Not Ready To Say Goodbye | SCK AU story

Part 2: Don't Let Me Go

      The balmy ocean breeze, blowing in from the Gulf of Salerno, infiltrates the villa, while the quiets of the indigo night wraps its arms around Eda. A feeling of unrest descends upon her like a thick fog, as the vignette during her encounter with Serkan plays out like an 8 mm film in her discombobulated mind.

      She reaches for her floral chiffon kimono on the bed, before making her way towards the terrazzo terrace. The silence surrounding her is punctured by loud rapping on her front door. She hastily slips on her kimono, while heading towards the entrance to her cozy Tuscan-style villa, perched on the coastal ridges, high above the glistening moonlit body of water, swooshing down below.

      Eda looks through the peep hole and sees Serkan standing on the other side of her door. Against her better judgment, she swings open the heavy wooden door and finds herself coming face to face with a frustratingly handsome Serkan, casually dressed in a pale blue cotton button-up shirt and army green linen pants. Eda loves Serkan in his power suits, but seeing him in casual attires is a treat for her.

      "I'm not even going to ask how you know where to find me," Eda chides, shaking her head, feeling torn between elation and anxiety. Being near him is torturous and exhilarating. The thing that she desires and that of which she's terrified of, is one of the same, juxtaposed against each other. It frustrates her that the sex appeal this man exudes makes her female hormones go haywire and short circuits all the cells in the logical part of her brain.

      When he lays his sultry bedroom eyes on her, all her reasons to resist him vanish into thin air. The catalog of rules defining what's right or wrong, is singed by his amorous stare and crumbles to dust. This is a one-night only kind of 'tryst', she convinces herself, as she steps aside to let Serkan in. Eda has no idea what will transpire between them tomorrow, but she can only think about tonight, about this moment. Tomorrow is for tomorrow.

      "Good evening, Eda," Serkan greets her charmingly.

     His eyes glint, as a slow seductive smile spreads across his sun-kissed face, flaunting his pearly whites, sparkling against his tanned skin. His sultry voice soothes her nerves and drains the tension she's been carrying around since their encounter at the café.

      "Hey," Eda responds, with a hesitant half-smile, looking at him incredulously.

      "Serkan, I didn't promise you anything, I..." she says crisply, but was interrupted mid sentence.

      "I know, I want to invite you to dinner. I hate eating alone," he murmurs, in his sonorous voice.

      Serkan inches closer towards her, closing the distance between them. Every saccharine word spilling from his lips,  is laced with desire. His sexy voice, his alluring scent, his everything seem to have a kryptonic effect on Eda's enervating senses. She's reluctant to make it too easy for him to meander his way back into her life. Despite her concerted effort, her brain continues to allow her desire for him to commandeer her logic to resist him. Her resistance against him wanes exponentially with every minute Serkan remains in her presence.

      "Damn this man," she curses him silently.

      "Why does he have to smell so delectable all the goddamn time? Why am I so defenseless when he's near me?" She expels a frustrating sigh, feeling rather disappointed with her self control.

      Eda swallows dryly. She recalls what it felt like to trail her lips across his strong chiseled jaw, taking in his heady signature scent, and reveling in the seductive concoction of everything Serkan - masculine, sexy and unfortunately, irresistible and highly addictive.  This man is good for all her lady parts, but detrimental to her mental health.

      Amusement dances in his amber-green eyes. His gaze suspends on her partially opened mouth. Serkan enjoys seeing her flustered. Truth be told, she isn't surprised that he came knocking on her door uninvited -- being bold and ferocious is what drives him. Eda will not admit this to him, but a part of her is elated that he flew to Italy to search for her. His presence here rejuvenates her hope of a possible reunion between them.

      She knows Serkan too well to expect that he'll just jump ship and abandon their relationship for good. This man plays to win and taking him on as an 'opponent' might prove to be more arduous than she'd originally anticipated. The game of love has high stakes and if she understands Serkan as well as she thinks she does, he will not surrender until he wins her back, by any means necessary.

      Eda is confounded, as panic seizes her.  Once again, she  finds herself at the precipice of 'keeping the genie in the bottle, or releasing him'. The question that weighs heavily in her heart is - how do you put the genie back into the bottle once you release him? Her biggest fear since she left Istanbul has been maintaining her distance from Serkan and severing all forms of communication with him. It was imperative for her to stay the course and to not give in because she misses him. She knew that she will cave in to his plea, if she so much as hears his voice.

      Eda needed some sense of normalcy to salvage her sanity, after the heartbreak. However, being separated from Serkan detonated her heart into a million pieces. When you love a man, you tend to put his needs before yours, consciously or not. It's easier to carry on with your life after the breakup, when you're fueled by your anger and detachment from the person you left.