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CHAPTER 4. THE NEW SELF
Jumping in time has opened another unique transformation associated with the change of age – the renewal of the soul. Peter’s feelings were rejuvenated and cut on a sharp edge, painfully wounding the heart – an unforgettable amorous adventure full of desperate, sudden passion. Peter had experienced enough shocks, but the intuitive female trust in him, a stranger, could not fail to amaze him. She was the first to reach out to the weak… he found it simply humiliating to introduce himself as some fictional Alik – it would be treachery towards the person who invited him to his house. After jumping through time, he became different, and not only physically, but undoubtedly transformed internally, as if somewhere there, in the portal, he was injected with the elixir of happiness. And a chance meeting turned into not only acquaintance with a beautiful woman, but also the process of studying oneself in a new guise, and this knowledge never ceased to amaze and delight.
An easy, non-binding conversation over a glass of excellent cognac, warm smiles… And Galina? But Galina is no there, she is in another, old world… Peter no longer remembered about her and did not feel any remorse. Here, next to him, sat a charming blonde, and opposite her was an ardent admirer in his face, with an updated appearance and a new attitude. A subtle, gambling psychological game: cautious, studying looks like a timid attempt to touch souls, vague fears of disturbing the charming atmosphere of reinforcing mutual arrangement… Fear of making a hasty, unsuccessful step, pronouncing an optional, misinterpreted word, distorting the inner world of the interlocutor in the first hours of acquaintance… A sweet, fascinating duel of tete-a-tete contemplation. Peter surprised himself by demonstrating a previously unknown heightened sensuality and tact, seriousness of intentions, which sincerely pleased Daria. The drug of her beauty penetrated more and more into his bubbling blood, it pleased her and at the same time frightened her. No, he’s not a gigolo, she thought, and floated on the waves of a soul-seizing feeling of favor, attraction to this man. Respectful, unobtrusive courtship, sincere trust and sympathy at one truly wonderful moment were able to weaken the resistance of the impregnable fortress, and the awakened young hormones sounded the signal to attack. In response to a timid kiss, she gently hugged him and leaned her head on his shoulder. And then their bodies were struck by an electric discharge of passion. Peter involuntarily squeezed Daria in his arms, and she even cried out in surprise and pain…
When their naked hot bodies desperately touched, Peter clearly felt the gates opening with difficulty, and the priceless feeling of the triumph of youth simultaneously fell upon them, taking them to heaven – it seemed to last forever. So they were flying out of time, somewhere high above the clouds, clinging to each other, two halves that finally met in this crazy world, and no force could separate them. He is indefatigable, affectionate and rude at the same time; and she turned out to be a real reward, a luxurious gift to a fine connoisseur of beauty – natural and ardent, with a burning feeling of unrequited love, filled to the brim with desire that stunned both him and herself.
Finally, they fell from heaven, lying on a crumpled sheet with cigarette lights in their hands, these torches of triumph, exhausted, with bodies as light as fluff, and occasionally let out trickles of tobacco smoke to the ceiling. The subconscious gradually gave way to the mind, returning the reality of the world, but the feeling of ecstasy, touching the unearthly, divine, did not let them go. Smiling at something of her own, hidden, Daria gently touched her palm to his chest and whispered softly:
– How fast your heart beats…
– It runs to you.
– You’re so hairy – here and here, – she remarked with the coolness of an executioner, taking a drag on her cigarette. Peter noticed that she tends to change the direction of the conversation abruptly, as if two people got along in her: subtly emotional and coldly reasonable.
– Almost Neanderthal, do you want me to show you my passport?
– I know that without a passport. You’re a wild beast, and you almost tore me apart.
– Consider it a compliment? – Peter asked, obviously flattered. But Daria was in no hurry to give up so quickly.
– Why did you come to the store again, were you sure that I would agree? – she abruptly changed the subject again after a pause.
– I wasn’t sure about anything, you know…
– Do you think I’m an adventurer? Well, tell me, just be honest!
Daria pleased Peter with the lack of commercialism and standard ladies’ stereotypes, did not build any far-reaching plans, believing a simple cute guy, and did not regret it at all.
– Do you have another cigarette? – Peter asked and clicked the lighter. – I haven’t found the answer for myself yet: which one of us is the perfect adventurer…
– If we had children, they would be reckless – like dad and mom, – she said philosophically. And then, not allowing him to appreciate the natural female fantasy, she suddenly leaned on him with elastic breasts:
– And if I click here, what will happen? – sensitive fingers gently touched his flesh. – Does it hurt?
