He was leading a double life. He had a wife and child at home, but didn’t tell Jilli about them. He romanced her. Jilli was so happy with him, thinking that he might be the one! Betrayal, hurt and devastation followed. And then came Leo, the mysterious handsome giant on the boat ...

Heather, totally annoyed, was still sitting across from me at Wagner’s, playing with the Grüne Soße on her plate. “What’s your point Galia? Jilli went on a boat and saw some cute guy. So what? Jilli is everyone’s darling, and gets approached by many guys. She doesn’t have to deal with the same problems that we do!” said Heather. I gave her one of my looks. “Are you kidding me? Do you know how much dating drama and heartache poor Jilli went through the last years?”

I told Heather the story about Michael. Jilli met him at a bar with a friend that she knew. Michael asked her out the next day, and they had a lovely dinner together. They laughed, shared private stories about their lives, and had a wonderful evening. They continued dating the next few weeks, and Jilli was happily floating on cloud Nine! One warm Sunday on the Main, Jilli bumped into two female acquaintances. One of them said, “Jilli, you’re a good girl, but since when do you date men with a wife and a baby at home?!” They were referring to Michael. Jilli was shocked. Apparently he had an entire secret life that he was leading behind her back. He blocked his family album from her on Facebook. The girls showed her the photos. She felt like she was shot with a poisonous silver bullet directly through her heart. It hurt so damn much. She couldn’t breathe. The pain coming from her heart and stomach were unbearable, as if her soul was being torn out of her body. She felt nauseous, disgusted by the betrayal. She wanted to sink deep inside the protecting warm Earth, where she would never be hurt again. She didn’t deserve this. She swore to herself, never again. No more men, no more dating, no more pain.

After hearing this, Heather sat with her mouth open, speechless. I said, “Don’t worry, everyone gets what they deserve in life. Good things come to good people. Let me tell you the rest of Jilli’s boat story.”

Jilli found herself looking over her right shoulder more than a few times, in order to catch the eye of the handsome giant again. As she noticed him approaching the bar, her heart started beating a bit quicker. Leo was tall, handsome and had thick dark hair, which he wore away from his face, revealing his blue-green eyes. He exchanged a few words with Jilli’s friend Isa, and went back to his group of friends. He did not look in her direction anymore. Of course this drove Jilli crazy. Later on, two women stopped beside Leo and flirted offensively with him. She did not like this at all. The desire to walk over to them and throw the two ladies overboard was extremely tempting. Instead, Jilli ordered three rounds of Jägermeister shots for herself and her girlfriends and hoped for the best. The women were still glued to Leo’s side, and with a deep breath, she gave up and didn’t look his way anymore.

The effects of the drinks were starting to melt the thoughts and worries away. An interesting man, dressed in blue jeans, white shirt and a large friendly smile came to say hello. As he talked and talked, Jilli felt that she was miles away. Her heart was not in the conversation. She gazed at the stunning view of the Frankfurt skyline. She loved this city. In a matter of an instant second, appearing out of thin air, Leo was standing in front of her and said, “You look bored!” He stole her away from the other man and ordered her a delicious exotic cocktail. Jilli was impressed by his brave action, and a bit surprised as well, because she thought that he was not interested in her.

His eyes twinkled in the light, as the golden sun was setting in the background. While they talked, he accidently brushed his fingers against her lower arm, sending a small shiver through her body. His hands were so large and masculine. When they shared a joke he came closer with his head to hers, his smell was hypnotizing her. His lips were full and sensuous, and again his smell, this manly spicy smell, was driving her wild. She couldn’t think. An intense warmth was pulsating between her legs. She wanted to push Leo against the bar and kiss his lips, gently bite the side of his strong neck, lick his scent, feel his hard body against hers. She imagined what it would feel like if he tore off her dress, lifted her on top of the bar and took her, right there and then. She would wrap her legs around his back and push him deeper inside of her. She wanted to run her fingers through his long hair, and scream his name. Jilli’s knees went weak. Suddenly, she was thrown back into reality, as the handsome giant asked her about how she envisioned her life, her future husband and children. Sweet lovely caring warm Leo, she thought. I like him… a lot. They had a deep touching conversation, and didn’t even notice that the boat had docked, the music had stopped, and most of the people had already left. Leo and Jilli were so mesmerized by each other, but it was time to say goodbye and leave the Kingka boat. Jilli offered Leo her number, but he did not want to take it. Instead he gave Jilli his, and said, “If you are serious about meeting me again, then I would like you to contact me. I am an honest guy and do not play games.” She wasn’t sure what to believe anymore, thinking back to what Michael had done to her. She took Leo’s number, written in a messy handwriting on a napkin, kissed his cheek, and left the boat.

Isabella was waiting for her downstairs at the edge of the main. She said, “Wow, you two were inseparable! What did you talk about?” Jilli’s thoughts were filled with Leo’s words, his deep sexy voice. And that smell! She could not get his smell off her mind! “Let’s take a seat on that bench.” Said Jilli, “I need to hear his voice again, I must call him now!” Isa looked at her and laughed, “But Jilli, you just got his number less than 20 minutes ago! Shouldn’t you wait a few days until you call him?!” At that moment, Jilli didn’t care about the rules and games, she needed to hear his voice again! She dialed his number. “Hello?” Came Leo’s voice from the other end of the line, she heard the smile in his voice. Her heart skipped a beat.

To be continued …

You can personally contact Galia Brener regarding love, sex, relationships and fashion at: galia@journal-frankfurt.de