by Phavy Prieto
"Everything is delicious, honey!" Damian said making my eyes widen because we both knew who had cooked those dishes. He had his typical conspiratorial smile on his lips.
"Oh yes! It’s delicious indeed! I think I'm going to kidnap you and take you to my house so you can cook all these delicacies. Besides, I smell this sweet aroma in the air..."
"Orange cake!" I interrupted Elisabeth, getting up suddenly to prevent her from asking me about the herbs I used for the chicken. If she had done it, I would have been forced to throw myself off the terrace of the penthouse.
When Damian's parents left, I felt so relieved. Mission accomplished! Apparently they didn't realize it or they pretended very well.
"Did you like them?" Damian asked, helping me clear the table.
"Yes, I find them amazing. And your mother is adorable," I said sincerely as I turned on the tap to wash the fine china delicately.
"I've never seen my mother so excited," he replied, leaving the glasses on one side and standing behind me. His closeness continued to make me nervous. It was likely that I would never get used to his presence, to that extremely intoxicating smell and pure masculinity that emanated from his body. "She probably fell victim to your spell as I did," he whispered, placing a delicate kiss on my neck that took my breath away.
For God’s sake, why did he have to tell me that? I knew it was all part of a plan that was supposed to feel real, but, damn it, I had feelings!
"Fuck it all," I sighed, leaving the dishes and the tap running to turn around towards him. With my hands still full of detergent foam, I grabbed the back of his neck to shorten the distance from his lips and began to devour them with such impetus and passion that I surprised even myself.
"Then prove it to me," I suggested, pulling my lips away from his a little. "Show me to what extent I have bewitched you."
He slowly moved away to turn off the tap and then turned his gaze back to me with great intensity. I knew what was going to happen moments before it happened, I knew that that night was going to end up in the repertoire of my memories, as probably all the nights I would spend with him. Without asking, without saying anything, he took me in his arms and brought me to his room and put me on that immense bed.
With his lips pressed on mine I unbuttoned his shirt as he impatiently unzipped my dress.
The clothes disappeared little by little from our bodies while his fingers carefully caressed my skin. Then I felt his hands intertwining with mine while his moans echoed in my ears. I was aware of the desire emanating from his body and of his impatience while he was trying to control it. I saw him take one of the condoms from the bedside table and in an act of possessiveness, I pushed him on the bed and took the condom from his hands to put it on myself, before his attentive gaze, slowly sliding the latex along his hard penis.
I didn't consider myself a great lover or good enough in bed to do that, but Damian conveyed such an overwhelming sensuality that he made me feel confident like never before. I straddled him and felt him enter my body as he grabbed my hips to guide me with his hands.
I felt whole. I rode him until I finally reached the climax and an explosive orgasm went through my whole body.
"Do I really need to prove that you seduced me?" he said while I was still lying on his naked body.
A smile spread across my face. I began to draw small circles on his chest with my index finger, as if I wanted to paint that intimate, unique and sincere moment. I wanted it, I really wanted it all to be true.
Neither I nor Damian bothered to wear pajamas. We fell asleep on that soft bed in our birthday suits. My last memory before sleeping was Damian's arm on my belly that drew me close to him to feel my body.
That was heaven!
The next morning I felt something brushing my nose. As I opened my eyes, I saw a bouquet of at least two dozen red roses. I didn't know how to react.
"What is that?" I asked surprised.
"Red roses for you," he said. "Are they your favorite?" he asked placing the bouquet on the bed.
"No," I smiled.
"Okay. Roses discarded then. What about violets?"
"No," I replied with the same smile.
"Then I'll have to keep trying until I find out what your favorite flowers are," he whispered, giving me a fleeting kiss and getting out of bed.
"Wouldn't it be easier to ask me directly?" I replied thinking that he could ask a simple question instead of wasting so much money on flowers.
"I want to slowly taste you, savour you, feel you, so that you open to me like a flower in spring. If you told me everything there would be no mystery or pleasure in discovering you."
In all my fucking life no one had ever told me something so beautiful. I saw him disappear beyond the bathroom door and then I heard the shower running.
I gathered all the courage I had never had in my life and, without even having to undress, sneaked into the bathroom. I closed the sliding door and immersed myself in that hot steam. I looked at his broad and well-defined back and his buttocks that looked like those from the magazines.
"Are you one of those who likes to save on water?" he asked.
"Maybe," I whispered.
"If so, I will gladly have a shower with you every day. Lathering each other can be a lot of fun," he stated as the shampoo foam slid down his chest.
"If it were cream, I would have licked it right now," I thought in the grip of hunger that was beginning to assail me.
"Shall I start?" I said. I took the bar of soap and rubbed it between my palms and, once I placed it back on the shelf, put my hands on his chest.
Despite the sexual tension, neither of us went too far, maybe because the condoms were far away or maybe because it wasn't the most comfortable place to have sex or maybe because we were both exhausted from the previous night and we needed to eat to recover our strength. Whatever it was, my only certainty was that that shower with Adonis was fun and enjoyable, especially since it was the first time that someone had soaped me in my adulthood.
