by Tyla Walker
Then, David's body will touch mine. His hands roaming all over my skin, and his mouth leaving traces of his lovemaking on me. I'm basking in his love, feeling all of him.
I gasp when I realize where my mind has traveled, my eyes opening abruptly. God, what am I thinking? I'm ashamed of myself, imagining such images. My body trembles… feeling like it was so real.
"What's wrong?" David asks me as he lifts up my head, pinching my chin in between his thumb and pointing finger. "Your feet are painful?"
I look up and stares directly at David's eyes, and I feel guilty for fantasizing about him. If he knows what's in my head, he'll probably think I'm some slut. I can't ever let him know.
"Well… uh, it's nothing," I answer to David. He frowns as he gauges me. I didn't look away or even blink my eyes. I try to be as innocent as I can. I can't jeopardize our friendship.
"Let's go to socialize," I add as I drag him closer to the edge without his notice. The music's almost over. "I should introduce you to some people that I know."
"Okay," I drag David to the side, trying to calm down. A waiter passes by, so I grab a glass of wine and drink it in one gulp.
"Are you okay?" David asks me, his voice husky; I nod my head. My goodness, I'm still on cloud nine. My imagination felt so real, and I wish it can even come true.
But I should never forget that this is a farce. It's all part of the day's job. Always remember, or you'll end up with a broken heart, Nya.
Seven
David
A lot of people are dancing. I glance at Nya, and I have this nagging urge to dance with her. How should I ask her?
"What are you thinking?" Instead of directly asking, I question Nya about what she's thinking. She looks so serious as she contemplates something.
"Nah, just watching people dance," Nya replies to me nonchalantly. I can see that she's tapping her foot. I know she wants to dance. Also, I know she'll look so graceful when she dances.
The way she moves her body… it's so tempting. I can't help but stare at her with fiery eyes. I'm not some Saint, and Nya's to my taste.
"Nya, dance with me?" I ask her. I want to feel her in my arms, holding her tightly. If possible, I want to breathe all of her, so that she'll become a part of me.
I notice Nya fidgeting without a clear answer. What's wrong with dancing with me? Is she... very aware of me? Or she doesn't want to dance?
"It's to keep up appearances," I don't want Nya to feel awkward about us. "We're in love with each other, dancing won't be a problem between us. It's supposed to be a natural interaction between lovers."
I remind her of our game plan. No need to refuse because this is part of the job, also… I want to dance with her. But, of course, she doesn't have to know this reason.
"Oh, I see," Nya replies to me in a small voice. My hand is hanging in front of her, waiting for her to take it. She just accepted it like that? I mean, I don't know, but I don't want to lie at all. I want to tell her about my feelings. I was hoping that she's going to probe me.
Nya places her hand over mine. The heat travels into my body, making me almost lost control.
"Grow Old With You," I mumble. I'm thinking about the song, and it fits perfectly between us. Some people say that we're like an old couple with our interaction.
I place my hand on her waist, feeling an intrinsic sense of belongingness. It's like we're meant to be together like this, ordained by the heavens. It feels so fucking right. Cheesy, right? But this is what I think.
"David," Nya's voice trembles as she tries to put space between us. My hold on her tightens. I can only hold her like this during this dance.
"Don't move," I whisper in her ears. I don't want other people to hear us talking this way. This is unlike regular fiances. "Let's stay like this."
Most of all, I want to take this time to be with her, to savor this moment and Nya's warmth. She smells like roses, making me feel refresh and tempted at the same time.
"We haven't danced like this, right?" I ask her, thinking that this is perfect, a moment that I've wanted since forever. If only we can be like this for a long time.
Nya doesn’t answer me, but she buries her head on my chest, making me feel protective of her. Nya's like a flower that I have to protect; that's why I need to do this job flawlessly. I can't believe that she thinks that some of those people she interacts with are friendly civilians.
I don't want them to implicate Nya into anything at all. My hold on her tightens, my eyes growing vigilant as I look around for my targets. Then, Nya takes all my attention away when she leans her cheeks on my chest.
Can Nya hear my heart call out her name? If it's possible, I believe that my heart will call out to her, over and over again. My eyes soften as I gaze on the top of her head.
I can't see her face, but I know that she's the woman that I really want to treasure. I want to explore this feeling…where do we go from here?
But I also know that I can't blurt out these feelings… it has to stay in a tightly-sealed bottle for the sake of our friendship. Just for this moment, I want Nya to be mine.
I cast all my cares away as I feel only Nya as we sway to the music. We're in a world that there's no undercover job, there's no act… only the both of us.
Then, Nya breaks this moment as she gasps and tries to move away from me. I come back to our reality, the illusion broken.
"What's wrong? Your feet are painful?" I ask. I know that she's not used to this kind of party, and she's only here to help me. I lift up her head as I stare in her dazzling eyes.
"Well...uh, it's nothing," Nya replies to me, trying to brush me off from the topic. I keep staring at her, unfazed. "Let's go to socialize. I should introduce you to some people that I know."
"Okay," I reply to her as I let her lead me. Nya's the one that has connections. I look around, observing people. It looks like they bought our charade, and we ultimately convinced them of our actions.
