Chapter Nine: First Night as Newlyweds

The best relationships start off as a friendship first. Because relationships are always stronger when you are best of friends first, and a couple second. 

"Woo-hoo! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Make this old man happy, kiddos. Come on. I will always be the number one fan of your love team!" Then, everyone around them started to chant the word 'kiss' as well, repeatedly.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss! Kiss, kiss, kiss!" Zoey started to panic internally while Dionysus accepted the fact that they really have no choice but to do it and get it done and over with. He pulled Zoey's hands and put it around his neck. Then, he placed his arms around Zoey's waist. 

Dionysus leaned towards Zoey to whisper in her ear. "Just so you know, women have kissed me before." Zoey's eyes widened.

"I thought you had been single all your life? Is that a lie?"

"No. But, most of the time, countless women threw themselves at me. Whether they were after my name or only liked me because of my face." Zoey saw the sadness in Dionysus' eyes but it disappeared quickly before she could even ask him about it. 

"That's why you don't like women."

"Yep. That's something my grandfather wouldn't understand." Zoey touched Dionysus' face and caressed it softly. She did that unconsciously and when she noticed it, she immediately dropped her hand before clearing her throat. 

"And, what did you do? Did you kiss them back?" Zoey's face looked like she was trying to make herself look so curious as hell just to hide her fifth embarrassment for that day. 

Dionysus shook his head. "Are you serious? No. I pushed them away, hard. It felt like I was kissing a frog. It was hellish." The whole room fell silent when Zoey laughed as well and because it was too loud not to be noticed at all. 

"Just kiss me on the cheek so that you won't experience that again." Zoey suggested after she had recovered. Dionysus' face softened. 

"Really? 

"Yeah."

"How about you? Have you kissed someone before?" Dionysus asked. Zoey's smile faltered and faded away. "Why? Did I say something wrong?"

Zoey looked around and saw everyone waiting for them to finally kiss each other. But, out of the blue, she suddenly had this urge to tell Dionysus about one of the most painful parts of her childhood, one that she can't even tell her mom and Zamantha about all these years. But, with Dionysus, she suddenly wanted to tell him everything about her. She knew Dionysus would somehow judge her, but she somehow felt at ease with that, if that even makes sense at all. 

Seconds later, Zoey took a deep breath, looked straight at Dionysus' eyes and told him a piece of her trauma only Dionysus could have the right to hear right now. 

"I was in middle school when my bullies tried harassing me and kissing me everywhere, even at my lips. No one helped me because they were used to me being bullied all my life. But, for the first time, I fought back at them and stabbed my classmate with a pen. I was suspended, but instead of moping, I dropped out instead and never came back."

Dionysus looked so taken aback. He gulped and instantaneously regretted the day he mocked Zoey's educational background. He didn't know that the bullying she had experienced was that traumatizing. "I'm sorry. That's why you don't like men, too. Now, I know." 

Zoey sighed. "It's alright. You don't have to apologize."

Dionysus looked at his grandfather who was silently watching them on his wheelchair before he looked back at Zoey. "Forget about my condition. I can just kiss you on the forehead. It still counts as a kiss, right? So, are you ready?" 

"You'd do that for me?" Zoey's eyes glistened for her upcoming tears, but she tried her hardest to hold it back. Slowly, bit by bit, she is forgetting the countless reasons why she had hated Dionysus so much from the very beginning when in fact, he can be the sweetest, most thoughtful and most caring when he wants to. 

"In one condition. You'll tell me the names of those people who tried to harass you back then." Right there and then, Zoey's eyebrows furrowed.

"Why? What do you need that for?"

Dionysus nonchalantly shrugged. "Nothing. Just want to know if I happen to know them somehow."

"Silly. How would you know them? We didn't attend the same school."

"Just tell me, Zoey. Come on. They're waiting for our kiss." Zoey looked around and everyone now looked so impatient and kept gazing down at their wristwatches.

"Alright." Zoey recited the names of the boys who assaulted her a few years ago.

"I need their full names, Mrs. Chevalier." Zoey heard someone coughing in the background so she literally had no choice but to recite the names again, but in full, with surnames and middle names. 

"Happy now?"

"Very, very happy." Dionysus grinned. But, unbeknownst to Zoey, it was the kind of grin Dionysus' enemies had always feared to see from his face.

