She met Gia on the mall and they did go shopping for clothes. They chatted and she bravely asked how she came to know Christan. They seemed very close, in her opinion.
“We went to university together. Classmates. We dated a couple of times, but it’s not meant to be. We’ve been friends ever since, but we haven’t been really close since I got married and he did, too.”
“I see.” Alena digested the information she was given. She bit her lip before asking another one.
“About his wife, can you tell me anything about her?”
At this Gia raised an eyebrow. “Well, what do you know about her?”
“Just her name and that Christan really loved her.”
“Ah, yes. Well, I think that’s all you needed to know. What’s the point of knowing how they met, how they fell in love, how they dated? It’s all in the past. She’s gone. What you need is to make him see you, and not a semblance of his first wife in you. Don’t go that route.”
Alena was amazed by her words. Yes, her thoughts were along those lines when she asked that question. Gia’s right. She shouldn’t try to be like his first wife. That made her grin.
“What is it?” Gia was intrigued by her smile and raised an eyebrow.
“You refer to her as his first wife? Does he have a second one already?”
“He doesn’t. But you are trying to be, aren’t you? Isn’t that the whole point of setting you up with him?”
“Is that right?” Somehow, she’s not wholly comfortable with the setup. It wasn’t part of her plan. It has its own pros and cons but she hasn’t had the time to consider them at the moment.
They bought some clothes. She and Gia were in love with this maroon dress.
“You’ll look seductive but still elegant in this one. Go on and try it.”
Alena did and the dress highlighted her assets. It was a somewhat tight fit but still comfortable to wear. They bought it.
The bar has been open for over an hour already by the time they arrived. Thankfully, there were vacant seats at the bar and Christan received them warmly.
“I see you two really went shopping.” He noted before serving them with drinks. By now, there’s a tacit agreement on what they would like to have. Also, they trust Christan’s judgement on these things. Alena simply drinks whatever he prepares for her.
“We did. It was fun. Alena and I have a lot in common so we have a lot to talk about.”
Alena grinned. That, they did.
Gia furtively glanced at Alena and then at Christan. She must do something, is what she figured. After about fifteen minutes, she executed her plan.
Alena was looking at Christan serving a couple down the bar when Gia abruptly turned in her seat. While doing so, her glass full of beverage splashed onto Alena.
She gasped in surprise, inhaling sharply and pausing.
“I’m so sorry, Alena. I thought someone called me and I looked over.”
She’s still in shock and didn’t move for about ten seconds. Gia already grabbed the napkin Christan handed over and dabbed at her blouse.
“This won’t do. You’re soaked. It’s a good thing we shopped earlier. Why don’t you change into the dress we bought?”
Alena stared at Gia. It all happened too fast and just as she was thinking the woman has ill intentions, she figured out what she’s trying to do. Though, she’s not sure why she thought it’s necessary to pour her a drink.
“Okay. Let me just go to the bathroom.” She was still flustered and didn’t bother looking around. She is embarrassed to be seen like this.
Christan frowned at Gia. “Aren’t you going to help her?” He raised an eyebrow.
The woman drank the remaining liquid in her glass. “In fact, I am. Save our seats, would you?”
Gia followed Alena and quickly helped her change. She did not allow her to speak about the incident, though. They’re still in the bar’s public restroom, after all. Someone may hear. Alena understood.
“You look gorgeous on this number. Don’t look like that. Own this dress. Be confident and comfortable with it.”
Alena ran her hands on its bodice, making it fit her curves. Taking a deep breath, she stared at her reflection.
“Do I really look good?” She sounds doubtful. Gia rolled her eyes at her.
“Are you blind? Now, let’s go.” She pushed her out of the restroom and they returned to their seats. She only looked a little uncomfortable. This dress is very different from the casual clothes she was wearing earlier.
“I think I smell like cherries.” She did wipe her body dry earlier, but it’s not exactly washing herself.
Gia chuckled. “Ripe for the picking?”
Alena groaned at her attempt at teasing. Christan was within earshot, too.
“It suits you. Let’s ask Christan, why don’t we?”
