Chapter Seventeen
We visited four more temple ruins that afternoon. Though not as extravagant as Angkor Wat, each one was just as haunting and beautiful. The one that touched me profoundly was Ta Prohm, where an ancient looking tree seeped through the ruin’s walls creating a harmonious union between stone and root.
Two different elements of nature, fused into one to form one of the most breathtaking things I’ve ever seen.
I turned around and looked at Shadow, who was too busy examining the carvings on the stone walls to notice that I was staring at him.
We were two distinct entities in this vast universe ourselves—Shadow living in a world of money, power, and a haunting past which suffocates him daily. Meanwhile I was a simple girl whose life blood was filled with impossible dreams and musical sonatas. My future terrified me and my past was filled with bittersweet memories.
A week ago, the thought of being in a relationship with this provocative, but ridiculously handsome man was the last thing I wanted. Seeing the symbiotic union between the tree and the temple made me wonder if a love between Shadow and I could be just as beautiful and spellbinding?
I wanted him. God, I wanted him so badly.
I wanted these dates to be more than just a facade.
I wanted these moments we had together to mean just as much to Shadow as they did to me. I wanted him to look at me as I looked at him—as the person who captured his heart.
Who was I kidding? He wanted me as his fake lover, just so he didn’t have to commit himself to anyone.
Perhaps this entire date in Cambodia was an elaborate sham, something that the Midnight Society could watch or read about.
Face it Aria, you’re just a simplistic girl with a piano, chasing another one of your impossible dreams. To Shadow, I was probably just another news article for the tabloids.
“Are you hungry?” Shadow asked as we left Ta Prohm.
The thought of food made my stomach howl like a wolf, enthralled by a full moon. We had spent almost twelve solid hours hiking, and I’d loved nothing more than to strip naked from the wet clothes that clung to my skin and indulge in a delicious Cambodian meal.
“Let’s go back to the hotel and clean up?” I suggested.
“You got it.”
#
It took me about an hour to transform myself from a sweaty, untamed mess into a presentable woman, worthy to take out to dinner. A shower and a glass of wine had me feeling more relaxed, as I waited for Shadow in the hotel lobby.
Outside, the streets were alive with locals running about, wide smiles on their faces as they went about their business.
I turned to Johnny.
“Is it always this busy on the streets at night?” I asked.
“It’s the Cambodian New Year Ms. Aria,” he replied. “Tonight, there is a big celebration on the streets.”
“Oh wow. Shouldn’t you be at home with your wife then?”
“I spend time with her yesterday and day before,” he said. “Cambodian New Year lasts for three days. She tired from two nights of dancing.”
“So you’re going to spend the night watching us eat?”
“Depends on what you eat,” Johnny joked.
I couldn’t help but laugh at his innocent humor. I was going to miss him when I had to return home tomorrow.
“Aria, you look stunning as usual.”
I turned around to see Shadow standing behind me, dressed in shorts and sandals and a navy blue short-sleeved collared shirt.
“Fuck,” I said. “I’m overdressed, aren’t I?” I looked down at my evening gown.
“Of course not,” Shadow said. “I’m just underdressed, that’s all.”
“I had this crazy expectation that you were going to take me to some fancy, over-priced restaurant where they’ll judge me for my unscrupulous cheap looks.”
“The one thing I love about Cambodia, no one knows who I am,” Shadow said. “I don’t have to worry about maintaining my appearance. You have no idea how many times back home, I just wanted to walk into a grimy Mexican joint and enjoy a plate of fish tacos and a bottle of Corona.”
He licked the top of his full lips. “Anyways, I’m going to take advantage of no one knowing who I am here. I’m going to wear comfortable clothes, eat local foods, and enjoy the street-level atmosphere of the Cambodian New Year.”
“Can I change then? I have a casual summer dress back in my room,” I said.
Shadow shook his head.
“No.” His eyes scanned me from head to toe. “You look very sexy…and very appetizing,” he added.
I felt the color of my cheeks flush into bright shades of red. “Okay, I’ll keep it on, just for you,” I said, my mind floating aimlessly in a sea of his sensual talk.
Once inside the tut-tut, Shadow instructed Johnny to drive us to Pub Street, a popular tourist hang out where they served local food and also housed several westernized bars.
