by Sasha Pop
“I am sorry this place is still a mess…not very welcoming,” Jessica apologized.
“Don’t worry, it is not like I expected you to have a candle-lit dinner ready for me,” Rodrigo joked. Observing the room, he noticed the massive fireplace in the corner. “But maybe we can have something better.”
“Oh that? I never really used it before,” Jessica said, understanding what he had in mind.
“Me neither. Want to try?” He asked. The mischievous look in his eyes could convince her to do much more than just risk lighting the fireplace.
They examined the fireplace; there were still some woods and pines that could be used.
“This should be enough,” Rodrigo commented.
“I will go get a lighter,” Jessica said.
“No need,” Rodrigo told her as he pulled one out of his pocket to Jessica’s surprise.
“Do you smoke?” she asked.
“I used to. Not anymore,” he answered. He had quit when his mother first became diagnosed with cancer, and he had to start saving every single cent that he could.
“Do you want to try it?” Rodrigo asked, sitting down and holding a wood stick.
“So you can blame me if the house burns down?” Jessica asked. She crouched near him, their shoulders touching.
“Alright, let’s do it together. One, two, three!”
They lit the log and threw it back with the other wood, immediately spreading the fire.
“Wow, it is beautiful,” Jessica commented, mesmerized. “I remember my dad using it, when I was about ten…we were still such a happy, tight family back then.”
Rodrigo didn’t inquire what had changed now – he was too busy admiring the dreamy look on her face. The orange light from the fire was illuminating exquisitely her cheeks, giving her a sublime appearance, almost like a Goddess of Fire.
Jessica caught him looking at her, and was about to tease him about it, as another loud thunder struck unexpectedly. Scared, she jumped slightly as if to avoid it, ending up in Rodrigo’s arms. They would have fallen if he didn’t struggle to keep the balance, holding her tight. The sensation of her skin on felt like an electric shock going all over his body. The smell of her hair was intoxicating; he remembered how he got drunk and felt that this could lead to the same sensation. His eyes clearly fixated on the two gentle pink lines in front of him as he was still holding her in his arms, her shining lips holding so much promise and temptation. He could tell how Jessica froze in anticipation, without any intention to turn away from him. With every millisecond, the distance between them steadily decreased, as he felt a magnetic pull towards her unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life. Just as his lips were a couple inches away and he could feel her hot breath, he came to his senses. He could not do this to her; not when he might disappear from her life for good in just a week. This girl had clearly gone through a lot, and she deserved better. Plus, she obviously had gotten the wrong idea about him being some sort of big shot riding a Ferrari, and he didn’t want to use that to get her. Even if pulling away was as hard as looking Maestro in the eye.
As he made a step back, he could already see the disappointment in Jessica’s eyes. She was clearly expecting something else, and it seemed that he had hurt her much with his last move. Jessica stepped away too, and headed towards the table.
“Let’s eat,” she said coldly.
Rodrigo nodded and followed her. As they sat down, an awkward silence ensured. Each one of them just stared at their plate, pretending not to notice the other person. Finally, realizing the silliness of the situation, Rodrigo mustered the courage to speak up.
“I am sorry. Is just now is not a good time for me for that.”
Jessica raised her chin to look at him and processed what he just said. His excuse felt insulting to her, just like the type of excuses girls would typically give guys of the sort of “it is not you, it is me”. Jessica had rejected enough guys back in the day to last for a lifetime, but took pride in always honestly telling them that she was not interested, so in contrast, Rodrigo’s behavior seemed like that of a coward.
“You don’t have to apologize,” she said, trying to sound neutral and unfazed. “It is not like I was expecting anything.”
Rodrigo could see that it was all an act on her end, and that she didn’t believe one word of his.
“I am not apologizing because I have to. And I know you were not expecting anything. But I still want you to know I am telling the truth.”
Something in the way he said that, serious and concerned, made Jessica consider that maybe he was being honest. Still, she had some bitterness left after the rejection and asked.
“You do have somebody in your life, don’t you?” She asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer or not.
Rodrigo reached out to her hand and squeezed her palm.
“I do not,” he said, pausing for a moment. “But if I did, I would like if it was…” he stopped in the middle of the sentence as she was watching him intently. She felt like she knew what he wanted to say next.
“It is ok, I believe you,” Jessica said with a smile, considerably cheered up. She didn’t know what it was that was holding him back, but based on what she had learned about him so far, it had to be something serious. She decided to trust him – something in her gut told her that he was unlike any other guy she ever had met before.
“I will tell you one day when I can, I promise,” Rodrigo added with gratitude in his voice.
They started eating their food, chit-chatting happily. They weren’t sure whether it was the risotto that turned out to be very tasty or they were both very hungry, but either way they felt it was delicious.
“Now we know that if med school doesn’t work out, we can always open a restaurant,” Jessica joked.
“You want to work? Even if your family has enough money so you never have to?” Rodrigo asked.
“Yes, I want to build my own legacy, a life I can be proud of. I am tired of living under my father’s shadow,” she said. “I want for people to be able to respect me for who I really am.”
