RANSOM GIFT: The Complete Collection Boxed Set (Commanding Proposal, Hidden Proposal, Ransom Proposal) (4 page)

Chapter 6

              “This is so divino!” My dad exclaimed after tasting Gary’s version of famous Spanish food called Tortilla Espaniola and Pisto.

              “Thank you, sir. I’m glad you liked it.” He said to my dad.

              “I told you, call me
papá.” He insisted, while faking an annoyed face. I smiled at the sight of two of them chatting like this.

              “Okay, papá.” Gary said, trying to have a Spanish accent with the word “papá”.

              “Very good, hijo.” He said.

We had a great time enjoying our dinner, and it couldn’t get any better than this. I stood up to get the two of them a bottle of beer each. After reaching for them at my fancy kitchen, I came out to the sight of the two of them fooling around, trying to copy the silly boy in the commercial from the television. I didn’t even know they opened it.

Gary changed the channel to baseball, and I was suddenly out of the scene. I handed them over their own beer, and dad smiled at me without even looking at me.
Wait, I thought he missed me, and that’s why he’s here?
And then I realized, we can do this more often.

              “You know what, dad?” I called out his attention.

              “Hmmm, cariño?” He asked without taking his eyes off the television.

I pouted. “We can do this more often…” I said, and it made him quickly turned his head to face me, and to see if I was joking.

Upon seeing that I was serious, “great!” He cried.

See,
papá? I’m the reason you’re here, just reminding you…

              “And because of that, you both have my blessing on your marriage!” He joked.

              “
Papá!” I stopped my dad from saying anything worse.

The both of them laughed while I panicked hard. “Not funny, guys…” I told them.

              “Well, having that topic…” Dad started.

Oh no!!!

             
“Are you guys that serious?” He awkwardly asked.

              “Yes, sir, we are.” Gary answered him without second thoughts.

              “Good… because you know, my daughter’s not getting any younger.” He said.

My cheeks heated. “
Papá, lo digo en serio, por favor deja de ¡” I yelled at my dad.

              “Oops! She spoke in Spanish means she’s seriously mad now. Sorry, Gary, let’s talk about it some other time.” He won’t stop teasing.

I rolled my eyes on him.

              “But seriously, hija, I need to discuss something with the two of you.” He said.

I sat next to Gary so that we both could listen to him properly. He held my hand, and dad smiled as he noticed that in his peripheral vision.
Why do I get this feeling like he’s about to drop a bomb on the two of us?

              “I want to offer the both of you a gallery in Madrid. I will employ the two of you during the first year, and once your career reaches its full track, have the business on your own.” He started.

It has shocked me. Well, I knew that dad will do everything he can to make me come home sooner, but I never thought he’d tag Gary along. He must have liked him so much, or maybe he’s just so desperate, so when he got the best weapon to make me come home, he took it.

              “
Papá…” I said.

              “I know. I know it’s hard to just uproot your life here, but Madrid offers career to the both of you. Or we can all simply move to Italy, if you guys want. I just want to be with my daughter… and now with Gary, too” The sadness in his voice was pretty obvious. 

Gary smiled at him, and he turned to look at me. My eyes were asking him if he was okay with it. I was absolutely okay with it. Having Gary to where I belong was the
best guarantee of stability and forever for me. But he has work here. He’s teaching kids here, he’s changes lives here. Can I just grab him out of this country, and just bring him out of his comfort zone.

He smiled and shook his head. “I would love that,
papá.” He faced to answer my dad.

              “Oh, you do? Wonderful!” He said to Gary.

This wasn’t happening… He did agree. What’s going on?

              “Baby, think about it first.” I told him.

              “No, if it’ll make you come home to
papá, then I’ll do it.” He told me. “But, sir, I mean, papá, can I ask for at least a month before moving to Spain? I need to get my last pay so I can get myself an apartment.” He asked my dad.

              “Oh, no, hijo… You’ll be living with us.” He informed him.

Oh, great! There’s one advantage out of this conversation I get to live with him.

              “Oh, sir, please… I insist to have my own apartment. I’m really not used to—
” He didn’t finish his sentence.

              “Well, in that case, we’ll wait for a whole month, then.” He smiled at him.

              “Dad, can I live with Gary?”
Wait, what? Nice, bold move!

Gary squeezed my hand. “Baby, I’d love to do life with you, but I’m sure papá would rather have you in your home. We’ll see each other every day, anyway.”

              “No, Gary, it’s enough for me to know that you’re both in my country.” He said. “Okay, baby, it’s you decision.” He told me.

Amazing! Yay! It’ll be official!

