Authors: Vivienne Harris-Scott
((~~!~~))
It
’
s been fifteen years, but he still recalls the first
time she kissed him. The slight brush of her lip, the jolt of electricity that
ran through him as it happened, the imperceptible entering of her tongue in his
mouth, and his hand reaching her back, holding her as she kissed him deeply,
until he felt himself become hard, and afraid of her reaction his entire body
suddenly becomes stiff. But before he can explain, she is up and leaving the
room, thinking he doesn
’
t want her. Only, the disappointment she
saw in his eyes wasn
’
t directed at her but himself. Upon
realizing he was no different from the other men in her life at that point, for
just being touched by her and he was ready to forget the extraordinary young
woman she was and only care about the dirty girl in that spectacular body, the
one who went hard and fast and was a party on her own. The
One
he wanted
so much but could never have.
He is crushed for a few minutes, but then
reassures himself, it is for the best because he
’
s not sure he could handle her. In fact,
he knows he won
’
t. He knows their bond will be destroyed
if he lets his basic instincts take over, as they nearly did when he heard her
moan into his mouth. Sure, they both adults and he
’
d finally get to have the object of his
torment for a few hours, maybe a few months even, but he can
’
t. His heart wouldn
’
t recover. He
’
s seen it all, the ones who showered her
with attention and gifts, the desperate ones who stalked her, the cruel ones
who hurt her, the fleeting ones used for a night or two whose names she couldn
’
t recall. Yes, he knows she could crush
him, probably in spite of herself, never with intent. Because he realizes with
that kiss, he
’
s no different from them all, from one
exception, she trusts him which would make the matter much, much, worse if
things went haywire, and no doubt they would...
He
’
s been jealous for years of these men and
women who tried to cage her in their idea of what she should be, only to fail;
until she met Ethan.
And now, there is Julian.
And, she spent the night with him last
night.
((~~!~~))
Vi and Kevin
They
’
re having breakfast and have been discussing Ethan for
the past few minutes and she
’
s been trying to reassure her best friend that she was
not leaving him to return to her ex-husband in spite of the altercation Kevin
had with him the previous day when he came to visit her.
She thinks he
’
s finally relaxed and has let go of his
anger for the man he detests more than any dictator on the planet when she
feels his body tense up once again.
They
’
re on the sofa sitting next to each other
their fingers interlaced as they
’
ve been a million times before.
She asks,
“
What is it Kev?
”
It
’
s you, it
’
s always been you. I
’
ve been with other women, but none of them
were you.
”
he finally admits, his voice croaking.
She doesn
’
t need to know what he means, what he
’
s talking about. After all, Lily warned
her, just a few days ago
…
The truth is, she
’
s always be aware
…
well, kind of
…
but denial is powerful
…
She doesn
’
t know what to say. She loves Kevin. Hell,
she
’
d be lost without him in her life, but she
can
’
t return his feelings. She can
’
t pretend what she had with Ethan, what
she has with Julian is a substitute for him, because it isn
’
t and never was. She loves these two men;
she is alive with them, in a way she never could be with Kevin. And they are
both aware of his limitations in this regard.
“
Until today you were the one and only man
who had never lied to me.
”
she says is an emotionless voice.
He panics, he knows that tone; it is one
she employs when she detaches herself from a hurtful situation.
“
You
’
re not going to be mad at me forever?
”
he asks, slightly afraid his honesty his
going to cost him everything.
“
Twenty three years. That not too bad
…
I need to go for a walk
”
she replies blankly, distracted, already
elsewhere.
“
Vi,
”
he starts, and he looks at her, his
expression reflecting what is in his heart.
“
You
’
re not allowed to look at me like that,
“
she says reproachfully, her heart is
pounding, she can
’
t bear this look, she needs to get away
before crumbling completely.
“
Like what?
”
he asks, playful, while knowing full well
he
’
s giving her that lonesome schoolboy look
she
’
d never been able to resist in the nearly
twenty five years they
’
ve known each other.
“
Kev. I need to go for a walk. I need to
think. Please.
”
she says.
He nods, with a small smile and says,
“
Let me grab you a jacket, then I promise
to leave you alone.
”
He comes backs and wraps her in one of his
oversized jumper, and she can
’
t help but revel in the softness of the cashmere, and
his familiar cologne. As she sighs in contentment, he wraps her in his arms,
and they remain silent for a while, until he kisses her temple and says,
“
Go for your walk. Nothing has changed. I
love you.
”
Yes, you love me Kev. A little bit more
than what I ever thought. A whole lot more!
Once downstairs, she looks at her
surrounding and the Eiffel tower just a few streets away, and decides she needs
comfort instead of tourists filled streets. She hails a cab, and says,
“
Angelina
’
s please.
