Strawberry Kisses

by Phavy Prieto

  Luckily, Nerea did not insist further on this. I didn't know if she was more concerned about not being able to be alone with Mathews again or about my non-existent love life. It was probably the latter.

  I spent Sunday tidying up my room and reading one of those books I used to leave halfway through. It was strange not to consult my planner to know what to do in those moments. I just hoped that the following week wouldn't be as long as the one I spent chasing my planner.

  "What’s this?" I asked as soon as I entered my office, seeing the desk full of papers and folders containing other papers.

  "These are the reports of the last semester," replied my intern Andrea, trigging my despair.

  "And why are they in my office?" I asked with distress.

  "The new boss, Mr. Ramirez, wants you to do a thorough review of all the documents and a detailed study of the conclusions."

  "What should I do?" I asked in disbelief.

  Since we got to this point, tell me to throw myself off a bridge or get hit by a bus.

  "I think you have an email in your inbox, where he formally requests it," she whispered, shrugging as if she was sorry for being the one who gave me the bad news. "Can I get you a coffee?" she proposed with some enthusiasm as if she wanted to lift my mood.

  "Yes, please, bring me one," I whispered. "There can't be enough coffee for a Monday like this," I sighed as I left my bag on the hanger and tried to focus on the torture I had been assigned to for the rest of the day.

  I loved my job, except in those moments when I wanted to send everything to hell and go and live in a place full of heavenly beaches to sell coconuts and piña coladas.

  "This man is more useless than two rear view mirrors on an exercise bike!" I blurted out as soon as I read the email. At the same time the door of my office opened.

  My God, let it be my intern. I swear I won't eat Kinder Bueno for a month if it's her!

  However, since God did not love me and karma did so even less, it was not her. Luckily, it was not Mr. Ramirez either.

  "I hope I'm not the useless one you're talking about," Adonis with a mortal soul said with a smile.

  My brain was unable to react to the paradisiac sight I had before my eyes at that moment. He was elegantly dressed in a pearl gray suit, certainly tailored to perfectly fit him. That man, leaning against the door, assumed a pose that seemed staged and that caused a sudden need to find a handkerchief to wipe off my drool. My God, how handsome he was!

  React, Maria, react!

  "What if it were you?" I blurted out and then bit my tongue.

  "Then I should try harder to change your mind. How about I free you from this hellish prison?" he casually asked while opening his arms to refer to my small office.

  "It wouldn't be such a bad idea if it weren't for..."

  "Here is your coffee, Mar..." Andrea's voice faded away. It was perfectly clear what she was thinking while she was observing that Greek statue. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that he didn't pay her the slightest attention, I might have even felt an intense fit of jealousy.

  Wait, wait! Jealousy? About what? It is damn clear that there could be nothing between me and that filled chocolate, nothing but a relationship made up of blackmail and... sexual interest.

  "Thanks, Andrea," I said to break the silence that was beginning to become uncomfortable in my tiny office. Three people were already too many.

  "Mr. Devoir has only come to give me back my planner, right?" I said smiling.

  "I actually forgot about it. I'm so sorry, Miss Acosta. I was coming to apologize for my carelessness that has not allowed me to return it to you yet. What do you say if I invite you for lunch to make you forgive me?"

  What a nerve!

  "I have a lot of work to do, Mr. Devoir. I don't think I can go out until the end of the day."

  "Have you forgotten that I am your boss, Miss Acosta?" he asked with that condescending smile that was apparently his manufacturing defect.

  To my utmost regret and in front of Andrea who remained speechless, I had to accept.

  "I guess you can't say no to the owner of the company," I replied with a hint of a smile.

  "I'll come to get you later then. Now, if you would excuse me, I am running the risk to be late for a meeting."

  As much as I didn't want to admit it, at least I had a stimulus capable of making that morning, invaded by paperwork, less burdensome.

  "Was he one of the Devoirs? I mean, one... one ..." poor Andrea had no words.

