3: Hi! It's Me Again.

“You ditched your party,” Xavier growled, unimpressed with his elder brother. After all the trouble he had gone to, so that Theodore could have a remarkable 25th birthday.

“Not now,” Theodore rasped, his hopeful eyes scanning his now empty compound. “I am looking for a woman I was with last night.”

“You were with a woman?” Xavier creaked wide-eyed. He couldn't hide his obvious shock, even if he tried.

“Focus, dammit!” Theodore grumbled completely, missing the approving smirk on Xavier's face. “She was about 5.6" gray eyes, red hair…” He trailed, turning his gaze back to a strangely quiet Xavier, who was just gaping at him with wonder. Like he was seeing him for the first time.

“Did you hit it?” Xavier asked, wiggling his brows shrewdly, thirsty for the juicy information on his brother's sex life.

“Not that it is any of your business, but…” Theodore trailed, a wide grin blossoming on his face. The vibe spoke for itself. The nerd had hit it. Xavier mused.

“Wow!” He breathed, slapping his brother's shoulder lightly. “And here I was thinking you will die a virgin.” He teased. “So, how was it?” He fetched.

“I am a gentleman, dumbass. I don't kiss and tell.”

“She was a hooker, man,” Xavier retorted in all seriousness. “There is nothing private about her life. Not even her private parts.”

“She was no hooker,” Theodore argued passionately and with a good reason. “She bled,” he added softly, sounding unsure himself.

“Are you sure she wasn't…”

“Menstruating?” Theodore cut in incredulously, making Xavier nod with a sheepish shrug. Theodore scoffed, thinning his lips. “I would know if a lady I was having sex with was on her menstrual cycle.” He articulated slowly sounding calm, but in the real sense, he was fighting hard not to lose his patience with his brother. Xavier scratched his head trying to find a better way of telling his brother that with hookers anything was possible. He sincerely doubted his brother bedded a virgin. She must have been on her period or used something to stain the sheets, so she could appear all innocent and rip him off.

“Did you tip her?” He asked curiously, and Theodore nodded. “Ugh,” Xavier groaned. His naive brother had been played.

“She didn't take it,” Theodore added quickly before Xavier could voice his thoughts.

“What?” Xavier sputtered. That was a strange turn of events. He fetched his phone and called Mathias, asking for a lady matching his brother's description. Mathias regretfully informed him that he too had caught a glimpse of the mysterious lady briefly, and that she wasn't one of his girls. He, however, told Xavier that if he bumps into her, he should direct her to him if she is looking for a job. Xavier chuckled, knowing the chances of probably seeing the strange woman again were minimal. “I will.” He said nonetheless.

After hanging up, he turned to an agitated Theodore. “Turns out you might be right. She wasn't one of Mathias' girls.” Theodore let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. “But how do you explain her presence at the party?” Xavier asked doubtfully, tapping his chin.

“All I know is she is no hooker,” Theodore insisted, turning and heading back upstairs with Xavier on his heels. “I feel like a fool for not realizing it earlier that she was a virgin.” He lamented. “Why didn't she say anything?”

“You were a virgin too,” Xavier pointed out. “Did you tell her?” Theodore shook his head in understanding. “We will find this mysterious woman for you.” Xavier encouraged. “Even if it's just, so you can get laid again.”

“Fuck you,”

“Won't you rather fuck…” He trailed thoughtfully. “What's her name?” He asked with genuine interest, offended that he hadn't thought of asking that before.

“Alicia,” Theodore stated simply with a smile. “And before you ask the last name, I don't know. Didn't get time to ask.”

“You sly dog," Xavier nudged his brother right before his phone began ringing. It was their mother. After picking up, she ranted about how much she needed to hear about Theodore's party in detail. Xavier blurted that his older brother was no longer a virgin, making his crazily sweet mother holler in happiness, cooing that her baby had grown. Their father who was nearby demanded to be put on speaker and the Cavill family took turns praising the 25-year-old nerd for finally getting a taste of adulthood. As expected, Theodore blushed to the roots, whining that his family was annoying. Xavier teased that he had hopelessly fallen for the lady in question, which led to a light lecture from their father, about how one's first lay is like milk teeth.

By the time they disconnected the call, Theodore had moaned and wailed at the discomfort, while the lewd Xavier basked in his mortification.

The two brothers parted ways after a while, promising to see each other the next day at work. Left alone in his mansion, Theodore called for a cleaning service. He wanted every inch of his house disinfected. He let the head of security slash the chauffeur to deal with that and retreated back to his bedroom. Furthermore, he decided to take a warm bath.

He grabbed two bottles of beer before settling in the tub. The warm water soothed his tense muscles, immediately lessening his exhaustion. With a beer in hand, Theodore leaned back on the tub, closing his eyes, and let all the memories from last night flood his mind. Alicia had the softest skin he had ever had the pleasure of touching. Thinking of how her full-kissable lips felt under his ministrations was enough to jerk his cock to life. He wrapped his free hand around his hardening shaft and gave it a light stroke. He suddenly needed to come more than he needed to breathe. Luckily, he had handy materials to work with. Like the way, Alicia squeezed the life out of his poor cock when she clenched her muscles, the erotic sounds she was making begging him to never stop, the way her breath came out in short labored pants, and not forgetting how her taut nipples felt as he rolled his tongue over them leisurely. He didn't have to stroke long before he came violently, flavoring the bathwater with his cum. He exhaled deeply with a shaky chuckle. It was hands down the best birthday ever. He admitted. He ought to give his idiot brother a token of his appreciation.