That statement struck a nail with Rodrigo. After all, this was what he wanted for himself as well, that people acknowledge the real him and not the illusion he was living.
Soon they finished dinner, and Rodrigo thanked her. He didn’t want this evening to be over…he felt so at ease and so at home at this unknown place, with this blonde girl who on one side reminded him of Neri, but on the other was so different, with her unique strong personality and values. Even if the time was wrong, he was glad he had met her.
They returned back to the kitchen and he helped her clean up the cooking area. Remembering that he had brought a biscuit for Tara in his jacket, he went to get it and they soon they were up to check up on her upstairs. The Retriever could smell them approaching, and was already running eagerly as they entered the room. Rodrigo patted her head carefully inside the plastic antenna, with the injured dog wiggling happily her tail. Jessica watched them in wonder: he really had a gift with animals, she thought. Tara finally noticed Jessica and went to attempt lick her on the face, instead hitting her with the plastic collar instead. Rodrigo laughed.
“It looks like she is recovering well. I will change her bandage tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Jessica said, trying to keep from yawning. She was desperately fighting to stay awake in order to spend more time with him but her body was getting the best of her.
“You look tired. We should go to sleep,” Rodrigo suggested. In truth, he was also barely standing on his feet after the long day of training.
“Ok, let me show you your room.”
As they went through the corridor Rodrigo observed the numerous paintings on the walls. Even if this wasn’t a central area of the house it still looked like a museum. They finally entered the third door and Jessica announced.
“This is the room of my little brother, Mickey. Wait a moment; I will get you clean sheets.”
In the meanwhile, Ro
drigo examined the spacious room with interest. Exotic cars, Legos and computer games were laying around splattered on the floor. Cartoon posters and neon lights were decorating the walls, with a 45-inch TV in the middle. A queen-sized bed was positioned near the window, with a comforter that appeared to be covered by real leather. Rodrigo immediately remembered his own room, the size of a closet with his twin mattress on the floor and nothing but a bunch of books organized by topic along the wall.
“Here you go,” Jessica said upon her return, handing him the sheets. “I wanted to thank you again…for yesterday, for today, for everything. You are so dependable…I am sorry I overreacted earlier. I really don’t know what you are going through.”
He didn’t say anything in return. Instead he just pulled her into a hug that lasted a couple seconds, where he gently brushed the back of her head. He didn’t want to let her go, as it felt so natural for her head to lay on his chest .There was something about this girl that made his heart fill with a sense of kindness and warmth which he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Good night,” he whispered in her ear.
“Good night,” she replied, not daring to look up. As she was about to leave, she suddenly turned around, feeling a rush of boldness. “I know what you said earlier, but this doesn’t count, right?” With that, she made a step towards him and after getting up on her toes, smooched him on the cheek, leaving him just standing there, stunned. “I will see you tomorrow.”
As she left the room, Rodrigo closed the door and undressed to his boxers. He crashed on the bed, enjoying the soft feel of the foam mattress. He couldn’t remember if he had ever slept on such a comfortable one; kids sure had it nice these days. Turning off the lights, his thoughts shifted to Jessica. She turned out to be completely different from his first impression of her, when he met her drunk at Docks. At the time, he thought she would just be another arrogant spoiled brat, and here she was so down-to-earth, gentle and even shy under that extroverted appearance. Even living in this luxurious mansion wasn’t enough to corrupt her soul – she still had dreams and aspirations of her own, and wanted to reach success with her own hands. And also, he could feel some loneliness inside her despite her probably being popular. He remembered how they were singing last night, how her soft trembling tone quickly turned into a confident melodic voice that he couldn’t help but feel mesmerized about.
The silence of the night was interrupted by a loud female cry. Rodrigo had already fallen asleep but was still alert so he immediately woke up and hurried to see what was going on, not caring his pants were on the floor. It clearly came from the next room where Jessica was; could it be that the assailants had returned?
He stormed into Jessica’s room, not waiting to knock first. With the moonlight coming from the window, he could still see through the darkness that she was in a sitting position on the bed, sweating and shivering.
“Are you ok? I thought I heard a cry…” he said, stepping towards her.
“Yes, I am ok…I am sorry, I was having a nightmare that the robbers came again, and they hurt Tara. It was so vivid, I couldn’t tell it was a dream or not… I tried calling you but couldn’t…”
Rodrigo got closer, and caressed her hand, facing her frontally.
“You look like you have a fever,” he said, noticing her face was red but oblivious that he was in front of her half-naked, almost rubbing on her body.
“It is ok, really…”Jessica stuttered, trying hard to keep her eyes from rolling down to his well-defined legs and the tight boxers in which he looked like one of those male underwear models from magazines. As he leaned forward to place his hand on her forehand to measure her body temperature, he finally realized what was making her blush.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, almost jumping back once he became aware of how the situation looked.
Jessica giggled at his embarrassment. She thought for a moment of turning on the lamp on her nightstand to tease him and to get a better view, but felt like that would be too much.
