THE ORIGINAL NOVEL WAS WRITTEN IN SPANISH, I APOLOGIZE FOR THE TRANSLATION. IF YOU WANT TO READ IT IN SPANISH LOOK FOR IT UNDER THE SAME PSEUDONYM AND BY NAME "GIRO DEL DESTINO"
I left the room on my way to the kitchen to help Christian with whatever it took and I almost had a heart attack when I saw him. Her hair was wet, completely untidy, as it fell seductively on her forehead. He was facing the stove, wearing a T-shirt and a cargo shorts while his feet were barefoot. He was very focused on whatever he was doing on the stove while holding the pan in one hand and stirring what he was doing with the other.
—I can help you with something. —I told him as I cleared my throat.
—Yes, hand me the cup with the broth. —he said to me as I went over to the counter and handed him the cup with the broth on it.
I was very curious about what he was doing. The truth was that I had never imagined Christian cooking, but seeing him was even better.
—I hope you like Risotto. —he said to me as he briefly turned to me. Well, at least now I knew what he was cooking. —Pass me the tomato paste. —he said again as I picked up the jar and handed it to him.
—I don't really know, I've never tried it. - I answered with a shrug.
And that's how we ended up cooking, him asking for things and me reaching out. The truth was that even though I had never tasted risotto before, I was willing to do it because the aroma that exhaled was delicious. As soon as we finished making dinner Christian covered it up and turned to me looking at his watch.
—Just in time, come on. —he said as he reached out his hand to me.
—Where to? - he was thinking of going out now.
—You're about to see the best of the apartment. —he said as he smiled.
I took his hand in doubt and, as so many times before, every time our hands touched, I felt that delicious current running through my body again. He led me to where the dark curtain was and stopped there.
—Close your eyes. —he asked me in a slight whisper and as I did so he put one of his hands on my face.
—Don't you trust me to keep my eyes closed? —I asked him.
—Not much. —he said as he felt something slip away. —Watch your step. —he said as he covered my eyes with both hands and guided me.
After climbing three steps we continued walking for several meters while a strong air hit us, so I imagined we were on a balcony. It took a moment there covering my eyes while I was getting more and more anxious.
—It's a long way off. —I told him as I felt him laugh behind me, sticking his body to mine.
—Open your eyes. — whispered in my ear as he took his hands out of my eyes and I opened them at that moment.
And then I was amazed at what I saw. Before me was the best view in all of New York, bathed in orange and blue tones that gave way to sunset as the sun slowly set in the distance over the Hudson River. In front of me stood the One World Trade Center, reflecting in its crystals the remains of the sun that was already disappearing. I had never seen anything so beautiful, I had admired the most diverse views of the city, but never anything like this. It's one of those times when you most want a camera to take a picture. That was it! I ran out to the room while I heard Christian say something behind me that I didn't hear. I looked for my cell phone and quickly returned to Christian who looked at me worried about my career. As soon as he saw my cell phone in my hand, he understood. I activated the camera and captured the wonderful scene several times, until the sun had fully set. The truth was that I had literally been speechless at what I had seen, never before had I been speechless at anything, even when I had first climbed the viewpoint of the Empire State Building.
—Aren't you going to say anything? —asked Christian to my face still in amazement.
—At the moment I can't find a phrase to describe what I just saw. — I said to him as he smiled silly.
—Believe me, the same thing happened to me the first time I saw him, and I have one that sums it up perfectly.
—And that would be...
—The perfection can be found even in something as simple as a sunset.
—I won't deny it, you're absolutely right about that. —I told him as I admired the view in the other directions.
In the distance you could see the rest of the city beginning to light up before the approaching night, which was already fast approaching. Among all the skyscrapers, the second tallest in the city, the Empire State Building stands out today with its white lights. On the terrace at one end that I had not noticed there was a table with two chairs under a tent. Suddenly a chill ran down me completely, the truth was that there was much more air now.
—Let's have dinner before it gets cold. —Christian told me as we both walked into the apartment and he locked the door behind me.
Christian wouldn't let me do anything, asked me to sit at the bar and he would serve the food. And so he did. He served both dishes and after putting two glasses on the counter and bringing a bottle of wine he sat down next to me.
—Cabernet Sauvignon? — he asked me, showing me the bottle.
—I don't know anything about wine. —I honestly told him the truth was that I didn't know a lot of things.
—Me neither, I only know the ones I like, this one's good. —he said as he poured wine into both glasses.
We ate a quiet meal, the dinner was really good. I never imagined new things would be so delicious.
—Thanks for dinner, it was delicious. — I told him as I smiled sincerely at him.
—You're welcome to that. —he said as he got up from the bar picking up the dishes, ready to wash up.
—No, let me, you cooked the fairest thing is for me to scrub. —I answered by getting up too and picking up the glasses.
—You helped me. —he said to me as he raised an eyebrow and bowed his head sideways.
—Shall we agree on something? —I asked him as we both smiled.
—How about we do it together. —he told me and I finally decided to accept. —I'll scrub and you dry. —and saying this we got down to business
Christian was washing the dishes, the cutlery, and the frying pan and passing them on to me to dry them. The truth is that we finished faster than I thought we would. As soon as we finished he took again the glasses and the bottle of wine that was still in the middle.
