Chapter 52: Chapter 52

"Humans have both the urge to create and destroy."

-Hayao Miyazaki-

***

One could see something was different for Corentin that day. He had woken up much earlier that morning. He usually woke up at 8 A.M on weekend but that morning he woke up at 6. Half naked, he brushed his teeth and worked out, working his muscles which had gotten slightly stiff thanks to work. He did not know what it was but he was feeling extremely nervous. That he had to release everything through sweat.

Clara was going to visit him that day, per his invitation. It was not exactly the first time she came to visit. She had done it once or twice before as well. However, the understanding that it would be her last time there quenched his heart. He hated the feeling but he could not let it ruin their day. When she arrived, he had to appear fine, otherwise the mood might be ruined before it started.

Clara arrived at around 10, she was dressed rather casually that day since he had previously told her that they were going to do some sport around the house. Clara was not exactly a sport girl but she did not mind doing it once in a while. Once she arrived, he welcomed her with a smile, gently leading her to the playroom. No, not that kind of playroom, silly. Let's reserve it for another story.

Corentin's house was quite large, it was one of the few properties he owned in Europe, while he lived in Paris, the rest were rented and used as an investment. It was how he made side income to play around a bit. Clara had seen plenty of large houses before but she had to admit Corentin was one of the most modern one she had seen among all, not that she was complaining, it was always a pleasure being in his house.

Of course, as a respectable guest, he treated her with the utmost care. When she stepped in, he had his staff offered her a drink before they walked into his private tennis field, the original reason of his invitation. The field was made as a room friendly version of a professional tennis court, it was one of Corentin's father's idea. Since he was going to stay there for a long time, might as well get a house that has it all.

Another reason why Corentin's house had an indoor tennis space, even after he went to live on his own, he passed his family's love for the sport. They were hardcore fans of tennis, which made the room useful since it was impossible to play outside in the cold winter weather.

Before they played, Clara was doing a little bit of warmup. She stretched her body and did a bit of running. She wore a soft pink sport bra and black sport shorts, showing her flat stomach and slim legs. Of course she had not noticed it, but Corentin was secretly watching her, and no matter how he tried to convince himself that he was just her friend and nothing more, at the end of the day, he was still a man.

He could not help but stare at her body. For a while, he let his imagination ran a bit wild, which was awful considering something might wake up down there. Gosh, how sometimes he wished he could have a taste of her. Just a bit. Then he would be satisfied and he would be the happiest man on the planet.

"Are you ready?" She asked him after she finished her warmup.

"Yes, let's play." He replied briefly, his tone was a bit more sheepish, yet it was so subtle Clara could not spot it. Right before they played, all the staff inside and outside the room were dismissed. He wanted to have some time alone with her.

Thus the game started.

It was quite an intense game. Both of them were not willing to step back, although physically Corentin was much stronger than Clara and he had more perseverance, she was far more agile and sufficient in maintaining her breath. With tennis, it's not exactly a fierce sport where you have to slam each other's face to win but boy, was it intense. An hour had passed by since she stepped in and both of them were completely drenched in sweat.

Corentin squeezed his hands together and sweat was dripping from his forehead. Who would have thought he would lose to Clara in tennis? She had told him that she had never picked up a racket before, he even had to explain all the rules and guidelines to her in the beginning. It appeared she was a fast learner because he did not have to repeat anything to her. Before long they were playing, at first Corentin had planned on going easy on her, because she was a beginner, but after three rounds he had discovered her hidden talent in tennis, he was not even holding himself back anymore.

However, in this case, he was losing for the third time in a row. For whatever reason she had been having more stamina, like what had she been eating lately? she was in beast mode. Twinkle never left her eyes the entire time, she had no expectations when she came to his house, she thought they would just chat around, but when he invited her to play tennis things turned out to be so much better than that.

After playing for quite a while he was eventually starting to get tired.

"Alright, alright, give me a break." he grabbed his towel from the chair and wiped away his sweat. He threw his butt onto the chair and tried to catch his breath.  Clara was slightly gasping for air but beside that she was still perfectly fine. As someone who had never played the sport before and had only ever watched it being played. She never thought tennis would be so much fun, she should have tried it sooner. There was a tennis court near Raphael's place, she made a mental decision to visit it sometimes.

"That was really good. You are amazing for a beginner." he praised her while taking  his water bottle and gulped it down completely. While passing another bottle for her. He twisted the words a bit to made it appear as if he let her win but anyone with an eye could see Clara's victory was purely her own. She was not making a big deal out of it, though. It was he opposite, she thought he was quite cool when he played.

The two just had this mutual sense of admiration for each other that was simply undeniable.

