Wednesday
Alex
Our brainstorming session fruitless, I had planned what might be the most uninspiring date of all time.
I had no trouble remembering my way back to Emily’s flat. I ran up the stairs and knocked on the door. A woman with short black hair and a pixie face opened the door.
‘The infamous Alejandro,’ she said. She must be Emily’s flatmate.
‘Hi,’ was my reply.
‘I’m Rachel,’ she looked over her shoulder. ‘You better be nicer to her than the last guy. At least you’re better looking.’
Should I be glad that at least I have that going for me? I didn’t know whether I should read her as protective or just a little cold.
‘He’s here, Em,’ she called. ‘You can sit if you want,’ she nodded at a couch and then walked off down the hallway.
Emily appeared. ‘Hey,’ she said.
Wearing a leather skirt with a white shirt tucked in, short black boots and pink winter jacket she looked delectable. When she smiled I wanted to pick her up, carry her into her bedroom and have her right now. I wondered what her hostile housemate would think of that.
‘Hi,’ I said. ’Shall we go?’
I should have told her how amazing she looked.
‘Let’s go,’ she said.
I was terrible at this stuff.
Wednesday
Emily
The floor was concrete, and the walls were the same colour. Industrial lights hung from the ceiling. It was busy and not being far from home I had walked past before.
‘Kind of dreary, isn’t it?’ said Alex, agreeing with my thoughts. ‘But, they have Chilean wine here. You’ve got to try it.’
We sat at a small table down the back. ‘They make wine in Chile?’
‘Of course. It’s the best in the world. Anyway, you mentioned we had never finished a drink together. So now we can.’
‘Okay,’ I nodded.
I picked up the wine list. It was pretty long. ‘You want to pick something from Chile for me then?’
‘I thought you’d never ask.’ Grabbing the attention of the nearest waiter, he ordered wine for both of us.
He ordered with confidence, as if he knew exactly what he was talking about. I wasn’t sure if he actually did or not. Either way, it was good to listen to his voice.
‘So, what’s the plan tonight?’ I asked.
I’d left the whole evening up to him, at this insistence. Alex had instructed me to dress sharp and be ready at seven.
‘Oh, well I wanted us to have a whole drink together,’ as he spoke the waiter brought us each a glass of red wine.
‘Well, that’s achievable.’
‘Then I wanted to do something impressive. Something different. Something unforgettable. But I’m not that creative and I couldn’t come up with anything. So, instead, I found us a restaurant near here that is supposed to be good.’
‘That sounds like a good night to me,’ I said.
I took a sip of my wine. It tasted strong and full. Alex was watching for my reaction, so I smiled. ‘It’s good,’ I said.
‘Really?’ he asked. I nodded to confirm. His country was important to him, no doubt.
‘Tell me about Chile,’ I said.
‘What do you already know?’ he asked.
‘It’s long and skinny. Plus there’s Easter Island. That looks awesome. They make good wine there. Um… Pichonet, he was in charge for a while. That was a big deal, right?’
‘I’m impressed you know about the plebiscite,’ he said.
‘Only because I watched a movie about it.’
‘Yeah, I saw that movie too.’
‘I know a bit about Patagonia. I would love to go trekking there. It looks amazing.’
‘It is.’
‘You’ve been?’
‘Yes, I mean it’s not far from where I grew up,’ said Alex.
‘Where was that?’ I asked.
‘Near Pucón. It’s in the lake district. It’s a good place to start a hike from.’
‘What else should I know?’
He shrugged, ‘You should just visit. It’s a beautiful place.’
I looked to the table, noticing that our wine glasses were empty. ‘Hey, we made it.’
‘So we did,’ smiled Alex. ‘You want another?’
I shook my head, no.
‘You want dinner?’
‘Yep.’
‘You seem to love food.’
‘So do you,’ I countered.
‘Yes, then we are a good match,’ he said.
Emily
Alex led me by the hand into the restaurant. Inside, we waited to be seated. There were bare brick walls and polished timber floors that gave the whole place a modern feel. I had heard of the place, and the food was meant to be good.
‘You like Italian food?’
‘Of course,’ I said. Could you go wrong with Italian food?
A young waitress came over and greeted us, checked the booking and then showed us to our table. She only made eye contact with Alex the whole time. I couldn’t tell if she was sexist, or if she had the hots for him.
We sat down. A waiter came to leave menus, I was glad to see it was a different person. I asked for a champagne before he left.
‘You look pretty tonight,’ said Alex. ‘I should have told you before.’
‘Thanks,’ I said, not expecting the compliment. ‘You’re not bad either. I don’t think I’ve ever told you before at all.’
‘Not bad?’ he asked with a smile. ‘Is that all?’
Of course not, I thought. I could think of lots of things to say about him.
‘No. You look nice. Is that better?’
‘A little,’ he teased.
