Free Ophelia by Jude Ouvrard Page B

different. He hadn’t traveled all the way here just to see me. We had to explore the beautiful country of Australia.
    I sat at small piano in the living room and started to play while Teo was showering. One of the things he loved was me playing in the morning. He once said that it calmed him and helped him focus positively on the day.
    I played a piece called Sun, which I had written mostly in our apartment in San Diego. We had a breathtaking view and it inspired me to write music. I used to play this piece to Clara when she was a little baby. It’s a soft melody with a relaxing tone to it, and it would calm her right away when she had a tummy ache or had been crying. Sun was scheduled to be the first piece I was going to play at the concert.  Every piece was chosen to tell a story and I had placed them in a specific order.
    I had put so many hours into this last-minute project, I was exhausted, but my mind couldn’t let go. The concerto had to be perfect. I hadn’t heard Teo coming out of the bathroom, but I could feel him behind me, getting closer. The vibrations I felt around him were awakening my senses.
    “Don’t move. Let me look at you.” His voice screamed eroticism. I didn’t move, I followed his orders, but I was dying to see him. My fingers rested on the keys, not sure if I should’ve kept playing or not.  “Play for me, baby.” I continued with Sun but distraction made it harder to concentrate. The tips of my fingers were numb and my skin laced with shivers. My head was spinning fast, and I urged myself to calm down. I took a deep breath, only to feel his body standing right behind me. My back arched at the touch of his fingers dancing on my skin.
    “It’s inhuman how much I missed you in the past few years. I want to spend my life with you, Ophelia. Don’t leave me again. I’m serious. I see us getting old together.” He chuckled. “Isn’t it supposed to be the girl who’s opening up about all her dreams about a happy ever after?”
    “It’s what I want too, what I see when I think about the future.”
    His lips swept against my neck, soft kisses trailing to my shoulder. My whole body became sensitive and my fingers couldn’t play any more of the piece. The smell of my shampoo danced in the air. I loved the idea of having my scent on him. Shivers licked the skin of my neck as his lips lingered on my flesh. I knew what he was doing, he was distracting me. I could let myself go and spend the day inside with my man or I could do as planned and spend the day visiting and showing him around. I was tempted to follow with the first option, but my head took over and decided on the second.
    “Teo, baby, you gotta stop now,” I said with my voice low.
    “What if I can’t?” he murmured against my skin.
    “You have to, please. I really want to spend the day outside with you.”
    He sighed. “I’m so getting a rain check on this one. Tonight, baby... tonight.”
    I laughed, embarrassed that I was cutting him short, keeping him from letting him give me what he wanted and needed. When I didn’t hear him laugh, I got up and turned around. He was standing there with a hand on his heart.
    “Are you denying me, sweetheart?” He was joking around trying to act like he was emotionally hurt.
    “Rain check, love. We’ve got things to do.” I pulled him to me and smacked his behind. “Get ready now.”
    He chuckled and hugged me one last time before getting some clothes on.
    ... O ...
    Driving to the Taronga zoo, Teo kept making me laugh as he tried to imitate the Australian accent. I loved accents, but Italian mixed with Australian was a bit too much. I was used to his accent, it was very light, but any new people would notice right away. It gave Teo his charm. Nothing was more adorable than when he spoke Italian to me. Most of the time I didn’t have a clue what he was saying, but it sounded lovely.
    His hand rested on my thigh or my shoulder. Some things would never change about him. He liked