********

Alicia on the hand felt sore, in all the right places. She stood in front of the full body-length mirror, scrutinizing her naked self. There were light bruises in all the places Theodore had held tight. She smiled, leaning closer to the mirror, to see if she had the glow which she had often heard was associated with good sex.

After waking up in Theodore's bed at dawn, Alicia crept out slowly, careful not to wake him up. She picked up her discarded clothes and, without even bothering to shower, she put them on and tiptoed out of the room. Luckily, security saw her coming out of Theodore's room and assumed she was his boss' flavor of the night, which wasn't entirely wrong, and escorted her out without questions. She has seen the couple of hundred bills Theodore had with no doubt left for her and moved them to his nightstand. Once outside the mansion, Alicia called a cab and ended up in one of her father's many hotels. She took a VIP suite and that's where she is currently cooped up. She hasn't called anyone in her family to inform them of her whereabouts, but she won't be surprised if they waltzed in through the door any minute.

She had ordered for a platter of assorted warm pastries upon arrival. She cleared the plate fast and requested a fruit platter next, before deciding to soak it in the bathtub. She only got out after the water cooled to uncomfortable temperatures. And she has been staring at herself since. Almost thirty minutes had elapsed.

Her mind kept flashing to the night before, and she couldn't help but miss Theodore. Alicia wondered why her parents couldn't find such a man for her damn arranged marriage. He was truly gentle at heart. And considerate. He had kept asking if she was okay every step of the way, despite assuming she was a hooker. Something Alicia knew she wouldn't get from Stephen, the man she left on the altar. She didn't doubt that he was looking for her. She exhaled and sauntered out of the bathroom naked and straight to bed. She pulled the covers aside and hopped inside, plopping her head on the pillows. She decided to take a quick nap and ended up sleeping for eight hours straight. And even then, she woke because of the persistent knocking and endless phone rings.

“What?” She demanded, yanking the door open in irritation. The manager was evidently embarrassed. He dipped his head in apology, asking her to pick up the phone because her father was on the line. She grunted a quick okay before slamming the door on the man's face, as if he were to blame for her sad life. With an exasperated sigh, Alicia picked up the annoying phone. “Father,” she called nervously.

“What were you thinking?” Robert Smoke belittled his daughter. He seethed about the shame Alicia had brought to the family name with the stunt she had pulled. He went on to tell her how disappointed he was in her and that he was giving her a defined time frame for her to be home. He wanted to fix what she broke with her selfish actions. Failure to which he will disown her. He hung up even before she could say anything to her defense. Not that she had anything to say, but it would have been nice for him to let her speak. Alicia thought sadly. That is the same kind of man she was marrying. Chauvinist tycoons, who believe the role of a woman is to unite the prominent families through marriage. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she knew there was no way out for her. She might have entertained the thought of running away for a while, but it was just wishful thinking. She wouldn't know what to do with freedom even if she got it. She has lived a sheltered life since birth. Raised and groomed to be some rich man's trophy wife. And for some reason, Alicia was convinced it was all she could ever be.

Determined to salvage whatever honor she had left to her name, Alicia dressed up rather quickly and called for a cab.

In no time, she was home. Getting yelled at properly. Everyone had their turn. From her enraged father, humiliated mother, and disgruntled siblings, who thought Alicia felt she was better than them and that's why instead of doing her obligation as a dutiful daughter, she shunned the family. It didn't help that she was forced to visit the family she was marrying into and beg to be re-accepted as a daughter-in-law.

She did all that painfully, and the wedding was back on like she never ran off to begin with. This time, however, everyone was watching her like a hawk. Even one wrong move and bye-bye to the only life she had known. Her in laws demanded she stay with her family for a month, so her parents could teach her, a woman's place in the society. Stephen didn't even come to her rescue. If anything, it was his dissatisfied remarks which made her family tighten their leash on her. And Alicia is determined to make him pay once they are married.

A week flew by, two and then three, before Alicia realized that her unruly night with a certain green-eyed hunk with blond tresses had undoubtedly borne a gift. At first, she was beside herself, wondering if her life could get any worse. She dreaded telling her family because she knew it would not only destroy her name but theirs as well. She even contemplated an abortion, but then it dawned on her that the pregnancy was a blessing in disguise. Not only that, but she now had a good reason to fight against the shackles binding her life to a man she doesn't love and will probably never will.

She knew with no doubt that Theodore was a good man financially, and she hoped he wouldn't be the kind to reject his responsibility. Alicia considered the fact that if he did reject her, then she and her unborn baby would be homeless. And she felt it was a better fate than Marrying Stephen.

She tried to remember Theodore's residence, but no clear picture came to mind. She ended up calling the hotel and had them review the footage from that day. The cab driver that had dropped her would surely remember something. They all seem to have a photographic mind when it comes to locations and people. And just as she thought he remembered.

****

Alicia swallowed nervously, glancing at the somewhat familiar gate. Her heart was threatening to pound out of her heart as she played all the possible scenarios in her head. Tentatively, she raised her hand and rang the bell before wiping her sweaty palms over her jeans-clad thighs. It took a few minutes before a security guy opened. She explained that she was there to see Theodore,, and he didn't seem a bit impressed when she said he didn't know she was coming and nor does she have an appointment with him. Nonetheless, he asked her to wait and that he will notify the boss. She didn't have to wait for long because a Bentley SUV drove up to the gate as she was waiting. When the back left window lowered, she came face to face with a surprised Theodore. “You,” he whispered in disbelief.

“I'm pregnant,” she blurted instead, making him choke on air.