The Summer of the Selfless - 7. Chapter 7

Daniele was dreaming.

He was back at the Fontana Carosa with Giacomo, standing in front of the little shrine, surrounded by peace and nature and golden sunlight. The other boy was drawing closer and, yes, they were really going to kiss again! He wondered if it would feel as good as it had the first time…

…but suddenly he was standing on the lower path, looking up helplessly as Giacomo leaned in to kiss Laura instead…

“Wait!” he cried in dismay, but the other boy took no notice; he only had eyes for his new partner.

“I told you so,” said another quiet voice.

It was Marco, standing beside him with his hands in his pockets, wearing an expression that was sympathetic, but ultimately no help at all.

“Told me what?” Daniele asked. “I don’t understand.”

But he looked up, then, because a sinister metallic click told him that danger was nearby, very real and very present.

Cosmo – or, at least, the strong-looking, green-eyed boy that Daniele imagined him to be – was standing a few metres away from Giacomo and Laura, staring at them down the sights of a pistol while Luca tugged ineffectually at his other arm, trying to pull him away.

Emilia took Laura by the hand and led her to safety while Cosmo levelled the weapon at Giacomo, who was totally exposed and unprotected, his dark eyes wide and fearful.

“No!” Daniele croaked, trying to scramble up the grassy bank, but it was too slippery somehow, and he couldn’t make any headway. As he watched, helpless to intervene, Cosmo squeezed the trigger…

And, safe in his bed at home, Daniele woke up with a ragged and quickly stifled cry.

Daniele kicked himself free of his bedcovers and sat up, hugging his knees, glancing around his room to try to anchor himself back in the real world.

Judging by the thin filaments of sunlight creeping through the cracks in his shutters, it was morning. Straining his ears, he thought he could pick out the sounds of his parents moving around in the kitchen and talking quietly. It seemed like he had overslept a little.

Daniele rolled out of bed and threw open the shutters and the windows, letting the dazzling summer sunlight flood his room, along with the gentle noise of the cicadas scraping among the olive groves on the hillside below. He listened to the sounds of the morning for a while: a dog barking somewhere down near Torello, and the distant clatter of a Vespa scooter making its way up the hillside road above the house. After a while, he began to feel a little better. He switched his phone on for the day and left it to start up.

Not for the first time, he had slept in just his underwear against the warmth of the night. Although the house faced east and was spared the full brunt of the evening sun, after several weeks of fine weather the summer heat had begun to seep into the very fabric of the building, and they had no air conditioning. He had ditched the last of his warm blankets some weeks ago and had been sleeping under a single, thin cotton sheet.

Daniele was just reaching for the wardrobe door when his phone buzzed. He sat back down on his bed, phone in hand. It was a text from Giacomo.

‘Already packed. C U after breakfast!’

Daniele stared at the few short words for a while, absent-mindedly running a hand up and down the soft patch of skin between his chest and his stomach.

After a few seconds, he jumped and tossed the phone aside as he noticed what he was almost doing. Realising, with a shudder, that they would be sharing the bed from tonight, he hurriedly straightened out his sheets and folded them back to air the mattress.

A few minutes later, he rolled into the kitchen, freshened up and dressed in his newest tri-colour tie-dye t-shirt.

“Buongiorno, sleepyhead,” Paolo chuckled, looking up from his cappuccino as Daniele slid into one of the empty chairs at the breakfast table. Patrizia was busy frothing up a second cup for herself.

“Would you like one of these, caro?” she asked Daniele. “You look like you could use a little pick-me-up this morning.”

Daniele shook his head. “Busy day yesterday, then weird dreams, that’s all. I’m okay with juice. But thanks.”

Patrizia shrugged. “All right,” she said, gesturing to a jug of freshly squeezed orange juice on the sideboard. “Help yourself.” As Daniele shuffled over to pour himself a glass, she went on, “are you ready for your sleepover? Did you change your sheets yesterday?”

Daniele nodded. “Yes, Mamma. The old ones are in the laundry basket.”

She smiled. “Grazie, tesoro.”

He returned to the table and sipped at his juice, helping himself to an apricot croissant and nibbling at it distractedly. He wondered how Emilia and Luca were doing. There had been no word from either of them since Luca’s rapid exit the previous night.

And wasn’t something else supposed to be happening today…? Something that had slipped his mind…?

He had just finished the croissant and was licking his fingers clean when the doorbell rang. He turned to stare at the empty hallway.

Already…?

But then he realised that he had only just switched on his phone. The other boy’s text could have been sent ages go.

“Hadn’t you better answer that, champ?” Paolo asked, raising an enquiring eyebrow.

Daniele nodded and hurried to the door, forgetting all about his empty glass and plate, which he would usually have cleared away. He hurried out onto the sun terrace in his socks, reeling slightly at the unexpected heat of the morning sun, and hastened to unlock the garden gate.

Giacomo was waiting out in the street, a bulging rucksack on his back, looking frustratingly awake in a casual shirt and denim shorts.

