Love Struck Read online

  As before, she had found someone to see her through the isolation, the young admirer gave her a comfort and protection against the solitude she remembered fondly during her years of retirement, however, unlike before, she could tell he would not hurt her, it would not turn sour and end in heartbreak.

  An instinctive voice in her head spoke out to her, similar to her own yet different from her own, it was more passionate and impulsive within her deepest self, it was telling her to trust in him, to take a chance on him and see where it lead them both. She had obviously felt a strong attraction towards him, as did he with her.

  She had nothing to lose, it was more proactive than waiting around for a dream that might never have come true.

  Part III

  CHAPTER 24

  Sara walked into the bedroom, a chamber that was equally as big as the whole penthouse itself, it could have fitted a whole family, let alone one solitary woman.

  She wasn't sure what she would use the extra space for, but it came with a patio featuring a sublime view of the resort and its shining ocean complete with the golden beach to entice her over later.

  She was looking forward to some sun bathing and a swim, it wouldn't be a trip to a resort without paying the beach and its ocean a visit.

  First things first, she had a tour ahead of her and time was pressing on, she had to get herself all prepared for her youthful guide.

  Sara put down her luggage beside the king size bed. On the bedside table she found a clock, she checked to see the time.

  2:15

  “No time to waste.” with less than an hour remaining, there was no time to lose, Sara Sarracini did not want to keep her charming new acquaintance waiting, she did not want to disappointment him after building up a great start.

  There was just one small task preventing her from getting started, she scoured around the immense penthouse and all its many marvellous attractions from a bar counter, to an indoor pool, to a jacuzzi, to a flat screen television on par with a cinema screen, to a relaxing lounge with a juke box player. Too many rooms and no clue where the basic room she needed the most was, “Now where's the shower?”

  The afternoon sun outside was the perfect compliment to the island's luscious splendour. It was more brighter and wonderful than it ever was in the days preceding today for Paulo standing in front of the mirror in the deep blue bathroom with white tiling and panels. He was engrossed in fixing his appearance for the biggest day of his life. He had spent all afternoon working and reworking his hairstyle, clothes and accessories, he wanted to be suave, cool and fashionable but not come off too strong in the process.

  He was on to something, after breaking many eggs, he was coming close to having his omelette. He straightened his hair to a refined style, rubbed on some cologne that could be smelt but not gag at the airways, squirted in some breath freshener which was not too potent but enough to evaporate the odours of his past meals, brushed his teeth to whiten them up to hide the stains of his coffee and food particles. He fixed the collar of his best cream white shirt and put on his smartest black leather coat, buckled his sharpest dark blue jeans. He was decked in a smart causal attire.

  Satisfied with the way he looked, he had acquired the result he was hoping for.

  All that time spent was worth it, he hoped he still had some of it spare to make it to his awaiting star, he did not want to have gone over schedule and missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime, he would have never forgave himself if he disappointed her by inadvertently standing her up due to his perfectionism with looking good for her.

  He checked his imitation gold watch that could fool the naked eye and add to his charming appeal.

  2:45

  Paulo was full of easing relief, he had plenty of time to make it to his lovely superstar. He was pleased with himself, filled with personal satisfaction. “A new record.”, he figured his determination to not disappoint Sara Sarracini must have gave him the swiftness to get prepared ahead of schedule.

  It was a complete change of pace from the previous times in the past, so many he had lost count. His perfectionism had forced him to spend hours making himself look great, but once accomplished, he either had a scant amount of time left to make it to the date as fast as his legs could carry him, breathless at the destination, barely making it or going over schedule and having to face the punishment, making it up to his pouting and upset girlfriend, trying his hardest to bring her out the mood.

  He may have endured her pouting and scolding during and after what was supposed to be a romantic date, but it was worth the price of looking presentable through it all. And while it may have tested Gloria's patience, even she could not argue that he was easy on the eyes and charmed her as potently as he did when she first met him.

  Gloria sat on the couch, watching television, or rather staring at the screen, disconnected from the lousy show playing out in her zoned out eyes. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, maddened by what was on the verge of transpiring, her boyfriend would be going on a date and it did not involve his own girlfriend. Why she agreed to it was a mystery to her.

  She was regretting her decision, she should have put her foot down and stayed firm, denying him from seeing another woman. She guessed a rational side of her knew he would likely not forgive her for denying him an afternoon with his adored actress, there was the glaring risk of him running off with her in retaliation, never to return to his girlfriend.

  The more she thought about it, the more she saw she was put in a serious disadvantage, this was not the summer break she was anticipating when she agreed to come with him to an island getaway to indulge in love and romance.

  Had she known there would be blatant envy and possible betrayal, she would have refused and then some.

  Paulo walked in, looking very snazzy, not that Gloria noticed or cared to. To see him looking impressive for another woman would have driven her off the teetering edge.

