Surrender: The Greek Affair Series Book One (15 page)

“Try me. I know about loss.”

Hope continues to look at him and misses a few beats before she speaks. “How about you tell me about your life for a change? Why are you into me and not someone your own age for a start? How come you know so much about a woman’s body? And why are you so fucking irresistible?”

“Oh, so now I’m irresistible! But that’s a lot of questions! I’ll make it simple. I’m not into women my own age, never have been. The first woman I had sex with was ten years older than me.”

Hope looks surprised. “And how old were you?”

“I was fifteen.” He says with a menacing smile. “Are you shocked?”

“Nothing shocks me about you. You are much too old in everything you do; the way you talk, the way you think and I dare say, the way you make love. But why me? I want to know.”

“Well, first of all you are a beautiful woman, as I’ve told you before, and when I came to talk to you I thought you were about thirty something.”

“But I’m not, I’m forty, I’m old.”

“What does that mean? You’re still the same woman I saw and admired and wanted to hold. The difference is chronological and has nothing to do with feelings and needs. We’ve been conditioned to do things we often are not suited for, and anyway, I want you to be MY old woman.” He smiles, looking at her and waiting for her reply.

She punched him in the arm, laughing, “Funny.”

“It was not meant to be funny. I’m very serious and I’m still waiting to hear about your husband.”

“In short: he is older than me an expectable age difference. Workaholic, womaniser, bad friend, bad partner and it was a very lonely life. I was very unhappy, although I’m not sure if I will ever be happy. I seem to have no notion of what that concept really is. Now tell me about your family.” She rattles this out in a hurry, as it is uncomfortable, talking about her marriage.

He shifts in his chair and takes a deep breath, as if trying to gather strength.

“My parents, along with my younger sister were killed in a car accident when I was ten. We were living in London at the time. I was sent back to Corfu to live with my grandparents, who brought me up.” He is silent. Hope has frozen. She looks at him and is trying to find words to say. She breaks her silence, reaching for his hand, and she winds her fingers into his.

She breathes heavily and tries to talk, but all she can say is. “I’m so sorry.”

She reaches out for his other hand. They are across the table from each other. Hope is looking for words and she does her best, “I don’t know what to say. I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for you at ten.” She lifts his hands to her lips and kisses them both.

Jason reciprocates by kissing her hands. “I’m ok. They provided well for me. There was a trust fund for my education and expenses put aside and I’m also blessed with my
yiayiá
and
papoú (grandmother and grandfather)
. I ended up having a great upbringing, even with the loss. Life takes and life gives.”

Hope moves around to him and sits on his lap taking his face in her hands and looking into his eyes.

“English, you are a remarkable human being.” And she kisses him softly on the lips.

He grabs her by the waist and lifts her off him. “Let’s get on with our day.”

Chapter Thirteen

There are four of them today. Petro has hooked up with gorgeous Alexander, who has one of the most disarming smiles. Hope wishes that it’s more than a one-night stand for her friend’s sake. She’ll have to drill him later. They are all in the car, music blaring, all of them singing (out of tune) to Greek songs. They are having a sightseeing day, exploring the sights, the history, the mythology and the legends of this spectacular island.

Hope seems to have left her stomach knots back home for now, and looks around at the three gorgeous men. She wonders why life can’t always be as carefree as this, and why she is so lucky to look upon so much male beauty within her company.

They are on their way to explore as many archeological sites as they can fit in, in a day. Many of them still to be dug and restored, as the island has thousands of years to give to humanity. They want to explore some isolated beaches and villages that are small and very traditional, and hopefully find food and cold water in one of these villages to quench their hunger and thirst. Hope has seen the sites over and over again, but she never tires of them. There is always something new, something different, and every time, a little more has been dug up.

It’s turning out to be a very hot day and they have come prepared with hats, lotions, swimsuits and even a beach umbrella, along with the mandatory water bottles, (even though food and water can be found anywhere along the way).

Hope is happy today. She thinks it might be because she’s leaving tomorrow. She’s looking forward to putting some distance between her and Jason with the hope that as soon as she leaves the island, this will all be a dream, a holiday romance, and not the intense affair it has turned into in such a short time.

Jason will get on with whatever he was doing before Hope came along, and she will go back to her own reality and be jolted into what her life is all about. Everydayness puts things into perspective. She can’t explain why she feels the way she does about him, but she suspects with him it’s about being a soldier, and the loneliness that comes with being away from home and loved ones. She’s sure he has blown his feelings towards her out of all proportion, and once he is discharged he will want to leave the island and go back to where ever he loiters in his civilian life. “Enjoy the day today Hope!” she tells herself, and as if he has read her thoughts, he suddenly says, “Stop it!”

“What?”

“You’re thinking again, and over thinking, as always. Do you need to analyse everything that you do and feel?”

“How do you know what I’m thinking, English?”

He looks at her from his driving with a mocking smile and looks back at the road. “Is that my name now? I know everything about you
psychí mou (my soul)
, everything!”

And sometimes she’s sure he does know everything about her. Very unsettling and a little scary when she’s trying to put some distance between them; it’s a battle she keeps losing.

“Ok you two, stop bickering. Let’s be happy today because I’m very happy!” Pétro retorts. Hope swings her body around and looks at him and at the handsome Alexander. She looks at her friend’s smiling face, and she knows instantly that she has to stop making it about her and Jason for once, and make it about him. She feels that she has been a terrible friend in the few days that he has been here, as she’s been caught up in Jason’s whirlwind. She must redeem herself and hopefully make it up to Pétro on their way back to Athens, and during the few days she will be back trying to sort her head out.

