I saw her as the tour group came past. She was at the end, almost detached from it, wandering without really looking at anything. It was a hot day, still, a typical summer Rome day where everything is hot and you feel breathless just sitting down. Which was what I was doing, just next to the Temple of Vesta in the Forum. I'd done the Colosseum in the morning, had pizza for lunch, and had promised myself a gelato once I had ticked off the Forum in the afternoon. I rather fancied melone and limone, two of my favourites, cool and fresh, just perfect for the midday heat.
I was perched on a large boulder to the side of a little piazza. There was an old olive tree above me, offering the shade of its large outspread branches. The Forum was very busy, it was peak tourist season and there were groups everywhere being led by their flag waving leaders. Most had microphones fixed around their heads, which fed into earphones worn by their customers, so the place was fairly quiet despite the multitudes.
The group slowly made its way up the flight of steps which lead to the temple. Their leader was talking to them through their headphones so most had the glazed look of the information-overloaded. Their eyes darted back and forward, but their shoulders were slumped. It was too hot to be doing this. They were probably off a cruise ship so had a strict itinerary they had to stick to.
The woman drifted off the back of the group and sauntered over to the piazza where I was sitting. I was taking a swig from a bottle of iced water I had bought from a street vendor, but I got a good look at her. She was gorgeous. Very pretty face, long dark hair, slim but shapely body, and she was wearing a lovely summer dress which hugged her figure and billowed out around her knees. She was the sort of woman who skipped rather than walked, which gave the impression she didn't weigh anything, that she was floating.
She floated over to a wooden bench and sat down. I watched her through my sunglasses. She raised one hand and wiped the back of it across her forehead.
"Hot," I said.
She slowly turned her head and looked at me.
"How's the tour going?" I said.
She remained for some moments just looking at me. I felt I was being examined.
Then she sat up straight.
"I'd rather be fucking," she said. And still staring me in the eyes, she produced a small and well controlled smile.
I didn't say anything. I just stared back at her.
"It's the heat," she said. "And all these columns." She gesticulated with her arm at the surroundings. "It has an effect on a girl."
Still I said nothing. I wasn't quite sure how this conversation was supposed to go.
"Oh well," she said, with a sigh. "Another time perhaps?" And she stood up.
I watched her as she turned and took a step away from me.
"Wait," I heard my voice saying. She stopped and turned to face me again. We stood and stared at each other. The breeze blew her dress around her legs, and her hair across her face.
I took off my sunglasses.
She raised a hand and brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Kolbe Hotel," she said. "Room 315."
"Where's that?" I said.
She raised her arm and pointed. "Over there. You can see the roof. Via di San Teodoro. There's a path over there."
She came over to me and took my hand. "Thank you," she said. And with that, she walked away, dropping the tourist headset on the ground. "10 minutes," she called back at me over her shoulder. I watched her skip away.
Kolbe Hotel was impressive. The sign indicated it was four star, and the notice at reception said 'Charming luxury hotel just steps from the Roman Forum.' I took the lift to the third floor, the luxury suites, and walked along the red carpeted corridor to Room 315. My heart was racing, it was either nerves or excitement, or both. I knocked gently.
The door opened slowly. The woman was standing behind it, holding it half open. She was leaning on the door with a smile on her face.