by Aria Ford
"So, small dogs or big?" Jeffrey asked me.
"Big, not like that one, though," I said, nodding toward the white beast in the fountain.
"Big for me, too."
"Cats or dogs?" I asked.
"Dogs," he said.
I replied, "See, I like cats."
”Oh no, our first fight,” Jeffrey said, winking at me.
“How will we ever get past it?” I asked, laughing.
We continued on our way and enjoyed the photography exhibit and had lunch at the restaurant. It was easy and nice talking to him, something I had never experienced with any other guy before.
"That was quite a day," I said, as he dropped me off at my home.
"It was really quite a day,” he agreed.
"I enjoyed every minute of it."
"As did I," he said, rubbing his hand through his white-blonde hair. I wasn’t quite sure what to do next. Did he want to kiss me? Should I kiss him? Should I leave it at a hug or a handshake? God, I was so terrible at this. No wonder I was still single! Luckily, Jeffrey took the lead. He reached for my hand and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it with soft, supple lips. A flash of electricity traveled through my system and I could feel the color creeping into my cheeks.
“Thank you for spending the day with me, Raina,” he said. “I hope we can do it again sometime.”
“I hope so too,” I said. “I had a really nice time.”
Jeffrey bowed slightly, then turned and left. I closed the door and leaned my back up against it to steady myself. Never before, had I been so attracted to someone so quickly. He had gotten under my skin in the span of only a few hours.
I was still experienced enough in dating, however, to know that people could sometimes not be what they seemed. I knew not to loosely trust people based on simple attraction.
So far, though, I was impressed.
Chapter Two
Jeffrey called me the next day and asked if I would like to go to the beach with him for a walk on Tuesday. It was all I could do not to blurt out “yes” while he was still talking.
He came and picked me up and we enjoyed more easy conversation on the way. He opened my door and helped me out of the car before leading me down a small trail along the ocean. I inhaled deeply, the scent of fresh air and saltwater, soothing my senses. The beach had always been one of my favorite places.
"So what type of journalism do you practice?" he asked as we walked.
"A little bit of everything. Typically, a client will email several ideas for stories and I can pick and choose which ones I want to do and concentrate on those. I have several clients that I’ve worked with over the years and it’s a nice way to do it because I’m not constantly stuck reporting on only what one client wants. I get to have some variety in my work,” I told him.
"How long have you been doing this?"
"Since I graduated from Berkeley two years ago," I answered.
"So you're about, what, twenty-six, twenty-seven?" he guessed, for the first time trying to gauge my age.
"Twenty-three. I graduated high school a year and a half early and had already been taking community college classes. I was a little ahead for my age,” I said.
“That’s impressive,” he noted, looking at me with a new-found appreciation.
"I was on track to go to college as well but it stalled when I..." he trailed off.
"When you what? You can be honest with me. Even if it's embarrassing."
"When I got into finances,” he said finally.
“If I can be so bold,” I started. “How exactly does one get into finance without a college degree?”
Jeffrey stared out over the water for a moment as if searching for the answer to my question there. “It’s kind of a complicated and rather boring story,” he finally said. “Suffice it to say, I got lucky.”
Sensing that was all he was willing to say on the subject, I let it go for now.
Instead I asked, "How do you manage to get so much free time in the middle of a work day?"
"I work from home, a lot like you," he answered.
"That makes it convenient for when we want to see one another," I said.
Jeffrey looked at me with that twinkle in his eyes, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Exactly,” he said, capturing my hand while we continued to walk.
We spent the next several minutes in silence and I simply reveled in the feeling of being there with him. I loved how easy and natural it felt to talk to him. I loved the way his palm was warm against mine; the way his hand was smooth but also exuded strength. The simple nearness of him was enough to make my heart flutter in my chest and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was feeling the same.
After a few moments, Jeffrey began to speak again. "I guess I had hoped I could become a college professor. But that time has come and gone for me," he said, a trace of sadness in his voice.
“What kind of a professor?” I asked.
“History,” he answered. “ I love history.”
"Did you have any hopes and dreams as a child?" he asked me.
"To be a journalist. To write the news."
"Then you accomplished it," he said. “Not many people can say the same.”
"I guess I did," I said, though deep down I had come to feel unfulfilled in my career.
“Though, sometimes I feel like I'm not working on the type of projects that I thought I would be working on," I heard myself say.
"What types of things do you want to write about?"
"I’d really like to be writing about deeper topics; crime, poverty, social unrest and what we can do to stop it. I’d like to expose crooked politicians and help bring down those who prey on the poor and weak,” I said, my voice rising as I went on.
“I can see that you are very passionate about that,” Jeffrey said.
“I am,” I nodded.
"So what’s holding you back? How can you make that happen for yourself?" he asked.
"I can..." I trailed off. "I don't know what I can do. I can try to write my own stuff and get it published through online journals , I guess."
"So why don’t you?” he asked in a way that made it so simple.
