One Step to You (The Rome Novels #1)(38)

Babi got in line. Nearby, there were two girls, too heavily made up, wearing light cloth coats. Their companions were two young men wearing fake camel hair jackets. One of the two guys had a golden pin in his buttonhole in the shape of a sax, at least as improbable as the idea that he knew how to play one. One of the two young men was betrayed by his light leather loafers with fringe. The other was undone by the heavy white socks that appeared boldly beneath the hem of his trousers when he reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes. That Marlboro in his mouth wasn’t going to save them. They weren’t getting in.

The bouncer spotted Babi and pointed to her. “You.” Babi walked past all the other girls with their poufy, layered hair, a couple that was far too well dressed, and two or three other losers from out of town. Everyone envied her. There was one guy who grumbled, who tried to complain, but only under his breath. In reality, he just wanted to let his buddy hear what he had to say.

Babi smiled at the bouncer and went in. He decided that he’d chosen well. He went back to gazing grimly at his small flock, his face decisive, his brow furrowed, ready to crush any rebellion. But there was no need. Everyone continued to wait in silence, exchanging glances, but with that half smile that was worth a complete sentence, thinking, We don’t count for shit.

Two enormous subwoofers were pounding high above the club, putting out a bass line to die for. At the bar, young men and women were shouting at the tops of their lungs, trying to make themselves heard and laughing. A guy with a funny face and little round glasses was sitting perched on the edge of a stool. He was happily chatting with a beautiful girl whose hair was long and blond. In fact, she was waiting for her boyfriend. He seemed not to understand her, or maybe he was just pretending not to. The girl shrugged her shoulders and let him buy her a gin and tonic. He paid for the round. He’d heard exactly what she’d said, but he was hoping against hope that the other guy would simply not show up.

Babi leaned against the glass. She was looking down at the big dance floor. Everyone was dancing like they’d lost their minds. At the sides of the floor, even the calmer club-goers were starting to be swept away by the beat of the house music.

She searched for Pallina and the others but she couldn’t seem to spot them. She moved to the left. She really liked Vetrine. You came in and looked down through that glass floor at the people dancing beneath you. Then, if you wanted, you could go down there, too, throw yourself into the frenzied crowd, and be watched by others, a tiny, colorful spectacle.

Babi gazed down and ran her eyes over the whole dance floor. Two young men were dancing with each other, out of control. A few girls were waving their hands in the air. Another was jumping up and down, amused and laughing with a girlfriend, with their skimpy spandex black-and-white tops and their narrow-waisted shorts. Some had bare midriffs and brightly colored jeans, slightly flared at the leg, fastened with a long handkerchief at the waist. A solitary girl dancing on a podium thrashed away with her eyes closed, with a well-mannered gentleman in a coat and tie doing his best to hook up. A lunkhead who thought he was a latter-day John Travolta, with a headband and a loose shirt, was lit up by the flashing lights every so often, almost invariably high energy and out of control as the smoke poured near and far with a hiss, enveloping one and all. One couple was trying to say something to each other. Maybe he was suggesting a more sensual dance they could try at home with a gentler, softer music. She laughed. Maybe she was going to accept. Or maybe they were talking about something entirely different.

But no sign of Pallina, or Pollo, or any of their other friends, and especially not him, not Step. Maybe they hadn’t come? Impossible. Pallina would have let her know.

Then Babi sensed something. An odd sensation. She’d been looking in the wrong direction. And as if guided by a divine hand, by the gentle push of destiny, she turned around. There they were. In the very same room. Not far away, sitting in a corner at the far end of the club, right up against the last sheet of plate glass. The whole group was there. Pollo, Pallina, the guy with the patch, other young guys with short hair and bulging biceps, accompanied by smaller, cuter girls. There was Maddalena and her round-faced girlfriend.

And then there he was. Step was there. He was drinking a beer from a clear glass with a colorful trademark emblazoned on it, and every so often he’d look down. He seemed to be looking for something or someone. Babi felt her heart race. Could he be looking for her? Maybe Pallina told him that she was going to be there.

Slowly, she looked down again. The dance floor seemed blurry behind the glass. No, Pallina couldn’t have told him that.

She turned her gaze in his direction again and smiled to herself. So strong, with that bad-boy attitude, his hair short, in a fade at the back, his jacket zipped up, and that way he had of sitting, like a confident hero.

And yet, there was something kind and good about him. Maybe it was the look in his eyes.

Step turned in her direction. Babi whipped away, frightened. She wasn’t ready for him to see her, so she melted into the crowd and moved away from the glass. She went to the far end of the club where the staircase led down to the dance floor. She pulled her leather wallet out of the back pocket of her overalls. A short, stout guy stopped her. She gave him ten thousand lire. The guy handed her a yellow ticket and waved her through before going back to talking with a young woman wearing her cap sideways.

Babi hurried down the steps. Downstairs, the music was much louder. At the bar, Babi asked for a Bellini because she liked the taste of peaches. From that corner, she looked up and saw them. Step had stood up, and now he was leaning against the glass, braced with both hands. He was moving his head up and down in time to the music. Babi smiled. He couldn’t see her from there, so she stayed and watched him.