Cruel Desire

A little kiss brushed off her soft lips like a sweet dream. The sandalwood and bitter rose aroma comingled perfectly in the air. She could feel the strong masculine fragrance swept off through her nose. Something about it felt so familiar.

A gentle touch tickled her pale white skin. He caressed her cheek like a true lover. While underneath her fragile touch, she could feel he had a broad muscular chest. His skin felt warm like the feeling of summer.

However, even the bright moonlight shone above them, she could not see his face clearly. The dark night was overshadowing his look. But she could feel his firm jaw every time she touched him again. She stood at the edge of the shore with him. The water felt cold, making her kind of freezing when the water brushed her feet. But she could feel safe and warm with him.

They were holding hands with each other. And she could feel his eyes lingered on hers. He would never let go of her hands.

It was almost like a scene in a romantic movie. The moment felt like forever. It was like the time had stopped between them. Just for the two of them, special, and romantic.

And then she heard, he whispered to her, gently and felt ticklish in her ear.

“I love you, Sweet Pie…”

For a moment, her breath paused when she heard him said that. His voice sounded so deep and so manly.

“You are the one and only girl for me…”

She got froze underneath his touch. Especially when those words echoed in her ears.

And he whispered, for the last time that night, “Never forget that. Ever.”

She immediately woke up, first in the morning. She was out of breath, sweating, and her body kind of shivering. She paused for a second to think about what just happened. And then the words got into her mind, the fever dream.

If it was just a dream, why that man always felt so familiar to her? She wondered so much.

“No way… I think I have a fever dream again,” she muttered as brushing off her sweat on her pale forehead.

“Oh, no, you’re not SIENNA MOSS!” A girl shouted afterward while opening the cream curtain in this little bedroom. “You’re just a lazy girl who wants to actually escape from your obligation!”

While half yawning, Sienna stole a glance at her annoying cousin.

“That sounds more like you, don’t you think?” She teased her back. “You’ve graduated two years ago, but you haven’t tried a single job offered on the vacancy site.”

That girl immediately turned to see her. She bulged her eyes out so widely. She was being emotional when Sienna mentioned it.

“What? Isn’t that the truth?” Sienna just wanted to remind her. “I mean, you can earn extra money if you search for a job from the internet.”

“Shut up! I’m just a young girl!” She yelled at her, angrily. “And I am, Estelle Moss, the girl with a great future! I just haven’t found what I really want to do…”

Sienna chuckled as she quickly raised from the bed. While making up her bed, then she glanced again at Estelle.

“Okay, I get it. Now, get out! Give me some privacy, please!” Sienna hollered out. “I’m going to take a shower and get ready for work…”

As soon as Estelle walked out of her bedroom, Sienna took a white towel from her desk. All of a sudden, that strange dream crossed her mind.

She paused, feeling something weird in her stomach every time she remembered it. She didn’t know if it was some kind of an epiphany or not, but for sure, she knew it felt strange.

“What the heck…” she muttered, baffling alone.

Slowly, her hand almost reached for her soft lips. She still remembered the feeling of that special kiss. And that special touch.

But that man was just a fraction of the memory in her dream. She had been dreaming about him since a month ago. She didn’t know why she suddenly got such a strange dream like that one.

Or maybe because she was hoping to find for the true love soon. And she should have realized that the love of her life was already in front of her.

“Oh, God! Jonathan!” She was panicking suddenly. “I just remember! I should deliver a cake for him before eight o’clock!”

Soon, she strangled herself, walking toward the bathroom. She was so panicking. And she hated the feeling of anxiety, but she had to be hurry before she would be too late.

Sienna walked out of her house’s fence, wearing a long brown coat and black boots. She should run out fast from the neighborhood.

It was fortunate that Jonathan’s workplace was near her house. Sienna wouldn’t have to pay for a taxi fare since it would cost her a lot of money. Manhattan was a big city. And everything was pretty expansive here. She had to know how to manage good money when she had to pay for her aunty and her cousin’s bills as well.

Jonathan was a teacher in an elementary-high school. He had been teaching kids for a few years in New York. He was just a lovely man. Sienna met him when he went to a local library in the city, where she worked part-time there as a librarian. Although he was the one who had a crush on her first, Sienna eventually fell for his caring manner.

And this morning, she was about to give him a vanilla chocolate cake for his breakfast. She was running throughout the pavement road. She was nervous the whole time. She wondered if he already went to a classroom or not.

But when she arrived in front of the school’s gate, the kids in the uniforms were just coming in. Her eyes looked back and forth around. She was being a little bit anxious.

She was hoping she would not be too late. It was almost past eight in the morning though. When she was about to text him on the phone, a voice hollered out at her. She glanced quickly to see who was calling out for her name.

She recognized him almost immediately. He wore an eyeglass, a long light-cream coat, and had a warm scarf around his neck. That man in his late twenty was Jonathan Brown. And he was soon-to-be her fiancée.

He was waving his hand at her from afar. As soon as he approached her in front of the school’s gate, he smiled so brightly.

“Sienna! I’ve got your text message last night!” He said excitedly. His face was always looked so happy. Jonathan always had such a cheerful vibe around him.

“Yeah, so, I’d like to give you this cake…” She immediately handed over the paper bag contained in that vanilla chocolate cake. “You know, I want you to be the first person to eat my cake’s sample before I will put it on sale online.”

“Wow, you want to have a side job again? You already have two jobs in your hand… a florist at home, and a local librarian in the city,” He said as he raised his eyebrows, surprised with this sudden news. And then he peeped inside the paper bag. “So, you made the cake yesterday?”

She quickly punched his arm and shouted after, “Don’t worry! The taste is still fresh!”

He smiled widely and chuckled. “Oh, honey, I’m sure your cake tastes good! And…” He paused when the school bell rang. He slightly looked back at the gate. The kids were running into the school’s yard.

“See… I have a class to catch up, honey,” he said, sadly. “I will meet you later at lunch break. Okay? We’ll meet again in our favorite restaurant across the street, yeah?”

He nudged his chin at the wall-brick building across the school. There were various stores in that place, as well as the western restaurant he was just mentioned.

She nodded, agreed. “Okay, see you later…”

But before she walked away from his sight, Jonathan grabbed her by surprise.

“Uh, honey, actually…” he seemed kind of nervous to tell her.

“What? Say it,” Sienna demanded him impatiently.

“I’m just like you, I guess. I was thinking of having a side job as well,” he said nervously. “I have been learning how to be a stock trader this whole week,” he informed her.

She opened her brown eyes widely. “Oh, wow! That’s great for you, hon!”

Of course, Jonathan knew that Sienna would always support him. But he was nervous to think if it was a good thing for him. He just wanted to do something new, apart from being a teacher alone.

“You… you think it’s okay?” He wondered.

Sienna looked at him, bewildered. “Honey! That’s a good achievement to learn something new. Why are you hesitating? You’re just about to start…”

“Yeah, but…” he stroked his chair lightly. He looked anxious. “I get invited to the stock traders’ tonight party. So, what do you say? Should I go… will you go with me?”

Sienna paused to look at his chubby cheeks for a moment. She then pinched his cheek, teasing him. “Oh, yeah! Sure! Why not, hon?”

Jonathan nodded, relieved. “Oh, great. You will be my best companion then.”