“I guess I will,” I said, realizing that maybe it truly was that simple.
The wind had started to pick up a bit, whipping my auburn hair around my face. Jeffrey reached up to tuck a strand behind my ear and I instinctively leaned into his touch. After a moment, he cleared his throat.
“It’s getting a bit chilly here, why don’t I get you home?”
Chapter Three
The following Saturday evening we went out to dinner downtown near Little Italy. The restaurant was a new American tapas place that served small plates of fine food. It looked to be quite an expensive place and as we sat down, I worried about the bill. My fears were soon assuaged when Jeffrey spoke.
"Don't worry about the bill, I've got it."
Not knowing what to say, I simply nodded.
We talked about my job and his childhood. We talked about what I did on a daily basis and what he had done with his teenage years. He was a wholesome man, one that I could genuinely put faith and trust into. We ate our meal exuberantly and had a horchata ice cream with cinnamon crème fraiche on top for dessert.
He drove me home and I let him walk me to my door. I stood in the doorway of my apartment and looked up into his eyes.
“I had another wonderful time,” he told me.
“I did too,” I said.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine in a kiss that was gentle, and almost chaste. Though my body wanted more, my mind said to let Jeffrey be the one to make that move. I didn’t want to come off as over-eager.
“Sweet dreams,” he said as he smiled warmly down at him.
“You too,” I said before stepping in to my apartment and closing the door.
Over the next week, I heard little from Jeffrey and began to feel very confused. I had thought that our last date had gone well,
so why hadn’t he called me? I tried to throw myself into my work, but I realized that I missed him and had a hard time concentrating because of it. I had also been thinking a lot about what he had said about going after what I really wanted to do in my career. Could it really be that easy?
Finally, after nearly a full week, Jeffrey called me and invited me out again. I happily accepted, and we made plans for the following evening. I took extra care with my appearance and when I opened the door, I could tell that Jeffrey approved. He reached out and took my hand in his, leading me to his car and holding the door open for me to slide in.
"I want to take you somewhere very special to me," he told me and he took me for a drive past his old house. "That's where I used to live," he said.
It was a normal enough looking house, similar to every other house on the block. I could see by the way he stared out the window at it, that it held significance for him.
“You have a lot of good memories here, don’t you?” I asked him.
He turned to look at me and nodded. “I do. I had a very happy childhood. This house was always filled with love, laughter, and family.”
“That sounds really nice,” I told him “My house was always filled with criticism, yelling, and booze.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that Raina,” Jeffrey said, reaching over to take my hand.
“You don’t need to be sorry for me. I think I turned out alright,” I said with a wink, trying to dispel the sour mood I’d inadvertently brought to the conversation. “I really like spending time with you Jeffrey. I like that you tell me things about yourself and show me places.”
“I like that you like it,” he said and chuckled.
"So just take me on a drive," I said.
We drove on and talked while the overcast weather turned into a rain storm. The road got slick and I worried for our safety, but Jeffrey had a good grip on the vehicle and kept us safe. We ended up at one of my favorite restaurants and he held the umbrella over me as we ran inside. He was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. I could feel myself falling for him and I didn’t really care to stop it.
After dinner, Jeffrey drove me home, but this time after parking in front of my place, he made no move to get out of the car. The expression on his face had me a little worried.
“Is everything ok?” I asked him.
"There is something I haven't told you, yet," he said by way of an answer.
"Oh, no," I said, a sinking feeling in my gut. "You’re married, aren’t you?."
"No, I promise you Raina, that’s not it."
"Ok, so you’re dying then, right?," I said, unable to shake the gory assumptions from my head..
"I'm a billionaire, " he said, rather matter-of-factly.
I sat in stunned silence for a moment, unsure of how I was supposed to react.
"I wanted you to know, because I really feel like there is something between us and I didn’t want to keep it from you,” he said.
I thought for a moment before my tongue finally unstuck itself from the roof of my mouth. “Well I appreciate you being honest with me. You must live a pretty exciting life,” I said.
Jeffrey cleared his throat and looked deep into my eyes. “You could live a pretty exciting life too, Raina.”
“How so?” I asked, unsure of what he meant.
“I’d really like you to spend one whole week with me, living the way I do. Let me dote on you, spend my money on you, show you exactly what it’s like to live as I do. I’ve found that my wealth can actually be a turn-off for some people. I’d like to know that you could be comfortable with it.”
”That must be hard for you,” I observed. “Feeling isolated because of your wealth.”
He nodded his head. “It surely can be. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve discovered that someone is only with me because of my money.”
“I would never do that,” I assured him. “I liked you before I knew you had money.”
Jeffrey smiled. “I know,” he said softly looking at me.
“So, how exactly did you acquire this wealth?” I wanted to know.
