: Wasted

Rosalind did nothing and only gazed at some random spots on the table with an empty look. The server who had brought her coffee approached her.

“Miss, sorry, but we’re about to close. Do you want more coffee or do you want to bring the coffee home?”

Rosalind gasped and shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m sorry for staying too long.”

The server smiled and waved her hand. “Not at all, but since you came near our closing time, I’m so sorry to rush you.” He pointed at the earlier cup. “This one is free.”

“But—”

The server even brought her a packed cup of coffee. “Please receive this as our courtesy and apologize. I hope you will come again.”

Rosalind nodded. “Thank you so much.” She took the packed coffee and walked outside of the restaurant.

The chilly wind blew again. Rosalind shuddered and hugged herself. Yet she kept walking in a random direction. She didn’t want to go home. Alone at home would make her cry all night.

Five years! She wasted five years for someone who didn’t even have a nerve to tell her he didn’t want her anymore.

How long? Her mind kept repeating the same question. How long had Jeremy been cheating on her? How long had she wasted her life trying to be better for him?

The reason she worked so hard to pay her online tuition f*e was because she wanted to have a better life. However, the real reason for that was because she wanted Jeremy’s family to accept her well. She wanted Jeremy to be proud of her, but more than that, she was desperate to f*el equal to him.

For five years, she had met with Bianca Da Costa, Jeremy’s mother. Bianca was nice to her, but she knew Bianca also expected Jeremy to have a more accomplished woman to be his wife. Rosalind wanted to prove herself to Bianca that she deserved to be with Jeremy. But then, reality slapped her hard on the face.

She was too numb to think. The weather was too cold, and she couldn’t move farther. Her foot brought her to a bar, so she entered the place. It wasn’t packed. Maybe it was because most people would prefer to curl on the bed with thick blankets.

Sitting on a black stool and putting the packed coffee and her handbag on the table, Rosalind nodded at the bartender. “Tequila, please?”

“On the way, dear.” The bartender worked quickly, and soon, he served a glass of tequila to Rosalind. “Here you go.”

Rosalind sipped it a little, feeling her mouth and throat became warmer instantly. She gulped the rest and choked.

The bartender shook his head and chuckled. “It’s not how you should drink it, sweetheart.” Then he stared at Rosalind for a few seconds. “A bad night, huh?”

“Tell me about it.” Rosalind closed her eyes, but her tears threatened to come to the surface. It was too hurtful. After everything she had done, it was useless. Instead of happiness, she only got heart broken. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, as she didn’t want to cry in a public place. “Another glass, please?”

The bartender nodded. After serving another glass, he said, “Dear, you can let it out. I’ll listen.”

Later, Rosalind told the bartender what had happened. She ended it with, “I just feel like a loser, you know. Knowing that you have struggled so hard to make yourself better only to know it’s for nothing.”

“I know how it feels. But you will find someone better, girl. He doesn’t deserve you!”

Rosalind only gave a dry smile and lifted a hand. “Thanks! Another glass, please?”

“Sweetheart, you don’t want to get drunk. Trust me.”

However, Rosalind shook her head and sobbed. “I have never been drunk before. There’s always a first time for everything, right?”

“He isn’t worth your tears! Get a better man and flaunt it before him! It will be a better way to pay back for what he has done rather than getting yourself drunk and ruining yourself.”

She said nothing. The hurt was too much, and she couldn’t bear it. “Another glass, please? I need it.” Then she closed her eyes, and tears trickled from the corner of her eyes. “I want to get drunk, only this time ….” Rosalind clenched her fist and punched her chest a little with the top of her fist. “It’s too hurtful …. I don’t want to feel anything at all ….” She sobbed and shook her head.

The bartender could only sigh and gave her another glass of tequila. Rosalind gulped it in a move.

“More!”

“Hey, you must stop!”

Rosalind held her head with both hands. “No! I need it.”

“Girl, you have been drunk. It’s time for you to go home.”

“Gi-give me that …. I need it …. Te-tequila.” Then she laughed aloud. “Ah, my new friend. Tequila.” She started singing. “Tequila, tequila, tequila.”

Then a man sat next to Rosalind and nodded to the bartender. “Give her another glass. I’ll pay for everything and bring her home later.” He smiled a little, showing a dimple on his left cheek.

The bartender gasped as he recognized the man as he already saw the man’s picture everywhere. With brown hair and eyes and moderate brown skin, the man was quite attractive. The bartender nodded and rushed to pour another glass of tequila for Rosalind. “Yes, sir. Whatever you said.”

