The Seduction Of Claudia

by Chauvet, Antoinette

  When she arrived back at Marie-Josée's apartment, she found her cousin in the kitchen making breakfast. The women greeted each other and Claudia noticed that her cousin had difficulty meeting her eyes. The mystery lover was nowhere to be seen, but judging from the amount of food Marie-Josée was preparing, he must still be in the apartment. They chatted briefly and Marie-Josée's nervousness seemed to increase. Claudia finally excused herself, telling her cousin she was going to hit the shower before breakfast.

  When she joined her cousin in the kitchen after her shower, the mystery man had risen from bed and was sitting at the tiny table near the window drinking a cup of coffee. Claudia gasped when she registered who it was sitting there.

  "Nicolàs?!" she asked, shock, surprise and pleasure mingling in her voice. She was across the room in a flash, throwing her arms around him when she reached him. He squeezed her tightly, laughing and exclaiming his own delight at seeing her.

  They disengaged and Claudia took a step back to get a good look at him. Only as she did, did she realize he was only partially dressed. He was barefoot and wore an unbuttoned shirt and jeans. Realization hit her with the force of a freight train.Nicolàs was Marie-Josée's mystery lover!

  She turned toward Marie-Josée and narrowed her eyes. "Nicolàs was the man in your bed last night?"

  "Yes," her cousin answered, concentrating far too hard on whisking the eggs in the bowl she held.

  "And how long has this been going on?"

  Nicolàs answered in a clipped tone, clearly on the defensive, "Almost a year."

  "Almost a year and neither of you told me? This is unbelievable!"

  Nicolàs's family lived in the house next door to Marie-Josée's family in Martinique. The two families had been very close and were even related in some convoluted way. Marie-Josée and Nicolàs were the same age and had been inseparable as children. People had always said how they seemed more like brother and sister than friends and neighbors. Both Nicolàs and Marie-Josée had attended university in Paris and had shared an apartment for most of the time they lived there.

  Claudia could remember Marie-Josée complaining about Nicolàs's womanizing. He was quite a gorgeous-looking man -- tall, with milk chocolate skin, a brilliant white smile and a physique to die for -- and women constantly threw themselves at him. He had gone through a phase where he caught as many of them as he could. It had driven Marie-Josée crazy and she had moved out of the flat they had shared. The two had continued their friendship, still seeing each other frequently and occasionally double dating. Neither of them had ever liked anyone the other dated. Claudia had always thought it odd that Nicolàs and Marie-Josée would each call her and espouse in voluble detail the numerous negative qualities of whomever the other was dating.

  She had never paired them as a romantic couple, but now that she was forced to contemplate it, she could see that it made sense. They were already best friends, had all of the important things in common and were just different enough to keep things interesting. Based on what she had heard last night, they were also compatible as lovers.

  "No one knows," Marie-Josée explained. "We thought everyone would think we were too closely related to condone our relationship."

  "Closely related? That's ridiculous! There are so many layers of 3rd cousins and once-removeds between the two of you it'd probably be impossible to figure out just how you're related in the first place," Claudia said.

  "That's what I've been telling her all along," Nicolàs said, going into the kitchen and taking the bowl of eggs from Marie-Josée. He set it on the counter, gave her a kiss, then shooed her out of the kitchen. He heated the skillet and prepared it to receive the eggs.

  "I just didn't want to alarm the family. We don't know where this is going, anyway," Marie-Josée said, shrugging.

  Nicolàs glared at her from the kitchen and Claudia had the suspicion that he knew exactly where he wanted the relationship to go.

  "I overheard you guys last night," she began, blushing. She paused, then cleared her throat before continuing. "I had no idea you were seeing anyone and I was going to tell you not to hide it, that you should grab for happiness while it's within your reach. It's what you're always telling me to do, so it's only right that you take your own advice..."

  "That's a low blow, Claudia, throwing my own words at me."

  "Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander," Claudia said smugly. "I really meant what I said, though. I don't think the families will be too surprised at the two of you, actually. It took me about thirty seconds to see how much sense the two of you make. I think it's great and I'm so happy for you!"

