Love Struck (19 page)

Sara
and Paulo stopped at the cashier counter. The shoulder pad, long haired Cashier
focused on Sara, there was something familiar about her, he could not quite put
his finger on it. He got to the important subject at hand in the present decked
in the past, “That will be ten euros, each.”

Sara took out twenty euros to pay for her and her date's
entry. Paulo protested. “What are you doing? You've paid
enough for me already. You keep this
up and people are going to start thinking you're a
'cougar'.”

“Then I guess that's what I am.” Sara handed the money to the
Cashier. He took it without any objection, “Here you go.” he gave them both
wristbands to acknowledge they were paying customers. It was their keys to
traversing into another time.

Sara and Paulo put them on, they were permitted to enter
and experience a real blast from the past.

“I spent my whole life worrying
about what people thought of me,

now I live for myself.”

“Fair enough.” responded
Paulo, respectful to her opinion, she had a valid point. “It just feels so
strange being spoiled. Usually

I'm the one spoiling my date.”

“Get used to it baby, I'm
going
to spoil you
rotten.” Sara smiled, it was a promise she was going to keep.

They headed into the club. The Cashier could not shake the
familiar feeling generated from her, he knew her yet was a complete stranger to
her. “Where have I seen her?”, thinking hard on it, putting a name to the face,
his eyes widened, it flashed in his head, it was no obvious to him. “No way. It
couldn't be.”, it was, natural beauty like that was reserved to only one naturally
beautiful woman on the whole planet since time began and woman first walked the
earth, she was the extraordinary representative of the fairer sex.

A deep regret came over him, if only he had realized
sooner, “If only I asked for an autograph.”

Sara gasped in sheer disbelief as she exited the gateway to
a world drastically alien to the world she left behind at the doorway. The
eighties were alive and kicking in there, any semblance of the modern era had
no place within the flashing, neon drenched walls of the nightclub.

From the music, to the colours, to the style. It really was
a neon-lit blast from the past. It was the ultimate definition to the term:
retro.

“You weren't kidding.” she commented in amused awe at the
roaring environment.

Paulo was glad she likes it, he could tell it would be her
kind of place. “Great, isn't it?”

Sara took in the rich nostalgia, it hearkened back to her
youth when she and her friends would hang out in the local nightclub and dance
the night away, and pick up some cute guys as a bonus to sweeten the fun time.
“In every sense of the word.”

“Gloria doesn't know what
she's
missing.” Paulo
remarked, thinking to his lost love.

“Neither does Tommaso.” Sara added, thinking of her own
lost love.

Tommaso and Gloria were occupied in the hotel suite, making
love on the bed, it was a passionate sight. The springs could have gave in, the
legs could have broke at any minute under the extreme pressure stirred from the
strenuous amount of friction pushed down on it.

“Oh, Sara... Sara...Sara...Sara...
Sara
...” he huffed and panted in a frenzy,
picturing his lady love in his mind's eye, giving her the love he had held
prisoner inside his own heart, only now breaking free.

“Yes, I'm your Sara.” she grunted and strained, fuelling
the blazing fires of his love, let it engulf her body and envelop her soul.

“I love you, Sara.”

“I love you too, Tommaso.”

Tommaso spilt his heart
out, told her everything he yearned to tell his dear Sara in their most
intimate moments alone together “I'll always be there for you.
Always protect you.”

“Oh, yes.” Gloria moaned, overwhelmed by the raw strength
of his inner and external emotions.

“I'll never hurt you...
never make you cry... never make
you feel bad...” he promised her, enveloping her in a protective,
loving shield.

“Yes... yes... yes...” she could feel the protecting,
lovesome barrier enveloped around her, she could have remained there forever
and been content for the rest of her lifetime.

“I'm yours... I'm yours...”

“You're mine... you're mine.” he was hers, that's how she
wanted it to be. He would be her new lover, her new Paulo, a suitable
replacement, an improvement over the first in many ways with all the qualities
she adored the other for.

They reached the peek.

“Sara.”

“Paulo.”

Tommaso and Gloria unleashed a massive climax. They rested
in each others arms, they said nothing, they were pretending they were cuddling
the ones they loved. Tommaso had his youthful Sara, Gloria had her maturer
Paulo.

But deep down, both knew they could never replicate their
real lover. It was hard to substitute one with another.

The early morning light peeked in through the veil of
night. Sara and Paulo exited the club, buzzed up and wired from having the
night of their lives.

“Wow, I haven't had that much fun
in a club since nineteen-eighty
-seven.” Sara's body was breathless and
sweating, still caught up by all the dancing she put herself through.

