A Week with The Billionaire
There was no way I could know that I would meet someone like Jeffrey at my niece's preschool art show, but I did. I hadn't expected it or prepared for something like it, but I had, at least, dressed nicely. I was wearing a blue flared A-line dress with a subtle pattern and pink pumps. I had my dark black hair in curled ringlets that fell down past my collarbone. Even if I wasn't ready emotionally or psychologically to meet someone, I certainly looked the part. Though all of the artists were under the age of five, I was giving each series of paintings and crafts a good and thorough look-over.
I glanced up and saw him across the room, next to a patchwork quilt and van Gogh-inspired paintings. His hair was all white and even from across the room, I could tell his sparkling eyes were blue. I looked back at the artwork quickly, to avoid ogling at him. I moved toward my sister and pulled her aside.
"Lynn," I said eagerly. "What do you think of that guy over there?"
"Which one?" she asked.
"That one," I replied, subtly inclining my head in his direction.
Lynn said, "White hair? He looks so young."
"Doesn't he?"
"He isn't your type, for one thing," she told me.
"My type?"
"Yeah, your type is tall, dark, and brooding."
"What do you think?" I said, stealing a glance at him as he joked with some teachers.
"I think the more important question is what do you think?," she turned the question back on me.
I studied him out of the corner of my eye for a moment before responding. "He seems pretty vivacious. He is handsome, for sure, and wears his confidence on his sleeve."
"He's probably a Leo. You know me, I'm good with the zodiac," she said, looking back at him.
He was ending his conversation and beginning to peruse the art. I watched as a child went up to him and tugged on his collared shirt sleeve. He turned and kneeled down, getting on the child's level. They talked and then the little one handed the man a piece of artwork. I looked away, and then back at Lynn.
"Lynn, help me out."
"I have a child to attend to, by the way. Single motherhood is nothing like the commercials."
"Should I go over and talk to him?" I asked.
"Do what you want," she said, sounding distracted.
"Lynn," I said, but turned to see what she had been looking at. Her daughter had dumped a bucket of lunch boxes onto the floor. Lynn hurried over to clean it up and I turned toward the man with white hair, only to find that he was gone.
I spotted him again after a few minutes looking around the room. He was two or three people away from me and soon, I was caught up in a conversation with Lynn's daughter's teacher. She turned me toward a series they had done with some children from the class. I looked in awe at the paintings and then when the conversation was over, I turned away from the teacher and found myself staring into a pair of sparkling blue eyes.
He was stunningly handsome up close. He smiled and subtle crow's feet appeared beside eyes that looked at me like I was the only woman in the room. He had dimples, which made him look younger than he might be. I had a hard time placing his age, but could immediately tell that I was in trouble.
Overcome with the attraction I was feeling for him, I backed away a step. I bumped into a little girl behind me and I bent down to apologize. When I got back up, he was gone. I moped back over to Lynn.
"I think I missed my opportunity," I told her.
"Not quite," she said, "here comes your lover boy."
I looked up to see him making a beeline for me.
In a moment, he was in front of me and put his hand out, "Jeffrey."
We shook hands and my sister bowed her head and turned away. Neither Jeffrey nor I made any notice; we stared solely at one another.
"I'm Raina."
"Raina," he repeated, rolling my name around on his tongue.
"Mhmm,” I replied dumbly.
"What brings you to the art show?" he asked.
"My niece, actually."
He nodded, "No kids of your own?"
"Nope, what about you?"
"Nope."
"So what brings you here?" I asked.
"I’m on the Board of Education," he replied. "I like to stop in and see what the students are up to from time to time."
"Really? I’ve been to a few events but I’ve never seen you before.”
"That’s because I’ve been out of town for a lengthy stay until just recently."
"Well that sounds awfully interesting,” I said, wondering where his travels had taken him.
"Yes, but enough about me," he said. Tell me something about you."
I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. I hated talking about myself. “What is it you would like to know?” I asked.
“Hmm, you know what I do, why don’t you tell me what you do,” he said.
I nodded. “Well I studied political science at Berkley, but I’m a journalist,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.
His eyes twinkled. “It doesn’t sound like you have a great passion for it,” he observed.
“Wow, you’re very perceptive,” I said. “I mean, I like the research, the writing, even the reporting. It’s the people I don’t like. People aren’t always that nice.”
