“Lucy Whitten,” he whispered.
“Yeah…” I mewled.
“I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get enough of you.” He let out a slow deep sigh as he kissed me again, this time even longer and more covetous as his tongue passed through my lips and slid over my tongue. He tasted sweet, and I felt myself getting swept away into him. I lost myself in that man, and soon nothing mattered but us.
He lowered himself down on to the bench, holding me against his chest. I felt safe hundreds of feet up in the air in between his arms as we cuddled. I easily let myself relax.
I could see Adam and Suzette’s pod above us. I surely couldn’t hear them, and I could just barely see them, but I was able to catch a glimpse while we were rounding the very top of the wheel. I saw Suzette sitting on the bench as Adam knelt down on one knee.
I sat up quickly and Simon reacted just as fast. “What? What is it?” He questioned.
“Adam,” I pointed upwards standing to get a better view. I had to move to the other side of the capsule to see anything at all, and even that was limited. But I could see Suzette smiling wide and Adam was definitely holding a small box of sorts. Suzette’s head began to nod wildly and he leapt up to take her into his arms.
“What? I can’t see anything,” Simon was still confused.
“He just proposed! I think… no he did! Oh my! How romantic, oh he just proposed and from the looks of it she said yes!” I was so giddy I jumped up and down until I quickly remembered that I was unbelievably high in the air inside of a glass egg. I threw my arms around Simon and jumped up to swing my legs around his waist so he was holding me.
“Oh this is so great! I wish I was up there with them right now. I so want to squeeze them both till they’re blue in the face.” I couldn’t contain my excitement and I happily kissed Simon, I had to let my emotions out somehow and he was the only one in the pod with me, but I doubt he had any complaints. Then I remembered my phone.
“OH! I have to call her… I mean right?” I looked to Simon for acceptance. He nodded in approval and, still in his arms, I pulled my phone out of my front pocket to dial her number.
Simon held me the entire time the two of us were screaming back and forth on the phone until I jumped out of his embrace and ran to the window. She did the same and held her left hand up to the glass. I could slightly make out the ring, but I told her I’d look at it once we departed. We hung up and I leapt back into Simon’s arms and kissed him hard. I couldn’t contain my excitement. I wasn’t sure how much longer we had on this ride, but it couldn’t be too long. He held me as I nearly began to cry from joy.
“So,” Simon generated a sentence. “I really don’t want to sound too forward or anything…” he paused.
“Yeah?” I urged him to continue.
“Would you…. want to join me back at my flat tonight?” I perked up, a little dazed at his question, but also thrilled. He looked at me worried, like he had just ruined something. “It’s just that I thought maybe the two love birds would like some time alone to properly celebrate and, well I…” he paused again.
I turned my face to his and I could feel what he was going to say next but I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear anymore, so instead I lunged my body onto his and kissed him again. Pushing him back down onto the wood I swung my leg over his lap so I straddled him. His soft hands found their place on my waist and he held me still as he sat up, keeping me tight in his lap. I wrapped my legs around his torso and plunged my fingers into his smooth hair. “Yes,” I whispered. “Yes, I want to come with you.” He grinned from ear to ear at my response and I couldn’t help but kiss both corners of his smiling mouth until he consumed me.
I knew I should’ve thought about it a little bit more than I did – that the intensity of that moment is what drove my answer to an immediate yes, but I couldn’t help myself at all. I knew the risk that this could cause, and I knew that I should wait a little longer to take this step, but right then and there I didn’t care. All I wanted was him, and I was going to have what I wanted.
We were completely forfeit to one another and we lost all sense of everything but each other; until the man that we handed our tickets to was standing next to us, pleading us to get off before we had to do a complete rotation again. I could feel my face turn red from embarrassment as we exited the pod hand in hand.
Chapter 7
My best friends waited on the sidewalk for us, holding each other tight; I hadn’t seen them look that strikingly happy ever, it was a truly beautiful moment.
“You guys! Oh this is so exciting!” I gave them each the biggest hug I could muster, and gawked at the beautiful two carat princess-cut Leo Diamond that fit snuggly on Suzette’s left ring finger. “Oh! This is exquisite. Adam you have outdone yourself,” I marveled.
We stood in the middle of the sidewalk right outside the London Eye hugging and rejoicing. Even Adam and Simon exchanged a congratulatory hug. It was a truly important moment in their lives, and mine as well. It wasn’t every day your best high school friends decided to spend the absolute rest of their lives together. And just like that I felt that hint of jealousy and was a little sad, but I didn’t let anyone see it. I continued to smile and celebrate the joyous occasion.
After the fuss had subsided a bit I took Suzette aside and let Adam and Simon talk amongst themselves.
“Listen, I’m going home with Simon tonight.” I casually said to her, hoping she’d be okay with it and wouldn’t make a fuss.
“Well… are you sure?” She inquired letting her brow furrow.
“Yeah, I mean you guys probably want some quality alone time, and to be honest I want some with Simon.” Her eyes popped open wide before she gave me an approving wink.
“Uh-huh. I know what you wanna do. You dirty girl.” Now looking at me insidiously she bit her lower lip while her eyebrows danced up and down.
