Alodia was brought to reality when her employer, Iustina, knocked on her door and told her that her visitor just arrived. She hadn’t even realized the family had already returned, since she took a long bath and pampered herself. She hadn’t realized until that moment that she did prepare wholeheartedly for her date with Harman later.
She smiled and thanked forty-year-old Iustina for letting her know. After looking at herself in the huge standing mirror in her room, she went out. She thought letting her natural long dark brown hair down and wearing a black tube top sundress with blue print hibiscus paired with flat sandals were good enough for this summer night. Her feet were light when she walked out of her cream-walled room. She couldn’t almost believe she was anticipating this date. But she knew deep inside that it was way different from going out with those men she had in the past.
When she appeared in the living room, where the th
“That’s fine by me. How about… kids? Do you have any?” That was Alodia’s another question thrown at him before she took a sip of sparkling water.“No kids, no adopted children, no wife, no live-in partner and no girlfriend or the so-called fling,” he answered in deliberate detail.Her eyes sized him up before she spoke. “I see. The same for me, I have none.” That was all she could say for now.“No boyfriend ever since?” he bluntly asked her, clearly want to know her relationship history.She was reminded of the string of men that she left in the midst of scandal she instigated. “No, ever since my birth on this planet,” she answered and smiled at him.“Seriously?” It was his time to raise an eyebrow. It was his turn to size her up.“I know, right? I’m twenty-two but I never had a boyfriend ever since.” She softly laughed at that and sh
Alodia laughed hard at that out-of-the-blue proposal. Their eyes held for long though, before she shook her head. “You have a weird sense of humor, Harman. But I like it. And about your proposal, no, thank you. I’m happy with my job and I love kids.”He stared at her face for a long moment before he spoke huskily. “Then… perhaps we can remedy that part where you love kids…” He deliberately let the sentence hang in the air, and she could get what he said between the lines. It was even as bright as the shining sun during the day but it was way hotter than the summer temperature in the Philippines!She laughed again; it was tinkling animatedly. Yes, she was enjoying his company! Pretty much. She had truly never enjoyed anyone’s company than his. Ever. What could Harman have that she liked him very much, that he was so different from all other men? This, she kept on thinking like an unsolved puzzle. It wasn’t just bec
Alodia could see those orbs clearly even with the colored dim lights in the park. She could tell what was on his mind at that very moment. She was not that innocent anyway. Instead of shying away or being uncomfortable, she found it amusing and exciting, even though she could feel her body blush.Just because it is Harman and not just some other guy. And whether you admit it or not, you really like him, Alodia, her mind commented.Her laugh was tinkling like a bell. “I just said whatsoever one wishes to do, right? Or are you just going to let me elaborate on that part?”“Yes, please do elaborate on that part,” he urged her with a soft laugh, too.It made her skin grow goosebumps, hearing him laugh like that. It just sounded so, so sexy. It seemed to caress her down her lady parts it was crazy.Their arms rubbed each other accidentally as they continued to stroll around the park. She could feel the friction that trav
“I… was really devastated when my sister died. And I still am. She was all I’ve got. She was even the reason why I’m working abroad… working so hard… And now, I’m all alone… even though I still have an aunt and a cousin who care so much about me. It’s just… different now… you know?” And Alodia’s voice faded away as she looked away from him.“I understand.”She heard him say it with a gentle voice. She looked at him once more. “I wish you really do,” she said with a hidden meaning. She then sighed and drank all the cloudy white liquid that was left in her glass.“What I don’t understand is that you’re still here… when the fact is that your sister’s already gone,” he mused. “Should I thank her in spite of everything that this has put you through?” His dark brown eyes were searching hers.Although she co
Harman would always call Alodia during lunch time. He’d say it was his break time. Therefore, he had a reason to call her. And because she and Giani always eat their lunch early and the child always had her afternoon nap, she had all the time to herself.Giani was tired of playing and watching TV, so she took an earlier afternoon nap that day. Hence, Alodia spent her time cleaning the house, wiping the electronics and windows, and there he was, calling her up again. This time, he called on her cell phone.“So, what’s new with your company?” She wanted to keep their conversation as neutral as possible. It was one of her tactics so that she would know him better and thus would make him court her all the more. After all, men liked to talk about themselves and their passion. They usually wanted to brag about their achievements and whatnot. And she knew how to show her interest so he’d admire her as well on that side of her for being curious of
They had sometimes “informal dates” on some weekends—yes, that was what she called them. It was because they would just meet up at some place like a fast food, coffee shop or just strolled somewhere in downtown area. Sometimes they would just stay in one place like an open restobar or refreshment bar just to watch the doves given something to eat by kids, adults and even elderly people. Sometimes, they would just ride the buses that were routed around downtown and some suburbs in the city or Harman would take her to some tourist spots in Bucharest where she hadn’t visited yet. Because of these, she learned some more about Romania and most especially about the Gypsy man.Each passing day, her feelings for him grew. She was getting more and more attracted to him without doubt and without any relevant and apparent reason if she’d really want to discern it. If she let herself really fall for him, was she safe from getting hurt like her sister? This,
Harman’s Gypsy driver, Pali, was awed when he opened the door for them a little later when they got out of the gate of Alodia’s employers’ residence. Pali had been serving Harman for quite a long time now, he had said.“Would you believe he was a pickpocket before he met me?” Harman informed Alodia in a whisper.“Serios?” She almost couldn’t believe it that her eyes rounded. “Good that he has changed!” she exclaimed softly.“Well, old habits die hard. He once pickpocketed one of my employees. When she learned about it, she wanted him in prison. But I took pity of him. It would be an additional case to his police records. So, I talked to the victim before she could go to the police, gave her some money and then I talked to Pali to not do it again. If he wanted to have a good life ahead of him, then he had to stop what he was doing. And, to top it off, I also told him not to offend any of m
Harman stared at Alodia and smiled with amusement reflected in his eyes. He turned to the woman with a meaningful smile, too. Alodia had to deal with this later if he was going to “reprimand” her for it. For now, she just wanted to get rid of this beautiful black-haired woman from her path.“Alodia, this is Laili, a childhood friend,” he introduced the older woman to her.But neither of them wanted to shake hands. Besides, they didn’t even smile at each other. She already took the hint that this other woman wouldn’t back down, like her. And instead, Laili took Harman’s arm. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to lose this “battle” either. She also took Harman’s other arm and the three of them went to a reserved table. Harman didn’t seem to have any choice of the matter at the moment.The round table was in the middle of the vast room and the rest were scattered around. A buffet table was in one si