“I had an uncle who was a very good businessman and invested well. We were very close and he had no children of his own. When I was twenty-two, he died and left the whole of his estate to me. I was shocked. I spent the first few years doing what any suddenly loaded twenty-two-year-old would do; I partied and bought whatever I wanted. When I realized that there was no earthly way I was going to be able to blow through all of it, I decided to find out how it all work. I studied investments and got involved in how the market worked.”
“So that’s what you meant when you said you were ‘in finance’?” I said.
“Exactly. So what do you think about my proposal?” he asked.
I sat and thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really do like you Jeffrey. You are nice and easy to talk to and I really like spending time with you. But I’ve always made my own way and it might be a little weird to let someone else just buy me anything I want,” I said honestly.
“That’s why I proposed just giving me a week. Just one week. Please, Raina. I don’t want this to be the end of us. I think we could really have something special,” he said, his eyes nearly pleading.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m willing to give it a try.”
The next day Jeffrey texted me, "So what should we do?"
"I don't know, go to Japan?" I responded, only half joking.
"Sure. When do you want to leave?"
"Are you serious?"
"Absolutely, we’ll take my jet. Ready to go anytime."
I texted back, "How about you get me in an hour."
"Perfect."
I put my phone down and blew out a breath. This was insane. In the span of about a minute-and-a-half, I just got myself a trip to Japan. I shook my head and went to my room to pack a bag.
An hour later, Jeffrey showed up at my door and tossed my suitcase in the trunk of his sports car. We drove to a private airport where his plane was fueled and ready to go and flew the thirteen hours from San Diego to Tokyo. We got off the plane at another private airport and were driven to Otemachi Tower to the Aman hotel.
We were escorted into the Presidential Suite with our bags carried up by a bellhop. Jeffrey tipped him a hundred-dollar-bill and the bellhop smiled happily and took off.
Jeffrey poured himself a drink and settled onto one of the large, plush sofas in the living room of the suite. I wandered around and took in my surroundings. The suite was lavish, with every accommodation you could think of. The furnishings and décor were classy and clearly expensive and the shower was larger than my apartment. I stepped back into the living area and looked out the large window that spanned the entire front wall, over the entirety of Tokyo below us. I was in awe.
Jeffrey suggested we go to the spa for a massage and mud bath. He told me to pick any treatment I wanted and put it to the room. As he went into an adjoining room, I lay on the massage table and nearly fell asleep. It was one of the most luxurious experiences of my life.
When I stepped out of the shower after the mud bath, I noticed that my clothes were gone and in their place, was a large soft terrycloth robe and slippers. A note left on top told me that my clothes had been taken to be cleaned.
As I went back up to the suite, I started to feel a bit uneasy. I had noticed when we checked in that the suite only had one bedroom. That meant only one bed. Though I really liked Jeffrey, I had never been one to jump into bed with a man just two weeks after knowing him. I wondered if he was expecting that I would share his bed since he was spending so much money on me.
When I arrived back at the room, I saw that Jeffrey was already there, dressed in fresh clothes.
“Did you enjoy the spa?” he asked, offering me a glass of water.
“I did, thank you,” I responded.
I glanced over at the bedroom again and cleared my throat. Better get it over with now. “Jeffrey, I really think that
we should sleep separately tonight.”
"Oh," he said. "But of course."
"Thank you, Jeffrey."
"For you, Raina, anything."
We had dinner and he made good on his promise, taking a blanket and pillow to the living room on one of the plush couches.
I changed into a pair of pajamas and slid between the impossibly soft sheets of the king-sized bed. I sighed aloud at how good the large, soft bed felt under me and quickly fell asleep.
Chapter Three
The next morning, we ate breakfast together, after ordering room service. He was cheery and excited to tell me about the day he had planned for us.
We first went to the big National History museum in Ueno Park. We then went to the metropolitan museum. We walked among the art and then went to the zoo next door. Jeffrey's favorite things were the big cats and I particularly loved the leopards. We bought taiyaki, which were fish-shaped cakes with hazelnut chocolate cream inside. It was insanely delicious and we shared one together, which was a level of intimacy I had never shared with anyone other than family.
We went to Bentendo temple off of Shinobazu pond. It had a great octagonal green roof that sprung out at each point and a tiered cylindrical base of two round levels. It was next to a beautiful pond that we walked next to.
"In the Edo-era, this was a lover's pond," Jeffrey told me.
I smiled. “It’s easy to see why. It’s beautiful.”
There were full sakura cherry trees in bloom. Their pink petals floated around us as we walked through the gardens. There was so much to do in Ueno Park that our day was never dull.
"I like this," I said.
"I do too,” he said, taking my hand as we walked.
“I never expected to meet someone like you at a preschool art show,” I said, bumping my shoulder into his.
He laughed. “I can’t say that I did either, but I’m glad it happened.”
“Me too,” I said, gripping his hand just a little bit tighter.
We continued our tour of the park and the different foods in the area until I thought I might explode.
“I couldn’t possibly eat one more bite,” I said, patting my full belly.