The entire ride over, we sat in comfortable silence. No words needed to be spoken; just sitting next to Shadow was more than enough to make me happy.
Eventually the tut-tut ride came to an end, stopping in front of a two-story restaurant. Instead of the typical four walls you’d see back home, this restaurant was completely open to the outside.
“Call me when finished,” Johnny said cheerfully before speeding off like the road runner.
We were greeted by friendly waiters in white dress shirts, who led us up the stairs and seated us close to the main street. With a roof over our heads and the open air, I felt as if I was eating on a veranda.
“You ate here before?” I asked.
Shadow nodded. “I recommend the Khmer curry. It’ll blow your mind.”
“Is that what you’re having?”
“There’s this baked fish I’ve been dying to try here. They wrap it in banana leaves and steam it,” Shadow said, glancing over the menu. “As much as I love the curry, I also enjoy a little variety here and there.”
The waiter returned with a bottle of chilled white wine and two wine glasses.
“The usual sir?” he asked as he set the glasses on the table and carefully poured the white into them.
Shadow nodded, pulling a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket and handing it over to the waiter as a tip. The waiter smiled graciously and then took our food order.
It had cooled down significantly, though the heat still radiated off my body from the intense afternoon sun. A gentle breeze glazed over my body and I closed my eyes, enjoying every second of it.
“It was a good day,” I said, my eyes still closed.
“I’m glad you had fun,” Shadow said. “This country has a way of mesmerizing a person’s heart.”
So do you, I thought.
I opened my eyes and reached for my glass, taking a polite sip from the sweet wine. “So do you think Abraham can succeed in stimulating Cambodia’s economy?”
“I hope so. He’s found the brightest minds in Cambodia already. While Siem Riep thrives on tourism, the other parts of Cambodia suffer from extreme poverty. They’re still trying to recover from Pol Pot’s madness.”
“All it takes is one person to lead a country into its destruction,” I sighed.
Shadow nodded. “Funny, I’ve heard some members of the Midnight Society say that of me.”
I saw the opening I needed to inquire more about the organization.
“Tell me more about the Midnight Society,” I said, more of a demand than a request.
“Curiosity killed the cat,” Shadow said, echoing Senator Donald Huff’s warning.
“You never heard that a cat has nine lives?” I replied.
Shadow laughed. “Touche.”
“Hey, if I’m supposed to be your Midnight Princess, the least you can do is tell me a little bit about your work.”
“You’re not my princess anymore after tonight,” Shadow said. “Your contract’s fulfilled.”
My heart sank from his statement, but I hid my disappointment. “I want to know,” I said. “I don’t like secrets.”
“I guess you don’t like me then,” Shadow said. “I’m full of secrets.”
“Let’s hear some.”
Shadow sighed. “You’re relentless.”
“Don’t you trust me to keep your secrets?”
“The secrets I have aren’t trivial, like housewives gossiping about who’s sleeping with the pool boy. The secrets I have will get a person killed.”
“Try me. I need some excitement in my life anyway.”
Shadow reached for his glass of wine, took a big gulp, and set it down again. He licked his full lips and gave me an apprehensive look.
For a moment, I thought he was going to give in and tell me what I wanted to know.
“I can’t,” he finally said.
“Didn’t your mom know your father’s business with the Midnight Society?” I asked.
“They also slept in the same bed together,” Shadow pointed out.
Then sleep in the same bed with me, I wanted to blurt aloud, but I decided to keep that to myself.
“Anyways, what I do isn’t interesting. All I do all day is spin webs of lies. This is the core of the Midnight Society.”
“You hate them, don’t you?” I asked, “The Midnight Society.”
Shadow thought about the question for a moment. “I like certain people inside the Society,” he replied.
“That’s not what I asked,” I said.
“Where do you want to be in five years?” Shadow asked, suddenly changing the topic. He was good at that.
“It’s a secret,” I said, giving him a taste of his own medicine.
“No it’s not. I already know what your goals are.”
“If you already know, then why ask the question?”
Shadow grinned. “You have this smile on your face when you talk about your dreams. It’s just the prettiest thing to look at. I wanted to see it again.”
