FOUR
Rosie and Hakan stood outside the restaurant, looking at each other with eager, wine-tinged eyes. They’d been speaking nearly non-stop for three hours, and yet, suddenly, they both found pause, unsure of what was meant to come next.
Rosie cleared her throat, finally. She knew she needed to act fast. This was her last chance—and she was throwing caution out the window.
“So, do you need help finding your hotel again? Because I might be available for a guided tour.” Her words were flirtatious, but were they too desperate? She worried inwardly.
But Hakan shook his head, gesturing toward the street, where a limousine sat, engine humming. “I think I have it covered.”
Rosie felt her heart slide down into the depths of her stomach. So this was it, then. She was going to be sent home, like Cinderella, while Hakan drove smoothly back to his old life. She supposed it was time, anyway. She could almost hear the clock striking.
“You know, you look beautiful tonight,” Hakan said, leaning toward her. “Your red hair, this dress. You’re mesmerizing.”
“You look very handsome yourself,” she whispered, her breath catching.
She began to lean toward him, then, thinking she’d just kiss him on the cheek; knowing she needed to leave before things became too painful for her.
But as she leaned further, she lost her balance, falling head-over-heels into his arms, clattering her heels on the ground on the way.
Hakan acted quickly, like a sportsman, extending his arms just so, allowing her to fall easily, smoothly into him. He held her tight in that moment, their eyes aligning. Rosie felt her heart stop. Could he sense how nervous she’d become? Could he sense that all she wanted was to kiss him?
All at once, he bridged the distance between them, bringing his lips to hers. She closed her eyes instinctively, feeling dizzy as their lips and tongues united in a sort of curious, quiet conversation.
Her passion opened her mouth still wider, as if she were suddenly crying out for his affection. She couldn’t believe this was happening. Her entire body was folded into his, and he clung onto her tightly, rolling his hands over her back, wrapping them around her waist. His hands were large, sturdy. Everything about him spoke of masculinity, and it made her want him that much more.
Finally, they thrust their heads apart, blinking wildly. Hakan flashed his signature smile, and, without speaking, kissed her nose. Somehow, after no words being exchanged, they both understood. They held hands and leaped into the back of the limousine, wrapping their arms around each other as the door closed behind them, and falling into another passionate kiss.
Rosie didn’t notice the driver setting off through the streets of downtown. She fell full-tilt into the emotion of the moment, feeling the cool Seattle air as it flew over them through the open windows. Sounds of alarms and sirens and people talking surrounded them, becoming a backdrop to their story that began and ended with their embrace.
The limo pulled up to the Edgewater Hotel several minutes later, and they reluctantly drew back from each other. Hakan reared up toward the front and thanked the driver before he and Rosie leaped from the limo and raced toward the door. Rosie took a quick peek at the water, that which had given her such solace the day before, and felt her heart burn with fear and desire. She couldn’t question it anymore. She’d come too far.
They burst into the hotel and swept toward the elevator bank, their hands still clinging to each other. Hakan inserted his room key into a metallic panel, and the elevator doors swept wide, revealing floor-to-ceiling mirrors on all sides.
“You’ll love my suite,” he murmured, bringing his fingers through her hair. “It’s the presidential.”
“Not the ‘monarch’?” she teased, biting her lip before kissing him again.
The elevator swept them all the way to the top of the building before opening directly into the hotel penthouse. Rosie covered her mouth with her hands, eyes wide, as she stepped into the cavernous room. Marble floors swept upward into marble columns. There was a gleaming kitchen on one side, with a breakfast nook that offered a view of the light peppered city, along with the largest bed she’d ever seen in her life. Mirrors lined the walls, and Rosie inspected herself shyly, realizing she looked better than she remembered. Her waist was scrunched tight, her legs toned from running all over the obstetrics floor.
She felt the Sheikh’s hands around her waist, then, and she spun around toward him, whispering, “This is the most remarkable night of my life.”
He kissed her again, hungrily, and she found that his fingers were on the buttons of her dress, that they were stripping each other naked and feeling each other’s warmth.
They fell onto the ground, on a luxurious woven rug that stretched over the marble, and they found each other’s bodies wholly, completely. Sex was like the capper of their continuous conversation, and their bodies seemed to understand the other’s language, despite coming from different worlds; despite having no future together. But together, they felt comfort and release.
Afterwards, they lay on the rug side by side, looking at each other with sleepy eyes.
“That was wonderful,” Hakan finally said, his words raspy. “You’re wonderful,” he added, running his finger over her cream-like skin on her upper arm.
Rosie looked at him longingly, rolling toward him and feeling his body against hers. She placed her head on his shoulder as he asked her, softly: “Do you want to crawl in bed with me?”
He helped her to her feet and they walked together, crawling under the blankets and finding solace in sleep. All night, they wrapped their limbs around each other, clinging on to this beautiful thing that couldn’t be theirs, not forever.