Opposite Worlds

by Sasha Pop

  Jessica felt relief and madness at the same time at the way he fooled her. She was glad that he did not bring her for what she had assumed, as she really liked how patient and gentleman-like he had been without pressuring her into getting physical. Even if deep down she admitted that she would not have refused his offer…Still, she promised herself to get back at him for misleading her like that at the first opportunity that arrived.

  Greeted by two Swiss doormen who hurried to open the door that was the size of a gate, the pair stepped into the lobby, taking a moment to admire the surroundings. Rodrigo had never been anywhere this fancy before, and even Jessica was struck in awe with the massive golden chandeliers made of Murano glass hanging from the ceiling and the imposing red carpet of Persian origin.

  Placing his hand on her lower back, Rodrigo escorted her to the elevator. As he pressed the thirtieth-floor button – which had an indication of “Restaurant”, Jessica commented in awe:

  “Wow, I have never known about this place.”

  Up on the top of the building, they were greeted by a server who escorted them to their table near a window, offering a perfect bird-eye view of Miami lights. The restaurant was cleverly divided in several booths, giving each table the impression of being alone, only to be disturbed by the waiters. As they were sitting down, Rodrigo pulled his chair towards hers, so they ended up sitting side-by-side.

  “I don’t want to be far from you,” he simply stated.

  Jessica appreciated the gesture – she always thought it was strange how whenever people went out together they sat facing each other. It felt impersonal and distant, and made it all the more awkward when the guys who invited her for meals played footsie. It was a lot nicer sitting together like that with the candles lit up on the table, watching the Miami skyline.

  “Wow, it is beautiful,” Jessica commented.

  For some reason, Rodrigo really want to blurt out something stupid and cheesy like “You are beautiful” but managed to keep his mouth shut.

  “Have you been here before?” she asked, hoping he hadn’t brought any girls there previously.

  Rodrigo laughed to himself, thinking that he would have to work at least a month to bring a girl here.

  “No, it is my first time.”

  “Oh, this is a sushi place,” Jessica realized, holding the menu. “Do you like sushi?”

  “Crap,” Rodrigo thought. He never had eaten sushi before, but remembered thinking how eating with the chopsticks had seemed complicated. “That Juanito, not warning me this was a sushi place…”

  His first instinct was to tell a lie, as it would seem strange if a successful wealthy man like he had portrayed himself to be had never been to a sushi place. He decided though that he had lied to her more than enough already.

  “Actually, I’ve never had it.”

  “Really?” Jessica asked, surprised. “It is delicious, one of my favorite foods! Plus at a place like this they must make some really good sushi. She went over the menu, and helped him pick his dish, consisting of some variation of California Rolls, Teppan and Mirugai, topped with sake.

  They were served quickly, and Rodrigo admired the various colors and shapes of the food on the table.

  “If you never had sushi, I guess you never ate with chopsticks either?”

  Rodrigo nodded. Jessica showed him the technique, expertly wetting a roll in soy sauce and slowly putting it in her mouth, making a smacking noise on purpose to emphasize its deliciousness.

  Rodrigo tried to imitate her, awkwardly holding the two sticks. As he was about to bring up the roll to his mouth, it suddenly slid between the chopsticks, falling on the table. Jessica laughed.

  “Here, let’s do it together,” she said, putting her hand over his and holding the chopsticks together with him. Slowly, they picked up another roll and put up the roll in Rodrigo’s mouth. After they repeated the process a few times, Rodrigo felt like not learning on purpose, just so that she would keep feeding him.

  “Mmm. It’s delicious.” He commented, chewing on another roll. His thoughts were more on Jessica’s lips though than on the roll of sushi.

  “How delicious must they feel,” he thought - it was enough to make him sweat.

  Jessica was enjoying watching him eat – it was so charming to see how he was so manly but was having a hard time with the sushi, and also with looking her in the eyes for too long. She thought dreamily about how nice it felt to be on a date with him – even if neither one of them had officially acknowledged it as a date – she hoped that he felt the same way.

  “So, what would your ideal girl be like?” Jessica asked, hoping to get some useful information.

  Rodrigo paused, thinking about how to answer the question.

  “I guess I will just feel it when I see her”, he said. “It can’t be put in words.” He couldn’t just start describing her, could he?

  “Oh don’t give me that excuse,” Jessica insisted. “You must have a type.”

  “Well, she would be warm, kind, and sincere. I would like for her and me to be the closest people in the world. Something would light up inside me every time when I would see her smile.”

  “And what would she look like?”

  Rodrigo really didn’t enjoy the direction the conversation was going. Without looking at her, he continued.

  “I like blonde hair…and a tall but not too tall, slender figure. The face is the most important… I like gentle skin, maybe with a little blush…and blue eyes are my favorite,” he said feeling like he was describing her portrait.

  Jessica was thrilled to hear that. Now it was time for her little revenge.

  “Do you want to hear about my type?” Jessica gave him a mischievous look.

  “Sure.”

  “My taste is a little unusual,” she warned. “I typically like black, muscular guys with a six pack and tattoos on the back. I get so turned on when I see them dance, it makes me crazy.”

