Page 52 of Until You Came Along

We headed toward where Baco was, and my friend immediately approached.

“Delfi, do you have one or two extension cords you could bring? Maxi needs them for something,” he said, pointing to the guy in charge of the music and ambiance for the birthday party.

“I think so. I’ll go to my apartment and check.”

“Thanks. Do you need me to come with you?”

“I don’t think anything will happen to me on the way,” I said with a smile.

“I’m not so sure. There are several guys here who want to jump you,” he said with his mischievous smile.

I punched him in the shoulder and turned to leave the apartment and head to mine. On my way out, I glanced to where Hermes was dancing and saw the girl hanging from his neck.

Idiot, I thought, and kept walking.

I was kneeling down, rummaging through a box I had in one of the kitchen cabinets when I heard his voice. I was so startled that I almost dropped everything I was holding.

“You shouldn’t leave your door open,” he stated.

Thank goodness I was on my knees because I felt my legs trembling and my body shudder. Summoning all my self-control, without standing up, I turned to face him.

“And you shouldn’t be here. You have a bad habit of entering without being invited.”

“Well, you never gave me a key to get in, so I can only enter when I see the door open,” he stated, and I immediately knew he was alluding to his encounter that morning with Paul.

“I repeat, you shouldn’t be here. Your friend must be wondering where you are,” I commented, as I picked up what Baco had asked for and stood up to face him.

“Don’t worry about her. My friends know what I offer them.”

“That’s right, I had forgotten. You always make a deal and set the rules clear from the beginning,” I stated, as I walked past him to leave as soon as possible, but Hermes grabbed my arm and prevented me from walking away.

“What game are you playing?” he asked, bringing his face close to mine and leaving his mouth just inches from my own.

“Hermes, let me go,” I said firmly, looking at him seriously. “I’m not playing any games. I don’t even know what you’re referring to, but let me make it clear that you have no right to ask anything about my life. There’s nothing between us.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” he asserted, and without giving me time for anything, he took possession of my mouth mercilessly.

His assault surprised me so much that at first I was paralyzed, but when I felt the passion of his kiss, my body reacted and my heart surrendered. I lowered my defenses, responding with the same eagerness. The electrical device I was holding fell to the floor with a thunderous noise, but neither of us paid attention to it. I raised my hands to wrap around his neck, embrace him, and feel the warmth of his body. Hermes was hugging me so tightly I could barely breathe. His hands, which until that moment had been around my waist, began to move up and caress my back. His mouth plundered mine withdesperation, leaving nothing unexplored. Gently, he pushed me toward the wall to trap me between it and his body, but at no point did he stop kissing me. The moment I felt his hands lifting the skirt of my dress, I reacted and made an effort to break the kiss and stop the advance of his caresses. I rested my forehead against his, trying to control the trembling of my body.

“What are we doing, Hermes? We can’t, you have a woman right next door waiting for you. This isn’t right,” I said, with labored breathing.

“She’s just a friend. You are the woman I want to be with. It’s a need I can’t control and it’s driving me crazy.”

“And she is a reality who is probably wondering where you are. This is wrong!” I stated, breaking free from his grip and moving to a safe distance.

I wasn’t going to be with someone who was with another person. Even though I didn’t know that woman, I wasn’t going to do to her what I wouldn’t want done to me.

“Delfina, …”

“We can’t have this conversation now, they’re waiting for us.”

He stared into my eyes and for a few minutes that’s all we did, look at each other intensely. The sound of a voice familiar to both of us startled us.

“Hermes, your friend is asking for you very insistently. If you don’t come back, she’s going to start looking for you everywhere,” Baco said.

“Your date is waiting for you,” I stated.

He looked at me and then turned and left my apartment. When he passed by his brother, he didn’t even look at him, but Baco didn’t take his eyes off him until he disappeared from sight.