Chapter Five

 

Rebecca didn’t stay long. She didn’t have anything to say to me, and I didn’t have anything to say to her. I could have tried to patch things up with her, but I didn’t want to. I wanted her to tell me she was sorry.

I hadn’t done anything wrong.

But that didn’t fix my friendship, which meant I knew I was going to have to patch things up with her at some point. I didn’t do anything that weekend—except for work and study and write essays. When Sunday afternoon rolled around, and it was about two hours before I promised to pick Aron up, I couldn’t focus anymore. So I did my hair and hopped a cab over to the address he texted me.

As we pulled into the driveway, my jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe that he lived here.

It wasn’t very big, but it was very, very nice. The front lawn had a freakin’ pond in it and was landscaped beautifully. I have to admit I was a little jealous. It looked like something out of a magazine.

I thanked the cab driver, paid him and slipped out of the cab. I stared at the blue Jaguar he had told me to take. My jaw falling open, I strode up the wood walkway, to the pond where he said there would be a stone in the center. I reached in, the cold water sending goose bumps over my skin. I found the Ziploc bag under the rock, pulled it out and headed over to the front door.

I could feel a thin bead of sweat. What if someone calls the cops because they think I’m breaking into his place and stealing his car?

He was up in the air already. He wouldn’t be able to confirm that it was true I was supposed to pick him up.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to focus. I wasn’t going to get the cops called on me.

Unlocking his door, I slipped inside, closing it behind me. I looked around my jaw dropping.

It was a two-floor house, and right in front of me was a grand staircase leading up to the second floor. My heels clicked against the marble floor as I padded into the kitchen to my left and made for a small jar on the table that he told me about. It’s black, I reminded myself as if I might miss the only jar on the table. I pulled out the set of keys with a Canadian silver dollar on it, out of probably six or seven sets of keys.

I tucked them into my pocket and looked around a little. Everything was spotless. I wonder if he hires someone to do this. And he had much more stuff than I did, which wasn’t saying all that much.

I looked around, unable to stop myself from trying to figure out what this man was like. He didn’t have loads of stuff, but he did have a fully furnished house, which was saying a lot. The sun shone in through large windows from every side of the room.

Wow.

It was amazing. The house, like the yard, looked like it should be in a magazine. I hustled through the kitchen, unable to stop myself from looking around the rest of the house.

Just off the kitchen was a powder room. It was small and simple. Black, white and teal. But it was well put together with counter tops that almost sparkled. I slipped out of there and looked around the rest of the room.

There was a study with a large old-fashioned wood desk, hardwood floors, and shelves upon shelves of books. I bit my lip looking around. It was gorgeous.

I checked my watch. Crap. I’d better get going. I wanted to be careful with his car, so I was going to take a little longer getting to the airport than I normally would have.

I headed for the door. I’m sure I’ll have a chance to come back sometime and look around, I thought as I reached out, my fingers curling around the cold handle. I was out of the house and heading down the driveway within a matter of seconds.

After adjusting the seating and the mirrors, I pulled out of the driveway.

Wow.

I couldn’t believe I was driving a car this nice. It had been a long time since I drove a car, and I had never even thought I would actually be able to drive a car this good. The leather seats were heated, or cooled if I wanted them to be, and the sound system was amazing.

 

When I made it to the airport, I parked in the back, just to be safe, and headed inside with a few minutes left before Aron was due to land. My heart raced. It seemed so strange for me to be driving his car and picking him up already, but I have to admit, I loved it.

Maybe we’re moving too fast.

But was that really such a bad thing? I took a deep breath. My parents got married after six months, and they were still together—and happy.

Moving fast didn’t have to be a bad thing. I glanced down at my phone, checking the time.

“Excuse me, do you have a boyfriend?” His voice was like silk.

I glanced up, my heart skipping a beat.

His dark eyes sparkled. His black hair, with those streaks of gray, was messy as if he’d been sleeping. A grin spread over my face.

