THE DEAL: Novel (11 page)

"I need to be inside you again, I only realise that when I saw you now"

He said on the other side, he was trying to get in the toilet, but he couldn’t as she was leaned against the door. He managed to open the door slowly and tries to kiss her again, but Carolina pushes him with both hands away so he would not touch her, she looks at him at the same time when whirlwind of feelings are formed in her mind and heart. After all what happened because of him she didn’t feel strong enough to say a single word to him, she wanted yell at him, shout at him to go away, he doesn’t care about her feelings it was a lack of respect to her what he was doing, if he couldn’t respect her as a woman he should turn around and go away, but she was unable to give out a single word to him.

She decides that the only thing she could do right now was running out as fast as she could from the women's toilet into the room where the party was still going on. The dress and high heels didn’t help her taking the speed she needed right now, but she walked as fast as she could away from him, hoping that he would stay behind and giving up. She couldn’t dare looking back, but she knew he was coming after her and he was looking at her, she felt his gaze spiked on her back. At this point she only wishes JP doesn’t see where she is heading too.

They cut contact completely, he never showed any interested in her and now that he sees her after one year he approaches her and kisses her just like that?

What was this guy thinking?

Does he thinks he is the king of the ball and he can have it all whenever it pleases him?

What she didn’t need right now was a scene in front of Nils and in front of all guests, it wasn’t fair to Nils, it wasn’t fair at all to her. When she finally entered the ballroom, she searched for Nils who was happily sitting in his seat at the table talking to a couple. She took a few deep breaths before arriving next to him, and tried to put her best face, trying to ignore what just happened outside the ballroom. She didn’t want to spoil the event and Nils’s happiness tonight, he didn’t deserve it.

Nils was the best thing that happened to her in the last months, and JP just arrived and in seconds messed Carolina mind completely, it wasn’t fair for the wonderful man who was on front of her right now and makes her feel like a princess. The headaches were worse than ever, but Carolina would support them the best she could, as longest she could. But as the minutes were passing by, the headaches started to be really unbearable and she couldn’t control of being detached of conversation with Nils and all others. Carolina ended up talking with Nils about the terrible headache, giving the excuse that she must have caught a hint of air when they were coming on the way to the event as she was probably starting having the bug flu. She didn’t want Nils to go home with her, first she needed to be alone and she wouldn’t mind for Nils staying in the event if he wished too, but she couldn’t stay there any longer.

She needs to leave as soon as possible and urgently.

The urge to get out under the same roof as JP, knowing he was there somewhere it was too much for her right now, was more then she could express to herself in her mind. How could he destroy with a kiss what Carolina tried to build in the last months, managing to rekindle the flame that Carolina had for him? Carolina still felt JP’s on her lips, she still felt his kiss like a wildfire, burning her inside with blame and irritation, but rekindle the flame for him? Making her relive the first and only meeting they had and how wonderful it had been during those unique moments for her.

That was too much for her, she couldn’t let it happen again. She couldn’t explain rationally the effect he had on her, much less could explain why he came close to her and kissed her, it made no sense. He was the most narcissistic and prejudiced man that existed, how could he think that he was so good that she wanted to be kissed by him. She was so confused that her mind was in a whirl, and she just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

When she finally arrived at the table and sat down managing to convince Nils that she was genuinely tired, as she felt as such and was visible in Carolina's face that she wasn’t well. While she was talking to Nils they received champagne flutes, greetings from someone who was at the party but didn’t identify himself. Carolina stress was evident all over her body, when she realized it could have been JP sending the champagne, she nervously drank the champagne flute in two sips. She let Nils give her a kiss on the cheek, avoiding more intimate contact, saying goodbye and leaves quickly the party fetching her coat and asking for a taxi to the doorman at the hotel entrance.

The taxi took less than a minute to arrive in front of her, she tipped the doorman with a £5 note before getting in, and the doorman gives the taxi driver instructions of her address and opened the taxi’s door for Carolina to get in. On the way home Carolina kept thinking about what had happened that night.

What a mess.