‘What would be the right thing to say then?’
‘Well,’ he leaned forward across the table. ‘I have a list of things I’d love you to say, but this is not the right place.’
I laughed. ‘I bet you do.’
I knew he liked dirty talk. I wondered what else there was I had yet to learn about him. I wondered how much I would even get the chance to learn.
The waiter brought two glasses of champagne to the table. I opened up the menu. Our table was down the back of the restaurant, in a quiet corner. I wondered if he’d asked for that.
‘What are you going to order?’ I asked.
Alex opened up the menu. ‘Gnocchi?’ he shrugged.
‘I didn’t see the Gnocchi,’ I opened up the menu again. ‘Where is it?’
He sighed and reached into his jacket pocket pulling out a pair of glasses.
‘You wear reading glasses?’ I asked.
He put them on, nodding, then opened up the menu again.
‘You didn’t want to tell me? That’s adorable.’
‘Adorable?’
‘Yes,’ I laughed.
He shrugged again. ‘Glasses annoy me. I have contacts. I don’t know where they are. Probably in London.’
‘How do you read sheet music?’
‘I don’t have to. I know it,’ he said.
He kept his eyes on the menu. His glasses were black rimmed and square shaped. Together with his stubble and messy hair gave a pretty positive effect overall.
‘You look good in them,’ I said. He smiled a little in return but didn’t look convinced.
‘Bad hand, bad eyes. I’m barely thirty and I’m falling apart.’
‘Hardly,’ I said. I wanted to hug him. But it was a big table. Instead, I reached over the table for his hand.
‘These tables are too big,’ he said.
‘I was thinking the same,’ I let go of his hand.
We both took a sip of our drinks.
‘Do you really have a list?’ I asked.
‘What?’
‘A list of things… dirty things to say.’
‘Oh. In my head, maybe,’ he looked up and smiled.
I nodded. I wondered what they were, and if they were worse than the things he’d said already. Or more of the same?
‘Are you guys ready to order?’ the waiter was back.
‘Sure,’ said Alex. We both ordered and the waiter left. Alex took his glasses off and put them in his pocket.
‘Tell me one of them,’ my cheeks flushed even as I said it.
‘From the list?’ he asked.
‘Yep,’ I said.
‘Now?’ he gave the smallest of smirks.
‘Just one. I want to know what you’re thinking.’
‘Okay,’ he glanced backwards to see who was in earshot.
‘I like it when you say you want my cock. Especially if you’re touching it at the same time.’
‘I’ve already said that one. I need a new one.’
‘You need it?’
I shrugged.
‘You’re blushing,’ he said.
‘I know.’
‘I like it,’ he said.
‘One more,’ I said.
‘Damn, you’re going to get me in trouble,’ he said, looking over his shoulder again. ‘We should do this later.’
‘I do really love your cock,’ I whispered, just loud enough so he would hear it but no one else would.
‘You’re dangerous,’ he said as he took another sip of his drink. ‘Really, I just want to take you home.’
As he spoke the words the waiter placed our meals in front of us at the table.
‘Madam, the carbonara?’
‘Thanks,’ I said, not looking up. The waiter left us. We both sat in silence for a moment. At the same moment, we both looked up and laughed.
‘I think he heard that,’ I said.
‘So, what’s your thing then? You know all my secrets,’ he said.
‘My thing?’ I twirled a piece of pasta on a fork.
He shrugged. ‘Your kink. What do you like?’
‘I don’t think I have one,’ I said honestly.
‘Everyone does. Everyone has something.’
I shrugged.
We both sat and ate for a few minutes. I actually searched my brain to see if there was anything. But there was nothing out of the ordinary in my sexual history. And there was no unexplored fantasy lurking either. Not that I was aware of.
‘Maybe I’ll find it then,’ he said.
‘I like it when you’re so out of control you don’t know what you’re saying,’ I said. ‘I can’t tell if you know you’re speaking in Spanish.’
He laughed, ‘I didn’t know I had done it more than once.’
I nodded. ‘It’s okay though, I like it.’
‘Good. I don’t know if I can stop that.’
‘You haven’t come up with anything for me to say to you,’ I said.
He paused and looked thoughtful. ‘Soy tuyo. That would be a thing I’d want to hear.’
Now I was the one with the smile on my face. I reached down into my handbag which sat on the floor, then pulled out my phone.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Alex.
‘I downloaded the Google translate app this morning.’ I unlocked my phone and then opened the app.
‘Oh, no!’ he said, ‘That’s cheating.’
‘Why?’
‘It kills the mystery!’ He said.
I sighed and put the phone down on the table. While it was a little hot to hear a man speak to you in Spanish, it also got a little frustrating after a while. ‘Tell me what it means then,’ I said.
‘Okay,’ he said. “Soy tuyo” means “I’m yours” That you would be mine.’