At long last, Dionysus kissed Zoey in her forehead that lasted for a good few seconds. And, even though it wasn't what everyone had expected from them, it still made all the people in that room sigh and swoon contentedly at the heartwarming way both Dionysus and Zoey closed their eyes afterwards. It was like the newlywed couple had savored the feeling of the most serene kind of kiss in the whole wide world.

"That's my kiddo right there." Mr. Hermes Chevalier murmured as a tear fell from his eyes. He looked very happy at the outcome of his plans to finally marry his grandson to someone as loving as Zoey.

Dionysus pulled away and looked down at Zoey. Zoey opened her eyes and did the same thing before she smiled at Dionysus. The kind of smile that wasn't sarcastic nor teasing and mocking like what she always loves to give to him. But, rather the kind of smile that silently tells Dionysus that right at that moment, he had already captured Zoey's heart, relentlessly and effortlessly and even if Zoey was still clueless about it. 

~~~~

"God. I'm so tired. I just want a really nice bath." Zoey murmured then all of a sudden. . "Argh! You scared the shit out of me!" Zoey exclaimed after the door on her room swung open and revealed Dionysus still in his tuxedo. She was about to unzip her dress and walk towards the bathroom.

"What? This is my room, right? Can't I enter my own room now?" 

"The hell? But, your grandpa said this will be my room."

"Of course he will say that. We're married now, right? He will no doubt direct you to my room. What do you expect?" Dionysus casually explained as he closed the door and walked towards the bed, dropping his phone on the cushion at the same time. Afterwards, Dionysus sat on the bed chair and massaged his shoulders. "My muscles hurt like hell." 

Zoey gulped. "Can't I just. . can't I just stay in the guestroom I used this morning? I just don't want to invade your privacy here."

"No." 

"No?"

"No." 

Zoey sighed and bit her lower lip. "No?"

"Seriously?" Dionysus snapped but Zoey only laughed the awkwardness away. "It's in our contract and grandpa would surely suspect if I let you stay in the guestroom again."

"Yes. I know, alright? It's just that, this feels so weird. I have never shared a room with someone before, not even with my sisters. I'm a certified extrovert. I like being alone. Being alone is what energizes me."

"So am I." Dionysus looked at Zoey. "My room is big. And, my bed is big as well. I'm sure as hell we won't disturb each other's peace no matter what happens. If you want, I'll sleep on the floor."

"You would do that for me?"

"No. Of course not. I'm just kidding. I love my bed so much. Besides, my kindness has expired. Maybe, come back tomorrow to claim it again?" Then, Dionysus resumed massaging his shoulders again.

"Whatever." Zoey noticed Dionysus' movements. "Does it hurt a lot?" Zoey still asked even though she wanted to smack Dionysus' head again at that moment. 

"Yeah. I didn't have the time to stretch and work out this morning and when I carried you, this happened." 

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"Wait. I have an idea. Just let me shower first and I'll massage your back." Zoey ran towards her duffel bag, picked it up and left her other suitcases on the door. Right after, she ran towards the bathroom and closed it. She blew a deep breath before attempting to unzip her dress again. But, like her suspicion, it won't be unzipped on her own. Left with no other choice, Zoey opened the bathroom's door and called for Dionysus' attention. 

"What?" Dionysus asked while his upper body is now lying on the bed, with his lower extremities still on the floor. 

"I forgot to tell you that my dress won't come off. I can't reach the back zipper. Can you please do it for me?" Dionysus stood up while Zoey stepped outside the bathroom. They met halfway and Zoey instantaneously turned her back towards Dionysus before collecting her hair on one side.

Zoey waited for Dionysus' hand. But, Zoey didn't feel any movement behind her. When she looked at Dionysus, her husband was crossing his arms against his chest. "I just realized that you kept on commanding me with everything. How do you do that? And, why the bloody hell I am even obliging in the first place? No one has ever done that to me before."

"Really?" Dionysus turned Zoey's body again and finally unzipped her dress.

"There. Now, take a bath. You still have to massage me. You came up with that idea anyway." Dionysus was about to go back lying to the bed when in an instant, Zoey's dress fell from her body when she tried walking back to the bathroom. Both of them froze on their respective spots.

"Are you staring at me right now? Because if you are, I'm going to kill you!" Dionysus mentally ordered his body to face the other direction but his body won't move. His eyes moved up and down on Zoey's body who was now only in her undergarments. "Dionysus, answer me!"

"Wow, witch. I never thought you have a nice body underneath your witch clothes. But, I must just comment, your butt looks so flat. Just like my hypothesis." 

Without dilly-dallying, Zoey picked up her dress, stepped inside the bathroom again and slammed the door right in front of Dionysus' face loudly. "I hate you! Massage yourself, bastard!" 

