Strawberry Kisses

by Phavy Prieto

  No doubt, I was attracted! He was as yummy as gingerbread cookies at Christmas. But there was a big difference between that and being jealous of the busty giraffe.

  "I just want to help him," I admitted, "and by doing it I may also have some fun. Is that a crime?" I pretended as if the situation did not affect me, even though I was aware of being vulnerable near that man.

  "Certainly not," she replied looking at me," as long as you know what you are getting into and to what extent you are going to get involved. I have always told you to go out more, to live fully. Since you met that man, you've been doing that, it seems. So I'm happy for you."

  "Well, I'd better pack some essentials for these two weeks before I go to bed," I said, ending the conversation and heading towards my room.

  At least both of us were going to get some advantage out of it all: heavenly orgasms. Or I hoped so.

  I dusted off the suitcase that was under my bed and made a selection of formal, elegant and casual clothes. I was probably going to bring more stuff with me than I would need for two weeks, but, not knowing what I was going to do in those days, I preferred to be foresighted. Eventually I threw all the fine lingerie that I had in the drawers and never worn for years in my suitcase and discarded my shabby and horrible, though comfortable, pajamas. I was going to spend two weeks with a stallion, son of the gods: the last thing he expected me to wear was a pair of cartoon pajamas.

  When I lay down and closed my eyes, I realized that I was getting myself into trouble. I knew that my whole life would change the next day, starting with the fact that Damian would act as if he was really my fiancée and my future husband. Although I was aware that it would all be an illusion, I was determined to play my part in the best possible way and I was going to live it so intensely that, if I suffered from the consequences, I would take responsibility for it.

  The distant sound of the phone ringing made me open my eyes and, without seeing clearly, I managed to reach for the damned device to turn it off. It began to ring again and I realized that it was not the alarm but a call. I swiped my finger across the screen to answer.

  "Yes?" I moaned still half asleep.

  "Good morning, my beautiful and charming fiancée. Time to wake up." The tone of that soft voice caressed my ears and made my heart beat faster.

  "Damian?" I asked, opening my eyes and moving the phone away to check on the screen if it was actually him who uttered those sweet words.

  "In person, honey. I'll come to pick you up in an hour," he said and hung up.

  As he said the night before, he would do what he had promised to the letter. I was about to lose my mind just because he called me honey.

  "My God! Please, don't make me fall madly in love with this man !" I begged before getting into the shower.

  Apparently for Damian Devoir an hour was not made of sixty minutes since at 7:42 a.m. my phone started ringing again, although his previous call ended at 6:49 a.m. Seven minutes could seem little to some, but to me it was the difference between having both eyes perfectly made up instead of just one, between wearing perfume and smelling like a chimpanzee, between brushing my teeth thoroughly and having to chew a whole pack of chewing gum so as not to asphyxiate anyone I spoke to. Seven minutes made a difference between my dignity and shame.

  "Good morning, honey! I'm downstairs," he said as soon as I answered the phone.

  Really? You didn't have to say it, I could figure it out myself.

  "You said in an hour and there are still seven minutes left," I replied without even saying a simple "good morning", while I was outlining the second eye, but the fact that Damian was waiting for me downstairs didn’t make it any easier.

  "I came a little earlier to help you carry the suitcases downstairs. Can I come up?" he asked as if he wasn't bothered by my attitude.

  I looked around my room and saw the unmade bed and my clothes scattered everywhere. It was a disaster.

  "It’s not necessary!" I shouted, thinking at that moment how I could have left my room in that state.

  Probably because you pulled everything out of the wardrobe to check what to bring and you forgot to put it back, because you were tired.

  "Okay, honey. I'll wait for you downstairs," he answered before hanging up.

  I brushed my teeth thoroughly in exactly two minutes, wondering if he would kiss me since I was now theoretically his fiancée. So I brushed them a little longer. I took the perfume from my room to spray some on my neck and the top of my hair as I always did, but this time I sprayed a little more on my décolleté, before putting it in my bag and pushing the suitcases towards the hall.