“Good man,” the man said.

She took the glass of tequila before her with an unsteady hand. The man beside her held the glass for her and brought the glass to her lips.

“Sip it, baby.”

Rosalind nodded and sipped the tequila. She smiled at the man, though she couldn’t see the man clearly since her vision started blurry. “T-thank you!”

“You are welcome.”

After finishing her fourth glass of tequila, Rosalind closed her eyes and bent her head forward on the table. She fell asleep afterward.

The man stood and whispered in Rosalind’s ear, “Baby, can you walk?” Rosalind didn’t answer, so the man could only shake his head. He reached for his wallet and pulled three pieces of $100. Next, he put the money on the table. “I’ll bring her home. Keep the change.”

The bartender beamed to see so much money the man gave him. “Yes, sir.”

The man took his phone and called his driver. “Luca, I’ll go home now. Wait at the front door.”

“Right away, boss.”

Later, the man scooped Rosalind and brought her to the door as if he were carrying his bride. The bartender rushed to the door and opened it for the man.

“Sir … uh, I don’t mean to be nosy, but the girl is our customer too. Do you know her?”

“Yes, of course. She is my future wife,” the man said lightly.

The bartender gasped. “Oh! But she was drunk because of—”

“What she told you is another man who doesn’t deserve her. Not me.” Then the man gazed at the bartender right in his eye. “I’ll take care of her. That’s the only thing you need to know.”

: Say It, Baby

Rosalind sighed and tried to roll her body. However, something halted her movement. She was exhausted, and a hammer felt like pounding on her head. So she still lay on the bed, trying to figure it out what happened last night.

The pounding didn’t stop until she couldn’t take it anymore. “Oh, stop!” she shrieked. The ache in her head was too much until she promised to herself not to be drunk again.

Somehow, there was a move behind her. She felt a kiss on her left shoulder and that’s when she realized an arm wrapped around her waist.

“You’re awake?” The man’s voice was hoarse.

“Oh!” Rosalind tried to move her body to see who was talking. But the ache in her head was too much. “I promise I won’t get drunk ever again.” She groaned and rubbed her temples.

“It’s good, baby. I’m glad to hear that.”

The man’s words sank into her brain slowly. Then Rosalind gasped, trying to turn her body. It was already hard because the pounding in her head still continued. However, she strived to open her eyes.

It was dark. After a few seconds, her eyes could adjust to the low light, and she realized she was in a bedroom with a stranger.

“W-who are you?” she said, stammering because she could guess the worst had happened.

“Who am I?” the man asked. He raised his eyebrow and then reached out his hand to touch Rosalind’s waist. “I’m your man, baby girl. Don’t you remember anything?” He bent forward and caught Rosalind’s lips in a kiss.

Rosalind didn’t expect the kiss and froze as the man’s voice was familiar. She frowned and tried to stare at the man. “Your voice is so familiar. We must have met somewhere.” She tried to jog her memory about last night, but she didn’t remember the man.

The man chuckled and reached his hand to a desk lamp on the headboard. After turning on the light, he grinned. “Now, do you know me?”

Rosalind blinked for a few seconds, trying to adjust her eyes to a sudden light. Then she gasped and shook her head. She was too shocked to see who the man was with her. “You! It can’t be!”

“Why not?”

She sat on the bed, and that’s when the blanket that wrapped around her body fell. The cold air from the air conditioning blew into her body. Rosalind bent her face a little downward and then she gaped.

“Oh, no! I’m ….” She didn’t finish her words because she just realized what had happened. With a pale face, she grabbed the blanket to cover her naked body and gasped loudly. “Did we …?”

“Did we … what?” the man asked.

“You know what I wanted to ask.” Rosalind covered her mouth with a hand and shook her head. Her face was pale. “Mr. Da Costa, I remember nothing.”

The man, Gabriel Da Costa, who was no other than Jeremy’s uncle, only grinned. He removed the blanket that covered his body, and soon, Rosalind could see that Gabriel was naked too. His six-pack abs with no excess fat, wide chest, and fine-shaped muscles in his shoulders were built to perfection.

Gabriel didn’t show any shame or shyness with his nakedness. He even approached Rosalind and wrapped his arms around her waist again. “Since you remember nothing, we must repeat what we did last night.”

Then he kissed Rosalind’s lips. Sucking her lower lip and then nipping it, Gabriel rubbed her waist. He pulled her body until they were skin to skin. Later, he kissed her neck and sucked it intentionally to create a hickey there. His hand then touched her breast, and Rosalind moaned.

