Boxset: Destiny Decides.. & Destiny Embraces..

by P. G. Van

  Me: I did and am a bit surprised because it is not a regular mode of communication.

  Nick: Regular doesn’t cut it for someone as special as you, Sameera.

  I blushed.

  Me: I love you, Nick.

  Nick: Me too…

  Me: Is this for real?

  Nick: ?

  Me: How can this be love? We barely met a month ago

  Nick: Correction, we met over a decade ago and met again a month ago…

  Me: I agree

  Nick: We already have the bond that couples take time to build...

  Me:

  Nick: Later…

  I smiled and looked at the conversation on my phone. Something somewhere seemed odd to me. I could not put my finger on what it was, but something was off. Nick and I were moving ahead with our relationship at rocket speed, was this sustainable?

  I headed back to the training room and as I stepped into the elevator, I knew what was off about those messages. Nick’s message in the sky was, ‘I love you too’. Why would the message have a ‘too’ if he was saying this to me for the first time. I looked back at my phone and re-read my messages. I said ‘I love you’ and he responded with a ‘me too’.

  The elevator doors opened and at that very moment it occurred to me why his sky-typed message was, ‘I love you too’ indicating that I had already expressed my love. The only thing I could think of was that Nick actually heard me say ‘I love you, Nick’ when I blurted it out completely out of the blue on Sunday afternoon, and Nick ended up putting up his messages on the blue sky.

  I laughed at the thought and walked back into the training class feeling the warmth reach my heart. I made a mental note to ask those people who took pictures to send me a copy of the images.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Happy Friday!!” the security guard said cheerfully as I entered my office building. I smiled and wished him the same.

  Indeed, it was a happy Friday. Nick was coming back tonight, and I just couldn’t wait for the sun to set over the Pacific Ocean.

  Yesterday was a very special day as we expressed our love for each other in a rather unique way, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. I had no idea what to expect from a relationship that was so deep yet so new. Nick had been very patient and respectful of my request to taking it slow, and yet it felt like I was the one pushing through at racing speeds. He had done everything to please my inner desires, but I have not really given him the pleasure he deserves. I spent Thursday evening taking care of overall body maintenance at the day spa in preparation for our very first date. I smiled at the thought of our first date. Nick and I had done things completely out of order, yet have the special bonding and longing for each other that go beyond the physical attraction and need. This is probably what Nick was referring to yesterday about us having a deeper bonding.

  Three hours and counting when I got home from work, and the waiting was just killing me. Nick had texted me around three in the afternoon that he was about to leave, and he would get in thirty minutes after seven and meet me at eight. He conveniently forgot to tell me where we were going. I packed my bag with basic stuff and some makeup so I could get dressed at the dance studio right after my Bollywood class. I also packed a couple of outfits not knowing where we might be headed for dinner, a semi casual black dress and a casual blouse with a pair of jeans in hope that Nick would tell me by the end of the class where we were headed, and I could pick the outfit accordingly. I packed a pair of comfortable pumps that would go well with either of my outfits.

  I pulled into the parking lot of the dance studio a few minutes before six. On a normal Friday, the dance was my most favorite thing to do but on that day, every single minute away from that eight o’clock time was just painstakingly slow. I was in my comfy capris, a high-neck sports bra, and a sleeveless vest over my midriff-exposing sports bra. The dance studio required the instructors to dress a certain way so the group that was working out with the instructor could be inspired by how great they could look if they were to workout, which was purely a marketing trick rather than for inspirational reasons.

  My classical dance days were all about how to dress up without exposing any skin yet show off the dancer’s curves. I managed to satisfy my need not to show too much skin by wearing a high-neck sports bra. My workout group was assembling as I entered the dance studio. I took a minute to put my stuff away in the locker and took a deep breath to wipe out Nick’s image. I needed to focus on what I was doing so I could be relaxed and kill the next hour having fun.

