Page 44 of Until You Came Along

—“I’m well aware of that, but I stand by my decision.”

—“Are you doing this to try to get something more? Are you trying to blackmail me with your refusal?”

—“It’s clear you don’t know me,” I said, shaking my head, “if you knew me even a little, you’d know I would never think ofsomething like that. I’m doing this because I’m convinced that what you’re proposing will end up hurting me. I understand, Hermes, I understand that you’re not for me and I accept it. My refusal isn’t about you, my refusal is because I can’t handle that.”

—“You want me to play the boyfriend role and promise you a happy future, is that it?”

—“I don’t want you to promise me a happy future, nobody has the power to know what will happen in the future, but I’d like to enter a relationship knowing there could be a future, that in case love develops, I have a future by your side. Unfortunately, with you I have an expiration date, nothing more.”

—“And how can you be so sure you’ll fall in love with me?”

—“I don’t have that certainty, but for me, thinking about entering a relationship without the hope of falling in love is... how can I explain... it’s like stepping into a boxing ring with an opponent, but unwilling to fight, it’s being willing to be the loser from the start.”

—“This is madness!” he exclaimed, and I noticed that at that moment he was controlling himself to keep from unleashing his devilish temper.

I didn’t say anything and just kept looking at him.

—“Can you think about it more?” he asked, trying to sound calmer.

—“I’m sorry, I won’t change my mind.”

—“Why are you so stubborn?”

—“How ironic! I think I’m being sensible and you’re the one who’s being stubborn.”

—“I’m not at an age for whims, darling. My intention is to spend time with you, pleasurable time, but I’m not one who begs, I’m one who seduces and I always get what I want.”

He got up from the couch and I did the same. He came closer to me, took my chin, and gave me a soft kiss on the lips.

—“We’ll be seeing each other, Delfina.”

—“Goodbye, Hermes.”

He left me standing there, thinking about what he had said and with a tingling on my lips from that sensual kiss.

Chapter 5

“Love is a mystery. Everything in it consists of phenomena, each more inexplicable than the last; everything in it is illogical, everything in it is vagueness and absurdity”

—Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

Iarrived at the office on Monday, not only tired from lack of sleep, but also feeling an anguish that wouldn’t leave me. I spent the entire day immersed in work and didn’t even go out for lunch. By five in the afternoon, the noise and discomfort in my stomach due to hunger wouldn’t let me concentrate. I asked Julia, my secretary, to get me a coffee with milk and a muffin or two scones to go with it. After that snack, I was able to continue working, and when I looked at the time again, it was almost nine at night. At that moment, I received a call from Baco.

“Hello, beautiful. Are you working?”

“I’m still at the office, but I’m not staying much longer.”

“I just passed by your place.”

“Do you want to have dinner together? I can be there in half an hour,” I suggested, because I assumed that if he had stopped by my place, it was because he wanted to chat for a while, and at that hour, we would likely end up having dinner together.

“Sounds good. If you want, I can come by your office and we can eat out.”

“Alright, I’ll text you the address. Let me know when you arrive and I’ll come out. Oh, and if you’re planning to come back with me to our building, don’t bring your car because I have mine.”

“Very well, we’ll take your car. I should be there in a little over half an hour.”

“See you then.”