Page 18 of Better Than Gelato (Ciao Bella #1)

“Do you want him to ask you out again?” I ask, careful to keep the surprise out of my voice.

“Yes!” Valentina says. She turns the water off. “Our last date ended...kinda weird. But I thought he’d at least ask me out again.”

“What do you mean weird?” I pry shamelessly. I need to know her side of things.

Valentina shakes her head. “He started rambling and said I smelled like a grandma and my hair looked oily. Even though I showered just before our date. And then there was something about him becoming a juggler. He was mumbling a lot and looked really embarrassed. Maybe he was embarrassed to be seen with me when my hair looked so oily? Anyway, I left as quick as I could.”

Wow. This has gotten out of hand.

I don’t want to meddle, but…I’m going to meddle. I check the stalls, make sure they’re empty and then grab Valentina by the shoulders.

“Do you like Paolo?” I ask her.

“I do,” she says with eyes filled with longing. “I have for a long time. I know he can come off kind of cynical, and a little vain, but deep down he’s a good guy. And I was so excited when he asked me out…”

“Here’s the deal,” I say. “Paolo is crazy about you. He has been for ages. He thinks you smell like his grandma’s garden and that your hair shines like olive oil. At the end of your date, he was trying to tell you how he felt. And then he was embarrassed for coming on too strong.”

“Coming on too strong? I had no idea what he was even talking about! I went home and washed my hair again!” She shakes her head. “Men are such idiots sometimes!”

I can see the meaning of my words sink in and a slow smile spreads across her face. “You think he really likes me?”

“I know he does.”

We head back to the dance floor, and I think about her liking Paolo all this time. Watching him ask me out on a date and still being sweet and supportive must have sucked for her. I watch her dance with Carmen and Diego. She is beaming.

Paolo better not screw this up.

I spy him at the bar, watching Valentina from a distance. I march up to him and say, “You need to ask Valentina out again.”

“What? Really? Right now?”

“Sometime tonight. Do it before you leave.”

“You think she wants me to?”

“Yes. And I’m officially done meddling. The rest is up to you two.”

The club seems extra full tonight, and after an hour of being jostled I need a break. I’m sitting next to Diego and Carmen, and Jake has just gone to get us some bottles of water, when Britney Spears’ “Hit Me Baby One More Time” comes on. It’s a weird techno version, but still, it’s Britney.

“We’ve got to dance to this one,” Carmen says.

“But my feet,” I protest.

Either she doesn’t hear me, or she plain ignores me, because she grabs my hand and pulls me up.

I grab Diego and Valentina, who are nearby, and we head back to the dance floor.

Valentina and I are shaking our hips and giggling when someone puts a hand on my waist from behind.

I can tell right away it’s not Jake. I push the hand off and twist away without bothering to look behind me.

Valentina sees and gives me a sympathetic look.

I shrug my shoulders. This happens sometimes. It’s fine.

Until it isn’t. Two seconds later, the hands are back on my hips. I whirl around to see a tall Italian guy with a smirky grin and beady eyes.

“ Basta ,” I say loudly so he can hear. Enough.

I push his hands off my hips and turn back to Valentina. I’m about to suggest we sit down when I feel his hand grab my butt and squeeze hard.

And just like that I’m filled with rage. I don’t even think. My right hand clenches into a fist, and I turn and punch him in the stomach as hard as I can.

The force of my anger catches him solidly in the solar plexus and knocks the wind out of him. He doubles over, stumbling, and a couple of girls nearby yelp. I grab Valentina’s hand, and we head to our table in the back. Adrenaline is pumping through my body and my hand is throbbing.

“How did you do that?” Valentina asks as we sit down next to Paolo.

“I have no idea,” I answer honestly.

“Do what?” Paolo asks.

Before either of us can answer, Diego and Carmen come running over.

“OhmygoshIcan’tbelievethatjusthappened,” Carmen says in a rush.

“That was amazing!” Diego says. “You were like Trinity from the Matrix .”

“Are you okay?” Valentina asks. She’s staring at my hands trembling in my lap.

“What just happened?” Paolo demands.

“This guy was getting handsy with Julieta on the dance floor and she took him out. Solid punch to the stomach. He was at least six inches taller than her, but she took him down . You don’t mess with Julieta.” Diego puts his hand up to high five me, and I high five him as gently as I can.

“Is this loon speaking the truth, Dolcetta ?” Paolo asks me. His tone is light, but his eyes are filled with concern.

“More or less that’s how it went down.”

Paolo whistles. “I would have loved to see that.”

“I bet he has a broken rib,” Diego says.

“Who has a broken rib?” Jake asks. He’s just arrived at the table carrying two bottles of water.

“The Italian man your girlfriend just knocked to the floor with one punch,” Paolo says.

Jake’s mouth drops open. Carmen and Valentina and Diego share their eyewitness accounts and it’s comical to watch the expression on Jake’s face as he listens. He goes from surprise to disbelief to anger to concern while I open a bottle of water and take a long drink.

“That slimeball does not have a broken rib,” I say. “He got the wind knocked out of him, that's all.”

“Are you okay?” Jake asks. He puts his arm around my shoulders, and I let myself relax into him.

“I’m okay,” I say.

“Where’d you learn to punch like that?” Carmen asks.

“My brothers. But that’s the first time I’ve ever punched anyone. He only went down because he wasn’t expecting it. I’m not actually that strong and impressive.”

“I think you are incredibly strong,” Valentina says. “I was very impressed.”

For some reason, her words make tears pop up in my eyes. I think the adrenaline is still messing with me.

“Hey, do you realize what song we were dancing to?” Diego says.

“Yeah, it was Britney Spears,” Carmen says.

“It was ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time,’” Diego says.

The table loses it. Diego starts singing the chorus and throwing air punches, Paolo is snorting and wiping away tears and Carmen and Valentina are shaking with laughter. My hand’s still throbbing, but apart from that I feel pretty dang good.