  Rodrigo looked at her with a puzzled look, not sure what to believe. She sure was a good actress.

  “One time this black athlete invited me to his room. And I am usually not like that, but I felt this irresistible attraction…” She kept making stuff up. Seeing that this was making him uncomfortable, she decided it was enough.

  “Sorry, this was just a joke. I was trying to get back at you for earlier.”

  “I figured as much,” Rodrigo said. “But for some reason, I still didn’t like it,” he added quietly.

  Noticing his sour expression, Jessica felt bad for playing the stupid prank on him. She finally interrupted the awkward silence:

  “So, do you remember I mentioned my parents would be having a barbecue this weekend? Would you like to come?”

  Rodrigo wanted to throw everything away and say yes, but he couldn’t. He had too much responsibility on him now. Not when his chance to save his mother was finally within his grasp.

  “I can’t, I am sorry,” he said, wanting to suggest they meet instead later next week, but realized that he could not promise her anything at this point. The worst thing he could do was to set up a meeting with her and then not show up – perhaps ever again.

  Jessica was disappointed at his refusal, and that he did not offer an alternative. Was he really interested in her?

  “Are you busy?”

  “Uhh, yes. I will be actually going for a conference for my university,” he told her, slightly changing the official story. “I am presenting on a new urology treatment for canines.”

  Jessica wondered why she had the uneasy feeling that he was not telling her the whole truth, but realized there was no evidence to back her worry. “Maybe I am just getting paranoid because I like him,” she thought to herself.

  “Wow, that is impressive! Are you going by yourself?” she asked, trying to stay positive.

  “No, it will be me and a friend…” he stayed vague, not wanting to give her away any more specifics.

  Jessica wondered if his friend was a girl from his university, but didn’
t want to appear nosy.

  “Alright then. I hope it goes well.”

  “It should…I have been preparing for it for a very long time” he said, letting out a nervous laugh. Regaining his composure, he added in a serious tone:

  “I am glad I met you.”

  “Why? You must meet pretty girls at Docks every night,” she teased.

  “That is true. But you are not pretty – you are beautiful,” he blurted. He saw no point in hiding his thoughts about her anymore, not when his departure was so close.

  He was glad to see that his words had quite an impact, leaving Jessica blushing profusely. Countless guys had called her “hot” and “sexy” but it was rare to get such an honest compliment.

  “Well, you are not exactly hard on the eyes either,” she revealed, trying to keep a casual tone.

  He smiled, glad to know she found him attractive. He thought that this would be a great moment to get something that reminded him of her, in case they didn’t meet again.

  “Let’s get a picture together to celebrate this special moment of your confession,” he teased. Jessica threw him an indignant look, but complied and dragged her chair closer to him. Pulling out his phone, he extended his right arm to full length and having his other arm around her shoulder, took a couple selfie shots, making silly faces.

  “You are really different from what I imagined you would be,” Jessica commented. “At first, you were always so serious that I thought you would be like those wannabe bad boys trying to act cool. I am glad you are not like that.”

  Rodrigo thought about what she just said. It was true, even though his life-or-death mission was rapidly approaching, over the past few weeks when he had been meeting her he had regained a little of real cheerful self.

  “I just don’t like letting wild drunk girls near me,” he joked and they both laughed.

  “Hey, I am not drinking anymore,” Jessica proudly informed him. She was surprised at how she felt no inclination at all anymore lately to go party and to lose herself. She didn’t need alcohol to forget the pain…the pain simply was growing smaller and smaller with every day. It was as if the break-up with Bob had never taken place and he never was in her life to begin with.

  Rodrigo inclined his head towards hers, smelling her neck. They had drunk a little sake together so he feigned the look of disapproval.

  “This doesn’t count!” Jessica defended herself, touching his shoulder. They were getting friendlier by the moment, with their hands touching each other at every opportunity.

  Feeling a little hot from the tension, Jessica excused herself to go to the restroom. Rodrigo checked his phone and saw two missed calls from Juanito. “What could it be this late?” Knowing it could be important, he dialed back, with an apprehensive feeling. Juanito didn’t spend much time explaining, just saying “change of plans, our flight leaves at 2 am this morning. Get ready.”

  Rodrigo cursed silently, feeling mad at having his intimate evening with Jessica stolen like that. It was already 10 pm, and he would have to get back to get his things and leave in time for the airport.

  Jessica returned and joked:

  “Were you calling me on the phone? I didn’t know you missed me that much”

  To her dismay, he didn’t return the smile.

  “I am sorry, I have to take you back,” he said. The pain was obvious in his voice, so Jessica did not get mad, realizing there must be an important reason. Still, it was hard to hide the disappointment.

  “Apparently we are leaving earlier than we planned for the conference,” he explained. “I am really sorry. I will make it up to you, I promise.” He had no idea how he would be able to make it up to her, but he could not bear to see her sad look any longer, so he had to try to cheer her up.

  Jessica just nodded, her uneasiness growing. Who would leave for a conference in the middle of the night?

  Rodrigo called over the waiter and took care of the bill. They rode down the elevator and stepped out of the building in silence, each keeping quiet for their own reasons. Rodrigo felt the guilt for ditching her like that. Jessica just tried to understand what it was about him and what she knew of his life that gave her this weary feeling that he was hiding something that she would be better off not knowing.