“Ciao, Dani.” He smiled uncertainly at the sight of Daniele’s slightly befuddled state. “Did I come too early? Mamma was getting ready to go, and I thought I’d get out of the way.”

Daniele shook his head. “No, I… just overslept, that’s all.”

Giacomo snickered slightly as he stepped onto the terrace. “Overslept? You?”

“It happens.” Daniele replied, ushering him into the hall. “Make yourself at home. I just need to go and… brush my teeth.”

The dark-eyed boy gave him an amused look as he shed his shoes. “Okay.”

While Giacomo let himself into the bedroom, Daniele shut himself in the bathroom. Arms spread wide, he leaned on the sides of washbasin for a moment, staring at his dazed reflection.

It was just a dream. Giaco’s fine. Nothing bad is going to happen.

He wet a hand with some cold water and wiped his face with it, hoping it would wake him up. It helped, a little. He took a few deep breaths, then he grabbed his electric toothbrush and focused his mind on the reassuringly simple, familiar chore.

When he returned to his bedroom a couple of minutes later, he found Giacomo sitting on the left-hand side of the bed, his rucksack discarded by his feet. Now that he was actually here, the dark-eyed boy’s easy confidence seemed to have slipped a little and he looked a bit lost. Everything that had happened at the Fontana Carosa suddenly lay densely between them.

“Is it cool if I sleep on this side?” Giacomo asked. “I figured… the other side is where most of your bedside stuff seems to be.”

Daniele sat down on the far side of the bed, not quite looking at him. “Yeah, that’s perfect.”

Giacomo gave a slightly stilted laugh. “I remember the last time I stayed here. I said…”

“…that you never thought I’d be the first person you slept with,” Daniele replied. “I remember.”

They glanced over their shoulders and shared a slightly awkward smile.

“I’m sorry if this feels weird,” Giacomo mumbled.

“Weird?” Daniele asked. “What could possibly be weird about any of this?”

They giggled and lay back side by side, facing the ceiling, some of the tension between them eased for the moment.

“It’s just for a few nights,” Giacomo said. “Then we can go back to being… whatever we are these days.” He gave Daniele a hopeful glance. “Unless…?”

Daniele met his eyes reluctantly. “I… huh?”

Both of their phones had buzzed simultaneously. It was a group message from Emilia.

‘Meeting. At the clearing. Please come.’

Daniele and Giacomo exchanged a puzzled glance.

‘On our way,’ Daniele replied.

* * *

They made their excuses to Patrizia and Paolo and set off up the road together. They turned off at San Cosma, following the sun-drenched concrete path round to their olive grove and then onwards through the shade of the semi-cultivated landscape beyond, meandering through the run-down lemon orchards and vegetable plots that lined the side of the Valle del Dragone.

“Why do you think Luca took off like that last night?” Giacomo asked. “And… why has he never mentioned his brother before?”

“I don’t know,” Daniele replied, “but from the way he reacted, it sounds like they’ve got some bad history together.”

Giacomo nodded. “I thought that, too. I guess we’re about to find out.”

At the foot of a steep flight of steps that led up towards the Villa Cimbrone, they turned onto a quieter, half-abandoned path leading into the woods below the cliffs. They walked along it for a while and then peeled off into the scrub, following a trail that only they would recognise, and soon they had reached their secret place.

Emilia and Luca were already there, sitting a few inches apart on one of the log seats. The mood between them looked uncomfortable, and Emilia was visibly relieved to see Daniele and Giacomo arrive. They slid down onto the second log, looking at the others expectantly.

“I guess I have some explaining to do,” Luca mumbled.

Emilia turned her wounded brown eyes upon him for the first time.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a brother?” she asked. “And what’s he doing working for Assunta?” She spread her arms desperately. “I thought I knew you, but now…”

The green-eyed boy’s fingers tightened on his knees. “You do know me,” he insisted. “It’s just… there are a few things I left out, because I knew this was how it would go.”

“Is this about something that happened before you were adopted?” Daniele asked.

Luca nodded gratefully. “That’s it, exactly! I mean… I hoped I’d left all that behind.”

“So… who were you?”

Luca took a deep breath, seeming to steel himself. “Assunta’s husband, Santino… he’s my uncle.”

There were sharp intakes of breath all around the clearing.

“You’re a Neri?” Giacomo hissed.

“I was a Neri!” Luca protested. He looked about ready to cry. “I can’t help how I was born.”

Emilia sprang to her feet, eyes wide and horrified.

“You should have told me!” she whispered vehemently. “Your family almost got Dani and Giacomo killed.”

“Emilia…” Luca began desperately, but she gestured fiercely at him to stop.

“Forget it! I can’t even… how am I ever supposed to trust you now?” Her brown eyes flicked briefly to Daniele and Giacomo, who looked back at her in silent dismay. “I’ll see you later, guys,” she managed, and then she took off through the scrub at an untidy run.

Luca looked as if he wanted to give chase, but then he seemed to think the better of it. He sagged back onto his log with a quiet, defeated curse. After a moment, his miserable green eyes looked up and found Daniele and Giacomo.

