Chapter 9

We sat on the deck at the rear of the boat, watching the sun glistening on the water and feasting on our picnic of artisan bread, dips and cheese, along with more Champagne. We dreamed about running away. Of the route we would take and the things we would see. The idea of having Jay to myself was almost too much. Every second we were together, I wondered how I ever lived without him.

“I got the crazy text photo you sent, taunting me with your body when I couldn’t do anything about it,” he said.

I giggled, I’d forgotten all about it after the Calvin incident.

“I’m glad you got it, I accidentally sent it to Jenny first.”

“You have to be more careful,” he said, sternness in his tone.

“I know.”

“That pussy belongs to me. You have to be more careful, I’m not about to share it with anyone. No one, not even in a photo.”

“If you don’t want any more sexts then I won’t send any.”

“Good.”

“But you’ll be missing out, I had some good ones planned.”

“I won’t be missing anything because I don’t intend to be apart from you.”

I laughed and swiped a bit of hummus down his nose and over his cheek. In a flash he had his arms around me, pinning my arms at me side rocking me from side to side.

“It’s like that, is it?” he said, laughing.

I giggled. “Yes, it is.”

Jay rubbed his face against mine, transferring the hummus to my face. He swung me outwards. For a moment I thought I was going in the water and I squealed but he pulled me back, planting my feet on the deck.

We stood on the deck, embracing so closely all the air between us had been pushed away.

“I mean it, beautiful, I love you.”

“I love you too,” I choked back a tear, brought on by the powerful emotions I felt for him.

“Those clouds over there look pretty dark,” Jay said, nodding. “We’d better head back.”

Part of me was sad. I wanted to stay out here with him, isolated from everything. But I knew he was right.

He went inside while I packed up the picnic, throwing some of the bread to a couple of seagulls that had been hanging around the boat.

Jay was crashing around inside. At first I didn’t pay any attention to it, but it seemed to be getting more and more frantic.

“Fuck!” he yelled.

I rushed in to see what was happening. One look at his face, drained of color, and I started to worry.

“What’s going on?”

He looked at me and regained some of his composure. “Something’s wrong. The fuel is gone.”

“Gone?”

“Yes, emptied. I had it filled this morning. Rats must have chewed through the fuel line and we lost all the gas.”

“Really? Rats do that?”

“Sure. The line’s cut. What else would it be?”

He showed me the line, accessible from a hatch in the floor of the boat. It was cut all right, but it didn’t look like it had been chewed to me. The sever was too smooth. Surely Jay must see that. But I held back from saying anything, he was too upset. I’d ask him about it later.

“So how do we get home?”

“I’ve radioed for help. All we can do now is wait.”

Jay sat on the sofa and patted the space beside him. I followed his direction, and he put his arm around me. I stared out at the lake. Seeing the line cut scared the hell out of me. Who would cut it?

* * *

We transferred to another boat Jay had sent out, and managed to make it back to the marina before the clouds broke.

“We’re going to my place tonight,” Jay said.

I didn’t mind. He had stayed at my little condo all week, it was only fair I stayed in his sprawling mansion over the weekend.

I followed him to his Bentley.

“For fuck’s sake!”

I followed Jay’s line of sight. The Bentley had been keyed, in the same way as the McLaren. From headlight to taillight, a deep stripe along its side.

“What’s going on?” I asked. This was getting too strange.

“Nothing’s going on. Just some punks bitter they drive around in a junker.”

“Does this happen a lot?”

“Not really. Sometimes. It’s fine, get in.” His voice was curt and I didn’t push him any further, telling myself I wouldn’t get any answers while he was worked up. Especially after the boat fuel line. What was going on?

We got in and soon my knuckles were white from gripping the seat so hard. I even closed my eyes a couple of times. No wonder he didn’t use a chauffeur.

We pulled up to his house, a sprawling gray brick three-story house. He pulled into the garage, it was the first time I’d been in it. Everything was spotless. No clutter. No junk. Nothing like our garage when I was growing up.

Above all, there were no cars. And I knew he had at least two.

We got out and Jay pushed a button on the wall and the floor beneath the car began to lower.

“Where’s it going?”

“Down with all the others.”

“How does it work?” I regretted the question as soon as I’d asked. I have to stop being amazed by all his fancy pants billionaire stuff. I felt out of my comfort zone as it was, I didn’t need my words betraying my insides.

“I scroll through, select which car I want and push the button. Then it appears. Magic.” He smirked, and I punched his arm in a playful gesture.

* * *

We sat in the den, and Jay built a fire to warm us from the October day out on the lake. Rosie brought us hot chocolate, placing the mugs on the coffee table.

Jay sat on the couch, tight up against me, and put his arm around my shoulders. I relaxed into him, resting my head on his body with my feet curled up beside me.

We sat in silence drinking our hot chocolate. Every moment with Jay was a moment I never wanted to end.

“So tell me about Bourbon Chaser,” I said, breaking the silence.

“He was a beauty. Chestnut with a patch of white down his nose.”

“Aw, he sounds cute.”

“Gorgeous. And a great temperament. He loved going fast, and my God could he go.”

“Do you have any pictures of him?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment or two, then he said, “I think so, come with me.”

We put our mugs on the table and I followed him down the stairs to the basement. I’d never been in it before, and I was amazed at the huge space at the bottom of the landing. There were sofas and chairs skirting around it, and a wall of glass doors opening onto a patio. The center of the room was completely empty. It was huge and gave a sense of the size of the house that you didn’t get from the upstairs since it was divided into so many rooms.

I followed him through the door and was hit with the smell of leather. The room must have been at the front of the house, as it only had a small window near the ceiling. The room was a good size, and covered in wood paneling. Horse harnesses, brasses and photos adorned the walls.

“Wow,” I said.

“This is my horse room.”

“Of course. Of course you have a horse room.”

He laughed. “I grew up with them. My father’s family has been breeding racehorses for generations.”

I was stunned, unable to respond. He’d never volunteered information about himself before. I’d always had to drag it out of him.

“Here,” he said, pointing to a cluster of photos, “these are Bourbon Chaser.”

I walked up to them. It was a very pretty horse. Not that I knew anything about horses. But it had nice markings. I looked over all the photos, many of them of Bourbon Chaser in a winner’s circle, slick with sweat and adorned with flowers, a jockey in a colorful outfit always holding his reins.

“Is that your father?” I asked, pointing to a man who was in most of the photos.

Jay nodded, and I examined the photos more closely for hints of his past. Many also had the same woman I had seen in the photos in his bedroom, and I put my finger to her face. She seemed familiar.

“She reminds me of someone,” I said.

“Weird.”

I moved along the wall, looking at all the photos. In one, the woman was holding a toddler while another young boy stood between her and a horse.

“That’s you.” I stated. “But who’s the one she’d holding? Is that your brother?”

“I don’t have a brother,” he said, then he grabbed my hand.

I followed him out of the room and back to the den, racking my brain over the woman.

We snuggled back into our spots on the sofa in front of the fire. I leaned my head against him, still thinking about the woman. Something was off, but I didn’t know what. I couldn’t place it.

All of a sudden Calvin’s words came back to me ‘watch out for lies.’ Was this one of them? I didn’t want to believe it. Calvin was a bitter asshole and I shouldn’t pay any attention to his words. Without me asking, Jay was opening up about his life.