Into The Sunset: An Erotic Romance Anthology (27 page)

***

The next day at work, she headed to the deck
to eat. When she got there, she was a little taken aback by the
table and chairs sitting there. She cautiously looked around and
then sat down. The view was much easier to see from the chair than
it had been from the floor, and it was absolutely
breathtaking!

A few minutes later, the man came out, said,
“Hello,” and sat down across the table from her. She instantly felt
her cheeks go red. She waved since her mouth was full. He is even
more attractive today than he was yesterday. Is that even possible?
His grey and burgundy sweater fit his form nicely. She thought it
made his nearly black eyes stand out.

"How are you, today?" he asked. She nodded and
smiled still chewing. "It is a lovely day, don't you think?" he
continued.

Finally, she swallowed, "Yes, it is. Thank you
for the table."

"Oh think nothing of it! I was going to put
one here anyway."

She took another bite. This must be his house.
Just then, Joe appeared.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked, eyeballing the
strange man.

"I'm fine, he's okay."

Joe nodded his head, held eye contact with the
man, and slowly walked away.

"You have a good boss."

"I know. He is great."

"My name is Victor Herminio
Maximiano."

She could barely figure out what he had just
said. He noticed she was trying and helped.

"My name is Victor," he said more
slowly.

She smiled and thanked him for repeating
it.

"I am Toni, pleased to meet you."

"I am also pleased."

He told her that he was the Brazilian
Ambassador to the United States. She was a little embarrassed that
she did not even know what that meant. I'll look it up
later.

"But enough about me, please tell me about
you."

She told him all about her kids, her late
husband, and the Pedrottis. The thrill in her voice spoke volumes
about how much she loved her little family. When lunch was over,
she went back to work. It got increasing more difficult to keep her
mind on what she was doing. His deep sexy Spanish voice was so out
of the ordinary. It was exotic and charming. And
titillating.

***

On Sunday, Toni, and her kids went to eat
dinner with the Pedrottis as was their custom. As they walked in
the house, delicious aromas met them at the door. Betty made a pot
roast and really enjoyed having someone whom she could spoil
rotten. After a yummy bowl of peach cobbler for dessert, Toni and
Fiona washed the dishes. When everything was nice and tidy, they
went outside to enjoy the nice weather.

The kids ran around and played in the backyard
while Toni and Betty used the opportunity to visit. Toni could tell
from the expression on Betty's face she had something important she
wanted to discuss.

"So, Joe tells me Mr. Maximiano is interested
in you. Is that right?

"Maybe. What did Joe say?"

Betty patted Toni on the arm. "Well, he told
me about him hanging out with you and getting you a table. Now, you
tell me your version."

Toni told every detail, including how sexy he
was, and asked her if she thought it was possible he had romantic
intentions seeing how he was so far out of her league.

"Now, don't run yourself down, honey. The
world will do that enough for you. If this man has any sense at
all, he finds you very attractive."

"But I don't even understand what his job
is."

"It's not all that hard to understand. He is
an ambassador from Brazil. He lives here and helps Brazilian
citizens when they are here and have a problem."

"That doesn't sound complicated."

"It's not. Now, don't you let yourself feel
intimidated! You hear me?"

"Yes, ma'am. I hear you."

"Now, who’s going to babysit for
you?"

"You, of course."

They shared lots of laughter that
day.

Mommy Has a Date

Monday at lunch, she went to the deck, hoping
he would be there, but thought for sure he had probably changed his
mind about pursuing her, or even worse, met someone else. When he
walked out, her tummy did a little flip.

"Hi. How are you?" he asked.

"Fine, and you?” He sat down and they chatted
about weather. They were expecting rain, and its smell was in the
air. She watched his face when he talked. He was very confident and
friendly. She felt like a blob sitting there, but she did not want
to leave. She liked talking to him too much.

When it was almost time for lunch to be over,
he asked her if her work was nearly finished. She nodded. Bummer!
"This is probably the last day," she said.

"Well, then you must agree to go on a date
with me, Mamacita." She smiled a lot bigger than she intended
to.

"Yes, that would be fun."

"How about Saturday at 8:00?"

"Okay."

"Where should I pick you up?"

She gave him Joe's address. He
wrote it down in his phone, smiled at her, and told her he was
looking forward to it. She went back to work with a smile on her
face, at least until she thought about what she was going to wear.
Then she got nervous again. I have no date clothes. People who
don
’
t go on
dates, don
’
t need
date clothes.

She saw Betty after work and filled her in.
"We are going out Saturday!"

"That's great news!"

"Do you have a dress I can borrow?"

"Sure do! Don't worry about a
thing!"

***

Saturday morning while she watched cartoons
with her kids, Toni tried to think of some way to tell her kids she
had a date. She did not know what to expect, and she worried that
they might get mad. If that happened, would she be able to go
through with it?

Fiona remembered her daddy well, but it had
been so long. Was she ready to see her mother with someone new? And
while Little Johnny did not have any memories of his father, he
still might not like sharing his mommy with someone else. She would
never know how they felt until she asked them, but she was fearful
to have the conversation. Finally, she worked up the nerve and told
them they needed to talk.

"Are we in trouble?" Fiona asked?

"No. I just need to discuss something
important with you."

