Epilogue
Nikita
One year later
“So?” His voice brushes up against my ear, “What do you think?”
The corners of my lips pull into a smile as I feel his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. Turning to face him, excitement bubbles inside of me. “I love it.”
“I thought you might.” He plants a kiss on my cheek, before stepping in front of me, “And since it’s within budget, we-”
I can feel my eyes widen with delight. “It’s within our budget?”
He nods. “Indeed.”
“This is amazing!” Moving towards the balcony, I take in the gorgeous view in front of me. The sunsets in Algarve are unmatched and this one is no exception. Scattered across the sky are whispers of red and orange as the sky begins to disappear on the horizon.
“This view reminds me of the ones at the hotel we stayed in when we were here,” I say, really appreciating this moment. Sometimes God likes to show off and this is one of those times.
I feel Calvin move closer towards me. “That’s exactly what I thought too.”
It has been just over a year since Calvin and I were last here. It’s amazing how much can change within twelve months. The last time I was in Algarve, I had no job, no apartment, no boyfriend - no real one at least - and now? Check, check and check.
Not only do I have a job, I have a small, growing business. After the more than reasonable payout I received from my previous landlord, thanks to Mario the super lawyer, and whatever was left in my savings, I was able to pay the deposit to an apartment along the beachfront of Praia dos Três Castelos. The apartment wasn’t for me to live in, but rather to rent out as a holiday apartment. Initially, Jay was a silent financial partner in my vision but since the place has been booked solid for the next six to eight months, I am in a position to continue to grow without his help.
Although, he did rent my place a couple months back. I was happy to let him stay for free, but he was insistent on supporting me. When Jay moved to the UK for work, the change in lifestyle was a major adjustment for him. If I hadn’t bought a place here, I think he might have. Just to escape the miserable weather he lives with on the daily. He comes to Algarve whenever he needs to rejuvenate himself.
When I was deciding on the new path my life would take, I had three things I needed to check off the list. I wanted freedom with my job - to come and go as I please. I wanted to be able to travel. There is a whole world out there just waiting to be explored and my curious heart wants me to do just that. I also wanted to find something that I would enjoy.
So, I bought the apartment and fixed it up.
Correction - Calvin and I fixed it up.
In a surprising turn of events, Calvin and I have been glued at the hip ever since he turned up at my dad’s house. He told me he was falling in love with me and there was no use in me trying to pretend that the same thing wasn’t happening to me too. His confession already took me by surprise, but when he told me that he had quit his job too, then I was really flummoxed. Calvin was not the kind of guy to do something as unexpected as that. At least he never used to be. But it seemed that parts of European Calvin had followed him back home.
Fast forward to today and the two of us are looking at purchasing a second apartment together. Our first one was technically not ours, but we have been renting a place in South Beach, Miami for the last three months.
“We can get that same company we used previously to come and give it a fresh paint job.” He moves through the empty apartment, gesturing towards the walls. Turning back to me, he flashes me that gorgeous boyish grin of his that still has my heart bursting till today. I was never a heart-bursting kind of woman, but there is something about that damn Rhodes charm of his that has me all giddy.
“What’s that look?” He asks with a laugh. My face has a mind of its own, but it could have only been mirroring the happiness I feel inside.
“Nothing.” I smile, shaking my head as I walk over to him, “I love everything about this place, but more importantly, I love you.” My hands moved up his arms, coming to a stop on his shoulders.
Grabbing both of my hands, he moves them to hook behind his neck before pulling me closer to him. Leaning closer to me, his nose brushes up against mine, “And I love you.”
A smile forms on my face before I lean closer, my lips pressing up against his. Every time I kiss him, it consumes me. He consumes me. “Yeah, you do,” I murmur against his lips, feeling them pull into a smile.
“We should celebrate,” he says.
Tilting my head up, my gaze meets his. “What did you have in mind?” My hand moves down over his chest, leaning into him. He presses a quick kiss against my forehead.
“Stay here.”
He moves away from me, disappearing into the kitchen and leaving me confused. “Uh, what are you doing?”
“Had to grab this.” He walks back towards me, this time with a bottle of champagne in his hand and two glasses.
I laugh. “What is this?”
“I told you, we should celebrate.” Stopping in front of me, he hands the glasses to me. “Remember this?” He lifts the bottle up, the pink-red bubbly making me smile.
“Of course I do.” I smile, “If my memory serves me correctly, you called this electrocuted water.”
“That’s right.” He snickers as he works through the wire around the cork. “Still true.” The sound of the pop from the champagne comes shortly after that as Calvin pours into both glasses. Moving back over to the kitchen counter, he places the bottle down before returning to where I stand. He positions himself in front of me, his eyes lifting to meet mine. The smile he has on his lips is mirrored in his eyes. That has to be one of my favorite looks on him. The one where I can see how happy he is. Happy and relaxed. Those never used to be words I would liken to him, but over this past year, he and I have grown. We’ve grown both as individuals and as a unit. In the beginning, I kept waiting for the dust to settle. I waited for that moment where he snapped back to reality and realized that this wasn’t what he thought it was.
But that never happened.
And I no longer want to self-sabotage anymore. I don’t want to run. I want this - I want him.
I hand him a glass. “Toast?”
“To you.” He leans his glass against mine.
Shaking my head, I say, “To us.”
“To us, linda.” Moving to bring his glass towards his lips, he pauses. “It’s a good thing you agreed to be my date a year ago, or we definitely wouldn’t be here right now.”
The memories of our unconventional start to our story together has me smiling. Being back in Algarve only heightened the memories that are already there. “Definitely not.” I laugh, sipping on my drink. “Plus, you bribed me with a holiday - who was I to say no?”
“I never bribed you,” he corrects, “In fact, I never actually asked you.”
“That’s right, Mario did,” I tsk, “because you were too afraid to.”
His laughter booms through the room, “You keep telling yourself that.” He moves to sip on his champagne, surprising me by his face remaining unphased as he tastes the ‘electrocuted water’.
“Hm, I’m impressed. You didn’t even flinch.”
“It seems my palette is maturing.” I roll my eyes at his sarcasm, a smile playing on my lips as I take a sip. “You rolled your eyes,” he says, causing me to turn to face him again. Taking my glass out of my hand (to my immediate protest), he walks over to the counter and places them down. “Remind me again what I said about that?”
I can feel the heat pulsing through my veins, turning every part of me hot and ready in anticipation as his words return to my mind. “I think you said something about bending me over a counter to really give me something to roll my eyes about.” I tap the side of my head. “But I could be wrong.”
His lips pull into a smirk, his eyes turn dark as his gaze drops over me. Calvin saw me. He’s seen every part there is to me and he loves me for it. He also has a healthy appetite for me. One I have no problem taking advantage of.
“If I didn’t know better, Da Silva, I’d say you did that on purpose.” His voice drops low as he brushes up against me, his eyes on my lips.
“Maybe, maybe not.”
His eyes meet mine and I’m greeted by that smile of his again. “What am I going to do with you, huh?”
Pulling at the inside of my bottom lip, I try to stop my smile as I push up onto my tip toes. My lips hover close to his, the smell of him surrounding me and sending my desire feral. “Maybe you should start with bending me over that counter.” I gesture in the direction of it, “That can be fun.”
His lips brush up against mine. “Oh, it will be.”
THE END