Sitting in the taxi looking outside the window through the night, seeing the darkness in the sky she lost herself in her thoughts appreciating the stars calming her mind a little bit, but only briefly, because soon there were bright lights entering unlicensed the taxi from the city, from the cars when she looked down making her anxious and confused again. She found herself rubbing her hands one above the other, when she felt the engagement ring, looking at it and not knowing what to do next. Realizing immediately that blunder she allowed to happen, she had become engaged and hours after allowed to be kissed by the man she thought she would never see again in her life. She thought he was an issue from the past which she had managed to overcome the feeling she had for him.

It was not fair showing up like that, without any warning, catching Carolina completely of guard, kissing her on her engagement day. She felt so guilty because she allowed him to kiss her and she should never have allowed this situation to happen, ever. Despite Carolina’s feeling stayed alive, she wouldn’t allow him to ruin her feelings again, but now she had no strength to continue the engagement either. She felt scared and alone. Feeling like she wanted to disappear to a safe place where JP and Nils didn’t exist.

Arriving completely exhausted at home, she took her Jimmy Choo’s and walked slowly from the entrance, passing through the living room, going up the stairs in direction to her bedroom. Walked step by step in slow motion, she felt helpless, and she wanted to forget this night. She wanted to wipe everything that happened from her mind.

Feeling dizzy, she dragged herself to the bedroom, undressed with a huge effort if it was the last thing she was able to do, dropping everything on the floor without bothering to tide up everything as usual, reliving over and over again when she saw JP, his kiss, Nils, the engagement request and the ring. She sat on her bed looked at the ring on her finger, she didn’t felt worthy wearing the ring after allowing to be kissed, she took it out carefully off her finger, looked at the beautiful and flawless diamond, blaming herself how full of flaws she was.

Nils was a man with excellent taste, how will you ever forgive me for that? Could I live with what happen without telling him? I don’t think I could do this to you. I couldn’t live with this guilt
– Was Carolina’s thoughts while putting the ring on the side table. She took a long shower, letting the water fall on her body hoping to take the whole mess down the drain disappearing once and for all. When she finished the shower she felt even more exhausted, wore a tank top shirt to sleep and just fell on the bed, falling asleep right away, erasing completely.

JP and Carolina meet again...

Day 1

Carolina wakes up completely disoriented in a double bed realizing it’s not her own, feeling terrible uncomfortably tight as if she was tied up or in a straitjacket. She touched and looked at her body confused just to make sure she was well, and watch in disbelief that she is inside a wedding dress. Terrified she looked around her, without understand what was going on, and while she looked around she immediately recognizes that JP was lying on bed next to her, groomed.

What the heck was going on?
- She wondered confused.

As she begins to move slowly in a painful attempt to get up, JP wakes up confused looking at her, while looking at each other, surprised by being there, unable to speak a single word.

Where were we?

Why are we together in a bed dressed in wedding clothes?

She threw up her hands in an attempt to ease the pain she was feeling, it felt like her head wanted to explode. JP was visible feeling the same, as he was doing the same.

What was going on?

What are we doing here?

Where are we?

They questioned to each other in silence, without finding the answer in the confused expression that each one let on.

They had a tremendous headache as they didn’t quite know whether it was a migraine or a hangover they couldn’t understand why they were feeling that way. They didn’t know where they were, they looked around before they could talk to each other, trying to understand what was going on, but there was nothing. The confusion was such that they weren’t sure if they were in a dream, in a nightmare or if it was even real.

It took them a good 10 minutes to realize it was not a dream, and that whatever was happening was very real. The pain inside their heads was real for sure. They still couldn’t utter a word, trying just to understand what was happening, they wanted answers before their open their mouth, and they seek the answers around them again and again getting them even more confusing. When their brains finally began to process what was around realizing that they weren’t dreaming, noticed they were in a room of a wood cabin, they saw the bedroom walls in wood, the few willing furniture in the room were made of tropical wood as well. Behold around that there was a harmony between tropical dark wood and white fabrics.

The cabin had huge windows that went down to the ground, the windows were open, and they gradually began to feel the contrast of the fresh air in the room with warm air coming through the window from outside. Realizing now that they should be near the sea, Carolina could smell the sea, but there wasn’t a strong smell of the sea, just a subtle smell. Now they become conscious and began to hear the water ending in the sand at the beach.