"We should play more often." She recommended.

"Sounds good." He smiled as he took off his t-shirt and put the towel around his neck. Clara could not help to stare at him from the distant, Corentin was definitely on the muscular side, but compared to Raphael he was rather pale. Which did not decrease his level of attractiveness.  His dirty blonde hair was completely soaked and he poured a bit of water on his head to cool himself. She had to admit he was looking quite distracting.

After cleaning up their belongings, they took a walk around the house while exchanging thoughts about life. He had a rather intelligent sense of humor, which she really appreciated, she could not stop laughing whenever he made a joke which hit her right on the core. When they passed by the living room, Corentin told her he needed to change his clothes, and offered Clara a room to change her clothes as well, which she gladly accepted. It was just uncomfortable for her to remain in the sweat drenched outfit.

Most people who had no idea of their relationships would think it was inappropriate considering Clara had been on an official relationship with Raphael for a while, but Corentin and Clara were very familiar with each other it became a casual thing to accept each other's offer.

Thirty minutes later, they returned to the living room, Corentin had changed to a casual long sleeve gray t shirt while she was wearing a piece of cotton shoulder less blouse and trousers he lent for her. When she arrived there had been some drinks on the coffee table.

"Have some, you deserve it." he said as he took a seat across of her, she thanked him and had some lemonade, the cool minty taste relieved her thirst as a satisfied smile made its way onto her face.

They had been talking a bit more, both were laughing and enjoying their time together. Corentin had moved closer to her on one occasion when he pretended to show her something on his phone. It was nothing important, but he managed to lean closer and occasionally their skin would touch. He was not going to lie, he did it on purpose. He wanted to feel Clara. Though he knew he should not. Even after all the sweat, she still smelt darn good, sweet and almost a bit edible.

He thought the moment could last longer, but then suddenly a buzz sound was heard, it was her phone ringing. Clara excused herself to pick it up.

It was from Raphael.

She thought there was something he wanted to say, it turned out, he just wanted her to be home.

"You have been gone for five hours, Ma Cherie, it's Saturday, I want you to be here with me, I miss you." Clara had previously told him what she was going to do, and Raphael seemed fine about it. Though actually he was not, he just pretended to, since he did not want to appear like a controlling lover. Yet it never truly erased his possessive nature, it was Raphael's subtle way of dragging her away from Corentin. Initially he had wanted to come on his own and confronted them but he did not want to repeat the same mistake like a while ago.

When she closed the call, she sighed. In her mind she knew she needed to be with Raphael because it was their little agreement. Raphael was a needy man, not just for sex, but also for affection. She guessed he must felt a bit left out. It was a silly reason, but she understood. She had not been spending much time with him lately because he was always busy working, and ever since she started working herself, she too had spent more time with Corentin than her own husband.

Placing her phone back on her bag she finished her lemonade and smiled politely at him. She picked up her belongings from the couch and wrapped it around her shoulder.

"Corentin, actually I need to go." She bid her adieu. Her eyes looked slightly hesitant but she tried to put on a smile. Guessed she must have wanted to stay a bit longer. He was a bit disappointed, inside, he wanted her to stay longer with him. It was such a selfish idea, she was about to become someone else's wife, what right did he have over her, no matter how much he wanted to have her, at the end of the day, she was still Raphael's, that truth still had not changed but he understood. He accompanied her outside, they stopped on the door, they were facing each other.

Clara looked straight into his eyes, thanking him for the day, he smiled at her, his hands were on his back, she had looked so sweet, her sweat made her cheek appear glossy, her lips were reddish and her big eyes appeared to lure him in.

Why could not this beautiful goddess be mine?

It was in that moment, something struck inside of him. He wanted her so badly it hurt him. Without thinking, he leaned in closer and kissed her, it was not just a swift casual kiss, he actually pressed his lips on her, tasting her softness for the first time, however it was quite the shock on her end. It lasted for a few seconds before it was broken.

Her eyes widened and she pushed him away. At the moment she knew something was wrong with him. He realized what he had just done, and he felt slightly ashamed of himself. He had held himself back the whole time, but no matter how much he tried to keep a friendly distance on her, he still lost to his nature.

"I'm sorry." Clara was wiping her lips, trying to erase the taste of Corentin's lips from her own, as if it would work.

"Why did you do that?" Clara was not mad, she was just bewildered, unable to comprehend the reasoning of his action, because she had always seen Corentin as a good friend, she was insensitive and oblivious to his feelings. It was just a close moment.

"I had no idea what had gotten into me. I apologize." Clara remained silent, she gave Corentin a strange look before entering the car and left without saying anything else.

Dammit, I fucked up.