“No, I don’t.”

I didn’t, right? I mean, he wasn’t my boyfriend. We’d just … been on a couple dates.

He chuckled. “I’ll have to change that.” He motioned for the door. “I don’t have to wait for luggage, shall we?”

“Sounds perfect.” I nodded falling into pace with him. “So, how was the trip?”

“It was long and overall boring.” He reached into his pocket. “But I got you this.”

It was a small keychain with Florida written on it.

I reached out, taking it from him. “Thank you so much.” My heart raced as I stared at it.

“I know it’s not much but ...”

“It’s amazing. No one has ever brought me home anything.”

I reached out and took his hand in my free hand. “Thank you.” My other hand slipped the keychain into my pocket and pulled out another key chain. “And these, are for you.” I handed it to him.

“Oh, my baby. I missed her.”

He called his car his baby? Interesting. So he was that kind of guy. My head tilted to the left. I realized there was so much I still didn’t know about him.

“So, tell me all about yourself,” I said as we approached the car.

He took a deep breath. “I should be ashamed of how much I missed my cars.” He grinned widely, then turned to me. “Of course, I missed you too.”

I snorted. “Nice save,” I muttered, sliding into the passenger’s seat.

He gunned the engine, and we pulled out of the parking lot.

“So really, tell me about yourself? I hardly know anything.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

“Everything, eh? That’s a lot to go through.” I watched him as he pulled out onto the street. “Well, I’m … uh, 36.” I could see his cheeks flush.

I didn’t bother mentioning I already knew that.

“So there should be lots to tell.” I hadn’t decided if that was going to be an issue for me or not, but I was just going to take it one step at a time. I took a deep breath, as much as I’d enjoyed driving the car, it was kinda nice to be in the passenger seat.

“Not as much as you’d probably like. The truth is, I’m kind of boring. I work long hours. I grew up in a reasonably normal family. No huge drama there, I mean don’t get me wrong … it wasn’t perfect. My dad suffered from addiction for a few years when I was a teen, and my sister fell in his footsteps for a little while, but it wasn’t … how it’s made out to be on TV or anything.” He paused and looked lost in the past. He cleared his throat. “Anyways, well there isn’t much to say really. Both my parents worked growing up, so I didn’t get a lot of time with them, but we made the most of the time we did get together.

“When I was 17, I got into college but ended out deciding not to go, due to the money. I started working two jobs, and then three. Needless to say, I didn’t have much time for friends, but I did find time to study, even though I wasn’t in school.”

“What did you study?”

“Anything I could.” He turned and gave me a smile. “I had a library card.”

I stared at him blankly. “Really?”

“Pretty silly sounding, right? But I’d get a hold of a college course list that had a list of the books you’d need for it, and then I’d go see if my library had them. For a time, I dabbled in counselling, and eating disorders. Er, not for myself. I learnt three languages just from that; of course, this is back when we didn’t quite have the power of the internet like we do now. Now I learn all my languages online. Anyways, I spent a lot of time at my library; I checked out a lot of books, and while I was on break, I’d read. Or when I worked at the gas station I’d read until someone came in. I still have binders full of everything I learnt. When HTML got big, I started learning it, and I found out that I actually really liked it. By then, I had some money saved up, and I took a class.

One class turned into four or five. Then I started freelancing, mostly for free, but a couple friends needed websites, so I made them up one. Then I realized I was pretty good. My mom had me make one for her online shop. And then she paid me for it and told me I should contact her friend, who was in need of a website. One thing led to another, and soon I had a whole portfolio of stuff. I reached out to companies I thought would never bat an eyelash. New York Times, Pepsi, those kinds of places. And a couple actually showed interest.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out who.

“Sorry, can’t say. I sign confidentiality agreements with everyone. It makes them feel better.”

“You even have to?”

He nodded. “Yup, and I give up all my rights to the work. Again, it makes everyone feel better. They agree that I can use them as examples, and only as examples, to clients. And I agree I won’t try to use them for a billion dollars.”