  “What do you think?” he asked with an eagerness to hear her meaningful opinion.

  She turned off the television, to keep her boyfriend she forced herself to look to Paulo, she was not at all impressed. Had it been for her, her opinion would have likely been drastically contrasting, she could have eyed him up all through their date, taken by his suave and slick charm. But for another woman, all it did was infuriate her to the next degree.

  “A bit much, isn't it?”, she said snobbish like an over opinionated critic.

  “What do you mean?” Paulo asked bluntly, his cheerful grin was wiped clean off his face. It was not the response he was hoping from a supportive girlfriend.

  “You look like you're going to a Vogue photo shoot.” she told it to him straight, there was no beating around the bush with her directness.

  Paulo went on the defensive, it was just as powerful as his girlfriend's defences, and would not be lowered without a good reason. “I have to look my best.”

  Gloria went on the offensive, making her argumentative point valid enough to weaken or obliterate his defences. She may have been tolerating the charade, that didn't mean she could not voice her opinion or bite back, or do both “Why? You're going to be her tour guide, you're not dating her. You don't have to impress her, just show her the sights.”

  Her point was valid but he had no time to argue back, it all seemed like nitpicking to him anyway. He had to know at least one thing, the vital question which needed an important answer “Do you think she'll like it though?”

  She gave him a long look, she got the feeling she was wasting her breath speaking her thoughts, he only wanted to hear what he wanted her to say.

  He had no idea how hard it was for her to openly admit he looked amazing for someone else, the fact he was oblivious to her discomfort really made her question his consideration towards others' feelings.

  Holding onto her stubborn behaviour and ethics, she replied with a short and sweet “I suppose.”, to make both of them satisfied in the stalemate.

  Paulo was over the moon to hear her say that, it w
as good enough for him and proved she was fine with him seeing Sara Sarracini. “Great. I thought so.”

  2:52

  Time was pressing on, it was a luxury he could not afford to linger with. He hurried to the couch, tenderly kissed her soft cheek.

  “Are you going to be fine on your own?” he asked, showing he had some form of consideration for another, especially one as important as his girlfriend.

  Gloria bit at her lip, refrained from saying what she really thought, she had done plenty of that to no avail for the day. To fight and lose, she never saw that coming. “Yeah, I'll be fine, I can catch up on my reading.”

  Paulo could sense she was just saying that to make him happy and was not how she really felt. He was correctly riding her wave length. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, you just go and have fun.” Gloria brought her performance to eleven, making herself seem more convincing. The things she had to put herself through to make someone else happy.

  “You can come too if you want?”

  Her act faltered, she strained hard to put on a false smile to hide her resentment of looking at her opponent in the face, she risked lashing out at her at any given moment like a ticking time bomb on the brink of going off. “Thanks but no thanks, I would

  only be a third wheel.”

  “All right.” he gave her another kiss on the cheek, she really was something to put up with him and his ambitious lust for Sara Sarracini, he appreciated it greatly and knew it must have been tough on her. “I love you.”

  She looked into his glowing loving eyes, hoped what he said was true. “I love you too.”

  Paulo headed to the door, on his way to meet his adored diva for the big event of the day.

  A feeling of dread came over Gloria, she had the horrible insecurity it would be the last she would see of him. “Try to come back.”

  “You know I will.” Paulo opened the door, gave her a cute wave, walked out, and then closed himself off from her, whatever he did was a mystery to her at that point.

  Gloria had doubts that he would come back and if he did, would he have worked his charms on her behind his girlfriend's back, her insecurity was in overdrive with no assurance to put her racing mind at ease and give her some inner peace.

  She groaned in frustration. “Some break this has turned out to be.” she gazed at the door in great agitation, her thoughts would not stop with the flooding rush of doubt and concern, she could not shake the feeling he would give in to his weakness and do something more than guide his diva around the resort, the forbidden fruit would be too tempting to resist, and with his girlfriend not around to reprimand him and put him in line, he was free to do as he pleased with no repercussions to taking many bites out of it and loving the tantalizing flavour, craving more of it, powerless to get satisfaction, he would get greedy and want more, disregarding the plain, regular fruit that was his girlfriend in the process “You bastard, Paulo.”

  Gloria let out a longer groan of agitation, he was pushing her to the limit, she would make sure he would not get away with it. After all the trouble he had been putting her through, he would be indebted to her for a millennium, Paulo would have to do some serious work to make it up to her, giving her endless amounts of gifts she had always had her eyes on, taking her to see the kinds of movies she loved but he thought so very little of, obeying her every command and fulfilling her every whim. It would have given her comfort to know he owed her big time, but it did not, she was too concerned on the glaring danger of losing her boyfriend to another. It was not fair, after all they had been through together. “Why are you doing this to us?”

