Xavier pulled back and went inside once more to wait for her. It was another ten minutes before she came back inside.
“Hey, you came back,” she said as she approached his table.
Xavier did his best to smile up at her. “I did indeed. Never pass up a place with excellent service.”
She giggled at him. “What can I get you?”
“I don’t want to seem weird, so I apologize if this creeps you out. I saw you back there just now.”
“What?” Her arm holding the notepad dropped.
Xavier pointed back toward the cook. “He said you were on break and I was hoping to catch you so we could chat a little, but I saw you were with…?”
“John. He’s my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend. Got it.” Xavier nodded and drummed his fingers on the table. “Anyway, I didn’t want to interrupt, so I came back inside. Should I go, then?”
“You’re asking me?”
“You’re the one with the boyfriend.”
“Oh,” she said, her eyes lighting up as it dawned on her what they were talking about. “Well I don’t know. I guess that’s up to you.”
“I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted.”
“You’re not unwanted… exactly.”
“Good enough,” he said with a smile. “Good enough for me.”
Things were a bit more complicated than he originally thought. Good, he liked a challenge.
To Aimee’s surprise, that hot biker came back. And back. And back again! Over the course of two weeks he must’ve come in just short of every other day. He requested her table every time, and ordered a cup of coffee. Sometimes he had a cake or pie, but it was usually just the coffee.
She was pretty sure that after their little talk when he’d seen her with John would’ve scared him off. She wouldn’t have blamed him. John was a big guy and intimidated just about everyone in their town. It was part of the reason she was with him. Not only did being John’s girl afford her a bit of security, since no one would mess with anyone in John’s circle, but it was also better to willingly be at his side than forcibly so. John wasn’t known for his gentle side.
Yet, Xavier kept coming back. Sure he said it was just for the coffee, but he found a way to chat her up every time he was around. If she was being honest with herself, she was glad for the attention. She knew he wasn’t from around here, so the fact that this guy — whoever he was — came all this way just to talk to her was flattering beyond anything she’d ever experienced. The least she could do was talk to him, right? There wasn’t any harm in that.
Then, one day, he stopped her just as she was leaving his table. “When’s your next night off?”
This was it. Her heart pounded. Would she say yes? Could she? If John found out, he’d kill them both. Yet she couldn’t say no. Just looking into his eyes, she couldn’t even imagine him not coming into the café to talk to her anymore. How could she say no to spending more time with him? Their conversations were always so easy, so funny. He made her feel special, and safe.
“The café closes around 7pm every night, so I’m kind of free every night. I have tomorrow off, though.”
“Can I take you out?”
She smiled coyly. “Yeah? Where would we go? The mechanic over there has a great crème brulee I hear.”
He laughed. “Is that right? Well, we may have to check it out. But no, I was thinking of something even higher class, if you can imagine that.”
“I don’t believe such a place exists.”
He smiled at her, and somehow just that simple expression melted her all the way down to her toes. “Let me prove it.”
“Okay.” The word slipped out before she’d even had a chance to think about it.
“Great,” he said with a grin. “Tomorrow then? I can pick you up here if you want. Say around five o’clock?”
It was too late now. She was doing this. How could she say no after she’d already said okay? “Sounds good,” she said.
He handed her his phone and she put in her number. After a quick goodbye, he took off. It was almost as if he was giddy and wanted to get a head-start or something. How could a grown man be so powerful yet adorable at the same time?
There was something about him. She would never underestimate him. The way he held himself, she knew he could handle himself. Yet, at the same time, he was so sweet with her. No one in this damn town was ever so nice on purpose. If anyone was being nice, they wanted something, pure and simple.
Not Xavier. She didn’t have anything he wanted other than herself. She smiled to herself and went back to start a fresh pot of coffee, thinking about how nice it was to actually be wanted.
Tomorrow both couldn’t come soon enough and came too quickly. It felt like she spent the whole time wishing it was five o’clock already, yet when five actually started rolling around, she couldn’t get ready fast enough. Time was sabotaging her!
She was late, and as she walked down the small dirt road toward the café she didn’t see his motorcycle anywhere. She checked her phone and saw she was a full twenty minutes late. How could this have happened? Was he late too, or did he show up and leave when she wasn’t there?
Her hands were sweating, she was sure her makeup was running, and she felt sick to her stomach with nervousness. As she rounded the side of the building, she saw a black sedan parked along the street. It shined like a black jewel in the light of the low sun. She couldn’t ever recall seeing a car look so fresh and new.
Why was it here? Her question was quickly answered as the back door opened and out stepped her biker. He wore the sharpest suit she’d ever seen. All at once she understood the difference between a tailored suit and something bought in a department store.
“Wow,” he said, “you look great.”
She looked down at herself in the sundress and flats she wore. “You’re a very handsome liar.”