  "Apparently, yes," I replied, looking at the monitor and opening a spreadsheet to resume my work. "I'd be grateful if what has just happened didn't come out of this office. The last thing I need now is people gossiping around here."

  "What? Oh, yes, of course! I understand!" she answered, leaving the coffee on my desk and turning her back. "Do you know if he has an equally handsome brother? Or even a cousin would be fine," she asked when she was about to leave my office. I had to hide a smile.

  "I have no idea, but surely you can find it on the Internet."

  From the speed with which she left, I knew she was heading straight to her desk to google him.

  At that moment I felt curious. What information could I find about Damian Devoir on the Internet? The temptation was too strong. So I opened the browser to type in his name. I immediately saw some of his images taken from conferences, galas, meetings, in some of which he was accompanied by a stunning blonde.

  Don't compare yourself. Don’t even think to compare yourself to her. Do not compare yourself!

  It would have been impossible not to notice the difference between those models' very long legs and mine or between those perfectly combed blonde mane and my hair that is smoother than a cat's tail.

  "I'm certainly smarter," I said in a low voice to convince myself. "And my boobs aren't made of silicone!"

  "Aargh! Who do I want to deceive? Damian Devoir probably only sees me as a weird girl to have fun with every now and then."

  I closed the browser tab without going into much detail about his family, assuming I had enough with his repertoire of escorts I had found. I focused again on the reports which, at least, were something I could perfectly master. Until the moment in which the noise of the door made me look away from the papers: Adonis returned. With the difference that now he had loosened the knot of his tie a little, opened his jacket and disheveled his hair compared to a few hours before.

  I think he looks even better, if this were humanly possible.

  "Shall we go?" he asked with that charming smile.

  "Yes, sure!" I said getting up and going to the coat stand where my bag was. "Where do we go?" I asked with a fleeting look so that he couldn’t realize the effect he was causing on me. To such an extent that I even touched my face to see if I was really blushing.

  "To one of my favorite restaurants," he replied, opening the door for me to pass.

  "I suppose that we will have only an hour to eat," I said trying to look responsible.

  "Well, not today," he replied. "In fact, I'll establish what time your lunch starts and when it finishes."

  "But I have to work..."

  "Shush..." he grabbed me by the waist and placed a finger on my lips as he looked at me intently. "You won't deprive me of the dessert. It's the best part."

  The brightness of his gaze, his shining eyes made me wonder if I could be that sweet. But, for some reason, I would never ask him to keep enjoying that intriguing doubt.

  Chapter VII

  "Is the Italian cuisine your favorite?" I asked Damian as he parked in front of a spectacular venue.

  "There is nothing better than authentic Italian cuisine. I can assure you this is one of the few places of its kind in Madrid that stands out from all the others."

  And so our Adonis also has a superfine palate.

  "I think this will be the closest experience to a trip to Italy I will ever have," I said with certain sadness.

  I have always focused too much on work, on saving money in o
rder to buy an apartment, on being mature and responsible that somehow I completely abandoned my real desires, including traveling. I knew very little about the world. I have been only to London and exclusively to attend an English course that was supposed to help me to make a career. I didn't even have the opportunity to get to know the city.

  "You have never been to Italy?" he asked amazed as if it was something impossible.

  As if I was the only person in the world who hadn't visited the giant boot!

  "I had other priorities," I said in order not to appear an uneducated person.

  "Maybe I'll have to try to fix that," he said with those shining eyes that seemed to want to devour me at any moment.

  "Are you referring to my priorities or to the fact that I have never been to Italy?" I asked hesitantly.

  "Both," he concluded. I froze completely to such an extent that Damian had to put his arm around my waist and make me walk again to enter the restaurant.

  "First Scotland, then the concert and now Italy. I am beginning to suspect that you have few friends, Mr. Devoir," was the first banality that came to my mind in order not to seem stupid.

