Round N Around We Go (Has Cupid Gone Mad?) (3 page)

He finds his way into their
bedroom, opens the door and
finds her stark naked and spread
face down across the bed.

His heart misses a beat and he
is drawn into her beauty. Not an
inch of body fat can be found on
her slender and firm body. Her
silky skin is invitingly smooth
and seems to glisten and reflect
the rays of the high hats dimly
lit above the bed.

The mess in the living room is
long forgotten and his attention
is drawn into her presence. He
sits on the bed next to her
deliciously beautiful body and
gazes down at the peaceful look
on her face. Gently, he brushes
his fingers up her spine and
sweeps back a lock of hair
hanging
across
her
cheek.
Smiling lovingly, he strokes her
hair ever so gently to wake her
slowly and she stirs.

Gracefully she stretches and
turns halfway. Peeping through
sleepy eyes, she puts her hand
on his and smiles. “What time is
it?” She murmurs.
“It’s about seven thirty in the
evening.” He answers charmingly,
still admiring the woman whom he
worships.

Taylor sits up and leans over to
kiss him. “I was unpacking all
day, took a shower and was going
to lie down for a minute but I
guess I fell asleep.” She climbs
into his arms and embraces him.

Cradling the contours of his
stunning woman, he asks while
stroking her hair. “Are you
hungry? Maybe we can order
dinner and I can help you
unpack?”

She leans back and looks into
his eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll
stay up all night until every
box is unpacked and tucked
away.”

Misconceiving her sincerity as
sarcasm, he wonders if she is
regretting the decision of
moving in together. After all,
it has been over a month since
she has moved in, if she really
wants to fully unpack and settle
in, it could have been done
weeks ago.

Ivan
assumes
that
her
procrastination is a sign of
regret and begins to second
guess their relationship.

He is willing to surrender his
space and privacy to allow their
relationship a chance to grow
into an unyielding commitment.
But yet, he is neither seeing
nor feeling her enthusiasm.

“Taylor,” he gazes into her eyes
and solemnly asks for her
honesty. “Do you really want to
move in together or are you just
stringing
along
because
I
asked?”

Caught off guard and a little
surprised by his question, she
pauses for a second and quickly
covers up her uncertainty. “Of
course I want to move in
otherwise I wouldn’t have broken
my lease.” She smiles and kisses
him again in reassurance.
She begins to make up all sorts
of excuses and blames it on the
lack of time and that she is
being distracted by different
new projects at work and ideas
on a new book.

He
studies
her
facial
expressions and body language
while she babbles on to justify
the lack of motivation.

He smiles and nods to pretend
that he understands but deep
inside, he does not believe a
word that she is saying.

Her hesitation is contagiously
spreading and playing tricks on
his mind. Cold feet are not only
hers as his are beginning to
freeze.

He watches her climb off the
bed, step into a tank dress and
begins to walk out of the
bedroom. She stops by the door
and turns around to ask him what
he would like for dinner.
“You.” Unhesitatingly he seeks
her warmth.
He loves her and craves for her
affection. Even if they might
not be
ready to take their
relationship to the next level
of commitment, his love and
desire for her are undoubtedly
clear.

She flaunts a flirtatious smile
and moves towards him. “What
about the boxes?” She climbs on
top of him and pushes him onto
the bed. “Shouldn’t I be
unpacking?” She asks innocently.

Swiftly, he slips over and
pushes her onto the bed. Lying
on top of her, he looks deeply
into her eyes and kisses her
passionately. “You’ve waited for
over month already so you can
wait another hour.” He takes
control of the delectable moment
and touches her in ways that
make her quiver. Silenced by his
kisses, she is unable to object
or dispute.
Helplessly she
surrenders to his touch and
anticipates him impatiently.

She loves him but isn’t sure
about many things. Perhaps she
is scared of the move. She has
never lived with anyone before
and simply does not know how.
Afraid to speak her mind and to
convey the truth, she refuses to
admit her own contradictions and
is trying her impossible to
avoid disappointing him.

She is trying her best but at
times, she feels that her best
is hardly good enough for him.

“Karina!” she hears Alex’s voice
calling out for her. Paddling in
the midst of the deep blue sea,
she looks around and sees
nothingness. “Karina!” She hears
his voice again and sees an
image of her deceased boyfriend,
deteriorated and lying coldly in
his bed, the same image as she
last saw him at his brother’s
home.

“Where are you?” she hears
herself calling back for him.
“Alex I don’t see you anywhere.
Where are you?” She starts
swimming ahead and finds herself
at the river bank where she set
sailed his ashes into the ocean.
She sees the small wooden boat
sailing upstream towards her and
his urn glistens
under the
scorching rays of the sun. She
chokes in tears and no matter
how hard she tries to speak out,
she is unable to utter another
word. She shivers as the little
wooden boat approaches near and
screams, “Alex I am here! Over
here!” she cries and awakes
abruptly to the loud buzzer of
the intercom. Waking up from the
nightmare screaming, she sits up
and leans forward, hides her
face between her bended knees
and gasps for breath.

