I tossed and turned in my bed: well, Blake's bed. I switched on the lamplight and looked at the time in my phone. It was thirty minutes past two and I couldn't sleep. Don't get me wrong, the bed was comfortable and everything but I still couldn't bring myself to sleep. I decided to get to the kitchen and make myself some tea so i could sleep. I was sure Blake wouldn't mind and I would be as quiet as possible.
As I walked along the dark corridor, I got attracted to a shiny chain that was hung on the door knob of the room next to Blake's. Curiousity got the better of me and I held the door knob twisting it. Surprisingly the door opened and the immediate smell of paint strongly hit me. I switched on the light of the room and was shocked by the numerous paintings that I found. There was only one chair at the middle of the room and a stand which held painting equipment and another which held the actual paintings. One particular painting caught my eye and I looked closer at it. It was the painting of a young woman's face who seemed to be in her early twenties. I touched the painting slowly and continued to stare at it.
"What are you doing here? " the sound of his voice startled me.
"I just got up to get-"
"Get out. You shouldn't be here" he growled. This was a side to Blake I had never seen before.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to-"
"Get out before I get angry, " he snarled. I quickly moved past him and into the room he offered me. I later heard him shut the door with a loud bang.
******
I slowly walked down for breakfast later that morning. I was debating with myself for an hour on whether to go down and make breakfast or not. To be honest, I was a little embarrassed about what had happened earlier. I finally decided that it would be better if I went down eventually. I slowly cascaded down the stairway and into the downstairs room which I thought of to be the kitchen. Surprisingly I hadn't looked at the dining area before walking straight ahead and hadn't noticed Blake there.
"Morning Champagne, "he said as the spoon he was holding clanked on the plate. So we were back to the nickname, that made me relax a little.
"Morning," I said giving him a small smile.
"Your breakfast is here, come sit," he nodded to the seat next to him. I wasn't sure of what to say to him. He was already done with his breakfast and was then watching me eat which I found weird but said nothing to. I didn't want to ruin whatever mood he was in. I finished my breakfast by taking three sips of orange juice that he left me on the table. I waited for him to break the awkward silence that was but he made no effort. Here goes...
"I thought you'd be mad about.. Earlier. "
"Why would I be? "
"I don't know, you seemed pretty angry."
"Did I scare you? " he chuckled looking at me in amusement. I'd hate to admit it but he looked so gorgeous. Where were these thoughts coming from? Relax Aramina... Relax.
"Can I ask who was in the painting? " I gulped. Maybe I was pushing it but I still wanted to know. I saw his features change and he took a while before answering, "Nobody."
He got up from the table and disappeared in the kitchen. Way to go Aramina. You ruined it. He came back after a while telling me to take a shower and I remembered that I had no clothes with me.
"I don't have any of my clothes with me so I guess you'd rather drive me home. Wait, I went by my car to the company yesternight. Where is it? How did you know I was there in the first place? "
"Well for one, you don't need a change of clothes because you're not going to work today, two your car is in my garage, three I had some people follow you and they easily came to your aid and four, I tracked your phone. "
"You put a tracker on my phone? How dare you?"
"How dare I? If it weren't for me you could've been kidnapped or worse, "he cringed when he said the last part.
"And why do you suddenly care so much if I'm alive or dead? You are really pissing me off," I hadn't realized that we were shouting at each other. I could almost swear that he wanted to say something. I looked into his eyes which were urgently glaring into mine in a state of fury. He searched my eyes in a deep kind of urgency which I matched to his. I watched as his featured reduced all that anger to calmness.
"You are staying here for another night Champagne. No discussion," I took the chance that I had of being close to him and poked at his rock hard chest.
"You are not the boss of me and I will sleep wherever I want. "
"No matter how much you annoy me, I can and will never allow you to be alone to face danger. Plus, if you badly need clothes, I will get them for you. Just give me the keys to your place," he said.
"How can I be sure if I can trust you?"
"You are in my house for goodness sake," he said rolling his eyes. I dug into my pocket and took out my keys.
"In case you need to take a swim, there is stuff for you to use and a clean pair of sweats for you to use on my bed. I'll be back and don't you even think of leaving the house, "he warned.
