Chapter 36 - We'll Be Half-Naked - mduno
The return to the apartment was silent, filled with the main course of the meeting, the food was delicious. I hadn't eaten since breakfast. The meeting ended quietly, and I didn't see Beatriz again. Mr. Andrés apologized for what his daughter had caused.
He also mentioned that it was strange to see me dating someone else. Roland tried to smile in front of everyone, but he was holding back, something made him uncomfortable. He wore an irritating mask of cordiality.
The guard greeted him politely, opened the parking lot gate, and my boyfriend opened the car door for me to get out. His intention was to stay very close. His breath, full of desire, made my hair stand on end. He made a gesture to speak, but I got ahead of him.
"Why did she kiss you?" he took my hand, then slammed the car door.
"Are you still going on about that?"
We entered the elevator, and he pressed the button for his floor. As the doors closed, in the blink of an eye, he pushed me against the wall while pressing his pelvis against mine.
"I want to kiss you, Beautiful."
"Don't kiss me by force, I don't want to kiss you, and if you do, I'll leave. Respect me." His eyes sparkled with anger.
"I haven't disrespected you, the problem is that I shouldn't have to pay for someone else's mistakes, and this..." He paused to think about what to say. "This situation is getting on my nerves, Veronica."
The elevator opened, and I walked straight to his apartment door. He opened it without saying anything, headed to the bedroom, undressed, and got under the blankets. I had assumed I would sleep alone in it.
The apartment was so big and had only one bedroom. I could either sleep with him or on the couch, and I wasn't going to lose my bet. I took out a pair of Roland's sweatpants and a large white t-shirt, and went into the bathroom. "I like playing this game."
I grabbed a blanket because the apartment felt cold, went to the living room, and arranged the pillow on the big white couch. As soon as I lay down, exhaustion took over. I fell asleep in seconds.
A ray of sunshine woke me up; for a moment, I felt disoriented. I hadn't woken up on the couch, but in the big white bed, with Roland next to me. I inspected my body; I still had my clothes on. I don't remember getting up, how did I get to the bed?
"Good morning, Love." He turned around and kissed my forehead. "I'm wearing boxers; you didn't sleep with a naked man." He smiled. He woke up in a good mood.
"I'm glad to know you woke up happy." I couldn't help but be amazed.
"Not entirely, I thought I'd be making love to you this morning, and nothing has gone as planned. You've managed to keep me at bay." His look was tender, and my body trembled. "How long will this punishment last?"
"You haven't done anything to make me think differently." He moved closer, his arm around my waist, then kissed my shoulder. "Why did she kiss you, Roland?"
"There you go with the same question."
He moved away, entered the bathroom seriously, and came out twenty minutes later in a towel, taking out black jeans and a white t-shirt.
"Veronica, get ready, we're leaving."
I didn't say anything, I knew he had given the poor girl reasons, that's why she kissed him, and he didn't want to admit it.
"Where are we going?" I got out of bed.
"Just get ready."
I hate those kinds of orders, speaking so sharply compresses my chest. How does he manage to make me feel guilty when he's the one who should admit he gave the poor girl hope? He tried to blame everything on poor Beatriz. "Oh, my dear mysterious and multifaceted man," you'll have to change a lot.
As I came out of the bathroom, ready, I heard noises in the kitchen. There was a suitcase on the bed; I looked inside, there were only clothes for both of us and... swimsuits? When did he buy swimsuits? I went looking for him, and seeing him reminded me that I had to resist the urge to kiss him.
I have to make him see his mistake, to admit that he was to blame for giving Beatriz a chance. I sat at the counter, delighting in watching him cook, finishing the eggs. God, he was perfect.
"If you're not going to kiss me, stop looking at me, because I'll stop being the fool I've been and take you by force."
For a moment, I wished he would, but I had to teach my mysterious man many things.
"That outfit looks really good on you." He gave me that half-malicious smile. "Are we going to the beach?"
"We're going to Santa Marta, I want to see how the construction of the houses we'll deliver in six months is going, and from then on, I'll be all yours."