”
to the driver.
As she walks into one of her favorite eateries,
she is relieved to see it
’
s nearly empty; no doubt, either the sunny
day is keeping tourists out and about or the 1
5 €
pot of hot chocolate is keeping patrons
away.
((~~!~~))
One is making moves, one is making threats, and the last
one is professing undying love.
Damn cluster! Damn! How thin can I spread
myself?
Things change, people grow. I want to
believe if Ethan has grown, so have I. My past doesn
’
t have to define or dictate where I
’
m going; it only helped me being who I am
now.
I stopped running and I came home to
think, it
’
s time I do just that, without letting any
of them trying to pressure me to fit into their own agenda. I have to make the
right decisions for this baby and I.
I learned the hard way you can
’
t love someone if you don
’
t trust them. And the funny thing is,
right now, I would trust E with my life, Kevin and Julian not so much.
Unbelievable! The one person who hurt me the most is the one I trust!
I can theorize till the cows come home,
but walking away is not going to solve my problems this time.
In order to protect myself, my new motto
is
‘
do unto other before they do unto you.
’
I am in control of my destiny. No one
else. This is my life.
And right now, the three men in it need a
reality check.
Julian, Marcus, Vi, and Lily
Plaza
Athenée
Hotel
.
25 Avenue Montaigne, 75008, Paris.
France.
“
Wow! That was
…
was
…”
she exerts with a shaky voice, trying to catch
her breath, as Marcus is drinking from the bottle of water he picked from the
night stand.
“
Yes baby, you can say that again. That was
…
memorable
…”
he concurs with a grin.
But just as he
’
s about to ask if she wants to go for
another round, his phone, vibrating on the nightstand, interrupts him. He looks
at Lily to see if she
’
d be bothered by him taking what he thinks
will be a business call, so soon after they finished
…
huh
…
coupling, but at the very same instant her
phone on her own nightstand start to vibrate too.
The both smile and pick up at the same
time.
“
Hello mami!" she says chirpily to her
favorite girl while lighting up a cigarette.
“”
Hello Julian,
”
says Marcus as Lily shoots him up a look
with an eyebrow arched and silently mouths
“
Vi,
”
“
So, what
’
s up?
”
they say at the same time, sharing a
smile.
((~~!~~))
She saw relief all over her face, as she walked behind
the waiter taking her to her table.
As she sat, she said,
“
You look awful! What the hell happened?
”
“
Well, let see
…
Let me tell you about yesterday
…
or shall I say, my last 24 hours. I spent
my birthday night with Julian, and when I woke up in the morning, he reiterated
he expected me to move in with him immediately, and this time wouldn
’
t take no for an answer
…”
She
’
s watching me, and holding her hand up,
just as I
’
m about to comment on her first night with
the man since the one they had when they met.
“
Then I go home, Ethan turns up as we
agreed, but we don
’
t talk!
Noooo
…
he wants to speak to
Kev
,
so I oblige him, and in typical Ethan fashion, they almost have a physical spat
over me,
…
Ethan threatened him! But wait for it Lil,
…
right after storming out, Ethan calls me,
and tells me the car was just a pre-birthday gift, the real one is waiting for
me at his place. So, I go there, and nearly die of a heart attack when he shows
me what the real birthday present is
…”
She keeps her hand up, now shaking her
head furiously.
“
And you
’
d think it
’
s enough, it
’
d be all for 24 hours, I
’
d get some recovery time to process it
all, but no, just when I think, it can
’
t get any worse
…
This morning, Kevin corners me, and tells
me, he loves me! I am the woman of his life! He
’
s been lying to me for twenty three years
Lil! Twenty three years!
“
She
’
s exasperated, and I can
’
t help but grin, which seems to incense
her more, as she spits,
“
Lil, I don
’
t need you to tell me there are worse
matters in the world, or make jokes about this! I ran so fast out of there
…
and I don
’
t even know where I
’
m going to spend the night
…”
“
There
’
s always the plaza,
”
I say soothingly.
“
There
’
s always the Plaza.
”
she concurs.
“
Or Deric
’
s,
”
I add.
“
Or Deric
’
s.
“
she repeats.
“
See. One problem is already solved. You
’
re not homeless.
”
I smile.
She looks at me, saying nothing, and
suddenly I feel a shift in the air, as she grins and asks,
“
Speaking of handsome dark man, let us talk
for a minute about a certain gorgeous man of chocolate complexion who has been
spending quite some time getting acquainted with that body of yours
…
and it ain
’
t Deric
…”
her smile is broadening as I feel my face
grow flush.
“
I
’
m going to need a dry martini for this
…”
I mumble, looking around.
