“I-is this for us?” I asked. “Because I don’t want to be crashing in on somebody else’s date.”
Nicholas laughed. “Of course it’s ours, silly.”
“But how?”
He grinned. “I have my own ways. And people who wouldn’t mind paying back a few small favors.” He held out his hand to mine. I took it and stepped over the lanterns and onto the mat.
We sat down facing the beach. Nick shrugged out of his jacket, and then gently, he put it over my shoulders. Only then did I realize that I was feeling rather cold. I hugged Nick’s jacket to myself.
Nick turned to one side of the mat. There was a basket there and I watched him pull out two wine glasses and a bottle of Merlot.
“Oh my God.” I took a deep breath. “Is it even legal to drink here?”
He shrugged innocently. “Let’s give them three hours to get on to us. That was how long the law enforcement took the last time before they caught us vandalizing the walls.” There was a twinkle in his eyes and a mischievous look on his face. I could really tell he found his juvie record hilarious and quite a defining moment in his life.
“And after that, just run?”
He nodded. “Can you run fast?”
I laughed. “Yeah. But not as fast as you, Superman. And unfortunately, when I get caught, I don’t think I could do for you the same favor you did for your friends back then. I would rat you out faster than they could handcuff me.”
“I knew it! You’re a squealer.”
“And I believe in sticking together. So if I get caught, you get caught. I do time. You do time. Plain and simple.”
He laughed. “Okay, perhaps, I should just carry you and then run since you can’t be trusted when you get caught.”
“That you should do!” I grinned at him.
He poured wine into my glass and then into his. Then he raised his glass over to me for a toast. “To my new partner in crime.”
I smiled and touched his glass with mine. “Cheers!” The wine was great. The place, I had to admit, was very romantic. I couldn’t believe Nick was able to arrange this without him actually being here. He was able to perfectly time it after our dinner at Rosean’s.
We stared at the beach in silence. In a far distance, I could see the lights from the next town. The sky was lit with millions of stars, and there was a perfect full moon above us.
Suddenly, I saw flickers of dancing lights from the opposite side. I smiled at the sight of fireworks from a distance. We were in the perfect spot to view it from afar.
“Did you know there were going to be fireworks?”
Nick nodded. “The other town was celebrating their three-day festival. It’s their tradition. Three days in a row every year, they’d have a fireworks display bigger than their New Year’s celebrations. Today is the second night.”
“Wow!” I admired Nick’s planning skills, considering he only asked me out this afternoon. “You have impeccable timing.”
He looked away from me, smiling. “Maybe things just happened at the right time for me.” He paused for a moment and stared at me deeply. “For us.”
“Maybe. Otherwise, they would have closed down Rosean already.”
He shook his head. “No. That was under my control. They wanted to tear it down sooner. I was holding it off for a couple of days now.”
“Why?”
“Because when I built that prototype and saw how magical it looked, I thought, I wanted to bring this special girl for a date there. But I wasn’t sure she’d say yes.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure she was waiting for Superman to sweep her off her feet. She’s not a typical helpless girl, always in need of rescuing. She’s Supergirl herself.”
I stared into Nick’s eyes, hearing what he was saying and knowing for sure that he was talking about me. I knew Nick’s reputation. He’d probably sweet-talked a hundred girls in the past.
But somehow, when I looked into his eyes, I couldn’t help feeling that it was all genuine. It was like whenever he said these sweet, wonderful things to me, he wasn’t just saying them to make me fall for his charms. It felt as if he was saying them because he meant them. Even if I used all the theories I had memorized in all my psychology classes, I saw no signs that he was lying. Everything seemed and felt real.
I took a deep breath. “Maybe Supergirl didn’t realize she needed Superman in her life. Maybe she’s been trying to be strong all her life because that was the only way she knew how to survive.”
Nick gave me a gentle smile. He reached forward to push a lock of hair away from my face. “It won’t hurt if she trusts somebody once in a while if she allows herself to fall down and trust that somebody’s going to be there to catch her. Somebody is going to take care of her.” He paused for a moment and then he added, “She doesn’t need Superman; he doesn’t exist in real life. But maybe all she needs is a normal guy who would do anything and everything to make her smile.”
My heart stopped beating at that moment. Damn! Nicholas Atkins would really be the death of me.
As if that was not enough to deprive me of oxygen for the rest of my life, I watched him slowly lean forward and gently, he covered my lips with his. It was one kiss that lasted for eternity. I took one breath; it was enough to last me a lifetime.
He pulled away and looked me in the eyes. He had a somber look on his face. His eyes were a darker shade than usual and even though all this was new to me, I recognized that look he gave me. I knew that feeling that seemed to suddenly envelop him because it was taking over me too—clouding my judgment, intoxicating my senses.
I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could utter a word, I felt Nick’s lips on mine again. This time, it was more than just one kiss. He was bruising my lips, invading my soul. I felt his hand creep to the back of my neck, pulling me closer. I kissed him back and felt my own hands on his shoulder, inviting him to explore further, forgetting that we were not even in the privacy of his home.
When the kiss ended, Nick didn’t pull away immediately. Instead, he leaned his forehead against mine. I could hear him take deep breaths as if he, too, was trying to calm his nerves. He was struggling to take things slow, knowing that if we don’t take control of this moment, it may take us away to where there is no thinking twice and definitely no turning back.
“Nick…” I breathed.
“I know,” he whispered. He gently pulled away from me. He gave me a gentle, apologetic smile. “I promised to do this right. And I won’t ruin it by rushing in and forcing you to do the same. We’ll take it slow.”
