That One Time

by Marian Tee

  And so they took the subway when they could have taken the limousine. They queued for tickets when he could have reserved the entire park for the two of them alone. And when they booked the thirty-minute cable car ride, she went for the—

  Nic started when he heard her say, “Crystal cabin please.”

  The park offered two types of cable cars – the standard one had a pair of benches placed across each other while the more expensive crystal cabin had a completely transparent floor but no seats.

  “Are you sure?” Nic had to ask. It was twice the cost of the standard cable car.

  She nodded, a discomfited look on her face.

  It puzzled him, but Nic managed to refrain from asking until they were safely ensconced inside the cable car. He looked at her and was stunned to see her turn a little green. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded, slowly.

  “Ayah…” He had a nasty feeling about this. Nic’s gaze narrowed. “Are you by any chance scared of heights?”

  She smiled weakly. “A little?”

  He groaned. “Why the hell did we ride this then?”

  “It’s the best way to get to the park,” she answered simply.

  Exasperation lined his tone as he growled, “I’m not going to enjoy myself while you look like that.”

  “It’s just the first few minutes…”

  Without a word, he lowered both of them to the transparent floor and settled her on his lap. She quickly snuggled closer to him. “Tell me a story?”

  Nic rolled his eyes. “Why am I not surprised you asked me that?”

  “Please?”

  “And that you’re saying please?”

  “Just one.”

  He chuckled. “We both know that’s a lie.” But even so, he started to speak, and when he did, what he said surprised both of them. “When we get married, will you live with me in Europe?”

  It was the first time she heard him open the subject about their wedding and married life together, and her heart was filled with so much love for him that she had to…

  Nic grunted in pain when she practically strangled him with her embrace.

  Laughing, Ayah released him. “Sorry.” But she sounded more giddy than apologetic, making him roll his eyes. And yet, he was grinning, too, which made Luuk even more handsome. He was dressed in another three-piece suit, and she loved how he could make something so terribly formal seem like it was normal clothing for him. She wondered if it was a European thing, but she had a feeling it wasn’t.

  Luuk was just the kind of man who would look good in any kind of clothing simply because he knew he was that kind of man and wasn’t afraid to show it.

  He raised a brow at her. “Are you planning to answer my question?”

  Oh! She said without hesitation, “Wherever you want to live is okay with me.”

  “But what about your life here?”

  “I can always visit them.” She shyly kissed him on the lips. “I want to live with you.”

  He sighed.

  It was an odd kind of sigh, like she did something wrong. “What is it?”

  “Do you still feel queasy?”

  “No. It’s passed.” Most probably because of the excitement. She had been worried that she had somehow jumped the gun, but his words earlier had assured her she hadn’t. He really wanted to marry her. It was insta-love between them all the way, she thought dreamily. She took one look at him and fell in love without planning to. And now, a year after, he took one look at her and proposed marriage, probably without planning to.

  Ayah smiled to herself. Most likely he had no plans to, she thought, since he didn’t even have a ring when he proposed.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yup.”

  “Good.”

  In an instant, he was on his knees while he had her propped up on one corner. She looked down at him in confusion, but before she could ask him what he was doing Luuk had already flipped her skirt up. Ayah squeaked in surprise, but her squeak turned into a shriek when he disappeared inside her skirt.

  “Luuk!” She glanced around them in a panic. She knew they were alone and thousands of feet above sea level, but – there were cable cars returning at the other line and there were also cable cars in front and behind them. What if they had binoculars? Surely they would see—

  “Relax.” He nuzzled her lace-covered flesh.

  Luuk was pushing her legs apart widely, forcing her to clutch the rails. “This isn’t right,” she said weakly.

  His answering chuckle tickled her skin. “It is if it feels this good.”

  She whimpered as he pulled her panties down and placed it inside his pocket. She couldn’t help looking around again, fearing that anytime now there’d be a helicopter carrying reporters swooping in on them and getting them arrested for lewd acts in public.

  But there was none.

  It was serenely silent, with the quiet only punctured by her breathless little pants as Luuk took his time caressing her legs. Around them, the sky was the perfect shade of blue, the sun warm but not scorching.

  She stiffened when she saw that the cable car opposite them was occupied, and all of them were looking at her. “People are staring!” The lower half of the cable car’s walls were made of steel, hiding Luuk from view. She knew they were wondering what she was doing, renting a cable car all on her own.

  Luuk said calmly, “Just act natural. They won’t be able to see me.”

  Even if his words made sense, she still couldn’t help flushing with embarrassment. “Please come out of theeeeere.” She ended up moaning the words when she felt him kissing his way up from her ankles.

  “Don’t look down or they’d know.”

  She quickly lifted her head up since she had indeed been about to do that.

  “Enjoy the surroundings while I enjoy you.” He said it as he cupped her sensitive knees, forcing her to gasp and clutch the rails more tightly.

  “Don’t do that!” He was so damnably wicked, and how she loved it about him!

  A good distance away, she could see the familiar shape of the Giant Buddha of Lantau Island and Ayah blushed harder, a part of her praying that the good Buddha would not know what she was doing in the cable car.

