Déjà Vu - 4. Chapter 4

We walked from the office building holding hands and enjoying each other's company. We lost track of time, because it moved so fast, before we knew it Kevin and I were walking in to the lobby of my building where Mr. Cruz was typing on the computer. There was a strong aroma of sugar and espresso filling the room, becoming more intense as we approached the counter. Mr. Cruz stood and handed me a bundle of mail.

"I'm sorry that I didn't give you this yesterday, however you were quite drunk."

I let out a small laugh as Kevin squeezed my hand then Mr. Cruz laughed as well. "Thank you. Kevin will be here again and Laura will be coming this evening. I believe you have all of their information."

"Of course I do, Mr. Steven. I will take care of that in a moment."

"Mr. Cruz, your mother's birthday is coming up, yes?"

"Yes, she will be seventy next Friday. You have a very good memory Mr. Steven!"

"I will have a present for you to give her on Wednesday."

"Muchas gracias, Señor Steven."

"De nada, Señor Cruz. De nada."

Mr. Cruz called the elevator down to the ground floor. Kevin and I stood at the polished doors waiting for them to open. Our reflection was like the picture that Laura took earlier. I rested my head on his shoulder and Kevin rested his head on my head. The doors opened, we walked in, Kevin pressed the fifth floor button, lighting it up in a blue hue, the doors closed and the feeling of calm washed over my body. Warmth and electricity radiated from our hand over my body. Ding! The doors opened and we walked side by side down the hall to my door. I was rummaging through my pockets to find my keys. Nothing! 'Crap on a cracker!' I began to panic, my mind replayed all of my actions of the day, yet I drew a blank. I was oblivious to Kevin leaning against my door frame dangling my keys in my face. Clank, clank, clank! I was so focused on where I put keys.

"I hope I didn't leave my keys in my desk. It is going to be a mission just to be allowed into the office." I was now upset and I started walking back to the elevator when my eyes saw my keys rattling in my face. "When did you get those?" Giving Kevin a side smirk and a raised eyebrow.

Kevin just sighed, "Remember, you gave them to me last night? I held them all day. I didn't want to let them go, or let you go."

I blushed as I unlocked the door. We entered, I locked the door behind us, we placed our bags on the floor, and we sat on the sofa. I grabbed his hands, looked lovingly into his jade colored eyes, and spoke from my heart.

"Since the first time our eyes met, you took my breath away. I did not scare you with my views, instead you opened your heart and let me know your views. Honesty, openly, completely. You could have done anything you wanted last night and I would not have been the wiser, yet like the perfect English gentleman, you made tea and held me." Kevin began to blush and a tear rolled down my check. The napkin from last night was on the coffee table, he grabbed it and wiped my tear. "Why did you do that?"

"Like tears, you are a memory that I do not ever wish to forget. You are too precious." Kevin held the napkin close to his heart. "This is where you will always belong."

We moved close, never closing our eyes, to kiss. Those soft plump pillows were passionately gentle. When we moved way, our eyes closed but our hands were holding tightly.

I was on the deck of a sixteenth century frigate. I was behind the wheel and to my right was Kevin's Doppelgänger. His spicy ginger hair, his beard coming in nicely, and those jade eyes.

"You look stunning. Your eyes are so beautiful." I felt Kevin's words on my mouth, yet he was a good three feet away.

"You can see this?" I asked.

"I even smell the salt air." Kevin said as he walked closer to me. Now he reached under my coat and cupped my ass in his hands. I looked around to see the crow's nest high on the mast, the yards of sails high above, and the endless horizon ahead. I reached under his coat and wrapped my hand around his waist. One lone deck hand made a sour face in our direction, Kevin did not hesitate as he pulled out his pistol and shot the man dead.

"If any one has any qualms about how we run our ship, you are free to join your friend." Kevin stated.

"He is no friend of mine!" The crew chanted as the threw his body overboard.

"Why such loyalty?" I whispered to Kevin.

"You are like their mother and father. You gave them all a sense of family. Treasure, pillaging, plundering, and rum; everything you promised you delivered. They will follow you, they will die for you, they love you, and I love you."

"I love you too." I leaned in to kissed him.

I opened my eyes to see that Kevin was staring at me. I spoke first, "My Samurai, I love you!"

Kevin's hands melted in mine as he said, "My Captain, I love you too!"

"We should make a little something to eat when Laura arrives." I stood up and walked to the refrigerator. Shifting items around I told Kevin, "I have just enough to make a small cheese and fruit platter."

"Great! I will help you." Kevin walked up behind me was helping out.