Vi adds,
“
Chica you got to ask me a million
questions when I met Julian. Now it
’
s my turn! And do not spare any details!
It
’
s only fair I get to know it all
…
we
’
re talking two full months of juicy
details here
…”
she
threatens, spotting a full canary smile, as I am now squirming on my seat,
clearing my throat and cursing the fact that we are at Angelina
’
s, and these idiots don
’
t have a cocktail list.
“
This isn
’
t me time,
”
I try to divert her attention back to her
conundrums.
“
Oh, but it is Lily Estella Monroe. Your
love life will provide me with the entertainment I so desperately need right
this minute
…
so
bella
, start
talking
…”
she says,
signalling the water to bring another pot of African chocolate.
“
Vi
…”
I sigh,
“
there isn
’
t much to say really, I
’
m with Marcus, that
’
s it.
”
“
You
’
re with Marcus, that
’
s it?
”
her eyebrow quirks, as she comments,
“
indeed you are Lily!
”
adding in a syrupy tone,
”
Maybe I should ask him what he thinks of
that tattoo on
…”
I feel my entire face turn crimson, and
swallow a lump that had emerged in my throat at the mention of the word tattoo.
She is now, lifting her Blackberry and
clicking on it, immortalizing my utter embarrassment for posterity.
Placing the phone securely in her bag, she
says with an innocent smile,
“
Now that this is settled. Where were we?
”
“
Sometimes, I hate you
…”
I mutter, watching her sip on her
chocolate and moan, while I snap my fingers for a waiter to bring me a glass of
anything with alcohol in it.
“
I love you too,
”
she replies, as I
’
m ordering a glass of wine.
Once, I have taken a large gulp of my
drink, and feel a little bit more in control, I say,
“
So, shall we go back and move your things
out?
”
“
And where to?
”
I ask, as she remaining silent.
Finally, as we watch each other drink our
respective pick-me-up, she says the last thing I expected to hear today,
tomorrow, or ever.
“
I
’
m going to Ethan
’
s. Actually, I
’
m going to my home.
”
she is now giving me a gleaming smile.
I am flabbergasted. What did she mean by
‘
my home
’
?
I ask,
“
Chica, did I miss an episode? Ethan? Your
home? Are you flying back to Sydney?
”
She doesn
’
t answer me, signals for the waiter to
bring the check, and once we are settled in the cab we took rue du Louvre, she
gives the driver an address I never heard, and with an enigmatic smile
declares,
“
Prepare to be surprised Lil! This is the
mother of all gifts.
”
((~~!~~))
“
Man you look awful,
“
he said, sitting down in front of his
friend, watching him sip in a glass of what appeared to be scotch.
At 10.40
a.m
?
Then again, he did ask to meet him at Harry
’
s Bar
…
Julian just looked at Marcus and asked,
“
What do you want to drink?
”
“
Jay, what
’
s up? Did something happen?
”
Marcus said, signalling the waiter for a
mineral water.
Julian reverted his gaze back to his
drink, unresponsive.
Marcus poured his
Badoit
in a glass, and repeated,
”
Jay, what
’
s up? You left the party with Vi, and I
assume spent the night, and yesterday with her
…”
“
About yesterday
…”
Julian started in a low voice, meeting his
friend
’
s gaze.
“
What about it?
”
The pain he saw in Julian eyes worried
Marcus.
“
You
’
ll never believe what E. did
…
I can
’
t believe it myself to tell you the truth
…”
“
Ethan? So, he
’
s here? In Paris?
”
he asked as Julian had told him weeks ago
Ethan would be coming, but after five weeks, as he hadn
’
t, Marcus, hoped he simply wouldn
’
t.
“
Yes, E. is here all right!
”
Julian took a gulp finishing the last of
his drink, and making a sign for the waiter to bring another.
“
Jay. What did he do?
”
Marcus asked calmly, even as he started
to have a really bad feeling.
“
He bought her a house.
”
Julian said, lowly.
“
Excuse me? He what?
”
Marcus was surprised.
“
Actually he bought her a car, and a house.
”
Julian added in a defeated tone, letting
out a deep breath.
“
No, actually, he bought her a 4x4 Lexus
Hybrid and a hotel
particulier
, to be more accurate.
”
He continued, irate.
“
A fucking 1400 square meters hotel
particulier
, with thirteen rooms, an indoor pool, a
sunroom, a terrace overlooking the Eiffel tower and the
Invalides
,
a
…”
he
pursued, his agitation increasing at each word.
”
Stop. Just stop.
”
Marcus interrupted him.
The two men remained in silence until
Marcus said with a laugh,
“
Ok, so what? He bought her a hotel
particulier
,
and a car
…
but she is wearing your ring still, right?
”