Chapter 4 - Brussels & Amsterdam

A loud banging noise jolted me awake the next morning. It took me a minute to figure out where I was. I looked around and noted that I was alone in the bed. Sasha was gone but I noticed a plate full of fresh fruit, bread and cheese on the desk. The banging came again but this time I realised someone was at the door. I looked at myself in the mirror quickly before opening the door. Isabella was looking at me worried. ‘I didn’t realise you were still sleeping, we were worried when we didn’t see you at breakfast this morning. Is everything ok?’ 

‘Yes… why would you be worried about me?’ I asked curiously. 

‘No one had seen you since we arrived here, we just wanted to make sure everyone was accounted for’.

‘Should I be worried about something?’ I asked, a little alarmed. 

‘’No I don't think so. We just want to make sure everyone is doing ok’. Isabella stretched her neck into the room and inspected our cabin. ‘Is Aleksander here?’ 

‘No he was gone when I woke up’ I answered honestly.

She relaxed visibly. ‘So will you be joining us today?’ She asks a little perkier. I nodded. ‘Well we will be leaving at 9 meet us at the entrance of the park.’

‘Sounds good, see you then’ I tell her.

I gathered my shower supplies and headed to the communal shower where I washed up quickly. The bus was parked next to the entrance and I made my way onboard. We were headed to Brussels for the day, spending a night in a campground and then going to Amsterdam for the day before returning to the cabins. 

Today’s itinerary sounded like a glorified pub crawl, but I was excited nonetheless, to give it a try. The tour was going to last about 4 hours and each pub we visited offered us two drinks on the house as well as a selection of appetizers. As if to highlight the beauty of Brussels the weather was putting on a spectacular show. I found myself wishing Sasha had come along to keep me company, but I enjoyed the sights and beers nonetheless. We wrapped up the tour at the Parc du Cinquantenaire where the bus picked us up and brought us to a campsite.  

I shared a tent with a girl from New Zealand that night.  She talked to me about the beauty of her home country and I made plans to visit her someday. Snuggled in my sleeping bag I caught myself thinking of Sasha before sleep overtook me. 

We left early in the morning towards Amsterdam where Julie, D’Arcie and I had made plans to visit the redlight district.  Marshall and Isabella had given us some helpful tips about going down that street and discouraged us from consuming cannabis. We rented bicycles to get around, I was skeptical of this plan in the beginning but the city was incredibly easy to get around and relatively flat. We visited the Ann Frank house, consumed some local beers and visited a museum on our short whirlwind day of a trip. 

We arrived at the lodging around 10pm. A cold wind was blowing and I hurriedly made it to my cabin. I did my best to be quiet as I blindly searched for my toiletry bag. I could hear Sasha’s slow breathing indicating he was sleeping. I made my way to the lavatory to wash up before bed. When I returned to the cabin, I turned my cell phone flashlight on to find my PJs. I looked over to make sure Sasha was still sleeping before getting changed. I took a minute to admire him as his chest rose and fell slowly and deeply. He was laying on his back with one hand over his heart and the other under his head. His green plaid pyjamas pants were low on his hips revealing sexy V lines, highlighting how incredibly fit he was. He was wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled over his head a few strands of his dark brown hair stuck out from underneath it. I looked up to his lips which were slightly parted and imagined how soft they must feel. My heart fluttered at this thought, I could feel myself getting a little worked up. I shook my head to rid myself of this fantasy. 

‘Forget it Chasse, you are barking up the wrong tree’ I told myself. I removed my pants and underwear and quickly pulled on my shorts. I felt a shiver going down my spine as I removed my shirt and bra exposing my naked skin to the cold air. My nipples hardened and my skin was covered in goosebumps. Hearing Sasha groan,  I quickly looked towards him. He was sitting up in bed, watching me. I saw him swallow hard and lick his lips. My arms flew up over my upper body to cover myself, and I sucked in my belly, as Sasha scooted himself down to the bottom of the bed and pulled me between his legs. I felt my heart speed up as he looked up at me. He pulled my arms down from my chest, held me at arms length, looking me up and down. Shame and embarrassment washed over me as I tried to cover myself again. My eyes darted to the ground. 

