Man Behind the Mask

Vivienne just got home with Eric from the airport. The two planned a relaxing night in with wine, a movie, and dinner from a nearby restaurant [reader’s choice! Lol]. This was a different kind of evening for them, but Eric was tired from his flight. Vivienne was very happy about it though. Not only was it “romantic”, but during the long road trip she realized how out of hand she was getting. She had never been this much of a partier, and thought back to people she was once close with but lost over time: where their lives ended up, all the things they got into, all the trouble they caused. She didn’t want to be like them. And she hated being babysat by her friends, almost as much as she hated babysitting them.
The two were having a good time cuddling. The night was going a lot better than Vivienne expected. She thought there would be a lot of awkward silences or a one sided conversation, but they were able to come up with ways to keep the conversation going. Both had fun stories to tell; Eric’s were mostly about the team, where Vivienne had to think about things that Eric would find interesting. Eventually though, they sat in a comfortable silence, just watching the movie.
About halfway through, Eric started kissing Vivienne right below her ear, then moved down her neck, and soon the two were rolling around on the couch. Things were getting hot and heavy. They tried to make it up to the bed, but never got as far as the stairs to the loft. Eric, luckily, was prepared.
Although everyone would have thought otherwise, the two hadn’t had sex up until this point. Bumping and grinding on the dance floor had been as far as they got. The tension was there, and each had thought about it to themselves, but Eric’s respect and Vivienne’s integrity and fear of being thought of negatively by her favorite athletes delayed them. The time had come [lol] though, and it was fiery and intense. They started on the table, but moved to a chair, and then to a counter. Tantric Hindus could take a lesson from these two and add it to kama sutra [most Westerns miscall the book as “karma” but it isn’t the same. “Karma” probably comes with our association of Hinduism and Buddhism]. The sex was good. Vivienne didn’t expect less from a man who spent most of his days working out and using his core muscles [totes comes in handy =P], but there was no special connection. Vivienne didn’t really feel anything emotional about it. Though the quality was much better, it felt like every one night stand she’d ever had [not saying she had a lot, but that she’d had some].
Afterward they smiled at each other, exhausted, and decided to move to the bed for some sleep. Late into the night, Vivienne woke up. She sat, thinking to herself about how wrong this was. Vivienne felt like she was leading Eric on, making him feel like she felt more than she does. It wasn’t right. But they were having fun, and she enjoyed going out with him. After mulling it over, Vivienne decided to give the relationship some more time to grow. Maybe things would change if they stayed together a little longer.
Soon, it was December 22nd. Being the gentleman that he is, Marc-Andre decided he would drive to Vivienne’s instead of making her go all the way out to his place. They put on some Christmas movies in the back ground and just hung out for a while, eating cookies, even though it was breakfast time. Vivienne showed him the new additions to her portfolio and works, and also showed her a new sculpture she bought. Marc-Andre didn’t quite understand all of it; art wasn’t his thing. But he took interest because she was interested, and he really admired her talent just as she admired his.
He also helped her decorate her tree, which had been relatively bare. Marc-Andre was able to reach high up, which was a huge help to Vivienne.
“Vero always decorated our tree,” he said. “Viv, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to do this. I thought the holidays were going to be awful. I didn’t think I could move on. Not that I have. I mean, we were together for a long time. Its just…it doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it did. I thought decorating a tree would remind me of something I wanted or missed. But I’m actually very happy. I’m having a great time with you.”
“Really? I’m glad to hear that.”
“Eric is lucky. You are so kind.” Vivienne blushed. “I’m happy to have you as my friend. We haven’t known each other long, but you’ve already done so much for me. You’re helping me get through one of the hardest things in my life. I really appreciate you.” The young woman wasn’t sure how to respond, so instead of using words, they exchanged a warm hug.

After they finished decorating the tree, the two decided to exchange gifts. Marc-Andre was pleased with his dvds, and overly excited about his own batch of cookies. He decided to wear the scarf around the loft, even though it was kept pretty warm.
When it came time for Vivienne to open her gifts, she was very hesitant. She had no idea what to expect. He handed her a bag with tissue paper flowing out of the top. “I’m not good at wrapping, so…” Marc-Andre trailed off.
The first gift she pulled out of the bag was a box from one of her favorite chocolate shops, Edward Marc Chocolatier. Marc-Andre must have made a special trip to the low number side of East Carson Street and suffered through constant playing of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Vivienne opened the box to find it filled with her favorite: chocolate covered raspberries. She smiled wide and didn’t want to open anything else. “Here, eat them with me!” she was so excited.
“Viv those are yours. Don’t share them with anyone,” he smiled. “Open the rest.” Vivienne pulled out a dinosaur stuffed animal, a palette of Crayola watercolors, and a little submarine toy. She gave him an odd look, then found a little envelope. Inside of it was a gift certificate for a Carnegie Museum membership card. The girl couldn’t even talk. Her only reaction was to tackle Marc-Andre onto the couch. She soon realized the position they were in and sat back up, feeling a little guilty but hiding it.
“How did you know I would love this?!”
“I just pay attention to what you say. You’re always talking about art, how the Warhol is one of your favorite places, and the dinosaurs at the natural history museum, so I thought what better gift to get you? Now you can go all the time.”
“This is one of the best gifts I have ever received. Thank you so much!” Vivienne gave him another hug. “Now I feel bad. My gift is so lame compared to yours.”
He shook his head. “Your gift was great. A hand knitted scarf and a batch of homemade cookies would have been perfect, but you got my favorite show too. Thank you.”
“We will have to go together some time.”
“And watch every episode! I’m going to make you a fan of it.”
Soon after, Marc-Andre left to start packing. As soon as he left the apartment, Vivienne called Monica. She wanted to tell her best friend about all of the doubts in her relationship, and how she felt about the goalie, but there was no answer. Instead, she got text from Eric saying he wanted to come over and exchange gifts. He’d been planning on staying in Pittsburgh for the holiday, but his grandfather wanted to see him. Vivienne was a little unprepared, but quickly got his things together.