CHAPTER 4
Audrey
I enter the changing cabin at the Széchenyi Thermal Bath. It’s incredibly European, and incredibly elegant. I’m expecting something like the YMCA, and I get something that looks like it’s out of a movie set.
I’m not used to this architecture and way of life. I live in the suburbs of a town that’s already small. Most homes are cookie cutter versions of the one next to it. Not here. I’ve only been in Europe a few hours, but I am really enjoying the scenery and the way of life.
But life’s about to take a drastic turn when Tamás seems me in my swimsuit.
I lay out two bikinis inside the changing cabin. Fire engine red and white. The red was to attract attention. I’ve never worn it before, but I was thinking I could try it out here in Europe. When I bought it I imagined I was more outgoing and popular, and even if I weren’t the suit would almost force me to be so.
As much as my life back home was okay, I was excited to step out of my normal way of doing things and grow as a person. A red swimsuit was just the trick…just not with swollen ankles and fingers from half a day at thirty thousand feet.
I reached for the white and got dressed.
“Come on! Two hot guys just walked by,” Tina says.
I can tell her mouth is pressed to the crack in the door. At least she is being a little discreet.
But I’m not here to meet guys. I’m here to unwind from my travels, and to take in the sight of one man in particular. Tamás.
Tina said he was just going to drop us off, but apparently he had a change of plans. He mentioned something about soaking those big, strong muscles of his after a tough workout earlier this morning. My mind quickly translated it into man candy, and hopefully more.
As sexy as Tamás was, I was even more attracted to his intelligence. Guys that workout and look good are a dime a dozen in bigger cities, not that I’d lived in any, but I planned to once I graduated. Men with minds were another story altogether.
I had never really thought about being with a man. It wasn’t my thing, but then again I was quickly realizing this was the summer to find out just what my thing was. Right now my thing was definitely Tamás.
We step out into the thermal bath. My whirlwind experience of feeling like a princess continues, so much so that I literally pinch myself to make sure this is real.
I’m staying in a castle, and now I’m at a beautiful bright yellow outdoor thermal bath surrounded by well-mannered people. Of course that was the icing on the cake. The cake is the man leaning back against the side with his arms up on the edge of the bath that supplies over one and a half million gallons of hot water a day.
I dip in my toe. As hot as the water is, Tamás is hotter.
“Ready?” Tina says, walking in like a pro.
I follow her over to her dad, who’s got on sunglasses, but it’s clear he’s watching us come his direction. I step out from behind Tina to confirm my suspicions…yep, he’s not watching us. He’s watching me.
“It’s beautiful here,” I say.
“Not as beautiful as you two girls,” he says.
“Thanks dad! I love the suit you got me,” Tina says.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
I hadn’t noticed, but Tina’s wearing a suit from a top designer. I can see the interlocking G’s and know it’s a Gucci. They’re in a shade of color similar to the suit, so it’s very subtle and understated, not tacky at all. I suddenly feel even more self-conscious about my Target $9.99 two-piece close out special from last fall. It wasn’t the perfect size then, and my girls are reminding me of it now. I’ve got a little too much sideboob going on, and notice that Tamás’ ever present furrowed brow has relaxed and he’s almost smiling.
“People must be wondering how this old man is with the two classiest and gorgeous girls in the entire place,” he says.
“Mister Buda,” I say.
“Audrey, how long have we known each other? Please, call me Tamás.”
“Okay, Tamás, I appreciate your words, but come on…there are a lot of pretty girls here. This place is full of backpackers from all over the world. Beautiful young girls from Australia to America. Dubai to Dublin. Germany to Great Britain. Canada to Cambodia.”
“You do know you already have the job, right?”
I wrinkle my brow. I don’t get what he’s saying. “Sorry?”
“Great job with the iteration there, but you’re already hired. The try out period is over.”
I laugh and gently splash some water in his direction.
“Of course, splashing the boss can get you in a lot of hot water.”
“Aren’t I already in a lot of hot water?” I ask, feeling good about my double entendre.
“You’re going to have some stiff competition this summer, Tina,” he says.
“Tina? We’re friends.”
“All is fair in business.”
“I thought that was love and war.”
“Well, I definitely found out first hand that’s true.”
I consider asking him exactly what he meant by that remark, but don’t want to spoil a nice afternoon.
“Dad didn’t tell you?” Tina asks.
“Tell me what?”
“Our cubicles are right next to each other. We’re going to be working on campaigns together.”
“I thought you were going to Asia in a week.”
“Not anymore. When I heard you were coming I cancelled. I can’t wait to catch up, just like when we were little girls.”
“Just like when we were little girls,” I say with a smile. The one big difference being I didn’t look at her father the same way back then.
“See this old fella over here?” Tamás says motioning with his head toward the man next to us.
“Yeah,” we both say in unison.
“One of the top chess players in Hungary. We’ve got the next game against him.”
“Us?” Tina asks.
“It will take the three of us to beat him.”
“What if he doesn’t beat the guy he’s playing now?” Tina glances at the waterproof chessboard, which is sitting on an elevated surface in the water. “It looks like he’s losing.”
“It’s a classic trap. This game will be over in two minutes. The other guy doesn’t even know what he walked into.”
“Checkmate,” I hear from one of the spectators standing next to the older gentleman.
“Make that two seconds,” Tamás says.
“Hey!” Tina yells, as she waves her hands in the air. “Be right back,” she says as she moves toward the steps quickly, trying to catch the attention of some boys.
“Is that her boyfriend?” I ask.
“She doesn’t have one. At least one that I know of,” Tamás says.
“Oh.”
“But it certainly looks like she’s interested, doesn’t it?”