Jeffrey nodded and smiled at me. “Yeah, that’s for sure,” he agreed.
I smiled back and stood rooted to the floor in front of him, unsure of what to say or do next.
"So, should I go and leave you to check out more artwork?" he asked after an awkward silence.
"No, no," I said, putting my hand on his arm. "Stay."
"Want to look at it together?" he asked.
"I would like that," I said.
"So, this is one of my favorite pieces by a student named Ben," he said, pointing at a mosaic that had been made by toddler sized hands. "Then this one is pretty great," he said, pointing to a new one. We continued to look at the walls of art like that together before we stopped at the entrance, where Lynn and her daughter were ready to go.
"They’re my ride, I have to go, sorry," I said.
"That's quite all right."
"Listen, I want to see you again," I blurted out, surprising even myself.
He picked up a pen and paper from the desk he was leaning on and slid them in my direction. I wrote down my number and he picked it up and smiled before putting it in his breast pocket.
"Have a good night, Jeffrey."
"Have a good night, Raina."
He reached out and grabbed my hand, placing a kiss on the back, and I felt a jolt of electricity course through my system. Despite only having just met him, I felt an odd connection to Jeffrey and I knew that my initial thought had been a correct one. I was in big trouble.
Jeffrey called me the next day and we planned a date for the upcoming Saturday. I waited outside my apartment building for him and he showed up promptly at the designated time. He pulled to the curb in a sleek silver sports car and I ducked into it after he had come around to open the door for me.
"So, what is it you do?" I asked as we drove away.
"I’m in finance," he said, vaguely.
"That sounds interesting," I said, not knowing the first thing about the subject.
"Not really, but it pays the bills," he said.
He continued to drive as we began talking.
"So, what is it you have planned for the day?" I asked.
"I thought we could go to Balboa Park."
"It's right next to my job and I've never gone," I told him.
"You’ve never been to Balboa Park? Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Then, we're going for sure," he said.
"Great, I can't wait."
Within minutes, we pulled up to the park which housed two museums. As we walked through the first, we talked about where we had lived prior to our current residences and discovered that we had both been in Santa Barbara around the same time. We even knew some of the same people. I found myself wondering how I’d never run into him before.
We walked next into the Museum of Human Anatomy and I was amazed by the displays.
"I love the amazing detail," I said, turning to him.
Jeffrey was staring at me with his brilliant blue eyes in a way that made me feel almost naked under his gaze. After what seemed like a long moment, he turned his eyes back to the painting.
"I like it, too; quite a bit actually."
We then went to the botanical gardens and walked around among the beautiful plants and flowers. While we were there, we talked about our families and what they were like. He loved his while I couldn't stand mine.
"I'll probably never get to meet them, then?" he asked.
I was a little taken aback by the question. I had known the man all of a few hours and he was talking about meeting my family. A little thrill crept up my spine at the thought that a man as handsome as Jeffery was that interested in me already.
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “Not if you’re lucky,” I said, wryly.
“That’s too bad,” he mused. “I’ve often known that my family wasn’t like a lot of others’ and for that, I’ve always been grateful. I’m sorry you don’t feel the same way about yours.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “It is what it is,” I said. “So, tell me what makes your family so fabulous?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation back to him.
"We love one another and are always there to support each other," he said simply.
"That's not quite the kind of family I have," I chuckled.
“That’s really too bad,” Jeffrey said.
I started walking again, determined not to let the subject of my crappy family ruin this day. I spotted a large rose bush with flowers of bright yellow and I wandered over to it, a smile spreading across my face.
“I take it from the smile on your face that you like yellow roses?” Jeffrey observed.
I nodded vigorously. “Yes, they are my absolute favorite,” I said.
“Good to know,” he said, tapping his finger to his temple as if to commit it to memory.
I looked to him and smiled again. There was something about being with him that made me feel light and happy. I did not typically attract guys that were light and happy. This was a nice change.
“You have a very lovely smile,” Jeffrey said, his eyes playing over my face.
“Thank you,” I responded. “You make it easy to smile.”
“I’m glad,” he said, reaching down to take my hand in his as we continued through the display.
We walked out of the botanical gardens and sat beside the fountain, watching the other people come and go, continuing to get to know one another.
