This ring feels like a foreigner on my finger. I peer up and a neon 11:14 flashes back at me from the dashboard. It’s been about two hours. The gem is a Sapphire, my birthstone, and it seems rather fitting considering the circumstances. I stretch my fingers out before me, admiring its blue depths, then almost instinctively reach for the pendant of my necklace which also bears the same gem, another birthday gift given to me by him a couple years ago. Greg turns, kisses my forehead and returns to peering aimlessly out the window again. He hasn’t said much since we left the church and that was beginning to worry me. He is usually very talkative when he is happy. Something must be on his mind. I begin rubbing his shoulders in a bid to calm him and he is very tense indeed. I can tell by his heavy breathing that the massage is helping in more ways than one. Either that or I said my thoughts out loud again.

“I am so going to take advantage of you when we get back to the hotel.”

Then he shakes his head as if jolting back to reality. “There’s no time.” He hastens.

“No time for that? Really… why not? Greg today is your wedding day. You should be happy but instead you’re stressed out.”

And he corrects me. “Our!”

“What?”

“It’s OUR wedding day Maya.”

“Fine. It’s OUR wedding day. So why aren’t you happy? What’s wrong?” and my pouting lips emphasize the last two words.

“We’re late!” and he has become visibly flustered.

“For… do you have more surprises in store for me Mr. Rios?” I mess with his recently-trimmed hair in an attempt to lighten his mood again but by now he is quite agitated so I decide to leave him alone.

Finally, we arrive at the hotel. He grabs me by the hand and hurries out the car, through the lobby, to the nearest elevator, but it is several floors away. He turns to me and I guess he must have realised how confused I must be because he just starts explaining.

“I set up a meeting today in one of the hotel’s conference room. We need to get there quickly or we will be late.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would you set it for now…or today? And why didn’t you tell me this before?”

Maya…you knew about the business deal. It’s why you agreed to come over here in the first place.”

I am dumbfounded. “I thought this was it,” and I lift my left hand, emphasizing the gem on my ring finger. “The most important deal of our lives.”

“No! This meeting is the whole reason we are here. I told you that before we left Trinidad.”

And that’s when I realize that everyone is looking at us, this couple adorned in wedding apparel and shouting at each other, in English. The elevator still hasn’t come down yet. It’s now reached the twentieth floor. Taking my hand, Greg shuffles me down the corridor and into a nearby washroom.

“Let’s talk in here!” he stands near the door and I walk to the end of the sinks and lean back against the counter top.

Sighing heavily, he continues. “They are French investors and I needed someone to translate.”

“So I’m just your translator then?” my tone echoes my disdain.

“No! I needed a business partner as well.”

“But… we just got married. What was that about then?”

“You’re shouting.” He whispers and I apologize.

He walks across the room over to me and slowly raises my chin in an attempt to read my facial expression, then tilts his head until his lips brush against mine. I turn away but I can still feel his warm breath against my face.

“We came in here to talk right?”

I need to get some answers and his close proximity is not helping so I slowly back away from him, step by step to put some distance between us but he grips me firmly by the hand. “You always leave me.” he starts. My mouth opens and I pause. “The last time was for six months.” I wanted to interrupt to remind him that he was the one mad at me then, but he was being open for once, and who am I to curtail such candid revelations?

“I would have considered being in a relationship with you, except, well I remember those stories you told of your exes. Frankly they were quite depressing. But I had to do something to make you stay and this is the only contract I knew you’d take seriously.”

Suddenly his lips are on mine and he’s kissing me, teasing at first but then it intensifies. I return his kiss, matching his energy and I feel my pulse spike through the rhythmic thumping in my chest. His hands have started exploring as his kisses advance to my neck and shoulders and now I can feel him unzipping the back of my dress. “What are you doing, Greg… wait!”

“Wait? I have been waiting seven years for this.”

“Hmm. So then why schedule this meeting now? We could simply have… ” but his mouth covers mine and his hands continue to work, skilfully sliding my dress down to the floor. I am standing in my underwear. Now he is unhooking my bra. What is with him? He is going crazy. “Greg, what are you doing? What if someone comes in?”

