The next day, I woke up with another outlook on life. I had been too wrapped up in my attack, trying to make sense of what happened. I was missing out on my life. The time I spent with Fernando last night had been amazing and gave me a new and interesting distraction. I took a shower, had breakfast, put on my hot pants and T-shirt, and headed to work. My muscles were sore from swimming last night. It was a good hurt, and I wanted more nighttime encounters at the pool. As I was parking my car, I got a text message from Fernando.
Good morning, thinking of you and that rose.
Was this guy for real?
I replied, It is a very good morning after a pool encounter last night.
I found myself staring at my phone, waiting for his reply.
I had a pool encounter myself and I am looking forward to many more.
Ditto
That was it. He kept it simple and I appreciated it. I sighed and went in to the car wash. I welcomed the “Good morning, precious” and “Hey, babe.” “Hi, honey,” I said and went to see Ricky behind the counter.
“Bitch!” He smiled. “How are you today?”
“Today is a good day so far.” Fernando was on my mind.
“Really? Thank God. You have been so distant lately. I was giving you some time, but of course I was planning an intervention soon.”
“No need, bitch. I’ll be fine. Or at least getting there.”
He came and hugged me, kissing the top of my head.
“Am I interrupting?” Victor said as he came in with a smile.
“Hey, honey, how are you?” I noticed how Ricky eyed Vic’s ink like eye candy.
“Good, sorry for being late but I don’t feel so hot today and couldn’t get out of bed.”
“But you are hot, babe.” Ricky smiled.
“Ricky! Sexual harassment,” I cried out.
“Getting hit on is flattering, Vanessa, especially by a hot boss.” Victor had a flirty look in his eye that Ricky devoured.
“Shit guys, get a fucking room.” I rolled my eyes.
I went to our little office and began to organize our invoices for accounts payable and receipts. I loved Ricky, but he was a disorganized mess. Being gone for a couple of days, I was not surprised to see the office in chaos. In a blink of an eye, three hours had passed and I was in a world of numbers and to-do lists when Ricky came in the office.
“Hey, bitch! Lunch?” He handed me the spinach wrap he knew I loved.
“Okay, give me a sec.” I saved my opened documents so all the work I had done would not be lost.
“Hey, bosses, there is a delivery here for Vanessa,” I heard Alfonso yell from the counter.
“Send him in.” I assumed it was from a customer. The delivery guy came in my office with a huge rose arrangement. Two dozen red roses stared at me and I was completely mute.
“I’ll take that, honey,” Ricky told the delivery guy and sent him off. He turned to me with a shocked expression. “Damn! Girl, I told you he has it bad.” Then he left out the door with a grin and a wolf whistle.
I stared at the flowers for a while and wanted to check the card but was afraid to read it. This guy was not real. He was too perfect. He had to be flawed. The more I liked him, the more anxious it made me. If people like him were real, they dated supermodels and hung out somewhere in Milan. Shit, maybe it was my turn to have an amazing man and enjoy life. Maybe all the shit that I went through in life had a purpose which led me to this point. Maybe I needed to stop being so afraid. I took a deep breath and opened the little card that held all possibilities.
Dancing tonight? 8?
Holy balls! What to do? Of course, I wanted to see him. I felt butterflies at the possibility of being in his arms. It was a perfect excuse to be close to him and who knew what else. I texted him before losing the nerve.
Lovely flowers. Why don’t we save the dance for Saturday?
After a couple of seconds, he replied.
Very well, Saturday it is. How about we go for a run tonight?
Persistent, huh? I liked that in a man.
I’m sleep deprived after your tattoo revelation and little kiss on my cheek last night.
I was enjoying this more than I should.
And you want to go dancing? Don’t you want your energy?
This Latino has plenty of energy.
LOL. A run sounds great. I’ll take it easy on you.
Easy on me? We will see about that. Last night you told me that you are crazy about me. I wonder what will come up tonight.
Shut up.
Seven?
Okay, seven at the gym.
I stared at my flowers for a few minutes and decided to enjoy this. Easy flirting from a hot man. Why fight it?
At six thirty I found myself staring at the mirror and fixing my hair…to go to the gym? I was a girl with a crush, that was for sure. I decided to go with my black Lycra pants and black and pink new sneakers. I was a little self-conscious about the scars on my side from my attack, so I put on a little tank top. I hope to go to the pool afterward to refresh, so I decided to wear my bathing suit under. I put on my iPod and I was good to go. I walked nervously to the gym, looking over my shoulder. It was almost seven and when I came in, I saw Fernando on a bench lifting free weights. He immediately saw me and smiled broadly. He left the weights on the floor and walks toward me, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“You were supposed to be here at seven. Not six fifty.” He smiled, checking me all over.
