Round N Around We Go (Has Cupid Gone Mad?) (6 page)

Not entirely convinced that
Anthony may be right, she hides
the envelope in a secret
location that only she knows and
sends the roll of blank canvas
to the art framer for mounting.

Feeling a little uninspired, she
decides on having an exciting
night out and hopes to find her
muse.

She calls on Amber who is
absorbed in composing and cannot
join her. Expectedly and as
usual, Taylor is home with Ivan
and is unavailable for a girls’
night out.

Getting ready to head out alone
for an adventurous evening, she
is surprised by Keith’s call.
Perfect timing again, she thinks
to herself and answers. “You
always know when to get me at
the most perfect timing,” she
chuckles, “are you watching me?”
she jokes.

Brief silence over the phone as
if he is lost with words, he
then stutters nervously, “Of
course not! What makes you think
I’m watching you?”

Unsuspicious of the fact that he
is always there at the most
perfect timing, she retracts the
joke. “I was only joking.” She
laughs. “Sadly so, I’m about to
go out alone, would you like to
come with me?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” He
smiles over the phone. “I’ll
pick you up at your home in
fifteen minutes.”

Content with the turn of events,
Karina heads over to her closest
and changes into a sexier and
more revealing dress to impress
him. She freshens up her makeup
and as she applies her lip
gloss, she suddenly remembers
that Keith does not know her
address. Just about to pick up
the phone to call him, she finds
the intercom buzzing.

“That’s strange.” She murmurs to
herself and opens the gate for
him.

She opens the door on his first
knock and couldn’t help smiling.
It is obvious that she likes him
and it is equally obvious that
he is deeply attracted to her.

A little baffled, she asks shyly
not to offend him, certainly
there must be a reasonable
explanation. “I never told you
where I live. How do you know my
address?”

He kisses her cheek and answers
with a reassuring smile. “Silly
girl, you remember the night we
met, you just moved to North
Miami and got lost? You followed
me back to Biscayne and you
mentioned last time that you
live in an art loft. There is
only one art loft on Biscayne in
North Miami. It’s not difficult
to figure it out.” He steps into
her loft and watches her close
the door behind them.

“That’s amazing, but I’ll have
to be careful my words now.” She
chuckles. “It’s only six p.m and
still early for dinner, would
you like a glass of wine before
we go?”

“Sure, whatever you like.” He
follows her into the kitchen.
Scanning around her home and
paying attention to all the
details, he compliments her on
her unique taste in art. “Are
these your work?” He admires the
paintings on the wall.

She hands him a goblet of white
wine. “Yes, all my originals. A
hundred years from now, they
might be worth something.” She
laughs.

He looks deeply into her eyes
and engages her gaze, as if
magnetized, slowly they inch
towards each other and their
lips are about the touch when
her phone rings to interrupt the
enchanting moment. She smiles
girlishly and leans back, “I’m
expecting an important call;
I’ll be right back.” She touches
his hand gently and hurries to
the phone.

He takes a sip of the wine,
turns around and pretends to
admire her paintings while
listening
intently
to
her
conversation over the phone.

“This is Karina.” Silence fills
her loft as she listens to the
other party speaking over the
phone. After a brief moment she
continues, “What do you mean you
can’t mount it?” She questions
the art framer and rolls her
eyes while listening to him,
“Fine, I’ll pick it up tomorrow
morning. Thanks Pedro.”

Karina puts the phone in her
purse and walks over to Keith.
“Sorry about that but the art
framer has a little problem with
one of my canvases. I’ll take
care of that in the morning.”
She smiles and touches his hand
again.
He holds her hand firmly and
smiles, “It’s still early, I
wouldn’t mind picking that up
with you now so you’ll have one
less thing to take care of
tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” She asks, “It’s
not much fun over there.
Besides, I think we’re both over
dressed for the art framer’s
warehouse.” She chuckles and
wonders
if
he
is
merely
suggesting that because he is a
gentleman, or if he is curious
in nature and would like to find
out more about her work.

