Author’s note: Please note that you’re going to find paragraphs written in italic letters. Those parts represent Luna’s dreams.
————
Friday
Madrid (Spain) Luna.
Luna and M had been sleeping during their flight back to Spain. Gonzalo told M that they were going to land in about half an hour. They both were exhausted after such an intense trip around Europe.
M grinned as she thought about last night. Luna had been dancing non-stop with different guys in the clubs. She had been laughing, teasing and making jokes with almost all of them.
M had enjoyed each and every second of the night, even though she hadn’t danced at all. She had been more interested spending her time talking with her old friends while watching Luna.
Finally their jet landed and both of them went directly to Luna’s car. When they were about to get in the car, someone called M, and she turned her head. It was one of her husband’s old partners.
It seemed that that night the German Embassy was going to give a party and that M had been invited.
The couple had just arrived and immediately they were talking about what Luna was going to wear for the Embassy’s reception.
Luna was really excited, all this shit was new to her and she had never been at any of those kinds of parties before. So the German couple started to explain to her how those parties usually went and what kind of people were invited.
Several private jets landed at the same time and the surroundings of the hangar were full of expensive luxury cars, bodyguards and rich people.
———————-
Friday
Madrid (Spain) Vin.
TCOR’s tour jet rolled over the runway in the direction of the hangar. Vin hadn’t slept at all last night, but finally exhaustion took the best of him.
Valentino was looking through the window, excited like a little kid on Christmas Day, trying his best not to jump up and down in his seat. He had been thinking non-stop about today and what they were going to do.
Now after so many months of pain, anger and sadness, finally Vin was landing in Spain, Luna’s country.
Both of them had been enduring probably one of the worst times in their lives since they were friends. It had all passed in just a few days.
The Spanish distributors had been saying “no” all the time because of their internal problems, and suddenly from one day to another they had solved the problems and here they were, ready and able to present TCOR in Madrid.
Valentino closed his eyes as he crossed his hands, praying silently in Spanish. He was asking for any kind of sign on the part of Fate.
After a long moment, Valentino made the sign of the cross upon his chest and opened his eyes, looking through the window one more time.
His eyes almost popped out of his face as soon as Valentino saw “his sign”. It was just in front of his brown eyes, flashing him.
A turquoise Mercedes SL600 was parked next to the hangar.
Valentino blinked furiously and fixed his gaze on the car as he grinned wickedly.
“Gracias”. (Thank you) Val mouthed staring at the ceiling of the jet, grinning like a loony. “Con eso me vale.” (It’s enough for me) he added as his grin widened.
A couple of minutes later, Vin awoke startled with his heart racing fast inside of his chest and looked at Valentino, blinking furiously. Vin took a deep breath and heaved a hard sigh, closing his eyes.
He had no clue what the hell he was going to do. At the moment his mind was racing with all kind of ideas and honestly he wasn’t so sure anymore about his feelings concerning Luna.
He had been living in his little hell for many months, pretending that he was okay, fooling everybody around him with the exception of Amanda and Valentino.
Vin had been putting so much effort in that task that he had almost started to suspect that he didn’t care about Luna anymore.
Val looked at him, concern written all over his face, frowning deeply.
“Are you ok, bro?” Val asked softly, patting Vin’s shoulder. In response, he nodded ‘yes’, sighing hard and then he opened his eyes, blinking the sleep from his eyes one more time.
Today was a really busy day. First of all, Vin Diesel had to pose for the official photos in the garden of the Ritz hotel with the poster of “The Chronicles of Riddick” behind him. After that, he had to attend a press conference with the Spanish media that was going to be shown by a prepay TV channel. Then a few more interviews in his suite with authorized journalists from the most prestigious Spanish movie magazines, and later that night the premier of the movie.
After what seemed an eternity for Val, the jet reached the end of its runway and stopped near the hangar where two black vans were waiting for Vin Diesel and his companions.
