperturbed, for now, to have come to a halt again. His cardigan was hanging a little crooked at one side, and Cosmo had to fight the urge to reach across and straighten it.

To be able to touch the other boy like that… it was such a frightening, but enticing, prospect.

He drummed his fingers on the wall for a moment, trying to find a conversational gambit, but Vincenzo saved him the trouble.

“Where would you like to be, five years from now?” he asked.

The question was almost like a gift. Cosmo knew he could work with it… somehow…

He ventured a smile. “Anywhere but here.”

Vincenzo let out a hearty bark of laughter. “Totally. There’s a whole world out there, you know?”

Cosmo nodded. “Only… I sort of don’t mind where I end up, as long as I’m with… the right person…”

He gave the older boy a searching look, waiting to see if he would take the hint. Vincenzo nodded thoughtfully.

“That sounds sort of wise,” he murmured. “You know… for a kid…”

Cosmo cringed slightly.

That nickname AGAIN…

Going for broke, he fished the gift out of his pocket and held it out to the other boy.

“Vincenzo, I…” he mumbled, “I bought something for you.”

“What’s this?” Vincenzo asked, looking slightly confused. Taking the gift from Cosmo’s outstretched hand, he carefully removed the wrappings. The tissue paper fluttered to the ground as he held the little bowl up in the light of the last of the streetlamps.

“I just thought…” Cosmo said lamely, “for your car keys, or something.”

Vincenzo nodded. “That’s cool of you, Cos. What did I do to deserve this?”

Cosmo sensed the other boy was being polite, rather than genuinely impressed, but he was already fully committed. If he didn’t make his move now, he never would.

Glancing around first to make sure there was nobody else in sight, he leaned forwards and planted his lips gently on the other boy’s own.

For a fleeting second, his heart began to expand with joy, but then something shoved him hard in the chest and he was falling. Flailing his arms as he went down, his head caught a glancing blow against the stone wall and he saw stars for a moment.

“What are you doing, you freak?” Vincenzo shouted, spitting and wiping his lips in disgust. “I… Jesus!”

“I’m sorry…” Cosmo mumbled, rubbing at the sore place on the side of his head. “I was just trying to… trying to…”

“As me out…?” Vincenzo exclaimed. “You mean, this was…” he looked at the small ceramic bowl in his hand. “Some kind of love gift? Well, you can forget about that.”

He punctuated ‘that’ by hurling the bowl at the retaining wall. Cosmo watched through dazed eyes as it shattered into three or four pieces, tinkling down onto the concrete below.

“You said… you said you had a crush…”

“Not on you, numbnuts. A girl!” Vincenzo ran both hands roughly through his hair. “She works on the ferries at Amalfi. She’s clever, she’s gorgeous and, most of all, she doesn’t have a fucking cock!” He cursed again, kicking furiously at one of the fragments of colourful pottery, which flew down the street with a pathetic skittering sound. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go and hang with some people who aren’t perverts.”

He turned and stormed back along the lane. As he left, Cosmo’s rattled brain finally made a connection.

“Hey,” he called. “This girl…? Does she have bouncy, shoulder-length hair and glasses?”

Vincenzo paused, glancing suspiciously over his shoulder.

“Yeah. What of it?”

Cosmo snorted. “She’ll never fucking take you, you homophobic prick.”

“Like you’d know,” Vincenzo retorted. “Don’t contact me again, Cosmo.”

And then he was gone, nothing more than a retreating shadow in the gloom.

Left alone with only his thoughts, Cosmo’s momentary bravado melted away. Vincenzo hadn’t even cared enough to ask if he was hurt.

Suddenly, he felt hot tears well to his eyes. He wiped them away in miserable shame. He hadn’t cried in years… and now here he was, sobbing his heart out over some…

Luca’s words, echoing in his memory:

…some meathead.

Cosmo dragged himself to his feet, pulling himself up by the wall. His head swam for a moment, and he staggered, clutching the old stonework for support.

As he regained his balance, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from Marco.

‘How did it go?’

‘Fucking shit,’ Cosmo replied.

There was a pause.

‘I’m sorry.’

Cosmo sighed raggedly and shoved the phone back into his pocket. It was time to face the long climb home.

* * *

It was slow going at first. Cosmo trailed gradually along the darkened lane, keeping one hand on the retaining wall in case his balance should fail again, but his vision seemed to be clearing.

By the time he turned back up the steep mountain stairway, he was walking unaided, but every tall step seemed to make the pounding in his head worse, and soon he was weeping again from a combination of the pain and humiliation.

I should have known. Who on Earth would want ME, stupid, greasy Cosmo Neri, damaged goods from everywhere and nowhere.

At the road crossing he paused, rubbing miserably at the sore place on his head. His strength was failing, and he felt sweaty and soiled. What were Luisa and Mario going to say when they saw the state he had got himself into?

Wearily, he forced himself to make the final climb, heedless of the view down over the valley, dragging himself around the last couple of corners.

At last, home was in sight, and for once he was glad to see it. But… something wasn’t right.

There was the faint suggestion of a figure, lurking just out of sight beyond the pool of light cast by the nearest streetlamp. Cosmo peered into the darkness. Dimly, he saw a glowing ember and a hand holding what might have been a cigarette, and then he caught a familiar aroma on the air… something that definitely wasn’t just tobacco.

Cosmo rubbed his eyes to clear them once more, just as the figure stepped forward into the light. The girl was tall, with long, lank hair that hung down to either side of a sallow face. Her dark eyes were accented with black eyeliner, and her mouth was a thin scar of dark lipstick.

Elisabetta smiled a slow, smirking sort of smile. When she spoke, her voice was husky and thick with black humour.

“Hey, there, boyfriend.”

His arms hanging limply by his sides, Cosmo stopped on the darkened stairway…

…and stared.