by Zoe May
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing, I’m fine. Absolutely fine!’
‘Something’s wrong. You keep touching your hair. Your voice has changed. You’ve gone all high-pitched.’
I try my best to smile nonchalantly. ‘I’m alright, really.’
‘You’re quite clearly not,’ Daniel says, a little huffily.
Oh God, I’m provoking him. I take a deep breath and try my best to look relaxed.
‘Sophia, just tell me what’s wrong,’ he insists.
I rap my fingernails against the surface of the breakfast bar. The sound rings out through the flat. Daniel shifts in his chair. He scratches his neck and a flush begins to rise up around his collar. Would a serial killer blush like that? I glance out of the window again, at the swooping birds below, the dirty city beneath us. That’s where I belong, not up here.
‘I’m not sure this is me,’ I comment. ‘I just… I’m not used to your world. It makes me a bit… uncomfortable.’
Daniel frowns. ‘You said you wanted a millionaire?’
‘That was a joke!’
‘Oh, well, sorry.’ Daniel takes a pensive sip of his drink. Maybe it doesn’t contain sedatives after all.
‘I just don’t get why a guy like you would be on a site like Dream Dates. You’ve got women falling at your feet everywhere you go. Even on our first date, within two minutes of meeting you, a woman gave you her number. A super-hot woman, at that. And you live at the Shard for goodness’ sake. There are women who’d kill to be with a guy like you. Other rich women. Models. Celebrities. I don’t know, I just feel like… There’s just…’ Something you’re not telling me. Something that doesn’t add up, I want to say, but I bite my tongue. After all, what if he does have meat cleavers stashed away somewhere? I don’t want to piss him off.
Daniel gets up and walks over to the window, his gaze fixed on the horizon, his back tense. A silence passes between us. The flat is deathly still, the noise of the city reduced to nothing.
‘Daniel…’ I venture.
He turns around. ‘I’m sorry, but I just hate it when I can’t be myself because of all this.’ He gestures around at the flat.
‘I didn’t choose to be wealthy. I didn’t choose to be born into a rich family. I can’t do anything about it but it means that I can’t be myself. Everyone sees me through this lens of money. I just wanted to get to know you, person to person, but now my wealth’s come into it and you’re treating me differently.’
He sits down a few seats away from me and regards me with a cool, impassive stare. All the light and sparkle that’s been in his eyes ever since we met has gone. It’s like he’s shut down.
‘It’s just all a bit much. You can’t blame me for feeling out of my depth? I’ve never met anyone like you before and I—’
‘Anyone like me?’ Daniel interrupts. ‘You were fine with me before. Before you knew I lived up the Shard, you were absolutely fine with me. You liked me. We were getting close.’
He frowns and rubs his fingers over his forehead as if to knead out the tension. He seems so upset that I start to feel genuinely bad. Maybe he hasn’t got meat cleavers stashed away in a drawer after all.
‘I know, I’m sorry. I guess I’m so used to meeting absolute loser guys on sites like Dream Dates that I can’t get my head around this situation. I just don’t get why you were on the site. It seems so strange. Picturing you sitting up here logging onto a site like that.’
‘Well, if it’s so bad then why were you on it?’ Daniel retorts.
‘Kate wanted me to join. I told you, it was just a joke profile. Anyway, it’s not the same thing,’ I comment.
‘Right.’ Daniel nods, his jaw tense. ‘Look, the reason I went on it is because, like you, I wanted to meet a dream person, a “dream date”’ he says, doing air quotations.
‘I’m tired of playing the field. I wanted to meet someone special. I’ve dated super rich girls and they’re not for me, Sophia. I don’t want to be in a relationship with a woman who spends her life shopping for handbags, or eating brunch in Chelsea, or going to the dermatologist, I want to—’
‘Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,’ I point out.
‘Maybe… Well, yes,’ Daniel admits. ‘But believe me, that’s not what I want. I don’t want to meet a rich girl who thinks there’s nothing more to life than designer shoes and makeup or clothes. I want to meet someone different. Is that so wrong?’
