Two for one

Meaningless conversations, excessive compliments, witty comments, everything there screamed of a casual luxury suitable for those who were striving to increase the value of the company.

Diana was the center of it all. She and her partner walked side by side, introducing themselves and representing the central link of the company.

The head of the snake, an intelligent and persistent young woman who insisted on the dream of creating her own company.

The body of the snake, its biggest investor and long-term advisor, who was also the biggest shareholder and pillar of that dream.

And the tail, which she didn't remember having but which had been her goal from the beginning, always circling, chasing her and finally biting her...

"Here, a courtesy for your success," responding to her look, he explained and passed the steaming cup of coffee.

Diana approached, felt the warm touch and breathed in the sweet smell with fervor.

It looked delicious.

Her gaze was returned. She felt an infinite calm coming from them. It was the sky, the ocean and the clouds. Very different from the hellish intensity of that morning.

'I think I looked too intensely.'

She had found herself doing that a lot lately. After sex, her instinct told her that, that man had been her source of inspiration for the last five years.

It was even poetic how today she could finally bite that tail and form a perfect circle. Her body, or rather, her friend was what connected them and made this happen...

'I have to thank him later.'

That Co-CEO really supported her. Diana had been coming to that get-together for years, she had created the first one and always showed up, from the headquarters to the branches.

But she had never felt that confidence and completeness that came from having Nero by her side.

It seemed absurd, but in the last few days a silly and stupid thought had been taking hold.

The idea that something in her had finally found rest and meaning, a void filled that was much more than passion, love or anything sexual.

She felt like she could leave the company at any moment. She could leave her current life behind with pride. She could even leave that amused smile in front of her.

Her eyes became a little more intense looking at him, like two black holes that wouldn't let that happen.

But Diana really found herself free of something she didn't know.

"Why are you so tense?" Feeling a finger on her forehead and a cat-like gaze, her body slowly moved away.

Suddenly very aware of the people around her, she straightened her posture. They looked like a complete couple alone at that table.

"I have to thank someone for bringing you to me."

He smiled. Diana felt like she used the wrong words, but Nero didn't seem to care.

"Who? Augusto?"

"Do you know each other?" the young woman tilted her head curiously. It was hard to find that man. She hadn't seen him since... Never.

"I know him. More than I'd like, actually," he said with a careless smile.

Her eyes narrowed, her hand moving to her coffee as she examined that matching hair.

'He looks like a puppy when I mess around'

"Have you seen each other?", she smiled too.

Seeing that man was impossible...

"Yes. This morning. You saw him too, didn't you?"

The glass stopped two centimeters from her lips.

"What? When?"

'This morning...', she tried to remember everything. But she only ended up getting tangled up in memories of moans, kisses and sex.

Her eyes checked the culprit's expression, to see if he was joking.

His look must have given her away.

He got closer, taking advantage of her personal space to ask something and tell a secret.

"What are the names of two Roman emperors?"

She smiled. So close that she could see her reflection in the blue of those eyes, so close that they must have seemed more like a couple than ever.

Diana liked that.

"Nero...", she spelled out each letter, savoring the proximity of his lips.

She didn't know why he was joking about something important, but she wanted to get to the end.

As she thought of a second name, he smiled and got in the way.

"And Augustus."

At first, Diana raised a well-shaped eyebrow. Then she frowned both, her eyes trembling as she looked at him as if every expression line came from a mask.

'Her face says it all. She's so cute.'

The next second her mind broke, her jaw dropped and she had to hold herself back from sighing or giving that beautifully annoying man a good slap.

'This morning. You saw him too.'

The only man she saw and woke up next to, was sleeping in her bed with a hand idly on her thigh and an arm wrapped around her.

'Two emperors. Nero and Augustus.'

What she thought was the head of the snake was actually the apple. Bitten by that poisonous snake in front of her.

He never really left her.

He always had her and her dreams in the palm of his hand.

Supporting her from a distance whenever she needed it.

'That damned jerk...'

'I love him.'

He seemed amused by her reaction, but he seemed to be expecting more. Something more exaggerated.

She didn't want to admit it, but she even liked that written in that smile. So she threw all her serious demeanor aside and kissed him just as she wanted.

It seemed that this man leaving her life was not something allowed.

Diana would make sure he never left her again. That was the only hurt he caused her, teaching her about heaven and then knocking her all the way to the ground.

But now, feeling the taste of his kiss and the various looks on them, her more childish self felt that it was worth loving.