Page 108 of Wicked

“Now, on with the show!” I say, trying to push forward and get out of my showing of emotions hole.

I remind myself to get my act together and to be my old self.

To command, to be bossy, and to be a grumpy distant arsehole.

I pull a pen, rip two pieces of paper from a pad, and I slide a sheet to Raven. I keep one for myself, and I say, “Only three.”

“And no peeking!” Raven says.

I sit naked with the sword in my family castle, and I ponder what I want to do with the rest of my life.

It’s hard when you have everything, billions of dollars, and the power to do almost anything.

“And you’re sure about this must-do-together agreement? If we both have the same one, like, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or visiting the great Pyramids of Egypt, even if in five years, we’ve got to do it together?”

“Don’t you try and flake out, woman. A deal is a deal,” I say coldly. “You know the rules, and you have committed.”

“I’m just checking you’re not full of shit!”

I focus on the paper, and our eyes meet playfully. Raven really is colorful and far more dynamic than most women I’ve met.

The other good thing is Raven thinks I’m a regular guy. She still has no clue I could buy everything within a thousand miles, and she doesn’t seem to care.

I want my list to be accurate, honest, and meaningful, so I dig in and focus. It’s immediately more complex than I thought, especially doing it on the spot.

I watch the naked fairy with wings, her pen in her sinful mouth. Her eyes are laser focused again, and it’s becoming intriguing. Like her.

For a split second, I try to work out if I’m becoming infatuated, or it’s some schoolboy crush… Or more. I shake my head and focus.

Ten minutes later,we put our two lists in a medieval helmet. We then decide to tear the lists into three, and we will do them one by one.

Raven does an innovative on-the-spot sword-swinging ceremony in front of the fire as a confused Tito looks on.

We pull each other’s first out, and I follow Raven’s imaginative lead. As we climb up and stand naked at opposite ends of the table, the fire crackles below us. We hold our swords dramatically high, and we prepare to read each other’s first.

I could not find a suitable medieval Italian item to wear, so I put on a thick black leather belt. It sits just above the V under my stomach, and below the V, is my, for once, relaxed cock.

As I hold up the sword, I read the first of Raven’s bucket list. I read it aloud, and I read it theatrically.

“Go on a cattle drive in Texas!”

My playful and naked student smiles, and I nod. “Very cool,” I say. “That would be great.”

Raven holds my first up, and she reads it slowly.

“Number one, Dante. Ski Puncak Jaya in New Guinea?”

I remember it well, and Raven looks confused. “It’s a mountain, you heathen,” I say. “And it’s a hard one to find! It’s likely the most remote ski slope on the planet and near the equator of all places.”

“Don’t they have cannibals in New Guinea?”

“Correct,” I say before Raven double blinks. I prepare to read aloud, and my voice is clear and strong.

“Number two. Visit the grave of Tolstoy.” I pause theatrically. “Who is he again?”

Raven shakes her head. “He wrote War and Peace, you ignorant peasant! Didn’t you go to school?”

I swish my sword fast. “I was thrown out of many of the best private schools in Italy, I will have you know.”

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