******
I slowly slid the glass doors that led to the outside of his backyard where the pool was open. It was huge and I wondered if he held parties there. I had already changed to my costume which I had already worn underneath for reasons best known to me which was black with white cursives drown on it. I held the towel provided on my hand and placed it in one of the chairs. I sat on the edge of the pool and dipped my legs in. The water's temperature was an inviting kind of cold and I slowly wadded my way into the water feeling relaxed as I got deeper.
My hands moved in sync with the water as I created ripples using them. I lowered my head and felt the water engulf my scalp in a welcoming manner. I smiled and let myself loose floating on the water. I allowed the water to carry me in the pool as I felt the cool breeze of the night brush over me. I wasn't sure if I was daydreaming but the next thing that I felt was a body maneuver in the water. I brushed it off as nothing but just a pigment of my imagination and continued to keep my eyes closed. I suddenly felt strong arms grip my waist and I gasped disrupting my peaceful moment.
"Scared much?" asked Blake stifling a laugh.
"Don't you ever do that to me again. I'm glad that my fear brings pleasure to you," I said sarcastically. I pushed at his chest using my left foot which he managed to hold. He pulled me towards him abruptly, surprising me. He lifted me with ease to the edge of the water on the ground.
"What was that for? "
"I want us to play a game called dive in,"
"And why would I agree to that? "
"Just trust me Champagne, "
"Fine, how is it played?" I shrugged.
"You move a few steps backwards and dive into the water while I try to catch you from here, " he said.
"That's stupid," I said irritably.
"Just do it." I stood from where I was and did exactly as he instructed. Sure enough, he caught me while in the water.
"Wow. I didn't know you had reflex skills. Hmm," I said. The only light that illuminated the pool was the moonlight which was particularly bright that evening.
"Why didn't you switch on the lights when you came in? "I asked while he let me go and we waddled in the water like ducks.
"I didn't need it, did you? "
"It's kind of dark in here don't you think? "
"The moonlight is always enough for me," he said as he swam towards me and I moved further back doing my best to create space between us.
"What about the time when there's no moonlight? What do you do then?"
"I don't swim. I can only swim at night and swimming under the moonlight is always interesting. It's utterly boring to swim in the presence of artificial light," he said. I noticed that I had finally reached the edge of the pool. "Besides, the moonlight is also suitable for certain scenes," he said in a low voice.
The water was beautifully dancing around our chests and he towered above me while his chest glimmered in the moonlight. I had no idea why I didn't move or push him away. I just stayed out with my annoying subconscious constantly telling me to both stay and move away in the long run. I felt as his hands moved to settle on either side of me on the bars near the edge. Suddenly I couldn't breathe.
The thing was that, no matter how much many times I wanted to stop what was about to happen, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't think I wanted to.
"You bitch! " shouted a shrill female voice.
"Ah! "I exclaimed as I felt my hair pulled upwards.
"What the hell Corrine?!" asked a then frustrated Blake.
"Get out of there and come at me you slut! " shouted Corrine as she threw my head back in the water. I was fully enraged. How dare she? I easily resurfaced since I was a good swimmer and easily made my way out if the pool. It took all the energy and anger I had in me to give her the hot slap that she deserved.
"Noone talks to me like that and I am no slut. I will not condone your assault," I said angrily.
"What is she doing here Jésus? Why is she in your house... Our pool? Why is she sharing the pool with you in the moonlight like we used to? I thought that was our thing. Tell her to leave, " said Corrine boldly.
"Corrine, couple of things; one, this is my pool and house so my house, my rules, second, Aramina is my guest and third, you don't get to insult her in my presence. What are you doing here in the first place?"
"I came to see you honey. I missed you terribly, "she said as she hugged him.
"Corrine, what did I say about barging into my house like that? "
"But I missed you and I didn't expect to find you with her. She makes my blood boil, "said Corrine venomously.
"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do about that. If you don't like it then you can leave, "he said.
"No forget it Blake. I'll be the one to leave, " I said as I wrapped the towel around my waist and walked into the house bile rising to my throat.
~°~°~°~°~~°~