“So… I guess you both hate me now, too?”

Daniele and Giacomo exchanged an uncertain glance.

“Tell us more,” Giacomo said cautiously.

Luca shrugged. “Whatever you want.” He thought for a moment, staring vaguely at his shoes. Daniele supposed he was trying to figure out where to begin.

After a few moments, he looked up again.

“Our father – Cosmo’s and mine, I mean – was Carlo Neri, Santino’s younger brother. He was sort of a junior partner in the family business – not the boss, but a big enough player to wield a bit of power, if you know what I mean.

“Our mother was a supermodel.” He gestured to his green eyes and fine cheekbones. “I told you she was where I got my looks from. Anyway, she was the sort of woman who was drawn to powerful men. I think the idea of marrying into the Neri family appealed to her – for, like, the prestige or something.”

He sighed a little bitterly. “Parenthood didn’t suit her, I guess. They sort of stuck it out for a while, but she kinda hated being forced to stay at home looking after Cosmo and me while our father did, you know, business. So, long story short, she left him when I was six and Cosmo was eight. Neither of them were willing to look after us on their own, and we ended up being placed for adoption.”

“The whole criminal thing…” Daniele said. “You were part of it?”

Luca shook his head. “They kept as much of that from us as they could, but… kids see and hear things, don’t they? I had some idea of what they were up to and, as far I could understand it at all, I hated everything about it. I just wanted my family to do normal stuff like other families do. Stupid, boring stuff, you know? Like drinking coffee and going shopping. But Cosmo, he used to suck up to our father and try to get his favour.” He scowled. “Loser.”

“You don’t think he was just trying to protect you?” Daniele asked.

Luca’s frown weakened for a moment. “Ah… how should I know?” he said. “But what I’m trying to say is, I’m not like them. Can’t you see that?”

Daniele and Giacomo exchanged a glance. They nodded slowly.

“I guess we can,” Giacomo replied.

Luca offered them a miserable smile. “Thanks, guys,” he said. “I doubt it’s going to help me with Emilia, though.” He got up and made ready to go. “I guess I’ll leave you to it.”

“What about Cosmo?” Daniele asked.

Luca shook his head. “He ended up being fostered by an older couple from Salerno. I don’t know what he’s doing here with Assunta, and I don’t want to know.” He sighed. “Ciao, guys. It was nice knowing you.”

He set off in Emilia’s footsteps, hands shoved moodily into his pockets.

* * *

Daniele and Giacomo left the clearing together once they had given the others enough time to get away. As they picked their way down through the scrub, the dark-eyed boy seemed quieter than usual. His expression was troubled.

“This guy, Cosmo,” he said after a while. “He’s not in a great place right now, is he? How do you think he got involved?”

“Luca seemed to think Cosmo would be happy to work for the Neris,” Daniele replied.

Giacomo acknowledged the point with a neutral shrug. “He doesn’t seem very happy, though, does he?”

Daniele shook his head. “No, he doesn’t.”

“It’s just, I know what it was like to work for Ettore and his goons. I hated it, like Luca, but I carried on because I had to, or they were going to hurt my family. I remember how that felt.”

“We don’t know he’s being threatened.”

Giacomo sighed. “No, we don’t. He’s probably just a lousy stronzo, like Luca says.”

The informal trail led out onto the main path up from the valley. They followed it until they reached a junction where Emilia and Luca would have gone straight on to get home, and they turned right instead, climbing the zig-zagging stairway through the olive groves that led back towards the centre of town.

With their friends’ immediate crisis dealt with for the moment, Daniele’s thoughts began to turn back to his own problems: namely, Giacomo, and the kiss they had shared at the Fontana Carosa the day before. Staring distractedly into the silvery olive trees, he plodded up the steps amidst the scraping of the cicadas, turning it all over in his mind.

Giacomo had been prepared to give him some time to think it over. But how long would he be willing to wait? And what would happen if he said no?

…he didn’t want to say no, did he…?

No, but…

“Dani…” Giacomo whispered, tugging at his arm to wake him up.

They had stumbled upon an unlikely pair of people who were engrossed in a hushed conversation at one of the hairpin corners. They had probably hoped to meet here without being disturbed, but Daniele and Giacomo were already committed to climbing on past them. It would have looked more suspicious to turn back.

They carried on, keeping their mouths shut and their heads down. Enzo Palmeri glared at them as they walked past, his customary sneer on his face. His companion, kitted out in her full, smart black police uniform, was none other than Valentina Forza, chief of the local Carabinieri. A strong-looking woman in her forties, she kept her dark hair tied severely behind her head. She gazed out over their heads with her hands tucked neatly behind her back, trying to look as normal and nonchalant as she could. Under the circumstances, it was hardly convincing.

They hastened on, keeping resolutely quiet until they had reached the top of the staircase and spilled out onto the sun-drenched valley road. Hurrying across into the welcome shade cast by the back wall of the ancient church on Via Roma, they stared at each other.

