Chapter 2

Nathan

I opened my eyes slowly, remembering before I did that I was in Amanda’s house and not my own. I looked down at the beautiful girl sleeping on my chest, her long, dark hair wildly strewn around her. I rubbed my hand down her side, feeling the warmth of her smooth skin under my fingers. She moaned slightly and tilted her head up, smiling sweetly, her eyelashes batting over her big blue eyes. She was breathtaking. She yawned and scooted over next to me, stretching her arms over her head.

“Good morning,” I said with a smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a baby,” she groaned. “How about you?”

“I don’t think I moved an inch all night,” I said, looking up at the fan and then back at her. “Do you have plans this morning?”

“No,” she said, pulling the sheet up over her. “You?”

“I have a meeting later but nothing this morning,” I replied. “Let me take you to breakfast.”

“Alright,” she said after a moment of contemplation. “I suppose I could use some breakfast after all that liquor I drank last night.”

“Me too,” I said, climbing out of the bed. “Come on, let’s get dressed and go. I know a nice quiet place.”

She smiled and leapt out of bed, exposing the perfect curves of her petite little body. We got dressed, and she gave me a toothbrush to use. When we were ready, we met the car downstairs and headed out to a little diner on the other side of the city. We spent breakfast getting to know each other a little better.

“So, what company do you own?” she asked.

“I own iTech,” I said.

She swallowed hard. “What?”

“Yeah, I wanted to wait to give out that little gem.” I laughed.

“I could see how that might be intimidating to someone.” She laughed.

“Not so much intimidating as finding out that people are only interested in my friendship for my money,” I said.

“Oh,” she replied, scrunching her nose. “I’m sorry about that.”

“And you want to open your own mental health clinic for children,” I stated.

“Yep,” she replied, nodding. “Eventually. I only graduated two semesters ago, so I am still testing the waters.”

I watched her intently as she passionately spoke about her future plans. I found that I really enjoyed being around her. She was interesting and enlightening in certain ways. Sure, she was hotter than hell, with that adorable nose and big pouty smile, but inside, she was driven and wanted to help others, something that you didn’t find in many people these days. She wasn’t the typical LA beach bunny that I found out here. She was a real woman with real aspirations. Listening to her talk gave me that tingle of excitement I had when I first started my own company.

It wasn’t often that I met a girl that made me feel that way. In fact, I hadn’t enjoyed being around a woman like that since before my fiancée and I broke things off. We had been together for years, and she had been there for the money and after it. I thought the relationship was solid, but then I found out that she was cheating on me. Worse than that, she’d been telling her boyfriend how rich the two of them were going to be once she had finished with me. It was heartbreaking and shocking, to say the least, and after I broke things off with her, I had a hard time trusting any woman. I felt like the sanctity of trust had been altered, and I wouldn’t ever be able to trust another woman again.

With Amanda, though, I could feel the excitement and nervousness that I had felt before. I didn’t think it was actually possible for me to feel that way again, and I almost trusted that she was being honest with her thoughts toward me. I had to keep it in the back of my head that she was a woman, though, and that the first period of time with someone was the most dangerous. Hormones were raging, emotions were heightened, and it was easy to make choices surrounded by wants and not the facts right in front of your face. I wanted to stay grounded, but I was finding it difficult to do so.

There was something about this girl that drew me in. I felt like we were magnetic, and I was disappointed when I looked down at my watch and saw that the time had passed by so quickly. I didn’t want to leave this girl. I felt like the separation would be painful. Visions of her sensual body rolling over mine flooded through my head as she talked, and I could feel the heat in my stomach begin to rise once again. Usually if I slept with a girl, it was over that night. No breakfasts, no flirting, and definitely no more lustful thoughts. This was different, though. I wanted to spend the entire day with her, listening to her talk about her dreams and dragging her back into that warm, comfortable bed of hers.

In my mind, I wanted to ask her if she was feeling the same way, but I didn’t want to be too forward and scare her off. She seemed like a level-headed girl, and although I usually was the same way, I was floating on cloud nine. I kept my mouth shut anyway and watched her as she moved from subject to subject, spilling her story over pancakes and eggs. From the sound of her voice and the way she looked at me across the table, I could tell her feelings were similar to mine. I wondered if this would be our only breakfast or if I would be able to pull her away once again. My thoughts were interrupted at the sound of my phone alarm, letting me know it was time for me to head to my meeting.