“I haven't danced that
much in my
whole life.” he
was put to the test of endurance on the dance floor tonight, he had met his
ultimate match “You sure can move.”

“I've had plenty of experience.” she nestled close to him,
sharing her sweltering body heat with him “Shall I share more of it when we get
back?”

Paulo cuddled her, merging his heat with hers to create a
blistering wave “Please do. I want to experience it all.”

Sara and Paulo headed for
the hotel. He was astounded at what he had heard from her piece of fascinating
trivia from her cinematic history.
“No way, you're serious?”

“One hundred percent, my
short tomboy hair in 'Journey with Dad' was
actually a wig and my voice was actually dubbed by a gay
man from England.”

“The wonder of movie magic.” Paulo remarked in
astonishment, he never would have guessed, not in a million years.

They walked in, on their way to retire for the remaining
scant hours of the night and settle in for the upcoming morning.

Sara and Paulo made their way to the elevator, they were
stopped in their tracks by a familiar plump, flustered face emerging out his
office.

“Ah, there you are, Sara.” The Hotel Manager said with his
operatic vocals.

“Does this guy ever sleep?” Paulo muttered discreetly to
Sara.

They turned to look at the Hotel Manager heading towards
them with much gusto. “I wanted to let you know that
tomorrow night, or should that be
this night today, we're throwing a congratulatory

party dedicated to you
and the
completion of your
new movie.”

Sara was touched by such
a honorary tribute in her illustrious name “You don't have to come to all
that trouble for me.”

“Is there no end to your
modesty? This is the least we can do for you. It's our way of thanking you for
choosing to stay at our prestigious hotel and to show our ever loving
admiration for
you.”

“Is there no end to your
kind hospitality? What time is the
party at?”

“Nine o'clock.”

“We'll be there.” Sara promised him, she would not miss the
event for anything in the world.

The Hotel Manager was beyond pleased. “Excellent, excellent
my dearest Sara.”

The
sun fully shined over the island. It was another day in paradise for the admirer
and the diva spending the afternoon at the beach, she had answered it beckoning
call and would serve its every whim by frolicking in its gold and sapphire
beauty for the entirety of the day.

Sara, wearing an eye-popping two piece bikini, and Paulo, wearing
flattering trunks, walked to the boat house, planning to spend a few hours out
at sea, alone with just the two of them and the wide deep blue freedom to do as
they pleased and much more out in the open with only the seagulls above and the
sky itself to see them and their romantic endeavours.

They stopped at the front door. “I won't be long.” Paulo
said with a loving kiss, he could hardly keep himself from her, seeing his diva
in that striking bikini was getting his blood hotter than the sun, it was reminding
him of the famous bikini scene in 'A Tender Madness' and that was rubbing him
the right way, he would stay in that frame of mind, there was a scene from that
film he desired to re-enact with her, for real “Just you wait until we get on
that boat.”

She could hardly wait. “It'll be so romantic.”

Managing to tear himself
away from her sexiness, he stepped into the boat house to get their romantic
getaway together underway and on the go.

Sara basked in the beautiful weather, loves the feeling of
the warmth on her smooth skin. She noticed Tommaso walking beside a familiar
looking girl up ahead.

“Hey, hey.” Sara called out at the top of her voice, it was
impossible for anyone to mishear her.

The two stopped on their way to the plaza, there were some
other stores she had in her sights to pay a visit, he agreed to tag along, he
had nothing else to do for the day. They faced the direction of the call. In
the space of a microsecond, he recognized that the bikini clad maiden was Sara,
answering her call, he walked on over to her. Gloria naturally stayed where she
was, less she ended up doing something irrationally to the woman who stole
everything from her.

“Sara, you look...” The closer Tommaso got to his dazzling
beauty, the more blinded he was by her luminous appearance and seductive
bikini. “so gorgeous.”

Seeing Tommaso was always a highlight to her day, and his
reaction and compliments were the sweet icing to make it even more completer.
She hadn't seen him in a few days, she was missing him dearly, Sara hoped he
was having as much fun as she was “How's your vacation going?”

Tommaso put on a brave face, he could not tell her so soon
how he really felt about the vacation, Paulo and her, it would have been too
sudden. “Not bad, not bad.”

“Who's the young lady? Have you
finally found yourself a date? I knew
you would meet a nice
girl
if you put your mind to it.” saying that did not make her as happy as she let
on, in fact it hurt her, seeing him with another was so strange after the years
spent together. On the other hand, it meant she was free to spend her days with
her young admirer without any complications towards Tommaso.

“Oh, no, no, she's just a friend.” he assured her.