*****

My dad left after an hour, and I felt the need to relax and calm down myself.  I saw Gary staring at one direction, and I felt this weird fear that he might be resenting agreeing with my dad.
See, I told you let’s think about it first!
              “Babe, are you alright?” I asked him.

He then looked at me, and he smiled. “No, of course, I’m alright.” He answered me timidly.

              “Come on, what’s wrong? We can still take it back.” I informed him.

              “No, I wanted to try Madrid, besides, I’m excited for Spain.” He was obviously lying.

              “You’re lying.” I said. He sighed. “Yes, I’m scared.” He said. “But at the same time, I want you to go home without having the need to get rid of me.”

Awww…
“No, I won’t ever get rid of you, as long as you still want me, I’d always be beside you.”

He smiled, and then he leaned over to kiss me.

              “Come on, spill it.” I ordered. “You know I can’t do rich living.” He rolled his eyes on the idea. “It scares me that one day, you’ll see that I’m not cut out for the way you and
papá live, and then you won’t want me anymore.” He explained his point.

              “Gary…”

              “I know it sounds stupid, but I can’t do fine dining. I haven’t slept in a hotel. Well, there’s this first one when a parent gave me a free overnight stay to their inn, but I don’t think that counts.” He said.

              “You don’t have to do that. We can live simple if you want.” I said as if trying to convince him that it won’t ever snow in New York again.

He gave me his oh-really-baby look, and I wanted to laugh. “Okay, but you’ll get used to it, I promise.” I said to him. “Do you want to move back as early as possible?” He asked me. I shook my head with a smile on my face. “I can wait for a month.” I said to him. He smiled back at me, and we kissed.

Chapter 7

              “Have a happy life in Spain!” Mrs. Rots, my landlord has wished us the best of luck.

              “Thank you, Mrs. Rots, and please extend our gratitude to Mr. Rots when he gets back from France.”

She nodded at me, and I started making my way out of her office from three floors below my apartment.

Our flight was supposed to be this morning, but I had to move it tonight because I needed to finish paper works from my lease with Mrs. Rots.

Gary was waiting for me at my apartment, and we’d both go to the airport together. Out stuff were already in Spain two days ago since dad wanted us to pack light. It was so sweet of him because I didn’t like Gary to bring everything by himself.

Once I was back at the apartment, I saw Gary preparing a bottle of champagne for the both of us. He turned and saw me, so he handed over my glass to me.

              “Oh, a toast… very sexy…” I teased him.

              “Yes, a toast to our life together in Spain, and may I learn how to speak Spanish con fluide…” He said.

              “Baby, it’s con fluidez for fluently…” I corrected him, and we both laughed.

              “Right…” He said.

We toasted, and drank our champagne. “Our flight is in three hours, let’s get moving.” He said, and I was so turned on by the way he manages things for the two of us.

So hot!
I smiled at him as I took his hand, and walked after his leading to our together in my homeland.

After seven hours and forty minutes of flight, we’ve reached our destination from 3586 miles away from New York.              

There’s dad waiting for the two of us, and he was with Adolfo and his driver, Luis. And once he saw us, his smile almost reached his ears. He seemed so happy to see the both of us here in the city of Madrid, surrendering our will to his commanding proposal, making Gary a total ransom for me.

It made me feel so happy seeing him this happy. Who would have thought, huh? I left this city alone, and then I came home half a year after with a man. What are the odds? What surprised me a lot was Clemente’s presence in the airport. It’s shocked me that I unintentionally tightened my grip on Gary’s arm. And I can tell that he knew what it meant because I’ve told him few things about Clemente. I didn’t feel threatened for our relationship, I felt surprised.

              “Hola, hija, hijo…” Dad greeted the two of us.

We both came to him, and I hugged him first, and then Gary did.

              “Hola, Kristina, t
e extrañé.” He told me he’s missed me.

             
“Hello, Clemente. I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Garry Miller. Gary, this is Clemente Acosta.” I introduced them to one another.

Gary offered his hand as a sign of respect, but Clemente showed his true color, and refused to take it. He just gave him a fake smile. I raised my brow on him for disrespecting my boyfriend.

              “Dad, shall we go? Gary and I need some rest.”

He smiled weakly at me and Gary feeling ashamed for how Clemente reacted, and we gestured to his car.

              “I’m so sorry about that.” I whispered to him when we were both sitting at the back of dad’s car.

              “It’s okay. He’s jealous, I get that.” He teased me with a smile.

See, it’s why I was so glad that I let another door opened up for me because it’s better than the first one that has closed.              I squeezed his hand, and I felt so happy with him in our little secret bubble.