"Stay a little longer. I'll make breakfast and then we can go out. Put on comfortable clothes."
"Comfortable clothes? Where are we going?" I asked as I watched him get out of the shower and I began to lather my hair.
"We’re going for a walk," he said casually. Maybe he really wanted to have a walk and then have lunch somewhere.
I wore tight dark jeans that looked elegant and a rather comfortable and light chiffon blouse. I decided to wear sneakers with a bit of glitter so as not to look too casual and took a leather jacket in case it was cold. I dried my hair and wore some very light make-up.
"It smells good!" I exclaimed as I entered the living room heading for the kitchen.
"In your honor, I inaugurated the waffle maker my sister gave me last Christmas."
"Waffles? Oh, my God! They look good!" I exulted bringing one to my mouth, even though it had not been drizzled with syrup yet.
"What would you like? I have caramel, strawberry, chocolate... "
"If I choose the strawberry syrup, will you give me a kiss?" I said smiling, as I remembered his promise, then took another piece of waffle.
"Even if you choose another flavour, I’ll kiss you anyway," he replied, looking me in the eye. I had a lump in my throat because of the determination with which he pronounced those words.
I had now reached a point where I didn’t know whether it was true or not and I didn’t understand if it was good or bad. I was beginning to lose the perception of our situation which by now could be anything but a simple game.
"Chocolate," I whispered, still looking at him. He looked away to pour the syrup on the waffles and handed me the plate.
I took it and bit the waffle under his attentive gaze. As I swallowed it, his lips trapped mine, carrying away my feeling of emptiness and uncertainty. He had kept his promise: he kissed me. And what a kiss, ladies and gentlemen!
More kisses like these and I could end up in a psych ward.
Twenty minutes later we l
eft the apartment. Damian had put on sneakers and I assumed that we were going to walk for a while, even though I didn't know where. We went to the underground parking lot of his building and I figured that, whatever the destination was, we would go there by car. It seemed like an adventure, and I decided not to ask for anything, because it was much more exciting to find it out little by little.
"Do you have your driving license with you?" he asked mysteriously.
"Of course," I said as if it was obvious. "I always carry all my documents with me." I double-checked right after. "Why do you ask?"
"No reason. Just in case."
When I saw the airport from afar, I had an adrenaline rush. We passed by it and I calmed down.
How the hell could you think we were going to leave the country? These things only happen in romantic movies, Maria...
As that thought went by, I saw the sign of a private airport: at that point all the alarm sirens in my head went off.
"Where are we going?" I asked confused.
"To the private airport," he said casually.
"Didn't you say we were going for a walk?" I asked jokingly. I thought that the program was going to be an hour flight with an ultralight aircraft or something similar.
"Yes, we are going for a walk but in Italy, specifically, in Rome," he said bluntly.
What? Italy? Rome? The Rome of the Romans? The one with the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain? It had to be a joke! I didn't even have my cell phone charged enough to take pictures!
But it wasn't a joke, it was all true. The aircraft of his company was waiting for us, and as soon as we got on, it took off and headed for Rome, where, to my surprise, we were going to spend the night. And I didn't even have spare panties with me.
"May I know why you didn't tell me anything? We don't even have a change of clothes. I don't even have a charger!" I yelled agitated.
"Sometimes doing things on the spur of the moment is a lot more fun than when everything is planned in advance. Relax, have fun! We are going to spend thirty-six hours in Rome and we are going to live those hours intensely. It will be just you, me and the experiences that the city will offer us."
I had to admit that Rome was beautiful and magical, despite its chaos and noisy traffic: cobblestone streets, tourists everywhere, history in every corner. We had dinner in a small Italian restaurant where we savoured a delicious carbonara accompanied by an excellent red house wine. On the way to the hotel we walked hand in hand while Damian told me an infinity of things about the city. And finally we got to the Trevi Fountain, which was wonderfully lit.
"Here. Make a wish," he said, offering me a coin. I stared at him suspiciously. I didn't believe in such things. "Come on! Stand with your back towards the fountain, make a wish and toss the coin with your eyes closed."
"But that's nonsense," I muttered. "It's nothing more than..."
"You are here now. We don't know where we will be tomorrow. One day, remembering this moment, you might wonder what could have happened if you made a wish."
He made me smile. Damian had a great power of persuasion, he managed to convince me to say yes to all his proposals. I squeezed the coin tightly in my fingers and thought about what I could desire most at that moment.
I already had a job that I loved. I was in good health. I certainly couldn't complain about that. I didn't have great friendships, but I didn't feel the need for them either. Love... Well, that was another story. It was something I always wanted in my life, something that could last forever, and I'd never had it. With that thought I closed my eyes and made a wish.
"May what we have between us now last forever!" I thought just before tossing the coin into the waters of that enchanting fountain.
Chapter XVIII
When we got back from Rome on Sunday afternoon, I knew I fell in love with that city. So did Damian. He had been like Prince Charming from Snow White. Everything was like in a fairy tale. The evil witch and the seven dwarves were the only thing missing. Well, them and my singing. My voice was not at all angelic, it was more like a voice of a choking duck.