“SUZE! I don’t know if that’s going to happen yet… I don’t know if we’re ready yet. But just cause I go back to his place for a sleepover doesn’t mean we have to have sex. Perv,” I quietly exclaimed to make sure the boys didn’t hear me.
“Fine, do as you please, but be careful! I really don’t want to wake up the morning after the best night of my life to find out that you’ve been chopped up into bits and left in the trash to rot.” She exaggerated.
“Please,” I said before we headed back to our men.
We each exchanged a hug once more and said our goodbyes. Adam looked perplexed as I began to walk away from them with Simon, but I knew his soon-to-be wife would explain everything; plus I didn’t need a lecture from him. So I pulled Simon away quickly to avoid Adam's inquisition.
“So, Mr. Basford, where to?” I asked coyly.
He looked at me with his hungry eyes and sweetly said “Follow me, love.”
We arrived at a very plain looking brick building. It didn’t have very many marks on it at all that would even indicate what it was. If I had walked past it without Simon I would’ve thought it was an abandoned firehouse or some other building left and forgotten. The area was in a state of urban decay, but the building looked for the most part unscathed.
We entered through a green door and into an equally plain foyer; four white walls, two small square windows with green curtains to match the door, and a small set of three metal mail boxes next to a set of creaky brown stairs. Behind the staircase was another door which Simon explained was where the other tenant in the building lived.
He took my hand in his and led me upstairs where there were two more green doors. The one on the right, which he approached, had ‘2B’ in pointy black letters right above the peephole. Simon struggled with the keys for a bit, but then the door swung open and he held his hand out to lead me in.
I crossed the threshold into a stunning loft apartment that made our hotel suite look like a matchbox. The door put you straight into the wide open living room, big enough to fit at least thirty to forty people comfortably. The building must’ve gone back pretty far,
because it was definitely bigger on the inside than it looked from the street.
The two back walls were both exposed red brick with only one large rectangular window, (the black curtains closed) on the wall directly across from the front door. A giant gray sectional couch sat against a black wall that housed three framed original Star Wars posters; I had to fight back the urge to call him a nerd.
In front of the couch there stood a deep brown mahogany coffee table with some newspapers, cans of soda, and remote controllers strewn about. He quickly tried to tidy up and I pretended that I didn’t see it as I admired the giant fifty-five inch flat screen LCD television hanging on the exposed brick wall adjacent to the sofa. On either side of the TV were two tall solid black wooden bookshelves full of textbooks, novels, poetry, and comics. A few of the shelves housed Marvel characters on display in all their action figure glory; I couldn’t hide my smile, and he caught it.
“Something amusing you?” He asked.
“I just like your dolls, they’re very cute.”
“Hey, don’t mess with a man’s action figures unless you want to be banished to the couch tonight.”
I began to blush as I thought about the sleeping arrangements for the fast approaching evening. He could tell I was embarrassed as I turned away to scope out the rest of the giant living area, he stepped out of view for a minute with the trash from his coffee table in hand.
In the last corner of the room there was a large gray desk that had one black computer monitor on top and two more mounted around it on the wall above. A large desktop computer was also sharing the desk along with a stack of textbooks, a laptop, and some very large speakers. He clearly was into technology, which explained his expertise on the day we met. Next to the desk sat a white electric guitar and a medium sized black amplifier.
“You play?” I pointed to the guitar and asked as he walked back into the room.
“Uhhh… yeah, but I’m atrocious. I don’t practice enough since I don’t have loads of time.” He awkwardly scratched the space behind his right ear.
“Hmm…” I was kind of at a loss for words. Now that the intense passion we shared while riding the Ferris wheel was gone, and the pressure of me being in his home was on, it was tough to find words to fill the gaping space between us.
“Come on,” he held out his hand. “I’ll show you the rest of the flat.” I took his hand graciously and he walked me through the rest of his place. Down the spacious gray hallway there were a few pieces of modern art on the walls and some pictures of smiling people; family and friends I assumed.
“Here’s the kitchen, your typical kitchen… no need to go in there.” He said as we walked past the oversized kitchen on the left. I could see all the major appliances lined up against a red wall and a breakfast bar protruding on the other end.
Next to the kitchen and also on the left was a small powder room equipped with a toilet, a sink, and a wall mirror.
“And last, my room.” We stopped in front of a large doorway leading into a boundless bedroom. The walls were all painted a very light gray and there wasn’t much hanging on them aside from a large black faced clock above the closet entrance and a very large tattered cloth like map of the world hanging above the king sized platform bed; a black nightstand on either side with two small matching rounded white table top lights. A tall black entertainment center stood across from the bed and held a thirty-two inch flat screen TV and a small collection of movies next to a Blu-Ray player.
Two windows with matching dark blue curtains let the light from outside the building shine in. A sizable navy blue area rug covered most of the floor, and there really wasn’t much else to the large room. It didn’t feel as cozy as the rest of the apartment, it felt cold and sterile. There was a master bathroom attached on the right side of the room, and even it felt more comforting than his bedroom.