Damn it. He was sweet talking me again, and succeeding at it.
“How about I make you a deal,” I said. “I’ll tell you all the things I hope to achieve in the next five years, and then you do the exact same, truthfully.”
Shadow thought about it for a moment before replying, “Okay, deal.”
I extended my pinky finger towards him. “Swear it.”
“Done,” he said as he hooked his pinky around mine and tugged lightly.
I leaned back in my chair, grabbed a glass of wine off the table and took a healthy gulp and looked at him thoughtfully.
“You already know that I dream of being a world famous pianist,” I said. “It’s a dream that my dad and I both shared.”
“Your father wanted to become a pianist as well?”
I nodded. “It’s a dream he couldn’t fulfill because of me,” I sighed. “My mom died of cancer when I was just a baby so all his time was invested into taking care of me.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your mom,” Shadow said.
“I’ve seen pictures of her, but I wish I could have heard her voice. She’ll always be the woman in the photos that I spent hours staring at; a beautiful smiling woman who succumbed to that fucking disease, robbing her of her life with me way too early.”
Shadow was focused on every word I said. I had his undivided attention. It was a welcome change from the other ex-boyfriends I had.
“Being a single parent was pretty much the death of my father’s dream to travel the world and perform on grand stages. He always told me that when I had the crowd in Vienna eating out of my hand, then I had finally made it.”
“Vienna is a lovely city,” Shadow said. “We should go there sometime.”
“I thought our dates were finished after this,” I said.
“I can make an exception.”
I giggled like a school girl, only to realize how juvenile I must have looked. I cleared my throat.
“Growing up, I was always surrounded by pianos. As a side business on weekends, my dad restored pianos, picking up old clunkers and refurbishing them. He fine-tuned every string until they were restored to their glory again,” I said. “I helped him out quite often, handing him tools or helping him with the tuning. Sometimes I even helped restring them. It became a tradition that after every piano was finished, I’d learn a new song on it before it was to be sold.”
“What was the first song your dad ever taught you?” he asked.
I smiled. “Twinkle twinkle little star of course.”
“Really?”
“No, I’m lying. It was actually Baa Baa Black Sheep.”
“Very funny,” Shadow said with a smirk.
“It wasn’t until I was twelve, maybe thirteen, that I had asked my dad about his passion for music and pianos. It was then that he revealed to me his abandoned dream of playing music for the world to hear. When I asked him why he didn’t continue down that path, he always refused to tell me, diverting the conversation to other topics using the same stupid tactic you use.
“My uncle told me the truth one time while drunk. The reason my dad abandoned his dreams was to take care of me. They often say that parents live vicariously through their children. It was true. I decided at that moment that I would fulfill my dad’s dream and train to become a pianist myself. I fantasized about sitting in Vienna Music Hall, finishing my encore and the crowd is roaring, giving me a standing ovation. In the first row was my dad, and I’d bring him up on stage, revealing to everyone that this wonderful man was the true inspiration behind the music that they heard tonight.” I paused and swallowed hard. “My dad died two years ago from pancreatic cancer. I’ll never be able to fulfill that fantasy.”
I felt myself getting emotional. Crying was the last thing I wanted to do in front of Shadow. He’d probably think I was unstable.
“I’m sure wherever he is, he’ll still be able to see and hear you play in Vienna when the day comes.”
“Do you believe in heaven or God?” I asked.
Shadow’s eyes diverted to the ground as he reflected on my question. “Not for a long time,” he finally said.
“I see.”
“I’m sure God comes to those who deserve it. However I don’t consider myself one of those people,” Shadow said.
“So do you think my dad’s watching over me now?”
“I do,” Shadow said. “He’s probably thinking ‘who’s this unworthy dipstick sitting in front of my daughter.’ That’s probably what I’d be thinking if I was him.”
“I always believed people from heaven can see deep into people’s souls,” I said. “I’m sure my dad would have liked you. You seem like a pretty good guy.”