  The best part about having fun was that the time flies, and the hour-long Bollywood dance class was over in no time. I had picked some really intense music for the workout to keep my mind on the dance, and the group was tired from all the fat-burning dance moves. After everyone left, I went through the checklist of stuff that I needed to do before I headed off to take a shower. Unplug the music system, turn off the speakers, etc.

  I was running through this list in my mind when I heard a very soft knock behind me. I turned around and found Nick standing in the doorway in a dark gray suit and his seductive smile on his face.

  Not caring about what I had in my hand, I let it drop to the floor and ran into Nick’s arms. His tight hold and the sweet masculine smell were proof that I was not hallucinating.

  “Nick,” I said finding my voice and added, “When did you get here?”

  He gently put his arms around me and said, “I got here when you were just about to wrap up your lovely dance,” and added, “I am still wondering how you can move your waist so gracefully.”

  Nick brushed his lips against my sweaty temple and let out a heavy breath. This simple gesture kick started my heart to a heart rate no amount of workout would give me. Nick moved his arm down my back to the waistband of my capris and expecting him to sneak his fingers in to find my waist chain, I pulled back slightly and said, “Give me fifteen minutes to shower and change,” and asked, “Where are we going for dinner?”

  Nick smiled at me and said, “Where we are headed, you are better off not changing now.”

  I looked at him suspiciously and asked, “What does that mean?”

  “Why don’t you grab your stuff, and I will tell you on our way there,” he teased as I put on my sleeveless vest over my sports bra.

  As Nick walked towards the parking lot, I went to the locker to grab my bags and went back into the parking lot to find him standing next to my car. I dished out my keys from my bag, and as I approached him with my car keys in my hand, in a swift move, he grabbed the keys out of my hand and said smiling, “You will not need your car tonight.” As I looked at him in utter confusion, I saw him wave to someone and in the next instance, I saw Mitch, the limo driver, emerge from the darkness and catch my car keys that Nick had tossed to him.

  “Mitch, you know where the car needs to go?” Nick asked him, and Mitch replied, “I got it, Nick.”

  “Nick, what’s going on?” I asked annoyed with his action.

  “We can go in my car, and Mitch will give your car keys to Nethra after he drops it off at your place,” Nick clarified.

  “Nate is at home? How do you know that?” I inquired.

  “I know because she came to meet Srini at the airport, and they were headed to your place,” he said thoroughly enjoying himself looking at my expression.

  Nick signaled to Mitch to give him his car keys and as Mitch tossed the keys, I reached for them and grabbed them mid-air before Nick could get them.

  Mitch looked at Nick apologetically, to which Nick said, “No worries, Mitch,” and smiled at me.

  “So, will you be driving us to our destination?” he asked, his tone filled with joy.

  “Yes, I most definitely can,” I said looking at the keys and realizing that what I had in my hand was a key fob for a Porsche, and the fob was designed to look like a little Porsche car.

  “This key fob is so cute, and this is not the car I thought you were driving,” I said confused.

 
“The Rover is to take my mom around as she refuses to ride in my Porsche,” he said smiling.

  I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat as I wondered if I should really drive his car. I saw Nick look at me with a wicked smile on his face. Refusing to chicken out, I held my chin high and said, “Let’s go.” I heard him chuckle behind me as if he knew I was terrified to drive his mean machine to an unknown destination. With a high sense of pride, I clicked the unlock button on the key fob. The car was a few cars away and was a midnight blue Porsche Carrera 911 and looked super sexy in the night lights.

  I walked around to the driver’s side and in the dim lights on the inside I saw the sight that made my heart sink. This model was one of the very few cars in its class that still offered a stick shift, and this model pacified the stick shift driving enthusiasts with the seven-speed transmission. I hesitated for a few seconds debating if I should take the risk of driving the car. Nick was observing my reactions to the things that I have been discovering and asked in a soft voice, “Having second thoughts, love?”

