A Kiss Across Borders ✔

Fourteen: Spicy Train Songs

We found Liam and Sofia making out on a stone bench overlooking the sea.

"Belle," Caroline said a little too quietly for the situation.

"Dude!" I yelled, and they both jumped.

"Where's the fire, bro?" Liam said.

I pointed to my watch. "We have a train to catch, remember?"

"Oh shit," he turned to Sofia, "Babe, we have to run."

Sofia's face was still red as she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry I forgot, it's just hard to think straight when-" Liam paused when he saw the look on Sofia's face. "Right, time to go."

We raced up the stone steps towards the fountain. Lisa and Fabio were standing near the path when we got up there. The bride and groom thanked us again, and we wished them well before rushing off to go meet Davide, who was waiting by his car.

Everything felt like a blur as we ran down the winding, wooded paths, bolted past the flowers, finally coming to the gate. We hopped in the car, and the second our seatbelts clicked, Davide hit the gas.

Davide tore down the road like he was driving in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, and got us to the hotel with twenty minutes left. We ran upstairs, grabbed our things, checked out and got back in the car.

As we were crossing the San Luigi Bridge, Sofia said, "Wait!"

"What?" The rest of us said in unison.

"We didn't get a selfie on the Passarella Squarciafichi!"

"Too late for that now, babe," Liam said from the passenger seat.

"No, it's not," she looked at her phone, "we still have ten minutes-it'll be quick-just one picture. It's the most beautiful view in town, and it's just down that street," Sofia pointed.

"Okay," I said and asked Caroline to tell Davide.

He sounded confused but did what Caroline asked. A minute later, we pulled up next to the steps leading to the pedestrian bridge known as the Passarella Squarciafichi. All along the length of the bridge, there were slim, metal arches with lanterns hanging from them.

I smiled, looking back at where we'd just come from. Sofia was right, it was beautiful. From there, we could see all the colourful houses lining the hillside across the river with the cathedral tower standing tall over the clay roofs.

We quickly got into position for the picture.

"Say whiskey!" Liam shouted.

I heard the familiar snap of the camera.

Sofia checked her phone. "Got it. Okay, let's go."

We jumped back into the car, and Davide flew down the street leading to the train station. The brakes screeched as we came to a stop in front of the station. We thanked Davide for driving us, said goodbye and ran up the steps.

Five minutes left.

Our footsteps echoed off the walls as we raced up the stairs to the platform, racing towards the train with a minute left. We didn't even check our tickets and just ran to the closest door seconds before the train started leaving.

Inside, we took a moment to catch our breath as the door closed behind us.

"Lunch in Italy," Liam panted, "Check."

I shook my head and managed a breathless chuckle; the girls flashed tired smiles. Ventimiglia started to fade away as the train sped up.

"Let's find somewhere to sit," Caroline said, and we followed her up the stairs.