  "Thanks. I'll think about what you said."

  Nicolàs came out of the kitchen with their plates and they sat down to breakfast. Claudia demanded they tell her how they had first realized they were in love with one another and a lively retelling of the tale ensued. Watching the two of them together, Claudia felt a little jealous. They were obviously in love and unafraid to admit it to one another. They exchanged loving glances and touched each other often, giving their affection freely. Once Marie-Josée got over her silly reservations about telling their families, they would go on to have a brilliant future together.

  If she managed to reconcile with Andrew, she would seize what happiness that was on offer to her. Their situation presented its own set of problems, but she would deal with each one on an individual basis. Her future may not be as certain or as bright as that of Marie-Josée and Nicolàs, but she thought she would find some happiness if Andrew would take her back.

  After breakfast, Marie-Josée did the dishes while Claudia brought Nicolàs up to speed on why she had made the sudden trip to Paris. Marie-Josée received a call on her cell phone and rushed out to open the door for the delivery that had apparently arrived. Claudia began to cry and, ever one to console, Nicolàs pulled her on to his lap and let her cry on his shoulder. He had been her shoulder to cry on many times during their childhood and Claudia always felt better once Nicolàs had provided his peculiar methods of dealing with whatever was bothering her.

  Andrew had gone straight to Marie-Josée's apartment from the airport. He called her once he'd arrived at the building and told her not to tell Claudia he was there for fear that she would refuse to see him. He was the 'package' that Marie-Josée left the apartment to retrieve.

  When he walked into the apartment, he could hardly control the spike of jealousy that ripped into him when he saw Claudia sitting on some gorgeous guy's lap. The guy whispered something in her ear and she giggled and pulled away from him. The guy smoothed her hair back from her face and cupped her cheek tenderly. From the look on his face, the guy definitely had feelings for Claudia.

  Andrew cleared his throat noisily and the two turned toward the source of the sound, somewhat guiltily, Andrew thought.

  Claudia leapt off of the guy's lap. "Andrew! What are you doing here?"

  Her heart was hammering like crazy. She was ecstatic to see him, but nervous at the same time. It suddenly occurred to her that she must look like hell from crying and she groaned inwardly.

  "I came to see you, obviously," Andrew replied from where he stood just inside the door. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his pea-coat and his face was set in an inscrutable expression. If she had had to hazard a guess, Claudia would have said he was angry.

  "Oh." Oh? God, how lame, she berated herself silently. Now was not the time to have nothing to say.

  Marie-Josée beckoned Nicolàs to her side with not-so-subtle motions of her head. Andrew watched the other man's approach, coolly assessing him. He had never been jealous in his life, but seeing Claudia all cuddled up with this man had immediately pissed him off. His jaw tightened as he restrained the urge to say something he'd probably regret later.

  "Andrew, this is Nicolàs. His family lives next door to my parents in Martinique," Marie-Josée said nervously, having caught the murderous look in Andrew's eye. Confused, she chattered on, "He's a very close friend of the family.
Claudia has known him her whole life."

  Nicolàs held out his hand to Andrew. As they shook hands, the two men sized each other up, not even bothering to utter the obligatory niceties such as 'How do you do?' They stopped short of glaring at each other, but only barely. Claudia and Marie-Josée exchanged a startled glance and then both began talking at the same time,

  "Um, Andrew, let's go -- " Claudia began, while her cousin said,

  "Nicolàs, we have to -- "

  There were a few seconds of confusion while the women struggled to end the men's standoff gracefully. It was finally decided that Marie-Josée and Nicolàs would run the 'errands' that she suddenly remembered and urgently needed to see finished. She bustled around, gathering up coats, scarves and gloves. Nicolàs gave Claudia another hug, kissing her forehead, the tip of her nose and ended the embrace with a reassuring murmur and a soft kiss on the lips. As they left, Marie-Josée casually mentioned where they would be and when they might have lunch, thus letting Claudia and Andrew know how much time they had to be alone in the apartment.

