Meu Amor

Chapter 3

"Looking fancy today" Taylor says as I walk into the office.

"It's just a dress."

"You don't wear dresses at the office unless it is boiling hot. Which it isn't. And you are wearing perfume! More than usual!"

"It was a mistake."

"No, it wasn't. You have a date tonight, don't you?"

"Fine, yes. I'm meeting with a friend later today" I say, not in the mood to deal with her questions.

"Male or female?"

"Female. Sarah. A friend from uni."

"Ok..." she says, not completely buying my story.

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"Miss, over here" someone calls when I step out of the building. It's a bit after 5 o'clock, and Taylor has thankfully already left. If she caught me right now... "Good evening, miss" the same man says again, opening the car's door.

"Thank you" I say with a shy smile. Inside, there is someone waiting for me. Rúben. He was in London for an event, asked me to meet him later for a drink, and I couldn't say no. Why? I still don't know...

"Hello" he says.

"Hi."

"Ready?"

"Ready."

After a few minutes of awkward silence where I try to look at everything but him, he starts talking again.

"I hope you don't mind I chose the place where we are going."

"Oh, no, it's fine. Don't worry." And more silence.

"Your phone is completely charged, sir" the driver says.

"Thank you" Rúben replies, reaching forward to grab it. As he moves, he gets a little closer to me, and I can smell his perfume. My God, it smells so good.

"What perfume are you wearing?" I ask, catching both of us by surprise with my question.

"One by Tom Ford. It was a gift, I don't know much about it beyond that I like it" he smiles.

"It smells really nice."

"Thank you. Do you like wearing perfume?"

"I do. But Taylor gets headaches very easily and I can't wear as much as I like. Today I wore a bit more, and she instantly noticed it."

"Really? I haven't noticed anything."

"It's probably already worn off" I say, smelling my wrist. "Or not."

"May I?" he asks, pointing at my arm.

"Sure" I say, moving it towards him. He grabs my hand with one of his, the other slowly lifting the sleeve of my jacket. You would think that a guy smelling your wrist could be a bit creepy, but somehow he's managed to make it look sexy. Very sexy. Just the slight touch of his fingers on my skin is making me feel really hot. Am I turned on? Yes, I am.

"Yours also smells really nice" he says, letting go of my arm. "Which brand is it?"

"Yves Saint Laurent. The one with Dua Lipa" I say, my voice sounding very weird.

"We are here, sir" the driver announces. And I can't thank him enough. I need fresh air and to put some distance between me and Rúben, because holy shit.

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"Wow, this place is amazing" I say as we walk into the bar he has picked.