Laura
I remember it had been febuary when I met Martin would I was growing bored or maybe lonely, we would go out to dinner, partys Park's it turned out to be fun, not to mention that it ended up boosting my already high self-esteem. We were both the strong, dominant types and were prone to explosive outbursts. We were also both intelligent and had significant knowledge of our respective proffessions. It pulled us both to each other, intriguing and impressing But i still felt good at Martin's side. Safe and calm. Or at least that's what i thought.
" i'm ready, honey. I just have to zip up my travel bag, which is not going to be easy, and we can go. " with a laugh Martin pushed himself up, stuffed the laptop into it's bag, and headed toward my luggage. "I think i can manage, baby doll," he said squeezing my gigantic suitcase. "It's the same thing all over again eh? Excess baggage, thirty pairs of shoes and half the closet flying with us while you're not going to wear more than, like, ten percent of all that."l
I frowned and crossed my arms.
" at least i'll have choices!" I retorted, putting on my sunglasses. I always felt apprehensive and anxious in aiports, afraid even. I had claustrophobia and hated flying. Besides, i had inherited my mother's pessimissim. It was always doom and gloom for me so l tend to overthink things that at least theoritically might end up in trauma. So a flying can with a pair of engines strapped to the sides wasn't something i'd likely trust without a shadow of a doubt.
We were traveling with Martin's friends, who were already waiting for us in the brightly lit depature hall. Karolina and Michal had been together for years and had choosen our destination. They were thinking of getting married, but at least for now, thinking about it was enough. He was your typical womanizer. With short blond hair, deep tan, and blue eyes, he was also pretty good - looking. All he was ever intrested in was boobs, though he didn't try denying that. She, on the other hand was a tall, long -legged blonde with a delicate, girlish face. Nothing special at first glance, but when you come to know her, she is remarkably intresting. Karolina all but ignored Michal's bothersome inclinations, i wasn't sure how she managed it. With my possessiveness, i wouldn't be able to stay with a man whose head turned every time he glimpsed at another woman. I swallowed two antianxiety pills to be sure i wouldn't have a full blown panic attack.
We were supposed to have a stopover in rome. An hour's break and then another hour flying straight to sicily. Last time i had been to italy i was sixteen, and since then i didn't have a high opinion of italian's. They were noisy, intrusive and didn't know a word of English. And English was like a native tongue to me. After all those years spent in various hotels there were times i thought in English.
When we finally landed in Catania, the sun was already setting. The guy at the car rental office took his bloody time handling customers. We got stuck in the queue for an hour. Martin was hungry and edgy, and his foul mood was rubbing off on me, so i decided to take a look around the place. There wasn't much to see, truth be told. I exited the air conditioned building and felt the overwhelming heat. In the distance, i could see the smoking summit of mountain Etna. It was a bit disturbing, really, though i had known the volcano was still active. Walking with my head in the clouds, i didn't notice the end of the payment, and before i gathered my wits, an enormous italian popped out of nowhere and i nearly walked into him. I stopped dumbfounded, a couple of inches from the man's back, but he didn't even flinch, failing to noticed i nearly slammed into him. A group of men wearing black suits were walking out of the aiport terminal. The man in front of me looked like he was escorting them. I didn't wait for them to pass, instead turning on my heel and walking back to the car rental office, praying for the car finally to be ready. When i was close, three black SUV's drove by. The middle one seemed to slow down a bit for an instant, but i couldn't see anything inside though the darkened windows.
"Laura!" I heard martin call out, the keys to our car clasped in his hand. "Where the hell are you going? Were off!"
Hilton Giardini Naxos welcomed us with an enormous vase in the shape of a head, holding a building of tall white and pink lilies. The scent of the flowers filled the impressive entrance hall filled with golden motifs. "Real itzy, darling", i said, turning to martin with a smile. " a bit louis xvi. I wonder if there is a bath tub with lion paws upstairs".
Everyone burst out laughing we all were thinking the same thing, it seem. The hotel wasn't as luxurious as a hilton should have been. There were a lot of shortcomings i could discern with my proffessional eye.
" the only things that matter are a good bed, a freezer filled with Vodka, and some sunny weather," michal said. "I don't care about anything else".
"Right, i forgot this is going to be just another trip of binge drinking. Now i feel bad for not being an alcholic like the rest of you", i replied with a grimace of mock irritation. " i'm hungry. I had my last meal back at Warsaw. Can we get a move on and eat out toay? I can already taste that pizza and wine ....
"Spoken like the absolutely-not alcholic afficionado of large quantities of wine and champagne," martin said with a smirk, wrapping his great arm around my shoulders. All similarly hungry, we unpacked our things quickly, and after fifteen minutes we meet in the corridor between our rooms.