I don’t want to make him wait, I said. It wouldn’t be fair to him, I said.

Oh, how wrong I was.

It was already 9:45 PM, and he wasn’t nowhere to be seen. I was cold and alone. That asshole had ditched me! How did he dare to leave a woman crying alone one night, and then ditched her the following night? He surely had changed his mask so I won’t recognize him!

I finally understood all his secrecy, all his big words saying that he liked the liberty of wearing a mask. Of course he liked that, he could easily escape from all the problems like that! That dick!

My eyes were burning and I wanted to cry. But that asshole didn’t deserved my tears. He probably was luring another innocent girl like me right now! I needed to forget about him.

“You alone, miss?” a voice said to my side.

Next to me there was a man, plainly dressed and wearing one of the standard masks of the festival.

“I am ok.” I told him, just wanting to be left alone.

“I am sorry, I don’t want to cause trouble. It is just… you seemed bored, do you want to come with me? We can have a good time.” He ended with a small smile.

The man seemed inoffensive, and I was already out. Maybe what I needed was a distraction after all. To stop thinking about him.

“Ok, but you buy the first drink.” I told him.

Four aperols later – did I told you that Venice have this amazing alcoholic drinks called aperol spritz? -, I was way over that asshole. I was way over everyone! I had come to Venice to have a good time, and I was going to have it!

“Do you want another?” Luciano, my new friend, asked.

“Yes, a last one won’t hurt me” I winked at him. Hadn’t I said the same thing after the third…? Well, I was getting free drinks after all, so I shouldn’t reject them, right?

We were outside a small pub near St. Mark’s square. We had dance a bit, drink a bit more, and now I felt ready to spend an amazing night without thinking anymore of you-know-who. Yes, Giulianna was right, there are plenty of men everywhere, I have no need for assholes in my life!

“Here, Kat.” Luciano said, giving me my orange beverage.

I drink half of the glass in one sip, and I was lucky to do so, as someone bumped against my arm and threw my drink into the floor.

“No!” I shouted. The glass was plastic so it didn’t break, but still! My aperol was spilled all over the floor! I looked around to see the guilty of that horrible offense, and saw a man with broad shoulders who was arguing with Luciano.

And I don’t know how, but even in the dark light, I was able to recognize that short brown hair.

“You!” I shouted angrily, and moved closer to the two arguing men. “What the hell do you think you are doing?”

The asshole was right in front of me. And of course, he was wearing a different mask! I knew it! Now he had a standard mask covering all his face, golden in color.

He seemed to be as surprised as me.

“Querida, is that you?” He said horrified, and now there was no doubt. It was him! “Oh, no, did you drink…?”

“You already lost your chance, so let me spend the carnival with whoever I want!” I shouted him. “Leave Luciano alone!”

Luciano seemed horrified with everything. After this he would probably leave and don’t want to talk to me anymore. Asshole was ruining everything! He was grabbing Luciano by the arm, and so I stomped in the middle of them, forcing them to separate.

“You don’t understand” asshole continued angrily, “this sad excuse of a man…”

“You are a sad excuse of a man! You ditched me!” I shouted back. “Do you know how long I was waiting for you?”

People were starting to stare, but I didn’t care.

“And this man, he was here when I needed him! This man…” I stopped for a second to think something good enough. How could I insult asshole more? Was more handsome? A lie, as I had yet to see him without a mask. Was more reliable? That seemed better, as…

“Is gone?” Asshole finished for me.

I turned around, and he was right: Luciano had vanished.

“Look what you have made!” I answered angrily. I had had enough: I turned around and left the place.

“Wait, querida! You need to seat down!” He shouted, but I kept walking.

The pub was right in front of one of the small bridges that were everywhere to cross the small canals that were in the city. I started walking over this bridge and back to Giulianna’s, when I noticed that asshole was following me.

“Stay away from me, asshole!” I shouted at him. And so he did and stopped moving towards me. Yet he was still staring nervously at me.

“Please, you need to hear...” He begged, but I didn’t want to hear any excuse.

“I am so done with you!” I shouted.

I turned around to keep walking, when suddenly I felt dizzy. Had I really drank so much? I had drank more than the other days but not enough to lose this much control over myself. The railway of the bridge was short, but I grabbed onto it even though.

Asshole moved towards me, but I shouted again.

“Don’t you dare to come near me!” He stopped and looked at me uneasily. “And I don’t want to…” suddenly all my world turned upside down.

I was falling.

Then, everything was dark. I heard shouts, far away, and a splash, and then I was swallowed by the dark.