I squirm. ‘It’s just a bit unusual, I suppose.’
Daniel shrugs. ‘You know, my dad met my mum when he was on a business trip to Croatia. She was working as a receptionist in the hotel lobby, a dark-eyed girl from a tiny little village where they had a goat in their yard. They were from completely different worlds and yet they fell in love! I don’t think it matters how much money you have or where you’re from; it’s about two people and whether or not they get on.’
‘I guess so,’ I agree, feeling a little less anxious as I imagine the Cinderella-like romance between a small town Croatian girl and Daniel’s wealthy oil-trader father. He must have swept her off her feet.
‘Look, I wasn’t expecting much,’ Daniel continues. ‘To be honest, I thought you sounded like a laugh to begin with. Your Dream Dates profile was mad! I thought you’d be a fun date but it’s more than that now. There’s something about you. A spark, an energy. You’re just special.’
He looks so serious that I can’t help feeling moved. Maybe he does just want to meet someone different. I move a little closer to him and slip my hand over his knee. He looks up, his eyes wide and vulnerable. He clearly hasn’t got meat cleavers or sedatives; he’s not a serial killer, he’s just like me. He just wants to fall in love. And maybe he’s right. Even though I asked for a millionaire on that stupid profile, all I’ve ever really wanted is to feel that spark, to fall in love and money doesn’t really come into that, whether the guy is broke or rich. Maybe Daniel’s right; maybe I am seeing him through a lens of money.
‘I’m sorry, Daniel, I was just a bit taken aback.’
I slide my hand a little further up his leg. He meets my gaze, the sparkle returning to his eyes.
‘Okay, but will you drop it? All these hang-ups about my background? I can’t help being rich any more than I’d be able to help being poor. It’s not a choice. It’s just the family I was born into,’ he says grumpily.
‘I know,’ I comment, resisting the urge to smile. He could give Oliver Twist a run for his money, he’s so forlorn.
‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s okay.’ He pulls me close and plants a kiss on my lips. ‘Shall we have dinner now? You said in your texts that you liked sushi so I ordered some in.’ He opens the fridge door and pulls out a giant silver tray.
‘I’m not the best cook, I’m afraid,’ he says, unpeeling a layer of cling-film to reveal the prettiest sushi I’ve ever seen.
‘It looks delicious. Are you going to lay it all over my naked body now and eat it off?’ I ask, but Daniel looks confused. He’s clearly not a fan of Sex and the City.
‘I could do but it might get a bit dangerous with the wasabi.’ He pulls out a bottle of soy sauce and a tube of wasabi from the fridge.
‘Do you want to eat here or at the dining table?’ he asks. I cast my eyes across the flat, towards the giant wooden table, which is so perfectly polished that it reflects like a mirror the light streaming in through the window.
‘Dining table.’
If I’m going to accept Daniel’s wealth and roll with it, I may as well have a little fun. Why not have dinner sitting on a plush velvet chair underneath a humungous glittering chandelier?
‘Great.’ Daniel smiles, carrying the tray over.
‘Can I help?’ I offer.
‘No. You just sit there and look pretty,’ he says.
I watch as he sets the table. The light reflects off the shiny wood, illuminating his face and neck. He looks unreal, like an angel or a fairy. He places the napkins down next to the pla
tes and lays the chopsticks neatly on top of them. He’s trying. He’s really trying to please me – getting sushi, laying the table so nicely, and I’ve just been sitting here, treating him like a serial killer. I feel a pang of guilt. I pick up our glasses of wine and carry them over.
‘Your table is so beautiful,’ I comment as I place the glasses down. ‘How did you get it so shiny?’
Daniel smiles a little tightly as he pulls out a chair for me. It’s heavy and the wood has been ornately carved. It’s clearly incredibly expensive. I sit down and it’s like sitting on a cloud, it’s so comfortable.
‘Wow, this chair! It’s so soft! It’s so—’
‘Sophia!’ Daniel cuts me off as he sits down. ‘There are a lot of expensive things in this flat. It’s all high quality but let’s just make this about us and not all this stuff.’
