I took a deep breath, my mind flashing to the hours I'd spent studying videos and reading articles about how to kiss; wikihow to the rescue, and mortifying to say some porn sites.
Richard turned to me with an expectant look, and I gave him a reassuring smile. I can do this, I will do this, I kept saying to myself. He leaned in, and I remembered everything we talked about; Trust. Focus. Breathe.
I took a step toward him, meeting him halfway, and closed my eyes. His lips brushed mine, tentatively and then I opened my lips, giving him access. I felt him stiffen 'Who is the chicken now?'
Something shifted, I don't know if it was the softness of his lips or the way his thumb stroked my face. I felt my body give in and totally relax wanting a little bit more. I deepened the kiss and stepped closer, my body no longer mine, my reflexes foreign to me. My hands moved to his chest and his hands around my waist. I couldn't tell how long we were standing there, bodies merged, lips tangled, but I felt bliss. The sensation moved to my lower extremities, the butterflies in my stomach fluttering with joy. If I could enter further into him, I would have. I felt … love.
When we finally pulled apart and I opened my eyes, Richard was staring at me with shock and admiration. "Wow," he said low and breathlessly. "That was..."
I felt my cheeks heat up and I was sure I was a shameless shade of red. "I did a lot of reading…"
Richard grinned, "Well, you aced this test,"
We had totally forgotten the priest was standing there and there were people around us. The crowd was applauding and cheering but I was entirely focused on Richard. I saw the pride in his eyes and I must say, I was proud of myself.
The ceremony continued at the reception, with more pictures, more handshakes, more well-wishing from relatives and family friends who had traveled from all over, some slow dancing for a few minutes but the highlight of my entire day in that one moment when Richard's lips explored mine. I kept thinking about it and smiling to myself.
As we posed for more pictures, I could feel Richard's hand lightly on my lower back, I hadn't even noticed it was there. He kept stealing glances at me, checking my reaction to every move we made.
Today, on my wedding day, I learned that I was falling in love with Richard Junior Numero.
*****
The drive to the resort was quiet, I guess we were both exhausted. The champagne from the party was still messing with my brain and balance, suffice to say, I was very tipsy.
When we arrived at the resort booked by my now official mother–in–law, the entire area was beautiful. We saw some other couples taking strolls and lazying around. I wondered about their love story. The stone path leading up to our designated apartment was lined with electric candles casting a romantic glow to the evening. Richard opened the door and gestured for me to enter.
"I am really sorry about this, I couldn't change my mother's mind,"
I stepped inside, and I froze in shock. Shouldn't there be a rehearsal for this too? It was one room, okay, it was large with a king-sized bed in the middle of the room, and a small living area with a tiny couch, a coffee table, and a breathtaking view of the gardens in the distance but still…It was one room with one bed.
"and the hell begins," I muttered. "Okay, how is this supposed to work?"
"I can squeeze into the couch," he pointed in the corner.
I looked at the couch and back at him, taking in his height. "It's funny you think you can fit in that,"
"uh… the floor?"
"Richard, we are going to spend two weeks here, I can't let you sleep on the floor. We can share the bed, it's quite big, I think,"
Richard shuffled on his feet, mulling the thought over. "Look, I am proud of you for getting through the church service but I don't think we should push our luck. You think you can handle me sleeping next to you in nothing but a pair of shorts. I will take the floor at least for today and we figure out the rest of the days,"
I nodded and walked further into the room. The potters brought in our luggage and Richard tipped them. I grabbed the one that belonged to me to look for something to change into. Why wasn't I shocked that my mum had added quite the lingerie set in there? I fished for a shorts and a t-shirt and headed into the adjoining bathroom to get my dress off.
"Nita?... you alright in there?" Richard knocked on the bathroom door a few minutes later and I opened the door with an exasperated look on my face.
"I can't get the dress off."
"Is it something I can help with?"
"I just need the zip undone,"
"that I can do," he stepped into the bathroom with me and I turned my back to him. he grabbed the zipper pull, his fingers brushing my shoulder lightly, a simple touch that I felt in the tip of my toes, and pulled it down. Before I could say thank you, he was out of the bathroom. I had a bath, changed my clothes, and stepped back into the bedroom.
It was empty. Richard wasn't in the room, I thought he may have stepped outside to get a look around the resort. I sat on the small two-seater sofa to watch some TV for a bit. Maybe it was the alcohol still in my system but I felt the need to talk to Richard, to see him before going to bed.
Exhausted from the day's events, I dozed off. I woke up again around midnight and he wasn't in yet. I got a bit worried, I walked out of the room into the dark night and looked around. I walked to the car park and saw that the car we came with wasn't there.
I went back into the room and fished my phone out of my bag and dialed. After a couple of rings, I heard the click of the call connecting and a high-pitched female voice came through
"Hello…,"