CHAPTER 2. AN AWKWARD ENCOUNTER

"My God, you're not dreaming Nickolas, she's real!" I said to myself, surprised and impressed as soon as I saw her enter and walk to a table in the back where she was placed. She was a really beautiful young woman with golden colored hair, that fell in waves framing her face, and reached her waist, upturned nose, amber eyes, with well lined eyebrows and long eyelashes, with her upper lip thin and her lower lip full, slim, she was wearing a short deep pink wide skirt that showed beautiful well lined legs, small waist and a white V-shaped top, that showed the beginning of her breasts and a coat in her hand.

I couldn't help but detail her accurately, I felt attracted to her, something that hadn't happened for a very long time. At that moment our gazes crossed and she became nervous and began to bite her lower lip, which in my eyes was a provocation, maybe she was looking for a way to attract me, women were too manipulative, I thought with a grimace of displeasure.

However, I could not avoid that just by seeing her my body reacted with excitement, which was quite strange for me, because I was not used to walk behind women, on the contrary, they were the ones who chased me and threw themselves at me incessantly, which was acceptable because apart from not being physically bad, I was swimming in money and that was the only motivation they required, fortune and power, just as cars needed a source of energy to move them, they needed these two elements to arouse their interest, they were all damn interested.

I could not ignore for long the effect that girl had on me, I was curious to know what was different from the others to provoke such a reaction in me, besides she was not used to deny me anything and if my body wanted her I would have her.

Decided, I got up with a firm step and went to her table, she looked up and was surprised showing her big amber eyes that gave the impression of sparking with golden sparkles, she immediately charmed me with her gaze. It didn't matter that I am a very experienced man, used to date models of extraordinary beauty, versed in the art of sex, definitely this girl had captured my attention and I was not willing to let her escape, I would make her mine and then I would discard her as always happened with everyone, the important thing was not to involve my heart again and keep in mind that there is no good woman, not even one.

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I was paralyzed in front of the man's presence, I could not move, nor articulate a word, my surprise was evident, because I opened my big eyes wide and formed an "O" with my mouth, I could not believe that a man like that, had noticed a girl like me and that he was at my table to talk to me. "Boba react" I said to myself, forcing myself to articulate some coherent sound, but only stammering came out, no matter how hard I tried to express myself, the words got stuck in my throat.

I was desperate, because I was afraid of the impression I was giving him when I couldn't even form a single sentence. I'm sure he's going to think I'm a stupid, idiotic, slow-witted and to top it all off now my brain was searching for offensive words in alphabetical order, a mania that came to me when I was excessively nervous and that I applied unconsciously to try to calm myself down. I also closed my eyes and took a deep breath, at which point I heard his baritone voice speaking.

“HI, will you have a problem if I accompany you while your appointment arrives?” I couldn't speak and just shook my head affirmatively. He let out a beautiful smile revealing perfect white teeth and said: "Does that mean that if I would have any problem or if I can accompany you?

I answered more nervous than ever “N-no y-yes Oh my God!” I think I became paler than I am, because I felt the blood escaping from my face. I imagine I look like a ghost, because without any nerve attacking me my skin was normally pearly. In addition to this my hands began to sweat and I had no control of my brain or my body, my heart began to hammer violently, I had never felt so stupid and the worst thing is that when I was very nervous or lied I stuttered.

The man stared at me, as if trying to discover the secrets I didn't have, I wrinkled my brow for my witticisms. Seconds later I was surprised when I saw him sitting on a chair next to me with a smile, expressing to me “I'm going to imagine that means that there is no problem for me to keep you company” he extended his hand saying to me “I'm Nickolas Philipo Sebastini Papandreu, but my friends call me Nick and you are?”

“H-hello, I'm S-sophia Madrid, i-excuse me, I'm n-nervous." As I shook hands with him, I felt a kind of current enter my arm and I withdrew my hand hastily.

“You have no reason to be nervous, I am a respectable man" said Nick, trying to calm me down.

I couldn't help but smile to the point that the two dimples on my cheeks stood out. Then I heard the man's voice: "You are even more beautiful when you laugh, I didn't think that was possible, but when you do it, you get those two dimples that are a temptation.

“You are a flatterer," I confessed without stopping smiling, I felt nervous because to tell the truth, his strong personality overwhelmed me in a certain way.

“I didn't know that telling the truth was flattery," he declared without taking his eyes off me. It seemed like he was scanning me, I smiled at his scrutiny.

“No, but it is, the ends y-you p-pursue with your d-statement”. I spoke nervously.

“And what do you think my purposes are?” the man questioned me.

“I d-don't know, do you tell me?” I asked, trying to feign my shyness.

“ha ha ha," he guffawed, making my stomach contract at the sound of his laughter, "call me Nick and I'll call you Sophia, let's not talk about you. Sophia, what do you do?”

“I'm a student of visual arts at the University of Barcelona," I answered stuttering, no matter how hard I tried to calm down, I couldn't manage it.

“And why did you study visual arts?” He asked me in expectation of my answer.

“W-well, I smiled and began to talk up to my elbows, "I love to paint, since I was a p-parvula mom had to run after me, b-because I liked to m-manifest it on any wall or p-wall of the house. At first they didn't want to l-let me study it, p-preferring me to study f-finance or administration. Until my siblings and I managed to convince them.

“How many siblings do you have, Sophia?” Nick asked me with a frown and without taking his eyes off me for even a moment.

“I have t-three brothers, all older than me," I answered, my legs trembling under the table.

“And what are you, such a beautiful young girl, doing all alone in this place?” she asked.

“I had a date with m-my friends, but they couldn't make it, but my cell phone d-dropped and I didn't see that they had canceled the d-date until I was already here," I answered quickly, observing her pretty features that made my heart race.

“I'm thankful you didn't come because this way we could get to know each other," she said without taking her eyes off me.

“Yes, it was a pleasant surprise to meet you, aren't you Spanish? What do you do? Are you staying at this hotel?” I asked trying to keep the conversation interesting because to tell the truth I didn't want it to decline, I liked the interest this man showed in me and in a way I wanted to return the gesture, but apparently that was not to his liking.

The one called Nick made a clear gesture of displeasure and his eyes darkened, he clenched his jaw and a kind of growl came out of his mouth. I did not understand what had provoked this sudden change in him, when just a few seconds ago he was talking animatedly with me and questioning me, couldn't I ask him? Least of all did I know the reason for the belligerent words he uttered:

“What do you care where I stay? And what interest can it have for you that I am a teacher in a high school, or in a university? What moves you to ask me those questions? Do you want to know if I am a man of money?” he asked rudely.

His words disconcerted me and I became a little nervous, my eyes tried to moisten because I was not used to any rough treatment, I was the little princess of my house and in spite of the control that everyone exerted over me, no one had ever spoken to me and hit me in my life.

I raised my face and looked at his and with a bit of withdrawal, but with a clear voice I answered him: -I'm sorry s-sir, I didn't w-want to b-bother you, I just w-wanted us t-to have a t-topic of conversation, and I questioned you just as you did w-with me. But since he is not interested, y-you can get up from my table so as not to continue bothering him-at my words he stared at me in surprise, because apparently he did not expect that reaction from me, however, I could not avoid the trembling that ran through my body.

                           "Courage is doing the things you are afraid of." Eddie Rickenbacher.