French Twist (5 page)

Chapter Eight

As it turns out, I was ready, but Louis wasn’t.  Well actually, we both weren’t.  Neither one of us had condoms.  Way to spoil a party!  I don’t think I’ve ever been as disappointed about anything in my life.  The only positive thing I could think of was I would feel like less of a slut now that our first time would have to wait until his birthday.  At least I will have known him for a week by then.

I had spent the week being so distracted by Louis, talking to him, thinking about him, imagining kissing him, doing other things with him...I had totally forgotten to buy him a birthday gift.  It was now Friday night and I had to find a great gift by Sunday.  He had to work all day Saturday, which meant I had time to work with, but it was still going to be tough.  I wanted to give him something special, yet we had known each other for less than a week, so I didn’t want to buy him something with too much meaning since this might freak him out.  I knew I was totally overthinking this.  I needed an expert.

Maya picked up on the first ring.  How did she do that?  She must have her phone permanently attached to her face.  “I need help.”

She sighed.  “Tell me something I don’t know.  What is it this time?”

“Have I told you how obnoxious you are lately?”

“You better watch it, girl.  You still owe me and clearly you need my help, so...”

“Fine. I give up.  I need to buy a gift for Louis for his birthday, but I’m at a loss for what would be…appropriate.”

She snorted.  “Appropriate?  Syd, you crack me up.  Stop thinking so much!  I’m sure you already have a great idea, but you’ve talked yourself out of it for some crazy reason.”

I sighed.  “It frightens me how well you know me.  Or am I just that easy to read?” 

“What do you think?”  We both laughed.  “Now tell me your idea.” 

“Well, he loves this group, the Bloodhound Gang, and they’re playing in the city next week.  I went online and there are a few
really
crappy seats left for Tuesday night, but I thought it would be fun.  Is it…lame?”

“It’s not lame!  It’s incredibly thoughtful, as usual.  I totally give you props for going to such an awful concert for him.  That band sucks!”  She added sound effects for emphasis.

“Thanks!  I
so
love hearing your opinion on things. It’s always nicely put.”

“Hey, honesty is important.  You know you love me.”

“Yes, I do...for some inexplicable reason.  But seriously, the show is a nice gift, but I have to give him something on his actual birthday.”

She burst into a fit of giggles.  “I thought you had something very...um...special to give him on his birthday.”  She laughed so hard, she dropped the phone with a loud clatter.

“Nice, Maya!”  I cleared my throat. “I hope it will happen, but it’s not a gift. Gross!  It’s something I want too, you lunatic!”

She composed herself. “OK, I got it.  What about a picture frame?  You could have a photo taken that night and put it in the frame for him to take back to France.”

“No way!  Too presumptuous; we’ll probably never see each other again.”  I blushed and was thankful she couldn’t see it over the phone.  I didn’t need any further mocking.

“Syd, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.  He’ll make something happen.  I can tell.”

“Maya, I love you, but you’re on crack.  You saw him look at me the night he
met
me.  There’s no way he was in that place then or is even there now.”  I didn’t want to hear this.  It would get me to hope and I couldn’t afford to do that.

“Have it your way, Syd, but I think I’m right.  You wait and see.”

Suddenly it hit me.  “I know!  I’ll buy him a plant.  He was just saying the other day how bleak his apartment is and he loves greenery of any kind.”

“Very sweet, Syd, but I think you’ll be the one making his last week a lot better!”  She cackled.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself!  I have to run.  Call you later!”  My face was crimson.  Why was it so easy for her to get under my skin?

“Bye, hon!  Be good!”  Maya truly knew how to end a conversation.

By Sunday afternoon, I was in good shape.  I had bought Louis the concert tickets and a beautiful ficus plant which would brighten up his corporate apartment.  I had also borrowed my favorite dress of Kate’s - a sparkly silver strapless sheath dress ending a few inches above my knees.  I straightened my hair, added light makeup (subtle hues on the eyes and lips) and a few pieces of simple jewelry, finishing off the look with silver strappy sandals.  Not bad, Sydney.

Louis rang the doorbell at exactly six o’clock.  I opened the door and stood admiring him for a moment.  He was wearing a French-blue long-sleeved collared shirt, charcoal gray pants and black shoes.  The blue of the shirt intensified the color of his eyes, if that was even possible, and the effect was breathtaking. I was stunned into silence.

Louis smiled at me.  “May I come in?”

I shook the thoughts out of my head. “Of course; I’m sorry.  I was distracted by how gorgeous you look.”  I blushed profusely following my admission.

“You are the one doing the distracting,
mon coeur
.  You look...well...I wish I could find the right words.”  He thought for a moment.  “I think breathtaking is the word I am searching for.”

I blushed even deeper and studied my shoes.  I wondered if I would ever learn to take a compliment.

Louis approached me and ran his hands down my arms.  “Sydney, you know what it does to me when you blush.  We are not going to make it to the restaurant at this rate.”

I gazed up at him and made a decision.  I slid my arms around his waist and ran them down over his firm behind.  Then I reached up and kissed him very slowly.

“Sydney...”  He whispered.

I pulled him towards me and led him to my bedroom without breaking the kiss.  Once we were inside, I locked the door and turned to face him.  Before I knew it he had me pinned to the wall and was kissing me hungrily.

“You have no idea how much I want you.”  He panted and felt for the zipper of my dress.

“I think I have a very good idea, Louis.”  I kissed his neck and began to unbutton his shirt.  He groaned and carried me over to the bed.

“I can’t take any more waiting,
mon coeur
.  I have wanted you since the first moment I saw you and the desire has only deepened the more time we have spent together.” 