"What's important, Mommy?" Johnny
asked.

"I have a date tonight, and I need to know how
that makes you feel."

They both just sat there for a second without
saying anything. Then Fiona had something to say. "Is he a nice
man, Mommy?"

"Yes, Baby Girl, very nice."

"That's good. you deserve a very nice
man."

Fiona threw her arms around her mother's neck.
Toni was overwhelmed with pride and love for her daughter. She was
growing up to be such a good person.

"Can we come?" Johnny asked.

"No, silly, grown-ups don't take kids on
dates," Fiona answered.

***

When Toni walked out of the bedroom at Joe and
Betty's house, she looked stylish in a basic black dress, cashmere
shawl, and black pumps. She had not worn makeup in years, so seeing
her all dolled up was something new for her kids.

"Wow, Mommy, you look pretty!" Johnny
said.

"Yeah, you really look great, Mom.” Fiona
said.

Joe told her she looked beautiful, and she
thanked him. Right on time, Victor knocked at the door. Joe
answered it, shook his hand, and let him in. He was decked out in a
very nice suit and holding some fragrant red flowers. Everyone met
him, and then he handed the flowers to Fiona who thanked him
sweetly, a grin stretched across her face. He bent down on one knee
to talk to Little Johnny. He spoke slowly and carefully.

"I promise I will take good care of your mom
tonight. Thank you for letting me borrow her."

"No problem," Little Johnny held up his tiny
fist. Victor smiled and bumped him. He stood back up, extending his
elbow. Toni put her arm in his and they left.

As they approached the car, he told her she
looked beautiful, and even through her dreamlike state nearly
prevented her from speaking, she managed a polite, “Thank
you.”

He drove them to the airport where
his plane and pilot waited. A plane. He has a plane. Of course, he
has a plane. What if I puke all over his plane.
I
’
m pretty sure
guys don
’
t make
second dates with people who puke in their planes.

They climbed up the steps, sat
down, buckled in, and took flight. She had never been on an
airplane before, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. While they were in
the air, he told her they would be landing in about 30 minutes, so
they had a little time for small talk. So far no puke! Awesome,
let
’
s do
this.

"Your babies are cute, and such good manners,"
he said, smiling attractively, his dark eyes dancing in
delight.

"Oh, thank you. You are so sweet to say so,"
she answered, remembering how well he had interacted with them.
"You really have a way of talking to kids, don't you?"

"It wasn't so long ago that I myself was a
child," he joked, and they laughed. Toni wondered how she had
gotten so lucky.

When the plane landed, they climbed down the
steps and into a waiting limousine which then delivered them to a
beautiful theater. The driver opened the door and escorted her from
the car to Victor who took proudly displayed her on his arm as they
walked in.

Once inside, she took in all the first-class
splendor . Inside their box seats, a table stood tastefully
decorated with candles and crystal glasses. He held her seat while
she sat, and then took his place next to her. The waiter brought
the menus, nothing written in English, but the pictures were nice.
He asked her if she wanted beef, chicken, or fish. She told him she
preferred chicken, and he ordered her meal for her. They sipped red
wine, and talked some more.

"Thank you. You speak both English and
Spanish?" she asked, not just because she was nervous and didn't
know what to say, but also because she genuinely wanted to
know.

"Yes, English, Spanish, and Portuguese," he
answered quickly, the words rolling from his tongue in a way that
made them much more alluring than regular words.

"That's pretty neat. I always
wanted to learn Spanish, but didn't," she said, looking down to her
lap where her hands fidgeted nervously. I must not be ready for
prime time if I
’
m
this damned nervous!

"It's never too late. I will teach you if you
want," he said, his eager flirtation the kind that made women all
around him turn and look, wishing he belonged to them.

Toni wished he would talk some more so she
wouldn't have to.

"Have you ever been married," she asked,
sipping her wine as quickly as was gracious, knowing it would calm
her down, but it had to get inside to do its job.

"No, I came close a few times, but never found
the right woman, I guess.”

Thankfully, the more he talked, the better she
could understand his accent.

"So, do you have any kids?"

Here was the biggest question of all, and she
felt her heart pound in her chest, knowing that having different
goals in this area would be a deal breaker, and he was so nice, so
kind she didn’t want this to be the last she saw of him.

"No, not yet." His answer sat there between
them, needing further exploration.

"Do you want kids?" she continued.

"Yes, I very much want a wife and children. In
fact, being this far from my parents and my dear relatives makes me
long for a family of my own more strongly."

"How old are you, if I can ask? Is it okay to
ask that? Oh wow, probably not, never mind," she said.

Told ya! You should do the talking, dude! Toni
thought

"You can ask me anything. I'm 34," he
answered, a delicious smile dancing on his face as if he were
getting great pleasure from watching her stumble.

While they were eating, the lights dimmed and
the show began, Vegas-style with singing and dancing. Instantly
intrigued, Ton had never seen anything quite like that before. Even
though it was in a different language, it was great.

The wine kicking in, she slowly began to relax
and enjoy herself. As the red and yellow lights from the show
illuminated his smiling face, Toni was impressed. She watched him
applaud the performance, and then she a powerful desire to kiss him
overwhelmed her.

Whoa, if he
’
s not careful, I
’
m going to fall in love all over
him! Toni thought.