As we sat, a large white dog came bounding up the to fountain for a drink, dragging his poor owner behind him on his leash. The dog splashed happily and lapped up the cool water as I laughed at the poor guy, trying to drag him away.
"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.
Jeffrey agreed and we decided to head back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, I napped while Jeffrey showered and then we ordered dinner in later on. Again that night, he made no attempt to follow me into the bedroom.
"We are going to Northern Japan today," he said the next morning. "Are you okay with that?"
"Sure. What are we going to do there?" I asked.
"That depends; do you like foxes?"
"Foxes? I mean, I guess so," I replied. As a city girl, I didn’t really have any particular opinion about them one way or another.
"Well then, let's go."
We drove to Zao, where the fox village was.
"There's also a hot spring here," Jeffrey said as we arrived.
"I've always wanted to go to a real Japanese spring," I said, excitedly.
"Onsen," he said.
"What?"
"‘Onsen’ is the word for hot spring in Japanese."
"You really seem to know a lot about Japan," I said. “Have you been here before?”
"No. I researched a bit before we got here, and while on the plane. I wanted to make sure that you had the best experience possible while we were here," he said with a smile.
I shook my head in wonder. Where had this man been all my life? He was kind, considerate, not to mention loaded beyond belief. I found myself slipping a little bit farther into some serious like for him.
We got out of the car and followed wooden signs through a group of buildings to get to the fox village. Upon entering, we were surrounded by sausage-shaped foxes. They seemed unlike their wilder counterparts in weight and size, but similar in every other way. They were cuter than any other animal I had ever been close to and I fell in love with them immediately. They wagged their puffy tails at me and I couldn’t help but giggle.
Jeffrey came over to me and held my arm with one hand and placed his other on my waist. He leaned his head forward to whisper softly in my ear.
"They seem to like you," he said.
"I hope they're not the only ones," I said.
He looked me in the eyes, his smile widening. He let go of me and bent at the knees to put his hand out, gesturing toward the foxes in front of us.
They swarmed around him and I saw the look of concern wash over his face for a moment when he grew fearful of them. But, then, he regained his poise and smiled off his worry as he realized the foxes were friendly. He treated them as such and they continued to swarm around him, excitedly. I laughed to myself and vowed to always remember this moment.
"Want to stop off at that spring?" he asked, once the animals had lost interest in him and moved on.
"You mean the onsen?"
He chuckled, "Right, indeed. I don't have a swimsuit and neither do you, but I've seen people wear towels into the spring and we could do the same."
"I like the idea of that, let's go."
We went to the bath house and changed out of our clothes, wrapping large plush towels around us and meeting outside the building. There was steam rising from the milky blue water in front of us. The steam draped the rocks that lay on the outskirts of the pool. We followed the stone path that led to the rocky steps and went down below the water line.
I entered the warm waters and immediately felt myself relaxing.
He entered behind me and let out a deep, "Ooh."
"It feels so good," I said to him.
We sat down on rock benches underwater, a foot apart from one another. I wanted to scoot closer but being that I was naked under the towel, I didn’t want to make a wrong impression.
Jeffrey put his head back and looked up at the sky while sighing.
He turned his head to look at me, after a moment's pause, and said, "It's days like these that remind you why life's worth living."
"I hear that," I said.
"It doesn’t matter how much money you have if you don’t have anyone to share life with. I can buy most anything I want, but I can’t buy true companionship or love. Even with the money, I still can’t help but feel that something is missing in my life. Do you ever feel that way?” Jeffrey asked me.
I nodded my head. “I do,” I said simply.
"Maybe," he said, grabbing my hand under the water, "Maybe that's because we're missing each other."
I smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. “Maybe,” I conceded.
We sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying one another’s company and the serenity of the surroundings.
"What do you like most about Japan?" I inquired curiously.
“Honestly? I like seeing it through your eyes. I like watching you experience everything and react to it. You have such inquisitive and intelligent eyes and a killer smile. That’s been my favorite part,” he answered, pinning me with his gaze.
I could feel the blush creeping into my cheeks at his words. I had never been complimented so much in all of my life. I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it, so I just said a simple, “Thank you for saying so.”
“What’s been your favorite part?” Jeffrey asked me.
“Everything!” I said exuberantly. “I love the scenery, the food, the tranquility of this place, and, most of all, I like being here with you.”