~~~~

"Won't you really massage me? Come on, witch. I already said sorry." Zoey had already finished taking a warm bath. She had also changed into her more comfortable pajamas and was now combing her damp hair in front of the mirror.

Dionysus had also freshened up as well, and came out from the shower five minutes ago. And, since then, he had been bombarding Zoey with his rants about the massage she promised to him while lying on his bed. 

"You called my butt flat."

"Because it's true?" Right there and then, Zoey faced Dionysus' direction and threw her comb straight at his face. "Ouch! What the fuck, woman?"

"I thought we're friends now?" Zoey asked out loud, her face contorting in anger. She doesn't really know why the bloody hell she could get really angry at Dionysus that fast, and at nonsense things for that matter. She wasn't like that before. Sure, her blood will instantly boil if someone dared to bully her appearance again, but she can stay freaking calm for too long before she could actually explode. But, it wasn't really the case with Dionysus.

"I thought so, too! Not until you threw that hair brush at me!" Dionysus picked up a pillow and threw it in Zoey's direction as well. Zoey's thighs got hit. "Huh! Serves you, right? You didn't even thank me for helping you unclog your mess! You ungrateful witch!"

Zoey was about to talk back again but guilt washed over her. Dionysus was right. She forgot to thank him about all the good deeds he had done for her that day. Zoey sighed and calmed her nerves down. She stood up and rummaged through her bags and got her own massage oil.

"What's that?"

"My own version of massage oil. It's sweet almond. It can nourish your skin. Come on. I'll massage you now. This is my way of saying thank you. So, move faster before I change my mind, honey bun." 

Dionysus sat up and moved on the other side of the bed just so Zoey could sit beside him. Seconds later, Dionysus raised both of his arms to gradually remove his knitted sweater away from his body. And, when he did that, everything around Zoey seemed to fade away. Zoey's eyes focused on the way Dionysus' muscles flexed and moved. It was like a slow motion scene for Zoey. She can even see an awful lot of colorful fireworks exploding right before her eyes. She wasn't just imagining it. 

Zoey gulped and tightened her grip on the bottle of massage oil when Dionysus tossed his sweater on Zoey's lap. Then, Dionysus laid on the bed with his bare back facing Zoey. And, Zoey couldn't even thank the heavens above because of that. She only snapped back to her senses when Dionysus called her attention. "Are you going to do it or am I just letting my bare back here catch some cold?" Zoey rolled her eyes. She started putting an ample amount of massage oil in her hand before spreading it out into Dionysus' back. Zoey's hand trembled slightly as soon as it made contact with Dionysus' skin. Dionysus felt that and felt his eyebrows furrowing. "Hey, witch. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Don't mind me." Zoey replied back. After she was done spreading the massage oil, she put it down on the bedside table and started pressing every pressure point on Dionysus' back. 

Dionysus grunted. "Motherfucker. Your hands feel so good. Where did you learn to massage like that?"

"My mom. She always loves to do this to me after a heavy day from my tons of work."

"Tons of work? What do you mean?"

"I have so many side jobs."

"Aside from being a waitress?"

"Yes. I also worked as a cashier at the convenience store you fetched me near our house. I worked as a sales lady in the mall, a delivery boy for an online selling shop."

"No way. You can ride a motorcycle?"

"Yes, why? Why are you amazed? Because girls can't do that?"

"I didn't say that." Zoey proceeded on massaging Dionysus' shoulders and the bastard moaned in pleasure that made Zoey feel a little awkwardness in the air. "Goddamn it. I love your hands now." Zoey blinked at that and just continued what she was saying to avert her attention from Dionysus' disturbing whimpers of pleasure and from the fact that she was loving how she could touch Dionysus' well built body as well.

