16 - ANYSSA/CAMILA
16
ANYSSA/CAMILA
ANYSSA’S THIRTY-BEFORE-THIRTY LIST
ANNY’S ANNALS
Aloha!
Hey, it’s me again . . .
I walked on the beach a few nights ago when I couldn’t sleep. Not recording and writing has me all worked up. I know that season three of Romance Abroad will start filming in six weeks, and I’ll be so busy I won’t have time to think about boredom. I’ll be too busy managing stress.
Earlier that day, I had a phone call with my producers, Sarah and Emmett, to pitch an idea about doing a five-segment special show on weddings abroad. The idea is to send out an online call to brides- and grooms-to-be who have a wedding destination in mind to apply to be on the show.
We will interview the selected participants and their respective families and friends. It will allow us to tell their story of how they met, their hopes and dreams for a partner, their future families, and the journey to their special day. We would attend the wedding and the reception, capturing it all, and then air the segment about a year later on their anniversary. In that segment, we would include a follow-up interview with the married couple to see how they’re doing.
Of course, Emmett saw all the pitfalls, which is his job. He was worried about if someone left their partner standing at the altar, or if they decided to elope, or if someone stood up at the wedding condemning them, or far worse, if a year from then, they were no longer together.
He said that any of those things, plus another list of ten that I won’t dare get into because that’s who Emmett is, could ruin the image of wedded bliss and romance we’re attempting to portray. Sarah, the more logical of the two, is also a romantic at heart. She suggested that we would have contracts in place like we do for any of the guests at our show. All wedding guests would have to sign a statement that would sign away their rights to interrupt, alter, or inhibit the wedding in any form.
Sarah agreed that there might be barriers but that we could meet with our lawyers and creative team to review any issues that might arise and develop resolutions to them.
I’m excited that Sarah was on board with my idea, and though Emmett remained the dubious one of the two, he was coming around by the end of the phone call.
Of course, after the call, my thoughts turned to Nazár. Nazár is always not too far from my mind these days. That led me to walk on the beach, which led me to run into him.
Naked as a jaybird and as fine as a Greek god!
Michelangelo’s statue of David would have blushed to see that man in all his glory. Nazár wasn’t even erect when he walked out of the water, but damn, he was bigger than any man I’ve been with. There was no shame in him.
His golden, tan skin was finely lined with hair along his arms, legs, and chest. His dick was covered with dark hair at the base. After he challenged me, we swam together, sat in the sand, and talked for a long time.
When I began to yawn, he walked me back to the hotel again, and I got the best night’s sleep ever.
Yesterday, we had dinner in the vineyard, which turned into drinks at his place, which turned into dessert, but the only thing eaten was me!
Believe it or not, he ate me out on his counter after he fucked me with his fingers. When he ate me out, I fucking passed out! I’ve heard of that happening before, but I thought people were just talking shit. And it wasn’t from his dick, but his tongue!
Can you believe that shit? I fucking Passed. Out!
I woke up early this morning and started to walk back, but he wasn’t hearing it. I told him I didn’t want anyone to know I spent the night with him, and I think he admired my discretion.
He walked me back to the hotel early this morning. It was romantic, and he left me at the hotel’s side door with a kiss.
Before he disappeared, he asked about my plans for the day. I told him about snorkeling and was disappointed he would not be on that trip. I shared with him that I’d be touring the formal gardens, and he also said he wouldn’t be there because he had a business meeting at that time.
I hoped he would surprise me and pop up anyway, but he didn’t. Once I could accept that he wasn’t coming and put both ideas out of my head, I enjoyed snorkeling this morning and the garden tour this afternoon.
He did tell me that he had a surprise for me. What that entails, I have no idea.
Well, someone’s knocking rather urgently at my door. Somehow, I doubt that it’s him, though. There doesn’t seem to be any urgency where he’s concerned.
Until next time, Anny!
Nys
“J ust a moment!” I call out as I put my journal and ink pen away. Popping off the bed, I glance into the mirror and pull my fingers through my tangled curls before I walk through my suite to the door.
Peering out the peephole, I see one of the workers from the lobby holding a stack of boxes.
Frowning, I unlock the door and pull it open.
“Hello, Jamesina.”
“Hi, Ms. Martinez. These boxes were delivered for you today.”
“I didn’t order anything,” I say, staring at the boxes and back up again into her brown, freckled face.
Her red-tinted lips turn up into a beautiful smile.
“I know, but I was told that I needed to make sure you received these,” she says, holding out the boxes.
I accept the boxes and mumble, “Thank you,” as Jamesina says, “You’re welcome. Enjoy.”
Setting the boxes on the arm of the chair, I close and lock the door again. Enjoy what? I wonder.
Grabbing the biggest box up like a little kid on Christmas morning, I sit in the middle of the living area floor and rip the gold wrapping paper apart.
When I open it, there’s a little white linen card with handwriting scrawled across the front. Before I can read the card, I run my fingers across his signature at the bottom.
Pulling the card to my nose, I inhale deeply, basking in his unique scent of amber, tobacco, and black currant. Closing my eyes, I hold it against my chest and think about the other night and last night when he returned me to the hotel.