  Alone with Andrew, Claudia didn't know what to do or say. It seemed as if all the air had been sucked out of the room with the departure of her cousin and Nicolàs. Claudia could hear her heartbeat, the blood rushing through her ears. She felt breathless, but not in a good way, like when she was jogging. This was more of a panicked 'I'm fleeing an axe-murderer' breathlessness.

  Take a deep breath, she told herself, stay calm. She willed her facial muscles to relax, purposefully forced her shoulders into a more relaxed position. She smiled coolly,

  "Let me take your coat."

  Andrew surrendered the coat without saying a word. Claudia did more deep breathing as she hung up it up. She thought she might hyperventilate soon if she didn't calm down.

  "Would you like some coffee? Or how about some juice? Marie-Josée has some absolutely wonderful freshly juiced mango-orange from the organic market," she said, inwardly cringing at the inanity of her remarks. Her hands moved of their own accord, alternating between nervously straightening her sweater and trying to tie themselves in knots.

  Andrew cocked his head to the side and regarded her for a long moment. He didn't know what to make of her nervousness. Had he made a mistake in coming here? Had she really been trying to dump him when she left town? Was she trying to figure out a way to break up with him even now? He'd come here feeling confident that he had handled things with Gates and Marcheline back in Boston the best way possible and that he knew exactly how to handle Claudia. Now he didn't know. She'd been canoodling with the hunky guy on the sofa, then the guy had kissed her in a way that seemed way too familiar for Andrew's preference. She had seemed slightly underwhelmed to see him and now she was chattering and flitting around as if she was trying to avoid talking to him about anything of substance. He didn't have a clue what to make of her behavior.

  "Andrew? Coffee?" she asked softly, calling him out of his reverie.

  "No. Thanks, though."

  Claudia walked to the living room window and gazed unseeing at the rooftops of the nearby buildings. This is agonizing, she thought, I wish I could just go to him and wrap my arms around him. Tell him how much I love him. She longed to do it, but something stopped her. She was too afraid of what he might do or say in response. She had sworn to herself that when she saw him again, she would tell him how she felt, but she had thought that she had a week or so to get used to the idea, to prepare what she wanted to say and to practice it. But he was here now. And she had no idea why. She turned around to ask him just that, but before she could, he said,

  "So. Is Nicolàs someone special to you?"

  "No! Well, yes, he is. Like Marie-Josée said, our families are very close and related in some crazy way that barely counts anymore."

  "Does he always hold you on his lap, whisper in your ear and give you kisses?" His tone of voice had lost all traces of cordiality.

  "Actually, yes he does and he has for as long as I can remember," Claudia's own voice was laced with asperity. "Not that I see how that's any of your business."

  Judging by his behavior, whatever had brought him to Paris apparently didn't entail a reconciliation. Angry all over again because of her gullible hopefulness, she vowed not to embarrass herself by groveling.

  "I see. You could have done me the courtesy of telling me about him. All this time, I thought we'd been exclusive. And here you are snuggling up with another man in Paris."

  A beat of silence passed as Claudia absorbed what he said. What is he talking about?she wondered. Of course they had been exclusive. And snuggling up? What was that all about?

  "I wasn't 'snuggling up' with anyone. Now, would you like to tell me whatever it is you came to Paris to tell me before you leave?" she prepared to dismiss him.

  This encounter wasn't going as planned. Andrew felt the lid he'd kept on his anger loosen; he was going to explode like a pressure cooker. He wanted to strangle Claudia. He was tired and hungry and he kept envisioning what had probably happened between Claudia and Nicolàs before he'd arrived or what might have happened if he hadn't showed up when he did. It was nearly impossible to clear his mind of the image of her cozying up with the good-looking man. He didn't like it one bit that she felt so comfortable having physical contact with any other guy than him.

  "Yeah, I would like to tell you: It was shitty of you to leave town -- the country - like that without telling anyone where you would be."