"I also worked as a plumber, welder, automotive technician, construction foreman, painter, wallpaper installer and welder." From lying down, Dionysus faced Zoey which made Zoey become unfocused again after seeing the ripped muscles on Dionysus' chest.

"Why do you have so many jobs? Are all those legit?"

"I have three mouths to feed, my mom and my two sisters who are both still in school. Well, make it four, including Azlan." 

"Where's your. . father, then?"

"Dead." Dionysus' mouth fell open and was about to say something when Zoey interrupted him. "Don't say you're sorry. He died in a car crash while driving his own taxi cab in the middle of a rainy night because that's how he was. Always so hard working just to provide us enough. But, when he died, my mom died internally as well. She can't seem to work outside our house anymore. That's why when I dropped out of middle school, it was also pretty convenient for me to take my father's role and responsibilities. In that way, I can channel my grief through working hard like him. My father, he is my superhero. He will be the only man I will ever love like that." 

"But, you started working so many jobs since middle school?" That's what Dionysus asked because that's what had cut deeply in his mind. 

"Yes. And, it's all legit. I have my different licenses for that. I can't say I'm a professional but I can do all my jobs properly. That's what matters to me." 

"And, why did you apply as my secretary?" Zoey shrugged nonchalantly as if she didn't cry for a whole day about Dionysus' rejection of her application. 

"To try my luck. And, I read you don't care about anyone's educational background." 

"I really don't. I'm sorry for rejecting you that day. That was indeed, childish." Zoey smiled and it looked so genuine.

"Well, what matters is that you hired me now. Even though, through a marriage contract." Zoey cleaned her hands in the bathroom and went back to the bed. She laid down beside Dionysus and was about to cover herself with the comforters when Dionysus stopped her from moving. "What?"

"Let me massage you as well. I know you're dead tired. And, your mom's not here to do that for you."

"Are you sure? Do you even know how to massage?"

"Woman, I'm a fast learner. How do you think I made a humongous empire of mine if it wasn't for my ability to adapt to new things?" Zoey raised both of her hands to give up arguing before she turned around so that her back was now facing Dionysus. 

Dionysus picked up the massage oil while Zoey tried pulling her big sized shirt upwards, just enough to show her naked back. When Dionysus saw Zoey's skin again, he gulped so hard. Even with her brown patches, Zoey's skin still looked so soft and creamy. "Hey. Are you alright? What are you waiting for?" 

Dionysus cleared his throat. Out of the blue, there was just something he was itching to ask Zoey. "When you said that you were proud of me because of what I had achieved, is that true?" Zoey contemplated whether to answer that because she felt like Dionysus' question was so out of the blue. 

"Of course, silly. I'm so amazed at your life story. I thought back then, we're kind of similar, working so hard to achieve our dreams and goals. I even thought you were a very old man, remember? That was hilarious." Right there and then, Dionysus felt like hugging Zoey and he doesn't even know why. He wanted to do that, but got suddenly scared that Zoey's trauma about the boys that harassed her back then would resurface. So, Dionysus held himself back. He doesn't want to stoop to those boys' level. 

Dionysus forced his mind to focus on his task. But, when he finally realized that Zoey wasn't wearing any undergarments under her big sized shirt, something inside him burned ferociously. "Witch. Don't tell me you're not wearing any bra again?"

"It's bedtime and I don't like to suffocate my breasts into those tight prison cells people call brassieres. No woman would do that even in their sleep. You can't absolutely relate because you're not a woman yourself." Zoey explained, unaware of the internal, massive chaos she had just caused to Dionysus' suddenly disturbed mind.

Dionysus' forehead started to sweat, his mind suddenly became clouded with desire for the first time in history. He had felt that before but that was because it was normal for him to feel that sometimes. But, this time, Dionysus knew it was different. His whole body was burning for Zoey. And, it was so intense. It wasn't very helpful that both of them were undeniably half naked, lying on the same bed and trapped in the same room.

"Dionysus? What's wrong?" Zoey faced Dionysus. Something inside Dionysus' jogging pants twitched when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Zoey's bare breasts because of her sudden movements. "If you can't do it, just tell me. I won't force you."

Dionysus' clouded mind processed that question in a much different way. He was about to lean over Zoey's body and claim her luscious looking lips but his phone suddenly rang on the bedside table and showed Sebastian's name as the caller I.D.