down. Floating now in the calm water, the hot sunlight beating red through her closed eyelids, Calli was filled with a surge of love towards both of her parents; having Keith as a father, she realized, was not only a blessing but also the reason why she had always been able to trust so readily. James might not have been worthy of her trust, but others were, and she would not allow him to change that which was her nature.
That evening’s yoga session was a deeply charged experience. The stretching, relaxing and breathing made her acutely aware of and in tune with her body. She was no stranger to sensuality, having always been a physical sort of woman, and looking back she realized, perhaps all too late, that sex had probably been the strongest bond between her and James, along with their single-mindedness about their work and self-indulgent lifestyle – hardly a basis for building a family life together if that’s all there is.
After yoga was over, Paolo took Calli by the hand and led her away from the beach. ‘Come,’ he whispered, ‘I know another place where we can see the moon rise . . . just you and me.’ She followed in a hypnotic trance, her body tense with anticipation. Holding her hand tightly, he led her up a small hill where a pile of giant stones heaped on top of one another stood in much the same way as the boulders that Calli had found so enthralling a few days earlier.
‘We have a perfect view to the sea from here,’ he said, sitting at the foot of the rocks, pointing to the horizon where the moon would soon be making its appearance. He reached for her and gently pulled her towards him; as she fell, his arms engulfed her, and they rolled onto the soft earth.
Paolo was a gentle and thoughtful lover, all the while they made love murmuring words in Italian, tender, sensual, inaudible words which she wouldn’t have understood even if she could distinguish them, but all adding to her pleasure.
The days that followed were blissful. They spent as much time with each other as they could and when Calli at last concluded that her article was finished, he helped her to choose which photographs she should email to the paper.
‘You are a very talented woman, tesoro,’ he said, kissing her bare shoulder as he sat next to her in the hotel bedroom in front of her laptop. ‘Beautiful and talented, what an intoxicating combination!’ Paolo was doing wonders for restoring Calli’s self-esteem and confidence; she had been badly bruised, and he was like a healing balm to her wounds.
‘Must you go now your work is done?’ he asked, taking her hand. ‘Can you stay with me until I leave?’ his eyes pleaded. When she first met him, she had said that she would be there for as long as it took to complete her assignment; now he was hoping he might entice her to stay longer. He needn’t have worried: Calli had already made up her mind she was not going anywhere just yet.
‘Yes, Paolo. I shall stay until you leave,’ she replied and turned round to kiss him. ‘Besides, my editor has asked for a few amendments to my article so I’m not free of this work just yet, another day or so and I’ll be done and then I’ll be totally free.’
Once her work was completed, Calli was able to focus on having the holiday and pure enjoyment she so badly needed. She continued to stay in the hotel but would spend some nights in Paolo’s tent which made their liaison feel all the more youthful and exciting. The only time she had ever been camping was during the summer when she had finished her A-levels. She had set off with a crowd of friends to a camping site in the Costa del Sol. It was rough and ready, disorganized and chaotic, but it was the best fun she had ever had and the first time she tasted the joys of sex. Steve had been a friend who she quite fancied and who apparently lusted after her, so when they had found themselves in the heady atmosphere of sun, sea and alcohol, seduction and falling in love wasn’t difficult, and Calli decided that by the time she returned home she was not going to be a virgin any longer.
Sex in Paolo’s tent had all the erotic nuances of ‘first love’, and when