  “No,” I blurted out with immense pride and opened the door to put my bags in the back seat gracefully sliding into the low slung, deep-pocketed driver’s seat. Nick took off his suit jacket and put it in the back seat. He undid a couple of buttons on his shirt and kicked back into the passenger seat.

  Nick looked at me as I sat in silence looking around the interior of the car in awe and very softly said, “Ignition to your left, key fob in there, and I suppose you are familiar with the third pedal down there?”

  “Nick, I can’t do this. I just wanted to show you how annoyed I was when you took my keys,” I confessed putting my face in my palms.

  ‘Sameera, you can do this. I know you learned how to drive a stick shift back in India,” he encouraged.

  “Nick, that was ages ago, and this is such a nice car and I am so intimidated by the power of this beauty,” I said my voice trembling.

  “Sameera, don’t worry about the car. I know you love fast bikes and cars so enjoy the drive,” he comforted me.

  “What, how do you know I like sports cars?” I asked surprised.

  “I just know. Now stop asking questions and drive,” he said smiling and reaching forward to help me turn the ignition on. The engine revved behind us, the beautiful sound of a six-cylinder engine running impetuously. The vibrations from the engine built up my confidence, and I put the vehicle in gear to pull back; the initial release of the clutch was not very smooth, and the beast jumped a bit startling me.

  I looked at Nick apologetically and said, “I am sorry, I will be careful.”

  Nick reached back, put his arms around the headrest, and said, “I trust you with my life.”

  “Ok, stop saying such things. It is not going to help,” I demanded.

  Nick laughed and said nothing.

  I took a deep breath and attempted again. This time the clutch felt as soft as a feather, and as I drove the beautiful beast out of the parking lot. I asked Nick mockingly, “Where can I take you sir?”

  Nick caught his breath at the sensuality in my tone and said smiling, “Let’s take the 280 Highway north.”

  “North?” I asked and continued, “Where are we going for dinner with me dressed like this?”

  “We are going to my place for dinner,” he said coolly, and I almost slammed on the brakes and said, “There is no way I am showing up at the house where your entire family lives in these clothes. It’s just plain rude.”

  Nick laughed and kept laughing until he caught the irritating look on my face.

  “Sorry,” he said and added, “I meant my place in San Francisco, not the one on the peninsula.”

  “How many houses do you have?” I asked surprised.

  “It’s an apartment in San Francisco, Sameera,” he said and added, “It’s more convenient to have a place in the city when I spend most of my time at the office downtown.”

  We merged on to the highway where there were barely any cars for a Friday night, and I was itching to put the beast to the test. The car was capable of reaching sixty miles an hour from zero in less than five seconds. Without taking my eyes off the road, I said very softly, “Nick.”

  “Yeah, babe,” he said looking up from his phone.

  “What are you looking at your phone for?” I asked surprised.

  “I am making sure we will have food by the time we get to my apartment,” he said putting his phone away and asked, “What were you going to ask me?”

  I giggled and asked, “Have you tested the zero to sixty on this car yet?”

  Nick laughed and said, “I have but feel free to try it yourself, and it is a very good experience.”

  “Well, I can’t really do the zero to sixty as I am already on seventy miles an hour, but I want to see how it handles if I were to floor it,” I said meekly.

  “Go ahead sweetheart,” Nick encouraged.

  “I will take a rain check. I am just now starting to control the car,” I said smiling.

  Nick touched the back on my hand that was on the stick and said, “Whenever you are ready.”

  I blushed thinking of another time he had said the same exact phrase. Nick slowly and yet very gently continued to slide the small of his index finger along the back of my hand and said in a deep voice, “Watching you drive this car is driving me nuts.”

  “Nick, stop,” I pleaded as he continued to run the tip of his finger along the length of my arm sending waves of electricity through my body.

  As we got closer to the city, I asked, “Which way are we headed?”

  “Take the exit to the baseball stadium,” he said softly.

