Chapter four

What had possessed Alessandro to kiss her on the cheek like that? The way he lingered for a few more seconds was a clear sign of how one night with this woman had affected him. He had wanted with everything inside of him to kiss her on those plump lips, wanted to discover if they were as sweet as they looked but he had pulled himself back and opted for the cheek instead. Her breathing had become shallow and it was warm on him and smelt sweet. Just the feel of her breath on him like that had made the blood in his veins hot and fast. He knew he had to get out of there before he had done something he would have regretted.

Alessandro got into his apartment all the while Tanaka was on his mind, her scent, her smooth velvety voice, those hips and that thick behind, the way her curves had moved as she walked and danced. This line of thinking gave him an erection like one he had never had before. His pants felt strained and it was starting to get painful. If mere thoughts of Tanaka got him like this what more when he could be with her in the same room, just the two of them alone? But that was never going to happen because tonight had been tonight, one night of finding out he was not as immune to other types of women as he would have liked to believe he was. What he needed to do was call up his old mistress and prove to himself that Tanaka had been a momentary slip he would never fall into again. That would do it for him. But as he reached for the cell phone he had discarded on the bed to contact her, Tanaka’s face and body materialised in his mind. “What on God’s green Earth is up with me today?” he mumbled to himself as he gave in and decided to sleep. Maybe a good sleep was just what he needed to forget all about her, that would do the trick.

The alarm woke Tanaka up at six am exactly and she switched it off with an irritated grunt. She had been having such a lovely dream. Of Alessandro. She had gone to bed last night thinking of him. In her dream she had been dancing in his strong arms when all of a sudden they had found themselves in her kitchen and just as he was lowering his head to her lips her alarm had gone off. If only it was possible to continue a dream the next night she thought to herself.

But more importantly, why was she still thinking of this man two weeks later? She had had one night of dancing and fun but that was it, because men like him did not waste a second night on women like her. She sighed and made herself get out of bed so she could get ready for her work out before going to her job. Tanaka had been working out and trying to eat healthy for the past two months now and she was very proud of the progress she had made; in two months she had lost a total of nine kgs. Her confidence was spiking with each day she made progress.

All her life she had been insecure because she had always been the biggest in the room. She would always remember how as a teenager in high school back in her home country she would plug in her headphones while walking from school so as not to hear people taunting her about her weight. She would put the music on full blast and get lost in the world of dubstep. She could say Skrillex, Zomboy and all the other dubstep producers had saved her and taken her to a world she could forget who she was. Back then she had tried to do something about her weight but it was determined to stay on her body and ruin her life. She had resorted to wearing black and long sleeved stuff when she was still a teenager and the habit had carried over into her adult hood.

On the day of the party two weeks ago Tanaka had gotten way out of her comfort zone because Nathaniel had insisted that the dress looked ‘magnificent’ on her and she needed to show off what her mama gave her. The only time she did not wear dark clothing was when she was in her house alone.

The HIIT work out proved to be very worth it, burning a total of 300 calories! She felt good about herself as she left for work. Maybe one day she would be worthy of a man as good looking as Alessandro Romero she thought to herself as she got into her car and drove away.

“Boss your cousin is on the line," Alessandro’s assistant Oscar said via the intercom. “Thanks Oscar put him through.” Nathaniel’s voice came through the phone in a stream of incoherent words. “Nathaniel, calm down and use your words, are you drunk? It’s ten am in the morning damn it, you have gone back to your old ways. What did I warn you would happen the next time you put any of us through that again?” Alessandro was shocked to discover he was angry while talking to his cousin. Where was all the anger coming from though, everyone had known he would relapse and they had expected it. Is it that he needed somewhere to take out the frustration and irritation he had felt for the past two weeks? What was he even frustrated over?

It was Tanaka, two weeks later and he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. He had met and hung out with her for six hours and she had made her mark on him. Then why was he not giving her a call or going to visit her? He knew the answer, he lived on a code and he did not think that Tanaka would understand he only did one night stands, rewarded a precious trinket and moved on. She seemed like the type of woman who wanted hearts and unicorns. But with the way he found himself thinking about her lately, what made him think one night with that voluptuous body would do him good? Did he really think he could have a taste of her body once and move on? Yeah he needed to totally stay away from her.

“I am not drunk Alex please chill down a notch”, Nathaniel’s voice came through the phone bringing him back to reality. “I am hung over I went to Clara's little gathering yesterday ok.” “Do not lie to me Natha-” “I am not lying Alessandro”, he interrupted him. “Call Clara or ask Tanaka she was supposed to be there but could not attend. You are talking to her aren’t you?” “Erm no I am not, I lost the number you gave me, the tissue you wrote it on got lost.” “I thought you liked her, you should have saved it the moment I gave it to you. Well too bad I am not giving it to you again.” “You know I can easily get the number don’t sound so smug.” But Alessandro had lied because he had entered Tanaka’s phone number the moment he had gotten to his house.

Over the last two weeks he almost dialled it at least a thousand times but chickened out. That was something he never did, if he wanted to call a lady he did just that. “What actually is the purpose of your call Nathaniel?” “Yes, I wanted to ask you to check up on mom, I do not think she is feeling too good. I would have asked Tanaka but she is busy till seven today.” “You are still so drunk you cannot even afford to check up on your own mother”, Alessandro said with a disappointed shake of his head. “Anyway why were you going to ask Tanaka?” “Because she stays in the same neighbourhood as mom and they are close.” “She does heh. I can only check up on her at seven thirty because I am staying till late today.” “As long as you do this thing for me Alex”, Nathaniel said. “I will do it, now I have work to do goodbye.” “Thanks Alex, I owe you one.” He sure did owe him one. Why had he lied that he was working late, because he would use this chance to go see Tanaka. But had he not just told himself he needed to stay away?