Taken aback, I slipped my phone back in my bag.
‘That was all? I had steeled myself for something dirty. Really dirty.’
He nodded. I sat silent for a moment.
‘That’s the thing you’d ask me to say?’ I asked.
‘Don’t say it,’ he answered quickly. ‘I want you to mean it.’
I’m yours. There was more than one context to that statement. It could be a declaration of love or one of submission. I wasn’t sure I was inclined to opt for either.
‘If you were mine, I’d love you and protect you. I’d satisfy you,’ he said.
‘Satisfy?’ I smirked.
He lowered his voice. ’I’d fuck you until you cried out. And I’d do it so properly and completely you’d never want any other man.’
Alex locked his eyes on mine. My stomach dropped and my pulse thumped in my throat. If what we’d done together so far wasn’t ‘properly and completely’ then I didn’t know what was.
‘That’s intense,’ I said, finally.
‘Good or bad?’
‘Good,’ I answered.
He leant forward, still looking me in the eyes. ‘Whenever I’m with you all I want to do is pick you up and carry you away somewhere, lick you, taste you and fuck you. Until you call out, until you say my name, until you’ll say that you’ll be mine. And then I want to watch you come and come inside of you and then I want to do it all again.’
As he said the words, my need for him opened up inside me like a familiar flower. I could still feel my own pulse, but now it was a beat that drummed through my entire body, compelling me.
‘I don’t even know what to say,’ I said.
‘You don’t have to say anything,’ he said. But he was watching my reaction. He licked his lips.
I looked into his eyes. I could read the lust on his face, and I guessed he could see the same in my expression.
‘The food will go cold,’ Alex said, motioning to the plate in front of me.
I lifted my fork, and put a piece of pasta in my mouth in a slow motion. I didn’t want food. I only wanted Alex. But it would be weird to say that, right? To leave food on the table, pay the bill and go home right now?
Across the table, Alex ate as slowly as I did. Instead, he let his eyes rest on me as if trying to decipher a phrase in a language he didn’t understand. He stopped and put his fork down on the table.
‘You’ve gone quiet,’ he said.
‘It’s okay. I just can’t find any words. Nothing is wrong.’
‘If you can’t find the words then try and start with a feeling.’
‘I guess all words start with a feeling,’ I said.
‘Or a need,’ he replied.
I sighed, closing my eyes, ‘I do want it. I want all those things you said.’
‘But?’ he said, hearing from my tone I was not finished.
‘What are we going to do? You leave in two days. Less than that. You’re busy and you travel.’
He looked down at his food. I’d disappointed him.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said.
‘It’s okay.’
‘Let me take those plates,’ the waiter interrupted us again. I wonder what his take on our night was, finding a different emotion every time he came over to our table.
‘Can we get a bill?’ I said.
‘Of course.’
‘Hey, maybe I wanted dessert,’ said Alex, teasing.
‘I doubt it,’ I smile.
The bill was at our table in minutes, we paid and left straight away and went out into the night.
‘Walk or Uber?’ asked Alex.
‘Walk,’ it wouldn’t be more than ten minutes.
‘I knew you would say that,’ he said.
It felt later than it was. The city was quiet. Perhaps everyone had gone to bed early on this Wednesday night.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Alex.
‘Stop,’ I said, grabbing his arm. A few doorways ahead I could see a small laneway.
‘What?’ he asked. We were both paused on the footpath.
‘Come with me.’
I pulled him into the laneway.
‘What are you doing?’ he said.
‘Talking to you. In two days time, you’ll be gone, and I’ll be kicking myself for not telling you.’
‘Telling me what?’ we stood in the laneway together. He put his hands on my hips and faced me.
I took a breath, ‘I want to tell you how badly I want you. Whenever I’m close to you I just want you, constantly. Then even when I get to have you, it’s never enough. I go back to the start of wanting you again.’
He kissed me, his arms slipping under my jacket to hold me. He pressed his body into mine.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry the timing of this is all wrong.’
‘No. I think we have impeccable timing. We live so far apart. Yet we found each other. One day I looked up and you were right in front of me. So don’t be. Don’t be sorry,’ he wrapped his arms around me tighter. ‘You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. And you don’t have to say anything you don’t mean.’
I kissed him, with urgency now.
‘Hey, if you want me all the time does that mean you want me right now?’ he whispered. He slid his hand up my thigh and under my skirt.
I smiled, ‘Maybe’. He already knew the answer. His hand was inside my underwear.
‘Oh my God,’ he sighed, ‘you’re so wet.’
‘I know,’ I said.
‘Is this all for me?’ he said, rubbing his fingers backwards and forwards.
‘Yes,’ I whispered.
‘My poor baby,’ he kissed the side of my head. ‘It’s all between your legs.’
He slipped a finger inside of me and then two. I reached for his cock, hard inside his jeans. ‘I want you inside me.’
