Chasing Claudia

The afternoon was spent in silence between Luke and I. We had our breakfast and took a walk around Lake Geneva before taking the train down to the French Riviera. But it was that silence that proof to be the best part of the day. It wasn’t what Luke said that made me appreciate him and this journey more. It was the way he was looking at me; that smile, that brushing my hair to the side, the head on the shoulder when he was taking a nap that I find it very sweet. The several days I spent with Luke were more fulfilling than the three years I’ve spent with Vito. The fact it’s going to end soon is going to hurt. I know I have to make what is left of our journey.

We arrived at Nice early evening in time to take in the sunset. I’ve heard many things about the French Riviera from TV shows and magazines but this is more than I can imagine. It was a mix of Miami with the European finesse of Paris. Since we have few days before Luke’s flight was to leave in Barcelona, we decided to spend a few extra days here before making our way to Spain. We’re planning to rent a car in the morning but for now we’re settling into the hotel. Luke wanted to surprise me with the hotel we’re staying at so I was surprised that we were heading east towards Monaco for our destination for the night.

When we arrived I was surprised that we got ourselves a resort instead of a cheap hotel. It was one of those resorts you see in the movies; right on the water, overlooking the Mediterranean. What’s even better is that we got ourselves a suite instead of a basic room. I don’t know what Luke was thinking but this is beyond what I could dream about.

“Wow.” Was all I can say as I took in the room. “You didn’t have to do this. I would’ve been okay with a basic room or even some cheap B&B.”

“I figured since you never had a honeymoon and this is like our ‘fake honeymoon’, might as well indulge a bit.” Luke lay down the bed and relaxed while I went outside to the patio. “I’m not worth all of this.”

“Yeah you are.” He got up and wrapped his arms around my waist. If this was Florence, I would’ve told him to back off. But now we got to know each other, it felt second nature to me. “How about this; get dressed and let’s hit the town.” He whispered in my ear as I giggled of what he had in mind.

“How far are we from Monte-Carlo?”

“From what I read on Google Maps, it’s a half hour.”

“How about you put on your best and I put on mine and we hit the infamous casino.” I turned around to him, giving him a mischievous look. “You can be James Bond for one night.”

“Are you sure? We just got here.”

“Come on. Be impulsive. I like a little danger.” I winked as I made my way to the bathroom to change. I only had one more outfit left before using my same clothes again. I have a red dress that I was going to use in Rome but decided this would be a better time for it. My curled my hair to make myself into one of those Bond Girls; sexy and confident. Once I applied my makeup I was ready to hit the town.

After getting a taxi, we crossed over to Monaco and went to the famous casino in town. I never had been to a casino, not even in Atlantic City. However, even if I went to one at the Jersey Shore, that would’ve been crap compared to this. We didn’t play any of the games there. We just pretend to be VIPs and be seen. Luke already has those model looks to pull it off so by default, I was able to pull it off. If this was back home, I would’ve never be able to even step out of my house looking like I’m a hot piece of ass. Suddenly I had this hot shot gambler asking me to be with him on the crap table. I was kissing the dice as good luck as he was winning some money on the table. Luke was cool enough to sneak some pictures of that since the casino has a no-pictures policy. In the end, that gambler gave me a third of his winnings, which was about €1,000 or nearly $2,000 in Canadian money.

