Scarlet
The day started like every other day but the feeling of soft satin sheets against my bare skin told me otherwise. Opening my eyes to narrow slits, I watched my husband standing in front of the mirror, closing the buttons of his crisp white shirt. His messy hair was styled properly and his face looked fresh and radiant. The fresh scent radiating off him instantly pulled me out of the sleep and reminded me of our lovemaking last night.
"How do you feel?" He zoomed his eyes on me through the mirror.
Smiling shyly, I lifted myself up while collecting the sheets in front of my chest to cover myself. "Sore." I replied in a tried voice. "I feel like I ran a marathon last night." All the muscles in my legs were cramped after the vigourous activities of last night. Evan Parker is an insatiable man who kept me up all night and barely let me take any rest.
"Well, we did run a marathon." He smirked and I swooned at his beautiful smile.
"Why are you up so early?" I looked at the clock. We slept at 6 in the morning and he was ready at 10.
"I have to go to office." He replied and put on his grey blazer.
"Why?" I pouted at this because I wanted to spend some time with him. After last night, I was addicted to his touch and now, all I wanted was him near me.
"Do you want me to stop working now that we have consummated our marriage?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he walked towards me.
"No. I know you better than this." I shrugged. Evan Parker can leave everything except his work. "Beside, I like your work ethics."
"Do you?" He asked and then sat down in front of me. The look in his eyes reminded me of the Evan that made love to me and I blushed at the memory. He was definitely a different man last night and so was I. The desire building in me was something I have never felt before.
Extending his hand, he brushed my cheek with the back of his hand gently. "You have that after-sex glow on your face." He said and my cheeks warmed up even more. I had no idea how to reply to that so I just kept my mouth shut to stop myself from saying anything embarrassing.
Bringing his mouth closer to me, he placed a small peck on the corner of my lips. "Go take a bath. You look too inviting right now." He whispered and I slapped his arm to stop him from saying things like that. This just made him chuckle in return.
Wrapping the sheets tightly around me, I stood up from the bed. Evan's eyes trailed down my fully covered body but the darkening of his eyes told me what was going on in his imagination. Before I could explode with embarrasment, I ran to the bathroom to take a shower and change into something more appropriate.
When I left our room in a pink floral top and white pants, the voices of Catheryn and Cara reached me. Catheryn was probably here to drop Cara off. I reached the dining room where everybody was waiting for the breakfast. "Good morning," I said with a smile and sat down beside Evan.
"Good morning," Evan whispered to me with a mischievous smile on his face. Without my permission, my lips thinned out in a brief smile in response. When I tore my eyes off Evan and finally looked at Catheryn, she was already observing our actions with a smirk.
"Did you enjoy at Grandma's house?" I asked Cara who was busy playing Angry Birds at her iPad.
"Yeah, we watched Tom and Jerry. Then Grandma played Hide and Seek with me. And then she told me stories. I also helped her make chicken last night." Cara counted everything they did on her finger. "But I missed you. Next time, we will go for a sleepover together."
"Sure, baby." I said and pinched her cheeks.
"Didn't you miss your Dad?" Evan asked her.
"I did, just a little." She said, motioning with the small gap between her thumb and index finger and the rest of us started laughing at this, except Evan who just pouted.
..........
The atmosphere in the bakery was a little tense today. All three of us weren't ready to talk about last night, specially Rachel and Liam who were doing everything they can to avoid each other. I know Liam like the back of my hand and I knew he was ashamed of what happened last night. But he didn't have guts to say that out loud to Rachel. In short, a disappointing silence was prevailed in the bakery.
I was giving the packed bread to Mrs. Denise when someone I wasn't expecting to see entered the bakery. It was Helena, her eyes covered with dark circles and the aftereffects of last night's alcohol visible on her face.
"Hi," she muttered under her breath when she reached the counter. All three of us stopped working whatever we were doing and focused our attention to her. "I watched the footage of the party. Guess I owe you guys an apology." She said while embarassment dripped from her face. "I acted like a class A bitch last night."
Rachel was standing in a corner, listening to us silently. Helena hadn't noticed her yet. "I think someone else is more deserving of your apology." I said and motioned towards Rachel.
On noticing her, Helena tensed up even more. "Yeah, you're right. I am sorry Rachel." She said to her in a muffled voice and then turned to me. "I didn't mean what I said about Evan. I guess alcohol got the best of me."
"It's okay, I understand." I smiled at her.
At the end, she finally focused her attention on Liam. "Thanks for taking me back to my house." She said and both of them exchanged a look. I felt like a wedge standing between them so I walked to the corner of the counter. "And sorry for the drama."
"It's okay." Liam briefly replied.
"For the record, I regret causing a scene but I don't regret kissing you and saying those things about you." She said with a sad smile on her face.
When Liam didn't say anything in reply, her smile dropped and she turned around to leave while her heels clicked on the floor. Liam looked at me with inquisitive eyes, asking silently what he should do.
"If you love her then it's the best time to say it." I advised him. I wasn't a love expert so I said what I felt better choice at that moment.
"What about Rachel?" He whispered, catching a glance of Rachel who was dusting the tables.
"She would understand. It's better this way than giving her any false hope." I replied.
Liam stared between my face and the back of Helena as she made her way out to her car. Nodding, he rushed around the counter towards her tall figure. He walked through the door and called her name, at which she stopped in front of her car.
Through the huge sliding window beside the door, I saw him saying something to her after which, they enveloped each other in a tight hug. Their hug went on for quite long, that ended with a brief yet romantic kiss. Seeing them happy caused a smile on my face and I prayed for them. Liam deserved all the happiness of this world and so did Helena, after whatever issues she had with her family.
Everything was starting to settle around me and it was a little overwhelming. Call me paranoid but it felt like the calm before the storm and the thought caused a grumble inside my stomach.
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