Modern Cleopatra: A Summer Love Story [COMPLETE] 📔

THIS SUMMER | CHAPTER IX : Love Will Keep Us Together

Cleopatra Callas was on a mission, and this time, she didn't care what was right or wrong. She didn't have to make a choice, didn't have to make a call, didn't have to weigh the pros and cons. There was no being smart about it, anyway. The decision had been made for her the moment she laid eyes on him all those years ago. They had become lovers in that instant, they were lovers still, and Cleo could see now that Theo hadn't stopped loving her regardless of how far apart they had been or how much time had passed between them. She was on a mission to find him, and nothing, nothing, could stop her now.

When she finally found Theo, he was shaking the hands of two Dutch men, both clad in Hermes and showering him with what was unmistakably a heaping amount of praise. He smiled at them humbly, thanking them before they wandered off and back into the villa. Cleo waited until they had disappeared, though she could barely wait another minute. She ran over to him, to his place on the balcony overlooking the indigo ocean below them. He heard her coming and turned to face her, his expression brooding and unreadable.

She didn't care.

"I want to go." Cleo told him, searching his eyes in hopes that he would understand that she meant right away.

Theo looked afraid. Afraid of what she'd say. Afraid that she'd hated it all.

"Theo, I want to go." Cleopatra repeated, urgency in her voice.

"I'm sorry," Theo breathed, taking a step towards her. His heart was pounding. He assumed the worst. "You hate it. I'm sorry. I'm stupid, so stupid. I just... I wanted you to see..."

"No." Cleo shook her head, taking his hand resolutely.

He stopped talking.

"Let's go." Cleo said confidently, her eyes locked on his.

Theo slowed his roll, and took her in.

Cleo smiled.

"Take me home." She told him.

And so he did.

When they got to Theo's apartment, it all became a blur. They were peeling off clothes, making up for lost time, for all the times they should have been doing this but didn't, or couldn't. Cleo threw her arms around his neck, pulling Theo down towards her, his warm naked torso pressed up against hers, emanating heat from his golden skin and from how desirous of her he was in that extraordinary moment. She could barely think straight, could barely think at all, and before she knew it, he was picking her up, his strong arms holding her as he carried her into his bedroom. They didn't speak; they didn't need to. She moaned softly as his strong hands tangled within her hair, pulling her towards him as he kissed her firmly, passionately, with purpose. Cleo had always loved how tightly he held her, like he was afraid she'd slip away from him if he loosened his grip. She felt like nothing could touch her when he held her like that; nothing but him, and she wanted him to touch her more than anything. She had spent many a night dreaming of exactly what was unfolding between them now, and in her dreams it had never felt this good, right, real, raw. His skin was burning, his heart pounding against hers, his breath quick and his lips hot on her cheek, neck, chest. They fell into perfect rhythm, moving as though they were partaking in a dance they had choreographed and practiced a hundred times. It was both spontaneous and bone-chillingly familiar, almost like they were meeting again in this way and had already in another life. They both felt it, and as their eyes met, Cleo knew she would be his in her soul forever, no matter what happened from that point onwards.

△

The sun was rising in the early morning sky, and the two lovers had yet to get out of bed. Cleo found herself exactly where she had dreamed of being so many times: lying in Theo's naked arms, being kissed into submission by his generous lips. They hadn't slept; they were too busy making up for lost time. Cleo wasn't tired, anyway. She was so full of gratitude for how everything had worked out that she could positively burst.