Chapter 3 - Fun, Too Much Fun

My day at work was probably the most stressful. I had just gotten a promotion for doing pretty much nothing and I should have been happy to be there, but the strange way that Rafael Striker seemed to talk to me put me on edge. I didn't want to do anything that might jeopardize this job. My entire life was pretty much riding on this one chance that I had.

Finally it was time to go home, and I was more than happy to rush out the door and catch the carpool that would take me to my house. I had no intentions of going to that place that Rafael wanted me to go. It would be way too awkward, and who knew what would happen. I went home and turned on my television trying to relax. When I went to change the channel during a commercial, I dropped the remote. Cursing my luck I instantly got on the ground to find it, only to be caught off guard by a commercial about the same place that Rafael wanted me to go.

I guess I'm a sucker for well placed words because the commercial made it seem like so much fun. I decided to go. I mean it wasn't just going to be me and him, there would be other people there and I really did need to meet more people in this town. Without thinking too much about it, I got in my car and drove to the bar.

The bar was very small, but it seemed to have a cozy feel to it. The minute I walked in the door, my heart sank inside of my chest. There was no one here, except of course my boss who was hanging out by the wall. He approached me with little hesitation, a smile on his face. He was even still wearing his pinstripe suit that was his uniform for work.

"Hey Harmony, glad that you could make it. How did you like your new desk today?"

I simply smiled, trying to make it seem casual here. "It's a very nice desk and everything was organized when I got there. Thanks again so much."

He pushed my gratitude off as if it was nothing. "Don't mention it, we're here to celebrate." He smiled and nodded his head towards the bar. "Come on, lets have a drink."

He wanted me to drink with him? Oh no. Though I followed him over there, all I ordered was water. In his hand he had some kind of yellow drink. He swore that it was fantastic, but I didn't want to risk it. I should have just stayed home. After he finished his first one, I said something about how I was going to head home soon, but he didn't want that to happen at all.

"You can't leave now, we haven't even done anything yet." He laughed as he turned around behind him and grabbed a yellow drink from the counter that the bartender had just finished mixing for him. He held it out to me. "This is the best drink they make here. It's mostly juice, so it's not too dangerous."

I looked at it for quite a long time before actually taking it from him. "Alright, thanks," I answered with a nod of my head. I placed the glass to my lips and took a sip. The taste was delicious, and I eagerly continued to drink it.

I felt so much better after drinking the first one, that Rafael continued to make sure that my glass was always full. We started to talk about everything. Rafael's family had actually come from Champs Les Sims, France. They moved here before he was born, and he grew up around most of the people of this town. It was really interesting the way that he described some of the townspeople and all of their different accomplishments. Then he talked about my grandmother and how he used to deliver the paper to her when he was a teenager. He said that she was always outside working in her garden when he came by. That touched my heart.

I don't know how long we were there talking about everything, but somehow we moved from behind the bar to on the stage. There was no one else there, but that wouldn't have mattered anyway. With the amount of drinks that I had in my system, it wouldn't have mattered if there was a million people there. I was having fun not caring who might have been watching. I couldn't stop laughing as we moved to the beat of the music, dancing together under the spot lights that lit up the stage. The way that he moved his legs cracked me up, and he kept apologizing over and over. I guess he didn't have faith in his dancing skills.

We weren't at the bar for much longer, because I invited him to come back to my house. I told him that I was still taking good care of my grandmother's garden and wanted to show him. We rode in his car over to my place, which didn't seem to take as long to get there as it did to get to the bar earlier that day. I showed him what I'd done different to the place, which was pretty much nothing, and then I showed him the garden.

We talked for hours about my grandmother and how much she influenced my life. For the first time since she had passed away, I felt like there was someone else that I could really connect with. Rafael was a great listener, and the way that he spoke about people was beautiful. He was a really caring person and I found myself trusting him.

 

 I suddenly remembered my grandmother's favorite dress that she bought me. Completely drunk and inspired, I turned to Rafael. "Hey, wait right here...I got something to show you."

"Alright," He chuckled as he made himself comfortable.

I ran right into the bedroom and located the purple dress. I slipped it on my form, pinned my hair up and put on the matching shoes. I stepped in front of the mirror to look at myself once. Staring straight back at me was what looked like a younger version of my grandmother. I remembered seeing pictures of her when she was younger and everyone always told me how much I looked like her. Swelling with pride, I stepped out of the room.

Rafael turned around when he heard the sound of the door and placed his foot on the couch, leaning his arm over his leg. I gave him a cheesy smile as I placed my hands on my hips, pretending to pose for him. His face changed from laughter to what looked like complete awe and seriousness. He slipped out of his pose on the couch and moved towards me, stopping a few feet in front of me to look my over.

"That dress looks really good on you Harmony," He said in a soft voice. He grabbed my hand and helped to give me a twirl. "You look stunning."

I could feel my heart beating in my head as he got even closer to him and continued to hold my hand. He took my other hand and stood in front of me, his eyes just gazing down on me. I felt accepted, warm, and comfortable there standing in front of him. Suddenly his lips spread into the most tender smile that I had ever seen, and it melted me straight to my core. "Harmony, you are a very beautiful woman. I have never met someone who is so caring, smart, and driven. I know that you will get to be everything you want to be and so much more."

I could feel my heart melting at every word he said. I held onto his hand and smiled back at him. "That means a lot to me Rafael, and I thank you so much for making me feel at home here. It was so scary moving from the country, I didn't think I'd ever meet someone as friendly and kind as you."

 He continued to smile at me, tilting his head to the side. He lifted his hand up and brushed the backs of his soft fingers against my cheek. "I can't imagine anyone would be mean to someone like you. You are a beautiful woman Harmony, and you are very special. So much more special that you could ever imagine, but I see it in your eyes. Those sweet blue eyes that show so much promise and hope in them."

It was like he was reciting poetry to me. Every word he said was so sweet that I felt like my heart was going to burst. My pulse was racing in my head and I could feel my palms starting to get sweaty. I had never felt so at home with someone new before, especially not a man. He was so kind and gentle that I wanted to watch his lips say more sweet things. There was something else though, that was spinning around my head that I wanted to do even more.

I moved my hand to his shoulder and stepped even closer to him. The scent of his musky cologne flooded my nose and I couldn't hold it anymore. I moved in as my hand slid down his arm and my lips met his soft ones. The kiss was sweet and gentle, and at first he seemed startled.

But then he wrapped his arms around me and began to kiss me even more. The fire ignited between the two of us as I wrapped my arms around him in return. His lips were soft and we seemed to fit together perfectly. My head was spinning and I almost couldn't feel the ground below my feet.

The last thing I remember from that night was the blissful kiss that seemed to last for hours.