I smiled at him, thankful that he read my thoughts and that he knew exactly what I wanted without being told. I wanted this. I wanted Nick. But we couldn’t jump in too quickly. I needed a moment to breathe and slowly figure things out.
Hell! Only yesterday, I was hell-bent on hating the entire male species. As thrilling as this was, I’m only human, and I need time to take it in and get used to things.
“Is that really cool with you?”
He smiled at me. “Yes. I waited long for this. I can wait for a little while more. At least now I know I’m not waiting for nothing.”
As he leaned forward to gently put a kiss on my forehead, I closed my eyes and thought, No, you aren’t waiting for nothing, Superman.
***
The following week was finals week. I was so busy with all the last-minute schoolwork I didn’t have time for anything else. Well, almost anything else. In the evenings, I would cook for Nick, and we’d have a nice, cozy dinner at home. He was busy with work too.
That night after we went home from our first date, he kissed me again, thoroughly by the door of his bedroom. After the kiss that left us both breathless, he allowed me to go inside the bedroom and then closed the door behind me. He meant it when he said he’d give me all the time I need to get used to us. We were going to take it slow.
Since that night, I have been sleeping with a smile on my face. The nightmares never came back; they were all distant memories now. In the mornings, I would find the side of the bed beside me unoccupied, which meant Nick didn’t have to come in the middle of the night to calm my screams. All the horrific memories I have of that incident have been replaced by the sweet memories of Nick’s kisses.
On Friday night, Nick was rushing through one of his designs. He barely ate dinner at the dining table. He apologized countless times, telling me that he wanted to spend more time with me, but he just wanted to get the final design over with. I was cool with that, although I must admit, I wished we could go out for another date again.
Before I went to bed that night, I decided to make him hot coffee and brought it to his study. I found him intensely staring at one of his drawings.
“Hi,” I greeted him quietly.
When he looked up, his face seemed to brighten at the sight of me. I placed the coffee mug down on his table.
“You look like you wanted to bore a hole through those papers,” I teased.
He laughed. He wound an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him as we studied the drawing together. He was sketching something on paper and when I looked closer, I recognized that it was the huge garden between the hotel and Rosean.
“This seemed plain to me. I wanted to infuse something more into it, make it into something the guests would want to go to.”
“How about a mini golf course?” I asked.
“They already have a golf course on the other side,” he replied. “They won’t spend twice on something they already have. They just wanted it to be like picnic grounds. Plain. But I felt that something was missing.”
I stared at the drawing too and imagined what could possibly be nice to put in the center of the five hundred square meter vacant land aside from grass.
Suddenly, an idea flashed to my mind. “You could landscape that, make it look like a mini labyrinth. Put places where people could sit in, get lost in their thoughts, but before they get there, they could lose their way around it for a bit.”
I took the pencil in my hand and started drawing lines on the paper. Nick pulled me closer so I could sit on his lap while I made my own drawings. He watched me draw shapes of facades and landscapes around the vacant piece of land. One of his hands was resting on my hip while the other one was draped around my waist. I could feel him planting lazy kisses on my shoulder as we both watched me breathe life into the drawing he originally drew.
When I was done, I couldn’t help admiring what I had done. The garden around the hotel now had shaped bushes and pathways that looked like a maze.
“Something like this, perhaps,” I said.
Nick smiled at me. “I just discovered another one of Ken Clarke’s many talents. You can draw.”
I smiled back at him. “Just a lazy hobby.”
“Well, you’re very good. And yes, I think this is a brilliant idea. Can I steal it?”
I laughed. “It’s yours.”
He looked into my eyes and then slowly, he pulled me closer to him and kissed my lips gently. I kissed him back and for a few seconds, the drawings on his desk were left forgotten. We got lost in those breathtaking kisses, in the feel of our arms around each other.
When the kiss was over, he took a deep breath and said, “If I had a choice, I would be doing that all day.”
I laughed. “But you had to work, so get on with it.”
He pulled me to him again and gave me a tight embrace. “This is the prize I am promising myself after I complete these designs. The sooner this is over, the more time I get to spend with you. And I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
I hugged him back. “It’s okay. I’m not rushing.” Then I pulled away from him and stood up. “I’ll go to bed now. Good luck with this. I’m sure you’ll do great.”
As I headed for the door, I heard him call me, “Kitten.” I looked back at him. “Are you going to sleep now?”
I nodded. “Why?”
He cocked his head in the direction of the sofa bed. “I’m sure the bed here would be just as comfortable.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “I think more clearly when you’re around. When I’m done, I’ll carry you up.” When he saw that I hesitated for a bit, he said, “Please?”
I smiled at him gently, but my heart was pounding inside my ribcage. As I looked at his smiling, handsome face, I realized that I was in big trouble. I could never say no to this man.
I closed the door and walked to the sofa bed. He stood up from his seat, walked over to me, and placed both his hands on my hips, guiding me toward the bed. I turned around to face him. “You can just wake me up when you’re done.”
He nodded, grinning at me widely. Then he leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the forehead. I lay on the bed and he pulled the blanket to my chin. “Good night.”
I smiled back and whispered, “Good night.”
I slept lightly, knowing that Nick would wake me up after he was done with his work. But I slept for hours and all I felt were slight movements beside me, warmth, and arms that felt as though they were created to make me feel safe and sound for the rest of my life.
When I opened my eyes, it was already morning. My head was resting comfortably in the arch of Nick’s shoulder. Both his arms were wrapped around me.
I looked up to study his face. His skin was bright against the rays of sunlight streaming from the glass window. His breathing was even, as though he was having a dreamless sleep.
“Done yet?” he suddenly asked.