The other side: The Assessment

Chapter 1: Tall, dark, and handsome (and so out of my league)

Isabella's POV:

I landed in Milan in the bright hours of the morning. The flight from London wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would be. The plane ride wasn't even the thing that worried me most. No, the thing that worried me most was how I would get from the airport to the hotel I was supposed to stay in. I knew a little bit of Italian, but I was still having the jitters on my way there.

Once, I was in the Milan Malpensa airport; I noticed a redhead in front of me whom I knew from one of my classes. Before I could say anything, she turned, and her face lit up in a smile, "Isa, what are you doing here?"

"Samantha, so good to see you. I'm here for the course on the assessment." I wrapped her in a hug. I was thankful I wouldn't be alone in the first few moments in a new city.

Samantha laughed, "Girl, I got in as well. This is going to be so much fun."

I didn't know what she had planned for herself, but whatever she did, it was bound to be fun. Samantha was as fiery as her hair, and all the stereotypes of redhead turned out to be true for her.

"Do you have a way of going to the hotel?" she asked once we let go of each other.

I shook my head, "No, I was planning on asking at the airport for a rental."

"Great, can we do it together? I was planning the same thing," she started walking towards the entrance, where different shops were lined up, and I followed her. I smiled to myself, maybe my summer would be a lot better than I thought at first.

Once we got to our hotel, which the course manager had booked, we noticed that we were on the same floor but only a couple of rooms apart. "Great, do you want to meet up in an hour and then head for brunch?" Samantha asked.

"Sure, that would be great," I answered before we went our separate ways. The hotel room was nice; it had a double bed and a spacious bathroom. I was impressed. The course wasn't cheap, but I wasn't expecting this kind of accommodation. Everything seemed new and clean, and I was happy to see that the room also came with an AC.

I showered to get the aeroplane feel off my skin, and then I changed into a sundress. I knew it shouldn't matter, but I felt more confident about myself when I had an outfit planned out before, and I had planned to go all out in style at this course. I didn't go out much besides my classes and the part-time jobs I had acquired throughout my university years, so I didn't have a lot of places to get myself all dolled up for.

Going to brunch in the streets of Milan was a moment to get dressed, and that was what I was thinking as I was putting on my strappy heel sandals. I texted Samantha that I would be out in a minute before I grabbed my purse and opened the door. There wasn't anyone in the hallway. I made my way up to her room and knocked once.

The door flew open, and Samantha showed up in a green dress that only accentuated her eyes. I could only describe her as a rare beauty. With red hair and almond-shaped green eyes, she looked like a doll straight out of some cartoon. I was wondering how she dealt with all the attention she got from the opposite sex.

Once we got to the brunch spot, she had googled beforehand; I got my answer. She ignored them all. I heard from other classmates that she had a long-term boyfriend, but this just showed me she was committed to him thoroughly. Before another man could ogle her, she made her way to the back. There, we sat down and skimmed through the menu.

When we picked up our dishes, I went to the front to place our order. I tried in Italian and succeeded, even though I got a man behind me a little bit riled up because it took me longer than expected. I didn't care because it was a way for me to practice a language I had wanted to speak for some time. I waited at the side for our coffees while I got a look at the man behind me. He was tall, dark, and handsome. He was dressed in a white linen shirt; the sleeves were rolled high up, showing a constellation of tattoos against his skin. His whole outfit screamed, "I am a local, I am comfortable and casual here." However, his posture said something completely different, "I'm lethal."