“How does this keep going?” He’s breathing hard now.
“I stay true to my word, that’s something you should have learned by now.” I love throwing his words back at him.
“I just don’t understand why people do this leisurely.” I turn my head so he can see the view. “Because of this.” I gesture towards the untouched grass and trees spreading all the way to the industrial side of the city. He looks and relaxes at the sight.
“I would never have taken Mexico City as such a nice-lookingcittà.” I look at him, dumbfounded. “Are you admitting defeat, Luca?”
“No. As I recall, my argument was that Florence is better, and that’s a fact.” I sneer. “Just wait until you get to the top.” I shoot him back a wink that he threw at me earlier.
Walking up for about another twenty minutes, we make it to the top. At this point, we’re both heaving. I need water. I was prepared this time. Grabbing my bag, I unzip it and take out my black Hydro Flask.
I take a swig of it, the coolness hits the back of my throat and all my senses relax. There’s nothing like cold water when you’re dying of dehydration. I hand the water bottle to him, and he drinks out of it.
“This is sad,” I point out.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean the fact that both of us were/are F1 drivers and get dehydrated by walking up a slanted road. We’ve been withdrawn from water and dried out like apricots in our cars, and yet this is more difficult.”
“Don’t make this more disappointing than it is,ragazza.”
“Nothing is more disappointing than this.” He chuckles. “That I agree on.” I grab his wrist, dragging him with me. “Come on, let’s go. You can see this view later. The one that’s important is the one from the inside.”
After going all around this eclectic piece of Renaissance history, it happened to impress Luca one or two times. I mentally pat myself on the back.
“It’s sad that you can’t see it from the outside as much anymore.”
“All the vegetation is a result of purpose. When the Aztecans built their pyramids, it was all torn down by the Spanish due to their religious denomination. Vegetation was their favorite thing. For example, in Puebla, the biggest pyramid in the world is covered in plants and trees, and at the top sits a church.”
“I’ve always found colonization a disrespect to every cultural aspect known to man.”
“Yep. Mexico City was previously known as the Aztec City of the Gods. It was filled with a completely different type of architecture. If it hadn’t burned to the ground, it would have been one of the seven wonders of the world. If you see the mockups of what it looked like, it would have been marvelous to see.”
“I love when you talk history to me.” He smiles but not with his teeth. It’s a different look for him. It’s genuine. Everything this man is. I’ve noticed that he doesn’t smile often because it wouldn’t be genuine.
I like that most of all because he smiles more when I’m around, which I take as a personal compliment to my sense of humor and aura.
“It’s always been a passion. If I wasn’t an F1 driver, I would probably be a historian specializing in Mexican history. If the Spanish never came, we would be speaking Nahuatl.” Reaching the terrace, the black and white tiles span over the whole deck. Then, boom, there’s the view. You can see all of Polanco from up here and have an unobstructed view of the top of almost every high rise.
“It really is nice up here.”
“Just think, just before the trees came in, you could seeLa Reforma, previously known as theLa Paseo de Emperatriz.” He focuses all his attention on me. “Why did they change it? I think it’s a perfect name for such a long street.”
“Because once Mexican independence came, the whole meaning of the street was built so that you could connect the imperial residence to the city center. Mexicans don’t like the idea of a monarchy, so they named it after the liberal reform. Why do you think theAngel de Independenciawas built? To show that they were no longer in power, and it was the people in control. It’s basically the structure of democracy.”
“I guess that’s fair,” he says to me, seeming to like the history lesson.
“It’s more than fair. Mexico was under a hierarchy for most of its history after having its people slaughtered. Thankfully, the rich history still runs through our veins.”
“I like you and your strong opinions.” He looks at me, then kisses me softly. What a way to get to a woman with a history kink’s heart.
He pulls back and I see it then. He likes me. I get chills.
Scary.
I have to tell him. All I can hope for is an understanding reaction, but I know it will be far from that.
“I don’t want whatever this is to start off on the wrong foot.” I say softly and he looks over at me again. “I agree.”