Jeffrey leaned over and kissed me lightly on the lips. I felt that familiar jolt of electricity run through my limbs and kissed him back. After a moment, we parted and continued to sit again in silence.
After a few more moments, I could feel my skin begin to prune in the water. Jeffrey caught me looking at my hands and chuckled.
“Are you ready to head back?” he asked.
“Yes, I think I am.”
We headed back into the bath house to change back into our clothes and climbed in the car to head back to Tokyo.
We arrived back at the hotel late and ordered room service, which was delicious. After dinner, Jeffrey placed a sweet kiss on my forehead before retiring to the couch.
The next morning, I woke up, showered, and dressed before coming out to see him.
"Today," he said excitedly, as he folded the blankets he was using on the couch, "We're going somewhere awesome. It’s a place I've always wanted to go."
"Where is it?" I asked.
"Suzuka race track," he said, sounding like a little kid in a candy store.
"To do what?"
"Drive, of course."
"To drive?" I asked. "That sounds like it might be dangerous."
Jeffrey’s face fell just enough for me to catch it.
“Ok, we can go do something different,” he said, trying hard not the let the disappointment show in his voice.
“No, no,” I said quickly. “Let’s go to the racetrack.”
“But you don’t sound like you want to, and I want you to enjoy this trip,” he said sweetly.
I smiled and raised my hand to touch his cheek. “Jeffrey, I am enjoying this trip. But it’s not all about me. I want you to have fun too. So if you want to race, we race!”
“Are you sure?” he asked, his smile returning.
“I’m sure,” I assured him.
The wide, boyish smile broke across his face once more and he grabbed my hand excitedly and led me to the waiting car.
When we arrived at the track, a well-dressed man in a tailored suit was waiting to greet us.
"Mr. Dormer," he said, as he addressed Jeffrey, "your keys."
"Thank you," Jeffrey said and we followed the man through a building and into the garage next to the track.
"This is the 2016 Nissan Silvia S15," the man told us.
"Banned in the US," Jeffrey said, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"For street use, yes," said the man.
"It's beautiful," I said, looking at it in awe. I’d never been one to care much about cars, but this thing was gorgeous.
Yes, it is,” Jeffrey agreed.
"Jeffrey," I said, putting my hand up and placing it on his chest.
"Yes, Raina?"
"Will you ease into it? The racing, I mean?”
Jeffrey smiled down at me as the man walked away.
"I promise. And if you start to feel nervous or scared, you let me know and I’ll slow down. Okay?” I nodded.
We were fitted with helmets, fireproof jumpsuits, and racing gloves. We got into the car at the starting line. Once the track was cleared, the lights in front of us on the speedway flashed, then they stayed green and he put the pedal to the metal. We sped off as he shifted gears. We took the first turn and I had to admit that it was a bit exhilarating.
"The designer curve is up ahead," Jeffrey shouted, as we approached it. He braked, then accelerated, and had to brake, again, as he made a ninety degree turn.
"Now the hairpin," he said, as he sped toward it.
I grabbed the edge of my seat and held on. There was one more curve then it was a straight away for a while. He let go of the gear shifter with one hand and held my hand for a moment. I smiled at him and he glanced over at me. I was enjoying this way more than I thought I would. We went through another tight turn after he had stepped on the brakes, and then another short straightaway before finishing.
"That's all she wrote," he said as he pulled the car back up to the starting line.
After we returned the equipment and the keys Jeffrey asked me what I would like to do.
“Well, I’ve always wanted to go to Tokyo Tower,” I said.
“Then that’s where we’ll go,” he answered.
It was so surreal to be able to mention anything I wanted and have it happen. I found myself thinking that I could really get used to this way of living, especially if it was with Jeffrey.
We looked out from the observatory, which had windows tilted so that you could see more of the city below you. It was all quite dizzying even for me. I looked over the edge while he hung back a little. I went up to him and he fidgeted with his hands.
“Are you afraid of heights?” I asked him, concern furrowing my brow.
“Just a little,” he admitted sheepishly.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have dragged you up here if I had known,” I said, feeling bad.
“Well, you were apprehensive about the racing but you went anyway. I figured I ought to return the favor,” he said.
I shook my head. This man really was something else. I took his hand and started to lead him toward the windows.
