Straight After the Bend

by S M Mala

  She knew exactly what he meant and what she felt.

  ‘I think it’s called falling in love,’ she mumbled, looking at her sock covered feet. ‘And not knowing how to cope.’ Turning her head, she examined his expression. He was giving nothing away. ‘I like how I’m feeling right now.’

  ‘And I’m loving how I’m feeling too.’ He kissed her gently on the lips. ‘Because I have a funny feeling this is not your average love affair.’

  She knew what he meant.

  ‘Do I make him uncomfortable?’

  Erio was sat in a bar with Bea. Mylo had gone to get some drinks with the help of Anne-Marie. ‘He avoids eye contact when I just want to stare.’

  The pretty light brown skin and almond shaped eyes were glowing. Erio always looked good. Today he had a little stubble, giving a rugged exterior and was dressed in his usual jeans and any shirt he could find, which all seemed heavily creased. His nose was perfectly straight and petite.

  ‘He’s very attractive,’ Erio continued. ‘Have I said something to put him off?’

  ‘You don’t fancy him, do you?’

  ‘Who wouldn’t fancy him?’ Erio let out a little sigh. ‘And he floats your boat in the sack?’

  ‘Have you ever seen me grin so much?’

  ‘That’s true. This is the second time I’ve met him. I’m getting some funny vibes here.’

  ‘Can you blame him? You gave him the third degree a few weeks ago.’

  ‘The guy is tight lipped over something, I can tell.’ Erio pouted. ‘Unless he doesn’t approve of me.’

  ‘Mylo would never judge you. He’s really very open minded.’ She looked at him laughing with Anne-Marie. ‘But he does take an age to say things, like he’s pondering what my reaction will be. I don’t think he’s confident on some of his past decisions.’

  ‘I wonder what they were.’ Erio examined Mylo and Bea wondered what was bothering her friend. ‘He’s attractive, intelligent, a doctor for goodness sake. Are you sure you know all about him?’ Then he grinned. ‘But I have noticed that he flirts with both men and women.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I think that’s the charm factor.’

  ‘But he hasn’t flirted with you, has he?’

  ‘Maybe he is overawed by my gorgeousness,’ he smiled mischievously. ‘He does like you, that’s for sure. Did you drug him?’

  ‘Erio!’ she said, gently nudging him in the ribs. ‘I can’t believe he likes me.’

  ‘Don’t be grateful someone cares about you. Make them feel grateful for the chance to be with you.’

  ‘You’re funny.’ She gently kissed him on the cheek. ‘But my brain isn’t as confident as yours.’

  ‘And everything is good?’

  ‘We’ve been together over seven weeks and Valentine’s Day falls exactly on our eight week anniversary. I know as much about him as he’s telling me and that’s what matters.’ Bea let out a little laugh and sipped her red wine. ‘But what I do know is that I’ve fallen in love.’

  ‘Jesus! Can’t you slow down?’

  ‘We don’t want to.’

  ‘And he loves you?’ Erio grimaced.

  ‘I hope so.’

  ‘Has he told you?’

  ‘Well, not yet and-.’

  ‘Slow down.’

  Bea had mulled this point over but realised where they were rushing into spending so much time together, Mylo wasn’t rushing into telling her how he felt. The last time was when he said it wasn’t an average love affair.

  Now she thought she had read more into it.

  And that was after she had let him know she was falling in love.

  ‘Oh?’ she said, pulling a face and feeling a little upset.

  ‘I’ve got a good friend of mine, you met him years ago when you did some waitressing for me. Anyway, he’s hooked up with this older lady. To say he has bitten off more than he can chew is an understatement. This woman has a kid who is a right handful from the sound of it. You could have ended up with someone who had brats. How shit would that be?’

  ‘More baggage to drag along and that’s not including me.’

  ‘And what about your dad? Have you told him?’ Erio let out an evil little laugh. ‘Have you told your lover boy about your daddy?’

  ‘No way!’ she said, shaking her head from side to side. ‘That’s not something I want people to know.’

  ‘Bernie’s a crazy man!’

  ‘I look forward to meeting him,’ Mylo said returning with the drinks.