****

Seven o'clock on the dot and Laura was knocking on the door like the FBI searching for a suspect. Kevin brought the platter to the coffee table and sat it down. I spied out the peephole and saw Laura holding a bottle of wine and a small box with a sky blue bow. I opened the door, Laura walked in, "Hello Steven!", and she gave me a kiss on the cheek. As I was shutting and locking the door, she greeted Kevin and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I hope you like German wines because I brought you an Auslese Riesling." Laura mentioned as she handed me the bottle.

"I like German wines because they are sweeter." Kevin said as he turned to me and winked.

I blushed a little, Laura giggled, and I said, "I will put this away for now, but we have a Moscato chilled if you would like a glass?"

"Yes, please."

I poured three glasses and brought them to the sofa. I passed the glasses to Laura and Kevin as I sat behind Kevin. I was propped in the corner of the sofa. Kevin leaned back and was resting on me. My smile was huge and we received an, 'aww-ah, how sweet.', from Laura.

"I would like to treat both of you to dinner tonight," Kevin began, "and no is not an option."

Laura turned to us with the box in her hand, "Okay, only if you accept the gift I brought you both." She handed me the box.

I set the glass on the table as I held the box. I untied the bow, opened the box and we were both shocked. It was an antique pocket watch, silver, the size of a dollar coin, with the chain attached. I opened the door to see the face, simple Roman numerals, very clean on the door was an inscription in French. 'Comme l'amour, le temps est éternel.'

"Time like love is eternal. This is beautiful." Kevin said as he squeezed my hand.

"What possessed you to give us this?" I asked Laura as Kevin slapped my leg and gave me a sharp glare.

"Well, when you came back from lunch, I knew this was different. Steven you are never this relaxed and open in public. Kevin I ask you to protect him, not saying he can't protect himself, but protect his heart. Keep him good."

"Always!" Kevin said. "Shall we be off to dinner?"

"I'm ready for someone to treat me to dinner anytime." Laura winked at Kevin.

"Let's go! I'm up for a surprise or more tonight." I set the watch on the napkin from last night. We walked out and Kevin insisted on holding my keys. He locked the door and we were off.

Fifteen minutes later, we were walking toward the street that housed all of the haute cuisine restaurants. International fusion, classical French, modern Ethiopian, and an upscale steakhouse we passed. Then we stopped in front of a tiny store that was modestly called, 'NomNom.'

"I should have known!" I laughed, "You could have asked, 'Fancy curry?', and I would have said yes in an instant."

"I wanted to see you reaction. I love looking at you smile and laugh." Kevin said.

"You both are too cute, but could we please eat?" Laura asked.

Kevin held the door open for both of us to enter. Kevin lead us to a table and we all sat. The waiter came over, Kevin stood up and hugged the woman.

"Kevin! How are you? We haven't seen you in weeks. We thought you forgot about us." The woman said in a heavy accent.

"I could never forget you Sue! This is Laura and this is Steven." Kevin introduced us.

"Hello." Laura and I said to Sue.

"Hello." Sue said she then turned to Kevin and told him, "Cô ấy xinh đẹp!"

"Nhưng anh ấy là đẹp hơn!"

"I told you! The tea leaves never lie!" Sue yelled and gave Kevin another hug. "I bring you water, then you tell me more!" She was off in a flash.

Both Laura and I looked at Kevin in amazement.

"So you speak Vietnamese?" I looked at Kevin with concern.

"What did Sue ask?" Laura was eagerly tugging at Kevin's arm.

"Sue said, 'She is pretty.' I just told her that, 'Yet he is prettier.' Sue then knew that I found happiness because she read my tea leaves two months ago." Kevin told us. "I learned Vietnamese when I lived in Hanoi for a year."

Sue returned with three glasses of water. "Ready to order?"

"Pork bánh mì, please." Laura requested.

"Phở bò và trà xanh xin." I asked Sue.

Kevin looked at me with wide eyes. "How?"

"I used to work in a Vietnamese restaurant." I winked at him.

"I like him." Sue smiled at me. "And your usual Kevin?"

"Xin vui lòng." Kevin politely asked.

"One pork bánh mì, one beef pho with a green tea. Hot or iced?" Sue asked.

"Hot please." I asked.

"I really like him," as she slapped Kevin's shoulder, "and a shrimp curry with a iced coffee."

We talked until our meals came out. We all shared and sampled each other's plates. We finished our meals and drinks. Kevin paid the bill and we walked back to my apartment, Laura left to go to her apartment before we walked in the buliding. We said good night and thanked her for her gift. We said hello to Mr. Cruz again and went back to my apartment. We walked in and I locked the door. I asked Kevin if he wanted to take a shower, he said yes, so he went first. I cleaned up the cheese platter, wine glasses and empty wine bottle. I walked into my bedroom, took off my clothes, and walked into the bathroom. I pulled the curtain open and saw Kevin jump out of his skin.