  During the ride, he tried to chit-chat, asking her about mundane things. Jessica replied on auto-pilot, still not being able to linger her suspicions. Finally convincing herself that she was being unfair to him, she started smiling again. As they were driving through River Oaks, Rodrigo joked in a seductive voice:

  “So should I park far away again? So I have to carry you.”

  Jessica considered his offer, thinking that this wouldn’t be a bad option. Instead she decided to play difficult:

  “Are you sure you can? You should save your strength for the conference.”

  Without saying a word, Rodrigo parked the car at the curb and hopped outside, walking to open her door.

  “I will be alright,” he said, crouching to lift her up.

  “Wait! Let me at least unfasten the seat belt,” she laughed.

  It felt great having her in his arms again. She either was light like a feather, or he had the power to mountains at that moment.

  “Are we going to enter the house like that?” Jessica challenged him.

  “No, we will stop right here.” Rodrigo paused, helping her stand.

  Feeling his proximity, with his hands holding her shoulders, his breathing hot and heavy on her skin, Jessica froze. As the tension grew too high for her to bear, she blurted:

  “Is this how you were planning to make it up to me, by dropping me here?”

  Rodrigo remained unfazed, not hearing what she said. At the moment, all he saw was her gentle facial features, with the moonlight falling on her little nose and the wind blowing her hair. He could not resist anymore. He barely had five more minutes he could afford to stay, and he did want to waste them with flirty banter. He remembered the promises he made to himself not to get involved with her. He thought he cared about how she did not know the real him, how the fear that he might not come back stopped him from getting closer. Nothing of that matter at the moment anymore though. He felt a primal urge taking over, crushing to his fears and limitations. Lifting his right arm to grab the back of her head, he glued his lips on hers, hungry and thirsty like a man who was lost for ten days in the Sahara, tasting them to the last millimeter, getting to know every detail of her mouth. Forgetting where they were, he turned her against the closest wall, and slammed her while holding her tightly. His tongue entered her mouth without invitation, taking control and enjoying her surrender.

  At first she was unable to move, overwhelmed with emotions but slowly she regained control and started wrestling back his tongue, wrapping her hands around his neck. They had no idea how much time had passed since they joined together, whether it was a minute or an hour. When he finally pulled out of the kiss, he felt the urge to immediately kiss her again, like a drowning man looking for air.

  Jessica was standing on shaky feet, still in shock over what just happened. Her body trembled like it had been much more than a simple make-out; like he had gotten to touch every bit of her body and the deep of her soul.

  “I had to do this. Or else I’d regret it for the rest of my life,” he stated as a matter of fact. “Good night,” he concluded, with obvious sorrow in his voice. There was so much more he wanted to say, she could tell, his inner struggle apparent. He just turned away, walking away as fast as possible; she felt like he was running away because he was about to kiss her again, perhaps even harder this time. What was it that stopped him?

  Watching his silhouette jump into the car and rapidly drive away, Jessica crouched in her dress, to rest for a moment. That must have been the hottest make-out of her entire life. She had never seen such fierce passion, and she never thought she would surrender like that. She had never found anybody she deemed worthy of surrendering for before. Getting up, still weak in her knees, she took out her p
ocket mirror to fix her hair as much as possible, hoping her parents would not notice her flustered appearance. Finally satisfied, she headed back to the Perry Residence feeling on cloud nine. He had made it up to her alright.

  Chapter XVIII

  Rodrigo pressed hard on the brakes, for the first time parking the Ferrari right near the crumbling building where he lived. Rushing up the stairs, he thanked heavens that he had prepared all the bags last night, as every minute counted now. Double-checking his paperwork and putting on a casual attire fit of a college student going to attend a conference, he kneeled down before the family cross that was on high display in his room, asking for guidance and blessing. Looking at the clock, it was already close to midnight, so he stormed out to the car, heading for Miami International Airport. The phone rang and he answered Juanito that he would be there ASAP, noticing the impatience in his friend’s voice.

  Arriving at Terminal C, Rodrigo recognized it as the same place he and his mother had arrived at fifteen years ago, even though the place looked vastly different now. Some things were just hard to forget. He reminisced about his first day in the United States, how he and his mother were thrilled with the prospects of a new life, inspired by the images of tall skyscrapers, Hollywood and Beverly Hills that they had seen in the movies. It sure had been a ride since then with ups and downs, but Rodrigo didn’t regret it, after all this tough life had shaped him into the man he was before.

  “Are you spacing out already?” Rodrigo heard Juanito’s voice approaching. He was carrying a metal suitcase with a tight lock where Rodrigo assumed the cash was.

  “What happened, why are we going now?” he asked.

  “El Paladino changed the spot we will be getting the goods at,” Juanito replied. “I want us to be able to check it in the morning before his men arrive.”

  Rodrigo nodded in understanding. They had been rehearsing the whole exchange planning on it to take place in a public market, where there were too many witnesses to cause a commotion. Now El Paladino wanted to meet them at a different spot last minute – that could be a sign of trouble.