“Mr. Da Costa, y-you need to stop.”

“Are you sure, baby? I don’t like it when my partner remembers nothing of our satisfying time.” He played with her hardened nipple and grinned like a cat fed with milk when she squirmed. “You like it.”

“Mr. Da Costa—”

“Gabe.”

“Sorry?”

“You need to call me Gabe, baby. We have already passed the formalities after last night.” Then Gabriel swooped Rosalind’s naked body and laid her back to the bed.

While Rosalind was on her back on the bed, Gabriel kissed her lips, and let their bodies touch again from top to bottom. “You can’t avoid fate, darling.”

She couldn’t think straight. However, the sensation Gabriel had awakened in her body somehow was bigger than the ache of a hangover. She moaned when Gabriel moved downward and sucked the top of her breast.

Rosalind grabbed his hair and caressed it. Unexpectedly, his hair was soft. “Gabe ….”

“Yes, darling?”

“What are you doing to me?” Her heartbeat beat faster. “I feel like ….” She groaned and shook her head. “Oh, I don’t know how to explain it.”

“You are enjoying it, right?”

She looked away, blushing from her head to toe. Since she could feel Gabriel waiting for her answer, she finally said, “Well, I do, but ….”

“No buts, darling. You only need to enjoy it. I only want to pleasure you.”

Gabriel massaged Rosalind’s breast, and his other hand roamed and teased her feminine member below. It was wet already.

“Gabe … not there!” she protested, and tried to shove his hand away.

He grinned and clasped her hand with another hand to the side of her body so he could stop her from moving his hand. “You will like it, baby. I promise you.”

Then he inserted his finger inside her folds. She moaned, and he moved his finger faster. Her waist went up and down, following the movement of his finger. Next, he added another finger and made both fingers move faster inside her sensitive part.

However, that’s when his phone rang. Gabriel ignored it and continued to make love with Rosalind using his fingers. After a while, the phone didn’t ring anymore.

She reached her peak a minute later and lay limply on the bed. Her body was sated though it was exhausted. Then Gabriel removed his fingers from her body. Despite she didn’t have energy left, her body hummed with pleasure after the orgasm. The ache in her head was gone too. They lay side by side, and his arms wrapped around her body.

However, she was confused because Gabriel didn’t finish it. “Uh …. Why don’t you …?”

He lifted his eyebrow. “Why don’t I … what?”

“You know.” Her face blushed because she was too embarrassed to ask, but she was curious too.

Gabriel chuckled. Bending his body and capturing her lips with his, he didn’t rush and enjoyed them entirely until she let out a satisfied sigh. Then he grinned and asked, “Mine?”

“What?”

“Tell me you are mine, and I’ll finish it.”

Rosalind shook her head. “Gabe …. I can’t ….”

“Why not?”

She tried to rise, but Gabriel blocked her body so she couldn’t move. She pushed his chest a little, but as if she touched a solid wall. “Gabe, I need to move.”

“Not yet. I like our position right now.”

Then, he bit her lower lip and when Rosalind opened her mouth to protest, his tongue probed inside and danced within her mouth. After exploring her mouth and sucked her tongue, he kissed her earlobe. “Say it, baby.”

“Say what?”

“Say you are mine, and I’ll give you everything.”

: Do You Agree?

Rosalind took a deep breath and gazed into Gabriel’s eyes. “Everything? What do you mean by everything?”

He shrugged and rubbed her lower lip with a thumb. “Well, I can give you everything you want to buy. You won’t need to work anymore.”

“In exchange for what?” She raised her eyebrow. It was a tempting offer. After working so hard for years, could she rest now?

“Being mine.” He rubbed her cheek, jaw, and then back to her lower lip again. “You only need to be here, darling. I’ll pamper, protect, and satisfy you.”

“Being here?”

Gabriel nodded. “Yes, unless you want to stay elsewhere. I can buy another apartment or house if you prefer it.” Since Rosalind didn’t reply, Gabriel kissed her lips and then whispered in her ear, “I’ll even give a lesson to Jeremy. He doesn’t appreciate you.”

Gulping, Rosalind clasped her hand together. She took a deep breath because hearing Jeremy’s name opened a new, unhealed wound in her heart. Then she closed her eyes because she didn’t want Gabriel to see her hurt and pain. Her tears trickled from both eyes.

“Baby, don’t cry.” He kissed the tears away.

However, it made Rosalind even couldn’t contain her sadness. Her tears poured heavily. Her dream was shattered the moment she saw Jeremy’s betrayal. No more a nice little family in the future with two kids in a small house and a tiny garden. The future was bleak now.

