Sitting on the balcony 20 minutes before Kyle was due to arrive, I had Adele’s soulful voice filling the suite with the lyrics of Rolling In The Deep pouring out around me, a glass of white wine and a cigarette in my hand. I was indulging in all of my vices at once, preparing myself to come face to face with my past. Kyle had once been one of those vices and as much as I tried to put it in the back of my mind, flashes of the past reminded me just how much I shouldn’t underestimate him. He was tenacious, strong willed, confident, resourceful, sexy, intoxicating and knew which buttons of mine he could push to get the result he wanted. I drew on my cigarette as I remembered the car ride the morning after I had met him. It was definitely one of those moments in life that I was staring down a fork in the road. I had to make a choice about him, but deep down I knew the moment I came into his line of sight that I was never going to walk away without a fight. I was a challenge, someone he couldn’t manipulate the way he wanted. I was the one person who had ever denied him something he wanted, and it made him more determined to find out what it was going to take to get me.
* * * *
“Antonia, I won’t relent. If you want me to leave you alone then join me for dinner tonight. If you still don’t want to see me after that then I promise I will leave you alone. Deny me again and I will just keep pursuing you. Like I said, your intoxicating.” I considered his words as we arrived at the restaurant in Potts Point. A part of me wanted him to leave me alone but another part of me enjoyed the chase. I decided that I would join him for dinner and if I didn’t like it then I’d change my number and tell him to piss off.
“Fine Kyle. One dinner. Pick me up tonight at 8pm and if I don’t want to see you again after this, never call me or turn up at my house again...or I will call the police.” I said glaring at him in the passenger seat as I opened the door.
“Agreed, but trust me Antonia...you WILL want to see me again. I can also promise you that” The look in his eye told me he was dead serious. I didn’t know what it was about him that had me even considering spending any more time with him, whatever it was...I needed to get a grip. I didn’t really know this man at all but the general reputation he had was that he wasn’t just a business man, he was also painted as gangster., although nothing about the man sitting in front of me made me fear that possible side to him. I climbed out of the car and refused to turn back as I began walking towards the door to the cafe. I could feel his eyes burning into the back of me and it excited me to know that he had thought he’d won.
Breakfast was a success. Tash and I had a big laugh over the night before at Copyright and enjoyed a long conversation about anything other than Kyle Richardson. Before I left she asked me once more if anything else had happened with him during the meeting, I knew what she was thinking but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her anything. I was a discreet person and opening up about him, discussing what had happened that night would have forced me to tell her about our little rendezvous that morning and until I knew what was going on I definitely wasn’t getting her involved. I denied it all and made an excuse to leave earlier than expected.
I walked along the harbor and as I looked out over towards the shore near Manly I felt a wave of sadness wash over me, The thought of Holly came out of no where but I found myself wondering where she was, what had happened to her and if she was happy. I sat on a rock and cried at the thought of everything I had missed out on, the experiences of growing up with a big sister to fight with, share things with and just the general closeness. I’d never blamed her for leaving me behind in that house, I just wished she had taken me along with her.
Later that evening I was back at home and began getting ready for dinner with Kyle. I had no idea where we were going so I opted for a small dark blue dress with white straps and slips of white down the side with a zipper around the front of my cleavage. I let my long dark curls down and painted my nails a bright red. I looked myself over in the mirror as I placed on a pair of white heels and grabbed my clutch, I threw my phone, cash and cards into it and walked onto the balcony for a cigarette. 10 minutes later as I sprayed myself with perfume and popped a mint into my mouth I heard my phone ring. I leant over and retrieved it from my clutch. It was Kyle.
“I’m downstairs.” he said in his sexy as hell accent.
“I’ll be down in a minute” I responded as I grabbed my keys and walked towards the door before hanging up.
I stepped out onto the street less than a minute later and found him leaning against a town car dressed in a full dress suit with two dozen red roses in one hand and his free hand ran through his hair. Fuck - I thought to myself. I felt so underdressed. He stepped forward from the car and walked towards me with a wide-eyed look on his face.
“You look breathtaking” he said as he placed a gentle kiss on my cheek.
“I’m not too underdressed?” I asked, feeling immediately self-conscious.
“You look timeless” he responded.
“For you” he said as he handed me the roses. As far as first dates went he was well on his way to impressing me.
“Thank-you.” I said, smelling them as he placed them in my hand.
“Well lets go. Don’t want to be late” he said placing his hand on my lower back and walking me towards the car.
He opened the door a few seconds later and I climbed in ahead of him. As the door clicked shut and we began our journey I was tempted to ask where we were going but I really wanted it to be a surprise. He had promised earlier that I would want to see him again after our dinner and I was excited to see what he had planned that would be so impressive. It had been a long time since someone had treated me so nicely and I didn’t want to spoil the moment. It was obvious that it meant so much to him.
