Lola Smirnova - Twisted

‘Okay!’ Damn my voice again!

‘Alrighty then, great. I will see you around eight?’ I hear relief in his voice too, so despite his un-fucking-imaginable confidence he was nervous about calling me.

‘Okay, great. Let me know where.’ And I hang up.

‘Why are you smiling?’ Inna is standing in front of me.

I put my phone down and figure I have a stupid I-am-in-love expression on my face that is absolutely uncontrollable at this point.

I switch on the kettle, trying to wipe the stupidity off my face, but it seems it’s not working.

‘Ali called and invited me for dinner!’ Now I sound like an out-of-tune violin in the hands of a five-year-old.

Inna takes a seat on the kitchen stool. ‘Look, Jul, like I said, you are not a schoolgirl any more and you know what to do, but I feel like I have to warn you anyway.’ She pauses. ‘I am not a mentalist, but from what I’ve seen of Ali, I can assure you, he is not good for you. I especially wouldn’t trust a man who uses drugs. You are going to get hurt.’

She pauses again, this time waiting for me to respond, but I stay silent.

‘I am not your mom,’ she continues, with a more annoying concerned look on her face, ‘and don’t want to lecture you…’

‘So don’t!’ I rudely interrupt her and get two cups from the cupboard.

‘Okay, Jul, do what you want to. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ She heads to the bathroom.

I snap ‘Whatever’ at her and quickly type a text to Alexandra saying that I am not feeling well, so she mustn’t count on me tonight.

Hi my Poppy-seed,

I was happy to get your letter today ! Don’t be lazy Jul. Write to me more often. You know we miss you and worry about you a lot

Our first night here was a complete disaster!

Just before the shift our boss gave us instructions about the rules of the club, repeating that it’s an absolutely sex-free zone (by the way, totally in French ). Then a few hours later, while I was sitting at the bar a few steps away from him and Melissa, our barwoman, I opened my purse to get a tissue – and a pack of condoms fell out onto the floor. Our boss, as a real gentleman, quickly leaned down to pick up what I had just lost. Oh my… you should have seen his face !

Of course I took condoms to work. In Luxembourg we had the same instructions, and it turned out that the only way we could make money was by fucking. Who the hell knew that this time they actually meant it?! The man was furious and lectured me for an hour at least in his office, talking to me as if I was a soldier at fault in some field of operations. Anyway, it’s all good now .

Okay, need to run – going shopping with Nata. Don’t be a stranger, Jul. Waiting for your letters .

Love you lots…

xxx

A few more text messages from Ali and we’ve set a time and place. He insists on having dinner at his place, explaining that he is an excellent cook:

I am going to blow your mind with my signature three-cheese fondue, for which I have a perfect bottle of Bordeaux x

I screw up my face, still feeling the heaviness in my head from last night, and text him back:

I have no doubt you will blow my mind, and trust me, the food is the last thing I am thinking about when I say that x

The reminder of why my head is falling apart today nudges me to go to the fridge and pull out a bottle of cold beer. A few gulps and I don’t feel so shitty anymore – it is the best hair of the dog humanity has come up with yet.

I try to keep myself busy with cleaning and washing and deciding what to wear, but the day seems never-ending.

As I walk into Ali’s apartment building, the memories of last night strike me, removing a lot of the anticipation and excitement in which I’d spent the whole day. He fucked Inna on his perfectly white leather couch… and they both enjoyed it…

Shit… Maybe dinner in his apartment was not such a good idea…

The front door is open. Michael Jackson belting out the unmistakable Billie Jean on the stereo makes it impossible for me to announce my presence. I spot the romantic dinner set up for two on the kitchen bar counter. It looks sweet: candles in wine glasses instead of the usual holders, a bunch of fresh violets in a short whisky glass instead of a vase, plates and cutlery. The sight makes me smile and I toss all those creepy memories of the previous night as far away as I can.

I walk in further and see Ali at the stove. I can’t resist and start laughing. He is actually doing a little hip-hop dance while wearing an apron, mixing something very delicious in a saucepan and singing some of the lyrics badly, using a wooden spoon as a microphone.

‘I would never have thought that you’re a big fan of the King of Pop.’

He notices me, gives me his shy smile and turns the volume down.

‘You are early? For how long have you been standing here, watching me?’ He adds some playfully worried notes, ‘If you’ve seen me moonwalking, I’ll have to kill you.’ He quickly kisses me on the lips and goes back to the stove.

‘That was amusing. You shouldn’t have stopped,’ I tease and come closer to check what he’s cooking. ‘Smells delicious.’

‘Wait until you try it… another five minutes and we are all set.’

Ali pours me a glass of wine, cuts some French baguette into small cubes and puts the pot with melted cheese on a special tray with a few candles underneath it, right next to a bowl of Greek-style salad on the table.

‘Have you ever eaten fondue?’

I shake my head.

‘Oh, well, there is not just eating involved. We are going to play a little game at the same time.’ He smiles with such excitement, like a boy waiting at the Christmas tree knowing that in a few seconds he will be able to open his long-awaited presents.

I raise my eyebrows and smile back at him. ‘A game?’

Jesting, he continues, ‘The rules are simple, Victoria…’

‘Call me Julia, please. It’s my real name,’ I interrupt him. ‘Sorry, you were saying?’

‘Hmmm…’ Ali takes a sip from his glass, ‘Julia… so much better than Victoria.’ Then he smiles and adds a little bit more seriously, ‘Thanks for sharing that… it means a lot to me.’

‘My pleasure,’ I quickly answer while hungrily looking at the pot.

He starts laughing. ‘Shame, Julia, I didn’t know you were that hungry! Let’s start… I will explain how it works as we eat.’

He takes my fondue fork, pokes it into one of the bread cubes and dips it into the melted cheese. ‘You see? It is very easy. Try…’

I bite it off the fork. ‘Hmm… it is delicious! Hmmm… you are good…’

‘If you carry on making those noises, I can’t promise I will let you finish dinner, Julia.’

His voice makes my insides twist and I feel pleasant warmness down my belly.

Oh my fuck. He hasn’t even touched me and I am already horny as hell.

‘Hmm…’ I tease him again, ‘sounds promising. So, you wanted to tell me about the game?’

‘Mainly, there is one rule: while we eat, we must try not to lose our pieces of bread in the saucepan. Whoever drops the most will have to comply with all the wishes of the winner. In other words, the winner is going to be the master tonight.’