  Following his directions, I turned into an underground parking lot of what seemed to be a decent size apartment building and parked in a reserved parking spot. I put the beast to rest and hugged the steering wheel and said, “Nick, I totally enjoyed driving this car,” and planted a kiss on the logo that was at the center of the steering.

  “Now, now…kissing the car is off limits. Only I get to be kissed,” he mocked. Nick bent down, grabbed his jacket and my bags, and refused to give me my bags. I walked towards the elevator toying with the car keys as Nick lugged my stuff to the elevator and punched in a code. The private elevator took us to one of the top floors, and as the elevator doors opened into a large living area and an open dining and kitchen area, my jaw virtually dropped to the underground parking lot. I turn around to look at Nick and asked teasing him, “What do you do for a living again?”

  Nick laughed and did not say anything.

  I went straight to the end of the great room that had a large window, and I looked in wonderment at the beautiful view of the San Francisco Bay. The majestic Bay Bridge was beautifully lit up, and the fog slowly crept inland like a warm blanket over the city.

  “I take it that you like the view,” Nick said coming up from behind and slid his arms around my waist and hugged me firmly.

  “I do,” I said and turned my face to kiss him on his jawline.

  Nick smiled and planted a kiss on my cheek and said, “I am very glad to hear that,” and added, “You didn’t tell me if you liked my messages in the sky.”

  At that point, I loosened his grip around me and turned around to face him. His hands automatically wrapped around my waist, and I looked at him smiling deviously and said, “I liked the messages,” paused and continued, “How much you ask?”

  Nick smiled as I reached for the zipper pull on my vest and pulled it down to slip my vest off my shoulders and said winking at him, “As much as you like this view.”

  Nick’s breath hissed, and his hold on me tightened as I reached for his shirt buttons and started to open a couple of the buttons very slowly while looking into his deep dark eyes. Satisfied with the amount of skin exposed, I said, “Or maybe I like it as much as you like me do this,” as I took my cool lips to his warm chest and sucked on his tight muscle.

  “Sameera, I love you,” he said, his voice deep and husky and his lips came down o
n my lips with a strong sexual urge. His lips moved so slowly, yet so rhythmically, that I started to feel my body slide down. I reached up to put my arms tightly around him. As I slid up against him, he gently ran his arms down my backside and reached my upper thighs. In one quick move, he lifted me up to his waist and I automatically grabbed him by wrapping my legs around him. He pulled away from my lips and pushed me against the wall while holding me up and said through rugged breathing, “I know I told you I will wait until you are ready, but I don’t know how I can do it when you tease me like this.”

  I laughed and hugged him taking my cheek to his cheek and whispered, “Have I not given you enough cues for you to know that you don’t need to wait anymore?”

  Nick took a deep breath and pushed me back to look at my face. He gently set me on the ground, ran the back of his fingers along my cheek, and said with a smile, “I know Sameera. There is a reason why I completely ditched our dinner plans.”

  I took his palm to my lips and said looking into his eyes, “I love you Nikhil.”

  Nick looked at me with tenderness in his eyes and said, “I have been eagerly waiting for a while now to hear you say these lovely words”.

  “Did you not hear me say these words on Sunday at my place?” I teased.

  “I did,” Nick said smiling and added, “but I was too sleepy to tell if I was dreaming or if it was real.”

  “So, how did you know I said it for real?” I asked and he responded, “I just did.”

  Nick looked at me and said, “You would have heard me say this to you on Sunday in the shower, but I held back because I promised to take it slow.”

  “I know,” I said blushing and added, “Let’s eat, I am hungry, Nick.”

  “Ohh yes, I am too but a very different kind of hunger,” Nick said with a twinkle in his eye.

  “I am going to take care of mine first, but I need to shower before that,” I declared.

  “Sure thing, the master bath is upstairs. Come, let me show you,” Nick said taking my hand and picked up my bags on the way.

  Half way up the stairs, Nick said in a frisky tone, “I had a long flight. I think I should shower too.”