“Rose, my darling,” Gabriel whispered in Rosalind’s ear, “forget him. I’ll make you happy. I promise. You only need to be by my side.”

Rosalind pondered about it for a moment. It would be nice if she could be with Gabriel. How he treated her just now was as sweet and nice as the thing she dreamed Jeremy did to her. But then, was it an answer for her?

She didn’t know Gabriel well other than he was Jeremy’s uncle. Yes, he was a zillionaire, a quite successful and powerful man in their country. She knew Gabriel was single, but if he wanted, he could choose any woman. She gulped because the last woman she read in the news attached to Gabriel’s name was an actress. So what was he doing to offer her to be his woman?

Since Rosalind said nothing, Gabriel kissed her shoulder. “A penny for your thoughts?”

She took a heavy sigh. “Gabe … I … we don’t know each other.”

“No, it’s not true. We know the basic things about each other. For now, it’s enough. I know you are a good and loyal girl who works hard every day.” He caressed her cheek. “You have my respect for that.”

Rosalind lifted her eyes and stared at Gabriel, smiling a little. “Thank you.”

“So, do you agree?”

“I—”

“Rose, I can give you everything.” Then Gabriel repeated it, “EVERYTHING.” He emphasized it while looking deep into her eyes.

It flared Rosalind’s emotion. She disliked him when he treated her that way. “And be what? Your plaything? Your mistress?” Her voice pitched higher.

Shaking his head, Gabriel clicked his tongue. “No, baby. You will be my lover.”

“Your lover? But if you give me everything, won’t I be your mistress?”

“No, it’s too harsh.”

“Really?” Rosalind raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms over chest. “Then, what should I do if I accept to be your lover?”

“Be by my side. Let me spoil and protect you.”

“But you want to … to ….” She couldn’t say it out loud. Her face was scarlet because it was too embarrassing to say it.

“To what?” He grinned. “You have a habit of saying something, but then don’t finish it.”

“To … you know? This!” Rosalind’s hand pointed out at Gabriel’s chest and then hers. Licking her lips, her face was crimson. “Sleeping together!” Finally, she could say it.

Gabriel chuckled and put his hand on her cheek, rubbing it with his thumb. “There you go! It isn’t so hard, is it?” He kissed her lips. “You are so adorable when you are shy. I like it when you blush.”

Rosalind pouted, but she was hesitant now. Gabriel helped her forget her sadness, and she was comfortable with him. But then, they were strangers …. She wondered if the hurt because of Jeremy’s betrayal made her want someone so badly to comfort her. Yet, Jeremy’s uncle? She sighed. It didn’t feel right.

“What is it? You sighed.” Gabriel stared at Rosalind.

“I can’t do it ….” She shook her head. “It will be like I’m selling myself to you if I accept your offer. I’m not a whore, you know.”

“Rose, I know you aren’t a whore. I don’t need to offer a whore anything, nor will I be interested in one, either.” He took her hand and kissed the knuckles. “I want you, Rose, only you.”

“But why?”

“You have more to offer. Other things besides your excellent character?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just feel you are the right person for me after last night.”

She clasped her hands together. For sure, she wouldn’t be drunk again for the rest of her life. It made her do something she didn’t want and didn’t remember at all! Placing her hand on forehead, Rosalind closed her eyes. Then, when she opened her eyes again, Rosalind gazed into Gabriel’s eyes.

“I need to take a shower.”

“Okay. Please take your time and think about what I said.” He bent forward and caught her lips in a long kiss before he released her.

Rosalind shook her head as she licked her lips. She had to be out of her mind because she enjoyed his advances, despite not wanting to be his mistress. Well, mistress, lover, what was the difference? It was only words, semantic they said, but basically, she would be his plaything. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to do that.

So, going to the bathroom, still naked, she took a shower quickly and then took a few minutes to soak her body in the tub with warm water. She moaned a little because it was quite a luxury to spoil herself like this. As it was Sunday, and every two weeks she would have a day off, she didn’t need to rush to go to work today.

After ten minutes, Rosalind got up and left the bathtub. When she wanted to dry her body with a wide brown towel, her eyes spotted a few hickeys on her neck. Then, she noticed there were some more on her chest, breast, stomach, and thighs.

She gaped because she didn’t expect to see those. Later, she covered her mouth with a hand to stifle her gasp as she could only stare at herself in the mirror. It was no doubt they had spent the night together. The hickeys on her body were the undeniable proof.

The question was only one now. What would she do?