  I pulled away as he burst into a thunderous laughter. I was observing him as half of the bystanders turned to observe us.

  Fuck privacy! They've already seen the walking hottie. Now he will be the object of study for all the diners.

  "I don't consider myself a person with few friends, but from a certain point of view I find you much more interesting than most of them," his voice was extremely seductive. The arrival of the waiter, who greeted us and smiled amicably, brought me back down to earth.

  Apparently, Damian Devoir used to go to that restaurant often, because as soon as we sat down at the table, the maître d' too came personally to greet him. He delighted us with a bottle of excellent wine as a welcome gift even before we could browse the menu.

  I had never been to a restaurant where they offered me a bottle of wine. Actually, not even a bottle of water. It was a sign that Adonis had so much money that probably he had a tree in his garden on which banknotes grew instead of apples.

  "What are you thinking of?" he asked suddenly, diverting my attention from my thoughts and bringing me back to reality.

  "What? Oh, nothing... Do you have trees in your garden?" I asked without any consistency.

  He must think I'm an idiot! Indeed, I would be surprised if at this point he didn't think so already.

  "Now that you mention it, I do have a tree in my living room," he replied, taking his glass and inviting me to do the same with mine. "I hope that I won't have the same luck as that poor fellow you threw wine at the other night!"

  Honestly, I almost forgot he was there.

  "And thus waste a good... Barolo?" I said, looking at the name of the wine on the label.

  "Smart girl," he said, offering a toast and then bringing the glass to his lips. I imitated his gesture. That wine was excellent indeed. "Are you interested in botany?" he asked.

  "The story of the tree in your living room was a joke, right?" I asked smiling.

  "Absolutely not. You can come over whenever you want to check that I am not lying". His voice seemed serene and sweet, but, given his intense gaze, I could tell that was an indecent proposal.

  "Shall I take this as an invitation to your house, Mr. Devoir?" I asked smiling, trying to appear nice and not to point out the awkwardness of that situation.

  "I would never make an indecent proposal to you, Miss Acosta," he replied in the same tone.

  I laughed. At that moment the waiter came to take our order, even though I hadn't even looked at the menu.

  "If you don't mind, I'll order for both. Unless you already have something in mind." It seemed a great idea to avoid having to browse the menu in Italian.

  When Damian began to speak Italian, naming various dishes, my heart thumped.

  Holy gods! Could there be anything sexier than an Adonis speaking in such a sensual language? Nah... of course not. I could have easily ended up in hell for the sins already committed in my mind.

  "Is that good for you?" he asked observing me.

  "Whatever is fine for you is fine for me," my degenerated mind thought in that instant. "I didn't understand almost anything," was what my mouth said.

  Oh, well, just forget about looking interesting.

  "Don't you worry, you're going to like everything," he said smiling, returning the menu to the waiter who had taken the order.

  Everything was very good indeed. Either all the dishes were absolutely delicious in that restaurant or that man was really good at choosing the best.

  "I can't eat anymore," I said pushing the plate of lasagna aside even though it was delicious. After the antipasto and the first course my stomach was going to explode. "It's getting late and I should go. I should have been in the office half an hour ago."

  "I warned you that you would not leave me without dessert," he answered smiling.

  Where did that man put that incredible amount of calories? I doubted that they would end up in his six-pack abdomen that he surely had.

  "You want to kill me," I whispered as he poured me some water.

  "I want to do a lot of things to you but killing you isn't on the list." At that moment I looked at him and felt that intensity again. I didn't understand what kind of game that was, but in some incomprehensible way Adonis felt attracted to me. "What is your favorite flavour?"

  "You," I would have replied without thinking about it.

  I was asked that question in the least appropriate moment and I was supposed to find an answer that was not a monosyllable. I looked away trying to escape those intense eyes that were literally penetrating me. As I turned, I saw a waiter carrying a slice of cake decorated with two strawberries cut in half.