The bed where she still remained was a canopy with white curtains made from soft tissue slightly dancing with the airstream coming from the fan on the ceiling. Sheets placed on the bed were white, by the touch seemed to be cotton and had white and red colour petals scattered all over the bed. Having petals glued on their arms, hair, there were petals on the clothing they were wearing too, and scattered some on the floor. A wooden bench at the end of the bed was to be seen and a dresser in tropical wood with a huge mirror, the mirror was hanging over the dresser. And a wall wardrobe wood was also available, with four doors.

Carolina tried to shake the petals of her body, held one and took it to her nose to smell the petal but it didn’t smell, she looked closely at a petal and noticed they were made from plastic. She tried at all cost to get of the bed and sat on the edge, with her head in her hands, it looked like the head weighed a ton. She glanced at JP, which did the same effort to get up. Sitting with his back to her, and his head resting on one arm, moaning and whining softly, he slowly began to undress, he was as tired as if he had just run a marathon, felling like this would be the last task that he could do before falling to the side, he’s body was all sweaty to be stuck in a shirt, jacket, and tie.

His shirt was already half unbuttoned, he was all sweaty and the sweat dripped now from his temples into the clothes, unbuttoned his pants and shirt further trying to make him more comfortable. Carolina observes from the window and see’s not far away a very transparent blue water, where the water had just begun a white sand beach that dazzles with the sun reflected on it and Carolina had to blink to continue to watch the paradisiacal view with her heavy head in her hands, it was too light and she had to close her eyes for a moment to look have the courage to look again to the outside sight.

Visualizing that the beach to the cabin is very close and all the space was surrounded filled with palm trees most of them tumbled a bit, among the palms there were some banana trees, there were not many palm trees growing straight into the sky, almost all tumbled at one point, she knew it was because of the weight and because of the wind.

What the hell
–
this is not the time to be concerned with palms in a time like this
- thought Carolina.

She was sitting still, she saw no movement of people, boats or whatever where she was, there no were voices, or human bustle. She could only hear birds chirping and the waves dying slowly at the beach. When she finally managed to open her mouth to talk with JP, she felt her mouth very dry, she needs to drink water urgently. He was feeling exactly the same, he needed water. They didn’t know if it was because of the heat that made or hangover that they had or both, they only knew they needed to drink water. They rose slowly from the bed, tried to talk with effort with each other. They asked where they were, hoping to get a response, but none could answer the question, just gesturing with their hands shrugging and shaking his head negatively in slow motion.

The room had a door to a small hallway that gave access to a bathroom and probably to the rest of the wood cabin. As they passed the hallway, they looked inside bathroom and glanced that was huge, with enormous windows giving them the same view they had from the bedroom, a double shower, a double bathtub by the window, everything was decorated with giant shells, candles and natural tropical flowers. A double sink was to be seen as well next to it there was 2 baskets with bath products.

As they crossed the small hallway they found that gave access to a living room and open kitchen plan, looking fully equipped with modern appliances, the furniture remained in the same line of tropical wood as in the bedroom. Once they found where the fridge was, they went to it in the hope of containing inside fresh water to drink and refresh their boiling bodies. Opening and there it was small bottles of fresh water, each one took out a bottle and drank all the water at once.

After satiating the thirst of their bodies, forcing gradually to regulate temperature and feel slightly better. They looked for the first time now at each other, noting they were both dressed as grooms.

"Do you know why we are dressed like that?!"

He looks at his clothes from to top to bottom, shrugs at her and says:

"I have no idea, and you why are you dressed as a bride?!"

Her reaction was the same and she just lifts her shoulders up, as she had no idea either. The last time she remembered being engaged was from Nils, what was happening here? It was all so confusing. What was happening?

They were both completely disoriented but in a catatonic form, still with their heads about to fall apart in pain, they were unable to think clearly. They wanted answers, but didn’t remember a thing as they didn’t know how they had ended up there.

And the mystery being both dressed as bride and groom, what does that mean?

Did I marry Nils?

Or did I regret and ran away with JP to get married? No, that was not possible.

Or was I kidnapped by JP before the wedding with Nils?

But why in the hell was he dressed up as well?

Did I really marry Nils and don’t remember or did I and JP...

"Oh my Gosh!!!"

She exclaimed aloud, watching him taking her hands to her mouth with a panicked look at the thought that she could have married JP.