"I thought you already were." I said as he handed me a plate with eggs and bread. "Do you know how to cook?"
"I only know how to make this, don't get your hopes up, plus I'll always have Ines."
"Why don't you want to answer what I've been asking you since yesterday?" Her face changed.
"I don't want to argue today, Veronica. You're very religious." He handed me the silverware. "Since you believe so much in that God of yours, please don't spend the whole day on it. Yesterday was enough; I don't want another day like that, understand?" I hated the way he treated me.
"I'm not stupid!"
"Careful, darling, I never said that. I just want to have a happy day with you. Besides, Santa Marta brings back good memories."
"Can you arrange your schedule so we can attend mass?" She looked at me with a face that said, "Are you serious?" "You know my routine."
"I know, you never miss Sunday mass, but... we're on vacation!"
"Talk to Simon. While you work, I can go. I promised my mother before she died, and I don't know why she said it was essential, like a prelude to something in the future."
"I won't comment out of respect for you, only for that reason am I holding back what I think." He started eating.
"Thank you."
"I'll talk to Rata." I looked at the clock.
"We can go to the nine o'clock mass."
He stopped eating. I understood it was a firm no. We brushed our teeth, he took the suitcase, and we left the apartment hand in hand. He talked to Simon. The car stopped at a cathedral. I smiled at him as I looked at him.
"See you in an hour," he said.
"Aren't you going to join me?"
"Veronica..."
"Alright. Thanks."
He had already told me he didn't believe in God or religion. I got out of the SUV, and the three men stayed while I listened to the mass. One of the bodyguards who stayed with me was quite dark-skinned, the other was giant, and the third always smiled at me. Two of them had horrible nicknames.
An hour and a half later, I came out smiling, got into the car, and kissed Roland on the back of his hand. The three men who had watched over me got into the second car, which followed us. In the SUV, we were in the back, and up front were Simon and Onion.
"Did your mother ask you to waste more than an hour of a Sunday listening to the nonsense of a corrupt man?" There was no need to speak; I looked at him in such a way that he raised his hands. "I understand."
We drove from Barranquilla to Santa Marta, and in less than two hours, we were walking through the construction site. I didn't know much about it. The houses were already built. In total, Roland's construction company donated a hundred social housing units in the city, a hundred for each small coastal city, and a hundred and fifty for the larger cities.
In total, they donated over seven hundred. He had told me it was donations from various companies and that he didn't fund the project alone. They would be delivered finished, and the most needy people had been selected. I believed him; he said the investigation was backed by a thorough report from his right-hand man.
I put on the helmet and vest for safety. People knew him; it was surprising to see his charisma. He knew the name of each of his workers, greeted over two hundred people, and asked many about their families and needs. How could that part of him be so humane while the other was so depraved? How could there be two such different sides to the same person? It never ceased to amaze me.
As time passed, he became such a kind man, never pushing me away, on the contrary. People offered me their love because they loved him. I held back the urge to throw myself into his arms. Just as we were about to get into the car, a young woman arrived with a beautiful baby in her arms. The sun was scorching, and my hair was tied up in a messy bun.
"Architect!" The young woman looked at him with such admiration. "I wanted to thank you, may God bless you."
"It was nothing, Rina." The girl started crying.
"Take care of your boyfriend; no one does what he did anymore." She looked at Roland. "If you don't mind, sir, I named my son Roland; my husband admired you."
"Rina." He caressed the baby's cheek. "Your husband never stopped talking about you, and he was a great worker. Thanks to him, I started thinking about many things."
He looked at me so hopefully, those mysterious green eyes had a different shine.
"May the Lord bless you!"
What an irony, he doesn't believe in a Higher Being, and hundreds of people include him in their prayers. It will be a difficult task; neither of his two personalities accepts the Creator.
"Thank you very much." There was that tone of irony, I'm starting to know you, my atheist lord. "Veronica, it's time to go." He said it with malice.
"Nothing will happen." He smiled mischievously.
"Don't take for granted what can happen between two nearly naked bodies alone."