by Cassia Leo
Shortly before midnight, we stumbled into the kitchen to refuel.
“What do you want? I’ve got some leftover Thai food. Or I can fix you some eggs?”
I stared at him as he stood naked before the open refrigerator in his gourmet kitchen, and couldn’t believe how lucky I was. “You have any Thai noodles?”
He pulled a Styrofoam container from a shelf and slid it across the concrete countertop of the kitchen island. He pulled a fork out of a drawer and slid that to me as well.
“Do you have family in Seattle?” I asked before I took a giant mouthful of noodles.
“My family lives in San Francisco,” he replied casually, though I sensed a thread of tension stretched taut through his words.
“Do you ever visit them?”
“I would rather not talk about my family.” He grabbed a glass pitcher of lemonade and closed the refrigerator then slid a wine glass off the rack above the island and poured himself a glass.
“You’re not hungry?” I asked through a mouthful of noodles.
“Only for you.”
I swallowed the noodles and set down my fork. “Well, now you’re making me feel like a pig.”
“Don’t be crazy. You look sexy when you eat. Please, keep going.”
I grabbed a few noodles, tipped my head back, and dropped them into my mouth.
“Oh, yeah, baby. Do it again,” he goaded me on.
I laughed, trying not to snort as I gulped down the noodles and reached for more. “Your turn.”
I climbed on top of the kitchen island and crawled toward him, dangling my legs over the edge of the counter as he leaned his head back. I slowly dropped the noodles into his mouth, and he smiled as he chewed them.
“I knew you were hungry,” I teased.
He flashed me a warm smile. “You seem to know me better than I know myself.”
A shiver passed through me as I thought of telling him just how much I knew about him. How I knew the reason he didn’t want to talk about his family was because he still hadn’t spoken to his father since he was thrown out onto the street as a teenager. I wanted to tell him everything, but I didn’t want to ruin his birthday.
I glanced at the clock on the microwave and grinned. “Happy birthday, Luke.”
He spread my legs and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Thank you for being with me tonight. I’ve spent my last few birthdays alone, but this is nice.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. Birthday kisses be damned. There was nothing better than a birthday hug.
Chapter 3
I woke to find my head on Luke’s chest and my leg curled around his. I lifted my head slowly so as not to wake him, and he tightened his grip on my shoulder.
“Where are you going?”
I startled at the sound of his groggily sexy voice. “You’re awake?”
“I’ve been awake for more than an hour,” he replied, planting a kiss on the top of my head.
I grazed my fingers over his solid abs and through the trail of hair under his belly button. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”
He shivered as my hand slid farther down. “I like listening to you snore.”
“What? I don’t snore.”
His erection popped up and formed a tent under the sheet before I even touched him. “Very softly. It’s ridiculously adorable.”
I grabbed his cock and he drew in a sharp breath. “I want to take a shower.”
He wove his fingers through my hair and pulled me up. My breasts slid over his chest, sending a shock through my sore nipples as he kissed me deeply. We both tasted a bit stale, but it didn’t matter.
“Come on.” He led me through a door into a large bathroom covered from floor to ceiling in deep-gray slate tile. He turned on the shower and the room quickly steamed up. He had one of those huge showers with the body jets and the built-in shampoo and soap dispensers. As we stepped inside, he let me get under the water first.
The water was hot, and it stung my skin at first, but I quickly adjusted as I closed my eyes and let it wash over me. Without warning, he began lathering up my breasts and belly. He smiled as his hands glided over my ass then forward and between my legs.
“What do you want to do today?” he asked as he paid extra attention to my clit.
“We have to work today. It’s Wednesday,” I replied as I threw my arms around his neck for support.
He continued to caress me as he spoke. “It’s my birthday. I’m giving both of us the day off. Anything you want to do.”
“But it’s your birthday.” I dug my nails into his shoulder as he stroked me gently. “Shouldn’t we do what you want?”
“I’ve done pretty much everything there is to do in Seattle.”
“Then let’s get out of Seattle. Oh, God.” I curled my leg around his thigh as I came.
He held me tightly and kissed me until my body released the final shudder. As soon as he let me go, I pushed the button on the soap dispenser and lathered up my hands before I grabbed his cock. I slid my hand up and down a few times before I moved down to massage his sac. I crouched down and let the water rinse away the soap before I took him into my mouth.
“Oh, yeah,” he breathed. “Okay, we’ll take a day trip. I know just where to take you.”
After making Luke wait in my living room for two hours while I did my hair and changed into something he would never approve of in the office, we set off for the airport. We boarded Luke’s private jet at half past noon, but he still refused to tell me where we were going.
“God, you’re such a tease,” I complained as I sat in the plush leather seat and fastened my seat belt.
“It’s my birthday. I can tease you all I want today.”
He took a seat next to me and fastened his seat belt. The flight attendant came by and took our drink order before takeoff. A nice change from the usual experience I had flying coach.
“Diet Coke, please,” I said after Luke ordered his usual bourbon.
She brought our drinks quickly and we sipped in silence as we waited for the plane to take off. When the plane began to taxi toward the runway, I gripped the armrest.