‘Okay!’ I pick up my glass and clink it against his. ‘To us.’
‘To us!’ Daniel chimes, taking a sip while scanning the sushi platter.
‘Daniel! You have to look me in the eyes while you take a sip or else it’s seven years’ bad sex,’ I tell him.
He laughs. ‘We wouldn’t want that now, would we?’ he says, meeting my gaze.
I smile to myself as I pick up my chopsticks and pluck some sushi from the tray. We work our way through the platter, chatting intermittently as the light fades to black outside. As we reach the last few pieces of sushi, I feel something brush against my leg and look down, startled, to see a fluffy black and white cat. Esther! I forgot about Daniel’s rescue cat Esther!
‘Hello kitty!’ I reach down to stroke her. She looks up, her eyes round and black like marbles.
‘Meow.’ She rubs her body against me.
‘She’s so cute!’
‘She wants some fish.’ Daniel picks up a slither of salmon and dangles it towards her,
‘Esther! Esther baby!’ He waves the fish around. Esther bites it out of his hand.
‘Esther baby?’ I raise an eyebrow.
‘Shut up, you,’ Daniel retorts, smiling.
I pick up a piece of salmon and hold it out to her. She guzzles it and then jumps up onto Daniel’s lap.
‘That’s right, come to daddy,’ he coos, tickling her.
‘Daddy!’ I tut as Daniel makes kissing noises while Esther curls up and purrs softly.
I gaze out at the city lights glittering endlessly in the horizon. I place my glass down and walk over to the window to get a better look.
‘Wow, it’s even more beautiful at night.’
Daniel approaches me from behind, slipping his hands around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.
‘It’s good when I need to think,’ he says.
‘I’m impressed you manage to leave the house. I’d just want to look out the window all day,’ I comment, watching the lights twinkling in the distance.
‘Well, you can do that if you want,’ Daniel says.
I turn around and look up at him, taking in his perfectly-chiselled face, the symmetry that never ceases to amaze me. When God made Daniel, he really took his time. He got out his rulers, his protractor, his compass. Regular people look slapdash in comparison, as if God made them after one too many sherries. Daniel’s eyes are still piercingly blue even in the dim light. He smiles ever so slightly and lowers his lips to mine. He kisses me softly, running his hand down my back.
‘Let’s sit down,’ he says as he pulls over two seats from the dining table.
‘You know, on a good day, you can see the sea from up here.’ He plants a chair at my feet before pointing towards the southeast.
‘Sure, you can.’
‘No, it’s true!’ Daniel insists. ‘You can see all the way to Southend on Sea. The sky has to be crystal clear though.’
‘Really?’ I peer into the darkness.
‘And it has to be daytime!’ Daniel adds.
‘Shut up!’ I give him a gentle push.
‘No, really, this is the only place in London where you can see the sea. From the top of the Shard.’
‘That’s crazy,’ I remark as I sit down.
‘Yeah, it is. It’s strange up here. You can see everything yet no one can see you.’ Daniel looks at me with a dark, unreadable expression, before pulling his chair closer to mine and placing his hand on my thigh, pushing my dress up my legs.
‘Daniel…’ I place my hand on his, making a weak attempt to stop him.
‘I’m sorry, Sophia, I can’t resist anymore.’ He draws his lips to mine. We kiss slowly and tenderly, until lust kicks in and our kisses grow more and more intense. Daniel unzips my dress and pulls it down over my shoulders.
‘I’ve been dreaming about this ever since I met you,’ he murmurs into my ear.
I could try to resist him and be coy, but the truth is, I’ve been dreaming about this too. I unbutton his shirt. His body makes Adonis look like a slob, he’s so toned and flawless. His skin is so unbelievably soft and smooth, it’s almost inhuman. He’s so beautiful in fact that the whole thing feels completely unreal, so unreal that any nervousness I had before simply dissipates. We make love on the chair, the city sprawling beneath us. It feels so good. Unbelievably good. I knew Daniel matched pretty much all my criteria on Dream Dates, but there was one thing I wasn’t sure about.