“No one is going to come in.” he whispers in my ear. “I locked the door. Besides, it’s a hotel, there are washrooms everywhere. They can go find another.” He grabs me at the waist and lifts me up to sit atop the counter and slowly removes my stocking. He then trails his fingers up my legs and reaches for my panties but I pull them back up.

“Greg, I” but I can’t find the words to finish my sentence. I don’t think I can keep fighting him off for much longer. He switches to my bra, which apparently is now gone.

My back is arched so that my head leans against the mirror behind us for support, which incidentally allows my breasts to pop forward and reach his mouth with ease. He uses this opportunity to attend to my breasts, masterfully nibbling each one with his mouth while his fingers caress and tease the other. Then he moves lower, his tongue drawing a slick line from between my breasts, downwards past my navel and stopping at my panties. I reach for his belt buckle but he steps back, shaking his finger and then fishes something out of his jacket pocket. It’s a… strawberry.

“Where did you get that?” I whisper with bated breath.

“The Brunch table.” He winks. “on the way to the elevators.” Hey do you remember…?”

“How could I forget, Mr. Juicy Strawberries?” It was a random telephone call several years ago. We were talking about missed opportunities and playing out our fantasies. He had such an imagination. When he mentioned what he would do if he had some strawberries and a chocolate dip, it did things to me. I had no idea he was so adventurous, I never envisioned that we would actually be trying them, ever. After that day, I had dubbed him ‘Mr Juicy Strawberries’.

“But we don’t have any chocolate though. Don’t we need chocolate to fulfil the fantasy?”

“I will always have chocolate. I made sure of that today” and he raises my left hand and takes a playful bite at my ring finger. “Ouch!” I giggle. Leaning back he pulls the waist of my panties, inserts his fingers and massages until I’m perfectly moist before carefully inserting a single strawberry. I push back against the mirror behind me again in heated agony as the cold fruit invades me. He pushes my legs apart and kneels on the floor between them. Then in one swift move, he pulls me to the edge of the counter and starts using his teeth and tongue to tease me through the lace fabric down there. I moan and writhe in ecstasy. Two gentle taps of my hips and I lift my butt, giving way as he slowly removes my panties, sliding them all the way to my ankles. I dare not resist this time. His tongue finds me bare and taunts up and around and under, then leaves for my entrance where he searches for the lost fruit. Retrieving it, he slowly licks and sucks it, savouring the taste before devouring it.

He returns to his pocketful of fruit and this time he slides two of them into me. My tummy is in knots and I’m groping for the edge of the counter, or contact with anything to which I can hold on to bear this ride. His hair, his neck, his back all suffer under my manicured nails as he licks and kisses, his tongue sliding in and out, taunting and teasing me until I convulse, releasing with a loud cry and freeing the strawberries.

It is a few moments before my senses return, in time to see him pulling up my panties and gathering the rest of my clothing.

“What are you doing?”

“What? We have to go. They’re waiting for us.”

“That’s it? Greg you cannot be serious. You can’t just…and, and not...” but he pops one of the strawberries into my mouth, following up with a kiss and I can taste the tang of my wetness still on his lips.

“I thought you were waiting seven years for this and couldn’t wait a moment more?”

“Ya, to do ‘that’ to you.” And I blush and shake my head at the remark.

“Here, let me help with that.” He continues as he helps me with my underwear and then back into my dress. “I can’t wait to go back to our room after the meeting and finish this right. Plus I’m very interested in what you’re going to do with my grey tie.” He winks.

We arrive at the elevator just as the doors are about to close. Perfect timing.

“What time was this meeting supposed to begin?”

“It’s a lunch meeting, what do you think?”

“Now is not the time for sarcasm.” I scold. “I’m still upset with you.”

He sighs and I lift his hand to take a look at his watch… 11:57am.

I release his hand and he punches the number 15 on the keyboard and the doors close in.

“Hey, my room’s on seven.”

“I know, but the meeting is on the fifteenth floor.”

“So… we’re not changing?”

“There’s no time.”

Oh great, here we go again.