“Aren’t you going to ask where I’m taking you?” he asked, catching me staring out of the window blankly. I turned to look him in the eyes and saw and excitement that you would only see on a kid at christmas.
“Actually no, You said I would want to see you again after this so I would like to see what it is that you think would gain my interest enough to tolerate your stalkerish behavior voluntarily.” I responded with a sly smile on my face.
“Ah that I did. I’m glad you like surprises because I have a few lined up for tonight.” He responded, not giving anything away.
“Give it all you’ve got Mr. Richardson” As much as I hated to admit it, he was already growing on me.
“Well we’re almost there. Close your eyes and don’t peek” he almost sounded like he was demanding it. Despite what I felt like saying to him I decided to comply. No matter what happened I could always walk away and never see him again. It’s a strange feeling when you can’t rely on your eye-sight. Your other senses kick into overdrive and I began searching out any noise or smell that would tell me where we were, but I couldn’t pick any of it. Less than a minute later the car stopped and Kyle spoke.
“Stay here. Keep your eyes closed and I will help you out of the car.” I heard the door open to my right and seconds later the door to my left opened. I felt his warm hands wrap around mine as he helped me out of the car. The moment my feet hit the ground I felt like I was floating on air. I was petrified at what was happening but at the same time I was excited for what was to come. I took a few steps forward and stopped. I could feel the cool night breeze blowing around me, I could hear few people around me as I tried to place where we were. I was instantly shocked as I felt Kyle’s body press up against mine from behind and his hands covered my eyes.
“Do you trust me?” he asked in such a way that I knew it was coming from an honest place. What shocked me more wasn’t that he had asked that when I didn’t know him but rather my response caught me off guard.
“Yes”
“Ok, I am going to guide you. Keep walking and just focus on the sound of my voice. I won’t hurt you, okay.” I felt my inner demons scream at the thought of trusting a man to look after me but pushed them deep down and refused to acknowledge them any further as I surrendered to his voice. As he guided me I felt the pure sensuality of the situation begin to consume me. I was playing with fire just by being with him in that moment but I really didn’t care. It was exciting, he was igniting something from within that I really didn’t think was still there. We had been walking for what felt like ages in the same way. His hands were still over my eyes and I was beginning to wonder how much longer.
“Stop” he whispered in my right ear. I cocked my head to the left at the hopes that he would continue speaking but he was silent. He slipped his hands away from my eyes but they remained shut at he placed his hands on my hips. He leant in closer to me and whispered in my ears once again.
“Open” In that moment I did and what I saw took my breath away so instantaneously that I inhaled sharply and almost choked on the air.
Above me was the Sydney Harbor Bridge, ahead of me was the opera house lit up and the north shore lit up so brightly that the little lights danced across the water. I took in the moment as my eyes adjusted to my surroundings and it took me a few moments to see that there was a huge white Yacht to my right with fairy lights leading up to it. Kyle stepped away to my right and stood beside me as my hands flew up to my mouth.
“Oh my gosh Kyle. This is amazing.” Was all I could manage to say.
“I saw the way your eyes lit up on my office last night at the same sight, in all the times I’d seen you around my clubs I’d never seen you with such a twinkle in your eyes. You gave away the perfect moment in your eyes and I really wanted you to experience it without the confinements of four walls.” He said quietly.
I was shocked. I had no idea what to say back to that. He had read my mind from a simple look on my face and it was then that I realized that he really was a beautiful person. Despite what the media had painted him as, he was definitely a sensitive person.
“Thank you” I responded as I planted a small kiss on his cheek.
“I’m not done here. We still have dinner to attend...and now you’re going to experience the Harbor by traveling through it in style.” He said pointing to the yacht. I was dumbfounded. He placed his hand on the small of my back and once again I straightened my posture as we walked towards the dock. He was definitely pulling out all the stops and if things kept going the way they were I knew I would be powerless to his charm. He was definitely becoming someone who I could very well end up liking.
* * * *
I heard a knock at the door that shattered the bitter-sweet memories and forced them to fade away. I dropped my cigarette into the ashtray and made my way to the front door. As I placed my fingertips on the door handle I inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply in a matter of seconds before opening the door. There standing on the other side was the same man I had once spent some of the best moments of my life with. The anger and love came flooding back without any notice. He looked up from his phone and a sexy smile spread across his face. I felt my confidence waver as he opened his mouth and it was then that the memories of the past reignited the pain within my heart.
“Hello Antonia, I knew I’d find you again.”
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