Strawberry Kisses

by Phavy Prieto

  No, no, no, no! He even told them the date!

  "What?" asked Alberto, who seemed the most shocked of all the present.

  "None of us was expecting this," said Esther with a smile.

  "It all happened so quickly, but we're sure we want to take this step, aren't we?" he asked looking at me.

  "Absolutely," I replied, not knowing what else to say. I had to play his game until the end.

  Everyone congratulated us. I felt a deep joy because I felt accepted by Damian's friends. I finally felt that I was part of something.

  Unlike his British friends, no one mentioned Rebecca or Michael, much to my relief. These were the closest friends in Damian's life.

  I didn't have the opportunity to talk to any of them alone and that was probably good, as I would not have known what to answer to their questions. However, when we said goodbye, I had the feeling that this would not be our last meeting and that we would see each other very soon.

  "What do you think about them? You liked them? You talked to the girls a lot," Damian asked as we walked home hand in hand.

  "They are very nice and sweet," I said without adding that I would regret not to see them again when we part ways. "I think I'll get along very well with the girls," I added, expecting a reaction from him.

  "I'm sure you will become good friends. Esther was the only girl in the group for a long time until the others joined."

  "Did they meet Rebecca?" I asked out of curiosity.

  "Unfortunately, yes," he admitted bitterly, "although she never managed to build a good relationship with any of them. I also had to get away from the group for some time because Rebecca had quarreled with Esther, and it seemed to me it was the best thing in order not to create irreparable break-up."

  "Why doesn't it surprise me?" I thought, picturing the face of the busty giraffe spitting venom to the right, left and centre. That woman destroyed everything she touched.

  "I'm glad you managed to save your friendship with them," I said with some relief.

  "In the last few days I realized that my mind was clouded by something that didn't even exist and, what is worse, I was aware of it, but I preferred to fool myself."

  I knew from the tone of his voice that those words had been carefully pondered. He alluded to the marriage between the unbearable giraffe and his best friend.

  "For better or for worse, things went like this. You should feel relieved to have figured out what kind of person she was in time, otherwise your story could have had a much more tragic ending," I replied thinking of married couples who used their children as a tool of blackmail when they got divorced.

  We were walking in the middle of the deserted street. Silence and dim lighting were ideal for two night lovers.

  "How do you want our story to end, Maria?" Damian asked looking at me.

  I wanted so many things that my list could be extended indefinitely, but ultimately it could only include one thing.

  "I don't want it to end," I whispered with a sense of helplessness.

  "Don't you want your commitments twenty-four hours a day again?" he said ironically.

  I would have preferred him to reply that there was no reason for it to end, that we could live our story indefinitely, but I assumed that Damian Devoir knew that our relationship would end. I envied that composure of his with which he was able to act in front of everyone knowing that our days would be numbered. What explanation would he give them when it was all over? That wasn't my problem. He would have probably attributed the breakup to a discussion in which profound differences had emerged.

  Maria, you don't have to give a damn about the explanations he will give! Just think about keeping your pride intact!

  "I wouldn't give them up for anything in the world," I said with a slightly forced smile.

  I would have given them up a thousand times if Damian had been my reward. Luckily he didn't seem to notice my uneasiness, since he was smiling. Damian gently placed his lips on mine, then brought them to my ear, giving me goosebumps.

  "I can't resist your smile," he whispered before kissing my neck.

  I clung to him. We looked like two teenagers in love. I was just thinking about how long it would take to get home to abandon ourselves to ecstasy between the sheets of that large, comfortable bed. As soon as my tongue sank into his mouth to intertwine with his, a wave of heat flooded my body.

  A drop fell on my cheek and moments later another one. It started raining. Damian grabbed my hand and started running, dragging me with him.

  By the time we crossed the threshold of his penthouse, we were completely soaked. Although my teeth chattered with cold, I paid no attention to it: I was mesmerized by his blue shirt glued to those sculpted abs that took my breath away. He took off his shirt and threw it on the ground. I watched the drops of water that slid down his belly and fell from his hair. He came up to me like a tiger about to grab his prey, and I didn't offer any resistance. He lifted me up and took me to where I would have reached the peaks of pleasure: the shower.

  His hands gently reached my back in search of the zipper to free me from my dress. I unbuttoned his jeans. The intensity of our kisses was a proof that we had an irrepressible need for each other. Damian began to gently bite my breast and then suck it greedily as I wriggled with pleasure. I held him tightly to me, my hands on his back, so that he wouldn't stop.

  "You're irresistible," he whispered as his fingers slipped into my panties. A wave of pleasure overwhelmed me.

  "I can't take it anymore, Damian," I panted, holding him tightly. "I need you…"

  "Say it again," he said.

  "I need you," I whispered again.

  "My name," he replied.

  "I need you, Damian," I said again.

  At that moment Damian pulled my panties aside and then slowly but firmly sank his penis all the way, making me shudder. That energetic penetration took me to seventh heaven and soon made me feel completely satisfied. No one else could have given me what Damian gave me.