“What was that all about?” Daniele panted.

He could sense Giacomo’s devious mind hard at work on the problem.

“One of two things, I guess,” the dark-eyed boy replied. “Either Enzo’s secretly working for the police, or the Carabinieri already know what the Neris are doing and they’re up to their necks in it just like last time.” His dark eyes gleamed excitedly. “Wouldn’t you like to know which?”

With a nervous glance over his shoulder, Daniele shook his head. “I think Emilia’s right. If there are weapons involved, it’s too dangerous.”

“Oh-kay,” Giacomo sighed. “Although, we can’t exactly report what we know to the police, now, can we?”

“Then let’s just stay out of it,” Daniele said. Hoping it would hit home, he moved a little closer to the other boy, trying to look like he was flirting with the idea of taking his hand. “I… don’t want to risk losing you again.”

Giacomo snickered slightly. “Damn, you found my weakness,” he said. “When did you get so clever?”

Daniele smiled. “Round about the time you got so stupid,” he replied.

Giacomo narrowed his eyes. “Oh, I’ll get you for that,” he said, reaching out for Daniele as if to tickle him.

“No!” Daniele laughed, turning tail and escaping up a short flight of steps next to the church.

Giacomo caught up with him as he spilled out onto Via Roma. The dark-eyed boy’s arms closed about his chest from behind and Daniele fought to free himself, with a certain amount of giggling on both sides. As he struggled, he managed to turn himself around, and suddenly they were face-to-face in each other’s arms.

Time froze for a second, and Daniele felt sure that it was going to happen again, right in front of anyone who might be passing by, whether he wanted it to or not… but then Giacomo released him.

“Let’s, ah… pick up some things for our lunch,” Giacomo suggested.

It seemed that the other boy had taken Daniele’s plea for time to heart. All the same, he was left with an unexpected feeling of disappointment and loss.

They picked up some fresh bread and salami at Salvatore’s store and made their way back down the hill towards home. As Daniele walked, he flushed slightly at the idea of being seen kissing another boy in public.

He was barely used to kissing at all… let along doing it in front of other people. So, why was the idea so strangely exciting?

The house was empty when they got in. They set their provisions down on the kitchen table then retreated to Daniele’s room, where they flopped down, side-by-side, on the bed and checked their phones for a while.

“Low battery,” Giacomo muttered. He slid back down off the bed and rummaged intently in his rucksack for a few seconds. “Crap… I forgot my charger.”

Daniele put his own phone away. “I guess you’ll just have to talk to me instead,” he sighed.

Giacomo’s dark eyes reappeared over the side of the bed. “Very funny,” he remarked.

Daniele snickered. “You have your keys with you, don’t you? We can go back up to your place later and fetch it.”

Giacomo hopped back up onto the bed and rolled his eyes.

“Jesus,” he grumbled. “Back up all those steps again? I’ve only been staying here a few hours, and they’re already annoying me. How do you do it?”

Daniele chewed his lip for a moment. “The thought of seeing you every day keeps me going,” he quipped.

“No way!” the other boy laughed, burying his face in the blankets for a moment to stifle his giggles. “I wish you’d stop sassing me like that, Dani. I just can’t deal with it.”

He rolled onto his back, smiling at the ceiling. His shirt had rucked up a little at the hem, revealing a small patch of olive skin up to the corner of his bellybutton. Daniele watched his chest rise and fall, feeling faintly hypnotised. Distractedly, he reached out and laid a hand on top of the other boy’s shirt buttons, so he could feel the motion as well as seeing it.

Giacomo jumped slightly at his gentle touch. “What’s up, Dani?” he whispered, looking back up at him in slightly starry-eyed confusion.

Dimly, Daniele could feel the other boy’s quickening heartbeat. He flushed and twitched his hand back to his side.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. Feeling hot all over, he turned away and made to get off the bed. “Let’s… get a drink of water, or something.”

* * *

Later that afternoon, they set off together to make the climb into town once again.

The strange episode on his bed had left Daniele with the feeling that the two of them were sliding, inch by inch, down a slippery slope from which there would soon be no escape. As to what lay at the bottom of that slope, his fears and doubts were warring with a strange fascination that he couldn’t quite deny. As for the other boy, Daniele suspected he was feeling the same thing… that is, if the nervous little glances Giacomo kept giving him were anything to go by.

Although it was past the hottest part of the day, the sun still harboured the powerful intensity of midsummer. They hugged the shade on the way up the hill, then emerged, blinking, into the glare of the sun-drenched cathedral square, where most of the visitors who were still out and about had taken refuge under the parasols at the bars, sipping on cool beers, soft drinks or mineral water.

Focused on his mission, apartment keys already in one hand, Giacomo headed straight for the avenue of oleanders. Daniele, however, had spotted something else that had caught his interest. He touched the other boy briefly on the arm; Giacomo glanced curiously back at him, squinting in the sunlight.

“I’ll meet you back here afterwards,” Daniele said.

Giacomo shrugged. “Okay, sure.”

