by Jade White
Part of her wanted to just go downstairs right now naked and have a bowl of cereal with fresh fruit cut up in it, but she knew it was probably a bad idea to get a reputation in the neighborhood already for being the house with the sexy nudist. So, she walked to her wardrobe and pulled out a pair of yoga pants and a simple shirt. She covered up the best she could right now and opened her door, walking down the hallway silently.
Will’s door was already open, probably because he was already on his way to do something incredibly romantic, like build an exact copy of the Eiffel Tower for her. However, Mike’s door was closed, as it always was, and she couldn’t help but sneak up to it and gently press her ear against it. She knew it was a dangerous game she was playing, but she was more than willing to play it. She wanted to see Mike and she wanted to at least kiss him and thank him for the wonderful night. As she stood outside the door, she wondered if he was thinking about her right now or touching himself while he thought about her. She knew she definitely had last night in the shower. She wanted him in there, touching her while she was trying to cleanse herself of the dirty, wonderful, sensual time that she had experienced with him.
Realizing that waiting for him outside his door and pining for him wasn’t going to do her any good, she headed down the stairs and glanced back one last time at his closed door and felt her heart sag with her shoulders. She missed him and she wanted him to come out and play. Where was he right now?
Halfway down the stairs, she realized she was struck by some incredible smell she had not noticed until this moment, but it was now impossible for her to miss it. As she took the steps slowly, she wondered what it was that Will had done for her. Wait, why did it have to be Will? Maybe Mike got up early and made breakfast. That was something he could totally do. She didn’t want to keep picking favorites when it came to them. She could make an objective decision.
Maybe.
At the bottom of the stairs, she looked at the dining room table where she had been ravaged and taken for everything she was worth. It was different now, covered in a plate with muffins that looked like they were banana nut and poppy seed muffins. She smiled at the sight of a fresh fruit salad waiting for her next to a clear pitcher of juice that looked as inviting as anything she had ever seen before. She grinned at the sight of it and walked into the kitchen, wondering who had done this for her.
She realized she probably shouldn’t have been surprised at the sight of Will quickly making mini quiches and pushing them into the oven. The place looked as immaculate as it had been before he’d come in here and started cooking up a storm. He was one of those amazing people who had the ability to clean and cook at the same time, a skill that was lost on Oksana. She was a miserable cook and she was okay at cleaning, but there was no way she could ever do both of them at the same time.
“Good morning,” he called to her with a familiar, friendly voice that she fondly remembered from the day before.
He had a bubbly personality. He was also the kind of man who fought to the bitter end and kept on fighting until there was nothing left to give. As she looked at him, he looked up and smiled at her, his bright eyes brimming with hope and wonder. She realized there was probably nothing inside of those eyes that could even begin to fathom what she’d been through last night and how much she had truly loved it.
From where he was sitting, it was a new day and that meant there was a new chance. His optimistic personality gave up a smile on his face that was truly tragic to her. There was no way she could easily do this to him. She couldn’t devastate and hurt him like this. There was no way she could be that cruel to him. Part of her wanted to tell him there was no hope and put a bullet in him to let it die as quickly as possible, but that was something he would never accept.
Will was going to forge ahead and grit against the pain until there was truly no hope left and that would only come at the end of the night when there was nothing left to say but that she’d had a lovely time, but that she was probably going to go with Mike. That would be the final blow to him and that would be the most devastating moment in her life. He was too sweet of a man to do this to.
So, she decided to do the honorable thing and give the man a chance. Who was she to take that away from him? He deserved his valiant effort and she knew it would be fun, no matter what happened. She would be able to look back on this day and say there were at least a few experiences she had taken away and would remember fondly. Plus, she didn’t want to lose him over this. She liked Will and saw them being very good friends for the rest of their lives. She knew she would love to have movie nights with him or go out on the town with him and Mike both. She just knew if she killed his hopes now, there would be no way of ever getting that moment in the future with him and the thought of it killed her. So she was going to give him every opportunity that he deserved.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said with a beaming smile.
She met his smile and nodded eagerly. Truthfully, she was starving. The only thing she had in her system right now was Mike, some vodka cocktails, and a mouthful of water from the shower she’d accidentally swallowed. She looked at him and walked toward the table. It all looked so incredible that she wasn’t sure where to start.
“I was hoping that the late night would keep you in bed a little longer,” Will said with a friendly cheerfulness in his voice.
She blamed her inability to sleep on the jet lag. It had been torture for her to get back on the right schedule since she’d landed. She’d tried to adapt herself to the change in Ukraine, but it was next to impossible. The time differences were so insanely different.
“Couldn’t sleep,” she said as she sat down and grabbed one of the warm muffins. They were hot and fresh, that much she could tell. She liked the feeling of them, so fluffy and warm. “Is Mike here?” she asked, trying to be nonchalant about it.
Whether he was jealous about the question or not, Will didn’t show it. In fact, he just checked the quiches and shook his head. “He left this morning,” Will said.