  ‘That’s not going to happen for a while,’ replied Bea, glaring at Erio then at Anne-Marie who had a sly smile. ‘He’s quite shy.’

  ‘Shy?’ Anne-Marie said, shaking her head. ‘He never has been and certainly not now.’

  ‘When I’m really for you to meet daddy, I’ll set it up,’ she replied, feeling uncomfortable about the conversation.

  ‘Don’t you think he’ll approve?’ Mylo asked, his smile fading. ‘I’m not that bad.’

  ‘He’ll really like you,’ Bea said, knowing that would be so far from that truth.

  ‘Not if you’ve got skeletons in your cupboards,’ sighed Erio, checking out a man walking past. ‘Her dad is traditional in many ways. I don’t hide who I am from my family, whether they accept it or not is up to them but Bernie still thinks I can be saved.’

  ‘But you like both men and women,’ Anne-Marie pointed out, sipping her gin and tonic. ‘I can just about get my head around if you’re going to be wearing a dress or a suit when you get married!’ She started to laugh.

  ‘That’s cross-dressing,’ sniffed Erio. ‘And I’m not transgender. I like being a man and love my cock too much.’

  ‘Please?’ groaned Bea seeing Mylo try not to smile

  ‘It’s his life choice,’ shrugged Mylo and Bea noticed Erio’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘You can’t help who you fall for. Sometimes we make the wrong choices.’

  ‘Have you made wrong choices?’ Erio asked, leaning closer to Mylo. ‘I bet they were fun.’

  ‘I have and it hurt me because I had no idea what I was getting myself into.’

  ‘Like what?’

  There was a hushed silence across the table.

  ‘Having a relationship with someone when I wasn’t sure if it was right for me.’ Mylo looked into his glass of wine.

  ‘Sounds intriguing,’ Erio replied, leaning closer to Mylo. ‘Are you a man of mystery?’

  ‘I’m a very happy man, right now,’ he replied, touching Bea’s hand.

  ‘But have you had a colourful past?’ pried Erio further.

  ‘Slightly bright.’

  ‘How bright?’ asked Erio, looking mischievously at Bea. ‘More than me?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’ve got up to,’ mumbled Mylo, shaking his head. ‘And yes, I’ve had a good life.’

  She couldn’t figure out what was going on but Erio was looking at Mylo quizzically.

  ‘You sound like you have a back story,’ Anne-Marie said, checking her watch. ‘I have to go. The children will be tying up my husband right now and probably pelting him with baked beans.’ She then turned to Mylo. ‘As long as you treat Bea well and there’s nothing in your past that can hurt her, we’ll get along famously.’

  It was when he looked uncertain in response, Bea realised there might just be something Mylo wasn’t prepared to let on.

  ‘I don’t believe in it.’

  Mylo shrugged his shoulders. ‘It’s commercialism at its height.’

  ‘Other than Christmas?’ Bea half smiled, seeing all the love hearts in the windows and couples walking down the road. ‘But it’s our eight week anniversary which happens to fall on Valentine’s Day. Don’t you think that’s romantic?’

  She was secretly hoping he would have arranged something for them but by the look on his face, he hadn’t. And she didn’t want to show how deflated it made her feel.

  ‘You’re right, the cost of everything goes up,’ she said, putting on a brave face then feeling a twinge in her
leg. ‘And people are making money out of it.’ She watched him start to grin. ‘Plus every day we’re together is romantic.’

  He stepped forward and kissed her forehead before saying,

  ‘I made spaghetti and meatballs like the two loved up puppies in ‘Lady and the Tramp’. Let’s go back to mine.’

  ‘I’m not the tramp,’ she said straight faced. ‘Though I can be one later, if you slip me a few drinks.’

  ‘Perfect!’

  Walking hand in hand to his house, she glanced at the people sitting at the tables, chatting and drinking merrily away.

  Mylo had confused her because he was talking about Valentine’s Day and then the sudden change of heart made her think he had changed his feelings about her. Bea’s leg started to hurt and she tried not to flinch.

  ‘Why are you grimacing?’ he asked, catching her by surprise. ‘Are you okay? Is your leg fine?’

