Altogether unusual

The romantic dinner

'What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.'

"He told you he loves you." Eve stated, wide eyed.

"Yes. He declared his love." I bet I had hearts in my eyes and I looked like a loon, smiling at the ceiling.

"He declared....Come on, woman, this is not the 1800! The man is crazy about you!"

"You make me feel old" I said, wondering how a sweet girl like Eve could be so blunt some times. "Call it as you like, I am just happy I am not alone in this relationship."

"He is one cool cucumber. After what he pulled at the party, he had to come up with something good, otherwise you would have ripped him apart." Wine is not good for Eve because it makes her ramble on.

"What do you mean 'come up with something'? Do you believe he lied?"

"NO! No, sugar, I did not want to imp... imp... imply that." She hiccupped. "I just mean it was a good moment to take out the big guns. You know, to make it better." She explained eager to fix the misunderstanding. "Anyway, I really don't get why you listen to me. Seriously, am I in any condition to give advice? I am single, for crying out loud. Pour me some more wine!" She yelled like I was not near her. Yeah, she was getting drunk fast. I like drunk Eve, she is fun!

"You are my friend, I thrive on your advice."

"Darling, I think you are perfect together. I saw that from the very first. I don't understand why it took his big head so long to come clean. After all, you are his first relationship...."

"I am not" I interrupted, "Remember Becca?"

"Becca, Shmecca! Who cares about that whore? You are important to Jonathan. I am just glad he realised that. Finally! I'll drink to that. And to your future weirdo-babies!" We clinked glasses and she started laughing out loud, telling me how those babies will be running for sane advice, fashion advice and any other thing they could think of, to their old aunty Eve.

Before falling asleep that night Slurry Eve, while hugging the life out of me, told me one more thing: "He's so lucky to have you, Clarisse. You are good for him and I am happy you support him so much."

My life and Jonathan's continued as it was before, but I kept his words inside me. When I had doubts about our relationship, I would take them out and get warm under their light. The man loved me. That was all I needed to know, actually. At a certain point all these would pass, the late nights, the lack of time, the sex on fast-forward; and when that happened, I'll still be there, right beside him. He'll know how much I fought for him, for us. He'll understand how much I love him. And of course, we are young. It is the moment in our lives to take bold decisions, to have sleepless nights and to worry about our carriers, to want more and to be able to give our best. I understand him. I wouldn't want to be interrupted from my ascension either. What if Jonathan would ask me not to draw all the time, or skip work? I would hate him for that and I wouldn't do it just to please him. So, as long he understands my boundaries, there is no good reason in the world I cannot treat him with the same respect.

As it happens, my life is also very full lately. I get more and more tattoo orders, so I spend more time at work than ever. Also, I have two new album covers to do. Between those and seeing Eve from time to time, talking to my parents, and school, I have less time to think about anything else. I just go with the flow. And the flow is good. It becomes easier and easier to see through other people wishes, to be able to catch what they wished to have on their bodies. I think I became better at living on my own too. I mean I found time to clean up the house and I've found a way to manage my money better. I guess I became a busy little bee, silent and hardworking.

So, almost two months after Eve's party, I was at work perfecting a drawing for an old customer. I had already done his first three tattoos, all on his lower back, and he wanted to cover his entire back now, to find some sort of connection between those which were already there. This customer of mine, he was very passionate about Mayan culture, which in turn made me read and study everything I could find on it. Based on what he had told me and what I had discovered, I was just perfecting the concept for the tattoo, when my phone started ringing.

"Hi there!"

"Hello, my love!" That made me smile. Of course. "How are you today?"

"Well, adding the last details to that monster of tattoo I'll start tomorrow."

"That's my girl! Listen, what would you say if I'd ask you to a romantic dinner tomorrow evening?" He asked in that alluring voice of his, knowing fully well I cannot resist it.

"Well, I'd agree, for sure. But do you have time? Aren't you busy on Thursdays?"

"Not tomorrow, I'm not. I'll be off a little early actually. Which gives me time to cook some dinner for us. I'll be waiting for you when you finish the tattoo."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." I said ending the conversation.

So I had plans for tomorrow evening. Which meant I needed to make plans for the future plans. Firstly, I wanted to buy something nice for our romantic encounter. He doesn't see me very often and I wanted to make the moment special. After work I ran to a place I knew which had very nice lingerie. One of the girls who worked there was a customer of mine. She had actually told me they had brought in a new line and invited me in for some shopping. I must say she wasn't kidding. Everything was nice and sassy. So, while talking to her about her next tattoo, about summer vacation and stuff like that, I settled on a nice pair of black silk and lace patties and a black negligee which cupped my breasts nicely and only covered my ass, barely. After that I went to the cosmetic saloon near my flat where a spent over an hour being plucked and pulled like a chicken. Oh, the things women do!

Last, but not least, I had a good night sleep, with no nightmares or monsters, go figure. Everything was going according to the plan. So, the next day when my customer told me we had to shorten the session because something had appeared in his schedule, I was over the moon. Maybe I could help Jonathan with cooking dinner, if I got there earlier. That would mean more time together. I loved how the planets aligned for us. We deserved a good get-together from time to time.

As soon as I finished cleaning up at the saloon, I picked the overnight bag I had packed and headed straight to Jonathan's. By the loud music I could hear from outside his door I realised he was in a good mood. Ever since he had started working at his company, any disturbance was unwelcome and as he became more tired, any little thing had the power to become a stress factor. Music was one of those. His once beloved CDs remained untouched for months. Hearing music from his apartment was the last proof I needed that this was going to be a great night.

I knocked on the door twice, but I guess he couldn't hear me over La Traviata, or he was busy with the food, and since I had a key, I let myself in. The smell greeting me inside was delicious. I wondered what was he cooking, while hunger started to nudge me in my poor empty stomach. The hallway was dark as I approached the kitchen. I had a pair of dark jeans on, with a simple tank top and all black snickers. Not very festive, but hey, I had that covered for later. A feminine voice stopped me in my tracks.

"You know you cannot possibly want her, Jonathan. You simply cannot. It's absurd!"She said and she launched herself at a silent Jonathan. He caught her easily, hugging her middle, holding her close. She pushed herself a little on her toes and kissed him. And he kissed her back with equal fervency. I remained there, watching my boyfriend and my best friend exchanging bodily fluids like there was no tomorrow.