Mi Corazón

Chapter 3- Lovino

Chapter 3- Lovino's POV

"No way."
"It's a good deal! You won't find them any cheaper." The market trader reasoned.
"No way." I repeated. What did that guy not get about the word no? "I will not pay ten euros for some lousy tomatoes."
"They're very high quality! I do them for nine euros just for you my friend!"
"I am not your friend." I said bluntly "I'm not buying them."

I walked away as calmly from the fruit stall as I could and continued to meander around the market. It was bustling with life and the buzz of chatter and busking musicians filled my ears and drowned out my thoughts. I'd been sorting through my thoughts and feelings that day. In particular my feelings towards that man in the restaurant. He came two days in a row. Nobody did that. And he gave me his number. Nobody did that either. Nobody took and notice of me, as a rule. But he did.

I took the slip of card from my pocket, remebering a few days ago when he gave it to me and how my stomach did a fucking backflip. I read the words out loud: 'Antonio Fernandez Carriedo'. Then I read out the number. Should I? I dialed the number in my mobile phone but my thumb hesitated over the call button. Could I really do this? I was so scared I'd muck it up. What would I say? Ah, fuck it. I found a quiet area of the market where there weren't many people- just a busker playing a guitar and a couple of stalls. I pressed the little green phone and waited as it rang.

I heard another person's phone ring behind me. The guitar player stopped what he was doing and fished his mobile phone out from his pocket. He smiled and held it up to his ear.

"Lovino!"
I froze on the spot. What the actual and literal flying fuck.
Was that my phone or the guy behind me? Shit...
I turned around to look at the busker's face. He seemed oddly familiar. Of course! Wait... Fuck!

Antonio smiled broadly at me and I felt my heart jump. "Fancy seeing you here!" He called cheerily.
"Wha- I don-" It took a moment for me to catch the right words. "What are you doing here?"
Antonio laughed and shook his head. "I'm here for money. For playing my guitar?"
I shook my head in disbelief. There was no way in hell this was happening. Unless...

"Did you follow me here?! You fucking stalker!" I half yelled, not wanting to draw much attention to myself. He laughed. That bastard. Always laughing.
"No no no, I've been here since early hours of the morning." Said Antonio in his odd Spanish accent, looking down and fiddling with his guitar strings. Suddenly, his head snapped back up and he stared at me, his eyes twinkling with excitement.
"You want to here me play, no?"
"No."
"Okay then." He sat down on a stone wall infront of his little music stand and stood up a handwritten sheet of music.
"You write music too?" I asked curiously.
"Sí. I am a singer-songwriter in España. My friend told me to write a song about you. I used a girl's name though. It was the only name that would fit the rhyme. Also so I don't arouse too much suspicion." He winked at me. And my heart stopped. He really wrote a song about me? Why? Why the hell would he write one about me?

He plucked a few strings and then started to play and sing. In public. Oh, God.

"Singing Oah
I love you Moah
You're way too young for me
But I don't mind"

Oh, for fuck's sake. Really? Was this really happening to me? Seriously? Some guy I waited on bumped into me at the market and now he's singing me a corny love song in public.

"Never mind what your girlfriends say
Deep inside I'm quite okay
I may have fooled around once or twice
But I really need you"

He did have a great voice and an excellent talent for playing his guitar, but people were starting to stare.

"What I want - I don't know
But let's just say it's love"

Okay, he was singing in my face a bit now, and very loudly.

"Singing oah
I love you Moah
You're way too young for me
But I don't mind
Don't say maybe
Just be my lady
No need to hesitate
'Cause you'll be fine"

I pulled my wide-rimmed hat down over my face and tried to walk away but that bastard grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me back.

"So tell me what I want to hear
No wait - let's just leave it there
You know I'm not good for you
God - I don't know what to do!
I liked you from the start
You melt my icey heart
And now it's burning hot!"

I started to walk away again and this time he didn't pull me back. Freedom! I heard his cheesy lyrics slowly disppearing into everyday life's quiet buzz. I felt a sense of relief, but I also sort of missed it. Oh, for God's sake, I'd only been away from the man for two fucking seconds! I was overthinking this way too much. As I started to enquire about a delicate gold chain at a jewellery stall, I heard the background noise turn to near silence and Antonio's voice sang in my ear one again.

"Don't go away
You're what's left of me
I once believed you would save my soul
But if you saw me now - crying secretly
Would you hold my hand and never let it go?"

I supressed a smile. I didn't want to like him, damn it!

"I'm singing oah
'Cause I love you Moah
You're way too young for me
But I don't mind
Don't say maybe
Just be my lady
No need to hesitate
'Cause you'll be fine"

I turned around and snatched the guitar from his hands and put it down on a nearby wall.
"How about it Lovino? Will you go on a date with me?"
"I never told you my name, bastard."
"I read your name tag."
"That's creepy."
He just smiled. Damn that smile!

"You don't follow strangers around like that." I said, changing the subject.
"You're not a stranger, Lovino." He retaliated.
"Yes, I am! You don't know a thing about me!"
He smiled again. He was always smiling.
"I know that your name is Lovino, you live in Italy, you're a waiter in a restaurant called 'Il Ragazzo de Orro' and you love tomatoes." He said smugly.
"How the hell do you know..."

He revealed a wicker basket full of juicy ripe tomatoes and held them out to me.
"Will you go on a date with me?"
He asked. I scoffed and reached out to take the damn tomatoes but he jerked them back towards him. "Will you go on a date with me?"
I eyed him suspiciously.
"Fine." I snapped. "But I'm doing this for the tomatoes."
I took the tomatoes and scurried back to my car. I heard Antonio yell "Call me when you're free!" As I left and started to drive home.

That bastard, fucking serenaded me in public. Who does that? I looked down at my phone and clicked on call history. I tapped on his number and typed his name next to it. He was fucking crazy. Was I really saving his number in my phone? He was a bit stalker-ish.
But then again he wrote a song about me... that was kind of cute. He genuinely seemed to like me. Nobody had ever done that before. He made me feel like I meant something.

So I checked his number and pressed 'save'.

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Remeber: I wrote the story but NOT the song. This song is 'Oah' by Alexander Rybak. All credit for the song goes to him.