—Let's sit down so we can talk. —he said to me as he gestured towards the living room.
I went out in front of him and sat on the sofa as he sat next to me leaving a space between us. I really appreciated that gesture. Although a small part of me wanted it as close as possible, the other part told me to take it easy. He poured a little more wine into both glasses and after passing me one we began to talk, asking him the first question.
—How long have you lived in New York? — That question was easy to answer.
—Since I was granted the University almost 4 years ago. —I told him to give my wine a drink.
—I see you've adapted well to city life. —he said spinning the wine in his glass.
—That's true, I like New York. — I answered him by lying on the back of the sofa while this time I gave a long drink of wine to my glass.
For a moment Christian stared at me over his glass while he had a drink too.
— And you? —I asked him very curiously.
— Me? — he repeated.
—I understand you moved out two years ago. — I told him as he looked at me in amazement.
— I see you're well informed, I've lived here for two years. —he said to me, smiling madly, making my breathing accelerate.
—And do you like New York? —I asked him curiously, I wanted to know what had happened in his life all this time.
—I don't dislike it, but I'd prefer a quieter place, with less noise.
— Yeah, there's always movement here at either 7:00 or 2:00 a.m. —I replied with a smile.
—The city that never sleeps, that's why I like this apartment so much, there is a lot of peace and quiet. —he said as he lay down on the couch.
—Yeah, you're up here away from all sound. —I said as I watched him squinting.
And for a moment we looked each other in the eyes. The truth was that I felt very comfortable with Christian, that hadn't changed. Whenever I was next to him I felt the same way. And there was so much peace, so much silence. For a moment I hesitated to ask him where he had been before coming to New York, but I took a deep breath and asked him.
—So you'll tell me where you were before you moved to New York. —and saying this he looked at me very seriously.
His countenance changed completely from cheerful and smiling to serious and cold. I said something I shouldn't have?
At that moment the smile on her face that had been there for only a few minutes disappeared completely and was replaced by a firm, hard line and a staring, penetrating look. What had happened? I just asked him where he'd been all this time. After looking at me like that for a long time, he gave his glass of wine a drink before answering.
—In London. —he said as he looked at me without smiling.
And I didn't know whether or not I should ask him the question that had been on my mind for a long time.
—Can I ask you something? —he hesitated before nodding his head in reply.
That gave me the courage I needed to ask him the question.
—Why didn't you ever communicate with me when you left?
He didn't answer anything, he just stared at me, took the bottle of wine and filled both glasses, took a drink at his and then stared at me very seriously.
—Anastasia, please don't ask questions about the past, I don't like to talk about it and much less about my stay in London. —he said all this very seriously, so seriously that he seemed to be angry with me.
What had happened in London that made him not want to talk about it? It would be better not to try to probe into the matter then, I didn't want him to look at me like he was doing at the time. It was best to change the subject no matter how curious I was. I'd see in time if I could get some more detailed information out of him.
—Then you studied fine arts. —I asked him, and I could see a hint of a smile on his face.
—Yes. — he said as he stared me in the eyes, but this time he did not look serious or upset.
—I didn't know you could paint. — I told him very curiously.
—There are many things you do not know about me Anastasia, and that seems to be one of them. —he said with a smile.
—I remember you were going to medical school. —at least that was something I remembered from the past.
I remembered our conversations sitting in the front door of the house, I remembered the way he laughed, the way he looked at me and how he made me feel, that hadn't changed much.
—You see, things change. —he said as he gave his glass a drink and put it on the table.
—Yes, you're right. — I said as I smiled slightly at him and looked into our eyes.
But I didn't know how much Christian had changed and that was something I was going to have to discover little by little. Now I was more convinced that something had happened in London before, something he did not like to talk about. I left my glass on the table just like him and decided to lie down, the truth was that I was exhausted, I needed to rest and the amount of wine I had drunk had me half tipsy and that was not very good.
—If you don't mind Christian I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted. —I told him as I got off the couch.
—No, it's okay, go get some rest. —he told me as he sat up on the couch.
—Good night. —I told him as I turned to leave.
—Aren't you going to kiss me good night? — And I turned around at that moment to watch him.
Christian was looking at me with a smile on his face.
—I don't know if you deserve it. — I said smiling at him as I stared at him, too.
— At least one on the cheek, don't you think. - he said as he pointed to his cheek for a kiss.
I approached where he was, bowed my lips to his cheek and at the last moment when my lips were very close to his face he turned around uniting his lips with mine. Our lips rubbed slightly and after I separated I could see how he laughed like a naughty little boy when he did something evil.
—Good night, Anastasia. —he told me as he lay down on the couch again and I left the living room on my way to the room.
As soon as I entered the room I took off all my clothes and put on a long T-shirt that reached above my knee, this was not the same one I slept in at home, it was new, I didn't really imagine myself standing in front of Christian in my old T-shirt. I lay down on the bed and took my cell phone to see again the images I had taken of the sunset. The truth is, it was a splendid view. I checked for a missed call or a message but there was nothing. I put my cell phone on one of the bedside tables, laid my head on the pillow, closed my eyes and fell asleep.