Did we marry each other?!

Or have we been in a marriage?!

Or got we married to other people?

Carolina was so confused that she couldn’t think of anything at all, she could hardly breathe. He didn’t seem to be better than she was because he seemed to be going through the same state of anxiety making for him the same questions trying to get the answers. Be there with him, with the man she wanted so much for so long, she spent months dreaming be with him again and never succeeded, not even just for the wonderful sexual experience and he wasn’t interested on her or to know her further. And now he was there before her looking as vulnerable as she was. She was having a hard time to understand if all that seemed a dream or a nightmare.

Was all this real?!

She decided to go outside to get some fresh air, trying to refreshing her ideas, and trying to ease the headache a little bit while she looked around to understand and find out what was happen. When she left the cabin and stepped outside the door, she was not expecting at all what she saw.

They were on an island!

A small tropical island, where there was only a wood cabin in the middle and all surrounded by palm trees. The cabin was all wood with an entry-shaped porch, protected by the sun on top finished at the ends with a massive wooden trunk on each side. The porch had two sofas with a small coffee table.

Palm trees all around the cabin which only ended up at the beach was under other circumstances a perfect location, it looked paradise on earth. After the numerous palm trees, only saw white sand that sometimes the sun shone so intense as if it had small crystals.

Behind the beach, the sea is the only thing to be seen, with crystal clear blue water, it’s an immensity of sea losing sight of it. There were no other islands to be seen, no boats on sight, there was no one on the island only Carolina and JP.

They were there alone!

What the heck does this mean?
- thought Carolina breading heavily starting to feel anxious again.

I can only be having a hallucination.

She couldn’t belief that she was on a desert island with the man she desired for so long, and he was the one she tried everything to forget. Her body shuddered at the thought.

Oh gosh, I'm completely lost.
– Sighting in disbelief.

The front of the cabin had a path made of interlaced straw ending at the beach, at the beach and right front of the cabin was a beach double bed with white bands flying smoothly with the mild breeze. On each side of the bed small tables to accommodate drinks, at the bottom of the bed resting languidly two huge beach cushions. Leaning over the balcony of the cabin she took a serious look at that scenario, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, it seemed to her like a joke and surreal. By the time she leans over the balcony she noticed that along the cabin there is a covered hot tub, by the noise was fully operational.

She turns back to the landscape now looking to the cabin door, she lean against the balcony trying to relax the body and try to understand what is happening. JP goes out the door with a paper in his hand toward Carolina while he looks at the paper and widens his eyes wide open, and his mouth in amazement. Opens and closes his eyes a few times in disbelief what he was reading, trying to understand what he was seeing was real or not, opened his mouth, but was speechless trying to take in what he just saw. He was visible shocked, when he was able to put himself together, he reached handing her the postcard he just read to Carolina without looking at her, because he was looking at the most beautiful and astounding view. He was amazed to look at the scenery. She looks at him with suspicious air, receives the postcard and starts reading:

Congratulations!

We wish you a great honeymoon

According to your instructions, we will return within 7 days.

Your family has been informed that you arrived well.

"7 days?! 7 days?!"

Said Carolina bulging her eyes and with her voice trembling with incredulity.

How would we survive seven days both on this island?!

Assaulted by the idea of having to stay 7 days confined to a small space with JP, it was too much for her, she had to find a way to return immediately. I can’t stay here for seven days because I can’t stay here with him no, no. That’s too much to bear. She tried to organize her ideas and a way to get out of there. She had to call the boys immediately, she had to make sure that they were well and tell them she was fine, the boys would need to call the grandfather to help her out of there urgently. It was the only way out. Determined to go back to London, she returned inside the cabin decided to solve that problem immediately. Looked the entire room hoping finding something she sought under the bed, she opened drawers and finally when she opened the wardrobe she found her handbag she used to take to work. The handbag was arranged neatly with the rest of the things that were inside the wardrobe, she grab it quickly, sat on the bed and rummaged frantically in the bag to find the phone, finally she found it.

Finally, I’m going home
– Sighted relieved.

She looked at the phone to start making the call which would take her out of there, but when she looked at the phone there was no network. With the phone in hand, hastily left the room and went outside to ask JP who was still in the porch, for his phone.