We’ve made it back to the hotel after 2am, with extra money to spare. I felt like staying up all night and take in the view but Luke was feeling tired and went to sleep. Not wanting to leave him alone, I joined him. I looked at him for a moment as he slept, wondering how he could still be single. Any sane woman would love to have a man like him. I didn’t care if he was an athlete but he’s very charming and sweet. I brushed his golden brown hair taking in how soft it felt. I moved my hand to his perfect face, tracing along his jaw line and cheeks. He has a boyish face yet has a man’s body. My hand continued to tease his bare back as I touched very lightly. If I did this to Vito, he would’ve been very upset as he loves his sleep. By the looks of his face, he was actually enjoying it. I moved lower to the waistband of his boxer briefs and wondered if I should touch his butt. Just as I made my decision to stay off his booty, his hand reached my back and started to do the exact same thing I did to him. Even though the contact was very light, it was also very erotic. With Vito, he wanted to just skip the foreplay and be done within 30 seconds. His hand landed right at the small of my back as he pushed me towards him so our bodies can touch. I can feel his erection pressing on my area, even though both of us were wearing underwear. I placed my hand on his butt and began to rub is oh so gently, giving him a hint that I liked it. He returned the favor by placing his hand on my butt. A part of me wants to kiss him, just to give in. But this was more than enough to want to get out of bed and take a very cold shower. So instead of jumping on him, I decided to just have our foreheads touch and fall asleep. We’ll probably forget about that in the morning.

The breeze from the sea couldn’t be more comforting, especially right now. After what had happened last night, I needed something to cool down. However, when I woke up, Luke wasn’t there. I notice on the desk that had my name on it. After I got up and read the note. “Meet me downstairs after 10” was all it was said on the note. After I took my shower and got dressed, I went downstairs to meet up with Luke, who was waiting at the courtyard.

“I grabbed you something small and thought we should take in the great day ahead of us.” Luke handed me a bag that contains a croissant and an apple.

“Thanks. What happened this morning?” I asked as I took a bite off my croissant.

“Since we’re here for a couple of days, we might as well us a different form of transportation.” Luke pulled me to the driveway of the hotel to show me a Ferrari.

“You’re crazy!” I walked around the car and thought of Luke possibly taking me on a drive on that same road Cary Grant and Grace Kelly took in “To Catch A Thief”.

“So wanna take it for a test run?” He winked as he opened the door to let me in.

Luke would take that exact road overlooking the sea and couldn’t help but take in its beauty. I never rode on an open air car, much less a Ferrari. It felt liberating, dangerous, and exciting at the same time. We got out of the car to take a picture of ourselves with the sea as our background. He didn’t stop there. We went northwest by going to the Provence region. It was a nice day to just relax and drive around. I’m glad I had great company like Luke.

After dropping off the Ferrari, we took a bus back to the beach and walk along the promenade. The whole day was perfect and what a better way to end than a walk along the beach. I admit, this isn’t New Brunswick or New York, but the people who sunbathe and go into the sea make the beach popular here. We climbed over the wall and jumped into the rocky beach. Good thing we had a blanket with us to sit on.

“Had a fun time today?” Luke whispered as I look to the sunset ahead of me.

“Of course I did.” I placed my head on his shoulder as I listen to the sea and his soothing voice. “It was one of the best days ever. I can’t believe in two days we’re going to separate.”

“I know. Let’s just make the best of it. Pretend I’m actually married to you and this is the last night of our honeymoon. By the way, you’re absolutely beautiful, especially how your hair blows with the wind.”

“You’re not bad yourself. So if this is our ‘honeymoon’, how are we going to end this perfect day?” I whispered as being close to him is making me both nervous and excited. At that moment, Luke lifts my cheeks and kissed me. I haven’t kissed him since the day at the train station but that kiss was a joke. This kiss was everything I could hope for and more. Our lips meshed together, not having a beginning or an end. I didn’t want the kiss to end when Luke got up and took my hand. As I got up he leaned in and kissed me again. I pulled him closer so he won’t let go. He slightly bit my lip as I pushed my tongue into his hungry mouth. At that moment, I want to forget everyone back in St. Leonard. This was my moment, mines alone. “We should head back.” I was breathless as Luke and I walked back to our hotel, waiting what is to come.

Waking up the next morning, I noticed a familiar face sharing my pillow. Luke looked like a little boy finally opened that gift he wanted on Christmas Day. Even though he and I did not end up having sex, his cuddles and kisses made it up for it. I truly wanted to but Mother Nature had other plans last night. I just wanted to be close to him.

“Luke… I don’t want to go home.” I whispered as I looked at him.

“Don’t go.” He moaned back as he pulled me close to him. “Stay with me.”