The invitation

Joshua murmurs softly.

"Emanuele."

The redhead seems to be half dreaming, half awake. His voice was deep, deep and soothing. She remained in the same place.

"Emanuele."

Again, she just listened to the call. His hands remained on her shoulders.

But then the girl finally comes to her senses.

Joshua is frowning as he watches her. Quickly, feeling very ashamed, the girl gets off the teacher. How humiliating! How long had she stood there like a fool? And I wonder what he was thinking of her now.

"That was quite a tumble. Are you okay?"

The man didn't sound angry or offended. In fact, it was concern that glistened in his eyes as he stood up. But there was also no sign of spark, reverie, or any of the things Emanuele had felt. 

What a disaster.

"I'm fine," she replied, trying in vain to regain her composure. "I'm sorry... I don't think I can really do that kind of thing. I'm no good."

"It was my fault. I think we need to slow down the intensity until we find a rhythm that's comfortable for you."

The girl scratches her head, looking sideways.

"Look, I really need-"

"You lost the challenge, remember?" he blinks one of his eyes at her.

"But-"

"And whoever lost would have to do whatever the other guy told them to. That was the deal."

Emanuele couldn't contain her small tone of huffiness.

"But it wasn't a fair challenge!"

"Sure it was. Now, enough of your whining. We have plenty to do. Start stretching."

"What?!"

"Come on, sit on the floor and start touching your feet."

"Wait a minute there!"

"Bad loser."

"I'm not a bad loser."

"Then sit still and stretch. I'll walk you through it."

Joshua actually sits up and begins to lean back on his tiptoes. Emboldened, Emanuele begins to do the same thing.

Within minutes, the two begin to do a series of different stretches. Joshua asks Emanuele questions: what is the city like where she came from, was the trip very stressful, and what job was it that she could earn money on her cell phone. She answered everything vaguely, except for the job. According to the redhead, she sent articles to a fictional literature magazine, and was paid well for it.

Emanuele also asked Joshua questions. Most of the time he said that he really enjoyed his work, and that teenagers used to be much happier and healthier when they played sports. He was also passionate about soccer, but he didn't support any team from the United States.

"What team do you support, then?"

"Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. It's a Brazilian team."

"Well, what to expect from a place that is known as the country of soccer, right?" was Emanuele's response.

After stretching, the two started running around the court. The girl didn't want to give up, but she was enjoying doing those physical activities. It was as if small particles of joy were being activated and spread in her bloodstream.

An hour later, sweaty and tired, the pair decided to go back to the apartment. In the middle of their conversation, they did not notice when a group of people stopped near them.

They were two girls and three boys, all smiling and friendly. And, of course, friends of Joshua.

"Look at that, if it isn't our favorite teacher," says one of the boys. 

"And apparently he has already enslaved one person to be the guinea pig for his exercises. Girl, if you need help, blink three times," jokes the other boy.

The third boy is too busy noticing Emanuele, so I do nothing. But not in a sharp, unkind way. In fact, he seems to be quite enjoying what he sees.

The girls, two identical twin sisters, are also quite receptive. One of them says:

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Joshua?'

The older man seems to swallow dryly. 

'Ãhm, sure. Guys, this is Emanuele. She's the new tenant of my sister's apartment."

"Tenant? I don't know. This story is weird. I'm sure you're torturing and enslaving her," the second boy jokes again. 

"Don't mind him," says the first boy. "He can't act like a normal person, but you'll still find he's a nice person. Sometimes."

"Hey!" complains the nice person in question.

Emanuele laughs.

"My name is Carlos. This is Andrew, Johnny, Amanda and Amora."

"Hi," they all speak in unison.

Andrew, the seemingly funny guy in the group, asks Emanuele directly:

"Are you new in town?"

"Yes, I am. I arrived the day before yesterday."

"Then you need to come to our meeting tonight," Amora looks excited.

"Meeting?"