  "Strawberry," I replied smiling and looking back at him to appear self-confident. "Why?"

  "Because the day I will taste your lips they will surely taste like strawberry."

  What? Houston calls Maria... one, two, three... React, for God’s sake!

  "I think I'll order straw... fruit cake," I said just in time, when my brain realized I was speaking out loud.

  The eloquent smile I saw on that perfect face let me understand that I had better put a tape on my mouth or I was going to make a complete fool of myself.

  Pull yourself together, Maria. It's not like he said anything crazy. Simply, one of these days, when you least expect it, and there are strawberries around, he will kiss you. In short, nothing unusual.

  "I don't know if they have fruit cake, but they make a Kinder Bueno-flavoured mousse that..."

  "Kinder Bueno? Are you referring to Kinder chocolate? "

  "Exactly."

  "I want two mousses like that!"

  Excellent! Bravo! Now beyond seeing you as an anxious madwoman, he will add "whale" to the list.

  His laugh made me feel even worse.

  "So your passion for Kinder Bueno is true."

  Damn! How can I keep my secrets if he's already read them all in my planner?

  "Well, actually, not that much," I said. I swore to myself that I would deny it until my death.

  If lies killed, this would be the moment in which a lightning strikes me and I end up in hell.

  "Since you want two mousses, I guess you still want to eat."

  "No. Just in case the waiter drops one of them," I said without thinking too much. His loud laughter made me swear silently.

  "Then let them be four!" he replied smiling divinely. "Just as a precaution."

  If it were up to me, let them bring twenty. But if there are four, it's okay if you eat only half of them.

  "Being foresighted is one of my strengths," I said looking for the waiter to order the dessert.

  As we were served the dessert, I didn’t know what was more alluring: the mousse or the man who was in front of me. As soon as I plunged the tea spoon into the crystal jar, the sound produced by the mousse was music to my ears. When I brought it to my mouth, I wanted
to die of pleasure. I was completely estranged from the world.

  "Oh, blessed Jesus," I exclaimed with my eyes closed, letting myself be carried away by that exquisite flavour. "It's almost an orgasmic pleasure."

  Please, tell me I didn't say it out loud... Tell me I didn't say it!

  At that moment I opened my eyes and saw that gaze of his dark eyes that I swear had gone from dark brown to total black. He was so attractive that I didn't know what delighted me more. The taste of the mousse paired with his glance was pure ecstasy.

  "Are you sure that you prefer strawberries?" he asked. I noticed how his eyes lingered on my lips.

  Now I’m going to have a heart attack in three... two... one... If I say no, will you kiss me here in front of everyone?

  "Uh... um... yes."

  Why the hell are you saying yes, Maria? I am the incarnation of Murphy's law. I don't even know why I asked myself.

  "What a pity," was his reply.

  It's a pity my panties can't get any wetter.

  I didn't even notice that he had already paid the bill because I was still enjoying my second Kinder Bueno mousse.

  "Come on, I'll take you back to the office," he said heading for the car.

  "Thanks for the lunch! Everything was delicious and..."

  "No problem," he cut short. "Better if you get in the car so I can take you to the office. Otherwise I'll kidnap you for the rest of the day."

  "Kidnap me? Do you want me to get fired, Mr. Devoir? I remind you that I'm already late... for an hour, to be exact. "

  "Don't you ever get tired of checking the time?" he asked placing his hands on the roof of the car.

  "I would say no. It's a habit, I guess."

  "Then I'll have to spoil you a little so that you get rid of this habit".

  "What do you want to become? Some kind of tutor?"

  "Of course not," he replied with a smile. He moved slightly away from the door to get into the car and I did the same. "I'll just go beyond being your boss."

  What the heck do "go beyond" and "boss" mean in the same sentence uttered by that monument to beauty?

  I'm sure, by looking at my face, he figured I was more confused than a color-blind person with a Rubik's Cube.