‘Here?’
‘Now,’ I confirmed. ‘There’s no one around.’
He nodded. Behind us, there was a brick wall. He stepped me up so my back was against it. ‘Take your underwear off.’
I pulled them down, stepping over my feet to get them off. They were white, lacy and expensive. He took them out of my hand and then tucked them in his pocket. He lifted me up, pinning me against the wall. He pushed my skirt up over my waist, and I wrapped both my legs around his hips.
It only took a second and he was inside me. He started with a slow single thrust.
‘Oh my God, Emily. You have no idea how good you feel,’ he said.
He moved slowly, managing to hold me and fuck me at the same time.
‘Harder,’ I whispered in his ear.
‘You like it hard?’ he whispered. I nodded.
He started fucking me faster against the wall. My top had ridden up and the skin of my back was rubbing the brick wall. He bit into my shoulder. I cried out a little, feeling something between pain and pleasure. Alex paused, unwrapping one of my legs and placing it on the ground, his cock still hard inside me.
‘Let me see you come for me,’ he said.
I was already worked up and his words sent me over the edge. I closed my eyes and let him press me backwards into the wall, surrendering. He sent me higher, and then let me fall. For a moment I fell into somewhere else, deeper and darker, like a black sea swimming around me. I opened my eyes.
‘Se buena…’ he muttered. ‘That was…magnificent to watch,’ said Alex. I let my head relax onto his shoulder.
‘Come,’ I said into his ear.
He didn’t hesitate. He started fucking me again, coming hard and fast inside me. He shuddered in my arms, collapsing into me.
‘Oh my God,’ I said in a low voice.
‘I know,’ he said.
Gently, he placed me back down on the ground. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his face in my hair.
‘Oh, Emily. Me estoy enamorando de ti,’ he ciad.
‘What did you say?’ I asked. He stroked my hair softly.
‘That I like you. A lot,’ he replied.
‘I need my underwear back,’ I said.
He shook his head, ‘There is no chance I’m giving them back. None.’
‘I was right before, you are dangerous,’ he said.
We walked down the dark street, hand in hand. Automatically, we had started walking in the direction of his hotel.
‘I’m not. Not usually. I’m quite boring. Organised. I’m early to everything.’
‘Well, I can see that you’re organised. And early, yes. But not boring.’
‘You’re being nice. But it’s kind of true. I do like plans and order and structure. But I’ve felt like something has changed this last year.’
‘Like what?’ He asked.
‘I don’t know. It’s been so gradual. I care less about the things I used to care about. It’s been a weird year.’
‘You lost your Mum. That’s going to make it a weird year.’
I was surprised he remembered. I’d even forgotten I’d told him on the first Friday when I met him.
‘I guess it was a catalyst of sorts. You realise your time is not infinite. If you want to do something you need to do it.’
‘It sounds like good change then,’ he said.
‘I think so.’
‘I still want to take you home,’ said Alex. ‘I mean, I don’t want to say goodnight yet. Come and hang out?’
‘Sure,’ I said.
‘It’s just you have a history of leaving early,’ he said.
‘That was once. And it was a strange night.’
‘It was a pretty good night,’ he squeezed my hand.
Like everywhere else tonight, the hotel seemed quiet. There was no staff at the front desk. We walked through the lobby, our feet echoing on the tiles, then headed up to the room.
‘Are you hungry?’ He asked.
‘Nope.’
‘Want to watch a movie?’
‘Okay, but I kind of feel like a shower first,’ I said as we got into the room. I took off my jacket and placed it down on the bed.
‘Good,’ said Alex.
‘Good?’
‘Yes, because I do too.’
We went into the bathroom together.
‘Come here,’ said Alex, grabbing me around the waist. ‘I want to undress you.’
He pushed my top over my head, then unclipped my bra. Without pause, he unbuttoned my skirt then pushed it down so I could step over it. He looked me up and down.
I lifted his shirt over his head, then unbuttoned his pants. He kicked them off. He was hard again. He saw me looking and smirked.
‘You’re insatiable’ I joked.
‘You are,’ he said, pulling me close to him and kissing me.
‘Get in the shower then,’ I said. I spun him around and pushed him forwards.
He obeyed, stepping in and turning on the taps. There was plenty of room for both of us, I stepped in behind him. He picked up a mini bottle of liquid soap, squeezing it on to his hands. He started rubbing it all over me, spreading bubbles all over my breasts and then my stomach. His hands on my skin were comforting, especially after being outside in the cold.
‘I could get used to this,’ I said, without giving the words any thought.
‘Turn around,’ he said.
It was my turn to do what he said. He soaped my back, and rubbed my shoulders. Then he turned me back around to face him, rinsing the soap away.
He kissed me in reply, hot water dripping down both our faces. He put his arms around me.
‘I could get used to you,’ he said.