Tuesday afternoon, Jupiter made an appearance at Ricardo's. Gia had slipped out the back door for a quiet break—some days the espresso machine seemed so loud and the noise level of the customers ratcheted up accordingly, until Gia's skin seemed to crawl. She often ducked outside when that happened and it rarely took more than a few minutes to get her nerves under control. She loved her job, she really did, but more and more she was plagued by thoughts about her future and what she was going to do with her life. She didn't want to be a manager at Ricardo's forever... but she didn't know what it was she did want, either. She sat on the bottom step of the little stoop and stretched her legs out in front of her, relishing in the warmth of the sun penetrating the black knit leggings she wore under a fluttery miniskirt. She closed her eyes and tipped her face up to the sun, too.
The door opened behind her. Someone needed her. Someone always needed her.
"Ciao, bella Gia. I wondered where you'd taken yourself." Jupiter lowered himself gracefully to the step beside her. It took a great amount of effort to remain relaxed, not to draw her legs up close and tuck her ankles under her, to make herself somehow smaller, less than what she really was.
That thought gave her pause. Why on earth would she want to be less than what she really was? And why did Jupiter spark that reaction in her?
Jupiter made to brush her cheek with the back of his hand, but she tipped her head away from him. She kept her eyes on her crossed ankles, but in her periphery, she saw his smile. "What is it, Gia? Are you angry with me? Do you think I abandoned you?"
Gia grimaced. "No, Jupiter. I didn't think you leaving this weekend was about me at all. I know what you did—what you're doing—for your family, and I think it's wonderful. You're a good guy, you know." She finally lifted her face to look at him. "I'm sorry I misled you on Friday night, or all last week, in fact. I'm really sorry, because it wasn't fair to you, especially after you were so open and honest with me. I—I've been a little confused about things lately, and I think I might have taken advantage of you. Not intentionally, but still..." Her voice drifted to silence. She hadn't meant to say any of this to him. She hadn't really thought much about what she might say if she got that chance. But he'd shown up unannounced, and the words just seemed to flow, so she let them. They made sense to her.
"I do not think you are the kind of girl who would ever intentionally take advantage of anyone, Gia." Jupiter's words were soft, kind, just like they'd been Friday night after she'd broken down. But having had the weekend to process things, having spoken to Granny G, and more importantly where Jupiter was concerned, to Ricardo, Gia wasn't quite so easily waylaid by his flattery.
"Actually, you know what? Maybe it wasn't premeditated, but there's no question that I intentionally took advantage of you on Friday night." She picked up a pebble from the step beside her and tossed it out into the parking lot. "I'd just gotten into a fight with my friend. We had plans for the evening, and when he made me mad, I called you." She released a self-deprecating snort. "Apparently, I am that kind of girl, Jupiter. It might not have been premeditated, but it was definitely intentional," she reiterated.
"I see," Jupiter said, his smile still in place, but no longer quite so flashy.
"I'm sorry. It was a crappy thing to do to you, calling you to come rescue me that way. But then to mislead you the way I did only made it worse."
"No." Jupiter reached over and took her hand in his. Turning toward her, he said, "Do not say that. I didn't mind being there for you when you needed me. In fact, if you need to take advantage of me again, I am at your service." Then he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her knuckles in a rather gallant gesture.
She almost pulled away, remembering the delicious sensations his mouth had stirred in her when he'd kissed her, but at the last moment, she let him do his thing. When he released her hand, she patted his cheek, perhaps a little more brusquely than absolutely necessary. "You really are something else, Jupiter. I kinda can't help but like you."
"That is good, because I kinda can't help but like you, too," he replied, his eyes holding hers in a heavy-lidded stare. "How about this? Let us be friends for now, and if one day, you think you might want to take advantage of me again, I am willing to discuss the option of being friends with benefits. I do come visit Uncle Ricardo every year, you know."
"Wow. Hm." She tipped her head to one side and stroked her chin like she was contemplating something deep. "Let me think on that offer... no. But thank you." She pushed to her feet, then offered him a hand up, which he took. When he stood in front of her, his smile broad and friendly, she stepped forward, put her arms around his neck, and hugged him hard. "Thank you for being a gentleman, Jupiter," she said close to his ear. "Things could have gone a lot differently both Friday night and just now." Then she stepped away from him. She felt him resist, just for a moment, his hands resting on her waist, but then he nodded and stepped back, too.
"I will be staying in Pasadena for the rest of my time in America," he said. "But I am only a little more than an hour away." He didn't try to extract any commitments from her, nor did he make any promises himself, for which she was glad.
"Thank you, Jupiter." She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "So since you're not going to be here every morning to make me my Venus Rising...." She pressed her hands together as if in prayer. "Please teach me how to make it. I promise I won't tell anyone."
Jupiter laughed out loud and shook his head. "Aha. It will be your punishment for taking advantage of me." Gesturing toward the door, he indicated that she go in first.
"Please, Jupiter," she whined, walking backwards ahead of him. "I need it. I want it. I must have it."
Jupiter chuckled and shook his head. "You only get my coffee when you get me. So if you don't want me, you don't get my coffee."
"That's not fair," she grumbled.
"Let us compromise," he teased, grabbing her shoulders and maneuvering her around a table she almost backed into. "I will make you a Venus Rising whenever I come to visit. It will be our commemorative drink reserved only for when we are together. Okay?"
"Does that mean you'll make me one now?" She stopped in front of him, blocking his way in the narrow hallway. "If you don't, I'll think you're mad at me." She planted a hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at him.
Jupiter laughed, took her by the shoulders again, and turned her around. "March," he commanded, nudging her forward. "I have fifteen minutes before I must go to class. I will make you a Venus Rising."
After he left, Gia felt such a sense of relief that she almost changed her mind about going to Ricky's soccer games, but she stuck to the plan. She wanted his undivided attention and she knew his team, the Diesels, would be his number one priority long after the last game ended. He was the kind of coach that didn't let any of his kids go home without feeling valued if they lost, and celebrated if they won. Besides, she still hadn't figured out what to say to him.
On the other hand, maybe she shouldn't over think it. Look how well the impromptu talk with Jupiter had gone, and she'd gone into that with no forethought at all. That said, there wasn't as much at risk with Jupiter. They didn't have a decade-long friendship between them, nor did they have a future ahead of them to figure out together. No, she had to do this right.
She did, however, text him from her driveway as soon as she got home at the end of the day. She knew he'd already be at the park, making sure everything was ready.
Thursday seems a long way off, but you're worth waiting for, Rickaroni. Go Diesels!
His reply came almost immediately.
Thursday can't come soon enough.