As if he can read her mind,
“Only if you want to. But if it
can wait, of course I’d like to
take you out somewhere nice
instead.” He smiles and pulls
her closer.

Tugged within his sturdy arms, a
warm sensation rushes through
her body and sends chills up her
spine. She wants him badly but
there is something about him
that makes her hesitant.
Instinctively she pulls back and
decides to fight off her desire
for him. She must wait and learn
more about him before she gives
him more than she should.

Discreetly, he hopes that she is
unaware of his arousal. He knows
that he should not be there but
could not resist the temptation
of seeing her again. He is
risking his everything by being
in her presence and allowing
himself to get too close to her.

He couldn’t stay away and it
might be too late. He is falling
in love with her and he is fully
aware that this could only mean
trouble. Deceit and truth can
never coincide and can only
collide.

He understands the principle
that paper does not hold fire,
and that one day in the near
future, the truth about him will
erupt and someone will likely
get burned, but he is willing to
take a selfish chance and
cherishes their moments for
however long they would remain
together in each other’s world.

Ivan opens the door and comes
home to their condo filled with
the
welcoming
scent
of
blackcurrant
candles
lit
throughout the living room.
Content with the pretty sight,
he enters the kitchen and finds
Taylor
slaving
over
the
countertop dicing bell peppers
of all colors. Butterflied
chicken
breasts
are
being
sautéed in the frying pan and a
side of wild rice pilaf is
warmed inside the oven.

“Dinner is almost ready.” She
proudly announces and welcomes
him home with open arms. “Are
you hungry?”

He walks over, embraces her from
behind and kisses her gently on
the neck. “Famished.” He smiles
and hugs her tightly. “Dinner
looks amazing. Do I have time to
take a quick shower?”
“How quick?” She teases him and
watches him disappear into their
bedroom.

Romance is apparent and Taylor
feels extremely fortunate to
have found love. Part of her is
content but at times she feels
as if she is losing herself and
is turning into someone whom she
isn’t. Disregarding her doubts
and in best efforts, she is
trying to convince herself that
this is exactly what she wants.

She dresses the table perfectly,
pairs dinner with a bottle of
chilled Sauvignon Blanc and
waits for him.

Hair dripping wet and swept
back, Ivan returns in a white
muscle shirt and slacks, joins
her at the table and toasts to
another beautiful day in their
love nest.

Halfway through dinner, she
remembers to advice him of the
change in schedule for the next
day. “Dr. Steven’s office called
today and asked to reschedule
your physical. He has an
emergency tomorrow and can’t see
you, so I rescheduled it to
Friday for you.”

Ivan takes a sip of the wine and
digests the intake. He pauses
and looks at her blankly, “Why
didn’t you ask me first? I have
a full schedule on Friday. I
can’t fit in one more thing to
do.” He puts down his goblet and
appears annoyed.

Missing
his
cue,
Taylor
continues innocently, “That’s
alright, I moved one of your
afternoon appointments to Monday
so you’ll have enough time to do
the physical on Friday.”

Ivan finds it unreasonable and
speaks slowly. Incautious with
his word choice he asks blankly,
“Wait a minute, you were home
the entire day and weren’t even
in the office, how did you
manage to mess up my agenda
without checking with me first?”

Finding his reaction a little
overrated, she answers him
shortly, “I changed it in the
online schedule and I did not
mess anything up. Instead of the
two hours gym time, you can go
for the physical. The doctor is
leaving for a vacation next week
and Friday is the only time he
can see you, otherwise it will
have to wait until he comes back
in three weeks, which is when
we’re leaving for New York.”

Ivan leans back in his chair and
appears upset. “It doesn’t
matter. You should have checked
with me first, I don’t want
anyone messing around with my
agenda.”

“So I’m just ‘anyone’ now?”
Taylor leans back in her chair
as well and her appetite seems
to have vanished. “Is that why
my work isn’t even taken
seriously?”