Alena blinked at her. What is she saying?
The man raised an eyebrow upon hearing his name.
“This dress. I’m saying it’s gorgeous on her but she’s doubtful. What do you think?”
Alena was suddenly feeling conscious. Is he looking at her? She looked at herself and made sure she’s poised. Then, she looked up to see him staring at her. He was definitely nonchalant about it.
“It’s alright. It suits you.” He finally stated.
It was Gia’s turn to groan. “That’s not how you compliment a woman. If it looks good on her, you must say it’s totally beautiful.”
He can’t help but roll his eyes at her. She’s setting him up with Alena again, isn’t she?
“Be more confident.” He said this to Alena and she blushed.
Gia clucked her tongue. He’s hopeless. She decided to let it go and continued chatting with Alena about clothes.
“We should go to the beach sometime. My husband owns a resort.”
“Oh… I’ll check my schedule, then.” She replied before glancing at Christan.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to invite him and his kids. He takes them out to the sand once in a while.” Gia assured her.
After a couple of hours, they decided to call it a night.
“You surprised me.” Alena turned to Gia after they entered the latter’s car. The older woman offered her a ride home.
“I did, didn’t I?” Gia knew what she’s talking about.
“For a second there, I thought you were sabotaging me.” She showed wide eyes to her.
Gia chuckled, amused by her statement and expression. It was understandable, though.
“But why couldn’t I have simply worn it after we shopped?” She was curious. Was it really necessary to pour a drink over her?
“You’re missing the point.” Gia gestured. “I naturally brought his attention to your…” She pointedly looked at her cleavage and Alena was bewildered. That’s her reason?
“And you didn’t tell me beforehand because…?” This is her last question.
Gia shrugged. “I’m not sure if you’re good at acting, so I figured it could only be a natural reaction on your part. Your reaction was genuine.”
Alena sighed, relieved. “Well, thank you. I was rattled, so I didn’t notice… did you see him looking at my chest?”
Gia grinned. “I did.” More than that, she caught him glancing at Alena a few times. Whatever his reason is, it’s a good thing.
Christan is currently in his early forties. He’ll be forty-three soon. His sons are already teenagers. He sighed, thinking how he could properly parent them. They say adolescence is the most difficult period when raising children. They get a lot of questions. There are bodily changes. You need to teach them about the reality of the world. The value of hard work. They could turn out to be rebellious.So far, his sons have been easy to raise. They don’t say much. They don’t ask much. He rarely hears them complain. And if they do, they complain about the most random things. Completely unrelated to him.He couldn’t help but admire how Tanya raised them. They were very understanding children. He wasn’t present during their childhood. Well, he was there, but he’s too busy with his company. He hasn’t spent too much time with them during that period. He sees them in the mornings but only very briefly.When their mother died&hell
Though Gia has a point in what she said about how it’s best not to know what transpired between Christan and his first wife, Alena still feels that it would give her a better understanding of the man.What is he like towards a woman he loved? How caring is he? What ticks him off? What she currently knows about him are still superficial. Nothing personal. How is she supposed to get into a relationship with him like this?She needs to get one step closer to him.The opportunity came two weeks later during a social event she was attending. As soon as she saw him, she drank all the wine in her glass. She almost choked on it. She was suddenly nervous. She’s not expecting him to be here but this is an opportunity she must take advantage of.The party will end at midnight, but how long is he planning to stay? As she expected, he mainly talked to the men. She noticed this woman in red hovering near him. Her gaze obviously transfixed on Christan. Alena
With one hand on her back, the other cupped her breast and pulled it out of its confines. Her dress only has one strap on her right shoulder.She heard him moan as his face moved closer to her chest. He licked her skin before his mouth teased her exposed nipple. It hardened at his touch and she turned into a mush in his arms.Her desire heightened. She didn’t think they would be intimate like this. This was unplanned. Though she thought of seducing him if all else fail, there was no plan yet.His hand pushed off the strap and freed her other breast. His stimulation of her chest was enough to make her center dripping wet. She was putty in his arms. Restless.“You know I like you, right?” She whispered against his ear as he kept his face on her healthy globes. She kept her hands around his head, sometimes gripping his hair lightly.Christan heard her but was unable to respond. His actions are driven by the desire he’s feeling