“Ok, I guess I better go,” he said apologetically.
“Wait…Rodrigo….if you don’t mind… could you possibly stay with me until I fall asleep?”
He looked at her bewildered.
Realizing that he might have misinterpreted her request, she continued:
“I meant sitting on the chair, not in the bed, you jerk! Don’t get any funny ideas.”
Even though he was dead tired, Rodrigo could not refuse her. He felt it strongly for the first time earlier that evening when he backed out from kissing her; he did not want to see her disappointed look ever again.
“Alright, let me go get my clothes. Unless you want to have a half-naked pervert sitting near you,” he responded in the same manner.
Chapter XIV
The morning light was beaming strongly in the room, and after rolling from side-to-side a couple times Jessica started slowly waking up. She had slept like a baby that night, feeling safe with Rodrigo nearby as if she had an army protecting her. As she opened her eyes, she looked over the room for signs of him to no avail.
“I guess he went back to the room after I fell asleep,” she concluded. She still had the image of his slick figure fresh in her mind. She blushed slightly remembering how she had noticed the moonlight falling on his imposing manhood hidden by the underwear. “I guess I am the real pervert here.”
She thought about his gentleman behavior with her – he had so many chances to take advantage of her last night; after all she was very vulnerable and they were all alone together. Surely any guy would have jumped at the chance. But he wasn’t just any guy, she thought with a note of respect.
Checking herself in the mirror on the wall, she brushed her hair and put on a light-blue silk dress that fell on her figure with ease. She looked surprisingly good for somebody who had just woken up five minutes ago, she thought. She hoped he would appreciate it as well.
“I will go wake him up then,” Jessica decided. Walking silently in the hallway towards her brother’s room, she knocked two times on the door. Hearing no response, she slowly opened the door. To her surprise, no one was in; she just saw that her brother’s bed was made and the old sheets were organized and piled up on a shelf.
Her heart dropped to the floor; he had left without saying goodbye. She tried to talk herself out of her disappointment.
“He stayed with me for so long already… he must have things to do on his own.” However, no amount of logic was enough to change the way she was feeling. For some reason, she enjoyed his company so much, it was like a drug to her.
Looking at the clock, she saw it was only 7:30 am. Even though it was a Sunday, she didn’t want to go back to bed, feeling restless. Her family would be arriving back this afternoon. At least she would not be alone tonight, she consoled herself. But then she would not have any excuse to call him over again…
She went to check on Tara, who turned out to be sleeping deeply on her side, and apparently in the middle of a vivid dream, lightly barking and moving her paws. “I guess I am all alone for now”, Jessica thought. Unlike before, when she had the strong urge to share her second meeting with Rodrigo with anybody who would listen, this time she wanted to keep it private. She felt that sharing the story of their magical evening even it Marta would make it less special.
Deciding she would go for a run, Jessica went back to her room and change clothes to a sporty outfit. As she was heading downstairs, she felt a pleasant smell approaching. “Could it be?” Jessica wondered, heading towards the kitchen, and sure enough, she saw the powerful back of the Latino young man who was fully focused on preparing breakfast.
Jessica didn’t know what to say, as it seemed he hadn’t noticed him yet.
“Good morning,” she finally muttered.
He turned around and responded with a smile.
“Good morning. I have made you some eggs and coffee, if you would like.”
”That will be wonderful, thank you,” she said, astonished at how considerate he was.
Sitting down, she started enjoying the food, feeling a little shy in front of him. Preparing breakfast for her like that, it felt like they were a couple…Then Jessica broke out of the trance, remembering that they hadn’t even kissed yet.
“I thought you had left,” she said.
“Oh, I will have to go soon,” he answered vaguely. As much as he wanted to stay, he had another training session with Juanito to attend, that he himself forced on his high-school friend. It would be bad if he backed out now. “But I wanted to make sure you would be ok, after your nightmare last night.“
Jessica smiled at his kindness. She wanted to ask him when he had left her room, but didn’t dare; she felt it would be childish to do so.
After they finished breakfast, he excused himself and went to get his jacket.
“Goodbye then. I wish you a good day,” he said as he stood by the door, a tiny bit of sadness apparent in his tone.
“Goodbye,” Jessica said. They stared at each other for a brief moment, each clearly wanting to say more than they had said.
“Listen… I imagine you are pretty busy during the week…with work and classes that is,” Jessica said. “But if you have some time to drop by…that would be really great. To see Tara I mean…and…”
Rodrigo saw how difficult it was for her to continue the sentence and came to her rescue.
“Sure, I can do that. I would be a terrible vet after all if I abandoned my patients,” he joked. “What about your parents though? Will they not mind?”
“Oh I am sure they will love you,” Jessica said and laughed. Her mother kept pestering that she should get a boyfriend that spoke French for a long time, and her dad would be in awe to see his car, she was sure. And even if they weren’t dating, which she was sure she would not be able to convince her parents of, this way at least she would see him again soon.