“Wow.” I hadn’t even realized I’d have to do that. But if I wanted to get into the business, it might be a good idea to pick a few things up.

“Anyways, I work mostly. When I was 32, I made my first million dollars.”

“What did you do to celebrate?”

“Honestly?” He chuckled. “I opened a high-interest savings account.” He glanced over at me. “It’s okay, you can laugh. A lot of people did.”

“‘I’m not going to laugh. I bet it’s done very well.”

He looked taken aback by my words as if most people didn’t think of that. A grin spread across his face.

“Anyways, it wasn’t until I was 33 that I bought this place, and I bought my parents and sister a new place. Then I bought a few cars because I needed something to put in my garage.”

We turned onto the highway, and Aron fell silent. He stared out at the traffic ahead of us.

“How many cars do you have?”

“Six.”

I choked on air. He had six freakin’ cars? No way. I could hardly believe it.

“But, that’s really all there is to know about me.” He forced a smile over his lips. “All in all, I’m kind of boring to be honest.”

“You don’t sound very boring to me.” How could someone like him consider himself boring? That’s what I didn’t understand.

He laughed softly. “Thanks, but it’s your turn. Why don’t you tell me all about yourself?”

Because compared to you, I’m totally boring. But I couldn’t say that, so I took a deep breath and nodded.

 

I waited as she bit her lip. Her cheeks flushed.

“There really isn’t much for me to say about myself. I … grew up with two parents, and I went to school. When I was 15, they moved me away from my friends and family, which I hated them for, for some time. But I met some amazing people, and then when I graduated I took some time off to work, so I could put myself through college.”

I raised an eyebrow, not having realized she was working to put herself through college. That was something I respected, having been in a position very close to it.

“Now that I’m in school, I hardly have time for anything except studying and work, and even when I have free time, I normally spend it trying to find some extra work I can do, either online or in person.” She looked out the window. “I hardly even have time to talk to my mom these days…” She trailed off. “Um, not that it’s anyone’s fault by my own. I know that.” She gave a soft smile.

I reached out and took her hand. “I like that you work so hard,” I told her.

I did. It was nice to see a woman working her ass off—no, it was nice to see another human being working their ass off. It’s not that she was a woman because I knew a lot of lazy ass men as well.

“Thanks.” She gave a quiet laugh. “But a lot of people wouldn’t agree with you on that.”

I shrugged. “That’s their issue. You work hard, and that’s going to make you successful someday.”

She turned to me, her brow furrowing. “You really think so?”

“Hard work is the biggest factor in success, and you work damned hard.”

I gave her a single nod. I really did think she would be successful. We turned off the highway and onto the street leading to mine.

She was young, but Melina was mature, and she was taking her school to heart and working to pay for it. That told me getting that debt paid off was important to her and that she was willing to work for something that was important to her. I respected that in her. I respected her for having that kind of fight.

I have spent years around people, and I’ve never met someone as motivated as her. Except for maybe myself, but that didn’t count. I didn’t want to compare her to myself.

“There must be more for you to tell me about yourself.”

“Not really.” She shrugged.

“I don’t believe it. What were your hobbies growing up?”

“Soccer.”

“Really?

Melina nodded. “When I was younger, yes. When I moved, I didn’t want to rejoin a team. I … I didn’t want to play if it meant not playing with the girls on my old team and having the same coaches. I know, it’s kinda silly. My mom thought it would be a great way for me to make new friends, but I just couldn’t bring myself to. Instead, I started playing around with cosmetology. I thought that’s what I was going to do when I grew up.”

“And it’s not?”

“No. It’s … just that I found something else I was passionate about.”

 

I liked helping my friends change their hair, and I could even do makeup half well. I was learning to contour, but that was slow going considering I couldn’t afford the stuff, and I hardly had time to practice on myself.

“So what is it that you are passionate about?”