Once we arrived in Madrid, it was strange to go back to Damian’s luxurious penthouse instead of the apartment where I had lived for years. What were we supposed to do? What did couples usually do when they came back from a trip? In my brief experiences with my exes, everyone went back to his own place until the next time we met. But considering that Damian and I were going to live together for two weeks, it wasn't clear to me what I was supposed to do. On Sunday evenings I used to prepare for the upcoming week and review my planner with extreme attention, which reminded me that my planner was still in my car.
"I want to get my briefcase and my planner from my car," I told Damian as we drove back to his place.
"Sure," he said without taking his eyes off the road.
When we parked in the garage, I went to my car before going home. Home. It was strange to call Damian's apartment "home". I couldn't call home a place where I was going to stay for less than two weeks.
"What do you usually do on Sundays?" I asked just to break the silence as we walked into the elevator. We had no suitcases, apart from my handbag and two bags with souvenirs and T-shirts I bought in Rome.
"If I am in town, I usually hang out with some friends in the afternoon. Obviously I couldn't join them today," he added with his captivating smile that made me melt like snow in the sun. "It is likely that you will have to accompany me next Sunday."
"To meet your friends?" I asked thinking that his friends were the ones we had met at Michael's wedding. Though, thinking again, he had to have friends here as well.
It was admirable that Damian could find the time for an active social life, considering that the company had to absorb a significant part of his time due to his position, even though his father was the president of the company.
"Of course. They want to meet my fiancée," he replied calmly.
At that moment I gulped trying to digest that information. Where was the limit of that game? How far should we keep going?
Damian didn't seem to care about the consequences. He was going to live those two weeks as if we were a couple in love that would soon get married. He probably got into character so much that he really believed it too. In two weeks something would click in his head and everything would go to hell.
"Sure," I said taking a deep breath. "And you will have to come to my hometown to meet my family," I added, playing along with him.
"Of course. Whenever you want," he replied confidently.
Whenever I want? Damian would be the first boyfriend I would introduce to my parents and, whether they liked him or not, at least my mother would calm down knowing that her daughter was not a lesbian.
Not all evil comes to harm.
"I'm sure my mother will be happy to meet you. Shall we go next weekend?"
"It would be better to go the one after," he said without looking at me. "It's her birthday. She'll surely be waiting for you."
How the hell could Damian know it was my mother's birthday?
Actually my mother did not celebrate her birthday in style. If it fell on the weekend I usually went home to celebrate it with them, otherwise I looked for an available date as close as possible to her birthday. At that moment I had no idea of when I had planned to go. Maybe I should have gone that weekend instead of going to Rome, but Damian had upset my plans, even though everything was duly marked in my planner. My planner... Of course! That was why he knew about my mother’s birthday!
You should really be ashamed that your non-boyfriend remembers your mother’s birthday and you don't, Maria!
"You remember about my mother's birthday?" I asked amazed.
You are a bad daughter, Maria! I felt guilty, even though I had written down in my planner that I had to send a bouquet of flowers to my mother and buy a gift before I go home next time.
"You marked it in red. It caught my eye. "
That man would really be the perfect son-in-law.
&nb
sp; "Then it's decided," I said, thinking how happy my mother would be if I went to the village not simply with someone other than Nerea but with a boyfriend. I just had to be ready for all the questions that would come later and that I would promptly dodge. "We'll go in two weeks," I added with an amused smile.
Let’s see how long you hold out at my parents'.
When we got home, I took a shower first and put on a comfortable nightgown. I took my planner and started crossing out all the things that I was supposed to do in the past few days and then wrote them down again in the upcoming week. I was so focused on those lists that I completely lost track of time and space. All of a sudden I felt the chair rising from the floor, and I started screaming in panic because I didn't know what was happening.
"What are you doing? Put me down!" I yelled amidst laughter and the fear to fall down.
"You've been writing in your damn planner for over an hour! Are you going to pay attention to me?" Damian asked, still holding me in the air.
How strong this man is!
"Yes, yes, alright," I agreed just to get off there. He could have asked me for anything.
"Perfect," he said, putting me and the chair down. "I'll keep this for you in a place you won't have access to," he added taking away the planner.
After hearing those words and staring at him like a perfect idiot, I saw him heading towards the bedroom. It took me almost one minute to react. I got up and went after him. As I entered the bedroom, I saw him closing the safe.
What the hell did he just do?
"Did you put my planner in a safe?" I yelled, stressing the possessive adjective to highlight that he had no permission to do so.
"You will have your planner only for work. But not before or after work," he replied so firmly that I thought he had every right to give orders that way.
"Based on what? Why can't I keep something that is mine?" I asked trying to breathe calmly in order not to make a scene.
Damian slowly approached me. I felt my whole existence was in danger, as well as my beliefs.
"Because in the next two weeks I’m going to teach you how to really live, and not according to lists in a planner. There will be no specific plans, no set times and, least of all, scheduled durations. During the time you spend here, everything will be unpredictable."