“It's a start. Keep at her and
she will be swooning in your
arms in no time.” she did not know how
to fully feel, she figured she would have to let go and wish him happiness, he
earned it after the years spent making others happy, it was time he had his own
ambrosial taste of its enriching nectar.

Tommaso quickly changed the topic, he was finding himself
leaning on the edge of giving in to his impulsive urges and telling her on the
spot. “So, how's your vacation going with your...” he bit at his tongue, held
his rivalry back “tour guide?”

“It's going wonderful.
He's like a dream come true. The sweetest guy I've ever met, right next to
you.”

“Great...” envy took a firm hold, he pushed it back. His
time would come “that's great.”

“Are you free tonight at nine?” came an unannounced change
of subject from Sara.

“For what?” he asked softly, intrigued to know what she had
planned and what he could do for her.

“A party, they're holding
one at the hotel. It'd make me happy if you went too. It wouldn't be complete
without you.
”

Tommaso could never refuse the woman he loved so very much.
“What kind of a personal assistant would I be if I didn't?”

“I love you so much.” She flung herself at him, held him
dearly in her arms, she had embraced him many times before but not like this,
her everlasting feelings for him, kept to herself were coming through.

Tommaso tried to stop his composure from crumbling, he
hadn't felt this side of her, it was overwhelming, he got the feeling she had
loved him like he had with her all along. “I love you... so much too.”

His trembling arms held her strongly, expressed his deepest
emotions pent up for too long in his own sealed heart to her. She could feel
his love, she knew in that one small instance in a big disclosure he had always
loved her. They wished their hug would have never ended, they knew it had to.

Slowly they released one another, both pined to tell the
other, but both were stopped by a pressing matter at hand: Paulo. She could not
break his heart, not after what he had given to her, it would have been too
heartless. She was at a loss, torn between two men she adored with a passion.

Tommaso could see the conflict, he did not press on, he let
it slide, would wait for her to make the ultimate decision, it would have been
unfair to tear her away from Paulo for his own needs. He had impulsively told
her everything through his gesture of deep affection. What happened next was
down to her.

Whatever choice she made, he would love her all the same
and she would with him.

“I'll... see you at nine.” Tommaso promised, changing the
subject to ease her conflicted turmoil.

“Don't be late.” she said in her usual playful manner he
adored so much.

“I could never be late for you.”

Paulo stepped out holding a boat key, interrupting their
revelation and chat. “I got us a boat, we're stationed at dock eight.”

He stopped, noticed the tall, lanky older man in the
presentable suit and tie, a bit overdressed for an island paradise, let alone
the sea. “Another fan wanting an autograph or a picture taken with you?”

“No.” laughed Sara, she
remembered they had not been properly introduced “this is Tommaso, a dear
friend of mine. We go back a

long way.”

Paulo extended his hand out to Tommaso, to shake his hand,
a good friend of Sara was a good friend to him. “Pleased to meet you, Tommaso.”

The old friend put on a fake smile, shook at his rival's
hand firmly. His strength took Paulo off guard, he almost dislocated the young
man's shoulder. “Pleased to meet you too, Paulo.”

He released his rival's hand to Paulo's relief. “Well, I'll
leave you both to your plans.”, with a sweet goodbye, he walked off, stopped,
turned to them, there was one last thing he had to say to the possible lover
who would spend the most indescribable days of his life with an indescribable
woman. “You take good care of her, you hear?”

“I will, you can count on it.” Paulo assured him, he would
not let Sara's good friend down.

Tommaso nodded, turned ahead, walked up to Gloria. Paulo
recognized her instantly, he could not believe such a turn of events, his
ex-girlfriend was with his diva's friend.

Gloria looked at Paulo, seeing the sight of him beside the
diva caused her to look away immediately, the grief he caused her from his
betrayal was unconscionable. She could not stand seeing him with someone else.
Even with a far more polished alternative at her side, it could never fully substitute
the imperfect charms of the original.

The feeling was mutual for Paulo, as Gloria and Tommaso
walked on together to resume their plans at the plaza, they had each other,
that was enough to see themselves through the vacation and whatever awaited afterwards
with each other holding onto one another's back, they could not have carried on
without the supporting companionship of the other.

A hint of agitated jealously sparkled in Paulo's staring
eyes, he could not stand seeing her with someone else, it triggered a response
he did not anticipate. There was a side to him that was not over her.

“Come on, the boat's waiting.” Paulo said, forcing himself
to look away from the distancing shapes of his lost love and her new lover,
holding onto one another to see them through the adversity of their own lost
loves.