“Graphic design. I really delved into it when I was younger; of course, I’m still not very good at it.”

“You know, depending on how good you are … I might have a couple of clients looking for cheap graphics.”

“Really?”

“Yea. I know a few people who are always looking to expand their list of artists because you never know how many you will need or who will be busy. Do you have a portfolio?”

“I … no.”

How could I be that stupid? I should have known better than not to have a portfolio. I never thought anyone would want to hire me!

“But I could probably put one together.” I’d need to call in a few favors from family and friends, and people I went to school with, but they would probably be more than happy to let me do their makeup. Right?

My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t believe that I was actually thinking about this like it was possible. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Just don’t get too excited, I told myself.

I needed to make sure I didn’t get in over my head.

“I might know some people you could ask.” He bit his lip. “I know there is one place that is looking for some new freelancers. I could put the word out, once you have a portfolio ready.”

“Really? Are you sure?” I didn’t want him to be putting himself on the line, but I mean, it would be good for me. He would be a good connection. That was for damn sure.

We turned onto the street that his house was on and fell silent. He pulled into the parking lot and put the car into park before turning to me.

“Do you want to come in? I’d … be thrilled if we got a chance to catch up together.”

“Sure.” I gave him a nod, stepped out of the car, and we headed up the driveway and into his place.

“You’ve got a gorgeous house,” I told him.

“Thank you! She’s my pride and joy. I’ve done most of the work on her.”

“You did?”

“Yup. I bought the house as a foreclosure. I didn’t actually move into the place until eight months after I’d bought it because I was doing so much work. Of course, I spent most of my nights here.” He laughed softly.

“You found a way to do all this ...” I motioned around me. “While still working?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your secret?”

“I don’t use social media.” His eyes sparkled. “Except email.”

I raised an eyebrow. He didn’t use social media? I thought everyone and their grandmother did these days.

Still, it had clearly done him well.

“Wait, you don’t use social media?”

“I do for work, but that’s about it. I mean, really who would hire a graphic designer who didn’t have a website?” He grinned widely, and I couldn’t help the soft laugh that passed through my lips.

He closed the door behind us as I looked around the place, eager to find an excuse to go upstairs and check it out.

His arms wrapped around my hips, pulling me against his chest.

I pulled away just enough to turn around and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“It’s good to be home,” he said smiling, “but it’s better to see you.” His lips touched mine for a fraction of a second.

Hot and soft.

I stood there, my knees going weak for a fraction of a second before my lips crashed against his, despite the pooling in the pit of my stomach. I pulled him closer to me, my fingers finding a happy home in his hair. I blew out a deep breath, my teeth grazing his lower lip gently.

His fingers pressed into my skin as he sucked in deeply. I let out a soft moan, one of my hands moving from his hair to his chest, slipping past his suit jacket.

My eyes locked on his as he pulled me closer to him, his teeth grazing my lower lip before his lips placed soft feathery kisses along my jawline.

I moaned, my eyes rolling back.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

My heart skipped a beat as I jumped back, reaching into my back pocket to grab my phone. I groaned.

“I’ve got to get this. It’s my mom.”

“Of course, I’ll go make us some tea.” I nodded, unlocking my screen and lifting it to my ear. “Hello?”

My heart skipped a beat as I realized why she was calling me.

“Well hello.” My mother sounded chipper. “Do you want to tell me why you’re on the news?”

I hadn’t told my parents about it, I hadn’t even warned them about that.

“I … uh … yea.” I hung my head low. “Sorry for not telling you.”

“It’s alright. But … is it true? Are you really dating a millionaire?”

I looked around his house. Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s closer to billionaire, at least. I didn’t say that though.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “it was just a date.”

“Well, are you seeing him again?”

“That’s the plan. But I’m not in any way saying that we’re dating. We’re just … going on a couple dates.”

“Alright, alright.” My mother sounded thrilled. “I would love to meet him, if you decide that you are dating him, considering you two are going on a couple dates. Your father says he’d love to meet him as well.”

