Chapter 45
Calvin
Idid not plan on asking Nikita out on a date, but I wanted to.
It quickly dawned on me that we’re going our separate ways back home in a few days. I hate that. I don’t want to leave. I wanted to remain in this reality - this bubble we are in where there is nothing from the outside world getting in the way. All that matters is her and I’d be more than happy to stay in this room with her for the foreseeable future.
Or forever.
The fresh memory of knowing what it feels like to be buried deep inside of her is all that replays in my mind. I can still feel her beneath me - the way the curves of her body molded to me as I pushed deeper, each movement pushing her further and further to the edge. Her hair in disarray, eyes rolling as she arches her back, crying out my name to the world.
And I want to hear that again.
How am I not supposed to touch her again when I’ve become obsessed? Whatever I had experienced before her was never this raw. What you see is what you get with Nikita, in every aspect of who she is and how she lives her life and it is a trait I admire. When she speaks, I hang on her every word. When she smiles, there is nothing more beautiful to witness. Beautiful isn’t a word I would throw around lightly, but there is no other way to explain Nikita. And not just on the outside, everything about her is beautiful. She redefines the word in every possible way and I have this newfound need to explore all the ways I can make her smile just to be on the receiving end of one of them again.
You’re falling for her.
Fuck - fuck!
How am I going to stop? Can I stop? Or am I in too deep with her?
I already know the answer to that question as I lead her by the hand out of the hotel. I had stopped to collect what I needed and carried it in a brown paper back that was between my arm and body. I grabbed a bottle of the champagne that I knew Nikita had enjoyed from the tasting. Without realizing, I have been subconsciously taking note of her. What she likes, what she doesn’t, what it means when she pulls a particular face - and she pulls a lot of them. She is one of the most expressive people I have come across and yet, she also has a poker face that gives nothing away. She is an enigma.
“What’s in the bag?” she asks.
“You’ll see.”
“Where are we going?”
I laugh and repeat my words, “You’ll see.”
We move like a couple down the pathway of Praia da Rocha with the glistening water in the distance as the sun begins its descent. Whispers of red and orange scattered across the sky. This place is beautiful. The anticipation of what was going to happen this week with the wedding, and more specifically Violet, had sent my anxiety into a tailspin. But Violet isn’t who I am thinking about anymore. Violet was familiar. She represents everything I thought I wanted, not just in a relationship, but out of life too. I have always been afraid to stray too far from the path out of fear that I can lose control in some way, but things have changed.
And it’s all thanks to Nikita.
We shared things with each other that not many others would know because we trusted each other. I know I can trust her - I feel it down to my core. There is never any judgment, only compassion. I am starting to realize that is part of what makes our sex as mind blowing as it is. This isn’t only a physical connection between us - it seeps into deeper parts of me. When I buried myself inside of her, there was no other place I wanted to be ever again.
I look over at Nikita who is staring off in the distance, a small smile on her face. She is freshly showered - something we agreed we shouldn’t do together or we may not have left the hotel room at all. Her hair is still wet but is drying naturally and revealing her curls in the process. It amazes me how she can look as naturally beautiful as she does. She isn’t giving anyone else a chance.
She catches me staring at her. Her smile becomes a knowing smirk as she hooks her other hand on my arm. “You’re staring at me.”
“Well, I like staring at beautiful things.”
Her eyes flicker with amusement. “Things?”
“Things, people.” I shrug playfully. “If you don’t want me to stare, you’ll have to stop looking as good as you do.”
A small chuckle falls from her lips. “I’m starting to lose count of how many compliments you’ve given me.”
“You might as well stop counting because there are more headed your way.” We pass rows of restaurants and gift shops as we continue along the path.
“Compliments, dates, sex - I’m starting to enjoy this arrangement of ours.”
“Our ‘arrangement’ is null and void now, wouldn’t you agree?”
She shrugs, a playful smile on her face. “I’m just making sure that you haven’t changed your mind now that the sex fog has settled.”
“Sex fog?” I laugh.
“Yes, now that your brain - the one in your head, not your dick - has oxygen flowing to it again, I wanted to see if you had changed your answer.”
We have put enough distance between us and the crowds of people that are closer to the restaurants. I veer us off the cobblestone walkway towards a cliff that has a single worn-out bench overlooking the ocean. I passed by it when I went for my run a couple days ago and thought that it would be a great place to watch the sunset.
I was right.
I bring us to a stop, turning to Nikita whose eyes are on the view in the distance, her hand hooding her eyes. “I’m not changing my mind,” I respond, she turns towards me. “Now, I’ve got champagne and a sunset.” I extend my one hand to the view. “What do you think of that for a first date?”
She laughs, her eyes gleaming with amusement. “Depends on your choice of champagne.”
I lift the bag between us, opening it up as she eyes me before reaching into the bag, pulling the champagne out, revealing the pink-rose color of the bubbly.
“A plus, Calvin Rhodes!” She exclaims, laughter following. “This was my favorite one from the tasting.”
“I know.”
“You were paying attention to me,” she murmurs with a hint of teasing in her voice. “If I look at your notes app on your phone, will I find one of all the things I like?”
This time I laugh. “I don’t need to make a list. I’ve got it all up here.” I tapped the side of my head with my index finger. Taking the champagne from her, I walk towards the bench and she follows, both of us settle as we sit down. I place the bag on the floor between my legs and start working through the cork of the bottle.
“I’m glad things aren’t weird between us now that we’ve…”
“Fucked?”