No one's suspiciously looking at us. This is good; we're going on the right track.
"Are you okay?" I ask her as I notice her slightly red face. I can see traces of blush on her neck too. I wonder… how far the red goes. I swallow my saliva, thinking of such a provocative scene. My blood's rushing to my brain, flooding me with only thoughts of Nya and not my mission.
Nya doesn’t answer me but only nods her head. Okay, it looks to me that she's not into talking now. She's standing beside me, and I actually feel this pressure in the air. I move a bit closer to her, loving the thrill that our skin contact causes to each other.
She's like a drug, addictive. I haven't tasted her, but here I am, going crazy by the minute. I keep staring at her face, and I hope I'm not creeping her out… she's just so beautiful tonight. I can't get over it.
I don't know how many times I've praised her… but words aren't enough.
"You okay?" The question is more like directed to me. What I want to really ask her if it's okay to get closer to her after this charade is over. What should I do to make this happen?
Eight
Nya
I'm still high from our dance. David makes my beating heart race in overdrive, my breath shallow. His closeness intoxicates me, and his smell adds to the effect of the wine, making me heady.
"You okay?" David whispers to me as we stand by the side. His green eyes hold a fatal attraction as he looks at me; it takes my breath away. Dangerously tempting… and fatally attractive.
"I'm good," I reply to him as I calm down. David's hands are on my waist while I cling to his arm. We walk towards the antique dealer first. We need to socialize; I know Sylvia pretty well. She's the antique dealer's wife.
"Hello, Sylvia…" I greet her and her husband. "I haven't seen you for a while."
I let go of David's to cushy up to Sylvia.
"Nya, darling!" Sylvia hugs me and brushes our cheeks together. "Yeah, we haven't seen each other for a while now. You're always busy with your work and have no time to socialize anymore. Your company is alway
s something that I look forward to."
I laugh at her compliment.
"I appreciate the sentiment. By the way, this is David Mackall. He's my long-time friend, and now, my fiance. David, this is Sylvia Suarez, my friend, and this is her husband."
I introduce Sylvia and points at her husband that's standing behind her. David needs to get to know more people.
"Fiance?" Sylvia sounds surprised as she sizes up David. She looks at him from head to toe, there's a slight curvature on her lips.
"Darling…" Sylvia drawls to me. "You really know how to choose them. Hello, David. By the way, this is my husband, Javier Suarez."
"Hello, it's nice to meet you, Sylvia," David greets Sylvia first, then, stares at her husband. "Hello, Mr. Suarez."
I love the confident way David speaks. He sounds so charismatic, and he has this natural charm that draws people in.
"Hello, David. You have a wonderful fiance," Javier says to David as he looks at the both of us. I smile, thinking that this sham is really convincing. We're doing our best.
"We finally figured out that we're in love with each other," David says as his hold on me tightens. He turns to me, those green peepers of his are pouring flame all over my body.
"She's the one for me," he adds.
I smile, gazing at his eyes. Even I would end up believing because of his eyes… the way he looks at me says a lot of things. It seems he's an expert liar.
"Well," Sylvia chuckles as she clings to my other arm. "Us, women, will be talking about this love story. I have a lot of things to ask about."
I chuckle, knowing that she wants to get me alone and ask for the details. The men will be bored if we talk about love and weddings in front of them.
We walk away, but my eyes are glued to David. He's talking to Javier, and it seems the subject's interesting. Maybe, business? Or whatever men talk about when they're together? What's important is David looks like he's in his element.
God, it might be about his... job. Fishing for information?
I heave a sigh of relief while Sylvia continues to drag me to the verandah.
"Oh, my… that's one hot man! Tell me… tell me the juicy details!" Sylvia sounds so excited as she pushes me to sit down. "When's the wedding?"
I smile at her. Wedding? I can't help but get carried away, wishing that I can plan our wedding for real… but… we're just friends.
Well, this is all just a sham. I imprinted this in my brain, making sure that I won't think otherwise. Also, is a wedding date needed? I mean, we can't really get married and call it quits.
I've been through so much before, I can't suffer another broken heart again. I won't be able to take it. It's very dangerous for my heart. The scars from the past are still here.
"David and I have been friends for a long time," I reply to her after careful thought. "Just as he said, we realized that we're in love with each other. There was really no actual courtship, it's all about our companionship."
I really can't embellish our relationship. At least, there's no need for me to lie about how David courted me, right? The more words I say, the more mistakes I commit. It's more than enough for me that I can be with him.
"Wow," Sylvia giggles. "Friendships are always the start of it. Anyway, when's the wedding?"
Wedding? I sigh, staring at David. This question again, it brings back memories that I don't want to remember. Memories of my broken heart.
"Nya? Nya? Nya? Earth to, Nya?" Sylvia waves her hand in front of my face. I gasp and turn to her. I didn't notice that my mind has wandered off.
"I'm sorry, my mind has wandered off," I explain to her, glancing at David from time to time since he's glancing at me too. Sylvia giggles.
"Love birds, can't bear to be away from each other," Sylvia tells me happily. "I'm happy for you... and I don't mind, you know. If I have a man like David? Darling, my mind will wander too."