I wasn’t sure which part of that was scarier. My mom or my dad wanting to meet him.

“I will,” I promised her.

“Should I be expecting to see you in the news more often now?”

“I … don’t know, honestly. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but I’m not really sure.”

“I won’t be as surprised this time; that’s for sure.” She gave me a soft laugh.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just … wasn’t quite sure what to think. My first reaction was that it couldn’t be you because you hadn’t told me.”

“It’s been kinda crazy.”

“I’m sure it has. But keep up to date, alright? At least, try to. We worry about you.”

“I worry about you guys too. But I’ve gotta go.”

My mom was silent for thirty seconds. “You’re with him right now, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted, my cheeks flushing.

“Alright, have fun. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Love you, Mom.”

“You too.”

And with that, our conversation was done. I tucked my phone back into my pocket and padded into the kitchen where Aron was waiting with two cups on the table.

“What did she want?” he asked casually, his finger reaching up to rub his neck gently. Was that nervousness I just saw?

“Just to ask about why I was all over social media.” I gave him a soft grin.

“I hope I didn’t get you in trouble. I’m very sorry. I should have been more careful about that.”

I shrugged. “You didn’t know it was going to happen. I assume.”

“No!” he said quickly. “If I’d known that someone was going to … see us, I would never have taken you out. I didn’t think they actually cared about me. I mean, with everyone else they could be talking about; I’m kind of boring.”

I shook my head as I slid into the seat across from him. I forgot how nice it was to have a table. I could not understand why this man thought he was boring. Here he was, with a house that he redid and cars that he loved, and you know, the whole being a billionaire thing. That had to have some selling points, didn’t it?

“You seem interesting to me.”

“Thank you.” A smile touched his lips, and his cheeks flushed. “But really, compared to some of the people I know, I’m quite boring. I don’t travel as much as I’d like to; I don’t do anything dramatic.”

“Dramatic isn’t always a bad thing; sometimes normal can be more than enough.”

A grin touched his lips. “Thank you,” he said, reaching out and taking my hand.

“Anyways, you can always do traveling later.”

“Actually … I was thinking about it last night.” He took a deep breath and looked away from me. “I really wished you were with me when I was in Florida. I thought it would be kinda nice to do some traveling together. What do you think?”

That things are moving really fast. I didn’t say that out loud, of course.

“Where did you have in mind?”

“New York. It would just be a quick flight. We could do it for a weekend and still have lots of time to explore, even a day.”

I stared at him blankly. He talked like it wasn’t even a big deal. “It sounds fun. I’d just have to check my savings.” I wasn’t ashamed to say it; I normally said it. I was good at turning things down because I didn’t have money.

Aron waved the statement away. “I’ll cover it.”

I stared at him with wide eyes. “Y-you will? No. I can’t ask that of you.”

“I don’t mind.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll get us tickets right now. Does this weekend work for you?”

I stared at him gobsmacked. He was actually going to get me plane tickets to New York? I couldn’t believe it. Was he going to use it against me?

Why am I so cynical? Maybe he was just trying to do something nice.

“I … are you sure? I mean, I don’t want you to feel like you have to.”

“I don’t mind at all. I’ll take care of it. I’ve got money floating around that needs to be used; anyways, after all, you can’t take it with ya.” He gave me a soft grin, looking up from his phone.

My cheeks flushed. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but was I really willing to turn down a freakin’ trip to New York?

“I’ll pay you back,” I said.

“No worries,” he said with a smile.

He was on his phone for a couple of minutes before putting it down, letting me know that the flights had been booked. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t believe I was going to New York next weekend.

“I’ve got to tell my work.” I was pretty sure I had the Sunday off, but I would need to make sure I could get the Saturday off for sure.

My heart raced. I couldn’t believe we were actually talking about this like it was happening. It is happening, I reminded myself. I couldn’t believe it.