  Below them were emerald green mountains, its peaks high enough to seem like they were within touching distance. Stone steps had been carved into the mountains, and she spied a couple of senior-aged hikers climbing them at a slow but steady pace. Further below were the dark blue waters separating the mainland from Lantau Island. A lone fishing boat stood out in the azure scenery, its owner busily casting off his net.

  The occupied cable car was gone now, and she sagged back against the glass walls in relief.

  It was the cue Nic was waiting for, and he parted her folds and began fucking Ayah with his tongue.

  “AAAH!” Her knuckles turned white at how hard she was gripping the rails as Luuk’s tongue went in and out of her, going faster and deeper with each stroke. Please no. Please don’t. Please yes. Please more. She wanted to say all of it, but all she managed to do was moan and whimper.

  “Scream for me, lieverd.” He moved up and sucked on her clit.

  She obeyed, easily. His mouth on her clit was a moment made for screaming, and she didn’t stop crying out her pleasure until the very end. He bit, nipped, sucked, and sometimes he would go soft, other times he would go rough. She couldn’t guess what he’d do next and that made it even more exciting.

  “Luuk…” She gasped when he slid three fingers in, all at the same time, making her feel so beautifully penetrated and full.

  He fucked her with his fingers as he continued suckling on her clit. It was the sweetest and dirtiest kind of loving, and she wanted more of it – forever.

  “I’m…”

  “Not until I tell you,” he growled.

  She moaned in protest. “But…”

  “NOT until I tell you.”

  She whimpered but did what he said, her head falling back against the glass wal
l as she tried to control her body’s urge to climax. The wind serenaded her, the sun caressing her skin, and all the while Luuk continued doing his best to make Ayah lose her sanity with his touches and kisses.

  His fingers were shoving in and out of her like a rampaging cock and all she could do was move her hips up as fast as she could, wanting to meet his thrusts. Her clit was throbbing painfully, and she was hoarse from crying. “Please…”

  Biting her clit, Nic said, “Now, lieverd.”

  She came not a second later, a force so great shaking her body as a rush of hot wet come flowed out of her and into his mouth. He lapped it all up, making Ayah’s body shudder anew.

  When she surfaced, it was to his murmured words that they had arrived and he was gently helping her up to her feet. She looked at him in a daze, her eyes still blurry with desire.

  It was a very sexy look, but it was the kind of look he wanted for himself alone. Aware of the many men looking at them with interest – Ayah had the air of a sexually satisfied woman about her, and it was triggering everyone’s testosterone levels – Nic bent close and whispered in her ear, “I still have your panties, by the way.”

  She squeaked in shock.

  There. That cornered-mouse-look was a lot better. He swiftly walked them out of the cable car terminal and at her urging, he returned her underwear and waited for her to put them back on.

  “You’re so wicked,” she told him when she emerged from the ladies’ room a few moments after.

  “It is true so I won’t deny it.” He surprised both of them by taking her hand as they started strolling. The park was a moderate size, spacious enough to make even the most claustrophobic feel free but not so enormous that it would require them the entire day to explore the place.

  The first phase of the park looked like a recreation of an old Chinese city, with its sweeping colorful roofs, cherry wood walls, and scores of red lanterns hanging from every corner. There were tiny bridges and man-made lakes, all of them giving the park an air of nostalgic charm. Once in a while, bald-headed monks would walk past them, and the first one had Nic blinking.

  “Monks here drink Starbucks?”

  Ayah laughingly pointed to another monk to his right. “Not only that, but they enjoy DQ ice cream, too.” It left Nic shaking his head.

  The artisan shops had been pretty fascinating. One shop was dedicated to tea sets and when Ayah oohed over one particular porcelain set, Nic secretly ordered it for her while she was browsing other shelves. In the jade shop, it was her turn to surprise him, buying them “couple charms”.

  “So we’d be together forever,” she told him solemnly.

  “Then I don’t have to marry you anymore?” he asked without missing a beat.

  She gasped in shock, making Nic laugh.

  Another shop sold only chopsticks – all kinds of them. One of the display tables had tiny beads and practice chopsticks. Ayah easily scooped up the slippery beads and put it back into its box, but Nic hadn’t been able to pick up one without dropping it a second after.

  “Aww. Poor baby,” she teased him.

  He cupped her face and kissed her then and there. “Say that again and I’m thinking of giving you a baby right this—”

  She hastily moved away from him, her face flushed. “I’ve learned my lesson,” she told him quickly.

  The second half of the park had them walking past huge statues of various Chinese gods. There were food stalls lining the sides, and Ayah treated both of them to hotdog sandwiches. A huge black wolf-like dog started following them, making Nic tense. He was not used to animals at all, and when the wolf-like creature kept dogging his footsteps, he gave up and tossed his half-eaten hotdog to the animal.

  The dog picked it up from the ground and quickly dashed away.

  “Scared?” she teased him.

  “It looked like a fucking wolf,” he said in a chillingly cold voice.

  She only laughed and tugged his hand to get him to follow her. “That wolf, my dear Luuk—” They reached one of the hedges and she pointed behind it. To Nic’s surprise, the black dog was there, along with some of the other dogs in the park. More surprisingly was the feast they had tucked out of sight – hotdog sandwiches, pastries, and all sorts of meat.