              “Hija, are you guys hungry or you can still wait for home? Alma cooked your favorite, Paella.” He said.

I turned to look at Gary, and he nodded at me. “We can wait, dad.” I informed him.

Dad turned to face us from the front seat, and he flashed us his sweetest smile. Clemente’s in his own car. I wish he wouldn’t come to the hotel.

              “Are you okay if we stay at my unit first?” I asked him.

              “Okay, let’s get out own apartment whenever you’re ready.” He said.

Great!
I’ve missed my bed, and I wanted to share it with Gary. We’ve been together for almost two months now, but we’ve never shared a bed. I waited for this opportunity when he won’t have any more excuses. I was hoping for the best tonight. So, I kept my hopes high.

I giggled at the thought.

              “What is it?” He asked.

I laughed. “No, it’s nothing.” I lied. It’s everything for me, and I was really hoping I get it tonight.
OMG! Mom would have heart attack because of my thoughts if she was still alive.
             

After few minutes, we’ve reached the hotel, and I can tell by the look in Gary’s eyes that he was being overwhelmed by it all.

              “This is where we live, babe.” I said, and his eyes widen. I nodded, resenting the idea that it’s being hard for him to swallow.

              “You live in one of the units?” He asked, looking so confused and shocked.

              “I live at the pent.” I regret the truth, but I would never want to lie to him with stuff like this one.

My father placed his one in Gary’s shoulder, “don’t worry, Gary, you’ll get used to this, hijo.” He assured him.

And with all our support, our male Cinderella felt loved as he walked inside the hotel with dad and me.

              “Hello, Ms. Kristina.” Alma was waiting at the door with the rest of the stuff.

              “Hola, guys! By the way, this is my boyfriend, Gary.” I introduced him to them.

They all paid him a respect, he was totally overwhelmed so I ended the party early, and I brought him to our room. We said our goodbyes to dad, and we were set to rest.

              “I reached for elevator keys, and I pressed in P. It asked for a password so I pressed in my password, and let him take a look.

              “That’s our password, okay?”

He nodded, and tried to fake a smile for me. I sighed.
Oh boy, this is going to take some serious getting used to.

              “I’m sorry.” He said.

I panicked once again. I hate making him feel like I regret him or anything like that.

“Oh, no, baby… I’m sorry, it’s not that. I regret giving you a hard time like this.” I said.

He smiled at me, and he reached for my cheeks. The elevator opened, and it opened up to a room I’ve missed for six months. It’s still the same, although definitely cleaner, it’s still the very room I left for New York.

              “This is your room?” He asked with genuine shock and fear in his eyes.

              “Yes.” I answered him with a matter of fact.

He gulped the lump in his throat, and it felt weird for me. So I walked towards him after I placed my purse on the center table in the living room area. I touched his face, and he looked at me. His eyes were filled with fear and overwhelming emotions.
Screw this! I’m making the first move.

I placed my lips into mine, and I felt his hesitation for few seconds, then he gave in. I touched his shoulders while giving him that kiss, and he placed his on my back supporting it as he pressed himself on mine. I knew he has an idea of what I was going. I could still feel the tension in his body, but there’s no way he was rejecting me on this one.

I knew right then and there that he wanted it, too. He was just being a gentleman. And that moment was the perfect timing for it, so I could ease his tension.

There was no way that he’s continuing this without a clear instruction, so I transferred my kisses to the corner of his lips, slowly transitioning to his jawline, and I had him following my lead.

I kissed his jaw, his neck going to the back of his ear. I felt his skin having goose bumps and boy that was my cue.

I took away my kisses, and I stared at him. He gulped, and then he resumed kissing me.

Finally!

Here we go…

His hand traveled to my waist, while the other one was brushing my back. He then inserted his hand under my blouse, and it gave him a full access to my skin. It was my turn to have goose bumps.

              “I love you.” He whispered, while brushing his nose to my cheeks. God that was so sensual.

              “I love you.”

He started kissing my neck, and I had this incredibly amazing frenzy trailing my abdomen, and stealing my breath.

So that’s how it’s supposed to feel.

It was amazing!

I felt weakened by his touch, and I could tell that he knew it because he lead me to the bedroom, but after seeing how spacious it was, he was absolutely stunned.

              “Gary, please…” I begged.

He started at me for few seconds, and then he nodded wildly. “Yeah...”

He’s back to kissing me again, but it was more passionately. I felt the warm of his mouth, and I’ve tasted his goodness. I knew he was still overwhelmed so I led him to the bed myself.

“Starting tonight, nothing can ever part us”,
were my unspoken words of love to him.