My mind started to wander to a very sarcastic place, but I tuned it out.  I wanted this man so badly and I didn’t care if I would never see him again after next week.  For once, I was living in the present.  Kate would be proud.

The sex was extraordinary.  Never in my life have I felt so intimate, so breathless and so SATISFIED.  The man really was good at everything.  I’ve had orgasms before, but this experience was truly mind blowing.  I could not stop smiling, which amused Louis to no end.

He smirked at me.  “You look pretty happy,
mon coeur
.”

“Mmm...an accurate assessment,
Monsieur
Durand.  You are an incredible man.”  I snuggled into his chest. 

“Well, with enough practice, you get good at things.” His eyes danced.

I smacked him in the chest.  “Oh, so that’s what you’ve spent all your time doing in France?  I thought you were busy with school and work.”  I laughed.

“Well, you can squeeze it in anywhere.  You only have to be flexible!”  He collapsed into laughter.

“What a heinous joke, birthday boy!  We need to focus.  Are you hungry?  I’m sorry I made us miss our reservation.”  I did feel a little bad.  It was his birthday, after all.

“Do not be sorry, Syd. This was much better than any dinner could have been.  In fact...I think I am ready for seconds...”  He pulled me towards him.

“Louis!  I’m going to need sustenance before any further activity.  I’m starting to feel dizzy.” I was quite hungry since I had skipped lunch, but I had come pretty close to going for seconds myself.  It was extremely difficult to resist him.

He sighed. “You are right.  Shall we order a pizza?”

I frowned.  “Are you sure pizza is what you want?  It’s your birthday. Don’t you want something special?”

“What I want is you and pizza is a quick meal.  Let’s order it, eat and get back to celebrating.”

Wow.  That was direct.  I couldn’t help but laugh as I stood up and grabbed my robe.  I stopped for a moment when it dawned on me that I was falling in love with this man and he was leaving in a week.  I was suddenly struck with sadness.

As I tried to drag myself out of it, he stood up and caressed my face.  “What is the matter?”  His brow furrowed with concern.

I shook my head.  “Nothing.  It’s silly.  I was thinking about how I’m going to miss you.”

He seemed momentarily confused.  Then his whole face broke into a smile “Sydney!  I was so distracted by you when I came in, I forgot to tell you.  My company has been asking me to move to the San Jose office for some time now, and this week, I finally said yes.”  He paused and gazed deeply into my eyes.  “You gave me a reason to take them up on their offer.  I will be moving here next month.”

I just stared at him for a minute.  I was completely speechless.  He had agreed to be transferred to the US.  He was
moving
here.  My head was spinning.  A normal person would have been ecstatic.  A normal person would have immediately told Louis how happy she was and made mad passionate love to him despite the need for food.  A normal person would have done something remotely sane.  I; however, was descending into hysteria and it took all my strength not to run away.  It was probably a good thing I was naked or I might have tried to escape...

I snapped out of my thought spiral and threw my arms around Louis.  “I’m so happy!”  I knew this is what I
should
be feeling.  Instead, the panic was lurking right below the surface and I was desperately trying to understand why.  Only moments ago I was filled with sadness over losing Louis.  Now I wouldn't have to and I was terrified.  Why am I such a freak?

For the rest of the evening, I pretended everything was fine.  We had a pizza picnic on the living room floor and I gave Louis his birthday gifts.  He had trouble containing his excitement about the concert tickets.

“Sydney, this is amazing!  I have never seen them in concert.”

“I’m sorry; the seats are pretty bad.” I shook my head sheepishly. “It was all that was left.”

“Are you kidding?  This is great!  You will finally see what I am talking about.  These guys are musical geniuses.”

He was beside himself with excitement.  I attempted a smile even though my anxiety was reaching an alarming level.

After I sang him happy birthday, we fed each other the cupcakes I had baked for him and then retreated to my room and made love for hours.  In the wee hours of the morning, Louis said he had to go.

“As much as I would love to stay with you, I have to get to work really early.  I hope you have the chance to get some rest, Syd; you need it.”  He kissed my forehead and lingered for a final moment.

“What about you?  How are you going to function with so little sleep?” I linked my fingers through his.

He smirked.  “Ah, you forget I was in the army for a year before I went to college.  I have been trained to function with little sleep.”

I had totally forgotten about his stint in the army.  Louis had seen and done so much in his life.  How was I ever going to catch up?  Would I truly be enough for him? He was meant to be with a sophisticated, multilingual supermodel, not awkward, anxiety-ridden me.

Louis gently put his hand under my chin, forcing me to look at him.  “I have lost you again.  Where have you gone?”

I composed myself.  “I’m sorry. I’m
exhausted
.  I wonder why!”

“Allow me to tire you out again tomorrow night.”  He started to kiss my neck. 

I sighed. “You’re such a romantic, Louis.”

He pinned my arms above my head.  “There is that sass again!”

I rolled my eyes.  “Yes, I’m full of it.” 

Louis laughed and kissed me again. “I must go now or I will never make it out of here.”  He got out of bed, grabbed his clothes and began to get dressed.

“I hope you had a good birthday.  I know I enjoyed it.” I smiled sleepily at him.

“It was the best birthday I have ever had.  Thank you,
mon coeur
.”  He finished buttoning his shirt and came over to me.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around him.  “You’re welcome.  Feel free to celebrate with me anytime.”

He helped me into my robe and I walked him to the front door.  “Drive safely, Louis.  Call me when you get home, OK?”  I had finally remembered to give him my cell phone number.

“Are you sure?  You need to sleep.”  He frowned at me.