I found Stefano on the shore. He walked alone and there was a sadness and a defiance to him that I found very attractive. His shoulders were held back far, daring anyone to mess with him, but even in profile, I could see the look on his face. There was a desolation that made me want to hold him for, I don’t know, maybe the rest of my life.“Wait up,” I yelled, coming out of the surf.
He turned to me, and stood, waiting for me to catch up.
“How are you?” I asked.
“f*****g wonderful,” he said, with a smile and a raise of his eyebrows.
“That’s kind of what I thought,” I replied.
We walked in silence for a moment.
“So, I imagine that you may not want to go back to that big, lonely beach house all by yourself tonight,” I said.
He stopped, looked at me directly in the eye, and did that eye