Daniele shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way across the sunny centre of the square, towards the shade of the umbrella pines, where the cicadas were celebrating the summer heat with an almost intrusive intensity.

Emilia was sitting on one of the stone benches. She looked like she had been crying. And with her…

Of course… that’s the other thing that was meant to be happening today.

Sitting with a sympathetic arm around her shoulders was an extraordinarily pretty girl with very long, glossy brown hair that hung down her back with artful carelessness. She wore a trendy, light summer dress and a shiny silver bracelet on her left arm.

“Ciao, Laura,” Daniele said cautiously.

Emilia’s cousin looked up. “Oh, ciao, Daniele,” she said, with a slightly uncertain smile. “It looks like I’ve arrived in the middle of a crisis.”

Daniele nodded. “You could say that. What’s Emilia told you?”

“Everything, I think,” Laura replied. “Was there anything else, ’milia?”

“Nothing else,” Emilia mumbled.

“So…” Laura recapped, “your new boyfriend… your first proper boyfriend,” she added, with a fleeting glance in Daniele’s direction, “turns out to be descended from some notorious crime family in Naples? And he didn’t tell you?”

Emilia shook her head. “Not a word.”

Laura frowned thoughtfully. “I can see why you’re upset, but… I’m not sure I blame him.” At Emilia’s offended glance, she raised her free hand in submission. “I mean… would you spill all that history? If the situation were reversed, and you thought you’d left it all behind?”

“I…” Emilia said uncertainly.

“From what you’ve said,” Laura went on, “Luca may not even have known that you’d encountered his family before. At least… not until you all went for that bike ride yesterday.”

Laura looked to Daniele for help, and he realised that, for all their shared history, Emilia’s plight had made them into allies – at least for now.

He knelt in front of the bench and looked up into Emilia’s distressed brown eyes.

“Luca talked to us some more after you left,” he said. “It sounds like he was never happy with his birth family. He’s… not one of them. Not really.”

“What about Cosmo?” Emilia asked.

Daniele shrugged. “Luca doesn’t like him much, either.”

“So…” Emilia said quietly, glancing at each of them in turn, “you think I should give him another chance? You don’t think he was wrong to keep all that stuff from me?”

“I’m not saying he was right,” Laura replied. “I’m just saying that I get it.”

“Luca was a mess when he left the clearing,” Daniele said. “I don’t think he ever meant to hurt anyone.”

Laura smiled slightly. “Maybe I could meet him?” she suggested. “Then I could decide for myself.”

Emilia laughed weakly. “No boyfriend stealing,” she mumbled. Gently, she shook herself free of Laura’s embrace. “Thanks, though. I’m feeling a bit better now.”

Laura looked relieved. Her dark eyes flicked back up to Daniele.

“So, how’ve you been, Daniele?” she asked. “Still rocking the pastel colours, I see?”

Daniele glanced down at his tri-colour t-shirt. “I… guess so,” he said warily. “How about you? After what happened with Giaco last year, I didn’t think you’d be so keen to come back here.”

“Okay, so he hurt me for a little while, but…” Laura shook her head faintly condescendingly, as if to show how little he understood about girls. “I’m not going to let one silly thirteen-year-old stop me from visiting my favourite cousin.”

In spite of himself, Daniele felt the corner of his mouth twitch. “Yeah… he can be pretty silly, can’t he?”

Laura’s own pretty mouth was touched by the faintest trace of a mischievous smile. “If you ever want to really prank him,” she whispered, “let me know. I’m in.” She turned back to Emilia. “In the meantime, we’re going to forget all about boys. We’re going to braid each other’s hair, discuss our hopes and dreams and, most of all, do some serious shopping.”

“Good luck finding anywhere good around here,” Daniele murmured.

The dark-haired girl shot him a look. “Quiet, you.”

Emilia smiled. “Thanks, Laura.”

There was a quiet intake of breath. Daniele glanced up to find that Giacomo had returned. He stood nearby with his phone charger poking out of one pocket, staring at Laura with startled eyes.

Of course… nobody told him she was coming back.

After all, it wasn’t like Daniele had been in a hurry to bring the subject up himself.

“Oh, ciao, cutie,” Laura remarked, glancing up at the new arrival. “We were just talking about you.”

“You were?” Giacomo said uncertainly; he looked a little flustered. “Ah, I…”

Daniele glanced miserably from boy to girl, grappling with a powerful and unwelcome sense of déjà vu.

“There’s no need to apologise,” Laura went on. “I forgave you months ago.” She gave the floundering dark-eyed boy a pert smile. “And, if you felt like hanging out just a little, I might not say no.”

“Actually, I…” Giacomo mumbled, edging closer to Daniele, “I already know who I want to hang out with this summer.”

Daniele looked down in astonishment as the dark-eyed boy threaded a hand into his own. Heart beating an erratic tattoo in his chest, he glanced questioningly up at the other boy and then forced himself to turn back to the two girls, who were both staring at them in frank astonishment.

“Well… I wasn’t expecting that,” Laura murmured. “Were you, ’milia?”