Impatiently he laughs. Ivan puts
his napkin on the plate and
pushes it away. “I am the one
who should be upset and yet you
find a way to turn this around
and be upset with me? You’re
being impossible Taylor, what
‘work’ of yours am I not taking
seriously?”
Ego surges, she feels necessary
to win this argument. She needs
to feel important and not
secondary. She needs to be
prioritized
and
not
be
neglected. She needs to be in
control and not be controlled.
She is lost and blunts out
carelessly, “My book. You’re not
taking it seriously and have
been pushing the publication
date for months!”

Ivan pauses and stares at her in
disbelief. Silence fills their
home for a moment that feels
like eternity. “Is that what
it’s all about? Do you think I’m
stalling the publishing date? Is
that why you’ve been acting
erratically? One minute you
shower
me
with
love
and
tenderness then another minute
you open fire with displeasure?
This has been ongoing for weeks
and it has to stop.”

All her life she vied for
freedom
and
avoided
all
possibilities
of
attachment
until he came into the picture.
She allowed them a chance to be
together but is finding it more
difficult than she imagined.

Feeling unenthusiastic and too
exhausted to further explain,
she casually brushes off the
conversation, “You’re way over
analyzing all this. Fine, I
won’t burden you with my
thoughts anymore.” Dryly she
clears the dining table.

Ivan sighs and watches her
remove the plates from the
table. “Fine, now withdraw and
walk away. Provoke me then shut
down. It seems to me that you’re
picking fights to break us up.
Do you want to see us fall
apart?”

Saddened by his words which
triggered even more conflicting
thoughts in her mind, she bites
her lower lip, turns her back on
him and whispers audibly, “I
think we just did.”

Disappointed with her reaction,
he covers his face with one hand
and watches her hover over the
kitchen sink to rinse off the
dishes. Exasperated
by her
unreasonableness and overwhelmed
by confusion, he decides to put
their love to a test.

“Taylor I love you, but I think
you need a break,” he begins
slowly, “and I am going to give
it you.”

Taylor freezes upon his words.
Still like a statue, she chokes
inside and refrains from crying.
Motionlessly and anticipating
the worst to happen, she waits
silently for him to continue.

“You are not dispensable but I
cannot be taken for granted. So
let’s take a ninety days break.
You are free to look for someone
else who can love you the way
you want to be loved. Likewise,
I will keep my options open. If
by then we decide that we truly
want to be together forever,
then you will have to do better
and find a way to accept the
fact that a relationship is a
two way street and it cannot be
always just about you.” His mind
is made.
Taylor shuts her eyes and fights
back her silent tears. She
clenches her jaw tightly and can
feel his stare stabbing into the
fractions of her spine. Trying
her impossible to remain calm
and in control of her emotions,
she is adamant and will not beg
him to change his mind. She
begins to doubt his love for
her, certainly, if he truly
loves her as he claims he does
then he would never be willing
to let her go.

She inhales a deep piercing
breath and turns around to face
him. Staring at him in utmost
seriousness, she chokes and
blunts out heartbrokenly, “You
are joking right?”

He is beginning to doubt her
love, certainly, the only way to
know for sure is to set her free
and if she comes back, then he
would know that her love for him
is real. “Taylor,” he affirms
dryly. Ego struck and hiding his
own despair,
he manages to
elaborate. “No, I am not joking.
I mean it. I’m setting you free
for ninety days, I need to know
that it’s ‘us’ that we truly
want and that your love for me
is real.”

Courageously she walks up to him
without tearing and looks into
his eyes intently. “Ivan, you
don’t really love me. If you
love me then you’ll never be
willing to let me go. You doubt
this relationship and that’s
enough reason for me to leave.”

Heartbroken and hurt but yet in
a way relieved, conflicting
emotions rage through her mind
as she rushes into the bedroom.
She locks the door behind her,
throws herself onto their king
size bed and silences her cry
with the softness of the pillow.
She sits up with head bent and
legs folded, wipes and away her
tears and stares into the empty
space.

She shuts her eyes, regains
control over the overwhelming
emotions and decides that Taylor
Gibbons has no more tears to
shed.
She loves him
with all her
heart, but is far too stubborn
to learn how to love him the way
he needs to be loved.

