Chapter two

                                        Ricardo

   The day was already coming to an end, and I still hadn't spoken to the lead actress of the new movie I was directing.

   Night was fast approaching as 2pm turned to 3pm and 3pm turned to 4. 4:22 was when she walked in. I had seen beautiful women, but none as beautiful as her.

   She had dark brown curly hair, cool olive skin and hazel eyes that were full of expression. It took everything in me to keep my mouth from opening in awe. She was gorgeous on screen, but in person, she looked like a goddess.

   I smiled to mask the awkwardness and she smiled right back. A soft smile.

   “Hello I'm Ricardo Giordano, nice to meet you” I stretched my hands out for a handshake.

   “Odessa Vale, nice to meet you Mr Giordano” she replied while shaking hands with me. 

   Her voice was bold but calm, her hands soft and delicate. Her perfume filled the air around us. This woman was an epitome of grace. 

                        

   I noticed the awkwardness in the room growing.

   “I've heard a few things about you Miss Vale. outstanding actress, aren't you?”

   “Why thank you. I've heard things about you too. I love your work” she was smiling softly again. Her smile was beautiful. 

   I didn't know how to act around her and that was a bad thing. A person's appearance shouldn't be enough to make me act like this. 

   I asked her for her script and pretended to be engrossed in it, so I couldn't take my mind off her. I could feel her eyes on me while I did that, she probably knew I was acting weird.

   I looked back up at her, arranged my glasses properly and asked her if she'd gone through her script and was okay with it.

   “I don't think I can do the sex scene” I don't know if I was expecting that answer from her, but I wasn't too surprised. A lot of actors I've worked with have had issues with explicit scenes too. 

   I offered her two alternatives, and she seemed pleased. I was happy knowing she was pleased with me. 

   I gave her script back to her and quickly scanned through another one. The foolishness i thought I'd outgrown clawed it's way back.

   “I didn't even have to convince you. Thank you sir” that came as a shock cause she didn't convince me at all. 

   “Convince me?” that didn't come out the way I expected it too. 

   She looked uncomfortable now. “You could've easily gotten someone else to play the role” 

   I explained to her that it wasn't really a thing of compromise, but a normal thing when it came to business. She didn't really seem pleased with the answer. 

   I could tell because there was no soft smile or expression behind her eyes. She picked up her script from the table, nodded her head and said 

   “I'll go through this again at home” there was a smile, but I could tell it was forced. 

   “thank you for your time Miss Vale” I swallowed the words I wanted to ask her while smiling. 

   It would've been really nice to go out for coffee with her. 

                                          ~

   It was already six weeks after the awkward meeting, and the only thing on my mind was still Miss Odessa Vale. I had to talk to her. I remembered the young woman I had met at the award show months ago who claimed to be her sister. I also remember seeing her on set with us two weeks ago. Miss Odessa was quite stubborn and I could tell, so I decided to ask her sister for help. 

   Evangeline, Odessa's sister, had bright blonde curly hair that matched her lashes and light blue eyes. Her skin was pale and she had some freckles scattered around her cheeks. It was like staring into the sun when talking to her, and as expected, her bubbly character matched her bright ethereal appearance. It was like these sisters were descendants of gods.    

   “Good day miss” 

   “Oh good morning Mr man my sister is working with” she said, squinting like she was trying to remember my name.

   “Can you help me speak to your sister?”

   “Huh, why?”

   “Well I don't think she likes me very much and I'd really love to take her out for lunch sometime”

She stared at me for what seemed like forever then turned around to look for her sister.

   “Why can't you go talk to her? Did you piss her off?”

   “Ah that's the thing. I don't know if I did”

   “Okay okay sure. You owe me though” she walked away 

About 20 minutes later, I saw someone approach me. It was Odessa.

   “Good afternoon, my sister said you wanted to talk to me” 

   “Oh, so you two are actually sisters”

   “Um yes”

   “Related?”

   “Yes”

   “By blood?”

   “Yes, what exactly do you want?”

   “So I was thinking if I could take you out for lunch today after work”

   “Oh, why?”

   “Just want to talk”

   “Okay sure”

   “Sure?”

   “Yeah, sure. I'll let you know when I'm done” she walked off.

   My heart did a somersault.