"I don't think I'm ready," he said, pulling back a little.
"You're ready," I insisted. “Besides, I’ll be right next to you the whole time.”
We walked toward the edge together and I stood next to him, then leaned in and put my head on the top of his arm, nearly touching his shoulder. As I realized he was comfortable, I put my hand on his chest and smiled out as I looked at the beautiful city.
"This is pretty amazing," he said.
"Do you like the view?"
"I like the feeling of being next to you," he said quietly.
"You know, on this entire trip, I've had moments where I want to be able to relive them again and again because I enjoyed them so much. Moments with you."
"You have?"
I looked up at him, "And this is one of those moments."
"I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” Jeffrey said.
We stood like that for a moment after I had put my head back on his arm and looked out over the city. We had dinner in the restaurant in Tokyo Tower and enjoyed every second of it.
Chapter Four
We ended up staying in Japan for another week, revisiting places in Ueno Park and the surrounding area, like the street food carts and shops. Jeffrey offered to buy me things several times and after much deliberation, I decided to let him buy me whatever we both liked. There were several things, like a necklace, shoes, and a dress. I had to admit, it felt awfully nice to be spoiled like that; to not have to consider a price tag before purchasing something.
One afternoon after a brief shopping trip, Jeffrey suggested we go to one of the cat café’s he’d heard about.
“Oh yes!” I exclaimed. “Let’s do that!”
We went and sat down and I was approached by an adorable fuzzy ginger cat. It allowed me to stroke it while Jeffrey took pictures on his phone.
"Adorable," he said.
"Isn't it?"
“I was talking about you,” he said, making me blush.
I waved him off and continued stroking the cat’s soft fur as he purred loudly in response.
"I thought we could have dinner at Akasaka Asada, here in the city tonight," Jeffrey said after we had left the café.
"What are they known for?"
"Very, very small plates," he said. "It's in the Minato district. It's a ‘ryotei’, which is just another word for classy."
"So, I should probably change," I said.
"No, you look beautiful no matter what you're wearing."
I blushed again and bumped my shoulder against his.
We enjoyed an exquisite meal with excellent service and at the end of it, he put his hand forward and held mine. "This has been the best time of my life," he said.
"Mine too,” I admitted. Suddenly, the gloom set in. “But I have to be getting back to work soon," I said.
He nodded. “If that’s what you need to do, I’ll be sad to see our time here end but I understand.”
“Don’t get me wrong Jeffrey, I’ve loved every minute of you doting on me, but I’ve always provided for myself. Even if we do end up staying together, I think I would like to keep working,” I told him.
He nodded and looked at me with a newfound respect in his icy blue eyes. “I admire that Raina, more than you know.”
“Thank you for understanding,” I told him.
"Ok so what else do you want to do before we leave?"
"Have street food one more time!" I said, and he chuckled.
The next morning, we headed out to have breakfast at one of the sidewalk cafes before heading back to the hotel to pack up for the trip home.
"Jeffrey," I said, coming into the other room where he had put his things and slept. "I want to tell you how much fun I’ve had."
He straightened up and smiled “I’m glad. I’ve had fun too Raina,” he said, walking over to where I stood. He took me in his arms and kissed me sweetly.
"If I could remember this moment forever, I would be a happy woman."
"Hopefully we’ll have more of these moments,” he offered.
I looked up at him and smiled. “Maybe.”
On the long flight home, we held hands and relived our vacation.
“So, one week turned into two,” he said. “What do you think Raina? Do you think you could be with someone like me?”
I wrinkled my nose and looked to the ceiling, pretending to ponder the question. “Gee, I don’t know. You whisk me half way around the world, buy me whatever I want, and spoil me with compliments. I don’t think I could take much more of that kind of thing,” I teased.
Jeffrey held my gaze but didn’t smile. I realized how serious he was about this. Suddenly I remembered how he had told me that some people truly couldn’t handle his lifestyle.
“Oh Jeffrey,” I said, grabbing his hand. “I was only joking. Of course, I want to be with you,” I said, watching relief wash over his handsome face.
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say,” he told me, leaning over to kiss me.
I closed my eyes and leaned back into the soft leather of the private jet’s seat and sighed. Not only could I get used to the luxury, I could get used to spending every day with Jeffrey.
THE END