The intercom continues to buzz
annoyingly as she breathes
deeply to calm. She sits up,
wipes away the cold sweat and
the tears from her face and
looks at her alarm clock.

Four thirty a.m. She orients
herself and is glad to awake
from yet another nightmare. She
misses Alex immensely and is
battling against the reality of
his lost fight against leukemia.

She answers the intercom, “Who
is it?” and expects it to be a
prank.

Surprised that her art mentor is
at her door in the depth of the
night, she buzzes him in and
quickly drapes a robe around
herself. Within minutes, she
hears Theodore
knocking
and
greets him at the door.

She opens the door and finds a
distraught
expression on his
face. “Is everything alright?”
she asks attentively. Bewildered
and concerned, she tightens her
robe and invites him in. “Can’t
it wait until the morning?”

With a large roll of blank
canvas tugged under his arm and
holding a manila envelop in his
hand, he walks towards
the
center of her art loft and
watches her close the door.

“Karina.” He forces a smile, “I
am sorry to wake you in the
middle of the night like this,
but I need to take care of an
urgent situation in Italy. My
plane leaves in a few hours and
I want to give these to you
before I leave.”

Karina walks towards him and
holds his hand. “What’s wrong?
I’ve never seen you like this,
what’s the urgent situation?”
Theodore expresses his wishes
and tries to manage the stress
that is about to explode from
within. “There isn’t enough time
for me to explain, but if you
trust me like I trust you, then
this is what I need you to do.”
He hands the roll of blank
canvas to her. “This canvas has
a very important history, it is
special. I need you to unleash
your very best and paint on it
with all your love. Pour your
soul into it, it deserves your
touch. By the time I return from
Italy, I want to hang this
painting in my gallery and show
it off to the world.” He
continues hastily. “And this
envelop,” he pauses briefly to
catch his breath, “I need you to
safeguard it. Just keep it with
you and if in case something is
to happen, you’ll know when to
open it.”

She holds the envelope in her
hand and stares at it. “Slow
down, ‘just in case something is
to happen’, what might happen?
Theo you are frightening me.”
She stares into his worried eyes
and demands answers. “I’m not
feeling comfortable with all
this. Plus, you can’t leave in
the middle of the night like
this! I’m picking up the
proposal from New York in the
morning and you need to be
there!” She objects.

“Karina. You are in charge of
the Gallery now. Run it as if it
were your own.” He hands her the
roll of canvas and begins
towards the door.

Karina turns around and follows
him. “Theo I can’t do it all!”
She objects.

Theodore turns around, faces her
and speaks solemnly. “Yes you
can. Karina I trust you. I know
you can. If you need help then
hire an assistant. You have
access to all the company bank
accounts. I passed by the bank
this afternoon and changed it to
only ‘one signature required.’
My legacy is in your hands now
and I need you to take over.” He
opens the door and turns around
to embrace her. He gives her the
warmest hug, kisses her on both
cheeks and smiles reassuringly,
“It’s alright Karina, I trust
you. Now is the time to
reciprocate. I need your help
with this.”

Theodore leaves her no chance
for objection and before Karina
can utter another word, he is
already heading down the stairs.
Feeling nervous, she bites her
lower lip and closes the door.

Carefully she puts the roll of
blank canvas and envelope on the
coffee table, heads over to the
kitchen and pours a glass of
milk. Staring at the items that
he has left behind, she cannot
begin to imagine what urgency it
must be for Theodore to leave in
such a hasty manner.

Feeling uncomfortable with the
situation, she is about to call
Theodore’s son Anthony to demand
for
an
explanation,
but
thoughtfully decides to call in
the morning after breakfast with
Renzo the art collector.
“Oh my God.” She freezes and
thinks of the unimaginable. She
has no other option but to do as
she has been obliged.

Theodore saved
her from the
darkest moments of her life and
now is the time for her to
reciprocate. She will not fail
him and will make him proud.

Twisting and turning sleeplessly
in bed, Karina watches the warm
rays of sunlight creeping into
her room. She stares blankly at
the ceiling above her bed,
twirls a lock of hair around her
finger and begins to worry about
Theodore. She looks at the other
side of the bed and wishes that
Alex is by her side to share her
thoughts.

She sighs out loud, crawls out
of bed and welcomes in a new day
alone in this world without him.
Forever holding him dearly in
her heart, she thought she has
found peace over his death but
apparently, she hasn’t gotten
over it yet.
Sprays of cold water from the
shower stings her skin and
awakens her to a new challenge.
Just as she has wished for, this
task at hand might help her
realize that she is capable of
achieving greatness on her own.

Carefully selecting a moderately
conservative yet revealing knee
length sheath dress in magenta,
she steps into
a pair of
platform heels and is ready to
meet with Renzo for the offer.
Not knowing what to expect but
in order to protect Theodore’s
interest, she will not be under
minded by the intimidating
aficionado.