There stood a white porcelain toilet, a large gray granite sink on a counter top, a wide rectangular shaped mirror, a stand up glass enclosed shower in the corner, and a large gray tub with beautiful dark chrome finishing. All the towels and wash cloths were a very dark gray to accent the black and gray tiles and fixtures. My mind started to wander as I scanned the room and could picture the two of us in the shower together, making love. I could feel myself turning red and gathered the urge to break the silence.
“You have a spectacular place.” I complimented. I was curious to how he could afford such a flat, but I didn’t dare be rude by asking.
“Thanks,” he said lifting the left corner of his mouth into an awkward smile, his cheek pushing his glasses upward. He was so gorgeous I couldn’t help but smile sweetly as I resisted the urge to rip his clothes off.
We headed back into the living room area still unsure what exactly we should have been doing now that we were alone together with no friends or strangers around to be a buffer.
“Are you hungry?” He pried and just as he said it I realized that I had hardly had anything to eat all day and my stomach started to turn.
“Actually… I am” I acknowledged.
“I’m no world class chef, but I can whip you up something tasty. You like French toast?”
“Yes please.” I nodded swiftly; breakfast for dinner was one of my favorites. He disappeared around the corner and into the kitchen. Not sure what to do I sat on the couch and took in my surroundings. I thought about the events to come and I was equally petrified and awakened.
I could smell the mouthwatering scent of the French toast escaping from the kitchen. I decided that I should follow the savory aroma and check up on Simon. He looked delectable standing in front of the stainless steel stove flipping a piece of white egg-soaked bread in the pan.
“Hey, wondered when you were gonna join me.” He said coolly.
“Yeah, well it smells so delicious I couldn’t stay away.” I took a seat behind the breakfast bar on one of the dark brown stools with the soft leather black cushioned top. I propped my elbows up on the wooden countertop and watched as he cooked for me. He looked up in between flips and smiled warmly, locking eyes with mine.
“So tell me something interesting,” I broke the silence.
“Something interesting huh? Well what do you want to know love?” His sweet voice sang.
“Something someone wouldn’t know until they got to really know you.” I awkwardly replied, immediately regretting it. I sounded like an ass, and I was afraid he might think I was trying to get too personal too quickly. “I’m sorry, that was dumb. You don’t have to say anything.” I whimpered as I turned bright red again. He took his glasses off his head and set them down on the counter; offering me a smirk in the process.
“No, it’s okay, I have no problem. I got something good for your curious mind.” He placed the red plastic spatula down on the counter top and slid the French toast pieces onto a light blue ceramic plate.
“I spent five years in America,” he began and set the plate in front of me, handing me a silver fork and a bottle of warm syrup.
“Oh?” I said as I poured a sizable amount of sticky sweetness onto the fluffy bread and urged him to continue.
“Yea, I went to live with my Aunt Saraphine in Chicago when I was thirteen, and I went to High School in the city. That’s something not a lot of people know about me. Although a lot of people here can tell I wasn’t educated here especially my classmates at the University.” He explained. I was shocked to find out this new information, but it made a lot of sense. His accent wasn’t as heavy as most of the people we’d met there.
“Is that a good bit of info, or would you rather I got even more personal?” His eyes smoldered. I had the sudden urge to shed some clothing as I swear the room got hotter.
“No no, that’s very interesting. I like it. Thanks for sharing.” I tried to hide the fact that I would actually have liked to hear something more personal.
“And you?” He asked.
“Me?”
“Yeah, what’s something someone wouldn’t know about you right away?”
He turned my own question against me.
“Oh, uhh… I’m boring. There’s nothing interesting going on here.” I attempted to avoid it as I racked my brain but came up with nothing that could work to my benefit.
“I very much doubt that. But that’s okay, I’ll get it all out of you eventually,” a sheepish grin filled his face as he took the empty plate off the counter.
I washed the dishes and the pan in the deep silver sink. Simon insisted I didn’t need to, but I wanted to. “It makes me feel good, like I’m needed.” I said to him as I rinsed the sticky sweet syrup off each plate.
“Oh trust me, you are very much needed darling.” He gently whispered in my ear standing behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist. I could feel his hot breath against my neck and it made me tremble. I tried to focus on the dishes in front of me, but he made it nearly impossible to think about anything other than his lips brushing up against my neck.
“Is that so?” My face was starting to flush, but I kept my eyes on the dishes in my hands, full of suds as I ran the sponge over the surface of the pan. He was a persistent one, though. He tightened his grip around my waist, pulling me back a few inches from the sink, causing me to drop the pan. I had no choice. I gave in.
I craned my neck to the right so he had a better angle at my throat. His tongue moved over my skin as he planted sensual kisses from behind my ear to down to my collarbone. His hands began to move upwards, one of them slipping underneath my shirt and heading for my breasts.
I turned around quickly and grabbed the sides of his head, pulling his mouth to mine, and getting dish soap all over his face. He didn’t seem to mind the dripping mixture of water and bubbles as he continued to passionately kiss me. He tasted divine as his sweet tongue greedily tasted mine. The water from the tap was still running, but that didn’t matter to Simon as he lifted me by the waist and set me on the edge of the counter pushing my legs apart so he could move in close and once again we were lost in each other.
Heavy Hearts Page 5