She was glad his back was turned to her because she could feel her whole body slump for a moment before she adjusted and corrected her posture. She was fine, a perfect façade, when he turned back around and looked at her.
“Yesterday, Mike could've had the whole day with you, but he only wanted the night. Apparently, he had a pretty great night last night. He was all smiles and grins when he left. Gave me a bit of a tease too before he headed out. I got worried for a minute.”
“Did you?” she asked him, finding that odd.
If he was worried about all of this, then what was keeping him going? What was the little snowflake inside of him that was going to build to an enormous avalanche? She smiled at the sight of him and was truly impressed by his willingness to persevere, even when the going was definitely going to get rough.
“Oh yeah,” Will said with a heavy sigh. It was like there was a burden on his heart that he couldn’t quite get a grip on. She looked at him and then saw he was great at either overcoming it or stuffing it deep, deep down inside of himself. She liked that about him, either way. “But, I think that I’ve got him beat and I’m sure of it.”
“Really?” Oksana asked, genuinely surprised by that. “What’s the plan then?”
“Well,” Will said, joining her at the dining room table he was clearly oblivious about being soiled and marked by their ferocious sexual experience last night.
She watched him as he sat across from her, staring at her with such intensity and such love that she truly felt unworthy of it. It was unnerving to see someone that infatuated with her, that truly blown away by her. She felt like she was genuinely an angel in his presence. It made her nervous and it made her feel like she was inevitably going to be a major disappointment.
“You’re just going to have to come along and find out along the way.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she said with a smile as she bit into her muffin.
Everything was perfect for breakfast and there wasn’t a thin
g she would want to change about it. As she looked at him, she noticed he was enjoying the moment more than she had ever seen anyone enjoying a single moment in her entire life. There was something magical about the presence he brought to everything, an injection of life and lighthearted fun. She laughed and joked with him, listening to his stories he told. She found she was learning a ton from him just over breakfast, but it wasn’t like it was a checklist or that there were things that she was missing from it. In fact, all she could think of was that she wanted to know more and more about him.
Like, the fact that he had gone to India in his youth and walked all the way to France before getting enough money together to head back to America. She would never have guessed that about him. The fact that he had done it alone as well, with only himself to put his trust in was amazing, too. To her surprise, she was confused by the confession that he never told this much to other women before. He told her he was more of a listener, but with her, he felt like talking all the time. She laughed at that. God, she loved listening to his stories and his conversations were always full of humor and depth. It was like she was constantly finding out more about him and more about herself along the way.
But, breakfast eventually ended and they loaded up into his car. He took her out of the house and she felt the twitch of excitement inside of her that she hadn’t felt when she was with Mike. This was actually going to be an exciting and adventurous time with him. He was some kind of wizard, that much she was certain of, because he could make her feel enchanted anywhere they went. All along the way, they talked and he would tell her about the city of San Francisco. When she would say that she wanted to go somewhere or to see something in the city, he promised they would go, and soon. He told her about other places she should visit and put on her list, whether he was with her or not. There was that selfless flavor through everything he said and she loved it.
Eventually, they came to a store that seemed to be their final destination. As she hopped out of the car and looked at the business, she was thrilled to see it was a bicycle shop. She walked across the sidewalk and looked in the window at the dozens of different models of bicycles and styles that she’d never even seen before. It was all so magnificent and exciting that she couldn’t help but laugh in wonder as Will stuffed his hands in his pockets and blushed at her enjoyment. She hugged him and laughed.
“I’ve always wanted a cute bicycle,” she told him. “I was thinking that I should get one until I can actually go get my driver’s license.”
“Well, then you’re in luck,” he said with a grin on his lips. “You get to pick from any of the bicycles in there and it’s yours. I know the owner and I did some work for him a few years ago.”
“What kind of work?” she asked him, thinking that this was the most suspicious thing Will had ever said around her.
“Computer work,” he said with a shrug. “I updated his system at home and for his business. It saved him five to ten thousand dollars, so I’ve been holding out on this favor until the right moment. I think that right now is definitely the right moment.”
She turned around and looked at Will. He was getting her a gift on their first date and it wasn’t flowers or chocolates. She loved that. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. She was glad she wore the one sundress she owned and not something clumsy or clunky. As they walked into the shop, she couldn’t help but feel like a child in a candy shop. They spent hours walking past bike after bike, looking at what made them better and what made them different from all the other bikes that were in the area.
Eventually, she found the bike she wanted. It was an older looking style, but it was made that year, freshly painted in the cutest pink she had ever seen and it screamed her name. Even Will agreed this was the bike for her. When the owner got it down, she walked it out onto the sidewalk and sat on the seat, smiling at the feeling of it underneath her. She wanted to go take it for a ride.
“I can’t believe you got this for me,” she said, looking at him somberly for a moment, knowing that as great as this was, it wasn’t going to sway her mind from Mike. She leaned in and kissed him again, but this time, she pressed her lips to his and tenderly held them there. “Thank you so much,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome,” he exhaled, his breath fluttering and full of life. “Let me grab my bag out of the car and I’ll borrow one of the bikes they have here for the day.”