  "Excuse me, but the last time I checked, I'm a grown woman who doesn't need to ask for permission to go on vacation!"

  "Oh really? I would have thought that you had enough respect for me and our relationship than to just walk out without a word!"

  "You're the one who suddenly needed to go for a run the other day, Andrew! You left in the middle of a conversation because what was being said wasn't to your liking! You left me there with no clothes, no shoes, no keys, no money -- no nothing! I wasn't going to just sit there and wait for you to come back!"

  "Why not? I wasn't even gone that long!"

  "It was too long for my liking," she shot back. "It was ridiculous of you to pull that stunt anyway. Who do you think you are to hold me captive? Besides, you can't possibly blame me for leaving after all the things you said!"

  "What? Jesus Christ, Claudia!" Andrew wasn't following her train of thought. He ran a hand through his hair, then around the back of his neck. He was really too tired to do this right now. Nothing was coming out of his mouth the way it was supposed to. He'd been mad the minute he walked into the apartment and things weren't getting any better. He decided to try a new tack.

  "Will you come away with me?" he asked. "I mean... Not away away. But just to my hotel. I haven't showered or eaten since yesterday in Boston. I'm fried. Do you mind if we go to my hotel so that I can clean up and eat before we talk?"

  "I could meet you somewhere later, after you've had a chance to rest."

  "No. Just come with me now... Please," he added after a beat. Andrew didn't want to let her out of his sight. Now that he was here, he would keep her with him, even if that meant they spent the time together fighting about whatever ridiculous thing they were currently fighting about.

  "Fine," she said, her ungraciousness masking insecurity and fear. "I'll just call Marie-Josée to let her know that I'm going out, then get my coat and purse."

  She left and Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. He felt like a high schooler on his first date. Claudia seemed schizophrenic -- skittish one minute; mad as hell the next. The rapport that they had built over the past month had totally disappeared. It baffled him that it had only been two days since they'd last seen each other and now they reacted to one another as though they were strangers.

  Claudia splashed cold water on her face in the bathroom, seeking calm. She quickly brushed her teeth and smoothed her curly hair into a clip at the nape of her neck. She grabbed her coat and purse and went back to the living room. She called Marie-Josée on her cell phone and told her their plans. She began t
o shrug into her coat and Andrew, who had already donned his, moved behind her to help her slide her arms into the sleeves. He surreptitiously took in her scent, her flushed skin releasing a cloud of her subtle perfume and the essence of her.

  Claudia suppressed a shudder at his nearness. Her eyes nearly fluttered shut with the desire to lean into him and draw his arms around her. How had this happened? she wondered. Things had gotten so bad and so quickly. I have to do something equally quickly to turn the tide. I need to gather the courage to just tell him.

  She used the key she still had from when she'd arrived at her cousin's apartment to lock the door behind them. Andrew collected his carry-on bag from where he had left it waiting underneath a bench in the building's lobby. Before long, they had hailed a taxi and were on their way to Andrew's hotel.

  He had gone straight to Marie-Josée's apartment, so had yet to check in with the innkeeper. The hotel was more akin to a bed-and-breakfast and the matronly proprietress greeted him warmly, behaving as if Andrew was a relative returning to her home for a visit. The house was old, its furnishings antique. The foyer was warm and inviting and they were directed to his room without the impersonal business that usually accompanied hotel check-ins. Andrew asked Madame if she would please have a tray sent up to his room in half an hour and she agreed to do so.

  "There's a chef here?" Claudia whispered as they ascended the sweeping curve of the staircase.

  "Well, Madame does the cooking, but she is brilliant. Simple food, nothing too complicated or frou-frou. The epitome of classic Claudia cuisine," he told her enthusiastically.

  Claudia smiled, happy to note that while so much had happened to make him feel like a stranger to her, Andrew's appetite and appreciation for good food had remained unchanged. She loved to watch him eat almost as much as she loved to watch him make love. I need to get a grip on myself. Otherwise I'll wind up on my hands and knees begging him to take me back.