Aron grinned. “Look at us, going on our first trip together.”

I laughed, taking a sip of the tea in front of me. “I’ll have to tell my mom so she doesn’t find out via the news again.”

“I was thinking about that. I … I should at least tell my parents about you if they don’t already know. They are going to want to meet you. It will be a big deal to them, actually.”

“It will?”

“I don’t normally take people out on a date, let alone offer to pay for their airfare somewhere.” He paused. “The last time I even went on a date was probably … five years ago.” I stared at him with wide eyes. “I know my mom is going to make a big deal out of it. She’s going to want to meet you.”

“Oh,” I stammered. I didn’t know how I felt about having to meet his family already.

“I know, it’s fast. But it would be a lot to her, and I know she knows you, but … it will be kind of different. It would mean a lot to me if we could at least do lunch.”

“I can do that.”

“Friday?”

I bit my lip, mulling it over. “As long as it’s not at the same place I work.”

Aron grinned, squeezing my hand gently. “Thank you so much, Melina.”

I shrugged, not sure what to say. I wasn’t huge on the idea of it, but if it made his mom happy, I couldn’t really say no, now could I?

“You’re welcome.” I bit my lip.

“Anyways, what do you have planned for the night? Is dinner an option? Er, assuming I order something here.” He grinned.

“Sounds perfect.” I let out a yawn. “But I’m not sure I can stay long. I’ve got some homework I need to get done.”

“Of course. I understand … though if you did want to stay a while, I have a spare computer you could use.” He pushed himself up and headed into the front room.

I jumped up, eager to get a look around the place some more.

He made his way up the carpeted stairs and onto the second-floor landing. I looked around. There was what looked like a living room, or an entertainment room, with shelves of DVDs and a huge TV. The leather couch was positioned a few feet away from the TV, and there was a glass table between them. To the left of the couch was a pool table.

“Coming?” he asked, already almost in another room.

“Right,” I muttered, rushing to his side as we entered … his room?

It was a bedroom; that much, I knew.

It was simple, with bright red walls and black blankets on the bed, along with a handful of pillows. I took a deep breath and looked around me. It was clean and crisp. I got the impression that Aron didn’t spend much time in here, but there was a desk made to fit over the bed. My head tilted to the left.

“Is this your room?” I asked as he padded into it.

“Yes. The guest room is just over there ...” He pointed behind him, towards the living room.

I sauntered over to the large windows and stared out into the backyard. It shouldn’t have surprised me. It looked like it should be in a magazine, just like the rest of the house.

I shook my head. He must have hated my place, compared to most places it was nothing special, but compared to this—even more so considering he probably did all the work himself. This place was amazing.

I guess if it ever came to it, we’d move in together here. Not at my place.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the idea, or why I even considered it, honestly. It’s not like we’d be having that conversation unless we made it a few years, at least. Although I am already meeting his mom.

The thought sent a shiver down my spine I didn’t expect.

The last time I met a boyfriend’s mother, I was 17, and we were both in school together. Of course, it hadn’t lasted very long, but I had managed to win his mother over easily. See, I’ve got this.

I turned away from the window to see Aron standing in the closet.

I crossed my arms over my chest, resisting the urge to make an immature comment when he stepped out and turned to me. He was holding a small blue laptop. “Here.” He held it out to me,

and I raised an eyebrow.

“I bought it a while back, not that long ago. Like a year. I really liked it, but I found something else I liked better and bought it. I kept this one as a backup. You’re welcome to use it so you can get your homework done.”

Now I didn’t have a reason to go home. And I really liked that.

I bit my lip as I closed the distance between us. What if he thinks I’m taking advantage of him? Was this some sort of test? I took a deep breath and reached out, taking the laptop from him.

“You’re sure?”

“Yup. It’s not doing me any good in the closet. If it means you can stay a little longer, I’d be happy to let you use it.”

I felt my cheeks burn. Was spending time with me really that important to him?