“We’re going bike riding?” she asked, feeling like she was impossibly excited for this.
It was something she almost felt mildly ashamed of being so excited for, but as Will grabbed a duffel bag out of his car and slung it over his back, they headed down the road and he continued his tour of the beautiful world that was San Francisco. She loved everything he knew about the city and it was obvious he was as much in love with this place as it was worthy of being loved. She marveled at it and all the wonders it offered them. She could spend her entire life in this city and she was willing to do whatever he wanted to keep exploring the city.
They stopped and tasted ice cream, enjoyed an IPA from a local brewery, got a bit of lunch from a food truck, and eventually, they ended up in a park where she was certain the world was truly born from this Garden of Eden. There was something about it that just captivated her and made her believe that there was truly magic in the world. How could she not when she was sitting here, looking at all of this beauty? She noticed it was next to something that looked like a great outdoor theater and her heart began to grow with anticipation as he set down the duffel bag and slowly began to unpack it.
There was a checkered blanket, a picnic basket, and even candles he had brought for them. They sat down in the shade of a tree and watched as people slowly began to arrive and sit on the lawn in front of them, spreading out their own blankets and taking up much of the space, but they were all far enough apart that they could actually have some privacy while they waited for the show.
It was hard for her to follow the play and after an hour of talking with Will, and whispering while they giggled about jokes he told, she couldn’t help but feel like she didn’t care about any of this anymore. In fact, all she really cared about was Will. She looked at him and couldn’t help but stare at his charming face. When he was outside of his work uniform, he was actually quite handsome. His style needed some help, but that was something anyone could learn. If that was his biggest fault then she was in the clear. She didn’t need to worry about him or anything else as she looked ahead at what this might be like.
It was in that moment that she really saw the difference between Mike and Will. As far as longevity was concerned, she saw herself being much happier with Will. There was a passion and an animal quality Mike had, but that was something she knew wouldn’t last. Eventually, they would stagnate and sure, the sex would probably still be great, but there would be no true adventure there. Sure, Will was tame compared to Mike, but this was just as adventurous to her. She enjoyed an evening eating spreads on baguettes and watching Shakespeare in the park as much has she loved dancing. She knew she could easily teach Will the love and wonder of dancing and the key to it was just not to care about what other people thought about you. She knew that in no time, Will would be a fun dancing partner and that there was a future in that.
The only thing that bothered her was that she was fairly certain that if Will was not a virgin, then he definitely hadn’t been out of the virgin world very often. He had the look and carried himself with such reverence toward her that seemed so unfounded and so unreal that he was almost on the line of being intimidated by her. That was something she wasn’t excited about. That was something that made her very nervous.
As much as she hated to confess to it, she was a lover of sex and everything she did for her body and her personality was built to ensure she had a fantastic time fucking someone and that was where Will was definitely scaring her. In fact, she was wondering if tonight he was going to bother trying to have sex with her at all. She looked at him as he watched the play and he tur
ned to look at her, smiling sweetly at her. She was attracted to him and she was more than willing to go for it, but she was worried he wasn’t. She was worried there was something inside of him that was going to convince him that the noble or chivalrous thing to do would be to part ways with a kiss and a handshake, or something ridiculous along those lines.
She smiled back at him and knew she wasn’t going to let him off that easily.
They headed back after the play was over and the sun was sinking into the bay. She found herself sad this was going to be where they called it the end of the night. She wanted to go out dancing or go get a drink with him. She wanted to sit in some dark, dimly lit place and listen to more of his fascinating stories. She wanted to know more about him and she wanted a chance to flirt more with him. She was too captivated by his personality and not enough by his flirting. Maybe that was the rub. The fact was that Will didn’t seem to really flirt.
He was a like a well trained army, conquering with the sheer power of his personality and not needing the playful tactics of flirting to make people love him. She wasn’t sure if that saddened her or if she found that hotter. Either way, when they made it back to the bike shop, they left them with the owner who would have the bike delivered later and hopped into the car. She sat down next to him and felt a bit of sadness inside of her. She wondered if he was going to pull the same stupid trick that Mike had last night and just let her go to bed by herself. Heck, she would take a quiet evening, sitting in bed together, talking about life over just going there alone. She was more into fucking him until the sun came up, but she was willing to take company in any form that she could. In fact, she could genuinely see herself enjoying sitting up with him all night long, talking until they passed out in each other’s arms.
“Will,” she said as he pulled out from their parking spot and into the softly flowing traffic. “Have you ever had sex before?” she asked him.
She could see him blush immediately and she liked that response, at least it was genuine and honest. He didn’t have to say anything and there was nothing for him to be ashamed of. There were plenty of people who went through life and never had a chance to have sex until the moment presented itself. There were all kinds of shy people, but Will didn’t seem shy. He seemed like he was a victim of picking the wrong people and just ending up getting hurt and abused by them. That was something that she could understand and that she could respect.