“No, really,” he said as he approached her. He took up her hands in his and looked in her eyes. “You look beautiful.”
Aimee took a deep breath and released it slowly. It was all she could do. She tried to think of something to say back, but her mind was completely blank. All she thought about, all she could see was the way he looked at her.
After a moment, he gave her a wink and led her back to the car. They didn’t say anything. They didn’t need to. A man was there and opened her door for her.
“Oh, thank you,” she said with a faux curtsy and a giggle. The man smiled and closed the door for her, then rounded the back of the car to let Xavier in. “You have a driver?” she asked when he’d settled.
“I do,” Xavier said. Then to the driver he said, “Let’s switch cars, and we’ll go from there.”
“Yes sir.”
“Switch cars?” she asked him.
“Well, I want to take you around in a limo tonight, but I figured that’d be just a touch too conspicuous in a town like this, so I opted for the town car.”
Aimee laughed. “A limo? Wow, you’re really going all out tonight.”
The driver snorted, then tried to cover it up by clearing his throat. Aimee caught it though, and she looked from the driver then back to Xavier who was trying desperately not to smile.
“What? What am I missing? Are you rich or something?”
“Let’s just have a nice night,” he said as he tried to not laugh.
“Oh my God, you’re rich, aren’t you? Like, how rich?”
“Roland,” Xavier said to his driver, “how rich would you say I am?”
“He paid off my mortgage as a tip one day.”
Aimee sat frozen and looked from Roland the driver to Xavier. “That was nice of you.”
“Roland is an exceptionally good driver.”
“What, I don’t pour your coffee well enough?”
Roland barked out a laugh and clapped his hands twice. “Oh I like her, sir.”
“I’m so glad you approve.” He then turned to Aimee and poked her belly playfully, “And you are currently i
n the backseat of my car about to have the night of your life. Where do you get off complaining?”
“That is a fair point,” she said and relaxed into the chair. “This is a really nice car.”
“Just wait,” Roland said, grinning.
They drove to the city, the first time Aimee had ever been in her life. Once Xavier discovered this fact, he became even more excited for their evening together. They switched from the town car to the limo, and Aimee was blown away by the difference. There was champagne and roses. They played music in surround sound back there, movies. She could’ve spent the whole night just in the back of that car.
It was a good thing she didn’t, though. Xavier took her first to a restaurant on the fortieth floor of a skyscraper. The view was amazing, and there weren’t any other customers.
“I bought out the place for the night,” he said. “I wanted us to have a nice quite chance to talk.”
After that, he took her to a movie, again he’d bought out the auditorium. The screen was at least twice as big as the theater she’d been to once. It was incredible. He took her for a ride around the city, showing her the lights of the park, and all the people hustling up and down the street in the shopping district.
She’d never seen so many people in her life. He walked with her, arm in arm, to each store. She was happy to just look in the windows, but he insisted she at least go in and have the experience. The smell, the feel of the fabrics between her fingers. It was so beyond anything she’d ever done before.
Beyond her as a person.
This was like stepping into the life of someone else, someone famous or, well, rich. This wasn’t her life. As wonderful as it was, she couldn’t take it seriously. He offered to buy her things, but she refused. She was worried he would be offended by this, but instead he seemed almost amused. It just wouldn’t feel right. She imagined owning one of those dresses, or maybe a piece of jewelry and wearing it around town.
All of that dust, the desert heat. It stood out in her mind like an egg in a gunfight. It just didn’t make sense. She was here for the time being, like an amusement park. That’s all this was. It’s all it could be. Still, she was going to enjoy every minute of it so she made sure to not let it get to her. She’d have plenty of time to feel down about it once she was home and it was over.
He continued taking her around to shops, and monuments, explaining the history of different buildings and how the city grew into the metropolis it was. He even took her to the tallest building in the city which he told her, with no small amount of pride, he owned. That was his office near the top. He offered to show her, but again, she refused. That was too deep into his life. Too real. Let that be his place.
She was just happy to have this chance to see how the other side lived, to really live the big city life she’d been dreaming of her whole life. Even if she ever made it to the city, she knew it would never have been as amazing as this.
Being here with him wasn’t just a good time. It was a gift. He treated her like a lady, as though she was someone he was proud to have beside him. With her cheap dress next to his tailored suit that probably cost more than her car, she felt like she slummed him down, made him look as cheap as she felt. But despite that, he walked proudly and with the largest smile on his face.
He was actually nervous, to boot. Excited in the way he showed her things, but stumbled over his words here and there. Hesitated when reaching for something if he thought he would accidently touch her. After all the work he put into getting her to go out with him, it was so cute how nervous he actually was to have her. When the evening finally wound down, she decided she was going to end the night on a final note.
One last thing she needed to mark it as the perfect night. As they settled back into the limo, she said, “I’d like you to take me home now.”