“If your dad could look into my soul, then he’d definitely be scowling. I’m fucked up, there’s no mistake about that.” Shadow leaned back in his chair. “I’ve heard you play Aria. You have an amazing gift and I’d be shocked if you weren’t able to succeed. Everything is in its right place for you.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “The thing about classical music is there’s no demand for it. Classical music enthusiasts have already all the music they ever need in their collection. There are only so many variations of Beethoven piano sonatas that can be played, while maintaining the spirit of the original song. Let’s face it, I chose a dying breed of business that’s highly competitive and could live without another person redoing a famous composer’s work. A classical musician is the ultimate cover artist.”
“So create your own music,” Shadow said. “I heard the song you wrote for your dad. It was brilliant.”
“It’s not that easy,” I said. “The classical music circles are a snobby bunch and they won’t welcome a new artist with open arms easily. Take Phillip Glass for example, his music has been the ridicule of the classical elite for years.”
“I think it’s more along the lines that all the songs he wrote can be played with two fingers.”
“That’s beside the point. He tried something different with his minimalist style and was ostracized by the very people I need to impress.”
“Why do you need to impress them?” Shadow asked.
“Because it’s my dream to succeed; it’s our dream.”
Shadow looked at me pensively. “Has your father raised you well?”
“What kind of question is that?” I asked.
“Well has he?”
“Of course he has. My father was the greatest person I’ve ever known.”
“Then technically you have a lot of your father in you, isn’t that a fair statement to say?”
“Well…yes I suppose.”
I was confused by his line of questioning but allowed him to continue. “Who do you want to impress more,” he began, “Those snooty wine drinking, Wagner worshiping mother fuckers who masturbate to the sounds of their own voices,” he paused, “Or do you want to impress your dad?”
The answer was obvious. “My dad of course; it’s always my dad.”
“Then impress yourself,” Shadow said. “As you said, there’s a lot of your father in you. Compose a song that you’re proud of and that’s more than enough for you to succeed in this world. Pleasing a bunch of soul-sucking assholes will turn your hard work into a soulless product. However what you’re doing is art, and in the end, you—and your father—are the only opinions that matter.”
He was right. All this time, I’ve been killing myself trying to imitate the works of others in order to please a bunch of wine-sniffing music aficionados who knew nothing about me, nor my work. Why the hell was I spending so much time pleasing these people? Why did I need to place my happiness in the hands of others?
“I think you’re on to something,” I said with a smile.
“Good,” he replied. “Now do you remember the agreed method of payment for your condo?”
“Well yeah, you want me to record the most difficult piano pieces ever written,” I said, “Which is fair payment. I really shouldn’t whine about it.”
“I’m going to suggest altering the terms of your payment,” Shadow said. “Instead of mastering those songs—which may lead to finger arthritis—I want you to record five original songs for me instead.”
“Like a demo?”
“Yes,” Shadow said. “Record me a demo of five original songs, written by the Golden Virgin.”
“We really have to stop using that nickname. I’m neither golden nor a virgin.”
“I like the name,” Shadow said. “It has a nice catchy ring to it. It’s mysterious and intriguing; perfect for the stage.”
“I have issues with the virgin part of it. I’m never allowed to have sex?”
“Not in public.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s fair I suppose.”
The waiter returned, bringing us our meals that looked—and smelled—amazing. I wasn’t hungry before but the rich aroma of golden curry was enough to have my mouth screaming for a taste.
I lunged for my fork and was ready to dig in, but paused when I saw Shadow reaching for his wine glass. He raised it in my direction.
“A toast to a great day, and to our second date,” Shadow said.
“Can I take a bit of my food first?”
“And here I was trying to be romantic.”
“Fine, fine,” I said, grabbing my glass and tapped it against his. “Cheers.”
I savored every single bite of my meal, the foreign spices of the rich and creamy curry dancing on my tongue—an ensemble of flavors mixed together harmoniously.
Shadow seemed to be enjoying his food as well, taking healthy bites of his fish, which also smelled phenomenal.
As dinner began to wind down, I decided to pick up where our conversation left off.
“So we discussed my five year plan,” I said. “Now it’s your turn.”
Shadow set down his fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“There are two stories I can tell you,” he said. “One happy and cheerful—but it would be a lie, which adds onto the other pile of lies I’ve spun as a member of the Midnight Society—or I can tell you the truth, which isn’t pleasant. In fact, the truth may disturb you to the point where you’ll never want to see or speak to me again.”