Valentino jumped out of his seat, almost knocking Vin over on his way out and rushed to the entrance of the jet.
Amanda shook her head, rolling her eyes as she stood. Vin frowned deeply and stretched in his seat, cracking his neck to both sides.
Val exited the jet, followed by Amanda. Two bodyguards followed them outside waiting for Vin to leave the jet. After a moment, Vin took a deep breath and stood.
A moment later, Vin Diesel emerged from the jet and climbed down the stairs, joining the rest of the group.
Immediately, Val started to look around, franticly looking for the turquoise SL600. After a moment he spotted it and turned his head to look at Vin.
“Hey, Vincent! You still don’t believe in Fate, bro?” Val asked him, grinning while fixing his gaze on Vin’s eyes. Vin rolled his eyes, sighing.
“Oh, fuck, Val. I’m sick and tired of…”
Val didn’t let him finish.
“Now look at that, man.” He added while pointing with his finger in the car’s direction. They both turned their heads at the same time.
Valentino’s eyes almost popped out of his head and his mouth hung wide open. Vin on the other hand went motionless, gasping.
His heart started to race wildly inside of his chest. Luna, he though. In one fast move, Vin snatched his sunglasses from his face, staring at her.
Luna was just a few meters away from them and she was about to get in her car when suddenly her heart skipped a beat and her stomach clenched almost painfully.
Mark… her mind echoed inside of her brain.
Luna narrowed her eyes as she looked at M. In response, M smiled slightly and looked over Luna’s shoulder.
In two seconds, Luna turned around on her heels and her heart stopped dead, just to match Vin’s heartbeat.
Of course both of them were oblivious to that fact.
Luna’s eyes opened wide and almost immediately she started to chew her lower lip.
As soon as their eyes locked, Luna felt a strong shiver ran up her spine and all her muscles tensed inside of her body.
Time stopped around them while they were staring at each others eyes.
More than six months had passed since the last time they locked eyes, but immediately all the sensations and feelings that overwhelmed them the last time they had seen each other came back full force.
Their eyes were showing the emptiness, the desire, the pain, the anger, the passion, the sadness and the love all mixed up in a bizarre cocktail.
Neither of them was expecting to cross paths again and that fact caused that at that very moment they didn’t know what to do next.
As soon as Luna laid eyes on Vin, she couldn’t stop the tears that rolled freely down her cheeks. She wanted to run to him, into his arms and kiss him like there was no tomorrow, but her body wouldn’t let her make a move at all. She was frozen in place, unable to move a muscle even if her life depended on it.
Slowly, Luna brought her hand to her tiny scar at her heart level and caressed it gently. This caused more fresh tears to be shed unrestrained.
Luna whimpered in pain and shut her eyes tightly, swallowing hard.
Vin’s hands closed into fists as soon as he saw how Luna was crying silently in front of him. At that very moment his mind went blank.
He couldn’t think at all, he was just staring at her through narrowed eyes, trying to figure out what to do next.
Amanda sighed hard and moved to his side. Hesitantly, she lifted a hand to his shoulder, squeezing softly. Amanda cleared her throat and swallowed hard.
“Vin, we have to go.” She said almost in a whisper, but Vin ignored her and continued staring at Luna’s eyes.
When he noticed her tears, he felt like an invisible shiv had stabbed his heart, feeling an indescribable pain clasping his soul.
Valentino looked at Vin and then he looked at Luna. Without a second thought he turned on his heels but before he could start walking towards Luna a hand stopped him.
Val frowned deeply and looked down at his arm. Vin’s hand was grabbing him so tightly that it was painful.
Valentino tried to get loose from his hand, but Vin tightened his grip around Val’s arms. Val frowned even more deeply and looked back up at Vin’s face. What he saw, made Val curse himself silently as he heaved a hard sigh.
Vin’s eyes were full of unshed tears, frozen in place, but fighting for being released; his jaw was tightened, causing his neck’s muscles to flex.