"It's the way they talk about the moral depravity, greasy foods, and dubious music they usually consume on these nights," Joshua grumbles.

"He doesn't care about him. He's old and doesn't know what he's talking about. So, are you coming?" asks Amanda.

"I-," she hesitates, a little uncomfortable with so much excitement coming from the five strangers.

"Please. It would be really nice if you would come," the quiet boy, named Johnny, speaks softly as he seems to have trouble looking Emanuele in the eye.

The redhead seems to seriously consider the invitation. She still had an essay to submit, and could take the evening off to have some fun. In the city where she came from, her main entertainment was usually reading books about mythological dragons and princesses in danger. Why not change her habits?

An atypical smile takes over the girl's lips.

"That's fine. It might be nice. But I've never been to a... Meeting."

"There's a first time for everything," Amora says, pulling a blue card from the pocket of her jeans and handing it into Emanuele's hands. "Text me at this number. I'll pick you up at eight."

After a few more minutes of chatting, the group finally leaves. Joshua snorts.

"What's wrong?" asks Emanuele. They walk through the double doors on the second floor of the apartment.

"Huh? Nothing."

"You don't know how to lie very well."

The man presses the elevator button and waits while answering the girl:

"Don't get me wrong. I like them a lot. But I don't know if they are good company."

"They seem to like you a lot. I thought you were their friend."

Joshua nods.

"I am. I mean, I used to be more present in their lives. But they usually hang out more with Alexandra. The age is closer."

"Speaking of which, how old are you? If I may ask."

He smiles.

"How old do you think I am?"

"Um... Forty?"

"It came close. I'm forty-two."

"Oh."

"What about you, young lady?"

Emanuele didn't like the " young lady" at all, but decided to ignore it.

"Twenty-two."

"Ah."

The elevator finally arrives. The two of them get in.

As the doors close, Emanuele comments:

"When I visited Alexandra's social media profile, she said she was 29. That's a really big difference."

Joshua looks kind of sad and thoughtful when she says that. Then he mutters:

"Yeah..."

Had she said something wrong? She didn't mean it.

When the two enter the apartment, Joshua puts his hand on his forehead, as if remembering something terrible.

"Damn, I forgot to take the copy of the keys. Can you wait for me? I promise I won't be long."

"Sure. It's okay."

As he leaves, Emanuele looks at the blue card in his hands. In addition to the phone number and the name "Amora Parker," stars and flowers formed the print on the object. If Alexandra liked these people, then obviously they were good, right?"

But... What if something bad happened? After all, she would be going to a place full of strangers... And who could guarantee that nothing would go wrong during the night?

After taking a good shower and putting on a comfortable pair of jeans and a striped cotton blouse, the redhead sat down on the sofa and saved the contact on her cell phone. Almost instantly, a clatter of keys sounded. The door opened. Joshua entered the apartment, quite sweaty, and showed her the extra keys.

"Done." He tossed them to Emanuele, who caught them without difficulty.

"Great reflex. Tomorrow we can test them more."

She doesn't know if he is joking or not, so she doesn't answer. Her thoughts go back to the meeting that night....

It seems that the man guesses her thoughts.

"You want to go out with the groupie, don't you?"

Emanuele nods.

"Are you coming with me?"

Joshua grimaces before answering, probably ready to say no, but the girl pleads:

"Please. I would love for you to go with me..."

That seems to give his thinking pause. A discreet smile appears on her plump lips.

"Would you love to?"

Emanuele's heart feels like it is going to burst out of her chest. 

"Yes."

He moves closer to her. One step, two steps. 

Then he kneels down, to stand at her height.

The air between the two is so close that she can feel his breath on her own skin.

Instinctively, she starts to lean forward, closer to him.

And in that moment, in that second, she is absolutely sure of one thing: shy or not, ashamed or not, she wants to kiss him.

The space between them gets shorter and shorter.

Time for the truth.