  "Nerea, I'm going out!" I yelled in the hall where she stumbled out of her room half asleep. "You are not working today?" I asked surprised.

  "No, I asked for a day off because I have some errands to run and I'll take the opportunity to go for some routine medical checkups. Won't I see you for two weeks?" she asked opening her arms as she approached me with crazy hair.

  The situation was absurd because I wasn’t really going on a trip, I wasn’t leaving the city, and I wasn’t even moving. So I didn’t feel like saying goodbye either.

  "Maybe I'll come one of these afternoons to get some clothes or to get away from my fiancée," I replied with a smile, "but I'll call you first if I do, okay? So you can take advantage of these two weeks to be alone with Mathews."

  "Thank you, Maria," she whispered, squeezing me in her arms, when we heard someone honking.

  "I’d better get going or half the city will collapse," I said before separating from Nerea and pushing the two suitcases, one large and one small, towards the elevator.

  As I walked out of the building, I saw Adonis leaning on the body of his brand new car, as if he was not in a hurry, as if he could spend his whole life there waiting for me. I realized that it wasn’t him who honked, since his car was parked in a regular way.

  "Are you going to stand there and stare at me all day long instead of helping me?" I said sarcastically, pushing the two suitcases with my feet, carrying my handbag filled with everything I had found on my way, my gym bag and the sunglasses on my head that were about to fall.

  "Sorry," he replied, joining me. "I was just admiring how incredibly beautiful my bride-to-be is," he said so promptly that my heart thumped.

  Good God! What should I answer him?

  Let’s see, Maria: breathe, count to three and think about what you would do if he was really your fiancée.

  Blank mind.

  You can go to hell, fucking neurons! For once I need a decent answer!

  "So incredibly beautiful that you see me loaded like a mule and don't even flinch," I answered ironically.

  "Look how you manage to cloud my judgment, honey," he said so calmly that he left me speechless again. I looked up to contemplate his dark brown eyes that revealed one thousand and one nights of burning desire.

  He relieved me of the weight of my gym bag and handbag and put his arm around my waist and drew me near him. His face approached mine closer and closer until his lips delicately brushed mine and I involuntarily closed my eyes because of the wave of pleasure.

  "We'll be late," I whispered as he parted his lips from mine.

  "I don't care about anything as long as I'm with you," he whispered before approaching again to blend our mouths into a kiss so impetuous that I instinctively hugged him.

  "Get a room!" yelled Nerea. We abruptly moved apart and looked up. My friend was looking down from the window waving and smiling at us. I wanted to make her disappear at that moment. I wondered why I was making things easier for her so she could have sex with her boyfriend, while I was making my life more complicated.

  "We'd better get going before we get a public indecency complaint," said Damian in a low voice, nuzzling my neck. He walked away with a conspiratorial smile on his lips, loaded with my luggage.

  "I could tell the same thing, my friend!" I yelled to Nerea so that she could hear me clearly. I only heard her laughter coming from the sec
ond floor before she hurriedly hid and closed the window.

  "Is she your neighbour?" asked Damian.

  "My flatmate and friend," I replied, opening the door to get into the car.

  "Then I have to meet her. Maybe we can arrange a dinner together one of these days," he said as he got into the car and started the engine to join the city traffic.

  For the first time I wasn't driving to work and it seemed strange to me. I felt idle, as if I wasn't making the most of my time. Then I remembered that my planner was still in my car.

  "You did it on purpose, right?" I asked while he was searching for a radio station with some good music.

  "What, honey?" he said so naturally that it made me think he had been addressing me like that for a lifetime.

  "Preventing me from taking my planner," I simply answered, "so I won't have it all day long."

  "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. I knew he was lying.

  "Damian Devoir, you know exactly what I'm talking about!" I exclaimed with my index finger up.

