I felt just slightly guilty about upsetting Rebecca. I didn’t mean for her to have an existential crisis at my kitchen table, but I still felt like she needed to be realistic with herself. At first, I could go along with her idealization of my career, because it was flattering that she felt so highly of me. But, at the same time, I actually kind of gave a shit about what became of her, so I wanted to set her straight. If it were anyone else, I’d probably stay silent and laugh when they realized the job wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. For some reason, it was different with Rebecca.

I hated to see her idolizing me when she didn’t really know me. We spent lots of intimate time together in the past few days, but she saw me on a superficial level. I hadn’t said much more to her than I would to the nosiest reporter. I was unapologetic about my words and behavior, and I rarely censored myself. If I was flirty with Rebecca, it was because I was flirty with a lot of girls I found attractive. In fact, I was also flirty with girls I wasn’t particularly attracted to. It was just another way of communicating for me.

Yes, I had taken a special interest in Rebecca and promised to help out her career, but we weren’t dating, or anything. I knew I didn’t owe her anything, but I felt as though I should be a little more careful with her. Many of the women I spent time with could handle themselves just fine. Rebecca was tough, but still delicate in a way that made me worry about her future. She had the potential, but I feared she would burn bright for a short amount of time before burning out altogether.

At the same time, I had to remind myself that her issues were not the same as mine. Though I saw similarities between the two of us, I had to separate my struggles with the industry from her goals and dreams. Did I wonder if she was getting into hedge fund management for all the wrong reasons? Probably, but I wasn’t sure if that was my business. When it came down to it, I didn’t know her on a deeper level, either. I just felt bad that I spoiled what had been an otherwise amazing weekend with a pretty girl.

With my guilt, I decided I would try to take her mind off of it. Mind you, I would also benefit from this as well. It was fairly early, and my morning wood hadn’t completely settled down.

“I had this put in a few years ago, and have hardly used it,” I said, escorting her to my patio. I flipped a switch on the wall, and the jets in the hot tub started to rumble.

“You don’t use this?” she exclaimed. “If I had a hot tub, I would be in here every day. I would kill for this kind of lifestyle.”

“You say that now, but it’s not as much fun to hot tub alone,” I said. “Sure, it’s nice if you’re entertaining guests, but most nights, I just lay on the couch until I fall asleep. Then, when you have friends over, you have to clean it because I don’t like to have a lot of chemicals in here, and people like to behave badly in hot tubs,” I added with a wink.

“It’s such a nice day,” she said, looking up at the sky. Fluffy, white clouds drifted overhead, creating perfect intervals of warm sun and cool shade. She held out an arm and let her fingers float over the wooden screen that kept the hot tub private, but still made it feel like we were in the open. “I didn’t bring a bathing suit.”

I couldn’t help but grin at her naivety. We had engaged in sexual intercourse not more than twelve hours ago and she was concerned about having something to wear in the hot tub.

“I wasn’t planning on putting on a swimsuit, if that makes you feel any better,” I said.

She blushed and took the hint. After following my lead, she stripped off my clothes and splashed into the warm water. Her perky breasts floated on top of the water, until she finally lowered herself to her neck and paddled toward me.

The hot tub was really like a small swimming pool with jets. I would have installed a full lap pool, but there wasn’t quite enough room on the deck. I would have to wait until I bought a house in the suburbs.

“Want me to give you a massage?” I asked. Other women had told me I was pretty good at it. It was also a sure-fire way to get a different kind of massage from the girl once I was finished.

“Yeah, actually, that sounds pretty nice,” she said, getting closer to me.

As I worked on her tense shoulders, she started to relax a little. “I hope I didn’t freak you out or whatever,” I said. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“It’s fine,” she mumbled. “Maybe you’re right and maybe you’re full of shit. Either way, I can take care of myself.”

“Good,” I said.

“So, what would you do if you weren’t a hedge fund manager?”

I thought for a moment. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I had some ideas. However, I hadn’t shared these thoughts with anyone, let alone a girl I had known for just a handful of days. As a rule, I didn’t get too close to anyone I didn’t plan on keeping around. Friends, family, and business partners could be trusted. But, since I already broken the façade of a happy career, I figured I might as well tell her more about my future goals.

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “There’s about a million things I think I’d enjoy doing. Property management might be nice. Unfortunately, if you’re not great at it, you’re just throwing away money. I think I have enough now that I could work on some smaller developments. Housing for college students is pretty hot right now.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Well, this place is nice. I guess you’ve at least got an eye for style. But, it might be risky when you consider the chance of another housing crisis.”

“True,” I replied. “I also wouldn’t mind owning my own business. If I were the guy on top, I’d make a lot more money, doing a lot less work. It’s a lot like investment, really. You just have to have the knowledge and intuition to make things work out in your favor.”

“What kind of business?” she asked, as my hands made their way down her back.

“Maybe something in tech,” I said. “There’s a lot of potential there. You have to find a nerd with the right ideas, but no business sense. Then, you can leave the business decisions to me, and have the other employees really focus on the product. I don’t know if any major existing companies would take me on as CEO, but I think I could get there on my own.”

“Well, I’d invest in you,” she replied. “I think you’d probably be good at just about anything.”

I crinkled my brow and held her waist. “Wait, what wouldn’t I be good at?”

She giggled. “Well, you’re never going to be a professional chef, are you?”

I picked her up and put her on my lap, my arms still tight around her waist. We laughed as we got closer, the water sloshing over our naked bodies. Then, with a serious look in her eye, she turned and straddled me, carefully slipping herself on top of me.

It was a pleasant surprise, having her take control like that. I was extremely aroused by this, and she knew. I kissed her chest and watched her face as she got off on top of me. It was so incredibly sexy the way she ground on top of me that I found myself switching positions with her, just to give myself a little break. We made love in the open air without a care in the world. When it was over, we floated around in bliss, exchanging naughty smiles with each other.

“You’re full of surprises,” I said, as she got out and draped a towel around her dripping body.

“You keep saying that,” she replied, wringing out her long hair.

“It’s because it’s true,” I said, quickly wrapping a towel around my waist. “I’m glad you introduced yourself that day in class. It’s been a good weekend.”

“I agree. I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but I’ve been here just about all weekend.”

“You don’t have to go,” I said quickly. “I could order in something.”

She made a pained expression. “If I don’t leave now, I don’t think I ever will. We have to return to reality eventually.”

“Okay,” I pouted, opening the door to the apartment for her. I followed her to the bedroom, where she picked her sundress off of my rug and tossed it on the bed as she looked for her undergarments and shoes.

Seeing her in the nude made me horny all over again. And, when I got to thinking about it, I realized that we had yet to have sex in my bed. We had been too busy getting it on around my apartment that we hadn’t even rolled around in my sheets.

“Ten more minutes, please?” I pleaded as I caressed her body. She tried to suppress a smile, but it broke through anyway.

“Fine,” she said, jumping onto the bed. “But only because you asked so nicely.”