  “—is one of the monks’ pets.” Seeing his stunned expression, she giggled and told him, “Think of it this way. They’re well trained when it comes to asking for donations.”

  When he made a move to take the food back, just to get back on the devious canines, she laughingly dragged him away and urged him towards the shrine. She paid for their lunch, neglecting to tell Luuk that what they were about to eat was a vegetarian meal prepared by monks. She laughed at his pained expression after the first bite.

  “It’s not that bad!”

  He retorted coolly, “It is when you are used to eating like a human and not a goat.”

  Oh, God, she loved this man, loved how he was so genuinely sophisticated about everything that it was both amusing and impressive at the same time.

  When she brought them to the foot of the stairs leading to the two-hundred-foot high Buddha statue, he asked incredulously, “You want us to climb all the way there?” There had to be a thousand of steps for them to trek before they would reach their destination.

  She beamed at him. “Yes.”

  Now was the time to let her know he owned a copter that could take them to the top in seconds. But that would also mean telling her he was not Luuk.

  When put like that, the decision was simple.

  He took her hand. “Let’s do this.”

  It was a spectacular day, ending with Ayah and him kneeling on the ground as she taught him how to pray to Chinese gods. They had bought giant incense sticks that were almost as tall as Ayah, and he had barked in laughter when her face turned red in her efforts to lift the burning incense sticks on her own.

  After, when he asked Ayah about her familiarity with the city’s local culture Ayah explained, “My mother was a travel writer, but she liked spending most of her free time here in Hong Kong.”

  “When she fell pregnant with me and my dad didn’t marry her, she went back home so she could have help from my grandparents while raising me. But she told me stories about Hong Kong all the time and she taught me how to speak all the Chinese dialects she knew. When I had the chance to come live here, I took it.”

  “You weren’t afraid of living on your own in a foreign country?”

  “It wasn’t as if I was leaving anyone else back home,” she answered with a wry smile. “They’re all gone.”

  Nic had paled at her words, but she laughingly waved his apologies away. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m just happy thinking they’re all at peace. Besides…” She peered at him under her lashes, eyes dancing with mischief. “You kind of remind me of my mom.”

  He had a feeling he wouldn’t like her next words, but he said anyway in a dry tone, “I’ll bite, lieverd. Why do I remind you of her?”

  “Because she tells the most awesome stories, and you do, too. With you it’s like I have my own Grimm and Andersen and—”

  He shut her up with a kiss, seriously embarrassed at the way she was looking at him. She made him feel perfect, when he very well knew it was Ayah who was perfect. He couldn’t recall a day when he had this much…fun. And certainly, he couldn’t recall a day that he had been this tired or spent less than a thousand dollars. If he was back at home – or with any other person but Ayah – Nic knew what he would have spent on a few drinks would be more than what they had spent as a couple.

  Day had turned into dusk by the time they took the cable car back to the city. They were surrounded by blackness, with only golden lights from the airport occasionally allowing them to see each other. For the return trip, she had booked them the standard cabin, and he was thankful for that because it gave him a chance to use the pole in the middle of the cable car for a quite inventive reason.

  Before Ayah knew what he was planning, he had already unzipped hims
elf, flipped her skirt up, and entered her from behind. In moments, she was clutching the pole desperately as he fucked her hard, and soon her screams echoed around the cabin.

  Even though her mind knew that the darkness of the night completely hid them from view, she still felt thoroughly hedonistic about what they were doing. She felt that, but for the life of her she couldn’t make herself stop thrusting back, wanting more of Luuk’s cock.

  After, with her entire being humming with contentment, Ayah could only sigh as Luuk wiped her clean and gathered her in his arms. He was seated at the bench, one leg stretched out, with Ayah draped across him.

  His heart felt like it was about to explode, and he had a feeling it would do just that if he didn’t get the words out. “Ayah?”

  “Mm?” She was in his arms, her head nestled against the crook of his shoulder.

  “I love you.”

  Ayah hugged him tightly. “I love you, too.”

  It should have ended like that. Perhaps if he had been a good man, it would have.

  But it did not.

  When they arrived at his hotel, a woman walked swiftly towards Luuk, throwing her arms around him as she gave him a passionate kiss. Pulling back, the stunning woman said throatily, “I missed you so much, Nic.”

  ~ Eight ~

  The broken silence between the three of them was exactly what Thelma Laarson had hoped for. She had been keeping tabs on the little slut for over a year now, doing her best to poison Nic de Koningh’s mind against marrying the cheap gold digger in subtle ways.

  She had known from the very start that the two had an inexplicable connection, and she had also been smart enough not to mention it. Instead, she had played her cards carefully, doing her best to undermine the relationship by constantly making digs about love in Nic’s presence. She had needed him cynical about love because it was the only way to get him – and she had almost won. She would have won if not for that snooty and nosy Farica.

  That girl was the only one who could have convinced Nic to fly here and take his chances on this nobody. If not for Farica’s interference, Thelma knew a little more time was all she needed before she had a de Koningh ring around her finger.