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Luna and Matteo stood there on the helicopter pad, not willing to let go of each other. They only pulled away from their kiss when the need to breathe became too much.
“I wish we had done this sooner,” Matteo joked to lighten the mood.
He didn't want to show how sad he was to return to Italy. He loved his country but he found his home here in Buenos Aires. His friends were here, the girl he loves was here. For so long, he didn't want to get attached to anything or anyone because he would have to leave it all behind soon.
This time, he couldn't help himself. Luna got under his skin without realizing it. His flirting when he met her didn't mean anything in the beginning, he was just having fun but the more he got to know her, the harder it was to deny that it didn't mean anything to him.
Luna smiled a sad smile at his comment and said: “At least it was the perfect way to say goodbye.”
“I'm not ready to say goodbye yet,” he answered sincerely.
“This doesn't have to be goodbye forever. You might return. We could still keep in touch in the meantime, we can call, text. Anything's possible these days,” she insisted, she wasn't ready to let him go yet.
She never felt like this before and even though they had a few bumps in the road, she didn't want to give up on them yet. It felt right to her, that's worth a lot.
Matteo shook his head with a smile and said: “I love how optimistic you always are. Maybe I should try that sometime.’
“You can start now and believe that someday we're going to see each other again. That I'm not giving up, no matter what. What we have is worth fighting for,” she said and put her hands on his arms.
With her touch, he pulled her in for a hug, holding her tight, like it was the only thing he could hold onto, like it's his lifeline. It was in a way, because he was leaving the life behind he built here and he didn't want to lose it.
“We'll try to make it work, chica delivery, I promise you that. I love you so much,” he said hoarsely.
“I love you too, chico fresa,” she answered while pulling away to give him one last kiss.
Not the last one, she said to herself, the first of many. She would just have to wait for a while. She was convinced this was going to work. Anything else would be too hard to handle.
“I really have to go or I'll miss my flight,” he said when he pulled away reluctantly, “My cab's waiting for me downstairs.”
She nodded, teary eyed. After a moment of silence, he asked: “Would you like to accompany me to the airport?”
He wanted to spend as much time with her as he could. Especially with their feelings out in the open. It was a bittersweet moment. A moment to never forget. A moment to cherish when he was back in Italy, trying to adjust to yet another new life.
“I'd love to,” she answered with a genuine smile this time.
She took the hand he was holding out for her and he guided her down the stairs. It took a moment because it wasn't easy with those high heels. He didn't mind, the more time it took, the better.
Soon enough, they were both in the cab, heading towards their inevitable separation. They didn't let go of each other's hand for even a second. Luna liked the warmth of his hand around hers, it didn't feel awkward at all, it felt comfortable.
Faster than both of them wished, they arrived at the airport. Matteo took his luggage and guided them towards departures.
He turned around when they stopped at the point Luna couldn't join. He squeezed her hand and went in for another kiss on the lips. It was an addicting feeling to have lips on his, it was going to be hard to live without this.
“I'll call you when I land. I'm going to make sure we talk every day even if it's just texting. I'm definitely going to miss this but at least, we can try to still be as close as we can,” Matteo assured her.
“I'll talk to you soon, chico fresa, now go before they fly off without you,” she said, trying to stay strong.
With one last kiss on her forehead, he headed for security and soon enough, he was in the air, leaving the only girl he ever loved behind.
***
Matteo didn't get the time to talk to Luna when he landed. As soon as he walked off the plane, he came face to face with his father. He was picking him up to take him home.
His father was always distant and he learned to live with it after a while. There was nothing he could do about it. The distance seemed bigger this time because he took Matteo away from his real home and there was nothing he could do about it.
They didn't speak much on the way home, just a greeting and his father was back on his phone. Matteo took the chance to send Luna a message, that he safely landed and that he was on his way to his house.
She answered with: ‘Call me when you can.’
His mother was busy organizing their return, giving tasks to the house staff. She was always friendly with everyone and treated their staff like they were part of the family. He helped his mother get things in order. It was nice to see her again, he hasn't seen her in a while.
After a chaotic day, it was time to go to bed and he felt the jetlag creeping up on him. He was so tired he forgot to call Luna.
He woke up pretty late the next morning and he looked at the time. It was noon, which meant it was still early in Buenos Aires, so he decided to wait to call Luna. She probably wasn't up yet.
He got ready and put on his skates to rediscover his hometown. It wasn't as open as Buenos Aires, he didn't find many places to skate but he eventually found a calm park with enough space.
It felt weird being here, like the picture wasn't quite right. He knew the cause right away and he tried to distract himself by skating around some more.
At last, he thought it late enough in Argentina to make his call so as soon as he got home he went up the stairs without greeting his mother to call Luna.
It rang a few times before she picked up and she enthusiastically greeted him.
They talked about his flight and his arrival at his house. She told him what she's been up to since he left, mostly training to get better at skating and hanging out with her friends.
“So how does it feel to be back home?” she asked after the small talk was over.
“Good, although weird, I'm not used to being back in Italy. Everything's so different,” he answered honestly.
“Well, knowing you, you will adjust quickly and find more people to talk to and things to do,” she said earnestly.
“I'm not so sure about that…,” he trailed off.
Luna heard he was sad so she tried to distract him by talking about a new trick she was learning. He coached her, told her what she could try differently.
The rest of the summer, they talk every day. Every time they FaceTime, they talk for hours about everything and nothing. Things were getting better for Matteo in Italy but that didn't stop him from missing Buenos Aires. He found a few distractions to keep him busy.
When the summer ended, he was happy to hear he would return to Buenos Aires and he was excited to tell Luna.
His excitement, however, took a hit when his father told him it wasn't going to be a permanent return.
Suddenly, Matteo was at a loss. This isn't going to end well, he thought.