Emilia shook her head. “Not exactly. I mean… not like this…!”

“Don’t you think we should be going, Dani?” Giacomo asked.

A little breathlessly, Daniele nodded.

Giacomo smiled slightly. “Andiamo, then,” he said.

They turned and ran, releasing each other’s hands as they went, heading for the furthest corner of the square they could find. Charging at first towards the ancient, creeper-covered stone gatehouse of the Villa Rufolo, they slipped into the quiet, shady seclusion of the back street that lay just beyond it and dived through an archway about halfway down, which led to a secret back way up to the Toro, a deserted, leafy stairway known as the Bishop’s Way.

Safe from prying eyes, they placed their backs to the high stone walls and faced each other across the narrow footpath. Seconds later, they were both giggling like crazy.

“Did you see their faces?” Giacomo panted. “I wish I’d had a camera…”

“It was epic,” Daniele managed, breathing hard. He wiped his eyes dry. “Did you mean what you said, though?”

Giacomo threw both of his hands up into the air in disbelief. “Of course I did,” he replied earnestly. “What do you think I’ve been trying to tell you for the last several weeks?”

“You mean…?” Daniele breathed.

Giacomo laughed. “Do I really need to say it?”

Daniele wasn’t sure exactly how he got there, but the next thing he knew, he was across the path and was kissing the other boy up against the wall. When he eventually pulled back, Giacomo’s dark eyes were wide and unfocused, his mouth slightly open in surprise.

“Wow…” Giacomo murmured. “Now that was worth waiting for!”

He stuffed a hand into his mouth and sank down the wall, giggling uncontrollably. His own mind in utter, giddy disarray, Daniele sank down with him.

* * *

How do you go from friends to something more?

It seemed to Daniele that the whole world had changed around him, as if, just like in a dream, a beloved place had reshaped itself into a new and alien configuration. He felt adrift in a world that was full of familiar features, but reordered and sent to disarray; his old, well-known walkways gone or changed beyond recognition.

What were they, now, he wondered? Could they still do all the things they had always done together as friends, or did they have to start from scratch, rebuilding their relationship to a new plan entirely?

To begin with, they held onto each other: it seemed as good a place as any to start. They walked, hand-in-hand, down the little back street and through the dark pedestrian tunnel under the Villa Rufolo. Daniele felt as if all his energy, his aura, if you will, was focused on that one spot where his palm crossed with the warm, dry palm of his…

Friend? Boyfriend?

But, all the same, he wasn’t sure such a romantic gesture felt right between them. Hadn’t their friendship always been a bit more… playful… than this?

Perhaps the other boy felt the same way because, as they emerged from the tunnel, passing beneath a rustic pergola draped with fading wisteria flowers, they spotted someone approaching in the other direction and their hands naturally parted company.

“Too weird, huh?” Giacomo said with a smile.

Daniele nodded. “Yeah. Little bit.”

Maybe it was just too soon for romance. Maybe they would get there once they had made a bit more sense of what was happening to them here and now.

Giacomo shook his head. “It’s cool. I don’t really know what I’m doing, either. Although…”

With the passer-by safely behind them, he grabbed Daniele’s hand once again and tugged him down a narrow side turning, where there was nobody to see them besides the lizards that watched them beadily from the sunny stonework of the high boundary walls.

“…I know I like doing this.”

He leaned in for a second kiss, which Daniele just about managed to deliver before being overcome by another fit of the giggles.

“Stop it, Giaco!” he managed after a while.

Although, he thought, if he had to have his back to the wall in this particular lane, this was the way to do it. Not at the mercy of a couple of older bullies, as in a half-remembered encounter from the time when his life in Ravello had really begun.

“Aw, do I have to?” the other boy asked.

Daniele nodded. “We need get out of public places!” he whispered.

“But it’s such a long way back to your house,” the other boy replied whined playfully. “I don’t know if I can wait that long.”

“It’s all downhill,” Daniele offered.

Giacomo smirked. “Fine,” he replied. “Andiamo!”

And he was off, pulling Daniele along the narrow, crazy-paved lane at dangerous speed. Twice, Daniele nearly fell over as he negotiated the occasional, shallow steps along its length.

“Give me my hand back!” he panted between laughs, feeling slightly unhinged by it all.

The other boy released him at the next corner, and they made their way down the main stairway in a slightly more sensible fashion, albeit neither of them could seem to keep their eyes off each other for long. Too many times, their eyes met in the middle, until it was impossible not to share a slightly awkward laugh over the strangeness of the whole thing.

They let themselves into Daniele’s home a few minutes later. Although Patrizia was due back soon from her lunchtime shift at the hotel, it seemed she had yet to appear, and the house was still empty.

“Uffa,” Daniele sighed as they shed their shoes and wandered back into the bedroom. “I need a shower. Do you mind?”

Giacomo, who had gone to look out of one of the windows, shook his head.

“Can I come in with you?” he asked idly.

