‘How? We walked here? Also, what the fuck is this? I thought you were a struggling artist?’ she exclaimed, waving an arm at my two-million-dollar Aston Martin Valour.
‘I never said I was struggling. You heard orphan and assumed that meant poor. As for how, I had a friend drop off the car and give my keys to Papa G while we were eating.’ I smirked, enjoying the slight crease of confusion that marked the space between her brows; she seemed embarrassed by her assumption of me.
‘I-I’m sorry,’ she stammered, cheeks flaming.
‘If you want to make it up to me, let me drive you home, Sunshine.’
‘I don’t live far from here; I can walk,’ she said, shrinking away from the car. That explained why she hadn’t been uncomfortable walking through this side of town at thistime of night.
‘Get in, Namazzi. I want to drive you home and you’re going to let me. Please,’ I added, to sweeten the demand. She hesitated still.
‘Why? Why did you take me out tonight?’ she asked, confused but taking the barest step forward.
‘Why did you rub yourself against me until you came?’ I asked, pressing in closer to her until my body crowded her and I was all but purring the words against her ear.
‘Tell me, Sunshine, can you truly deny this pull between us? It’s cosmic, divinely inspired and wholly earth shattering. I have never craved a person the way I crave you. Not your body, but the mind behind those mesmerising eyes. I want to know you and seep into every fibre of your being, just as you have seeped into my mind, body and soul, utterly consuming me. I don’t think I’ll ever feel whole again without you in my life. The moment my eyes saw your smile, you became my north star. This, my sweet darling, is fate. Tell me I’m wrong.’ I bit down lightly on her earlobe and dragged my teeth down as her body vibrated beneath me, a soft moan escaping her lips and echoing in my mind.
Something snapped within her, whether it was my words or my touch, I found myself being slammed against my car as her leg hiked up and wrapped around my hip, her lips crashing into mine, hungry, consuming. Her tongue was warm and eager, dancing with my own in a game of push and pull. Sparks trailed across my skin, her frantic fingers touching everywhere, grasping for a hold on reality as she descended into desire.
It could have been minutes or hours; I lost all sense of time. But when we finally pulled apart, gasping for air, one thing was certain. She was mine, and the stare that met me told me I was hers.
After that, she was compliant and let me drive her home; it was a ten-minute drive from the restaurant but I wished it were longer. She lived in an old, red brick apartment building. My gods, I wanted to follow her, but instead, I let her go, giving her my number and leaving her with the power to decide where this would go from here. I was all in.
6
SUNSHINE
Iwaited all of five minutes before texting V after she dropped me off. My hands were still shaking with the adrenaline from that kiss and the way she gripped my thigh as she sped through the streets at night. I was dripping with need now as I laid in bed, rubbing my thighs together, while I typed out the perfect message, then deleted it, and retyped it again and again, finally settling on something completely unoriginal.
Sunshine: Thanks for tonight V.
Was my message pathetic? Yes. But nothing I could say was good enough, and my mind was a turbulent ocean right now, with crashing waves of confusion. It took thirty minutes for V to get home andreply to me.
V: I should be thanking you Sunshine. How are you feeling about my declarations? I know how your body felt, but I want to know how your mind is feeling about us.
Us. It was beautiful—terrifyingly beautiful. Everyone I had ever been with always said “mine”, never “us”, and I loved it coming from V. Could I trust it? I wanted to. I wanted to free fall into whatever this was and have no cares. To be swept away, leaving my past dead and buried, but that’s not how my life had ever worked—especially not since I realised tonight that we came from very different worlds. We may have both started from humble, if not traumatic, beginnings, but I was still stuck in that world, whereas V looked like she owned it and more.
Sunshine: It may be too early to start talking about us. You barely know me. I barely know you and if I’m being honest I’m slightly intimidated after tonight. We live in two very different worlds, V. I don’t see how this works. Is there a connection? Yes. Do you make me feel things I never have before? Yes. Do I want you? Yes. But life isn’t that simple, my life is anything but simple and you seem to have it good right now. I don’t want to drag you down to my level when you’ve transcended it already.
I fought sleep while waiting for her reply, but it seemed I had scared her off; soon, the heaviness of my eyes won out. This was for the best.
In the morning when I woke, there was still no response from V. It was a good thing, but some twisted part of me unfairly felt disappointed. I tried not to overthink my message and to avoid flinging myself against a wall due to the self-doubt and embarrassment that were itching at my skin.
A small part of me hoped I would see her at the shop again today, that she would need another brush or some paint. My contradictory feelings were making my head swim but I didn’t bother rationalising it.
I was slower getting ready, constantly checking my phone, but when I stepped outside my apartment to catch the bus, there she was. Leaning against her car in the cool morning air, smoking her cigarette between leather-gloved fingers.
I stood there staring at her for a few minutes, not quite understanding what was happening. Had I not sent that message last night? Was it all just some sick dream?
Her piercing gaze held mine, watching and waiting. Allowing me to take my time.
‘Jump in, I’ll give you a ride to work,’ she said, holding the door open as her shoe crushed the cigarette butt into the pavement when I approached.
‘Why are you here?’ I stammered, stepping forward but refusing to get into the car. ‘You didn’t even respond to my message last night.’ The moment I said the words, I wanted to take them back; they even sounded desperate and grating on my nerves. She owed me nothing.
‘I thought that conversation was better had in person. Let’s talk in the car, where it’s warm, Sunshine.’
I hesitated once more, but the way she said my name melted me a little. She said it with reverence. V pointed to asteaming hot cup of coffee sitting in the cup holder, waiting for me.
