Fallen (Fallen 1)

“You have a point.” I giggled. Oh, dear lord, did I just giggle like a little girl?

To the right of us there was a group of three girls. Probably my age, seventeen. They were giggling, blushing, and pointing at Jonathon. I felt a sudden wave of jealousy. Jonathon however paid no attention to them. I glared at all of them. In return they gave me a disgusted look and turned away.

“What was that about?” Jonathon asked me.

“You noticed?” I asked blushing.

“Yes.” He laughed looking into my eyes. His dark silver eyes bore into my green ones.

“Well. . . Those girls were checking you out and I didn’t like it.”

“Jealous?”

“I guess you could say that,” I blushed at showing my insecurity. But how could I not question myself standing next to Jonathon.

“Don’t be jealous. You’re the most beautiful girl in my eyes. The only girl.” He added.

“That’s the sweetest thing any guy has ever said to me.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Jonathon said grinning.

“You should.” I said.

Glancing back over to the three girls I noticed they were the jealous ones. Probably from the way Jonathon was looking at me as if there was no one else in the entire world but me and him. The blond rolled her eyes crossing her arms over her chest. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at her.

We flowed straight on through the Colosseum. We sat on the ancient steps looking down upon the field below where so much blood had been shed by the gladiators. I pictured one in a carriage charging his horse and aiming with his sword to kill a lion or some other crazy thing.

“Kylie.” The sound of my name on Jonathon’s sweet lips brought me back to reality.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Are you ready to go? There are more places I want you to see.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah. Let’s go.”

He stood without a single pebble or speck of dirt on his immaculate clothes. Not even a piece of lint. I however had to wipe the back of my jeans off.

Next, we went to the Trevi Fountain. It was absolutely magical but once again crowded with tourists.

It felt like we went everywhere. Hadrian’s Wall, Temple of Venus, Pantheon, several churches, the Forum, and the Pyramid of Caius.

“There’s one more place I want to show you. And I think you’ll enjoy it more than the others because so far I’m the only one who knows about it. Or now anyway. But I want to share it with you.”

“Okay,” I said as he snapped my helmet on and then his own. We got on the vespa and took off flying again.

Chapter Seven: Katherine’s Garden

I held on tight to Jonathon’s shirt as we wound around tight streets. My head pressed against his back. I could tell the sun would be setting soon. Goosebumps began to rise on the skin of my arms. I shivered slightly. I wished I had worn a jacket. I was happy now that Jonathon had insisted on me eating an early dinner. If I hadn’t eaten I’m sure my stomach would’ve chosen now to growl.

I could feel the vespa begin to slow down beneath me. The buildings were disappearing and being replaced by trees, bushes, and flowers.

“Wow.” I whispered under my breath.

I’d never seen anything more beautiful. This is the Rome I’ve always wanted to see. Not just the tourist stuff but the real beauty, the heart, and soul of the city. The stuff they don’t tell you about on the internet.

We were the only people on the road. But there appeared to be a farm with sheep roaming in the distance.

Before I could be sure, we were turning onto an unmarked dirt road. Barely distinguishable with all the grass and brush. I clung on to him even tighter. I guess I should be scared going down an unmarked road that appears hardly traveled on with a boy I barely know. But I wasn’t scared or nervous. I was happy, extremely happy, more happy than I’ve been in a long time. Jonathon seems to have that affect on me.