1. Departure

7 Days with Lazaretto Written by 傑森龍 GS Jackson © 2009 LOL Entertainment Group Limited

Day 1 1. Departure Michael Craig pushed down hard on his suitcase to yank the zipper across – but it still got caught. So he jerked it back and forth a little and smashed the suitcase down. But when he pulled it back – it became stuck at the same spot.

“Shit,” and he yanked with more fierce.

“Baby,” Isabella said in her Victoria Secret pajamas and she took his hand and pulled it off the suitcase. “Let me do this.” She then sat on the bag and pulled the zipper and unlike its response for him – for her – the bag closed.

She stood up with her beautiful smile and a smug look about her.

“Now you are gloating…” Michael said with a sideways grin.

“Doesn’t take strength babe just finesse.”

“I will remember that for my conference this weekend.”

Her smiled disappeared and she crossed her arms. “I don’t understand why you have to speak at a conference over the weekend. Don’t you work hard enough during the week?”

He moved back into the bathroom and looked himself over with the door open so she could watch. “It’s called the economy babe.”

“Fuck the economy.”

“Too late. It already is.”

“I mean, I don’t care.”

“Well others do,” and he leaned down to pull his suitcase upright and extended the handle.

He rolled it toward the door and moved back into the flat. She stood in front of him and Isabella ran her hand across the crotch of his khaki pants. “How about a quickie?” And she licked her lips.

His sideways grin returned. “I can’t miss my plane babe.”

“Well Mr. Lazaretto, it’s very rare to have you pass down a blowjob.”

“I know. It took everything I could to say, ‘I can’t miss my plane.’”

Just then Isabella keeping her hand stationary, she felt underneath his pants harden. She looked down. “I think he would disagree with you.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her forward, and kissed her hard. She pushed out her tongue for him to taste. Just when she was getting turned on intensely, he pulled away. “I have to go.” And with that, he turned back and went towards the door.

“Don’t fuck any whores!” she said loudly.

He stopped with his hand on the door knob and blew out a breath. He mustered a smile and turned. “Babe, that’s uncalled for.”

She was quiet looking him up and down. “I see your Facebook.”

“God, you are acting like a teenager.”

“Well, I am just saying. Don’t fuck around on me. Don’t make me look stupid.”

Soon both were enveloped in silence. And the silence was too silent. And the familiar mistakes, past, and distrust suddenly raised its ugly head.

“I won’t and am not.”

“And don’t contact Hope.”

The void of sound felt like a vacuum. “Why would you say that?” And he looked her in the eyes – trying not to blink. He watched a news program that said that blinking gave it away when someone was not telling the truth.

“I checked your phone. I saw that she sms’d you.”

Michael swallowed down his anger. “Look, we have talked about this. If you do not trust me, leave me. Go on with your life. What kind of relationship do we have – if there is no trust?”

“Why did that bitch sms you?” And now Isabella’s eyes were glaring.

“I don’t know. I never got the sms.”

And she got up in his face. “I know because I deleted it!”

“Look, what gives you the right to go through my phone?”

“Because we share an apartment.”

“We are not married.”

“Exactly. And its because of that bitch that we haven’t.”

He took in a deep breath. “Look, first of all, don’t call her a bitch.”

“Why are you defending her? Do you call me a bitch in front of her?”

Michael Craig went to her straight away and hugged her. She fought it for a second.

And then he planted a kiss on her forehead. “Look, I love you. And I don’t know why she SMS’d me. I promise I shot that situation in the head. It won’t happen again.”

Isabella melted and she looked up at him with her gorgeous brown eyes and she took her fingers and pushed her long, black hair behind her ears. “You sure?”

“I promise.” And he kissed her forehead again. “I love you. I chose you. Okay?”

She shrugged.

“You have to stop being so jealous. You have to forgive me.”

“But you are a natural liar,” and she grinned.

“But you love this natural liar.”

She nodded. “Yeah I am fucked.”

“Not yet.” And then they kissed with their mouths. “But you will be when I get back,” and his mobile phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. She felt it too. He pulled away. “But I got to go.”

“I know,” she said reluctantly.

“I love you,” and he kissed her deeply and their tongues danced on each other. Then he pulled quickly away and went to the door and followed through with the opening of it.

He stepped outside his flat rolling his suitcase behind him.

“Wait a minute!” she said running back into the bedroom.

He paused just standing outside the door.

She quickly returned to him and put something in his hand. “Here,” she said.

He looked down and saw the surgical face mask. “What is this?”

“For the swine flu.” And she giggled. “I bought it at Watsons drug store.”

“This is not going to help me. It’s porous.”

“Anyway it’s fashionable.”

He laughed. “Okay.” And he took it and stuffed it in his jacket pocket. And they kissed one last time. He moved away.

Isabella stood in the door and kept her head hanging outside to watch him as he waited by the elevator.

He pushed the elevator down button and turned and watched her.

She looked around the hallway first and then she said quietly, “Look…” And she pulled the shoulder strap of her tank top down and exposed her beautiful breast with her nipple erect.

He laughed.

Just then the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open. Isabella was startled and hurriedly tried to pull up her shoulder strap.

Michael Craig laughed again harder. He then winked at her as he entered and mouthed, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said and her voice echoed in the hall.

He pushed the G button and the doors closed. He was alone in the elevator and then he brought out his phone. There was an SMS indicator. He rolled the trackball to highlight the mail icon and the message displayed: “I am on the way to the hotel now. See you in an hour. Hope.”

Michael SMS’d back: “On my way too. Lazaretto”