  On Sunday Damian's mother organized a family lunch to introduce me to her daughters taking advantage of the fact that the youngest would be in town.

  When Damian gave his mother the invitation we chose, I saw that there was a post-it note attached to it, but Elisabeth put it in her bag so quickly that I didn't have time to read what was written on it. What could it be? Did Elisabeth know it was a fiction? I thought that Damian would never give that invitation to his mother and instead, he did it in my presence and with a big smile of satisfaction. That man confused me more and more.

  Miranda, Damian's older sister, just talked about her law firm and how satisfied she was with her accomplishments. Amelia, perhaps because of her artistic talent as a dancer or because of her extroverted character, asked me how we had met and what my interests were. I liked them both, but because of the age and character found more things in common with the younger one.

  "Nice work, little brother! I like her," Amelia said when the dessert was served. "For once you chose with your head instead of another part of your body," she added and everyone started laughing.

  "By the way, I forgot to ask you," Miranda said, "how did Michael and Rebecca's wedding go? Mom told me that you finally decided to participate."

  "Yes. Maria accompanied me," Damian said seriously.

  "It was very nice and the place was lovely," I said with a smile so as not to arouse suspicions. I wasn't going to tell them that Rebecca had tried to sow discord even after she got married.

  "I made a reservation for Thursday at your father's favorite restaurant to have dinner with them. I guess it's not a problem if it's not done at home, right?" Elisabeth said to Damian.

  "No problem. Given the circumstances, I think it's best that the evening doesn't last too long," Damian said as he stroked my hand on the table. Then he took it to give a light kiss on my wrist.

  To my surprise, he didn't seem uncomfortable knowing that he was going to meet his best friend and his ex girlfriend again when they returned
from their honeymoon. On the contrary, Damian seemed serene and relaxed. Maybe he would stiffen when the crucial moment came just as he did at the wedding. After all, it was normal that he could still have certain feelings both for the woman he thought he loved and for the best friend he had distanced himself from.

  "I still don't understand what Michael sees in that cockteaser," said Amelia in a low voice so that others couldn't hear her.

  "Leave him alone! That poor man will be unhappier than a bird with vertigos. Sooner or later he will realize that he married only a busty giraffe," I replied with a shrug assuming that Amelia also knew very well who Rebecca was.

  Amelia's noisy laughter caught everyone's attention. Unaware of our private conversation, they wanted to know why she was laughing. Fortunately for me she did not reveal what I had told her.

  As soon as we got home, I took off my shoes, then I lay down to relax on the sofa. At one point I smelled the distinctive smell of dahlias. I got up to look for the source of that scent and saw Damian staring at me, as if he was waiting for my reaction.

  "I knew I couldn't be wrong this time," he said, handing me a bouquet of dahlias. I took it to smell their soft and delicate scent.

  "How did you know?" I asked surprised.

  "Your perfume," he whispered smelling me. "It's as delicate as the scent of these flowers. As promised, now you will have to fulfill my wish," he said with that arrogant smile that enchanted me.

  "And what would this desire be, Mr. Devoir?" I asked charmed.

  "I reserve the right to ask for it in due time. I already have everything I want now," he said and hugged me.

  Chapter XXII

  Since Steven was kicked out of the office, I felt much better even though I feared our company could lose a big client. Against all the odds, another auditor was sent.

  I hadn't told Nerea about the incident with Steven in order not to compromise our friendship, since Mathews was Steven's cousin. I was confident that Damian would send that person far away.

  A few days later I was going to return to my modest apartment shared with Nerea and find myself alone in my bed, so tiny compared to Damian's. That thought depressed me.

  "Maria, this came for you," Ingrid said leaving a letter on my desk.

  It was strange since I didn't usually get mail. After opening it, I found a purple envelope inside. It couldn't be true! It was impossible that they had been so fast. When I opened my supposed wedding card, I found the names of Damian Devoir and Maria Acosta written in large and embossed font. I smiled when I saw two figures with our features that were about to kiss but their mouths were separated by strawberries. The female figure tightly held a black planner under her arm. Above the two figures it said "Until the end of our journey". Two tears rolled down my face.

  It was the most beautiful and romantic thing I had ever received. Why couldn't it be true? My heart and mind were no longer resigned to accepting that nothing would happen between me and Damian. I kept wondering why that invitation had arrived in my office. What did he think I was going to do? How did he think I would react?

  When Damian showed up at my door three hours later to have lunch together, I was less talkative than usual. His proposal to live that fake love story all the way had exceeded the limit of my endurance. I had been able to tolerate our situation only because being away from him would have been more of a torture. But at that moment I no longer knew if the game was worth the candle.

  "I got the wedding invitation," I said as we got off the elevator.

  "Did you like it?" he asked enthusiastically.

  "It's perfect," I admitted looking away. For some reason, I wasn't able to look him in the eye. "I’m surprised it was ready in such a short time."

  "My mother did everything she could to have them ready as soon as possible so that she could give them to Michael and Rebecca at dinner tonight."

