For us.
“Come with me, I’ll take us to the hotel, you’ll love it, I promise,” he said, and I believed him. He had a way about him that made a woman want to trust him after all.
I was told that Cuba was all old fashioned cars, and that sounded awful to me. But when we got to his vehicle, it was actually shiny and modern, very comfortable. He put my things into the trunk, and then offered me a seat inside. It was a two-seater, very swanky with a convertible roof. I’d tell you the name of the car, but I don’t know dick about them, hun, sorry.
The sun shone down so bright and lovely as he drove us along the coast, the heat would’ve easily been too much for me but there was always a lovely breeze off the ocean adding to the wind that whipped by.
We chatted on the way, those beautiful lips of his having no shortage of interesting things to say. He told me all about his life on the island, growing up. And while I usually nodded off during such things, I actually wanted to know more about Romy’s life.
The hotel itself was pretty nice, in Havana itself, not in one of those touristy resorts everyone else was going to. I’d heard all the resorts were filled with nothing but stuffy old tourists, and who wants a vacation like that? The hotel was an older style, well kept. Though everything was looking so much sunnier with Romy guiding me along.
He took my things up to my room for me and I got a glimpse of the large, spacious area, and the big king sized bed. There was a balcony overlooking the ocean, and the sight was delightful.
“I hope you approve,” he remarked, placing my luggage down and showing me about the place. “I picked this all out for you myself,” he said, and it’s true. I hired him to look after all the details of my trip for me.
My parents spared no expense, not after how much I pleaded and begged and bargained. If they wanted me to do well in College, I argued, I had to be well rested and prepared.
So the hotel was likely one of the best in the city, but I still looked around it like I was used to nicer things and places. I didn’t want Romy to get too swollen of a head. Not yet.
“Oh, it’ll do fine.”
The smile he gave me held a sparkle, and it was like he could read right through me and see I was more than approving of it all.
“If you are hungry,” he remarked, opening the balcony doors open wide, “I can have food brought up, or we could go downstairs and eat. Or I could even show you some lovely spots to dine around town. I know all the best, either way,” he boasted.
“Oh… I suppose I might as well have a taste of the town,” I said. Even though I was practically starving by that point, he made his knowledge of the town sound so intimate, I just wanted to rush out and see what he had to show me.
The streets of Havana were beautiful, old fashioned but lively and well kept. The kind of thing I probably wouldn’t have appreciated if not for the handsome man guiding me down the streets to the lovely restaurant overlooking the historic city.
Everything was so tall, but it wasn’t like home. The side streets were narrow and filled with people and colour, and the main streets were flooded with noise. Beautiful, shiny cars drove by in outlandish colours that would’ve been gaudy if it didn’t seem to fit in with the city so well.
A bunch of schoolgirls in blue rushed ahead of us, glancing back at Romy and giggling before they took off down a side street. Some people glanced at us as we walked at a leisurely pace that I wasn’t quite used to but it seemed that was how everyone walked. Leisurely.
To get to the restaurant itself, we had to climb these winding, narrow stairs, and I thought for a moment on how strange it seemed. But once we got to the top, it was a beautiful place. Old fashioned but classy, with a live band and some other, well-to-do tourists sitting down with locals, talking, enjoying drinks and good looking food.
“I think you should try the special,” Romy said to me, nodding with a smile
to the manager or owner before guiding me to a table and pulling out the seat for me. “I hope you eat meat,” he asked, “because the pork here is excellent.”
I wasn’t a very adventurous eater, truly. Though something in me made me not want to admit that. Which was, honestly, a first. Usually everyone knew how I felt just as soon as I did.
I brushed some of my straight, blonde hair behind my ear, looking at him. Just drinking him in.
What my parents didn’t know, was that I had a plan. A plan so that I never had to go to school again.
I smiled seductively at Romy. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
He ordered for me and the meal was delightful, the drinks delicious, the music so calming and pleasant. Yet it was the company that truly made the evening special.
“I have a confession to make,” Romy said, smiling at me across the table as we savoured our drinks as the sun slowly made its way to setting.
“What’s that?” I asked, batting my long, curved lashes at him as I tilted my head back, letting my blond hair slip away from my slender neck a little.
“You are far younger and more beautiful than my usual clientele, Julia. By leaps and bounds unmeasurable,” he said before raising his mojito to me in toast.
I couldn’t help but feel smug at that, and I let the top of my foot graze against his calf as if by accident.
“Oh really, Romy?” I purred, leaning in and letting my shirt fall away from my chest a little bit.