Did I Seduce You Mr Jacques

by James Al Greco

  After about fifteen minutes, Eve came down to the living room, wearing skinny jeans that were slightly ripped and a tight black t-shirt.

  “Good morning,” she said again with a smile.

  “Good morning.”

  “I hope you liked the breakfast I prepared for you.”

  “It was perfect. You shouldn’t have though. Thank you.”

  “The pleasure was all mine.” She stood up, taking her bag with her.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going for a walk to buy some new clothes.”

  “Aren’t you going to eat anything?”

  “No, I’m not hungry.”

  “Wait a minute so I can give you some money.” I got up from the chair.

  “You don’t need to, Jacques, I have money.”

  “How could you have money, little one, since you can’t go and draw out money from the bank on your own?”

  “I have my own bank card and I draw from the cash machine,” she said and went out, shutting the door behind her.

  The young rebel left and I started laughing to myself inside the house. I hadn’t done that for almost four years and it was definitely a sign of happiness. I laughed alone, thinking about the childishness and immaturity that a girl her age has. It really transported me to a fairy-tale land, like I was on a ship that lifts up its sails and lets the wind guide it freely.

  When you can find happiness and beauty in small things, then you have found true happiness…

  What a romantic, vulnerable but at the same time rebellious age.

  A simple kiss from a boy could mean absolute happiness. A simple present, a card or even a promise could mean everything. A simple word, saying, “I love you”, you can’t exchange it for all the gold in the world!

  Why is it that as we get older we lose those simple values and those small beautiful moments that are certainly more beautiful and real than ours? I wondered.

  I got up from my chair and picked up my plate, leaving it at the kitchen sink. I walked towards my room so I could get dressed and leave.

  When I went upstairs, I found myself standing outside Eve’s room and I pushed slightly the half opened door.

  Her camera was lying upside down on the floor. The wet bathroom towel was thrown on the bed and her clothes that she’d worn yesterday were scattered everywhere; some were hanging off the wooden chair and the rest were creased on the floor.

  I wasn’t angry, nor did it give me a bad impression. On the contrary, I smiled and I liked the chaos that was prominent in the room. As I was looking at her clothes, my eyes fell upon her white underwear that was lying next to the pillow. A tiny bra and a very sexy G-string, which at a first glance I thought was a piece of string that looked like a thin ribbon. My expression changed and I became more serious. I didn’t want to look at her personal belongings any longer and I slammed the door shut with all the force I possessed.

  I went into my room fuming. I don’t know what bothered me but I knew that I was angry for some reason. Probably with myself! I dressed smartly because I had a very important meeting with a client, who wanted me to estimate two art pieces. I wore one of my good suits, shaved, something I hadn’t done for a while and went off to my meeting. I had informed Eve already that I was going to leave her an extra key underneath the doormat so she could come in whenever she liked.

  Late that night I came back from my meeting tired and sleepy. I couldn’t wait to lie down and rest.

  My mood changed for the better. As I opened the front door of my house I was faced with a completely different house than mine! Everything was spotless! Everything was organized and all the furniture had been moved around. They were beautifully arranged and most important of all was that, with this décor, the interior of the house had taken on a happier and more positive atmosphere.

  “Eve?” I shouted, while entering.

  “Yes,” her soft voice was heard from the bedroom and she ran to greet me.

  “What have you done in here?” I asked, standing still and examining everything round me.

  “If you don’t like it, I can put them back the way they were,” she replied apologetically.

  “What’s not to like? What you’ve done is fantastic. You gave a different perspective to my house.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” she said, placing her hands behind her back playfully.

  “Yes, it’s really beautiful. Have you had anything to eat? Do you want me to cook you something?”

  “I’ve eaten, Jacques. Don’t you worry.” She returned to her room with quick steps.

  I had eaten out at my business meeting and I wasn’t hungry. I only wanted to enjoy a hot bath.

  I headed towards my room and took the necessary clothes in the bathroom so I could get ready. I thought about looking inside her room again but, fortunately, I rejected that thought immediately and climbed into the bathtub.

  The water that trickled from my head down my spine seemed like a river in a narrow channel and was unbelievable soothing, relaxing me to the point that I wasn’t thinking about anything.

  When I came out, I heard her talking on her mobile phone to someone and I cannot deny that a feeling of jealousy came over me! There was nothing going on between us and I was twice her age, but I was jealous! I heard her telling him that she wanted to see him and that she missed him and kept on talking to him sweetly, which nearly made me explode.

  She finished her phone call and I was still standing outside her bedroom, thinking. I knocked twice on her door…

  “Yes?” she said with a soft voice.

  As soon as I heard her say ‘Yes’, I entered her bedroom.

  When I opened the door I was confronted with a magnificent scene! She was lying on her stomach on the bed, preoccupied with her mobile phone and was wearing very few clothes; some tiny black shorts that revealed her firm thighs and a loose t-shirt that covered only half her back. She had her legs bent in a way that I could see the small soles of her feet, which were a soft shade of pink.

  “I’m sorry,” I said and went to close the door thinking that I had disturbed her.