– Nice, press again. Today I will die of physical exhaustion, like a racehorse at a racetrack, but happy, – he sighed resignedly.
– You think too highly of yourself! Just try to give up, we haven’t finished our race yet, there are still three laps to go! – the skilled rider jokingly threatened and unceremoniously settled down on top of him as in the saddle.
CHAPTER 5. LOVE AS IT IS
The night flew by, followed by the morning, inviting the bright sun to look through the wide-open window and illuminate the holy sinner. Involuntarily squinting, Peter opened his eyes and saw himself lying in a small cozy room. Ringing children’s voices and the fading crackle of a motorcycle flying near the house could be heard from the street. The rumpled bed still retained the unique scent of a woman, the natural and enticing scent of her body. Catching the pheromones, he was again enveloped in a fog of dreams. But in his head, after the night’s pleasures, there was a notable noise-boom, however, the situation in the room was no better: on the table, plates of food were side by side with half – empty glasses, an ashtray full of cigarette butts – the consequences of a private dinner and its sweet continuation. A cage with parrots came to life and rustled on the furniture set. Peter remembered that yesterday he had already managed to get acquainted: green is Grunya, and blue is Borya. Carefully shifting himself to an upright position and pulling on a tracksuit, he slowly walked around the house to the approving chirping and clicking, and stated the absence of the hostess. It’s already three o’clock, the keys are on the nightstand. Apparently, Daria was in a hurry to work, and, feeling sorry for him, did not wake him up. Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw in it a tall young brown-haired man with a rumpled unshaven face and tousled hair. The reflection was very puzzled by what it saw, but after a few seconds of mutual consideration, it winked conspiratorially at Peter: man, life is beautiful! The lucky man, reviving after yesterday, did not object to the looking glass, only dark shadows under his eyes and a strange emptiness in the lower abdomen reminded him of his Hercules exploits, or rather, of one feat. Having brought himself to a more or less normal appearance and hastily had a snack, the guest cleaned up the table and went to the store. On the way, I checked pockets and found a crumpled five thousand rubles bill – how convenient! I am the king!
Daria was standing behind the counter and serving another customer. When she saw Kalinkin, she blushed, but did not show that they were familiar, and continued to work as if nothing had happened. Kalinkin fatally stood in a short queue and, when the saleswoman finally turned her gaze on him, seriously asked:
– Hello. What do you recommend to buy for dinner with your girlfriend?
– Is she a vegetarian? – Daria skillfully supported the game: those present did not even suspect anything.
– N – no, she is not a vegetarian, – Peter answered very uncertainly.
– Take a beef kebab and vegetables.
– Then, please, and a bottle of cognac. Do you have an “Arachtan”? – Kalinkin was waiting for the highest approval.
– Yes, seven years of exposure, seven hundred and twenty rubles. Take it?
– Good. Cigarettes “Parliament”, a couple of lemons and dark chocolate. And some mineral water…
Loaded with shopping, Peter slowly, with a silly look of a lucky man, moved back to Daria’s house to prepare dinner for her arrival.
By the evening, the hostess returned from work almost alive. Peter met her at the door and warmly embraced her.
– How are you, Dashenka? – he asked, looking into her huge eyes. Then, with the palm of his hand, he gently pulled the blonde curls away from her face and gently kissed her soft lips.
– Oh, I don’t even know. I’ve been in a dream all day, I can barely stand on my feet, – and in confirmation of her words, she sank down on a chair in the hallway.
– Sit down, come to your senses. Do you want some water? I’ve got something ready for the evening, so get some rest…
– Thanks, I think I’ll change and lie down for a while. – Daria entered the room and took a look at the situation: everything was in order, a bouquet of wild flowers flaunted on the table, dinner on the table… Her heart skipped a beat. – And you’re good!
– I tried… But you don’t hope: until you lie down and get hungry – to the table no-no! – Peter smiled. – and how do you feel in another sphere?
– Complete and crushing satisfaction! The men immediately smelled, envied someone…
Peter carefully covered the worker with a light blanket and ordered:
– Sleep!
After about forty minutes, Daria showed signs of life: she stirred, stretched, and then turned her head to Kalinkin and asked, making terrible eyes:
– How, to drink again?
– The actress is still the one, and she knows that it is simply impossible not to love her.., – watching her, Peter thought, and recited aloud:
– Your Majesty, dinner is served. Will you deign to proceed?
