I named her Africa #Wattys2015

[thirty two]

"Here," she beamed,
handing me her guitar,

"Play anything."

"I've been practising this song..."
I said, in deep thought,
"I think it was called 'Habits of my heart' if I remember correctly."

"Don't think I've heard of it before,"
she said, furrowing her eyebrows.

I played a few strings testing their tunes and raised my head in her direction.

"Do you sing?, I think..." I murmured,
strumming the guitar softly,
"I think I heard you humming at the cafe before," I said narrowing my eyes,
"Right?"

Her lips rose on the corners
just
a little.

"Didn't think you were paying
that
much attention to me
back there," she said looking at me
curiously,
"But yes,
I like singing."

"Whatever," I added, focusing the attention on my fingers,

"You know, Mae Bae,
you don't have to hold back
your giggles,
I'm seeing you right
from the corner of my eyes."

And so a fine, marvelous chuckle
erupted from her insides
and her eyes wrinckled at the sides,
discrete dimples adorning
her cheeks.

"I'm sorry!" she said, gasping for air,
"I just couldn't believe you were blushing over something I said."

At that,
I hit the guitar strings to a stop.

"I was not blushing," I said,
biting back a laugh, trying my best to
look serious.

"Oh yes, indeed, you were," she answered,
with a challenging expression.

"Shut up, hunny. Are you gonna sing or not?"

"Wow you're so lame at comebacks,"
she mentioned, bursting into a fit of sweet giggles all over again.

I contemplated her,
laying her head back against
the window,
her teeth dazzling, peeking
through her spicy lipstick.

She tried something like being serious
when she noticed me staring and dared ask,

"What?"

struggling to keep a straight face.

"Huh?," I said, closing my right eye
while keeping my left one open and viceversa.

Her shoulders shook slightly and she bit her lower lip.

"What are you, practicing winking now? One would think you'd have dated enough times to know that by now, Faust."

"Don't be stupid, I'm not winking,
I have already captured your heart, sweetheart," I said, smirking.

Her eyes travelled to the floor, all the way to her hands.

"I just hadn't seen you this happy before.
That's all."

I kept a straight gaze towards her, but it was difficult to get a hint of her reaction when her eyes did nothing but avoid eye contact.

My fingers found their way to
the guitar strings and I began
playing the song

f a i n t l y

singing each word

g e n t l y

"In a dark room in cold sheets

I can't feel a damn thing

I lost myself

Between your legs

Your medicine is in my head

You know I'd rather be alone

But then you call me on the phone"

Her head hung back and her eyes rested closed.

Tender humming blew out of her lips.

"Oh the habits of my heart

I can't say no

It's ripping me apart

You get too close

You make it hard to let you go"

"You should go Faust."

Her eyes tied to mine powerfully,
desperate to catch any sign of
hurt.

I looked at her for quite a while,
pacing my mind on whether to
ask
or not.

So I stood up, placing her guitar
delicately on the flat step, against the
railing.

Silence hung between us,
all around us.

"You should know...

you-

you don't have to hide anything
from me.

You can trust me,
Chiara.

Get some sleep now,
it's late.
I'll see you soon.

Don't worry."