“The truth,” I said with no hesitation. “I despise lies.”
“Okay then,” Shadow said as he polished off the last of his wine before continuing. “I’m sure you must know by now that both my parents were murdered.”
I nodded. “I wanted to give you my sympathies, but couldn’t find the proper time to. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Shadow said. “Talking about dead parents tends to spoil the mood of a romantic getaway.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I guess we’ve been talking quite a bit about our dads during this trip.”
“Well, they were the people that shaped our identities,” Shadow said. “Think how drastically different our lives would have been if we were someone else’s kid. Everything you and I do, it’s because our parents influenced us that way.”
“Absolutely.”
“For the first ten years of my life, I always knew what my dream was—to impress my father and be a worthy successor to the Tremaine family name. Everything I did was for him; every goal I scored, every exam I aced—it was all done to earn my father’s approval.”
“Did he ever give it to you?”
Shadow shook his head. “My father wasn’t the type to hand out gold stars or pats on the back. To this day, I’ll never know if he was proud of me or not,” he sighed.
I reflected on my own dad and how he constantly congratulated me on each one of my accomplishments. His encouragement allowed me the confidence to face all my challenges head on and succeed. Listening to what Shadow’s childhood was like made me feel sorry for him.
“Have you ever seen something so horrible, you’ll never be able to rid yourself of that grotesque image, no matter how hard you try?”
I nodded as I recalled a dark memory of mine. “I was helping out my grandpa on the farm once when I was little. One day, I went out to feed the calves and I noticed one calf in particular was moaning and jerking her head around wildly. I remember walking up to her, only the left side of her face in view. She had looked at me with these wide eyes, terrified, her head swinging from side-to-side as if she were possessed. It wasn’t until I drew closer and saw the right side of her face that I realized what was wrong.”
I paused, and shuddered at the memory.
“You don’t have to tell me the story if you don’t want to,” Shadow said. “It was more of a rhetorical question anyways.”
“Too late now,” I said. “I always hated it when someone started a story and didn’t finish.”
“Don’t make friends with writers then,” Shadow said. “Many of them tend to start but fail to finish.”
I smiled at him. “Storytellers are equally as troublesome,” I agreed, before continuing with my memory. “What I saw was something straight out of a horror movie. It looked as if half her face had been chewed off by flesh eating worms; fat bulbous insects that ate away her eyes, the flesh on her cheeks, and her nose. All that was left was cartilage and bone. That’s the one image I can never forget, no matter how hard I try.”
“Has the image of the worms devouring the calf changed the way you look at the world?” Shadow asked.
“I was twelve at the time. For years, worms and skele-cows haunted my dreams,” I said. “But eventually I got over it. However take me to a restaurant and nine times out of ten, I’ll still choose chicken over steak.”
Shadow nodded.
“This is a lead into your story?”
“Yes,” he said, taking a deep breath. “The one image that will haunt me until the day I die was opening the door of the study and seeing my mom and dad lying in a pool of blood. My mom had one solid stab wound through her neck, followed by multiple ones all across her body. Meanwhile my father’s neck was half sawed off, his head tilted back at an impossible angle.”
Shadow swallowed hard.
“I’ll be honest with you,” I decided to come out. “I already know all this. The other day, while I was relaxing in the park, Lucien approached me and gave me a package. Inside were transcripts of your sessions with your therapist.”
I felt guilty keeping this secret until now. I should have told Shadow the minute I received the package, but the mystery behind him was too tempting to resist. And then when I saw him at Angkor Wat, I contemplated telling him then but the beauty of Cambodia had stolen my heart and discussing the murder of Shadow’s parents was the last thing I wanted to talk about while we explored the magical Khmer ruins.
“It took him longer than usual this time,” Shadow sighed.
“Huh?”
“Lucien’s been passing around those files to anyone and everyone who would listen,” Shadow said. “Did you read them?”
I shot Shadow a nervous glance. “Truthfully?” I asked.
“I dislike liars almost as much as you do,” Shadow replied.
“Yes, I read the transcripts.”
Shadow leaned back in his chair and took in a deep breath. “And what do you think?”