Luke grabbed my hand. “Are you okay?”
I drew in a long breath as I nodded. “I’m fine. Just haven’t flown in a while.”
He cocked an eyebrow at this admission. “When was the last time you flew?”
“Seven months ago,” I replied tersely.
He didn’t have to ask anything further to know this was not something I wanted to talk about. Seven months wasn’t a long time to go between plane flights for the average person. It wasn’t the length of time between trips that had me tense. It was the same thing it always was: my brother.
He gave my hand a reassuring squeeze before the plane took off, and I closed my eyes against the roaring squeal of the engines as the inertia of takeoff pressed my head against the headrest. Finally, the plane reached cruising altitude and I breathed a sigh of relief as I opened my eyes.
“Are you ever going to talk about your brother?”
I guess he wasn’t going to let it go. “I would rather not,” I replied, using the same words he used when I asked him about his family last night.
“I know you think I have no right to ask after I shot you down last night, but I think you need to talk about it.”
I wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but I knew sarcasm was a defense mechanism, and there was no need to call even more attention to how screwed up I was. “I will. I’ll talk about it…eventually.”
He shook his head and leaned back in his seat. “You can’t bullshit a bullshitter. Didn’t your father ever tell you that?”
I wanted to reply, but a painful lump had lodged in my throat. I took a deep breath to temper my emotions.
One of these days, it will get easier, I lied to myself.
The plane landed two hours later and I instantly knew where we were. It wasn’t quite three in the afternoon, so the Las Vegas Strip wasn’t beaming w
ith the standard million-megawatt glow yet, but the city’s energy was undeniably electric.
“I have a suite at the Four Seasons, but we’re going to The Palms first,” Luke said as he held the door to the sports car open for me.
The car was waiting for us as soon as we debarked the plane near the hangar. He climbed into the driver’s seat and switched on the stereo, which I was not surprised to see was already set to greet him. The words Happy Birthday, Luke scrolled across the glowing blue LCD screen.
“Wow. That’s pretty flashy,” I remarked as he drove around the hangar toward a service road.
“I didn’t do that. Someone else did.”
I didn’t have to ask to know that it was probably an ex-girlfriend or fling who programmed his stereo to wish him a happy birthday, so I didn’t press him for details. But the thought of another woman sitting in this car with him made my stomach ache.
“It was my sister,” he said after a long, awkward silence. “She doesn’t like Seattle, so I meet her once a year in Vegas to catch up. Neutral territory.”
“Oh, that’s cool,” I replied, trying to smile coolly, though inside I was feeling anything but cool.
“You were getting jealous,” he replied, grinning from ear to ear.
“No, I wasn’t,” I insisted.
He reached across and grabbed my hand. “Yes, you were. You love me.”
I smiled as I gazed out the passenger window into the distance at the top of the Luxor pyramid. “Maybe a little.”
He pulled my hand up and laid a soft kiss on my knuckles and murmured, “I’ll take that.”
We arrived in front of The Palms Hotel twenty minutes later, and two valets immediately appeared at each of our doors.
Luke slipped the valet on his side what must have been a very generous tip, judging by the look on the kid’s face. “Hey, Juan. How’s your girlfriend?” Luke asked as he rounded the front of the car toward me.
“I don’t know. I dumped her.”
“Aw, man, I thought she was the one,” Luke remarked as he grabbed my hand.
“So did I, until she cheated on me.”
“Her loss,” Luke shouted back as we approached the hotel entrance.
He opened the door for me, and I shook my head. “Workin’ the crowd.”
“People love to talk about themselves if you give them the chance,” he replied as he opened another door and we stepped into the hotel lobby. “Except for you, Fort Knox.”
“You’re one to talk, Mr. I’d Rather Not.”
He laced his fingers through mine as he led me past the check-in desk toward the casino floor. As soon as the casino was in sight, the sounds of bells dinging, people laughing, and music blaring exploded around us.
“All right. Ask me anything you want,” he said, and a group of three girls in tube tops ogled him as we passed.
“Right now?” I asked.
“Go for it.”
We passed some craps tables as he led me toward the high limit lounge, and the excitement in the air sent a shiver down my spine.
“Why haven’t you seen your parents in so many years?” I went straight for the most pressing question on my mind.
We entered the lounge, and the way everyone eyed him with such reverence was starting to get me hot.
“I already told you I was homeless for over a year after my dad kicked me out when I was seventeen,” he said loud enough to be heard over the bustle of the casino.
“I know, but why haven’t you seen them since then?” I pressed on. “You haven’t forgiven them?”
He led me toward a curved booth in the corner of the lounge, and I couldn’t help but ogle all the playmate-looking blondes scattered across the room. We slid into the booth just as one of the girls winked at me. I glanced at Luke to see if maybe she was winking at him, but he was busy trying to get the attention of a waitress.
I leaned back against the seat to hide behind the partition separating our table from Miss Winkyface, and Luke took the opportunity to plant a kiss on my lips.
“Are you bored already?” he asked, his lips brushing mine as he spoke.
“You never answered my question.”
