Her Forbidden Billionaire

“Oh,” he gasped as his mouth turned into an O. She had truly taken him aback. By the look on his face, she could easily think that Dean didn’t get Christmas presents for his eyes glistened with the gladness and gratitude that a girl who he hadn’t seen in three years had remembered to buy him a gift.

Raina noticed his fingers trembling as he fumbled with the decorative paper. He at last took a hold of the watch and gasped again at the sight. “Wow, thank you! It is… perfect,” he said and hugged her. Admiring the design and the fabric, he unfastened the watch he was wearing on his wrist and replaced it with this one. “I will wear it always as a reminder of this wonderful night with you.”

“It was a pleasure, really. I had a mesmerizing night as well,” she said as she sensed warmth coming up her cheeks.

“I’m terribly sorry that I have nothing to give you except this,” he said as he took a gift card from the airlines company from his pocket. “I just checked into the hotel and had no time to look for something for you.”

Raina giggled. “Thanks. I like it.”

“No, no. I will redeem myself, okay?”

“What do you mean?” She said surprised.

“Yup. We are going to spend more time together. We’ll have dinners, lunches, you’ll present the city to me and stuff like that. And everything is completely on me. You should remember this face clearly, because you will be seeing it very often these days. I will ask here and there and take you out in the best restaurant. Although I think that no first-class chef can compete with what you did here with the food. ”

“You flatter me too much. I’ll be spoiled.” She chuckled, the compliments obviously touching her.

“Only speaking the truth here. I’ll text you all the details.” He gave her a smile.

The both of them glanced at the clock. “I believe it’s getting late.”

“It is,” he repeated. “I better get going.” Dean stood up.

They said their farewells, hugged each other and Dean was out of her apartment. He went down the stairs, but Raina was still standing with her back to the door. She ran her fingers across her lips. Her mind was threatening to explode. She was having the best time and was still under powerful impressions. Her feet almost mechanically took her to her bedroom where she stripped off her dress and lay in the bed. She covered herself and fell asleep with a broad smile strapped on her mouth.

The whole morning seemed just like a flash to her. In no time, she woke up, showered, dressed, prepared breakfast, cleaned the whole apartment and got a text from Dean. He wanted to meet her for coffee in some fancy café close to the hotel. She gladly accepted and went to meet him. The café was a truly interesting place with small tables. It looked just like a small gift box. Dean was already waiting for her. He waved to her and she saw him, dressed in cream pants, a sky-blue shirt and a light brown jacket.

The coffee was exceptional. And their conversations were as well. Dean began by complimenting her on the whole dinner and the will to take him in. They together summed the whole evening, scrutinized every detail, but somehow left out the passionate kiss. They even found out that they had some mutual friends that they worked with. For instance, a guy Raina was studying with at college with was now a manager in Los Angeles in Dean’s firm.

“We’re speaking of the same Joe, right? The one who loves Harry Potter, has curly hair and wears glasses?” She asked again.

“It must be the one. He persuaded everyone into something called a Harry Potter marathon where all of the employees watched all eight Harry Potter movies for a week.” Dean chuckled.

“That must be him.” Raina joined him, reminiscing the times when the whole campus had been watching the Harry Potter movies including her and all thanks to this guy.

The Harry Potter marathons prompted the topics of movies and music in which Dean was an expert. He told her about the latest trends on the charts and some hilarious anecdotes of the celebrities she heard on the radio and watched on TV. It was truly mesmerizing to even imagine that the high-class society and the people wearing long gowns and black tuxedoes could be found throwing up in the back of the bar or caught being intimate with prostitutes. Dean informed her of his thoughts on the box office and the position of the movies. She knew that his award season predictions would come true. He seemed so sure.

“I’m sure that will play out well. The award season is yours for the taking,” she said and he just smiled looking shyly at the coffee laid out before him.

In the next few days they went to several restaurants where they chatted some more with a glass of wine. They learned so much about each other and Raina felt like she had known him her whole life. The waiter had just brought a bottle of Pinot Noir when Raina’s cell vibrated. It was Veronica. She stood up and went to the toilet to speak freely.

“Hey, V. What’s up? How’s the holiday?” Raina asked all in smiles.

“Fantastic, really. You have an A+ and a coffee from me.” Veronica giggled from the other side.

“Why?” Raina was bewildered.

“Because of the lingerie. It did amazing work.” They both laughed. “Now tell me how is it going with Dean?”

“We are great friends.”

“Oh, give me a break, sweetie. What are you waiting for! Don’t you see how gorgeous he is? This is a unique chance,” Veronica said.

Raina dismissed her again with a smile and joke, but she didn’t admit to her best friend that she had those kinds of thoughts herself. Especially after the kiss.

When she came back to the table, she got a text from Veronica. Please have s*x with him, so that you can tell me how it was. V. She chuckled.

The wine was probably doing its thing and now Dean and Raina were walking down the street. Raina’s feet, she sensed, were a bit wobbly, but she managed to stay on two feet. The city was sleeping as a few cabs were idling here and there and the passengers were pretty scarce. 

“So, what do we do now?” Dean’s eyes were glistening.

“You can come over for some cookies if you want,” she blurted out.

“Cookies?”

“Yeah, I made some today. Forgot to bring some.”

“Cookies do sound like a great idea.” There was a wild grin on his face. Mischievous.

Raina opened the door and the both of them stepped inside. She went a few steps forward and stopped. Dean followed her. They were looking at each other; their black silhouettes blended into the blackness of the night which came from the windows. There was no moon illuminating the sky and the stars were few in number.