  ‘Everything is good. I’ve been doing my exercises,’ she said, squeezing his hand as the cold chill hit her face, trying to disguise her sudden limp. ‘It’s not as warm as I thought it would be.’

  ‘I’ll make you very hot later.’ He laughed as she smiled. ‘Have I upset you over my views on Valentine’s?’

  ‘If I knew you weren’t into it, I would have planned making you a nice meal.’ He looked at her in utter disbelief. ‘Sandwich then.’

  Bea felt loved up. She put her hand in her bag and touched her Valentine’s present.

  ‘I got you a little gift, not much.’ Bea pulled it out of her bag. ‘It’s a chocolate heart on a stick.’ Mylo suddenly stopped and examined the red foil covered large heart. ‘It’s very nice chocolate and don’t think of it as a Valentine’s thing but as a kind gesture.’

  ‘That’s really sweet.’ Mylo took it out of her hand. ‘Shall we eat it together?’

  ‘Okay.’

  He took off the wrapper and held it to her mouth.

  ‘You bite first. It’s your present.’

  ‘Bea, it’s my heart so I’m giving it to you.’

  The comment made her smile as she took a small bite then he demolished the rest in one while laughing and munching at the same time.

  As they walked down the road, towards his house, Bea wondered when she should declare her love.

  Knowing how he felt about 14th February would make it seem less genuine in his eyes.

  And he hadn’t said he loved her but she did ponder if he was still holding back.

  Suddenly, he grabbed her, making Bea fall back in his arms before planting a kiss on her lips.

  ‘You mean a lot to me,’ he said, releasing her mouth as she felt quite giddy. ‘I hope you know that.’

  ‘You know how I feel about you.’

  Making her stand up straight, he kissed her.

  ‘Come on in.’

  Mylo opened the door to an empty house and left her standing in the corridor, as she took off her shoes. Then she followed him into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks.

  He had decorated the room with fairy lights.

  ‘Just because I don’t agree with Valentine’s doesn’t mean to say I don’t want to do something romantic for you.’

  She clapped in delight, knowing it was rather childish but she couldn’t help blurting out.

  ‘I love you, Mylo.’

  Stopping immediately she noticed he looked at the ground before looking up.

  The smile was gone as he approached her.

  ‘Bea, I love you.’

  It felt magical.

  The lights twinkled in the background.

  And Mylo standing in front of her. Then he leant closer, placing a gentle kiss on her lips.

  She couldn’t hold back and grabbed him tightly, giving him the most passionate kiss she could muster, that even took her breath away.

  ‘I wish I had told you earlier,’ he said with a wide grin. ‘I knew about two weeks in how I felt but I didn’t want to pressure you.’

  ‘God, I love you Mylo Kearney.’ Bea squeezed him tightly and lunged again, making him laugh.

  ‘Hold on you sex maniac! Let me make us something to eat and then we can celebrate our love.’

  Holding her hand, her walked into the kitchen and she realised he had been planning something.

  ‘And this has nothing to do with Valentine’s?’ Bea was confused. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘This is about showing how much I love you.’

  Her heart was beating so fast as the butterflies took flight in her gut.

  She was utterly speechless.

  ‘I’ve gone for aphrodisiacs, not that we need them,’ he cheekily grinned, sitting her down on the chair. ‘Oysters to start. You do like oysters, don’t you?’

  ‘I do.’

  ‘Then meatball spaghetti finished off by chocolate mousse. All made by me.’

  ‘Even the mousse?’ she asked, impressed by the comment.

  ‘Even the mousse. But we start off the proceedings with lots and lots of champagne. And there’s one other thing. We have to have dinner in our underwear.’

  Bea practically pulled off her clothes in five seconds flat.

  ‘You might hurt yourself.’

  Bea winced as he put a tea towel around his hand and used an oyster knife. ‘Be careful. I’m happy to skip it.’

  He looked at her and opened an oyster easily before going onto the next one.

  She was standing in her underwear (luckily matching for Valentine’s) as he wore his tight fitting briefs.

  Right then, she would have preferred to have eaten him whole.

