Strawberry Kisses Phavy Prieto (bookstand for reading TXT) 📖

in search of a possible fire or some similar misfortune.

"Your pillow has the print of your face, that's what happened, and it's almost eight!" Nerea exclaimed, unleashing my despair.

"What the hell!" I shouted, tossing the sheets aside. "The alarm clock! That damn alarm clock!" I yelled again, grabbing the object responsible for my tardiness and slamming it against the bedside table. "Were you really supposed to stop working today?"

"Maria, you are a moron! You forgot to set it!" I remembered all of a sudden. "Damn Devoir..."

"Are you talking to the alarm clock?" asked Nerea, who was standing by the door.

"No, I'm talking to the wall, you know, at least it doesn’t say nonsense!" I snorted as I took one of the suits from the wardrobe: I didn't have much time to think.

"You're out of your mind," Nerea replied, laughing at me and the chaos that reigned in my life.

"I think I'll go and live in the mountains," I commented as I took my clothes and passed by Nerea to go to the bathroom.

It was definitely the fastest shower of my life. I gathered my hair in an informal bun and decided to take my make-up kit to the office.

"Aren't you taking the gym bag?" Nerea asked, when I was putting the last few things in my bag by the front door.

"That’s right!" I exclaimed. Once I walked back, I remembered that I wasn't supposed to go to the gym that day. "No, I have an appointment."

"An appointment? Are you going there like this?" she said, pointing at the anthracite gray trousers and the black blouse I was wearing.

"I'm only going to get my planner," I cut short without giving any further details.

"But if the guy is irresistible, as you say, at least take some clothes to get changed later."

"I don't nee…" I began to say.

"Maria, take the black dress," Nerea insisted. I realized I didn't want to argue.

"You are such a pain in the ass," I said as I headed for my room.

I knew exactly what dress she was referring to: the one with a dizzying décolletage. In order not to have to listen to her, I took that dress, put the house keys in the bag and took out the car key. I was going to be late despite the flexible work hours.

"Yes, yes, you'll thank me later, when that guy starts hitting on you and takes away all the stress accumulated at work," she said as I called the elevator.

Hitting on me? I immediately imagined that brown-eyed Adonis, way sexier than Keanu Reeves, bringing his perfect lips close to my cleavage. I realized my panties got wet at the thought. I looked down at my cleavage and immediately went back to reality because at that moment my décolletage was non-existent.

"Fuck. I'll have to wear that dress," I convinced myself. At the same time I noticed that the bra I was wearing was not the right one. "To hell with it! I'll go without a bra," I told myself.

"When did I start improvising so much?" I thought as I walked into the garage with Nerea who started talking about her perfect date with her perfect Mathews.

"Since that Adonis stole your planner, you foolish girl," I replied to myself, trying to avoid hearing Nerea's spiel about that cool British guy she was dating.

I had to recover my planner. No hitting on the guy until it was mine again. "All right, Maria?" I promised myself.

"... so, if you could do me this favour," Nerea pleaded.

"Favour? What favour?" I asked confused, because until that moment my head was in the clouds and I was disconnected from reality.

"To entertain Steven one evening, so that I can be alone with Mathews at his place."

"What did you smoke?" I said without taking my eyes off the road. "No way!"

"Please!" she groaned. "It's only for one night. He will certainly invite you to dine in a luxury restaurant! You just need to talk and... "

"Not even if you pay me," I said vigorously.

"Don't you ever worry that your best friend needs a healthy sex life?" she said sulkily.

"Then go to a hotel like everyone else!" I exclaimed without giving it too much importance.

"Didn't you listen to me? Mathews feels guilty leaving his cousin alone on a Friday night."

"So it would be my turn to play the sacrificial lamb," I snorted. "Never, ever! Someone else will have to think about it. Besides, he would surely start to get strange ideas."

"Look, you're really exaggerating. You don't need to go to bed with him. It's going to be just a dinner and a couple of drinks."

"To bed with him? He's less seductive than Winnie the Pooh in a thong," I snorted.

“Alright, let's do this: if you do me this favour, I'll get you the tickets you wanted for Il Divo concert.

"You know better than me that it’s sold out," I replied, knowing that her emotional blackmail couldn’t work.

"That’s right, but fate exists and... yesterday a colleague of mine mentioned a friend who was selling the tickets because she couldn't attend. Knowing that you wanted to go, I bought them immediately!"

"Nooooo!" I exclaimed looking at her movement, as if it were in slow motion, as she took the tickets out of her bag.

"Are you going to dinner with Steven now?"

"Nerea, you are a blackmailer, as well as a traitor," I thought while evaluating the psychological torture I would have to undergo for at least three hours just to finally be able to see a concert of my favorite band.

"You won," I said. "But I will show up dressed as a cloistered nun."

Chapter IV

It wouldn't have been a bad idea to borrow a dress from the nuns of the Santa Clara convent, which was a