They arrive at the site of
Kabeiri
.
The Kabeiri
were the children of the god Hephaestus, God of Fire, amongst other things. This island was where his cult thrived. The shrine was constructed in the 8th century BC. According to legend, the “
Kabeiri
” mysteries (the rituals), were associated with fertility and the rebirth of nature. Women who could not conceive would be enrolled and after the secret ceremonies, could once again bear children, raising questions in today’s world as to what the rituals actually were.

There is not much left of the original temple, but it is one of the most stunning locations on the island. It’s on the precipice on a cape called Chloe. If one looks down, one can see the soft waves splashing on the rocks and way across the calm blue azure sea is the site, Hephaestus, a city aptly named after the god most revered on the island. The one who gave the locals fire, as the myth tells us fire was discovered here on this island.

They park the car in the allocated car park and they meander towards the site on a well made narrow road. Petro and Alexander are in front looking happy, and Jason and Hope are walking behind them, with Jason’s arm over her shoulders, holding her for dear life, as if she was about to run away. (And maybe she is planning to run away. She is not sure yet.)

The three men are wearing shorts with no top, looking suntanned and ravishing, Jason’s green eyes and light short hair, Pétro’s blue eyes and brown hair, and Alexander, looking as preconceived notions of Greeks are, with black hair that touches his shoulders and large, warm brown eyes. He seems to be in his late twenties and is truly a spectacular looking man. Petro is in his late thirties, although Hope and he never talk about ages; it’s not a subject that is of relevance most of the time.

Pétro is the prime example of chic, from his underwear to his beach towel, to his rubber thongs on his feet. And Jason? Jason, is the beautiful man who has come into Hope’s life to give her the light, and yet, she’s too afraid to expose herself, take it and run with it.

As they walk, and Jason has his arm around Hope’s bare shoulders, he bends and kisses the top of her head. He looks down at her, lifts her chin and searches for her mouth, which she gives to him without any hesitation. She just wants to enjoy him today, as it possibly could be their last day together.

After the short walk they arrive at the site and even though there is not much to see, except the foundation of where the temple use to be, the location alone is breathtaking.

Under the site where the rocks meet the sea, there are caves where legend tells us that the
Achaeans
left
Philoctetes
, (the famous archer of the Trojan War and son of the King of Thessaly), because he had a festering wound. Three Greek plays have been dedicated to this hero, by
Sophocles, Aeschylus
and
Euripides
. Most have not survived. Homer, in The Iliad also mentions him. It is here where legend, myth and reality need unraveling. The island is known for its therapeutic water and soil from antiquity to this day, so it makes sense that someone with a wound would be left here.

This site plays with the senses. It mesmerises. Jason’s spirit of adventure goes to another place, watching the sea and imagining the
Athenian Triremenes
, with their twenty-five oars on each side, coming in to land. On open days there is a guard that makes sure that tourists do not carry off the broken pieces of ceramics that can be found at any one time all over this site.

All the ancient towns on this island are built on the seafront, pointing to the tradition of the island, and its seafaring exploits. Today, one can see the ancient ports under water at every ancient town site.
Kabeiria
was not a town, but a sanctuary, and the ships used to land at
Hephaestus
, almost five kilometres away, and the people would find their way here by foot.

They soak up this amazing site, and then go on to the next. The next site is
Hephaestus
. This is a huge city, and the most recent layer excavated is Hellenistic. It is a large city and it will take many years of digging for it to reveal itself. But for now, the restored ancient theatre flies the Greek and the EU flag, and they continue to dig.

On the roadside to get to this site, there is the wild thyme kilometre upon kilometre, as far as the eye can see, and nothing else, except man-made beehives amongst the thyme fields. This is what makes the unique Greek honey that cannot be found anywhere else. Thyme honey, unadulterated by any other essence; the bees only have thyme nectar to collect for their queen. Nature has two visual beauties on this island, fields of red poppies in spring and summer with mauve thyme.

They finish with this site and move on to see
Poliochn
i, considered one of the largest centres of the early Bronze Age, and the first city in Europe with basic social and civic structures. This city was inhabited from approximately the middle of the fifth millennium, until the end of the second millennium BC.

They all walk through its narrow streets and look at the strong stone walls that still remain. It is situated on the edge of a short drop into the blue water, where jetties can be seen under the water; and where the ancient ships would have moored; where time and the sea have swallowed the jetty with the change of the coastline. This city is built from the stone of the island and reminds one of the buildings of the surrounding villages. Not everything has changed over the course of the millenniums.

Having absorbed the wonder of this monument of humanity, they then drive to a nearby beach, via an unmade road, rocky and very dusty, through many kilometres of thyme bushes, past other archeological sites where they come to a stretch of golden sand with a sea that is so blue and so calm, it looks like a piece of blue glass as far as the eye can see, and it’s just the four of them. A piece of paradise!

Hope stands and looks far out to sea with her hand shading her face, even though she’s wearing sunglasses and a hat. The sun is searing hot and glaring, reflected back by the sea. She puts her towel down, takes off her brief top and shorts and runs diving into the light blue sapphire sea. It is warm and cooling at the same time. She looks up and sees the boys looking her way and talking like conspirators, and she thinks that they are up to something. And as she hates being ducked in the water, she does not trust them, so she comes out, and they all look at her. She picks up her towel, looks at the three of them and says,