Laying on her back, she let him do whatever he wants. He seems to have a lot of energy. He was hard again after some time and went ahead to stimulate her cave of pleasure. All she could do is moan and touch whatever she could reach of him.Alena feels helpless but oddly, she trusts him. What else can he do in his current state?Christan took her hard and then fast. Her breasts swayed with the rhythm and she could see his gaze stuck on them. Yep. After a guttural shout of release, his mouth latched on them, alternating with the suckling and groping. It bordered on painful but still bearable. No doubt she would be feeling sore all over her body tomorrow. This is too much of an exercise.She fell asleep despite the ticklish feeling on her skin and the stimulations he’s doing on her body. She reacts quite instinctively, still moaning in her sleep.When she opened her eyes over an hour later, he was fondling her chest and stomach. Laying next to her, he
Alena’s lip twitched as she listened to her dad’s stern warning and prohibition. He was basically telling her to stop chasing after a man like Christan Taylor. She looked at her mom for support, but she merely pursed her lips. The older woman’s not sure how to approach this. Her husband is being stubborn about the issue.“I know what I’m doing, dad. So what if he’d been married? His wife was dead. It’s not like I’m going to be a mistress. I haven’t seen his kids yet, but I’ll try to get along with them. I won’t needlessly allow them to bully me. What am I? Twelve? Lastly, he’s not that old.” She tried voicing her own opinion. Her dad raised them to take charge. He should know she’s not going to back down easily. And of course, she knew he won’t, too.“Are you really not going to listen to me? Stop being stubborn, Alena.”She can’t help rolling her eyes at
It took Alena two weeks to confirm that Christan is in fact avoiding her. She hasn’t seen him during that period. It’s been almost three weeks since they shared that night. Christan was correct in thinking that she indeed assumed that incident should’ve made them closer, even just a little bit. It’s inadequate to describe her feelings as merely disappointed. She’s starting to feel heartbroken. That was blatant avoidance on his part.Gia noticed it, too, and felt bad for the girl. Alena no longer has a regular schedule of going to his bar. She goes when she’s not busy and given how she decided to balance her work and personal life again, she stuck with it. Even so, to not see him at least once in the five times she went…“Who knows? He might be working on a big project. This isn’t the first time he skipped serving his bar.” Gia tried to assure her. But they both knew better. Alena smiled before gulping the dri
A week later, Drew reminded her that it’s his birthday on next week’s Wednesday. Alena was starting to feel better and she’s looking forward to his birthday. She asked what flavor he would like but he asked her to surprise him.Alena turned to Carl to ask him when his birthday is. It’s still four months away. Then, while waiting for their food. She quizzed them on things they like, so she can incorporate them on the cake and its decorations.They like fruits, especially mangoes. Alena thought she can use mangoes to flavor the cake, or use them as toppings. Or maybe as fillings. Vanilla and chocolate are good as well. They seem to like sweets, except candies.Together, they talked about the dishes that they would have for Drew’s birthday.“We’ll have a few guests, but they’re mostly family. We’d like you to meet everyone. Can we reserve the restaurant on Wednesday?” Carl asked her and she was surp
Christan closed his eyes. Is that why these two haven’t been asking him questions about their mother? Tanya talked to them, but not to him. Why? Did she really feel that she couldn’t trust him with her secrets? He took a deep breath before opening his eyes and looking at his children.“What did your mom say? Tell me everything.” He readied himself and sat more comfortably.The kids exchanged a glance before starting. Whenever Tanya leaves for a case, she would come see them in the middle of the night. It’s their little secret, which they kept.Tanya would ask them about their week, how things went, if they behaved well and treated others properly. She would remind them to be good boys, to study well, and to take care of their dad. Christan wasn’t sure how to react to that. Back then, he was still busy as a bee. He did try to spend more time with the boys when Tanya died. But sometimes he would still be caught up with work. It&