Wait for Me in Vienna (8 page)

Thomas would be home soon, and Clarissa wanted to change into the little black dress that she’d gotten as a gift at her last job. It was a refined, tight little number, which showed just enough cleavage to stir up the lust of anyone with a pulse. Clarissa knew that she looked stunning. She had curled her hair with a curling iron ahead of time, then pinned it up, pulling out a few sexy strands around her face. The strands were almost as sexy as her dress or, actually, almost as sexy as her body looked in the dress. She wore a burgundy kiss-proof lipstick, which promised another exciting night. She or Thomas would clean up the kitchen later. After all, she had gone to all this trouble to cook.

Johanna made her way to the Thai restaurant. She wore jeans and a black top. She styled her hair with a blow dryer and wore just a hint of blush on her cheeks, a little mascara, and lip gloss on her lips.

Linda had suggested the pink blush. “Pink makes every woman glow,” she had insisted when Johanna asked for advice.

Daniel was waiting for her at the Thai restaurant. He sat in a little alcove by the entrance. The atmosphere was romantic, and his face looked soft and warm in the candlelight. When he saw Johanna, he smiled. He stood up to greet her as he smoothed down his dark-brown pants that he wore with a beige Versace shirt. He was stylish and elegant. Johanna liked that.

Thomas came home to the aroma of baked potatoes. Clarissa met him in the hall.

“Hello, sweetheart. I cooked for you,” she said, smiling.

Thomas was surprised.

“We’re having juicy steaks with potatoes, salad, and a good Cabernet Sauvignon from our last vacation. You remember the nice wine grower,” she explained.

Thomas was very pleased, mainly because Clarissa had actually made an unselfish effort to do something for him.

Daniel and Johanna ordered.

“So tell me more about your new job,” Daniel said, and poured her a glass of white wine.

He’d brought up just the right topic. Johanna enthusiastically began to tell him about the interview with her new boss, the helplessness she’d felt when confronted with the random cooking ingredients, and how she had to work with a crazy biology student who was more interested in ludicrous ideas about saving the world than in cooking or the job at hand. Daniel loved the story and laughed as she told him about Jörg.

Their waiter served their food a few minutes later. Johanna elegantly speared a piece of ginger-coconut chicken on her fork; Daniel opted for the salmon and mussel curry as he told her about his trip to Bangkok and sipped his wine. Daniel had traveled all over the world, and Johanna adored his storytelling. She’d never been with anybody who could get to the point so easily, so succinctly, and with such enthusiasm. How could she help falling hopelessly in love with him? How could she keep herself from dreaming of a future with him? How could she keep herself from melting at the sight of his beautiful emerald-green eyes sparkling in the candlelight?

Johanna immersed herself in his tales about his trip to the Amazon, imagining it as if she were Indiana Jones. Her daydream was ruined, however, when she realized that she’d wasted her life so far; she had just been taking up air on this planet, and with each breath, her life was coming closer and closer to the end. She didn’t have one worthwhile or interesting story to tell from the years since her parents’ death, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was as if some inexorable external force had compelled her to desire nothing, to be interested in nothing, to be numb. She’d been unable to feel any real joy or experience anything at all—traveling, dancing, singing, or laughing—all the things that made life worth living. Thanks to her brother, though, she was finally on the right track. Living with him had greatly improved her mental and physical condition; she was beginning to get back to normal, living more and more like normal people should. Now she had goals in life; she was building relationships; she was interested in books, movies, music, clothing, and love. She was taking time for herself and trying to figure out who she was and what she wanted. She wanted to participate in life. It became abundantly clear that, at this moment, Daniel was really good for her.

The steaks weren’t perfect, but Clarissa’s lipstick was.

“Well,” she admitted, “not as good as I had imagined it, but at least I tried.”

The rubbery steaks didn’t bother Thomas. Oblivious to Clarissa’s dinner plans, he’d already eaten at the office and wasn’t really hungry. But Clarissa had made an effort, and he appreciated that. Besides, in that dress, she looked good enough to eat. He kissed her passionately on body parts that the dress seductively exposed.

“Forget about the food,” she said. “Come with me. I have a surprise under my dress.”

Aroused, Thomas followed Clarissa straight into the bedroom.

Daniel and Johanna headed to a nearby wine bar and found seats in a dim corner.

“I like to come here in the evenings and read,” he told her as he proudly showed her his bar.

It was quite a cozy place: one of these bars you could get lost in and that would always be too small and quirky to attract the notice of tourist guidebooks. The wine bar had few seats but offered a wide variety of domestic and imported wines; you could even bring your own food, and the wine steward—a true connoisseur and lover of the grape—took much pride in zealously making personalized recommendations to each guest. He advised Daniel and Johanna, serving them a traditional Austrian Zweigelt from Burgenland.

Could the evening be more perfect?
Johanna wondered as Daniel looked deeply into her eyes and kissed her.

Thomas tenderly stroked Clarissa’s hair. They were deeply satisfied, soaked in sweat, and exhausted. The sex had been breathtakingly intense and mutually satisfying.

“I love you,” Thomas said earnestly as he considered being married to Clarissa.

That evening, Clarissa had shown how much she loved him. He could live with the fact that she could be difficult sometimes, but at its core, he felt their love was authentic. Moreover, the sex was terrific. Thomas truly appreciated that, since he wasn’t exactly inexperienced in that respect. He’d had other shorter-term relationships in the past, and his ex-girlfriends were all pretty, but the sex he had with them couldn’t compare with what he had with Clarissa. She knew how to touch him, where his erogenous zones were; she knew when to be wild or tender. Only she could stimulate him in a way that made it almost impossible for him to refuse. Yes, he should definitely consider marrying her. However, that didn’t necessarily mean that he would be racing out to Tiffany’s for an engagement ring any time soon.

Like a gentleman, Daniel escorted Johanna home.

“We should do this again soon,” he said as the taxi pulled up in front of Martin’s apartment.

“Yes, absolutely!”

He looked at her. “May I come in?”

Johanna was aghast. “Ah, um, no, not right now.”

Then he looked appalled. He nodded as if he’d been gravely offended. He kissed her good-bye—on the cheek. Johanna felt her irritation growing. She thought she would at least get a kiss on the mouth. She was sure he’d done that deliberately. She wanted to take her time because, after all, she had very little experience with men. She’d only had sex a few times before, and it hadn’t exactly been the best experience in the world for her—quite the contrary. She’d felt dirty, uncomfortable, and always had the urge to wash herself and the bedding afterward.