“So I wanted to come sooner, what’s the big deal?” I asked.
“Well, I was lifting some weights so you would see me all buffed up and fall for me instantly.” He chuckled.
“Was that your plan?”
“Yep, and you ruined it. You were supposed to be completely smitten by my manliness.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. Do you think I’m that superficial? You’re going to have to impress me with your character and personality.” I walked toward the treadmills.
“Is that right?” He followed me closely. I felt his stare burning through me like a flame.
“Yep.” I said with confidence.
“But it’s not fair.”
“What is?”
“That I have to work hard and you have an easy path.”
“Easy path?”
“I’m already smitten.” His low sexy voice shook me all up.
“Shut up.” I looked at the floor. I could not compete with this man. My face was tomato red and I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. He chuckled and we worked the treadmill. We started slowly and proceeded to run swiftly and with ease. We worked out in a comfortable silence. After cardio, we moved on to do some abdominal exercises and machines to tone our biceps, triceps, shoulders, and back. We glanced at each other, checked each other out, smiled, and talked while doing our workout. An hour and a half had passed and our bodies were sweaty and tight.
“Do you want to go to the pool again?” I could tell he hoped last night’s experience would be a repeat.
I turned to him with a smile. “Look…” I moved my tank top to reveal my swimsuit underneath. It was a simple reaction, but he stared at me with the I-wanna-fuck-you-right-now look. When I noticed it, I put my strap back and felt completely embarrassed. “Let’s go.” He followed me like a lost puppy. I felt in control and it was great.
We had the pool to ourselves. The moon was out and I took off my work-out clothes slowly, revealing my bright yellow bikini. His eyes were glued to my body and I could feel them devouring me. I tried to ignore it, but the silence did not let me. I glanced in his direction and he seemed embarrassed by his thoughts. I felt confident, since it was already nighttime and my scars were not that visible.
“Well are you going to keep on ‘observing’ or are we going to the water?” I tried to act confident and cool at his attention.
“I like observing.” Our eyes locked and time seemed to stop.
“Come on.” I took his hand and jumped in the pool. We laughed and goofed around. He grabbed my waist as if I was a weightless log.
“That tickles. Let me go.”
“Oh, you’re ticklish, huh?”
“No, no…Fernando!”
“Come here.” We laughed and played in the water.
He started wrestling with me and I felt his hands on my torso. I froze instantly and felt self-conscious about the scars my attacker left me. His signature. Did Fernando see them?
“Please stop.” I was not laughing any more.
He sensed my change of mood and let me go immediately.
“I’m sorry, honey, was that too rough? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m fine.” I swam toward the shallow end.
“Vanessa, talk to me,” he pleaded.
I got out of the pool and put on my tank top.
“Vanessa.”
“I’m sorry, I gotta go.” I would not meet his eyes.
“At least let me walk you back, please.”
I hesitated but conceded. I was completely silent and felt like shit. I was still a bit traumatized and it had ruined our time together. I didn’t dare meet his eyes and his look of worry and desperation. We went to the elevator in silence.
“Can you please tell me what’s wrong? Vanessa…” He sounded concerned.
“Fine, you want to know?” I did not know why I was raising my voice.
“Yes, I wanna know.” He raised his voice, too.
I took off my tank top and showed him the scar on my side. Because of the knife my attacker used, the flesh healed leaving a white mark of delicate, swollen skin. It was two cuts, one an L shape and the other one two small triangles side by side. Only the second triangle was not completed. Maybe he did not have time to finish, or maybe he had a thing for triangles or maybe he was a she…who the fuck knew?
I was lost in my thoughts and then I felt him touch me. I jumped up. I looked at him as he stared at my mutilated body. His fingertips traced my scars slowly and without giving me time to react, he leaned down and kissed them. I felt his warm lips on my skin, and I had to fight the urge to run my hands through his hair and pull him to me for more. It felt so good. His coconut scent lingered with his closeness, and some of the water drops from the pool now streamed down my body. It was only a feather kiss, but I felt it had possessed all my nerves, making them tingle and stand alert. His fingers caressed my scars as if he wanted to take them away. I was petrified by his action and could not move or react. I watched him closely, but he would not meet my eyes. His eyes were only on my body, like he was trying to memorize it. He finally looked at me.
“I think you are beautiful,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard and sighed. “Stop.” I felt tears stream down my eyes.
“You are.” His hands left my body and I missed him immediately.
“I’m sorry.” I took a step back and pulled down my shirt.
“Don’t be.” His deep voice caressed me, his eyes enchanted me.
I sighed again and looked at his handsome face. We were inches from each other and I felt my breathing quicken. The elevator doors opened and pulverized our connection.
“Good night,” I whispered and walked past him to my apartment with a quick step. I did not look back this time and he did not follow me.