Page 26 of Arrogant Arrival

We step back on the bridge and as we’re crossing I ask mimicking his accent, “What’s theI’m Greekdiscount?”

“Greek tourist places don’t charge their own people as much.”

When we’re back at the center of the bridge, Jim places a hand out and stops me from walking. He guides me to the side of the bridge and stands so close to me, his legs are on either side of mine. Taking the bag from my hand, he reaches in and removes the little ring box. He removes the ring and then tosses the box back in the bag. He takes my ring finger, and without breaking eye contact with me, he slowly slides the ring on.

“Can I at least kiss you?”

“Seems it would be the appropriate thing to do right now.”

“It does. It feels like the thing to do.”

“Then do it.” I raise my lips toward his.

Jim first kisses my finger adorned with the ring, and then his lips crash to mine. His tongue pushes against my lips and I part them, granting him further access. As his tongue slides against mine, I feel my knees becoming weak. He presses himself harder against me, and I feel his excitement.

“God, Jolene.” He leans his forehead against mine. “You taste so sweet.”

“It’s from the ice cream.” I breathe out.

We both chuckle as we hold onto each other. “Come on,” Jim laughs as he tugs my hand.

When we arrive to the house, there’s a group of people sitting in the living room. Martha smiles at us and proudly says, “I have some stuffed tomatoes fresh out of the oven in the kitchen.”

It’s almost nine at night. Everybody loves to eat late here.Instead of voicing that thought, I say “Thank you. Sounds delicious.”

I notice that Voula is still here, but instead of scowling at me, she’s giving a sour look to another stunning young woman. Said woman stands up and walks toward Jim with open arms. “Jimmy,” she coos with her seductive Greek accent. “I was hoping I wouldn’t have to wait all night for you.”Gag me.

“Eleni.” He smiles and lightly kisses her on each cheek. “So nice to see you.”

“You are certainly a nice sight to see. You’ve grown, in all the right places, over the years.” She squeezes his biceps. “It’s been too long,” she pouts.

I pull his arm to me and wedge myself between them. “A lot can change in that much time. I’m Jolene… his fiancée.”

A round of audible gasps are heard, along with what sounds like glass breaking in the kitchen.

Jolene

Dear Journal,

I’m engaged. Normally, I’d call my mother because this would make her year. Her only daughter won’t be an old maid forever. Unfortunately, since this is simply another lie to add to the web Jim and I are weaving, I’ll leave her out of this. We’re limiting our lying to only his side of the family. To celebrate our engagement, Jimmy decided to take me to Athens for the day and an overnight trip. The city is definitely crowded, and there’s so much to see and do. I was actually missing the charm of the spacious island and blue waters. Jim smiled at me and said he knew just the place to take me. If you ever visit Greece, I’d highly recommend where he took me: Sounio. It’s a little ways out of the city, and actually in a town called Attica, there at the southernmost tip of the peninsula in Cape Sounio is the Temple of Poseidon. The remaining white marble columns stand tall and elegant against the contrast of the blue ocean it’s perched above. The site takes my breath away. It’s peaceful to stand there high above the rest of the world and look out into the vast blue sea. Although Athena got the more elaborate temple with the Parthenon in the middle of the city of Athens, I find that Poseidon got the best view, by far. The sea surrounds the temple on three sides. Every time a light breeze would come, I could almost feel an energy there.

“Like this better?” Jim asked me.

“I’m honestly speechless. This is…incredible.”

“Huh. That’s funny.”

“Why?”

“Because I was just thinking the exact same thing, only it was about you.”

Whether he meant the words or not, my heart fluttered. I couldn’t be sure if it was the high altitude of where we are standing, or the smile he gave me, but I did begin to feel a little lightheaded.

“Dress a little fancy,” Jim calls out.

I wrap the towel around me, even though it’s nothing he hasn’t seen, touched, and … well, it’s nothing new to him, and open the bathroom door. “For what? Besides, I only brought one dress with me, so it’ll have to do.”

“I’m taking you somewhere nice tonight. We’re celebrating, after all.”

---