Daria casually, without hesitation, threw off her robe and, looking in the mirror, straightened her hair and critically examined herself. Satisfied, she took an elegant red dress with a low neckline out of the closet, barely got into it and asked Peter to fasten the zipper on the back. She touched up her lips, turned her head back and forth, smoothed out non-existent folds of clothing, once again looked sternly at her reflection and said:
– I’m ready!
At the table, after the first toast for the word with the letter “L”, they lit up, and the moment of discussing serious topics crept up – yesterday there was no time for this. Looking at her classic, chiseled face, he asked:
– Tell me, where does the beauty come from?
– Mom is from Vologda, and dad is from Tver…
– Sorry, maybe I’ll ask an impolite question, if you don’t want to, don’t answer. Married?
– Was…
– Where’s the ex?
– In the jail Crosses.
– Visiting?
– About once a month.
– How long will he…?
– I don’t know. The investigation is there. He said that he had submitted a petition.
– Well, and the children?
– We didn’t have time to start it.
– And how did you end up here in the village?
– It’s a long story. It’s better to splash one more, or I’ll take it and cry…
– I’m sorry, I’m not just asking. I like you, I really like you, as if I’ve been looking for you all my life. Come on, here’s to you!
– For us, – Daria cast a close look at the cognac in the glass playing with multicolored lights, as if in a magic crystal she saw a secret prediction, her fate and stretched out an elegant, thin hand to Peter. – For us!
Resolutely, in one gulp, she drank a scalding, tart drink and, with a cute, feminine wince, gracefully bit into a piece of lemon. The strength of the alcohol took her breath away and tears came out. Carefully, trying not to damage the mascara, she dabbed her eyelashes with a napkin and cooed sweetly:
– Do you mind if I eat a little? I didn’t have time to have breakfast…
– That’s great, otherwise I was worried: maybe it’s tasteless? – Peter perked up, seeing that the interlocutor is coming back to normal. – Let’s do this: you eat, and I talk.
– Come on, – Dasha raised her eyes and fixed her hypnotic gaze on him, – where did you fall from, Kalinkin?
CHAPTER 6. CONFESSION
Peter took a deep drag on his cigarette, then carefully squeezed Dasha’s fragile wrist with his fingers, as if he was afraid of losing it, and began to tell about the strange find and his recent adventures. From time to time he stopped, catching his breath and choosing the right words, and looked at her – an unearthly, fatal woman, without whom he could no longer imagine his life. Daria listened attentively without interrupting, but the emotions that overwhelmed her were clearly reflected on her face: the pink skin of her face turned pale, then turned purple, her breathing changed its rhythm, her eyes expressed the whole palette of emotions: from delight to anger, from surprise to fright. Even watching her pleased and amazed, and the spontaneity of the expression of feelings was captivating: the sincerity and naivety of the child was clearly manifested in her. When the monologue came to the end, Peter took a deep breath and added almost plaintively:
– Dasha, I still don’t understand a lot myself. Help me figure this out…
Daria did not answer immediately. Her face lost its serenity, suddenly became thoughtful and serious. She gently released her hand, wanting to remain free, unfettered by anything. For a few seconds in complete silence, she stared at one point, pondering the decision, then she took the bottle and resolutely splashed alcohol into the glasses, after which she said in a low, muffled voice, wearily:
– Petya, your choice has already been made, you are the master of your magic machine, and you are its slave. I believe you and am ready to help in any situation. I hope I’ve already helped you in some way, – she smiled a little slyly. – But now I’m not ready to give a definitive answer. And therefore, let’s leave everything as it is for now. Isn’t that enough for today?
– Dasha, it’s so much that neither my soul nor my mind can contain it all, – Peter sincerely exclaimed, resolutely took the poured amber drink from the table, almost spilling it, and carefully put the glass into her warm fingers, squeezing them with his palm. – Let’s drink to the holiday that is with us today.
Daria moved closer to him, stroked his coarse hair and said:
– So be it!
Soon they will get to know each other again, discovering previously unknown feelings and sensations, the taste of sweetness, the tenderness of intercourse, the pain of attraction and the aroma of fire.
Dasha’s cell phone rang with a nasty chirp at nine in the morning. It seemed that the devil’s hammers were pounding insistently in Peter’s ears, preventing him from falling into a blissful sleep again. A new day was beginning, but he could not clearly reconstruct the events of the last few hours. He only remembered that in the twilight their bodies were intertwined, then repelled from each other, simple words suddenly acquired the significance of eternal truths, semantic accents shifted, sharpening the senses. Fragments of dreams and memories flowed into a jumble of sounds and images in which it was no longer possible to distinguish reality from fantasy. Wanting to free himself from the shackles of Morpheus, Kalinkin threw off the blanket and abruptly stood up, unceremoniously showing his beloved’s naked body to two budgies in a cage. The parrots immediately perked up, clicked and whistled, vying with each other to express their admiration for the picture that opened before them, like true connoisseurs of the nude style.
