Capítulo 56

"Hi, Andy," I said, as soon as I reached the front desk of the building at three in the afternoon.

"Hi Lil," he replied vaguely, concentrating on his crossword puzzle. "Your uncle asked you to come up soon, he seems to be in a bit of a hurry today."

"Uh... OK," I stammered, holding back the urge to laugh as I turned my back on Andy and walked toward the stairs. I would never get used to the false status of Steve's niece, maybe even if he really was my uncle. I started up the stairs quickly, hearing the sound of keys and locks, and not long after I reached the second floor, Steve was already standing beside me, hastily packing a backpack on his back.

"Just in time," he gasped, giving me a quick kiss and then pulling me back to the first floor. Even though I was totally confused by his haste, I let myself be taken by his hand, whose fingers were entwined in mine before I realized it.

"What's all the rushing about?" I said, frowning, and Steve rolled his eyes, as if the answer was obvious.

"All the time I have with you this weekend is timed," he explained softly as we reached the first floor, "To make the most of every minute."

Steve smiled at me excitedly, and I immediately saw his radiant smile reflected on my face involuntarily. That smile had supernatural powers, I had always known that.

We quickly passed Andy, who greeted us with a distracted nod of his head, and soon we were in the car. We left our backpacks on the back seat and in the same haste as before, got into the vehicle, which soon started up. Steve was still sporting a smile, even wider than before, and I was starting to get really anxious. What was he up to anyway?

"This is your last chance to make me less anxious and tell me where we're going," I sighed politely, after walking a few feet in silence.

He raised an eyebrow, without looking at me, and a small smile began to play on his lips. It seemed that my power of persuasion would do no good.

"All right," I said again, when I saw that he would not answer. "This trip could be a lot more... This trip could be much more fun, but since it's like this... Suit yourself."

Steve widened his corner smile, shaking his head negatively in a fake disapproving tone.

"So this is how you think you're going to convince me?" he asked, finally looking at me in a smart way. "You think I didn't come prepared to resist your blackmail?"

I confess that that look in his eyes threw me a little off track. He had looked at me several times in that cocky way. But none of the other times did the eyes I saw on him seem to belong to someone else like they did at that moment. I felt my whole body shiver, despite my reluctance.

"I hate you," I rolled my eyes as naturally as I could, cringing in the car seat and making Steve laugh. He always laughed at everything I did, which I always used to my advantage when I needed to disguise something.

We continued our trip, chatting from time to time, humming the songs that were playing on the radio, and doing nice things that you can do in a car (none of the things you might be thinking of). I knew we were leaving London, but since I didn't know the way to other cities, even the closest ones, I didn't even try to locate myself. On the contrary, after an hour of laughing like crazy at the nonsense Steve talked, I ended up getting a bit groggy and fell asleep. I only woke up about an hour later, when the sun was already lowering in the sky.

I settled into the driver's seat, blinking a few times to focus my vision. I looked around, trying to figure out where we were, but nothing looked familiar. I had definitely never set foot in that place before.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Steve teased, placing a hand on my thigh and patting it lightly. "Me and you alone in a car and all you do is sleep? What a disappointment."

"You chose it that way, don't forget that," I reminded him, turning to him without managing to hold back a chuckle, and he quickly returned my gaze with a damned smile.

"We're almost there, just a few more minutes," he said, running the back of his fingers over my cheek and turning his attention back to the traffic.

I took advantage of the favorable wind coming from the window and the rearview mirror to fix my hair and fix my dented face, unable not to smile when he insisted that I was beautiful anyway. I would never get used to Steve's chivalry.

My anxiety increased at every turn, until he turned onto a deserted street and parked his car in front of a beautiful beach house. Steve turned off the car, sighing with satisfaction and turning to me with an anxious expression. I could barely control my facial muscles, so overwhelmed by all this architectural beauty right before my eyes.

"So...," I heard Steve ask, studying my reaction. "What do you think?"

"C-are we there?", I asked, stunned, and he just smiled significantly. I looked at him dumbfounded, and immediately an ear to ear smile broke out on my face. The place was beautiful, and now that the car's engine was quiet, it was possible to hear the ocean waves breaking somewhere nearby. Just perfect.

"Steve, I... I don't know what to say," I stammered, looking at the house and at him, unable to decide which one to look at. "It's beautiful!"

"I know," he nodded once, fondly, "And it's ours for the weekend."

I looked into his happy little eyes and started to laugh to myself, amazed by it all. Steve Suan could only be a figment of my imagination, he was too perfect for a single, simple human being. What was I thinking thinking that someone could shatter all the love I felt for him, so solid, so concrete that it was like a diamond inside my chest?