the essence of life is love

Naamloos deel 48

Weeks after the party, Lara sits on a luxurious chair in a small room entirely painted white. Against the wall stands a low sideboard filled with books, on top of which sits a television, and nothing more. Behind her is another sofa opposite the cabinet. The room is otherwise empty. Behind the door is a small kitchen with a table against the wall, and in the hallway, there's a toilet and stairs leading up to a bedroom with a relatively large bathroom for this rental property. After much searching, she managed to find this house, and the rent is quite high, fortunately not exorbitant. This allows her to afford it with her income. Luckily, she still has Seb's money in a savings account. It's intended for difficult times, not for now.

Her work is going well, and she has received quite a few reactions to the photos from the last night with Seb. Unfortunately, there were also reactions to the photos of the kiss with Bo. She dismissed that as a publicity stunt, something everyone accepted. Now she is alone in her rental home in a not-so-great neighborhood. Her car is broken and cannot be repaired. That disappoints her the most. The remaining balance of the loan is not much, but she still must repay it. Her lawyer convinced her that Seb doesn't have to pay, as he has already given her more than legally required. Seb has been lenient towards her, yet it doesn't feel that way.

In recent days, her colleagues have been talking mainly about the soap opera 'The Essence of Life is Love.' In all this time, she has never watched a single episode. At first, it didn't seem to be about the characters Bo and Seb play. Now she has seen that their contribution in the beginning was marginal. If Seb appears on screen more than twice in an episode, it's a lot, those episodes are not interesting to her. Using the pins in his leg, Lara can calculate when the recordings took place. Then she realizes how she behaved. She doesn't feel regret, but she finds it unfortunate, only because Seb is, on screen, the most handsome of all the young men, which is clearly visible.

She puts on the episode from three weeks ago and suddenly she understands why it might be interesting to keep watching. Bo massages Seb's leg, he occasionally looks sneakily at his patient. His hands squeeze the muscles strongly but also lovingly, reaching Seb's groin. The whole scene is quite erotic to watch. The camera follows Bo's hands over Seb's skin, which is slowly dimpling and playfully kneaded. Seb's white underwear, one he would never buy himself, suits him more than well. The crotch is clearly well-filled, and the contours of his genitals are outlined through the fabric.

Lara searches her memory for when she last felt Seb naked in bed. It must be more than a year ago. She is not as physically oriented as he is, she never has been, even during all the time they were dating. Now she suddenly thinks differently about it, this image gives her chills. Yet, this is the only exciting thing happening between the two the entire week. A week later, she understands it even better. In this episode, it turns out that Bo has a dream about Seb. It seems to hide nothing. Both men are naked, as far as she can see. This is the moment of the first real kiss, even if it's not in the real story and plays out in Bo's head, the recording has taken place. With her eyes closed, she now reflects on how that must have been, Bo hovering over Seb's face, noses touching, lips slowly moving toward each other, as if it were played back in slow motion. She also remembers that Seb makes love just like that. Soft lips, slow movements, her ex's fingers caressing through her semi-long hair, just like on the screen.

Her lower abdomen signals tension, a feeling of jealousy rises within her. Yet, she tries to suppress it, which only works with difficulty.

After this scene, she quickly presses the fast-forward button to watch the next encounter between the two men.

This time, after the massage, there's a moment she recognizes from the trailer she saw. Seb stands against the wall, and Bo stands in front of him. Their lips touch, they seem to make love briefly before the door is violently opened. Bo's brother storms in aggressively, sending Seb out. Lara can't watch how he limps and searches for his crutches for stability. It surprises her that she feels a tear in her eye.

In the following episodes, not much new is seen. Bo is kept at a distance by his brother, and Seb is told not to come to the café anymore.

Only in this week's episodes is there more tension again. Now the pins are out of Seb's leg, he walks better, still with a crutch, and Bo now massages both of his legs. Seb still lies in his spotlessly white underwear on the treatment table. Yet Lara can see that it seems like Seb is reacting to Bo's hands. Then there's a request to also look at his shoulder and upper arm. Apparently, Seb has developed problems from walking with crutches. Naked, except for his white briefs, the camera slowly zooms in on his chest, Bo's hands glide, gently feeling the skin of his patient, the nipples are hard and stand out darkly. Bo's soft hands slowly continue to explore Seb's skin.

Now Lara is sure, Bo and Seb are a couple. This can't be acted, Seb doesn't have control over his body, his breathing is faster, which she's not familiar with. His hard nipples remind her of a time they did it, a long time ago. The foreplay was long and erotic, and the sex got more intense. That's when she felt the hard nipples she now sees. After that night, she never felt them again.