Feeling hurt, insulted, frayed
and desolate, she finds his
proposal of a ninety days break
ludicrous and is angry at
herself. Tormented by her own
miscalculation,
she
regrets
immensely for having allowed
herself positioned to his mercy.

Now she finds herself torn
between love and pride. Perhaps
she has been over confident in
their relationship; perhaps she
has been overly assertive in her
ways
but
with
all
good
intentions, she has never taken
him for granted. His perception
of
her
insecurities
and
inability to communicate has
triggered the most drastic
reaction. She feels as if she is
being
punished
for
being
herself.

Negative emotions
floods and
become overbearing as she climbs
out of bed. Sadly she packs her
essentials in a carry on
suitcase and rolls it out to the
living room. She sees him lying
on the sofa, eyes shut with arms
and legs crossed, pretending to
be asleep. She presses her lips
together without utterly a word
and leaves silently without
saying goodbye.

Deep inside, he regrets his
words and wishes for her to
fight back. It disappoints him
to see her giving up on him that
easily and does not understand
that he has hurt her feelings
and shattered her heart into
pieces.

He is convinced that she will
never find anyone who will ever
cherish her as much as he does
and will return crawling back to
him in ninety days, tamed and
less assertive.

After two trying days of
auditions, Amber and Conrad
found six potential candidates
to replace Neyo. Watching the
final chorus line on stage, they
carefully
evaluate
each
candidate but opinions are not
unanimous. Each of the dancers
has their unique strength but
none can adequately compare with
Neyo.

“Amber,” Conrad suggests, “we
have to stop comparing them to
someone who is no longer with
us. I think Sylvester is our
best bet, he can be the next
‘Turbulent.’ But do not, and I
repeat, do not sleep with him.”

“Thank you everyone.” Conrad
shouts at the stage, “Sylvester,
I need you to stay on and do a
duet with Amber. Act six, scene
four. You have fifteen minutes
to prepare.”

Conrad softens and looks at
Amber, “Let’s put your stage
chemistry to the test. Why don’t
you take a few minutes to warm
up and we’ll wait for you.”
Amber turns and mesmerizes
Conrad with her charming smile,
“Sure boss, from now on I’ll be
a good girl and listen to you.”
Unexpectedly, she leans over and
kisses Conrad on the lips for
the first time in fourteen years
of their friendship. “I think
it’s time that we put ‘us’ to a
test as well, or will that be
too risky?” She teases him,
picks up her black toe shoes and
heads off the stage.

Stunned
speechless,
Conrad
freezes and is unable to react
to her spontaneous shower of
affection. Having waited around
for her for his entire life, he
realizes that his moment has
finally arrived and that he must
seize it before someone else
sweeps her away again. He
watches her walk onto the stage
and feels aroused by
simply
watching her.

Maintaining
composure
and
controlling
the
exceedingly
immense joy that is brewing
inside of him, he fixates his
focus on the act and plans to
serenade her over a romantic
dinner. Casa Tua comes across
his mind and he deems it the
perfect setting to wrap up a
beautiful evening. Hoping to
make this the first day of the
rest of their lives together, he
logs onto his cell phone and
makes an online reservation
while waiting for her to warm
up.

Sylvester’s stage presence isn’t
quite as powerful as Neyo but
Conrad detects a star in the
making. He is assured that after
a one week intensive training,
he can help unleash his dormant
potential. Stage chemistry is
present and Conrad sees that
Amber is willing to connect.
Relieved of the huge burden, he
is content to have found
Sylvester at the last given
moment. The show will go on and
he is convinced that the second
season will be equally if not
more successful than
their
first.

The audition concludes on a
positive note and their new lead
man is found. Gentlemanly,
Conrad suggests that Amber waits
by the entrance while he fetches
the car and blissfully she
agrees.
Sylvester
insists
politely to accompany her until
Conrad
arrives
and
while
engaging in an interesting
conversation, she fails to
notice that she is being
watched.