  "All right!" he answered raising his hands. "I admit it. I want you only for myself and I know that you wouldn't allow it with that planner around."

  I did not understand his intentions.

  "What does that mean?" I asked confused.

  "It means that I want you all for myself," he clarified. He took my hand and brought it to his lips to kiss. "Is that so hard to understand?"

  At that moment I had to look away to avoid melting completely. I could not fully identify with that role, I didn’t want to let myself go completely because I already knew what would happen: I would madly fall in love with him and not get over it even in a hundred years. But it was so difficult because of his behaviour, and it was extremely tempting to get carried away and to live in the moment.

  "I understand that you may want me all for yourself," I replied feeling our fingers intertwined, "but I don't know what my planner has to do with all this."

  "I think you know perfectly well," he said as we entered the underground parking lot of the Espacio Tower. "You cannot loosen up when you have it."

  I knew that arguing about it would be useless and unnerving. Maybe he believed he was right, but for me it meant just one thing: control. I had never liked to waste time, I thought it was foolish, but I had to admit that I had missed an infinity of things because that desire to control everything eventually consumed me. Although it was true that in the last few weeks I somehow felt lost, I managed not to make lists. I let myself be carried away by the situation and had a lot of fun. Maybe he was right, but I was not going to give up my yearning for control so easily.

  "What time will your mother come to dinner?" I asked changing the topic in the elevator. Damian had his arm around my waist, as if he was afraid I was going to run away.

  "Around nine," he answered casually. "Apparently my father is coming too, strange as it may seem. He's in town and decided to invite himself as well."

  The owner of that empire? Holy Virgin! The chef would better to be good or I would infest his mattress with bedbugs.

  "Well, then I guess I won't see you until tonight," I said as I saw that the floor we were heading to was the one below my office.

  "Don't even think of getting rid of me so soon, honey," he whispered. As the doors opened, he pushed me to go out with him. I saw the slender figure of my secretary walking towards us, and I noticed her embarrassed expression when she saw how Damian was holding me firmly.

  "Good morning, Mr. Devoir. Miss Acosta," she greeted formally.

  "Good morning, Ingrid," I smiled pretending that everything was okay.

  "Ingrid," Damian said, "I want you to call my secretary to synchronize my schedule with that of my fiancée here for the next two weeks."

  "Yes, sure, Mr. Devoir," said poor Ingrid, completely shocked. "Congratulations on your engagement," she added looking at us both. I smiled not knowing where the hell to hide myself.

  "Thanks, Ingrid. Also, please remind Miss Acosta that I’ll be waiting for her in the cafeteria at eleven o'clock, since it is my fault that she doesn’t have her planner today," Damian said without any discretion, as if to reveal that I was unable to remember an appointment. Although, to be fair, perhaps he knew me well enough to think that I would definitely forget about it not having written it down in my planner.

  "Of course, Mr. Devoir," my secretary replied with a smile.

  To my bewilderment, Damian turned to me and right there, in front of everyone present, including my secretary in the foreground, put his free hand on the back of my neck, leaned forward to get to my height and gave me one of those romantic movie kisses. I heard my secretary gasp.

  "Don't even think about taking that ring off, honey," he whispered close to my ear. "I want you to keep in mind that one day you’re going to marry me."

  Then without giving me a chance to reply and leaving me with the risk of a heart attack, he went away, as his words kept echoing in my mind.

  Chapter XVI

  I was sitting in my office in front of the blank computer screen, still bewildered by the echo of his words in my mind. I repeated to myself that it was only an illusion, that Damian was playing a role and that I could not afford the luxury of surrendering myself to fantasy.

  Two knocks on the door made me jump and brought me back to reality.

  "Work, Maria," I whispered to myself. "You're at work, and if you don't want to be kicked out after two weeks, you'd better start wiggling your ass and make your little brain work."

  I turned on the computer and scattered some papers on the desk to pretend I was focused on something important.

  "Come in!" I said as soon as I was ready to receive whoever it was.

