Zenovia
I never admired such a man before. Obviously, this was the first. He had short brown hair in a classic scissor cut. In my guesstimate, if he would stand up, he was a six-foot guy. Even in a simple blue V-neck shirt and a pair of black jeans, sported with black-and-white loafers, he looked like a model right out of the magazine and came to life. His nose was straight and long that seemed to be perfectly sculpted it was almost impossible! His eyebrows were a bit thick and almost the same shade as his hair. And then, my sinful eyes dropped lower, to his peach-looking lips. Never had I ogled a man before, and it was the lips to top it off!
My throat suddenly went dry, as he still held my gaze. Or rather, stare.
I did forget where we were for a long moment. I had no idea how long I stared at him like that—like a schoolgirl gawping at her ultimate crush. Now that was both mortifying and pathetic. But then there was a nagging feeling that urged me to speak to him.
As soon as the organ stopped and the show was brought to its finale, I stood up but hesitated when a lively older lady held his arm, as though to get his attention. She leaned in closer to tell him something.
Căcat! (Crap!) I thought he was just alone but it turned out he was with an older woman. Was she his Sugar Mummy? Because I couldn’t say she was his mother since there were no similarities in them. She was really so elegant and beautiful for a woman her age, which I guessed in her fifties. She looked really rich, judging by the jewelries she wore and the nice dress she had on. She was slim and tanned with dark blonde hair. There was a jolly vibe in her as she smiled at him, walked ahead of him and disappeared with the crowd that slowly strolled out of the church.
And then I saw him standing there, still staring at me.
‘Should I just go approach him and pretend to say something and see what he’ll say afterwards?’ I asked myself. ‘Maybe I should, right? I am the one who needs a child. And for that to happen, I need a sperm donor who’s all too willing to give up the child to me! He must just be the right one, since he has a Sugar Mummy, and he will most probably just think we’re going to have an affair that will not bind him to me. I guess this is a good plan! Maybe even great.’
Ah, Doamne! Where had my morality gone?
Nonetheless, I drew a deep breath and smiled at him.
‘All right! Let’s do this! I’m going to do this. I can do it, can’t I?’ I tried to think positive. With all the negative things that happened in my life, I should be positive even for once!
Not to brag, Antonia always said I had a stunning smile. If I gave it to a man, she was sure the man would melt. Well, it was being tested right now.
Still, I thought this was a bad idea and a bad plan, but I couldn’t just go on with my life all alone. I wanted to have someone that I could hold and call my own. And that’s a baby!
‘Okay, keep smiling, Zenovia. It’s for the sake of having a baby!’ I told myself, not leaving my eyes from the stranger’s handsome face. I had no idea if he was Romanian or not. But most probably not. So I guess I should talk to him in English.
“Hi!” I greeted him almost too enthusiastic for my liking while my heart pumped really hard against my rib cage.
He beamed back at me, with that mysterious kind of smile. Or was it a confused one because I was talking to him? Now I had no idea!
“Hey,” he drawled.
Oh, căcat! His voice was low, deep and so sexy! I had to look around us to check if we were not yet in a room since he used such a bedroom voice. Now what did I know about bedroom voices?
Doamne!
But then when I heard his voice, there was this kind of subtle electricity that travelled from him and went straight to my abdomen and down my core. My femininity throbbed for some reason. It was odd.
His stunning sea green eyes assessed me more, as I got closer to him. I noticed his lashes were long and really nice to gawk at. Also, he smelled… yummy and addictive. It was musky and pure masculine, and my brain recorded all of him at this very moment.
“You… were not supposed to record anything,” I whispered to him conspiratorially.
He chuckled softly, which showed his even white teeth. Oh, Doamne! The sound of it made my heart dance for some reason. This was really odd. No one had ever made me feel something like this. But căcat! My opening line was so lame! I just realised it. But then again, I wasn’t an expert in approaching guys, since I’d never done it before. It was always the other way around, but then I always snubbed them.
“Can I invite you somewhere for some refreshments?” he asked instead, eyes darting outside. Maybe he was looking at the weather outside or he was anticipating for his Sugar Mummy to come back and that he didn’t want her to see us talking. Maybe his Sugar Mummy was territorial or something, and he didn’t want trouble inside The Black Church. That would be epic or a scandal at that, if I must say!
Now, I did get his accent. Russian. My heart made a cartwheel because of it. This was even better! He wasn’t Romanian, and it would be easy for me to keep the child if he would agree to my proposal, which I’d tell him later. Moreover, I guess my smile did wonders just like Antonia assured me many times before. He was still staring at me like he wouldn’t want to look at another being or object ever but me.
So, I gave him another stunning smile of mine that showed my little dimple in the left lower corner of my lips. “Won’t your beautiful companion mind if we do?” I subtly mined for more information about him.
He chuckled again. “That was my Aunt Marisha, my late father’s younger sister, if you want to know. My name’s Maksimillian Usmanov, by the way,” he said, extending his right hand.
Doamne! He was so polite.
I looked at his strong-looking hand. His forearm was well-muscled and so was his arm. His shirt wasn’t large or small but it did fit him nicely, showing off his great physique. I could tell even without seeing that he had washboard abs to die for!
I had no idea how it came to mind, but there was something about him that made me guess and feel good that I guessed right… or something along those lines.
Without thinking, my hand just moved to clasp his warm one. My smaller hand seemed to get lost in his, and he gave it a gentle squeeze while he looked at me in the eye.
“It’s nice to meet you, Maksimillian. I’m Zenovia Cuza. You can call me Zen if you want,” I gently replied to him with a toothpaste endorser-type of smile.
“Oh, you have no idea what I want to call you!” he muttered in a teasing tone, still holding my hand as if he didn’t want to let it go.
I didn’t know but his words and his gesture made the butterflies flutter in my stomach.
‘Could he really be the one?’ I wondered once again.