He smiled as a waitress with bright, sparkling eye shadow and glossy lips approached our table.
“Hey, Luke,” she said, flashing him a seductive smile.
“Hey, Nia. This is my girlfriend, Brina,” he said as he turned to me. “What do you want to drink?”
My stomach fluttered with the wings of a million butterflies as I tried to bite back my grin. “Rum and diet.”
Nia’s penciled eyebrow rose as she turned to Luke.
“The usual,” he said, and Nia flashed us a fake smile before she left. “Why are you grinning?”
“Why haven’t you answered my question?” I shot back at him.
“Oh, right,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Time for our first therapy session.”
“Make it quick,” I replied, reaching up to tug his tie. “You’ve got exactly one hour before I drag you to the Four Seasons for a different kind of therapy.”
He cast a smoky glare in my direction. “Well, in that case,” he began, “it started about a year after my dad kicked me to the curb. I was finally staying in a motel room with the money I was making doing computer repairs. I made an illegal Hackintosh for Jerry Wilshire, and when he found out about the side project I was working on, he decided to present my schematics for the M-360 to some venture capitalists. Within eight months, I was eighteen years old and sitting on $13 million in my share of VC funding as I worked on the OS.”
My eyes widened. “I knew you were young, but I didn’t think you were that young.”
“Yeah, well, I was smart when it came to computers, but pretty stupid when it came to a lot of other stuff. I showed up at my parents’ door thinking that all would be forgiven once they saw how well I was doing. I didn’t even get a glimpse of my mother or sister before my dad slammed the door in my face. He said he didn’t want my money, and he didn’t want anything to do with me.”
I leaned forward to hear him better. “Why? Why would he do that?”
He clenched his jaw as he let out an exasperated sigh. “That’s the big fucking question I still don’t have an answer for,” he replied, though I got the sense he was still holding back. “I think he might have thought I was coming back to prove he was wrong for throwing me out, but I wasn’t. I really just wanted to help them. I do help them out, but it’s all wired to an account under my sister’s name, and she handles the money.”
Nia set our drinks on the round knee-high table in front of us. “You all set for now?”
“We’re fine. Thank you, Nia,” he replied as he handed her a hundred dollar bill.
I took a long sip of my rum and diet, trying to slurp up as much courage as I could before it was my turn to spill my guts. I expected him to prod me to start talking, but he waited patiently until I finished my drink. I took a deep breath, as I could already feel the tears stinging the backs of my eyes. I blinked a few times and began.
“The summer between my sophomore and junior year at Cornell, Ryan came to visit me for a few weeks.” I paused as I remembered the taxi door opening and throwing my arms around him as he stepped out. “I was so happy to have him there that I never even questioned why he traveled three thousand miles to visit me for three weeks, when he could be partying with his buddies during their summer break. It wasn’t until the last couple of days of his visit that I noticed something was wrong. He looked…troubled.”
I picked up my glass and tried to take a sip before I remembered I had already drunk the whole thing.
“Here.” Luke passed me his glass of bourbon, and I took a hard swig and handed it back to him.
“He told me he was thinking of dropping out of the University of Washington. I was in shock. He and his buddies had talked about going there since they were in junior high. He went to a billion sporting events there in high school. He lived and breathed U-Dub.”
I smiled as my mind drew back to the time Ryan got drunk and almost had a purple W tattooed on his ass. “But that wasn’t it,” I continued. “After he told me he wanted to drop out, he dropped an even bigger bomb. He wanted to join the Marines.”
I stuffed my hands between my thighs as they began to shake. Luke rubbed my back as I took a few breaths and tried to swallow the long-buried emotions that now threatened to choke me.
“I was in awe of him. Here he was, one year into an engineering degree at one of the best universities in the country, and he was willing to drop all of that to do something that felt right to him. I admired his courage. So I did what I thought was the right thing to do and I told him to go for it. I…I encouraged him to enlist.”
I buried my face in my hands as the tears began to blur my vision.
“Hey, you don’t have to talk about it anymore.” Luke’s voice was soothing as he rubbed my shoulders. “I’m sorry I made you relive it.”
I wiped my tears before I sat up and looked him in the eye. “I need to talk about this.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded, and he handed me his glass of bourbon again. I downed the rest in one swig and continued. “The worst part was…” I took another deep breath. “The worst part was right before it happened…I hadn’t seen him that happy in years. When he came out of the mental health office, he looked fucking ecstatic. I didn’t find out until later that he had actually requested the psychological evaluation. It was his only cry for help and it went unheard. I thought when he walked out of that office with a smile on his face it was because he wanted to serve another tour. How stupid is that?”
Luke grabbed my hand and looked me in the eye. “It’s not stupid. It’s what anyone would have thought.”
“Yeah, well, I should have known something was up, ‘cause then he asked me to bring the car around while he stood in front of the hospital and smoked a cigarette. He only smoked when he was drunk.”
My entire body trembled as a loud voice inside my head told me to stop before it was too late, but I couldn’t stop. The chains were breaking on these memories and everything was rushing to the surface, crisp, clear, and unbearably real.