– It’s good that they covered the cage with a rag before going to bed: they would have seen something else, – Peter thought ironically, trying to calm his headache.
In the falling morning light, Daria really looked damn tempting, like an awakening Aurora. The ideal of female beauty suddenly showed signs of life and moaned softly, mentally begging the sky for mercy – she didn’t want to wake up after a stormy night. Like it or not, it’s time to come to your senses and brush your feathers…
At night, Peter, like a true gentleman, solemnly declared:
– I agree with your choice in advance. Decide!
– With anyone?
– Of course!
– Well, what do you think: in the future or the past? – Daria still didn’t want to go against his wishes. But Peter confirmed the original: decide for yourself!
Sleepless and slightly intoxicated, they did not approach, but gently floated to the door of the store, just in time for the opening of the local miracle shop. Daria was the first to pass, and Peter, after briefly trampling on the street, joined the crowd of customers and crossed the threshold of the trading floor. Their plan in theory was simple: to sneak unnoticed into the warehouse, close the door of the barrel, press the cherished button and fly away from here to this very mother. The second point of the plan was to take care of Grunya and Borya in advance, the birds sitting in the cage. This was an indispensable condition for Dasha when planning a trip, which they discussed in between, which is very attractive to erotomaniacs. Daria managed to negotiate with her girlfriend in the morning, who promised to visit her house and feed the winged ones, so the feathered issue was already resolved, and there was only one thing left: to break through to the goal – an iron barrel.
Half an hour later, as soon as it became possible, Daria asked a colleague to replace her for a minute behind the counter, and she rushed to the back room, Peter followed her. We went in, closed the door and began to look for the unit: thank God, on the spot! Their hearts were pounding with excitement. Daria looked hopefully at Peter, and he winked at her and abruptly slammed the lid of the barrel, but the long – awaited click did not follow – the time machine did not start… Thinking took only a few moments:
– Dasha, batteries!
– How much?
– Six pieces!
She quickly looked around the shelves, found a box with batteries, deftly took out the right package from it and gave it to Peter. Peter quickly replaced the old batteries with new ones. Before closing the lid, he looked back at Daria and asked:
– Do you believe in miracles? – and, seeing the tense expectation in her eyes, he admonished her before slamming the lid: – Go ahead, my love!
The inner lock clanged like a magic chord, and immediately a low vibrating sound began to press on the ears. Peter smiled encouragingly at his beloved, who was watching the mysterious device. Before her eyes, the iron barrel gradually melted into the air and disappeared, a small orange ball appeared instead, which began to grow rapidly and turned into the throne of the lord of space and a wanderer in time: a comfortable, large armchair with a hood and a wide stand with a screen. Daria ran up to Peter and hung on his neck for joy. Peter hugged her, then gently sat her down in a chair, and he settled down next to her.
The opportunity to look into the mysterious tomorrow, to witness the upcoming events, certainly intrigued the girl, but the past centuries, the refined French aristocratic society attracted her more. An era of glory for France… Even in her youth, standing in front of a mirror, she dreamed of herself as Queen Margot or Lady Winter. She was able to evaluate the intelligence, beauty and influence in the society of these bright historical figures from books, and the outfits shown in the films, palace splendor and luxury completed the picture that beckoned like a magnet. But can she be blamed for this – many girls dream of the same! Peter looked questioningly at Daria, and she, encouraged by his gaze, reached for the “Past” button.
– “Time” – July 15, 1663.
– “Place” – France, Versailles, the palace of King Louis XIV.
– A royal choice, – commented Peter: even in such a situation, he did not lose his sense of humor. After answering the questions, the travelers saw a warning highlighted in red on the screen:
– “Attention! In order to avoid a dangerous situation, the return is activated at any moment of the journey by the command “I want to go back”…
Daria shivered from nervous tension. Peter felt her condition and hugged her tightly by the shoulders. Suddenly, the door leading to the trading floor opened, and a lady administrator appeared on the threshold, attracted by a suspicious noise in the warehouse. When she saw the couple sitting in the chair, she only had time to ask:
– What are you doing here?
But they didn’t hear her anymore: time and space disappeared, absorbing them together with the mysterious apparatus.