It’s been a while since I’ve walked on a beach with a man and just talked. We walked so closely that our shoulders brushed from time to time. At one point, when I tripped, he grabbed my elbow and righted me, linking his fingers with mine.
We strolled hand in hand for the remainder of the walk. Our conversation was peppered with subtle glances, innuendos, and cocky smirks. All those gestures are promising and let me know that, if given the chance, he could break me.
I finally read the card.
Hello, Princesa,
Meet me tonight at the gazebo in the garden at seven for dinner. Wear this, and you’ll get your first lesson in stress management. Wear only what I have provided and not a thing more.
Nazár
I remove a black silk dress from the butter-yellow tissue paper. Running my hands along the dress, I can already tell it’s expensive.
What the hell?
I pick up my phone and notice it’s five eleven. I have just under two hours to get ready.
The second box is much smaller than the first and is the size of a shoe box. When I open it, I find that my assessment is correct. I can’t help but wonder how he knows my dress and shoe sizes as I stare at the silver strappy sandals.
The third box contains three smaller boxes inside. All three are pearls: earrings, necklace, and bracelet.
Panic fills my chest, along with nervous butterflies in my belly. The shrill ringing of my actual phone in my hand only adds to the agitation. I glance at the phone and see my mother’s smiling face. I can’t help but answer.
“Nys.”
“Hey, Mommy.”
“I haven’t heard from you on this last trip. Where in the world are you, anyway?”
“Mommy, I told you I couldn’t disclose my location. I’m doing research, and I signed an NDA.”
“What?”
“Mommy,” I whine.
“Anyssa, I need to know where my child is. It doesn’t feel good knowing that you’re somewhere in the world that I have no clue about. What if something were to happen to you?”
“Mommy, I can’t do the negative energy right now.”
“You’re right, sweetie. I’m sorry, but, Nys, try to see my side. Are you in the country? Can you at least tell me that?”
“No, Mommy. I’m not.”
She sighs loudly over the phone, and I get up from the floor, grab the dress, and leave the other packages behind.
“I’m in Africa.”
“Africa? Didn’t you visit there two years ago?”
“I did, Mommy, and I’m back on a special project.”
“In the same country as last time?”
“No, Mommy, and that’s all I will say. Trust me when I tell you that I’m safe. I’m probably safer than you are at home. The place that I’m in is very secure and protected by armed guards and—”
“Anyssa! Are you in prison?” she whispers.
And just like that, all my fears are dispelled, causing me to laugh at her. “No, Mommy. I’m not in trouble, but I am having a wonderful time exploring new ideas and getting to know other sides of myself. I know you want to know more, but I can’t tell.”
“Is it going to be on your channel or the show?”
“Nope. Look, I have to go, Mommy. I have an appointment that I need to get ready for, and I’m already running late,” I say, glancing at the alarm clock on the nightstand.
I lay the dress across the bed and remove my shorts and tank top that I’ve worn all day.
“Nys?”
“Yes, Mommy?”
“Be careful.”
“Always.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Mommy, and you be safe. I promise to call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure.”
She clicks off the phone, and I sit on the side of the bed. I click into my mother’s contact information on my phone and run my fingers along the planes of her face. She is my world, the only person I truly have, and I’m all she has.
We look a little alike, but she’s told me I look mostly like my father. I’ve never seen him. She didn’t so much as keep a picture of him around. When I was old enough to learn the truth about him, it broke my heart that my mother had been running from him when she was pregnant with me, always looking over her shoulder and always living in fear.
She no longer has to do that because she has me now. If I ever meet him, there will be many things I want to say to him. Probably the most important is why. Why would you do the thing to someone else’s child that you wouldn’t want to be done to your own? Why place that fear in a woman’s life that she could never truly know peace?
I hated him for a long time, but after my twenty-first birthday, I began to feel sorry for him. What kind of horrible, self-loathing person did you have to be to run off a pregnant woman? I wondered what he had gone through and why he was so weak. It was his loss that he didn’t have Mommy and me in his life.
“Damn,” I mumble, remembering I’m supposed to be getting ready for dinner with Nazár. Hopping off the bed, I run into the bathroom to shower and shave. An hour and a half later, I’m showered, shaved, smelling great, and I’ve pressed out my naturally curly hair.
A glimpse in the mirror and the nervous butterflies in my belly turn into ones of excitement. The black silk maxi dress is fitted, hugging every curve of my body, outlining my hips and ass provocatively.
It’s an off-the-shoulder dress, and the sleeve straps hang off my shoulders parallel to my breasts, which are boosted and show ample cleavage. I can’t help but smile at myself because while I’m not an arrogant woman, I know that I look good and sexy as hell.
I’m sure he can’t help but want to have me all to himself when Nazár sees me tonight. There’s no way he’ll be able to keep his hands to himself, and maybe that’s precisely what he wanted. I suspect he was holding back when we had sex yesterday. I want the full Nazár Rivas experience.
I grab my purse, phone, and key card and slip out of my hotel suite since I only have ten minutes to go downstairs to the garden.