  “Why are you sorry, come in. It’s your house after all,” she sat with her legs crossed on the bed.

  “Who were you talking to?”

  “Well, that was my boyfriend,” she replied, with a playful look on her face.

  “So, we have a boyfriend, do we?”

  “Yes, yes… we have, we have. But I haven’t seen him for days. Since we moved to Venice and I miss him terribly,” she mumbled.

  For some strange and inexplicable reason, I got angry again. I didn’t like that she had a boyfriend from such a young age or subconsciously I wanted her all to myself.

  “Aren’t you a little bit young to have a boyfriend?”

  “I’m not that young! Don’t be such a prude.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Mike.”

  “Mike… did you go to the same school?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how long have you been together? I mean, are you in a relationship or are you just dating?” I asked her hesitantly. I didn’t know how to handle it. I hadn’t had a conversation like this one before, talking about such delicate matters with a young girl.

  “Oh, Jacques. You probably want to ask me if I’ve had sex with him. Right?” she replied, without feeling ashamed and without hesitating, which made me blush!

  “No, I didn’t mean that. What I’m trying to say is it’s not proper for a girl your age to have done anything like that. Besides, it’s not my place to interfere, it’s your life,” I responded and I began shutting the door and leaving, before she made me feel even more uncomfortable.

  “No!” she cried out as soon as I closed the door.

  “No, what?” I shouted.

  “I haven’t done anything yet! I know it’s not proper and I’m not going to do anything until I find the right man,” she yelled again.

  I pressed my lips together and swallowed nervously with
a grin on my face.

  The next day was Sunday! My favourite day. Resting, reading and a bit of work… this Sunday, however, was different from the usual ones, as it turned out.

  Since I was the first to wake up, it was my turn to make breakfast. I hadn’t made breakfast for any other girl except Eve.

  “The breakfast is ready!” I shouted to wake her up but she didn’t respond.

  After a few minutes, I heard her bedroom door opening and saw her sleepy face looking at me with a wonderful childlike expression. Her eyes were half open and her lips were slightly swollen from being asleep, making her look appealing and sexy.

  She was wearing the same clothes as last night and she came down and sat next to me, putting her feet on the cushions of the sofa.

  “You shouldn’t have made all this, Jacques,” she said with a hoarse voice from just waking up.

  “It wasn’t any trouble. Something quick for you to eat.”

  As we were eating together next to each other, I kept glancing at her slim legs and her sculptured stomach, which was naked up above her bellybutton and I craved to touch her and kiss her!

  I was insane! I couldn’t control my sick fantasies. Her face looked like it was made from porcelain. I studied in detail everything about her and couldn’t find one flaw. I don’t know whether I was thinking in a sexual or furtive way, the only thing I knew was that my eyes kept landing on the young girl without being able to control them and I enjoyed it.

  “Eve, don’t you want to put something warmer on so you won’t get cold?” I was trying to get her to release me from the strange looks I was giving her.

  “No, I’m not cold. I’m fine,” she answered, smiling and kept on watching the television.

  “Do you want me to make you a fruit salad?”

  “No, I’m full. Thank you for making me breakfast, Jacques.”

  “Okay then. Let me take the dishes inside and we can start our lessons today if you want. I have no other work to do.”

  “I don’t want to start today!” she said with a complaining expression on her face and lay down on the sofa on her back, stretching her body. I glimpsed between her legs unintentionally and at her hip bones that stuck up as she sucked in her stomach to yawn.

  “Hey! Jacques. What’s wrong? Is there something strange about me?” she asked, after noticing that I was staring at her intensely!

  “…No. you’re fine. You don’t have anything. I was just lost in thought. Well, I’m going to get ready for our lesson.”

  “But I told you… I don’t want to have one today.”

  “What do you mean you don’t want to today? Hadn’t we arranged to begin our Italian lesson?”

  “Please, I beg you let’s start another day.”

  “What’s wrong with today?”

  “It’s Sunday, Jacques!”

  “So, what?”

  “Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. We can have the lesson another time. Now, get ready,” she said, surprising me.

  “Get ready?”

  “Yes. Today we are going out,” she replied and sprung up from the sofa.

  “Excuse me?”

  “We are going out, for a walk.”

  “A walk?”

  “Yes, a walk. A stroll. What’s strange about that?”

  “Nothing, it’s just that I’m not used to it…”

  “How long has it been since you last went out for a coffee with someone, Jacques?” she interrupted me and I really didn’t know what to answer.

  “Now you are asking me a difficult question little one. Probably over three years.”

  “Are you serious?” she exclaimed, surprised.

  “Okay, it could have been two and a half years. Anyway something like that.”

  “Quickly go upstairs and put something nice and modern on and let’s go out together,” she continued saying stubbornly while pulling my hand and we began to go up the stairs.

  Without leaving me any choice I followed her upstairs. I went into my room and within five minutes I was ready for our walk.

  “What’s that?” she asked as soon as she saw me.

  “What?”

  “What are these clothes you’re wearing?” she asked again with a sour look.

  I looked at myself and obviously brown shoes with black trousers and especially with a checked shirt didn’t go together.