Daniele flushed at once. “Ah… I don’t think…” He floundered. “What would Mamma say if she came home and found us doing that?”

Giacomo snickered, and Daniele realised he had been joking. Probably.

“You go first,” Giacomo said. “I’ll follow.”

With a sigh of relief, Daniele turned for the bathroom.

“Hey, Dani…” Giacomo grinned as he sat down on the edge of the bed to plug in his phone. “Who’d have thought that fetching my charger would turn out so interesting?”

* * *

Daniele emerged from the shower a few minutes later wrapped in a towel, and discarded his dirty clothes in the laundry basket in the hall.

Giacomo looked up from his phone and smirked as Daniele stepped awkwardly back into the bedroom.

“Looking good,” he said mildly.

Daniele shook his head incredulously. After all this time, he couldn’t believe how calmly the other boy seemed to be taking everything.

“I can’t believe I have to sleep with you tonight, after all this,” he said, running a hand through his damp hair. “What have we got ourselves into?”

Giacomo set his phone down and hopped across the bed, taking a startled Daniele by his bare shoulders. “I’ll be fun to see what happens,” he whispered.

Daniele’s heart leapt into his mouth as a fresh load of frightening images burst into his mind. He brushed them away as best he could.

Nope. Too soon.

Giacomo, however, simply snickered and began to search for his own change of clothing.

* * *

Patrizia arrived back from work a short while later with the promise of tagliatelle alla Bolognese for dinner. She retreated to the upstairs suite for a bath and a short breather, then got straight to work on the ragú which, cooked the traditional Italian way, required time and patience. Soon, the house was alive with the savoury scent of onions, carrots, celery and garlic frying in butter.

When Daniele and Giacomo got tired of hanging out in his bedroom, they played cards on the sun terrace for a while, which turned out to be a reassuringly normal and comfortable activity after the strangeness of the rest of their afternoon. For a time, Daniele found he could almost pretend that nothing had changed at all, apart from those few moments when their eyes met unexpectedly, and something more than mere friendship seemed to pass between them.

Once Daniele’s father had arrived back from another long day of driving fares around the coast, Daniele and Giacomo joined Patrizia and Paolo in the kitchen diner and presented as normal a front as they could manage. They each did a little bit to help: Daniele set the table, while Giacomo grated enough parmigiano cheese to sink a battleship. Soon, they were gathered around the dining table like a family of four, enjoying the meal and making bland conversation about their day.

All the while, however, an undercurrent of unease and excitement whispered through Daniele’s mind, and he kept stealing furtive glances at the other boy.

This can’t be real, can it? It must just be some kind of strange game we’re playing… tomorrow, we’ll wake up wondering what on Earth we were thinking, and we’ll go back to being all awkward and weird around each other again.

But, while his parents were distracted talking about something Patrizia had heard at work, Daniele felt one of Giacomo’s stockinged feet begin to play with his under the table. He tensed and shot the other boy a warning glance, inclining his head towards his parents as subtly as he could manage. The dark-eyed boy snuck him a secret smile, but didn’t stop.

It was maddeningly ticklish, and Daniele found himself stifling an unwanted giggle. His parents gave him a puzzled look, and there was a frighteningly loud thunk as their feet snapped back to the legs of their chairs.

“Is something the matter, boys?” Paolo asked.

Daniele shook his head furiously, hoping his father couldn’t see the dull flush that was beginning to flame his cheeks.

When the dinner was over and they had finally finished the washing up, Daniele was relieved to escape from the watchful eyes of his parents. The hour was growing late, but they slipped out into the warm night air for a little while. They wandered up the quiet road, past the bright streetlamps, where wily geckoes lurked, feeding on the clouds of night insects that had been drawn to the light. They stood at the railings for a while and stared out over the brightly lit seafronts of Minori and Maiori, which shimmered at the water’s edge far below.

“I wish it could be summer all year round,” Daniele murmured.

Giacomo nodded. “No school,” he concurred.

Daniele gave him a sideways glance. “I meant the long days and warm nights,” he said.

Giacomo snickered. “Yeah, but don’t knock the freedom.”

Daniele smiled. “That’s good too.”

They listened to the sounds of the night for a moment: the chirping of the nocturnal crickets, the faintest rustle of a warm breeze and the distant rattle of a Vespa scooter elsewhere on the road.

“It’s cool to be out here together, isn’t it?” Giacomo asked, placing a hand gently on Daniele’s shoulder.

“Yeah… I needed a breather.” Daniele checked his wristwatch. “But it’s time we were getting back, don’t you think?”

Solemnly, Giacomo nodded. “Take me to your bed.”

Daniele cringed. “Ah, c’mon, Giaco…”

The other boy giggled. “It’s so easy to push your buttons, Dani.”

“Leave my buttons alone!”

“No promises…”

* * *

Daniele and Giacomo got ready for bed when Patrizia and Paolo had finally retreated to the privacy of their upstairs suite.

At first, it was like any other sleepover. They brushed their teeth together, mucking about a bit as they did, and then they had a whispered chat in the bedroom, speculating about Emilia and Luca and whether they had made up yet.