I paid the tab and slowly walked Amanda outside. She held tightly to my arm as we strolled toward the car, still talking about the future. She was so sweet, and I was having a hard time not ignoring the texts coming through on my phone.

“So yeah.” She laughed. “That’s my story.”

“And it’s an amazing one,” I said, leaning down and kissing her cheek. “Listen, I’m sorry. I have to get to this meeting. The car will take you home. I’ll grab a cab. Can I have your number? Maybe we can have dinner soon.”

“That would be great.” She smiled, taking my phone and putting her number into the system.

“I’ll call you soon.” I smiled, putting my phone in my pocket and shutting her into the car.

I watched as the car headed down the street and around the corner. Then I grabbed a cab and headed to my apartment to get ready for the lunch meeting I was already late for. I changed quickly and then met the car downstairs, my hair still wet from the shower. I was meeting my best friend and right-hand man, John, and some investors for lunch at a chic little café downtown. I didn’t want to go to a meeting like this on a Saturday, but it was the only time we could meet with these guys. When I got there, they were already starting appetizers, and I apologized profusely for being late.

The guys talked about business, and John rambled on about the numbers and growth from the prior year. I pushed the lettuce around on my plate and focused my thoughts on Amanda. She had infiltrated my mind, and I couldn’t push the electric feeling out of my chest every time I thought about the hot sex we had the night before. It was distracting, to say the least, but luckily, I had John to carry the weight through the meeting. I was usually always on my game, and John nudged me several times under the table to signal me to say something. Luckily, he was the only one to notice, and by the end of lunch, the investors were ready to move forward with the new project we had in the works.

“Thank you, I promise you will not regret this,” I said, shaking their hands.

John paid the check while I gathered the folders from the table, just then realizing we had sealed the deal. I probably should have paid more attention, but my mind just wouldn’t let me. John walked back over and shook my hand.

“That was easy.” He laughed. “Though I felt like I was in that meeting alone. What’s up with you? Where was your head during all of that? You seemed extremely distracted, and I know that means something is going on.”

“Sorry,” I said.

“Don’t be sorry. Just tell me what’s up.” He chuckled.

“I went to Maggio’s last night to get some dinner, a few drinks, and to clear my head,” I explained. “That place is quiet enough for people not to know who I am.”

“Yeah,” he said, walking with me outside.

“I met someone while I was there,” I said. “She’s this adorable little vixen that just knocked my feet out from under me. We ended up drinking and then went back to her place. I took her to breakfast this morning. That was why I was late. I completely lost track of time.”

“Wow,” John said, nodding.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” He chuckled. “I’m just surprised. That’s all. You swore off women after Tracy screwed you over.”

“I didn’t go looking for it,” I replied.

“I know,” he said. “I just want you to be careful. That’s all. I just don’t want things to end up like last time. You remember last time, right? I told you from the beginning that I didn’t trust Tracy, and I was right. I’m not saying that about this girl—I’ve never met her—but I worry about you. Girls have a tendency to get inside of your brain, and you go blind for a little while. I just want you to keep your eyes open, see things clearly, and make sure that her interest is in you and not your money. It sucks you have to live your life suspecting everyone, but you became a billionaire by the time you were twenty-five. There are downsides to that.”

“It’s not going to end like last time,” I said. “And I know, you pretty much saved me from a sham of a marriage. I owe you forever on that one, and I won’t take your advice for granted next time around. Besides, I don’t even know if I’ll ever see this girl again. I got her number, I told her I’d call her, but I don’t know if I actually will.”

“You should,” he said, shrugging. “I don’t see you get excited about a girl very often.”

“I’m not excited, just replaying the hot sex we had. That’s all.” I laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “Now, go enjoy the rest of your weekend. I’m going to go home and get some sleep, maybe watch the Lakers game on television or something.”

“Alright.” He laughed, climbing in the back of the car. “I’ll see you later.”

I nodded and watched the car drive off before climbing into mine. As we made our way to my place, I thought about what John said, and I was glad I chose to brush things off around him. Sure, what I felt was pretty intense, especially for me, but he didn’t need to know that. I needed to figure it out for myself first, show him that I could judge this girl’s character, and that I had learned from my mistakes. He had been my best friend since college, and my frat brother, and I wasn’t going to ignore his advice without giving it serious thought.