‘The perfect eight inches,’ I murmur as I catch my breath after the most amazing orgasm of my life, my hands draped lazily around his neck.
‘Hey, don’t forget about the diameter,’ Daniel jokes.
‘Are you real?’ I pinch his side. ‘You’re not just a figment of my imagination?’
Daniel laughs and kisses me on the forehead. I rest my head against his shoulder and breathe in the scent of his skin as I look out over the city sparkling beneath us.
‘Let’s go to bed,’ he suggests.
‘Okay.’ I slip my underwear back on and we walk in a post-coital daze down a corridor leading to his bedroom.
Daniel opens the door and I’m greeted with the sight of a giant bed, covered in shimmery silk throws and perfectly arranged cushions, set within an inhumanely large bedroom, which of course, has incredible views. The flat has been structured so that every room gets as much exposure to the views as possible. Daniel’s bedroom is at one of The Shard’s corners, with two walls comprised solely of glass. It’s as sparse and minimalistic as the rest of the flat, with just a chaise longue in the corner, overlooking the city.
‘Wow…’ I gasp, before cursing myself. I just can’t seem to take Daniel’s wealth in my stride. This sort of thing just isn’t normal for me. ‘Sorry.’
‘It’s okay.’
‘Can I borrow a dressing gown?’ I ask, feeling a little self-conscious in just my underwear.
‘Sure,’ Daniel replies, opening a mahogany door, flush against the wall, which I assume must be some kind of wardrobe. He disappears inside it. Walk-in wardrobe, ha, I should have known.
I sit down on Daniel’s bed, which is covered with a lavish throw densely embroidered with gold thread. Something he no doubt picked up on his travels. I can’t get over how spotless and tidy everything is in his flat. His bedroom is just as clutter-free as the kitchen, except for a framed picture on the bedside table and a tie and furry throw dangling over the back of the chaise longue. They look a little out of place, as if they might have been left there deliberately to give an impression of homeliness. I pick up the photo frame from the bedside table. It shows a couple, an older man with Daniel’s strong boned features holding a younger-looking woman close. She’s petite and dark-haired, dressed in a neat pencil suit, and toasts a champagne flute towards the camera, smiling shyly.
Daniel emerges, still naked, a crisp white dressing gown draped over his arm.
‘My parents,’ he explains, nodding towards the photograph.
‘I can see the resemblance. Was this taken in Dubai?’ I ask.
‘Yeah.’ Daniel nods. ‘It was at a summer party.’
‘Oh nice, at your place?’
‘No.�
�� He frowns, handing me the dressing gown. ‘It wouldn’t have been at our place.’
‘What do you mean?’
Daniel shrugs. ‘My parents don’t really throw parties. My dad’s always away with work and my mum doesn’t really know many people. Hardly anyone, actually.’
‘What?’ I balk, taken aback as I tie the robe. ‘But I thought your parents have lived in Dubai for years!’
‘Yeah, they have,’ Daniel replies nonchalantly, perching at the end of the bed. ‘But my mum doesn’t get out much.’
‘How come?’ I ask
‘Because she takes care of the house, Sophia. Can we please stop talking about my parents? It’s a mood killer!’ he jokes.
‘Okay,’ I murmur, taking one last look at the photo before placing it back down. Daniel’s parents look so happy, but I can’t help wondering what his mum’s life is really like if she’s stuck at home all day while her husband’s out of the country for work.
‘I can’t believe you wanted a dressing gown!’ Daniel says, changing the subject.
‘I’m cold, Daniel!’ I retort, turning to him.
‘The heating’s on,’ he points out. He’s right, it isn’t particularly cold. It’s actually quite warm and toasty.
‘Well, not all of us like to gallivant around, butt naked.’
Daniel grins, before sweeping half a dozen cushions off the bed and onto the floor.
‘I don’t usually have so many cushions but I told Elena to make my bed look nice for you. She went a bit overboard,’ he laughs.
I pluck a small heart-shaped cushion off the bed. ‘Yeah, I can see the feminine touch.’