  The truth was that I had forgotten how to dress more modern, more free, more ‘normal’. For many years I hadn’t had to pay much attention to my clothes, so I wasn’t bothered about what clothes I was going to wear. I wore whatever I found and whatever made me feel comfortable. I don’t know whether the rest of the people around me were looking at me strangely or if they were talking about me as if I had come from another planet. I felt fine. Or at least I tricked myself and was convinced that I looked fine.

  “Come in,” I told her, signalling with my hand for her to come in.

  She stood in front of my wardrobe and placed her fingers on the handle, she was looking at me as if she was waiting. She was waiting for my consent to open it. I shrugged my shoulders, implying that she was free to open it and she didn’t lose any time. She opened the wardrobe and started throwing all my clothes out. All of them! She didn’t leave anything inside! I watched her and I loved the mess she was making. She was energetic, stubborn, lively!

  It’s the best age I thought, leaning my hand against the door and waiting for the choice of style of a seventeen-year-old girl. She was picking up clothes that I hadn’t worn in years and in the end she came up with faded blue jeans, a

  pair of black moccasins, which I hadn’t seen for a long time and a black linen shirt, which she advised me I should leave the top button undone. She made me shave even my small beard and reminded me to put gel on my hair.

  I followed the stylish instructions of the adorable teenager to the letter and stood in front of the full mirror that was in my bedroom. I looked at myself impressed! Even I couldn’t believe it was me! I looked like I was at least five years younger and if I got a haircut, that Eve was insisting I should, it would definitely be a massive change for me.

  As I was staring in the mirror, she came out of her bedroom, where she had gone to get ready, and stood at the doorway locking her eyes on me…

  “Wow!” she exclaimed, winking at me.

  “Oh, come on… you’re overreacting.”

  “No I’m not! You look perfect.”

  When I used to take better care of myself, I admit I was quite a handsome man. Dark hair, masculine, always smiling and my dark brown eyes were mysterious and my whole appearance came through as being trustworthy!

  I hardly had time to pick up my wallet when the little one grabbed my hand and pulled me downstairs so we could leave.

  “Wait a second, I’ll check on a painting that was just brought to me and pick up the dishes and then we can leave.”

  “You’re not serious! You’re going to look at the painting now? Now we’re leaving and when we get back we’ll see to the painting and wash the dishes,” she said in a way that I couldn’t argue with her and she opened the door, waiting for me anxiously.

  As I went outside the house, the sun’s rays blinded me and I shaded my eyes with my hand so I could see. I can still remember Venice’s priceless houses covered by the sun’s bright rays, which added even more grace to this beautiful city.

  It was Sunday morning and I was taking a walk. If someone had told me yesterday, it would have seemed impossible. Every Sunday I spent at home, relaxing and working.

  Eve was linking my arm and we were walking like father and daughter… or better still like a couple in love. We looked suited as a couple, despite the age difference of course.

  This young girl made me feel alive! She was like a breath of fresh air to my miserable and boring routine. I felt like a teenager around her. I didn’t feel my age at all. That day was like I travelled in a time machine that took me back twenty years. She was like a living time machine.

  We
walked through all the alleys; we sat at a lovely café where I drank a hot coffee and Eve ordered a fresh orange juice and after that we had for dessert a couple of ice creams. She sneakily stood up, whistling indifferently and then began chasing me with the ice cream so she could smear it on my face. I started running so she wouldn’t catch up with me! Yes… I ran! I had forgotten what it felt like and I really enjoyed it, if I leave out the part that I couldn’t breathe because I was out of breath.

  She wouldn’t be parted from her camera and was taking pictures of all our moments, spontaneously and not posed.

  It was a beautiful day that made me feel alive again!

  We returned home and Eve went upstairs to have a shower. I began preparing a quick dinner, I thought of making eggs with potatoes because I was hungry and I couldn’t wait.

  “Jacques?” she shouted from upstairs.

  “Yes, Eve, what do you want?”

  “Where are the towels?”

  “Wait a second so I can bring them to you. I’ll finish cooking and I’ll be there.”

  I had taken all the towels so I could wash them and I had forgotten to replace them with fresh ones. Thank goodness I’d forgotten…

  I went upstairs and went into my room. I opened the drawer were I kept the towels and I was pleasantly irritated by the smell that came out. It smelled of freshness and gave me the impression that I was in an endless pine valley! I took two white towels and left them hanging outside the bathroom door.

  “Where are you?” she yelled.

  “I’m here. I’ve brought them. I’ve left them outside the bathroom.”

  The door opened! The young girl just popped her head out to look and smiled at me. An unforgettable image! An oasis was unfolding in front of me. Water was dripping from her face and her shinny hair was wet and tangled, falling on her small and sculptured shoulders.

  She put her hand out, stretching her small, thin fingers and took the towels from my hands. I stood still with a stupid look on my face!

  With a playful expression she grabbed the towels and shut the bathroom door, shouting, “thank you”!

  Even though I had only seen her face, I created images with my imagination of how the rest of her body would look when she was getting wet under the shower. I began to walk down the steps one by one at a very slow pace, as if I was hypnotized.