“I think you’re still a wonderful person and the death of your parents was very tragic.”
“Do you know what my first thought was when I saw my dad lying there, dead?”
I shook my head.
“I was angry that he was dead because I could never prove to him that I was a worthy heir to the Tremaine estate, that it was possible for me to grow up into someone he could proudly call his son,” he said. “The soulless eyes of my father’s, the same ones that looked at me with disgust every time I failed—those dead eyes will haunt me for the rest of my life because they’ll never see the man that I would become. I will always be a failure to him, until the day I die.”
“That’s not true,” I said. “You’re not a failure. In fact you’ve become quite the successful man.”
“I have none of my father in me,” Shadow said. “So even if I’m satisfied with my own accomplishments, I don’t think they’ll ever be enough for him.”
“They never found the killer?”
Shadow shook his head. “It was an unsolved mystery. The Midnight Society was good at suppressing it in the media, allowing us to use our own brand of investigation—and justice when the time came. However the murder was a clean one—no evidence left, no fingerprints, absolutely nothing; only two dead bodies in a pool of blood with no signs of struggle. After five years, the Midnight Society decided to ease up on the investigation, conceding that this was one mystery that would never be solved.”
“Fuck that,” I shouted. “They need to keep at it. What if the psychopath decides to kill again? There has to be someone who’s still investigating their murder.”
“There is,” Shadow said. “Me.”
He broke his gaze away from mine and stared out into the street where a crowd began to form. Music blared from old speakers as people moved to the beats of songs popular ten years ago. There were plastic glasses in hand and many of them were drinking beer distributed from buckets. It looked as if the Cambodian New Year’s festivities were just starting.
“I guess this leads back to the original question of what I want to accomplish within the next five years,” Shadow said, his eyes coated with a thin layer of moisture. “I want to find my parent’s killer and make him suffer. When there’s nothing left but a pile of flesh and bone, only then will I be satisfied and perhaps my dad’s ghost can look at me and finally be proud of me.”
He took a deep breath.
“I want to have a life again,” he said, no longer cool and collected. He looked vulnerable now—desperate almost. “I want to start all over again, away from the Society, away from the politics and the lies, and most of all away from all the ghosts that constantly have a grip around my throat. Each and every day, I feel like I’m suffocating and the only way to escape is to disappear and never be found again.”
“I’ll disappear with you,” I blurted aloud. Lord, what a stupid thing to say. I let my emotions take hold of me in the heat of the moment. Seeing Shadow so vulnerable made me want him even more, to take him in my arms and be the one to comfort him and stand by his side while he faced the demons that controlled him. Curse these nurturing instincts of mine. It only made me look desperate for his attention and love.
Just as I was about to crawl under the table and hide from embarrassment, I saw Shadow smile at me—a genuine lovely smile that penetrated through my clothing and bare skin and buried itself deep within my heart.
“I’d love that Aria,” he said.
Holy shit! Did Shadow just say he would love to start a new life with me?
“Say that again,” I demanded.
“I’d love to have you by my side,” Shadow said. “But are you willing to wait for me while I hunt down my parent’s killer?”
“I’ll wait until the end of the world.” I reached out and placed my hand over his. Shadow smiled at the gesture, opening his hand and taking mine within it. It was the perfect moment that was accentuated by the sounds of celebration down in the streets.
After settling the bill for dinner, Shadow and I took to the streets, hand-in-hand.
The music was blaring and the locals were out on the streets dancing as if no one was watching.
“Let’s stay for a while,” I suggested, as I moved my body to the heavy beat. “I don’t remember the last time I heard the Backstreet Boys.”
“Yeah, they’re a bit dated on their music here,” Shadow said. I grabbed his hand and dragged him right into the center of the crowd.
“I have to warn you, I’m not much of a dancer,” he pointed out.
“Let me lead then and I’m sure your body will figure out how to do the rest,” I said seductively. With the knowledge that he felt the same way I did, it was game on.
I was going to drive this boy wild.
The first obstacle I faced was doing a sexy dance to the tune of Backstreet’s Back and its cheesy beat and even worse lyrics. But damned if I was going to let those obsolete boy boppers ruin this moment.