                                              ~

   It's been 8 months since I started dating Odessa and I've felt like the happiest man on earth during that time.

   I was going to ask her to marry me today. We've never spoken about marriage and I didn't really know what her reaction to the question would be, but Odessa was worth trying.

   We went to a classy restaurant that evening and I ordered the finest dishes.

   “I feel so happy tonight” I broke the comfortable silence.

  “Oh, why is that?” Odessa asked, smiling from ear to ear.

   “We're almost done with the movie, we'll have lots of time to rest”

   “That's true. It's been quite exciting though.” She was focused on the steak she was cutting.

   “These past months I've spent with you Odessa, they've been the best months of my life. I need you with me forever”

She looked up from what she was doing and into my eyes smiling softly. She opened her mouth to speak but I didn't notice that and spoke over her.

   “Will you marry me Miss Odessa Vale?” 

She closed her mouth slowly and stared at the diamond ring in front of her.

   “Oh shit, I didn't kneel” I quickly got on one knee.

   The whole restaurant was staring, people were bringing their phones out to record. Silly me had forgotten how famous we were.

She kept staring at the ring and at me. The silence was getting uncomfortable and I was ready to take whatever answer she gave.

   “Yes, yes I'll marry you Ricardo” she slid her fingers into the ring I was holding, with a beautiful wide smile.

   There were cheers coming from every part of the restaurant, followed with clapping anf flashes from people taking pictures.

   I got up and kissed her passionately. She was going to be mine, this wonderful woman. She was finally going to be mine.

                                               ~

   I had planned a surprise for her when we got home. We had started living together after 6 months of dating and she wasn't very comfortable with it as she was mostly used to her solitude, but I was willing to make it work for both of us.

   “What's all this for?” She gestured at the multiple designer boxes and bags on the floor of the sitting room.

   “It's for you my love. They're all yours” 

   “They're so much” she was smiling from ear to ear. I loved it when she was happy.

   I walked up to her and hugged her from behind “And they're all yours”

   We stayed there for a while, swaying. I wrapped my arms around her from behind, kissing her neck, feeling her relax into me.

   She turned to face me, her eyes half lidded, lips parted. I kissed her… slowly at first, then deeper, tasting the quiet moans caught in her throat.

   My hands slid down her back, finding the zipper on her dress. A yes escaped her lips as she fixed her gaze on me.

   I watched her dress fall to the ground. She stood there, bare and glowing.

   I'd seen her like this many times before, but it never stopped stunning me. Her body felt like a secret I was lucky enough to be trusted with.

   She helped me take off my shirt, then undid my trousers with those hands i loved so much. I let out a breath when her fingers brushed against me. The way she touched me always made me feel like I was hers.

   My lips travelled down her body. Over her collarbone, her breasts, her stomach. I took my time, pressing kisses into her soft curves. She gasped as I reached her thighs.

   I parted her legs and kissed the inside slowly, teasing her with the warmth of my breath. Then I focused on the center of her… soft, wet, and already pulsing for me.

   I took my face out of her heat and kissed her thighs, then went back there again.

   I teased her a bit, kissing around her most sensitive spot before returning to it with intention.

                   

    She let out loud moans that were pleasing to my ears. Sounds that always made me want to please her more. 

   She pulled on my hair and moved her hips to the side. I loved when she got like this, vulnerable, open for me and just me. 

   I got up, my length already hard as a rock and bent down to kiss her again. We locked our tongues in and took in each other's spit. She knew how deeply I loved her and in moments like this, i felt it in every part of me.

   I stroked my length a few times, savoring her gaze on me before sliding it into her already wet and pulsing center. I couldn't believe she was mine.

   “I'm close” I whispered into her ear.

   She tightened around me and whispered “don't stop”, 

   And I didn't. I gave her everything until I came, buried inside her, holding her like I never wanted to let go.

   I rolled off her sweating like a wild animal. Our love making was immaculate. I turned to face her, brushing a damp curl from her face. She was glowing, chest rising and falling, a lazy smile tugging at her lips.

   My heartbeat slowed down and I wrapped my arms around her. She was my world.

   “Since when do you let me cum in you?”

   “Since you put a ring on it sir” she let out little giggles

   I wanted to make love to her again at that moment.