Being new in the art world, she
does not know much about
anything but will have no choice
but to pretend that she knows it
all.

Over casual conversation at
breakfast, Renzo slides a card
towards her. Elegantly,
she
picks up the card and reads the
seven digit number silently in
her mind. “What’s this?” she
raises
an eyebrow and asks
ambiguously.

“It’s my offer.” His smile is
intimidating and obviously, he
is
over
estimating
her
experience.

Karina thinks the seven digit
numbers are his phone number but
cleverly and swiftly disguises
her inexperience. “I know.” She
adds promptly and pretends to be
slightly insulted. “But is it
for all the pieces including
mine?”

“It’s for the six master pieces
that
you
showed
me.
Unfortunately I cannot include
yours.” He explains slowly and
watches
a
disappointed
expression grow on her face.
“But,” he adds, “I am prepared
to make you a separate offer.”

Slowly he reaches into the side
pocket of his tailored jacket
and brings out his personal
check book. He scribbles an
amount on the check and hands it
to her. “This is for your piece.
I’d like purchase it personally
for my penthouse in Manhattan,
but you will have to personally
hang it with me.”

Concealing the excitement that
is rambling within her, she
looks at his wedding ring,
carefully digests his personal
offer and pushes the check back
towards him. Avoiding jeopardy,
she
politely
declines
his
personal
offer
and
smiles
charmingly, “I can’t hang my
painting with you but since
Theodore is not here personally
to refuse the
offer
of the
master pieces, I’ll accept it on
his behalf and take the blame.”

It isn’t easy to refuse a low
five digit offer for her art but
his insinuation is clearly noted
and is absolutely unacceptable.

Simply content to close the sale
for Theodore, she is not
concerned about the sale of her
own art. As they bid farewell by
the valet, he mentions that his
offer still stands and if she is
to change her mind, all it takes
will be one phone call and he
will send his private jet to
pick her up.

Climbing into her Audi, she
speeds away as quickly as
possible and lets out a sigh of
relieve.
After
the
fact,
nervousness catches on and she
feels
herself
slightly
trembling.

She dislikes him and is glad
that the burdensome mission is
accomplished. Theodore would be
proud of her. She reaches into
her Prada bag and brings out her
phone
to
call
Anthony,
Theodore’s son.

“Anthony, this is Karina. Why
did your father leave in such a
hurry? He said that there is an
urgent situation in Italy that
he needs to take care of. Is
everything alright?” she asks
genuinely while maneuvering her
way through morning traffic on
Collins in South Beach.

“Oh I don’t know.” Anthony seems
bewildered. “I haven’t spoken
with my father for months!”
************

Taylor tucks away the last
unfolded box and organizes every
detail immaculately. Two hours
before the dinner party she is
finally settled in and is ready
to receive their twelve good
friends in celebration of their
milestone.

The best silverware is perfectly
polished; the china and crystal
glasses are set perfectly on the
extended dinning table, which
stands stylishly and beautifully
dressed with the most artistic
orchid center piece. Pleased
with the arrangement, she adds a
final touch with the napkin
rings and heads towards the
shower to get ready. She walks
past Ivan, who has been watching
and admiring her working around
the dining room setting up the
table for the past thirty
minutes. Frankly he is impressed
and everything is beyond his
expectations.
“All set.” She bats her eyes
with a victorious smile and
flaunts her hair. “That’s okay;
you don’t have to say anything.
It will be a great evening, just
as you want it.” She disappears
into the bathroom and adds in a
sing song tone, “I love you!”

Secretly, Ivan feels a little
guilty for the pressure that he
has been giving
her but is
ecstatic that his condo is once
again immaculate. He is not
obsessive with tidiness but just
eager for her to settle in.
Finally it feels like home.

Anticipating their guests to
arrive shortly, he places the
assortment of sushi on large
platters and set them on the
buffet table. Cautiously, he
divides the cold soba salad into
small square bowls and sets them
neatly on each place setting.
Sparing no details, he places
the pre-ordered carved ginger
flowers on top of each salad to
complete the presentation and
stands back to admire the table
setting.
Taylor emerges fully dressed in
a sexy and elegant bare back
crimson colored mini dress that
she has bought specially for the
occasion. With hair half swept
up and half loosely draping her
bare shoulders, she shows off
the new Tiffany earrings that he
has bought her as a gift.

His heart misses a few beats as
he watches her approach near.
Speechlessly he takes in her
beauty and secretly wonders how
she would look in a white
wedding dress.

His
imagination is
abruptly
interrupted by a knock on the
door. Amber and Karina are the
first to arrive and Ivan greets
them warmly at the door. The
three best friends catch up with
each other as other guests begin
to arrive shortly after.

Ivan and most of his pals are
gathered around the bar in the
living room while most of the
women
are
either
sipping
champagne on the balcony while
enjoying the mesmerizing views
of Miami’s skyline, or are in
the kitchen helping Taylor with
the final touches of the dessert
platters while gossiping about
everything unimportant.