  CHAPTER 25

  Paulo arrived at the destination she had wrote down for him, followed the directions she had noted, it did not take him long, he had bypassed the fancier hotels many times on his walks, noticed their splendour caught in the corner of his eye, promised one day he would take Gloria to one and rent out the richest suite, to live a life of luxury and have a taste of fancy living to see if it was all it was cracked up to be.

  Sprinting as fast as he could, he took a quick breather to gather his composure and catch his breath before meeting his beautiful diva, he did not want her to see him gasping and exhausted from all the running. It was a good thing the cologne was masking out the sweat seeping from his drenched armpits. He glanced at his watch, to see if he had made it on time.

  2:59

  Success, it had reached her with one minute to spare. Time was on his side today. It was aiding him in experiencing an unforgettable evening with the star he idolized greater than any other. After all, she was a radiantly beautiful and a radiantly captivating goddess of illustriously alluring divinity and illustriously absorbing grace that lit up the whole world brighter and greater than all the silver dazzling stars gathered in an immense constellation in the depths of the universe.

  He looked up at the elaborate hotel in complete awe, it made the hotel he was staying at feel small and insignificant in its imposing lavishness “What a place.”, he walked to the stately entrance bearing its logo with pride.

  It was like he was heading into a grand palace to have an audience with the self-appointed monarch who ruled the resort from his rich born and bred pedigree and favoured natural selection in society's eye.

  “I feel so under dressed.” it was the understatement of the year for Paulo as the luxury and expense of the hotel was clearer the closer he got.

  Paulo stepped into the elegant hotel to be graced by an even more elegant sight. He looked among the crowds of classy and elegant guests, somewhere his diva was waiting in the lobby, it did not take him long to find her, none of the others could hold a candle to her classy elegance, she stood taller and grander than all the rest. As in the films, he recognized her anywhere, in a close up or a long shot, on her own or in a crowd.

  3:00

  There she was, up ahead, right on time, exactly on cue, hitting her mark with flawless precision. She was on the staircase, past the hoards of grandiloquent patrons, standing out in the biggest frame that was life.

  Sara walked down the stairs, her hair neatly curled, her blue transparent dress giving a discreet hint at her blue lingerie concealed behind the light fabric and white tight skinned trousers were as fabulous as ever, her subtle make-up complimented her dazzling beauty immensely without going too heavy handed and hiding her natural beautiful visage.

  Sara left Paulo and everyone in the reception and lobby intensely stunned. She stood before her speechless admirer, graced him with a pleasing, radiant smile.

  “Paulo.”

  “Sara.”

  Straight away she was stunned by his appearance, his charming magnetism was at its strongest, pulling her towards him with no means of releasing her from its electrifying attraction. “My, you're looking great.”

  Paulo was ecstatic, his instincts were not misguided, they were as right as they felt to him. “I look presentable. You're the one who looks great.”

  Sara gleamed, he could charm her all day long and she would have not minded one bit. “You like what you see?”

  “Very much.”

  The spark of attraction struck with an acute sharpness between them, more powerful than earlier in the afternoon. They were instantaneously drawn to each other with no means of breaking away from its pull.

  There was no means of resistance from the power of their wills, it was ineffectual to even consider it.

  They were powerless to it, they were compelled to go with its surging flow, the higher order of their instinctive nature governing their every action like a rushing wave guiding them down the rapids to reach the desired outcome they both distinctly anticipated.

  “Where shall we go first?” there were so many appealing locations on the resort to see, she did not know where she was, where to go and how to get to the entrancing sights she had read about and seen when arriving.

  Sara was obviously a stranger in paradise, had it not been for her accustomed tour guide, she would have been lost in the conti
nental, tropical sights, running around in circles that corresponded to her spinning head at the rush of the plentiful amount of substance, too much for one to tackle while flying around solo.

  A perfect place sprang to Paulo's mind since he first agreed to being her guide. “I've got just the place. You won't believe your eyes when you see it.”

  “I can't wait.” Sara was getting hyped up already by his unquestionable enthusiasm towards his number one preferred hot spot.

  “It will blow your socks off, I guarantee.” he was making a big claim, he was positive his guaranteed promise would live up to its hype.

  “I hope that isn't the only thing to come off.” she said with a chuckle, concealing a hidden suggestive meaning that only they understood. He hoped there would be much more than socks coming off by the end of the day.

  CHAPTER 26

  Paulo drove along the picturesque scenery with Sara beside him in a flashy rental car he acquired to travel in style, he chose only the most presentable mode of transportation for a true fashionable diva to ride around the lush landscape, they went perfectly together.

  With the roof down, the rush of the warm summer breeze blew at her curly hair, caressed her face, heated her blood and cooled it simultaneously.

  Sara basked in the golden sunlight, taking in the crisp air, admiring the spacious, fresh sight of the sea to the left and the wide, tall hills to the right surrounding her on the liberated open road. “I'm in heaven.” she said, opening her mouth to feel a gush of the wind fill her.