‘Don’t hide, Malyshka,’ he said ‘You’re beautiful’. Holding me by the hips he pulled me gently towards him. ‘Can I?’ he asked, lowering my hands away from my breast with desire in his eyes. It was my turn to swallow hard. I simply nodded and watched as his hard calloused hands moved over my breast carefully. I let out a soft moan when he took my nipple into his mouth. He flicked his tongue lightly sending waves of pleasure through me. His hand came up to my other breast, where he pinched and rolled my nipple between his thumb and his finger. I started to pant and moan escaped my lips as I got more and more excited. Sasha stood up and pressed me against him. He placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head up, our eyes locked. The desire in his clear blue eyes was as evident as the desire I was feeling for him. He moved his head down to plant a kiss on my forehead. My arms moved to his hips automatically. I could feel his hardness against my lower belly making me tilt my pelvis into him. He groaned loudly and brought his lips to mine. They were just as I had imagined them, soft and warm. I parted my lips slightly to allow for our tongues to meet, I groaned as I tasted him. He laid me down onto the bed holding my head. He straddled me, brought my arms over my head and pinned them there with one hand stretching me, my breast lifted, perky and full. I wriggled under him as he traced his fingers softly down my arm. He kissed my ear lobes, my jaw and my neck. His hands found my breast again and he kneaded them softly while his kisses trailed down my chest and my belly. I had never been touched so intimately by anyone but the feeling was incredible. I freed my right hand from his grasp reaching down for his head. When I laced my fingers through his hair he stopped kissing me his eyes closed and a shiver ran through him. Thoughts of Chris crossed my mind, momentarily and it was enough to shatter my confidence in that moment. Chris had never touched me the way Sasha, a complete stranger, was touching me now. Surely Chris and I had had intimate moments, perhaps they had just felt different. Then again maybe, I was misremembering, and this was just the excitement of the attention I was getting. Ice ran through my veins at the thought of Chris, the desire I felt vanished as Sasha pulled tentatively on the band of my shorts. I grabbed his hands to stop him from pulling them down.

‘I just want to make you feel good, Malyshka... Let me’ he said pleadingly between kisses. I was torn. What did this gorgeous man want from me? I hardly knew anything about him. He was a solid 10 and I was a generous 5. I was very suspicious of his motives.

‘Relax, Malyshka’ he said soothingly.  He looked up at my face and frowned ‘What happened?’ he asked, confused. He ran his finger against my cheek and planted a kiss on my nose.

‘I’m… I don’t… Why though?’ I struggled. Sasha looked at me puzzled.

‘Why what?’ he said confused and pushed himself up on his elbows to look at me.

‘Why are you doing this?’

‘Cause you are incredibly sexy’ he purred ‘and you turn me on’ I couldn’t hide my smile but I remained suspicious. 

‘I’m sorry, I’m just a little confused, maybe we shouldn’t be doing this right now’ I said finally, pulling away from him. He moved away from me, giving me space.

‘Okay, if you don’t want to I won’t push you’ he said, disappointment evident in his voice. My heart broke a little and I felt awful. He laid down on his back next to me. 

‘Maybe, if you want, we can kiss again?’ I suggested shyly but hopeful. He let out a soft laugh and pulled me to him. He made me straddle him then pulled my face down towards him. At first we kissed softly but soon the kissing was rough and desperate. I found myself panting again, heat radiating between my legs. I unconsciously started to rock my hips against his lower abdomen. He groaned in my mouth. 

‘That’s not fair. You’re a tease Avery Chasse’ He said as he bit my lower lip. I was startled by the roughness and pulled away.

‘OW!’ I yelped, sitting up on his hips. I  brought my hands to my mouth to see if he had drawn blood. ‘That really hurt!’ I whined. Sasha flashed me a mischievous smile and sat up. I could feel his hardness between my legs. He nibbled at my jaw and neck while I pouted. He joined his hand at my lower back and snuggled his face in my neck. I took in his scent and wrapped my arms around his neck. I massaged his strong shoulder. 

‘Mmmm’ he groaned softly lowering his head, inviting me to continue. After a few minutes of rubbing his shoulders and neck, I started feeling sleepy. 

‘We should get some sleep’ I suggested regretfully. 

‘Okay’ Sasha replied. 

I laid on the edge of the bed as far away from him as I could to give us both space. I felt the bed shift close to me and turned to look at him. His hands slid under pulling me closer to him. I laid my head on his shoulder, he grabbed my wrist and stretched my arm across his abdomen as his own wrapped around my back. Soon I heard steady deep breathing indicating he had fallen asleep. I fought with my demons all night. Images of Chris haunted my dreams again convincing me that I was not worthy of Sasha’s affection. I pulled away from Sasha and slept on the edge of the bed. My heart felt heavy and I barely slept.