  So all that effort only to prove to the silicone Barbie that our wedding was really going to take place. I then wondered if Damian had not taken into account that Rebecca would be happy about our imminent separation and the cancellation of our wedding. Maybe he didn't worry because I would be immediately replaced by another woman, a statuesque model who could compete with the busty giraffe, whom he would be happy to marry and from whose union he would have beautiful children.

  "My God, I'll have to get lost in the desert in order not to see them in the gossip magazines," I thought since I took for granted that he would marry a famous model.

  Just the thought of Damian with another woman caused me pain I had never felt before, so strong that it was hard to breathe.

  "I just hope you can be happy once they're gone," I said softly since it was clear that my role was just to overcome the pain of betrayal.

  "Of course I'll be happy," he whispered wrapping his arm around my waist and bringing me closer to him. "I'll have what I've always wanted," he added. He gave me a kiss on the forehead, and we got out of the elevator and went to the cafeteria.

  We put the subject aside as one of the company partners joined our table. Actually it was better this way because I was not prepared to hear "what he had always wanted" and above all because at that moment I was in a state of profound negativity. I didn't know if it was because I was about to see the person who had played with Damian's feelings and who probably continued to manipulate him or because there were still a few days left to spend together and the fear of losing him was becoming more and more unbearable.

  For that night I was going to look really beautiful. I went shopping to buy something elegant and sexy at the same time. I needed Damian to feel attracted to me and not to his ex-girlfriend's sculpted body. I knew that my attitude was absurd and I reproached myself for hating her for the way she had behaved with Damian, an evident symptom of my insecurity.

  Wrapped in a jade green bodycon midi dress, I let my hair fall down on the heart-shaped neckline. The only jewels I wore were rather large hoop earrings and the engagement ring I always wore. I didn't know if he would ask me to return the ring to him, which would be legitimate. But every time I looked at it, I thought about how much I would miss the feeling of wearing it and what it represented.

  "There won't be a more beautiful woman than you tonight," I heard from behind the mirror as I was putting the final touches of mascara.

  "Sometimes I forget you're just looking for a way to make me feel good," I smiled avoiding looking at him because he had to look damn good in his blue suit. I would send everything to hell, including dinner, just to keep him at home.

  "If I just wanted to make you feel good, I would have told you that you were very pretty. Instead, I said that you are going to undoubtedly be the most beautiful woman tonight. If I say it, it is because I am convinced of it."

  His words were so convincing that for a moment I forgot our script.

  "What's going to happen this Sunday, Damian? What will happen next?" I asked looking at him.

  "Whatever you want to happen," he said stroking my cheek and enchanting me with his smile.

  "Whatever I want? What will happen if I don't want to leave and decide to stay?"

  "I will have to give you a copy of the keys," he whispered so close to my lips that I would give my life to kiss him. "If it wasn't for that damned dead weight that I want to get rid of right away, I'd take that dress off you and keep you in that bed all night long. But I'll have to wait a few hours before doing it."

  It can’t be true! A copy of the keys? Is this really happening?

  When I felt his fingers squeeze my buttocks, I knew it was all real. I didn't know exactly on what conditions I would stay or what it meant to receive a copy of the keys, but it was clear that there could be a remote chance that our relationship would continue.

  Without wanting to feed false expectations, I had to admit that I felt good, good enough to face the silicone doll.

  "Oh, dearest! How happy I am to see you again!" Rebecca exclaimed greeting Damian's mother with a smile from ear to ear by the entrance doo
r of the luxurious restaurant where they would also charge us for the air we breathed.

  She’s faker than her silicone breasts. Have patience, Maria! Slapping this bitch would be more than enough to be blacklisted at this restaurant, which you already know is your supposed future father-in-law's favourite.

  "Elegant and attractive, as always, my dear Damian," I heard her meow in a low voice as she gave two kisses and a more than an affectionate hug to my Adonis. Yes, "mine", because I considered him exclusively mine.

  This girl is so cheeky. What a bitch!

  I took a deep breath to overcome the temptation to sink my recently filed nails into her beautiful skin.

  It will only be two hours. Keep calm, Maria. You will only have to endure her for a couple of hours and then Damian will take you to the orgasm paradise.

  Dinner went well enough, except for the honeyed looks Rebecca kept giving Damian, taking advantage of the fact that Michael was often distracted by describing their honeymoon.

  Did that poor naive really not realize what kind of woman he had at his side? He had to be completely blind not to see that Rebecca's attention to her ex was significantly higher than that reserved for her newly married husband. What was wrong with that woman? Did she realize she had lost her best option? Or maybe once she got what she wanted, that useless noble title, she continued to yearn for what she had lost?

  Be aware, wonky chicken! If it’s not Damian who will kick your ass, I'll take care of it.

  The phone began vibrating in my bag, but I ignored it. On the third consecutive call I thought it had to be something urgent, but I didn't want to get up and leave that cock-teaser free to talk to Damian alone. When I saw Nerea's missed calls, I thought something serious had happened.

  "I'm going to the bathroom for a moment," I said apologizing. I pressed the call button and headed for the washroom.