ATasteofRome Read Online Free Page B

you. I’m feeling pretty much the same
way. As for tomorrow, I was going to be a bit obvious and head to the Colosseum
and the Roman Forum. You?” He took a sip of his beer and waited for his
friend’s reply.
    “I’ll see how I feel in the morning. I’m tempted to have a
day off, to be honest. Just chill out somewhere, sit and watch the world go by.
I know I probably sound really boring, but if I do too much and I’m too tired,
I won’t appreciate it. And I reckon soaking up Rome’s atmosphere will be pretty
entertaining in itself, anyway.”
    “You are a bit boring, mate. But I’ll let you off ’cause
you’re right. There’s no sense in rushing around like a headless chicken and
not really enjoying or remembering what you’re doing. I might have one of those
chilled-out days myself toward the end of the week.”
    Kristian raised his glass and they clinked. “To having a
chilled-out time,” Kristian said.
    “To making sure we’ve got enough energy to pull some hot
girls!” Ryan replied.
    They laughed together, then drank some more of their beer
before turning their attention back to the choice of food. A minute or so
later, Ryan closed his menu, waited for his friend to do the same, then
gestured for the waitress to take their order.
    They watched as she walked away, her short skirt swishing
from side to side with the movement of her hips. When she was out of sight,
they looked back at each other, approving expressions on their faces. “I
would,” they said together, then collapsed into laughter once more.
     
    After they’d finished their meal and paid, they hopped on
the Metro back toward the hostel.
    “I’m heading straight into the queue for the shower,” Ryan
said as they headed into the building.
    “Yeah, me too. It’s been a long, hot day.”
    They fell into a companionable silence as they grabbed stuff
from their lockers and shuffled toward the bathrooms to wait for showers to
become available. As it happened, they seemed to have hit a quiet time and
didn’t have to wait long for cubicles to free up.
    “See you over the road in a bit?” Ryan asked.
    “Yep, see you there.”
    Ryan stepped into his cubicle, locked the door and stripped.
Shoving his dirty clothes into the bag he’d brought with him and retrieving
clean ones, he grabbed his wash bag, stepped into the shower and turned on the
water. The blissfully hot water pounded down on him and he stood there for
several long minutes, much longer than was necessary, just relaxing under the
spray.
    He remembered that he was probably holding up the queue, so
he washed and rinsed quickly, then hopped out of the shower and dried himself
off. Spraying on deodorant then cologne, he got dressed, picked up all his
stuff and got out of the shower. He dumped what he didn’t need in his locker
and headed to the bar over the road, where he and Kristian had arranged to
meet. He expected they’d bump into Shanna and Taryn at some point, which
wouldn’t be a bad thing. It seemed all four of them were happy with the casual
arrangement they had, and he for one was more than willing to carry it on until
they parted ways. After all, what straight young man wouldn’t want to fool
around with two smokin’ hot American chicks?
    He spotted Kristian almost immediately, sitting with a
brunette he didn’t recognize. He walked over until he was a few paces away and
tried to get his friend’s attention without the woman seeing. He didn’t want to
cock-block Kristian by joining them at the table if he wasn’t welcome. The
other man saw him and smiled, beckoning him over, so Ryan went and sat down.
    “Hi.”
    “Hey, mate. This is Aria. Aria, this is Ryan, the friend I’m
traveling with.”
    She held out an immaculately manicured hand and Ryan shook
it. “Lovely to meet you, Aria.”
    She inclined her head and he immediately wondered what the
hell she was doing with Kristian. She came across as incredibly posh, very
well-off if her clothes and grooming