If Loving You is Wrong

11: Consequences

Liana walked up to her apartment building and turned to fish in her handbag for her keys. She lived in the duplex with Emilia who had left earlier that morning to meet Julian in London. They had really hit it off on the yacht so Emilia went to see what could come of that without other people around.

Liana had chosen to come back to her apartment simply because she needed some time alone.

If she went back to London or even to her family home in Brazil; her parents would ask questions and want to be involved and she just wasn't ready to talk about it.

What would she really say to her mother anyway?

I had an incredible one night stand with a guy I barely know and when I woke up the next morning he was gone?

She definitely couldn't tell her father that! For all she knew; he probably still thought she was a virgin!

She'd only slept with one other person before Antonio; her ex-boyfriend Chris but that had ended almost a year ago. They'd been together since she was nineteen; and while he was her first love; he wasn't The One.

Liana had never had a solid concept of The One before but having met Antonio; it had felt like a tangible thing. It was absurd to think so strongly about someone she didn't know but she couldn't deny how drawn she was to him from the minute she'd laid eyes on him.

"Oh shit," she said as she dropped her keys.

As she bent to pick them up and reached out, another hand did the same.

"Let me."

Liana looked up and to her complete surprise; Antonio was standing there.

For all of a millisecond, she was ecstatic that he was there and her heart practically swelled with excitement. As quickly as that feeling came however; anger replaced it viciously;

"Get the hell away from me!" she snapped at him as she rose to her feet; he had picked up her keys.

"Liana please,"

"No, no you don't Liana please or Liana anything to me! Give me my keys and get the hell out of here!"

She hated that he looked so delicious dressed entirely in black; jeans, loafers, sweater and leather jacket.

"Please just let me explain,"

"Explain what, how you fucked me and left me like some tramp!"

He didn't say anything right away and she was annoyed at herself that she had wanted him to deny it quicker.

Had he really thought she was worth nothing at all?

"Liana...it wasn't like that at all."

"No, then what was it like?" she challenged as he looked away, seemingly ashamed but his eyes still hooded.

"Can we talk inside please? I don't think you want your neighbours listening in on this."

Liana pursed her lips together in annoyance before holding out her hands for her keys and Antonio handed them to her. She opened the door to the complex without another word and led him inside.

Once they were inside her apartment; she threw her bags on the floor by the door and folded her arms across her chest,

"Talk,"

"Can't we sit down?"

"No, you wont be staying long. Give me this explanation and get out."

"Liana please don't be like this...I didn't want to leave you."

He didn't want to leave her?

Liana hated that she'd hung on to that little word,

"No, then why did you Antonio? You kissed me and said it was a mistake. You touched me and said it was a mistake then fucked me and disappeared so what am I supposed to think?"

"Can you stop saying that...it wasn't like that and you know it. Sure, it was heated but we didn't fuck...don't demean it."

Okay, so he had felt something during their time together. Why then did he walk away from her without even a goodbye?

"I know we barely know each other but I don't understand why you thought it okay to treat me like that."

"Its not okay, I know its not. I was going through some things and you got caught in the middle and I sincerely apologise. I don't know what more I can say."

"If that's your explanation then I think you can leave now."

"Do you really want me to?"

Just like that, he had her because in her heart of hearts, she didn't. she'd had an incredible night with this man and despite his treatment of her and his totally unworthy reason; she didn't want him to leave.

"Why did you kiss me?"

"I saw you at the restaurant and found you attractive. When I saw you again, I thought it was some kind of fate I guess and had to kiss you."

"Why did you say it was a mistake?" he sighed,

"Your best friends with my best friend's fiancé and youre practically a child. I shouldn't have been thinking about kissing you much less doing it...same with our intimacy outside your bedroom."

Liana was taken back,

"I am not a child,"

"Liana, I am thirteen years older than you."

There wasn't anything much to say to that but it didn't mean she agreed;

"Why did you leave without saying anything?"

From the look on his face, Antonio seemed to understand that his response was pivotal to what happened next between them. He stepped a little closer to her so he could reach out and unfold her arms; and slowly placed them around his neck; bringing them closer together.

He smelled wonderful and he was just as stunning as she remembered; his deep green eyes looking into the depths of her soul.

"I didn't want to have to say goodbye," he said quietly as thought it pained him to admit it. "I didn't want to see your face when I told you that I had nothing to offer you."

"Offer me? Antonio, I don't even know your last name, what could I possibly want from you? Don't I even get the chance to decide for myself?"

She saw him think it over and realised that the thought probably hadn't occurred to him,

"You're young...you have your whole life ahead of you."

"I am young but I can choose who I wish to spend my time with. It was completely unfair for you to assume I would want something serious from you just because I'm younger."

"So you don't...want anything serious?" Liana chuckled,

"Antonio, I hadn't thought about it. I'm angry because we had sex and you disappeared; not because I needed anything specific afterward."

Antonio continued to look down at her and she saw calculations working in his eyes,

"So you would be open to something...casual? I mean, I work a lot and you're at school and..." Liana reached up and put her finger on his lips to silence him.

"I'm open," she said before removing her finger and kissing him lightly. "To doing whatever comes naturally."

"Good," he said quietly. "then can we naturally progress this to your bedroom so I can make love to you?"

Liana looked deep into Antonio's eyes and saw the plead inside them. He wanted her, she could tell; and now that their intentions were out in the open, perhaps she could get to know him properly.

She knew she was taking a tremendous leap of faith to have even listened to his explanation but she owed it to her heart and the feeling deep in her gut; to continue what she started; no matter the consequences.