Sylvia and I stare at David, who's walking towards us with Javier in tow.
"That's one hot man, and if I were you, Nya… don't let your eyes wander somewhere else. Have you seen those hyenas? They're eyeing your man!" Sylvia says exaggeratedly as she looks around.
And true to her word, some women are eyeing David. I can't blame them, my best friend's crazily hot. Off the charts, sizzling hot. I frown... a flame of jealousy welling up inside me.
This is an emotion that I haven't experienced in a long while. I sigh, thinking that we're only a sham and nothing else. But I'm happy that Sylvia's attention is directed somewhere else, and I don't have to fabricate the wedding date.
"He's coming, honey," Sylvia whispers. "I'll leave you, lovers, to yourselves."
Sylvia walks away, waving at me. I wave at her, smiling. Then, my eyes are on David.
"Having fun? The night's still young…"
Indeed.
Nine
David
I can't help it and keep glancing at Nya even though she's far away from me. She's across the room, in the verandah, and talking to Sylvia, Javier's wife.
Javier and I are talking about antiques, but my mind's not on the topic. I don't have problems in compartmentalizing and separating private thoughts from my business but this time… Nya's charm is just too tempting.
I can't think straight. Nya's always on my mind, every breath I take and every move I make… she's all I can see and nothing else. I find myself thinking of her all the time. Crazy, right? I'm getting there.
"I bought the jade from a traditional Chinese family. It was a find, you know, the man won't even sell it if it's not for her daughter's operation. The jade was a family heirloom," Javier says to me, but I can barely comprehend what he's talking about.
I nod my head even though I didn't really listen. Wait, back up there, so his jade supplies come from China?
"I have a friend who specializes in jades, so I'm good when it comes to that. It's authentic, and I got it at a lower price," Javier says to me. Now, this statement got my attention.
It looks like this money laundering scheme is a lot more complicated than I thought, and it runs in deep waters across Asia. This scheme has a lot of connections, so I have to be careful to not spook the nest.
"That's great! I thought maybe I can take a look at the antique business. Maybe test the waters and invest," I reply to him as I seek Nya with my eyes. She keeps glancing at me.
"This is good!" Javier laughs. "We can talk about this some other time, maybe over dinner? It looks like you miss your fiance already."
I chuckle, nodding my head. I can't be hasty, I still have more opportunities to investigate. Some other time, huh? It might be his last.
"We can talk about antiques next time," I tell him as we walk towards Nya and his wife. They're having fun, talking, and smiling. I can't hear what they're talking about.
Sylvia says her goodbyes and drags her husband away.
"Having fun? The night's still young…" I give Nya my hand, hoping for another dance, Nya gives me her hand. But before we go on stage, Nya smiles excitedly at me.
"That man, I really need to introduce you to him," Nya says to me as she smiles at a person surrounded by people. "He's a really nice guy."
The man good-naturedly smiles at us, we walk towards his position, and he meets us halfway.
"Nya!" The person greets us, and Nya smiles at him.
"Hello, Michael! Long-time, no see," Nya grabs me closer to her. "Michael, this is my fiance, David Mackall. David, this is my friend and rugs dealer, Michael."
"Hello," I offer my hand for a handshake, and the other person accepted it. I smile… so, this is the rugs dealer, connected with the antique guy and the money-laundering scam.
"You always praised my rags in the store, it all comes from him. The Persian rug that you like so much was ordered from Michael, and it's from Asia," Nya says to me. "Recently, David is thinking of venturing to antique business."
"Really?" Michael asks. "That's good. I dealt with all types of rugs and mostly old ones. Some are even recov
ered from previous dynasties."
"Wow, that's awesome. I've always wanted to venture into this line of business and purchase some antiques and rugs. Maybe I'll see it first? Purchase a few and show-off to friends," I laugh as I reply to the dealer.
"I love collecting these things," I add. I'm pretending to be a collector and, of course, a businessman to get closer to these men. When money's involved, people like them will always go for it. It's only a matter of time, and I'll get them.
I'm off with a good start. I can slowly integrate myself into their circle and get them in one fell swoop.
"So, what types of rugs do you like? Persian rugs? Arabian rugs? We also have from India, owned by royalties that date back to the 18th century. If you want, you can also check out at my store," Michael tells me openly. My lips curve, this is easy.
"Well," I fix my tuxedo. "I think, maybe, Nya and I can go check it out. We're moving into our new home. What do you think, honey?"
Nya looks surprised at me and nods when I tighten my hold on her waist. She gets what I mean. Smart and hot…
"That's great! Oh, I forgot to congratulate you, darling," Michael beams at Nya. "You have a magnificent, fiancee. Take care of her."
Michael smiles at me, too; then, he looks behind me.
"It looks like a friend just arrived, I'll be going first. I won't disturb you lovers anymore," Michael winks at us, walking away to his group of friends. They look like they're talking about business.
"David," Nya grabs my arm when she feels my aggressiveness. I sigh and look at her.
"Tired? It's late," I tell her as I tuck a stray hair behind Nya's ears. It looks like the time for dancing is going to end. I look around, and most people are already leaving the hall.