New Year's Eve

CHAPTER 5

Helena

As I reach my room, the idiotic smile never leaves my face. As I change, I keep seeing those piercing brown eyes and hearing Marcel's melodious laughter. I think I fell in love with his beautiful smile. Is that possible? I don't know him at all, but my soul takes on wings next to him. I remember the way he acted boldly to spite Fred.

There in the car his words were so crazy. I understood why he was doing it. Fred was furious at what he heard. There was a selfish part of me that was insanely happy about it. There was another part of me that didn't care about Fred's emotions. All it wanted was for Marcel to continue his game. That part of me wanted the game to turn into reality.

God, what am I thinking? I look at my reflection, chasing away vicious thoughts. The pale pink dress accentuated my figure perfectly. It's not too revealing, but it makes my image more seductive. I'm not even going to analyze why I chose this particular outfit.

I put on black pumps and a black tight cloak and hurried back to Marcel.

The closer I get to the car, the more excitement builds. It's been so long since I've been in male company that I don't know how to act around him.

"You look great, Marshmallow", he says when I'm inside the car. My "thank you" is quiet and inaudible.

"Ready to meet my family?", he starts the engine and the car pulls out into the driveway in a few seconds.

"Not at all", I tell him honestly.

"Don't worry, Helena. My family will like you."

As we drive through the half-empty streets of Paris, Marcel tells me about his family. The way he speaks warmly and lovingly of his family makes the man even more attractive to me.

As I look at him, I feel as if I am dreaming. I don't believe that men like him really exist. But here he is, sitting in the seat next to me, and I can't take my eyes off him. I find myself listening to every word Marcel says. Even with patients this has never happened to me before. It was as if, in an instant, my whole world was upside down.

Afterwards, Marcel Lambert (that's his last name) tells me about his business. He is the Director General of a furniture factory, which is nothing short of amazing. But even more surprising is that we live on parallel streets in London. We had a chance every day to cross paths in the foggy streets of the British capital. Instead, we met here, in the most romantic capital in the world.

Perhaps fate really does exist? Are such coincidences possible in our world?

About thirty minutes later, we pull up to a small, unassuming, three-story house.

"Don't worry, Marshmallow. Everything will be all right", he said approvingly, helping me out of the car.

"I'm not afraid", and it seems to be true. He takes my hand and leads me slowly to the front door.

"Why do you keep calling me marshmallow?", He clearly thinks my question is silly, because after a second Marcel starts laughing out loud.

"Because", he stops and turns to face me, "You're just as soft and gentle", he leans closer, "And you make me want to eat you."

It's like I'm drowning in his gaze. He looks so greedily at my lips. One more moment, and our mouths connect. I don't even think about pulling away. I love his assertive, greedy kiss so much. It robs me of my strength and every sensible thought. I want to stay in this moment forever. I've never felt like this before. It's like I'm flying high into the sky. My soul overflows with lightness and happiness. My skin tingles with electric shocks from this man's proximity. So strange and exciting at the same time. What could be sweeter than this?

When the man does pull away from me, I acutely feel disappointment inside.

"You're also just as sweet", the man says in his verdict as I try to catch my breath, "I can't tear myself away", his hand on my cheek and his thumb slowly tracing the outline of my lips.

I can barely contain the urge not to moan my head off. What is this man doing to me? I want you to kiss me again, Marcel. But I don't say anything out loud. The man takes my hand again.

"Let's go, everyone is waiting for us."

No matter how hard I try, I can't keep the smile off my face. I feel like a schoolgirl in love. Is it possible to fall in love with someone you've only known for a few hours? I'm sure I don't. But that doesn't stop me from being attracted to him. And I know from Marcel's behavior that the attraction is mutual.

We go up to the top floor and find ourselves in a cozy apartment that belongs to Lambert's parents. You can't even call it an apartment. Their apartment takes up an entire floor, and everything inside looks like I'm in the home of royalty. But at the same time, I feel cozy.

The smell of tangerines, roast duck, and pine trees is all around me. New Year's decorations decorate every inch of the room, and there is a huge pine tree in the hall.

Time flies so quickly and unnoticed. But I love being in Marcel's company. The guy has a big and friendly family. Even though I didn't understand anything they said, I felt comfortable being around them. Especially Marie helped me to overcome the barrier. Marcel has a wonderful sister, and we quickly found common ground. In their company a few hours flew by like a couple of minutes. It's so strange, but I felt at home among these people.

"Where are you going?", I heard Marcel's voice behind me just as I passed under one of the arches. I turn around and stare at the guy.

"I'm going to get some more champagne", I point to the table behind me.

"I think you're missing something", a charming smile touched his lips as he got a little too close to me.

"Really?"

"Look up", he stops one step away from me. I lift my head and my lips stretch into a smile. There's a small sprig of mistletoe hanging right above us.

"That's very clever of you."