“Vin…” Valentino whispered, swallowing the knot in his throat.
He never had seen Vin in this state and it was so painful that Valentino couldn’t even breathe normally, let alone try to speak.
After what seemed an eternity for him, Val turned his head and looked at M, smiling slightly. In response, M nodded ‘yes’ and returned the smile to him.
Finally, Vin put his sunglasses back on and turned on his heels, pulling Val with him. They both got in the black van and closed the door.
Amanda sighed hard, shaking her head and went to the other van, followed by the two bodyguards.
As soon as the driver started the van, Vin leaned back on the seat, closed his eyes and let his tears run freely down his cheeks.
Valentino got comfortable at his side, patted his shoulder and pretended he wasn’t there.
A couple of minutes later, the two black vehicles made their way to the exit of the private area of the airport and headed towards the centre of Madrid.
M narrowed her eyes. “Come on, Gemini.” She said gently. “I’m exhausted and you are too. Let’s go, kid.” M added as she got in Luna’s car.
Luna looked down, whimpering and got in the car too.
Neither of them said anything while driving to M’s mansion. From time to time, M glanced at Luna from the corner of her eye, smiling sadly.
Luna was chewing her lower lip with such force that it had started to bleed and silent tears were rolling down her cheeks unrestrained.
M turned her head to the window and pretended that she was interested in whatever was outside. After a moment, Luna cleaned her cheeks with her hand, sniffled slightly and focused her attention on the road.
When they reached M’s house, Luna got out of the car and ran inside the house. She headed directly to the guestroom and collapsed onto the bed, burying her face into the pillow, muffling her cries.
She should have known better than to expect that Vin was going to forgive her just for the hell of it after how she had left him. Now it was clear for her, that he was still full of anger and pain, and Luna cursed herself silently.
There was no way out of this situation. She had done what she had thought was best, but once again she had fucked it up. She had fucked her last chance to be happy with the only man she had loved.
Luna shut her eyes tightly and continued crying her eyes out while thinking about Vin’s eyes.
M shook her head and followed her inside. She gave orders so nobody would disturb them and headed directly to her bedroom.
M closed and locked her door and sat Indian style on the floor. Taking a deep breath she relaxed, closing her eyes and concentrated all her thoughts on Luna’s pain.
After a long moment, M frowned with her eyes closed and pictured a deserted beach. When she saw the beach clearly she searched for Luna on it.
Luna was walking along the shore, playing with the waves that were crashing against her bare feet. It was a sunny summer day and Luna was walking slowly, enjoying the sensation of the water against her skin. She wasn’t scared or cold.
M walked towards her, smiling broadly.
Suddenly Luna looked up and saw M. She was carrying a star in her hands. The voice inside of Luna’s head spoke.
Where are you going, Luna? The voice asked, but Luna ignored it and continued walking in direction of M.
Luna noticed that the nearer she was to M the less she could feel the pain, and all of sudden a warm sensation wrapped her body, making her feel at peace.
When M was in front of her, she locked eyes with Luna and extended her hand, showing the star.
Find the way to your heart, Luna. M told her gently and smiled broadly.
Luna looked at the star as she smiled broadly, nodding ‘yes’.
M opened her eyes, blinking furiously, trying to focus her vision. She then took a deep breath, got to her feet and headed toward her big bathroom.
———————-
Finally the two black vehicles arrived to the Ritz hotel. A crowd of fans and photographers were already waiting for Vin Diesel at the main entrance.
Vin sniffled slightly and wiped his tears away. Then he took a deep breath and looked down at the ring and at Valentino.
A couple of minutes later the two bodyguards climbed out the other van and went directly to Vin and Val’s van.
Valentino frowned slightly and Vin nodded ‘yes’. Val then opened the door and climbed out of the van.
A moment later, Vin Diesel climbed out the black van, waving his hand while he was regarded with the screams of his fans and flashes from all the cameras.