With my back turned to Shadow, I began moving sensually, my body flowing like a gentle wave. I noticed he was keeping his distance from me, clearly uncomfortable with the entire concept of dancing.
I tilted my head back and flashed him a ‘ I want to fuck you ’ smile and said to him, “Don’t be shy. You can touch me.”
I reached back, found his hands and positioned them around my waist. Feeling his rock hard body against mine was more than enough to make me wet.
“I’ve wanted to hold you for quite some time now,” he replied. “I never wanted to be too presumptuous though.”
“You can do whatever you want to me.”
I began stroking his crotch with my ass. I closed my eyes and let a soft moan escape my lips as we continued our erotic embrace throughout the song. His fingers splayed across my stomach, pulling me harder against him.
Feeling the hardness of his manhood against my body was driving me wild. I wanted to tear off his clothes and do him right then and there in the middle of the street—not giving a fuck if every Cambodian in the universe saw us getting it on.
I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his, my breasts against his chest. Shadow’s jaw clenched and his eyes filled with lust as his breaths grew heavy. I reached down with one hand and brushed his cock lightly.
“Aria…” he moaned.
I didn’t let him speak. Instead my mouth found his—finally, we kissed. And it was better than I had envisioned. His tongue explored every inch of my mouth—mine doing the same. He cupped my upper lip with his, just before his tongue found mine again. We embraced each other in the center of the city streets, the locals dancing all around us while we were serenaded with the crooning Backstreet Boys.
It wasn’t until the song ended and a new one began that we released ourselves from each other.
“Is that what I think it is?” Shadow asked as he tilted his head towards the direction of the speakers. The notes reverberated through the streets loud and clear. There was no mistaking what this song was.
“It’s the fucking Macarena!” I shouted with excitement.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Shadow said. “This song is as pleasant as a rusty nail wedged in my ear.”
“Yeah, this song sucked major balls at the height of its popularity, but listening to it years later—it’s brilliant.”
“No, it still sucks major balls.”
“I beg to differ. Just look at the crowd,” I said.
Everyone on the street had formed into a perfect grid, all performing the ridiculous choreography of the goofy South American song. There was something beautiful about the fact that the locals here were oblivious to how terrible the Macarena truly was. They didn’t hear the repetitive beat—reminding me of a rattling air duct—or the man’s annoying monolithic droning. Instead, they heard music, beautiful fun music that hadn’t been spoiled by American cynicism.
It was a magical thing.
“Let’s dance,” I said, falling in line with the rest of the locals as I placed my hands behind my head and shook my hips.
“You’re kidding, right?” Shadow asked. “This is the most ridiculous song ever.”
“Look at the irony of it. We can enjoy one of the shittiest songs in one of the most beautiful countries in the world.”
“HAWAAHHH!” everyone turned in unison as we rotated counter clockwise and began the motions of the song again.
“You look absolutely ridiculous,” Shadow smiled.
I gestured towards everyone else who had a wide smile on their faces as they moved to the rhythm of the beat. “I see only one odd man out. If we took a video from high above, I’m pretty sure we won’t be the ones looking out of place.”
Shadow turned his head, glancing at everyone around him, before finally giving off a sigh.
“I look like a dick for not participating, don’t I?”
“The biggest dick,” I replied.
Shadow shrugged his shoulders, fell in line with me and succumbed to the Macarena as well. This was great, I managed to get the leader of one of the most powerful and clandestine organizations in the world to do the Macarena.
Watching Shadow crack a wide smile as he performed the self-depreciating dance routine was fantastic, and what was even more amazing was the fact that he seemed like he was having a lot of fun doing it. It was good to know that underneath the layers of darkness, he was still able to forget about the past and have a little fun once in a while.
Any man that could abandon his machismo and laugh at himself the odd time was definitely one I could be happy with.
As the song finally drew to a close, the streets erupted into cheers and clapping, as if we had finished a live theatre performance. I was caught up in this silly but magical moment, high-fiving the locals and giving others hot, sweaty hugs. When I turned to look at Shadow, his eyes were fixed on me, like I was the only thing that mattered in this universe.
I knew he was going to try and seduce me tonight, and I was going to let him. I couldn’t think of anything more I wanted than to feel every inch of him inside of me.
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