It was late, so he looked a bit sad that the evening was over, but he understood. He nodded and pushed the intercom button over his head, but she reached out and touched his leg.
“But tell him to go slow.”
Xavier looked at her for a moment, that telltale expression of hopefulness and hesitation, but she just held his gaze and gave his leg a small squeeze. Xavier did as she asked and when they were under way, she climbed onto his lap, straddling him.
“I’ve had the most wonderful time. I want you to know that.”
He rested his hands on her waist, settling them just above her hips. “So have I. I’ve never enjoyed someone’s company so genuinely.”
She leaned down and kissed him sweetly. The kissing slowly ramped up to more passionate motions, their hands gripping more, their breathing increasing. She felt his excitement grow under her, and she couldn’t stop from smiling. The last thing she wanted to think about was John, but in that moment it was impossible not to make the comparison. Every time she and John were together, she had to work to get him even interested. Nothing made her feel less wanted.
Now here was this man, this perfect man, and he was ready to go just from kissing her. She moved her hips and just took some time enjoying the sensation of his arousal. Soon, though she couldn’t wait any longer, and knew she didn’t have a lot of time before they reached her house. She moved off of him just long enough to remove her panties and gave him a smile.
Like an excited teenager, he removed his jacket and tossed it aside, then quickly undid his pants and pushed them down. She grinned at the sight of him. It was a beautiful thing, and she couldn’t wait to have it. Aimee straddled him again, this time reaching down and taking him in her hand. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath.
“A simple thank you would’ve been enough,” he said with a smile. Aimee leaned down and kissed the side of his neck just under his ear.
“This is my simple thank you,” she whispered. She then guided him into her and lowered herself down.
The breath was driven from her in a rush at the feeling of him. The intensity of the moment was almost more than she could bear. He was wonderful, the feeling of being with him indescribable. It was the very definition of surreal. Aimee brought herself up and lowered down on him again, re-experiencing the sensations.
He buried his face between her breasts, holding her close to him as she began a slow, smooth rhythm. Aimee wasn’t some starry eyed teenager. She’d had sex before, but every time before it was just that: sex. That moment with Xavier, the feeling of his hands on her body, the feel of his shirt against her skin, his breath against her neck as he kissed her, it was the truest sense of connection that she’d ever dreamed of. In that moment, for just that time, they were together.
They moved together, both relishing in the sensations of their bodies, both working for the pleasure of the other. She didn’t feel obliged or an object to him. He appreciated her for who she was, wanted her for exactly who she was, and being with him there, like that, was what sex was always meant to be.
Until now, she’d assumed she would never have it. Every bump in the road was felt throughout her whole body as it jostled them. Her entire body worked itself up to a sensitive frenzy. Finally, after she’d lost all sense of time, she felt her orgasm build inside of her in a rush, as though it had been waiting for something only to spring it on her in an ambush. She clutched to him as she moaned, grinding herself down on him as her ecstasy overcame her.
He suddenly grabbed onto her, groaning and bucking his hips in sharp, heavy motions and she felt the bursts of heat inside of her. That tipped the balance, bringing her own to the fore in a wild rush. He continued to move with her, helping her finish hers through to the end, and when it was over, she rested her head on his shoulder and struggled to regain her breath.
Sitting there in his arms was the most comfortable she’d ever been in her life. Normally after the act it was time to go, but in that moment leaving was the last thing she wanted to do. Unfortunately, it was only a few minutes before they pulled up to the café. Aimee planted a dozen more kisses on his lips and around his face before saying goodbye.
He stood th
ere watching as she walked up the dirt road that eventually led to her house. She knew because, even though she didn’t look behind her, she never heard the car pull away.
Despite how sad she was knowing she couldn’t see him again, she couldn’t help but smile.
Xavier spent the rest of the night in a haze. He wasn’t ready to go home, not after the incredible time he’d had. He had Roland take him around to a few bars in the city. After a few drinks and striking up random conversations with people, he finished off the night feeling like he was on drugs or something.
He’d actually found someone that liked him for who he was, and not just because he was rich. The way she refused his gifts blew him away. It hadn’t been a test, he genuinely wanted to buy her things, to lavish her in the one thing he had a lot of, but she wouldn’t have it. She was just happy being with him. He hadn’t done anything for her that she’d asked her other than showing her a good time, and she slept with him by the end of it.
That had been probably the most unexpected thing for him. He never suspected she would’ve wanted to do anything like that, but he was certainly not complaining about it. The whole thing had been so sensual and amazing. He’d never had sex that felt like it had meaning to it. It wasn’t just sex, it was an experience. The next day, Xavier couldn’t focus on work in the least. He did what he had to in order to get through his day, but that was about it. He couldn’t wait to be off so he could go see her.
ROMANCE: THE SHEIKH'S GAMES: A Sheikh Romance Page 11