Vin Diesel headed toward the fans and started to sign autographs while talking with them, smiling and teasing.
After a moment, he turned on his heels and headed directly to his suite escorted by his bodyguards and Valentino. Amanda followed them inside, frowning deeply.
She was really worried. Now Vin Diesel was in Spain, and she was sure that the Spanish press wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass to ask him about Luna.
Amanda shook her head and headed directly to Vin’s suite. When she entered, Amanda found Valentino lying on a couch with a Corona in his hands, staring at a spot only he could see. There was no trace of Vin.
“Where is he?” Amanda asked softly as she took a seat in front of Val. In response, Val pointed his finger to the other room, sighing hard and took a sip of his beer.
Amanda frowned deeply and opened her notebook. In about half an hour they would have to face the press, fulfilling their agenda.
Inside of his room, Vin had collapsed onto the bed with his eyes shut tightly, thinking about Luna’s eyes and her tears.
Vin cursed himself silently, he couldn’t explain why he hadn’t moved a muscle to go to Luna at the airport.
He had been dreaming of her since the day she left him and now she had been just a few meters away from him and he had let her go without a single word, flashing her with the anger and the pain that had been living within his heart for more than six months. He should have been able to show his love for her but somehow he couldn’t.
Vin wanted to beat the shit out of himself because he had lost a precious opportunity to speak with Luna and try to make her understand what his feelings were.
Vin felt his throat close with a knot as an invisible hand squeezed his heart with such force that for a second he thought it would explode inside his chest.
Vin took a deep breath trying to calm his breathing that had become ragged. Then he opened his eyes and lifted his hand.
Staring at the star, he noticed how it was shining with more intensity than ever before. After a moment, Vin brought the ring to his lips and kissed it gently.
“Luna, find the path to your heart, babydoll.” He whispered in his deep sexy voice as he lingered his lips on that kiss.
Then, Vin closed his eyes again and pictured Luna smiling broadly while staring at his eyes.
——————–
Luna was walking along a deserted beach. Night had fallen and it was cold. She was alone, scared to death and trembling.
Her heart was racing fast and her breath was ragged. Luna heard a voice calling her. She lifted her head, looking at the open sky and found just one star shining.
She smiled and tried to catch it, but it was too far.
Try it again, Luna. The voice echoed faintly.
But she was so tired and her body was aching so badly that Luna closed her eyes and sat in the sand.
All of sudden, a warm breeze wrapped her body around, causing Luna to snap her eyes open.
Luna, find the path to your heart, babydoll.
Luna heard Vin’s deep voice telling her and an uncontrolled shiver ran over her body from head to toe.
Luna smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the warm sensation.
Luna snapped her eyes open, blinking. She was at M’s house.
After a long moment, Luna climbed off the bed and went to look for M. She found her sitting in her bedroom, reading a book.
Luna cleared her throat and headed toward M, taking a seat in front of her.
“What are your plans for tonight, M?” Luna asked, as she got comfortable in one of the big armchairs in front of M.
M Looked at her, smiling. “What do you want to do?” She asked gently as she closed the book and put it on the table.
Luna frowned as she heaved a hard sigh.
“First, a long and relaxing bath.” Luna answered, smiling slightly. “I’m a mess.” She added, chuckling at her own words. M grinned and tilted her head to one side. “And after that, how about the party at the Embassy?” Luna asked shyly. In response, M arched a brow, staring at Luna’s eyes.
“Done.” M answered as she stood up. “I’ll tell Cecilia. You can have that relaxing bath here. The tub is bigger.” M teased, grinning slightly and headed toward the door to call Cecilia. “By the way, you know how to swim, don’t you?” M joked looking at Luna over her shoulder. Luna rolled her eyes, grinning.
“If it’s too deep, I’m going to need a couple of floats.” Luna mocked and stuck her tongue, grinning wickedly.
M laughed, shaking her head and continued walking. Luna got to her feet and went to get her things for that relaxing bubble bath.