I don’t want to sell out my friend to her dad, so I go the politically correct route, “You never know.”
“What I do know is we’re up next. Ever play chess before?”
“A few times, but it’s been a really long time.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll do it together.”
The older man says something in Hungarian and Tamás reaches across the chessboard and shakes his hand. I have no idea what they’re saying, but I do recognize the man is calling Tamás by his name, and Tamás didn’t give him his name just now. They must be acquainted already.
“He said, who’s my next victim,” Thomas says to me.
“I laugh.”
“Does he speak English?”
“Hard to tell.”
I ponder his words. “I don’t get it.”
“You saw that trap he walked that last guy into?”
“Not exactly, but yes.”
“He’s been waking people into traps for years. Never any harm, just more for his own personal laughs. It keeps him sharp.”
“But what does that have to do with what languages he knows?”
“He claims he doesn’t know English, but you can never be sure with this guy.”
I laugh. “Really?”
“Really. It’s one of the reasons I like saying hello when I come here. He’s a sharp old guy, pretending not to be. He’s understated, not trying to impress anyone. He keeps me on my toes at all times.”
The man says something in Hungarian to Tamás. Tamás replies with a “thank you” in Hungarian. It’s one of the words I picked up in the days I practiced the language before coming over.
“He says we look good together,” Tamás says to me.
Does this guy think we’re together? I look at Tamás and then down at myself. I can see my body language is giving me away. I hadn’t even noticed it, but I’m playing with the ends of my hair and I’ve got my body opened up to him, and him to me. I turn slightly, trying not to be so obvious. “Can I ask what you replied?”
“I said, because we’re standing next to you.”
A laugh erupts from my stomach and my worst nightmare becomes a reality when I snort. Fortunately Tamás and the gentleman pay it no mind and the game begins.
The other man moves his pieces so quickly that it is intimidating me, and to make matters worse Tamás is standing just behind me, watching over my shoulder.
I reach for my pawn to make my first move, sliding it forward. Before my hand has a chance to release the piece it is gently engulfed by Tamás’s massive hand.
The water is warm, but my blood runs warmer the minute I feel his fingertips cover my hand. I look down and see just how big his hands really are. Big and strong, but gentle with me at the same time.
“May I make a suggestion?” he says.
I suggest the two of us go back to the changing cabin and you can make me a pawn in your own game.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“There are no wrong moves, just learning experiences.”
“I like your positivity, but judging by the speed and leopard like precision with which your hand was quickly on top of mine, I’m guessing I was about to experience a…learning experience.”
“Let’s just say, there are other, more unconventional ways we can take this.”
Unconventional like how quickly your childhood best friend’s dad is making you question how you’re going to be able to restrain yourself all summer living in his house?
“I’m open to suggestion,” I say. And it’s not only on the chessboard that I’m referring to, but those washboard abs that are just inches from pressing against my back.
“Life, and business, have taught me that as much as one wants to just move forward, the reality is often two steps forward, and one step back.”
With his hand on top of mine, he slides the pawn back to its original position, before removing our hands together.
“We didn’t release our piece so we can choose another. Let’s try the white knight here, and go with that two steps forward approach.”
He guides my hand onto the white knight and lifts the piece up and over the pawn.
“But the best thing about chess, in comparison to life, is that we don’t have to lose time with that one step back. We can just go one step sideways,” he says, as he slides the piece one square to the side.
“Always forward thinking,” I say, as his fingers gently separate mine and he removes our hands from the piece. He brings my hand back to the edge of the table, and just when I think he’s about to set it down, he continues down under the water with our hands.
I feel his fingers move sideways slightly before finding the spaces in-between my fingers. He’s holding my hand!
I look over my shoulder and see no signs of Tina.
“She’ll go inside. There is a spa in there where she can be in peace with that boy.”
I’m frozen. I think about saying I should go check up on her, but I can’t deny how nice it feels standing here in this perfect temperature water with him holding my hand. This is moving so fast, and as much as I want it to move even faster the logical side of my brain is trying to outmaneuver the emotional side just as much as we’re in a back-and-forth struggle with the older gentleman on the other side of this chessboard.
The older man moves quickly, and hits the timer clock thingy signaling it’s our turn. Before I know it, Tamás has our hands on the next piece and we’re moving it into position. Then another. And another. We’re trading moves rapidly with the older man.
I can feel his competitiveness kicking in and as much as I prefer harmony in most circumstances, his aggression is turning me on. He strives for success in everything he does. The move is to the older man, as Tamás takes our hands back under the water.
The older man mumbles something and places his chin in his hand. He appears stuck, and judging by the rock hard organ I feel pressing into my backside I’m about to get stuck myself.
Tamás’ hand slides further down mine, my hand fitting in his palm. He takes our hands together and runs them along my thigh. Goosebumps cover my entire arms and legs. I’m staring straight ahead, but only thinking about what’s behind me.
He guides our hands to my side and back to my butt, turning our hands over so his knuckles glide across my behind. He’s teasing me, making me want him to touch it…to take a big handful of my butt and squeeze hard.
He’s reading my mind, because as he comes back across my cheeks he releases our grip and squeezes my ass hard. I come up on my tiptoes and feel my stomach tighten and my pussy clench. His hand is so big, his fingertips are just an inch away from my opening. I can feel the pressure in his fingertips. He didn’t get digits this strong from typing, that’s for sure.
With my ass in his hand he slowly applies pressure, turning me around to face him.
“I was set up!” the old man says in English. Tamás was right. The old man was holding secrets, but Tamás makes no secret how he feels about me when his hand pushes hard on my behind pressing my body into his as his lips come crashing down onto mine.