But, then, the moment could be put off no longer. By the soft glow of his bedside lamp, Daniele shed his shorts and socks and changed into a light pyjama top, then clambered into his side of the bed. He watched nervously as his friend stripped to his underpants.

“What are you doing?” Daniele whispered as the other boy made to climb straight in.

“C’mon, Dani,” Giacomo whispered back. “It’s way too warm in here to wear any more than this!”

Daniele had to admit that he was right. Reluctantly, he pulled off his pyjama top and flung it to the floor, surrendering the last of the physical barriers between them.

The dark-eyed boy grinned and flung the top sheet up over their heads, so that it fluttered down over them and formed a sort of tent. Vaguely terrified, but unable to completely quell the nervous excitement that went with it, Daniele was forced to stare at his friend’s body, lying stretched out and relaxed in the dim glow that shone diffusely through the sheet.

“Finally, we’re alone,” Giacomo whispered.

Daniele glanced nervously up to where the ceiling had to be.

“Mamma and Papà are just upstairs,” he replied.

Giacomo snickered. “I can be quiet. Can’t you?”

Daniele swallowed hard. “What do you want from me?” he whispered.

Giacomo shuffled a little closer. “Just… to explore.”

“That… doesn’t sound so bad, I guess.”

Hesitantly, Giacomo reached out and traced the back of a finger across Daniele’s chest. Unsure how to process the sensation, Daniele shivered a little and had to stifle a giggle.

“That tickles…” he whispered.

Giacomo smiled. “Sorry. I just… wanted to touch you. Like this.”

He took Daniele’s hand and placed it against his own chest, mimicking his unintended gesture of that morning. In spite of himself, Daniele felt his pulse quicken as he felt his friend’s swift heartbeat beneath his warm skin. He tried moving his hand around a little, just to see what it felt like.

“How does this feel for you?” he asked nervously.

“Like… I want you to keep going,” Giacomo replied, squirming slightly beneath his touch. He sighed, then wrapped an arm around Daniele’s back and pulled him forward until their foreheads were touching. “I know this is mad. I mean, I’ve really tried to, but… I just can’t get you out of my head.”

“Since when, though?” Daniele whispered. “I always thought you… you…”

Giacomo shrugged. “Oh, I dunno. Last summer, when I was with Laura, I missed you way too much. And then, since that kiss before Christmas…” He tailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

“Was that it? I mean… before that, you had no idea at all?”

The dark-eyed boy twisted his mouth thoughtfully. “Maybe there were a couple of times when it was a little bit weird. Like… that time I slept here when we were in hiding. Or… the first time we really spoke, after Antonio knocked me out? I mean…” He smiled awkwardly. “Way to wake up, with Dani the Hero crouched over me like a guardian angel, using his own t-shirt to bathe my brow…!”

“It was all I had on me,” Daniele mumbled. He stared at his friend in confusion, faced with a challenge to everything he thought he knew. “You really felt something then?”

Giacomo snickered. “I’m not sure. It was probably just the concussion.”

Daniele glanced away, embarrassed. “I think I’ve liked you since I was ten.”

Giacomo smiled, twining a finger through a lock of Daniele’s hair once again. “That’s awesome. You’re awesome.”

“Do you really mean it?” Daniele hesitated. “This isn’t… all a game?”

Suddenly, Giacomo shifted. Startled, Daniele found himself pushed gently back against the mattress as his friend pulled himself up over him.

“I’m not joking,” Giacomo whispered.

The dark-eyed boy was too close; Daniele could feel his soft breath on his face. It was like the kiss at Christmas, but this time their bodies were actually touching, skin to skin, with nothing else between them. His heart was pounding crazily and, not far away, he could feel the close contact between them beginning to have the inevitable effect.

He tried to escape, but it was too late… and, worse still, couldn’t he feel something… stirring… from the other side as well?

Giacomo released him and rolled away, a faint flush reddening his cheeks.

“Oh, wow,” the dark-eyed boy whispered, eyes glancing downward for a moment. “Ciao…”

“I don’t…” Daniele whispered in horror. “I can’t…”

But Giacomo shook his head. “It’s okay.” He giggled faintly. “I don’t mind.”

He reached out again, brushing Daniele gently in the sensitive area beneath his belly button. It was finally more than he could take.

“Oh, Dio!” he gasped. “Stop, before I…!”

He hid his face in utter embarrassment. Peering through the gap between his fingers, he was relieved to see the other boy withdrawing to his own space.

“Yeah, I…” Giacomo replied, with a slightly awkward smile. “Me too.”

Daniele exhaled slowly. “I can’t take any more of this. Can we get some sleep?”

The other boy nodded. “Sure.”

“Buonanotte, Giaco.”

Giacomo raised a hand in an intimate little wave.

“Buonanotte, Dani.”

Daniele turned away and closed his eyes, and behind him he heard the other boy do the same. However, he didn’t feel remotely sleepy – not yet. He suspected he would be lying awake for some time to come.