  ‘Go and sit on the floor by the coffee table and wait for me.’

  She did what she was told. Mylo appeared with a large metal tray covered in ice and oysters.

  Between his teeth was a rose, making her laugh.

  ‘I thought you weren’t into that?’ she asked, helping him put the food down. ‘Or was that cheap?’

  Mylo didn’t answer and kissed her lips before handing it over.

  ‘Let’s eat.’

  And so they did.

  He put together all the condiments and fed her the oysters, licking any juice that fell from her mouth.

  Sexy was the only word she could describe it.

  Everything was perfect, other than the occasional twinge in her leg but she didn’t care.

  She loved him and he loved her.

  ‘Why don’t you want me to meet your dad?’ he asked, making her choke on the champagne. ‘Don’t you think he’d like me?’

  ‘Why do you ask?’ she replied, wiping her chin.

  ‘Because it was something Erio mentioned and I wanted to know.’ Then Mylo looked sadly at her. ‘Are you embarrassed of me?’

  ‘What a thing to say! I think you’re amazing, I really do.’ She grimaced. ‘He’s not in the right frame of mind. Seeing me with a new man might upset him. He thinks it’s me and him.’

  ‘I’d love to meet him.’ Mylo moved a little closer. ‘And I want you to meet my mum, dad and brother. They will simply adore you.’

  ‘Oh, you say the most wonderful things.’ She put down her glass and fed him the last oyster. ‘How did you learn to shuck oysters? That’s pretty amazing.’

  ‘My ex taught me,’ he said and his smile faded. Mylo swallow hard and glanced away. ‘They own restaurants.’

  ‘Free food! That’s good,’ she whispered.

  ‘There were kids in the set up.’ Mylo’s eyes were still diverted as he looked back at her.

  ‘I see.’

  Bea knew he was slowly opening up, very much like the oyster she had fed him.

  The children part was an interesting turn so she decided to pry.

  ‘How did you meet?’

  ‘Mutual friends. Do you want some more?’ he asked, trying to stand up as she held tightly onto his arm so he couldn’t move. ‘What?’

  ‘You speak about women you’ve dated in the past few years. Why don’t you want to talk about the person you were with in Chicago? I now know she had kids
and you probably miss them. That’s hard.’

  It was the way he looked at her, she couldn’t fathom it out.

  ‘How old are the kids?’ Bea continued.

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

  And like the unopened oysters, Mylo was completely impossible to prise open.

  He had clammed up.

  ‘Is everything okay?’

  He stroked her arm as they finished off the champagne. ‘Bea?’

  ‘Yes.’ She put down the glass and looked straight at him. ‘I’m interested in everything about you, even previous relationships. I love you and want to be part of your life. And you never mentioned children. That’s a big thing.’

  ‘I can’t.’

  There was such pain in his expression, she knew to stop.

  ‘I won’t ask again.’ Then she held her breath. ‘Are you still in love with your ex?’

  ‘I’m in love with you.’

  ‘But-.’

  ‘But nothing.’ He moved closer. ‘The reason I don’t want to talk about it is simply because it’s still painful.’

  ‘Why say if you don’t want to talk about it?’

  ‘Because I don’t want any secrets between us.’

  ‘Don’t make me fall in love with you to find out it’s not real.’

  ‘I love you Beatrice Mayon.’ He kissed her gently on the lips and started to smile. ‘You’re my very own oyster with her special little pearl.’

  Mylo pushed her back onto the cushions and lay on top of her, planting a very long and sexy kiss while undoing her bra.

  ‘This is a continuation of our starter,’ he said and she felt him remove her knickers, noticing he quickly got a hard on. ‘And I love it.’

  Slowly his mouth moved down, caressing her nipples between his lips, sucking them gently. A hand slipped between her thighs as he massaged her inner skin before separating the legs. Using his tongue, he glided over her skin before finding her clitoris. Then she felt him lick and massage with his mouth.

  Bea gasped, gently stroking the top of his hair, bending her knees knowing she would come soon. Then he parted her lips, his mouth over her nub as his tongue flicked it from side to side before it got faster.