Gypsy Lover

"That's fine by me. How about... kids? Do you have any?" That was Alodia's another question thrown at him before she took a sip of sparkling water.

"No kids, no adopted children, no wife, no live-in partner and no girlfriend or the so-called fling," he answered in deliberate detail.

Her eyes sized him up before she spoke. "I see. The same for me, I have none." That was all she could say for now.

"No boyfriend ever since?" he bluntly asked her, clearly want to know her relationship history.

She was reminded of the string of men that she left in the midst of scandal she instigated. "No, ever since my birth on this planet," she answered and smiled at him. "Seriously?" It was his time to raise an eyebrow. It was his turn to size her up.

"I know, right? I'm twenty-two but I never had a boyfriend ever since." She softly laughed at that and shook her head. "How about you? How many girlfriends have you had? I'm sure you had." She narrowed her eyes as she watched his handsome face intently. To say the least, she never had an enjoyable conversation with a man such as this while getting to know him.

"Just a couple. They were serious ones but they fell through though, sadly," he said honestly, she could tell. She could read it in his eyes. She understood it. He was gorgeous after all. Who would not take him seriously? And to top it off, he sure was an irresistible man whether he liked it or not.

There was something different about him, his sex appeal and charisma, which drew her to him so readily. She had to admit that her impression of him was totally different from the others. He was truly not like from all the men she met and knew in her entire life. And he was totally opposite to the ones she had left with stained reputation.

The truth was that she was dying to know what went wrong with those relationships but backpedaled. Maybe it was not the right time to ask it. "I see. So... how old are you again?" she queried instead.

"Thirty two. Got an issue with my age?" He chuckled after he said it and drank some white wine from his glass.

She smiled at that. She liked his subtle sense of humor. What was wrong with his age? She could find none. Maybe it was because he already knew she was a decade year younger than him.

"No. It's not an issue to me," she honestly said. "So, tell me more about yourself." Alodia knew that she was the one who had the upper hand of the conversation. In a way, she had a lot of practice with those men in the past. This was one way she could manipulate them then. But she wondered if she could do the same to him.

"Uh, well... not much. I used to sing since I was a little kid. I loved the job. Then I became a professional singer, went to Las Vegas since my teenage years... I went together with this band after I ran away from home... because I thought at the time that I couldn't reach my dream if I was to stay in this country forever. You know, it was a communist one, so it wasn't easy really." He looked away at her like he was seeing himself in a distance.

Oh, yes. She heard a lot of stories during that time. The people who could be considered well off at the time were the only ones that could afford to buy bananas. They had to line up when buying groceries. There were many prohibited things such as to not listen to American music and others. It was kind of interesting to hear different people's experiences then.

"You were a singer?" She could not believe it, and she could not imagine it either. But it was not at all impossible. He had the looks that could gain a million drooling lady fans with just his smile!

"Yes! Then, I got a little money out of it, which I saved for like seven or eight years... and I decided to try the Foreign Exchange market. I got lucky with the trading, so that was the money I used to put up my own software company about six years ago," he recounted. "I always thought it was a good investment."

Her eyes went round with admiration. "Wow! Pretty impressive. The fruit of your hard work, huh?" She was truly amazed and impressed of his life's achievement. To think he did that when he was young? He was not only adventurous and got lucky. And he did a lot of hard work after that. Starting up a business in the US must have been a huge challenge, especially that he was not a native there.

She seemed to see him in another light. Well, she did see him in another light before. But now, it was way different then.

"You could say that. Not all my people, the gypsies, have reached the place where I am today. I think you're going to agree with me," he said and looked into her eyes with a toothless smile.

She nodded. He had a point. Most of the gypsies were singers, dancers and fortunetellers and flocked around Europe. The worst, they just stayed on the streets begging for money. Harman, who was a self-made man, gained her respect however.

"That makes you a sought-after bachelor around here then," she said airily with a careless gesture of her hand. Her eyes teased him though.

He chuckled again and drank his wine. "Aren't you impressed? I have money, Alodia."

She laughed at him. "Impressed? Well, I must admit that I am! But I don't need your money, Harman," she told him honestly. I just want to play a game with you. I just want to... have a taste of you... if I can... she thought naughtily as she looked him in the eye. She could care less if those unsaid words reflected in her very eyes. If that was called being bold, then so be it. And if that was called flirting, then she must be.

His eyes seemed to liquefy as he looked back at her. She could almost feel her knees buckle and her core throb. That almost blew her mind away. With just the look of his eyes and she was left aroused as hell! What more if he did not just look at her?

"I believe you," he expressed quietly. "You didn't even comment about my ride like it was nothing, although money is the reason why you're working so hard in a foreign country, away from your loved ones, I bet. If I offer you money to become my girlfriend, would you leave your job for good?" His voice dropped a notch lower, sending her heart in a crazy thunder.