“Yep.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “Which means we can do it again.”
I pause my movements, looking over at her. “That might be all we do for the rest of the trip.” I drop the wire that I removed from the cork into the bag.
“I’d be cool with that.”
I snicker before turning back to my task at hand, applying enough pressure to hear that pop that has a small squeal-turned-laughter coming from Nikita. The champagne bubbles over, forcing me to lean forward, making sure we don’t get any on us.
“Is this your first time opening champagne?”
Her cheeky remarks used to annoy me, but now I find myself amused by them. Any chance she gets, she pokes at me and I do the same. That dynamic seems to work between us.
She grabs the plastic cups from the bag, confused at the two in her hand. “Two?” She eyes me. “Are you having some too?”
“Do you see anyone else here?” I ask. She indulges in an eye roll, silently conveying her thoughts, making me laugh before I continue. “If you’re going to roll your eyes at me, at least make sure it’s from a different activity.” Even though I have seen Nikita do that for years, seeing her roll her eyes while I fucked her is the only way I wanted to see it from now on.
“What makes you think I’ll put out on the first date?”
I laugh and reach for one of the cups, filling it with the bubbly. “You’re right, how presumptuous of me.” Handing her one, I pour a small amount into the second cup for me. I am not going to commit to more than a sip for now.
“Is this where we make a toast?” she asks.
“What would we toast to?”
She leans her cup towards me. “We could toast to good company.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Or great orgasms.”
I snicker, bringing my cup closer to hers. “I’ll toast to that.”
Her eyes narrow on me, her cup pausing half-way up to her lips. “And you have to have a sip. Otherwise it’s bad luck.”
I take a sip as she does the same. My optimism that this will taste good was misguided as I am reminded of the electrocuted water taste that doesn’t agree with my tastebuds. Nikita must have gotten wind of my dislike because she laughs.
“It’s not that bad!”
I place the cup on the ground. “It’s not that great either.”
“More for me then.”
“No objections to that.”
Shaking her head, she turns to the view with a smile on her face. The sun nears the horizon emitting a soft golden glow on the water now. “It’s so beautiful here.”
“It is.”
Returning her attention to me, she asks. “Would you live here?”
Thinking for a moment. “I don’t think so. It’s beautiful and peaceful, I can admit that, but it’s almost too peaceful. How would I get anything done?”
“That’s the point though!” she says with a laugh. “You don’t always have to get something done.”
“So, what? We’d lay around all day catching a tan and drinking champagne?”
“First of all, why are you assuming I’d be with you?” Her eyes narrow playfully over the rim of her cup as she takes a sip. “Secondly, can I actually please be with you because that sounds like a great life?”
Laughing, I lay my arm across the back of the bench. “I’ll make that my early retirement plan.”
“Maybe we should make a pact.”
“Do you remember the last pact we made?” I allude to our attempt at a no-touching pact. “We’re not very good with that.”
She responds, but I can hardly make out the words because of the smile she speaks with. There is something about the way her smile connects with her eyes that emits a type of energy that is difficult to be pulled from.
“So?” Her voice snaps me back. “Do we have a deal?”
“What deal?”
“Pay attention, Rhodes.” Her eyes roll. Again. “If we’re both still single by the time we’re forty-”
I jump in. “I turn forty before you.”
There was a beat before she continues. “If we’re both single by the time I’m forty, then we get together and live out a quiet life of tanning and drinking champagne in Algarve.” The rest of her champagne disappears in the next sip she takes as I laugh.
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“So, you’re in?”
The wind around us starts to pick up, strands of her hair moving with it. “And we have to wait until we’re forty? There’s no chance of it happening earlier?”
“Earlier?” she asks with a laugh. “For someone who didn’t want to live here in the first place, now you want it earlier?”
Shrugging, I shift slightly closer on the bench, bringing my one leg to fold. “If those orgasms are part of the tanning and champagne package then I think I can get on board.”
Her laughter surrounds me, warming me right down to my core. It has my own lips pulling into a smile as I watch her in a moment of pure happiness.
“I think your sense of humor is my favorite part of European Calvin.”
“He’s not bad.”
She rests her elbow on the back of the bench, leaning her head against it. “You should consider bringing him back home with you.”
“Even if I did, you wouldn’t get to see him because you-” I lift my finger and lightly tap her nose. “live in a different city to me.”
“You’re right. Once we’re back on American soil, we’re going our separate ways.”
Disappointment sinks deep in my stomach at that reminder.
“That is the plan,” I say, but I no longer believe it. Her eyes find mine before she averts her gaze to the disappearing sun. Reaching for the hand that rests on her lap, I take it in mine. She looks back at me and I think she might have wanted me to say something, but instead, she jumps into a topic change.
“I think we’re doing this first date wrong. We’re supposed to be asking all the light, fluffy questions and keeping the deeper stuff for the fourth or fifth date.”
I smile. “I think people also only put out on their fourth or fifth date, and we already did that. Safe to say we’re doing things a little differently.”
That smile of hers returns, making it clear to me that whenever she flashes one, I will always fall victim to it. I shift closer, my hand disappearing in her hair as I cup the side of her face. “We came here to watch the sunset, but all I want to do is kiss you.”
She leans closer. “We could have been doing more than kissing right now but you are the one who wanted to leave the hotel room.”
“I was trying to be a gentleman.”
Leaning closer to press her lips against mine, I feel her laughter against me before she speaks. “Don’t.”