Chapter 51

Jay

His eyes fluttered at the sunlight sneaking into the room. With a glance over to his nightstand, he saw it was just after nine in the morning. It was rare for Jay to sleep in, but after staying up so late with Kasey, it made sense.

A late night with a woman usually meant something completely different. While he and Kasey had pleased each other physically more, it was their conversation that left him feeling more attracted to her.

Her eyes gleamed when she told him about her upbringing, but he doubted that she fully believed him when he said how much he could relate to going without. It must be difficult to imagine him growing up with less while sleeping in this mansion, but Jay wanted Kasey to know the real him, the man behind the money.

Carefully, he snuck out of the bed, moving slowly so he didn’t disturb Kasey. Pulling the curtains closed, the room darkened, and he made his way out of the bedroom before tip toeing down the staircase.

It had been a while since he had cooked for himself, but for some reason he wanted to make Kasey breakfast. It had been years since he had Laura work on weekends, since he usually spent his that time out and about, hopping from one party to the next. And because he didn’t bring women to his house, he ate more room service on the weekends than home cooked meals.

He’d just finished making Kasey’s omelet when he heard her behind him. She looked adorable, wearing one of his t-shirts, which barely covered her ass. He made a mental note to have his personal shopper include a few things for her in next week’s package so that she could have options when she stayed over. In his eyes, she would look good in anything, but Kasey deserved silk and satin, and he wanted to be the one to provide it.

“Hey, sleepy head,” he greeted her.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” she pouted, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles.

“I planned to. With breakfast,” Jay answered, as he slid the perfectly cooked omelet onto a white ceramic plate.

“You can cook? Or did Laura just sneak out the back door?” she teased, as she settled onto a bar stool.

Jay chuckled before beginning his own omelet, but in the back of his mind he was developing a plan. It was something he’d never done before, and that made him feel like it was the right thing.

Everything was new with Kasey, and he regularly found himself trying out new places and opening up more than he known was possible. He welcomed the change, and in times like this felt he enjoyed it more than she did.

“I want to take you somewhere,” Jay said, as he finished his omelet, joining Kasey at the breakfast bar.

“Luckily for you. I owe you my life for this amazing breakfast, so I’ll go to the end of the world with you,” Kasey smiled, with a mouthful of food.

Jay couldn’t help but acknowledge how truthful her joke was from his perspective. He actually would go to the end of the world with Kasey, and after risking everything with his deal with Renee, it was impossible to deny.

“I’m serious. I want to show you something.”

“I want to see it,” she said, before taking the last bite of her omelet.

After cleaning up together, they returned to Jay’s room, where he strolled to his massive closet with Kasey after she assured him she could find something of his to wear for the day. He’d wanted to order a new outfit to be delivered from his personal shopper, but Kasey said that was ridiculous.

He sat on the velvet bench as she slipped on a pair of his jeans. Bending down, she twisted the fabric at her ankles into a thin cuff. Then, to his amusement, she folded the waistband over and settled them low on her hips, taking a step back to admire her creation in the mirror before stepping into her heels from the previous night. He was struck by how stylish and beautiful she looked in his clothes. He thought to himself that she wore the jeans better than he did.

Jay gave her a white button down shirt, and she styled it off one shoulder, tucking a corner of the hem into her jeans and letting the rest hang free. He stood, impressed by her ability to look good in anything. Quickly, he dressed in jeans and a t-shirt while Kasey styled her hair in a care-free bun on the top of her head.

“Ready?” he asked, needing to get out of the house before he stripped the clothes from her body. Seeing her so effortlessly sexy turned him on, but he didn’t want to delay his plans any longer. They needed sunlight for what he wanted to do.

“This way,” he instructed Kasey, when they reached the landing on the first floor. She was heading to the front door, but he wanted to go out to the garage.

“Are you kidding me?” she gasped, when Jay turned the lights on in the twelve car garage, revealing a range of vehicles.

“What?”

“You don’t even drive!” she shrieked.

“I used to.”

It was true. Jay was really into cars when he was younger. Most of his collection of cars were a decade or older. A few were well kept antiques, but most were just collecting dust.

Danny was still on call to drive him around, but he wanted to drive Kasey instead. She blushed when he opened the passenger door for her, remarking that no man had ever done that before. It made Jay beam with pride, but he tried to downplay the feeling to Kasey.

“Where are we going? She asked, as they rode down his driveway. Jay pushed a button on the dashboard, and the front gates slowly opened.

“It’s a surprise.”

They didn’t speak much on the ride to the secret location. After a night like they’d had, there was no such thing as awkward silence, and when he reached across the center console to find her hand, Kasey quickly reacted, and settled her thin fingers within his own.

The wide and clear streets of his neighborhood were long gone as they made their way through the city. After more than thirty minutes on the highway, Jay exited, turning down a narrow road cluttered with trash. He noticed Kasey’s posture change, and she was more alert, though he didn’t sense fear.

The neighborhood was notorious for crime and extreme poverty, but she didn’t turn her nose up in the way he imagined many other women, or even business associates, would have.

“This is where I wanted to take you,” he announced, as he pulled his Mercedes to the side. It was the most modest of his vehicles, but in that neighborhood, it felt like a target on his back.

Kasey looked over at him silently, and then nodded slowly. Jay walked around the car to open her door, and offered his hand to help her out.

“What’s is this?” she asked, looking at the dilapidated home in front of them. The blue paint was chipping to reveal the gray home he remembered. Windows were covered with wood, and the front door looked one windy day away from falling off the hinges. The lawn was more dirt than grass, and a dirty brown corduroy sofa sat on the curb out front.

“My home.”

There was a long silence between them. As Jay stared at the house, he felt Kasey’s eyes on him, but he didn’t answer her silent questions. Turning to face her, his eyes begged her to speak her thoughts and after a long swallow, she did.

“You grew up here, Jay?”

“Yes. This is my childhood home. Really, the only home I’ve ever known.”

Her eyes squinted, and then she looked back towards the house. For the first time, he questioned if his plan was a good one. Maybe Kasey didn’t want to know him that way. He could have misread what he thought was unconditional commitment. This might be too much for her, and he started to apologize before she interrupted his thoughts.

“I want to go inside.”

“Well, I don’t know if anyone lives here now,” he paused. It was obvious no one lived there, it was an abandoned house. “I don’t want to break in,” he offered instead.

Kasey didn’t even acknowledge his concerns. Instead she walked towards the house as if she had a key to the front door. Watching in awe, Jay soon followed, not wanting her to go in the house alone. Who could guess what would be inside?