  "Excuse me, Maria, it has just arrived for you," said Ingrid, handing me a big bouquet of violets.

  "Who sent it?" I asked surprised.

  It was the first time that someone sent me flowers in my whole miserable life. Yes, that's how petty my ex-boyfriends were!

  "I guess your fiancée did," my secretary answered a bit dazed, making me feel like an idiot.

  Maria, focus and try to believe it, because he will behave like that for the next two weeks.

  "He didn't tell me anything," I said and tried to smile as if his gesture had enchanted me.

  I stood up and approached Ingrid to take the bouquet. As I smelled its scent I noticed a card of the same colour as the flowers. Despite the fact that Ingrid was still there, as if she was waiting to know who had sent it, I opened the card and read it.

  "Is it from Mr. Devoir?" Ingrid asked, a little impatient to receive an answer.

  "Yes, from him," I said smiling.

  "Now I understand why you asked me about his mother. I guess you want to make a good impression on her. In a couple of hours you will have what you asked for on your desk," she replied winking at me and left the office.

  Thank God she didn't hate me because I was going to marry a model. Soon all the other women that worked here would.

  Damian was handsome, rich, and one of the owners of the company. Therefore it would be better to buy me an amulet against the evil eye because, as soon as our relationship was official, bad vibes would rain down on me.

  I put the bouquet in a jar that I used as a pen holder. I asked Ingrid to bring me some water to keep it fresh longer. I took the card to read it again. I was surprised it was handwritten. Although I didn't know if the handwriting was his or from whoever had received the assignment, I devoured the content of that card again.

  "I still don't know so many things about you.

  For example, I don't know what your favorite flowers are.

  So I'll give you a different bouquet every day until I find it out.

  I'm dying to see you again.

  Your fiancée, Damian Devoir."

  That man knew how to conquer a woman! I didn’t understand why he was doing all this, but one thing I could not deny: I liked it or better, I loved it. The fact that he was so detail-oriented and so att
entive, made it incomprehensible that he was still single. In what world would such a man be still available? A woman had to be blind or a lesbian not to fall at his feet. That led me to the conclusion that he was not over that busty giraffe, Rebecca.

  "Damn witch!" I exclaimed, unintentionally kicking the hard drive under the desk. I hoped no one had heard me.

  I decided to put aside all those thoughts, doubts and anything that referred to Damian Devoir. I would have time to go hysterical ten minutes before the happy dinner where I would meet his parents.

  As she promised to my supposed fiancée, Ingrid showed up in my office at ten to eleven to remind me of the appointment in the cafeteria. I was so busy with the reports that I didn't even notice how fast those hours had gone by.

  As I entered the cafeteria, I saw that Damian was with a few executives, judging by their impeccable suits and the relaxed way in which they were talking. I hesitated for a moment, thinking about whether to approach them or not, but just when I was about to turn around and leave, Damian called out for me and I had no choice but to go towards that group full of testosterone and sly smiles.

  "Were you thinking of running away from me?" he whispered, after taking a couple of steps forward from the group, so that no one else could hear him.

  "I thought you were busy," I whispered too.

  "They are here because they want to meet you," he replied placing his hand on my back to introduce me to the group. "This is Maria Acosta, my fiancée. She's the new Key Account Manager."

  To my amazement they didn't seem surprised. I thought they would look stupefied, since I didn't fit in with what the future wife of a Devoir was supposed to be: blonde, tall and busty, in short, like the giraffe. On the contrary, I heard some exclamations of joy and congratulations from them.

  Could I really fit in as Damian's fiancée? I was sure no one would buy that story. I expected people to look down on me making me feel insignificant next to that cover guy.

  Just an hour before the end of the work day of that Friday, Ingrid gave me a report in a dark folder so as not to reveal its contents. I knew what it was and just nodded to her without showing any particular interest. As soon as she went away, I opened it and eagerly devoured it, as if it were a treasure map.