With Ana curled up next to me lying under the stars, I feel complete. It’s a feeling I never knew existed. Even more astonishing, I never realized I was missing it. Why was I so reluctant to get involved with her? This is good easy. I know I can figure out how to be with Ana and have the time to run my business. I lie back and take a deep breath. Yeah, this will work out.

I wake with the ache in my back and the smell of the earth that tells me I’m camping. Without opening my eyes, I run my hand along the tarp on the ground. I’m alone. After a big stretch, I find my clothes and climb out of the tent. Ana is up and bent over her little cooker.

“Good morning,” she cheers.

She hands me a camping mug full of coffee. If I was at the office, this coffee would taste terrible, but sitting on the bank of the reservoir alone with Ana, it tastes great. It feels like we’re in this bubble, nothing but the two of us exists. I lean over and kiss her lightly. She smiles. Now I know what it means when people say they’re in bliss.

***

After a week of traveling, by Saturday afternoon, all I can think about is getting home and seeing Ana. Bored, I leave the conference I’m attending early and head back to Silicon Valley. I could use some time out on the trail with Ana. That thought alone scares me. Running a hot growing company that is dead centerin the media spotlight takes unbelievable focus, energy, and all of my time. When I’m in the middle of the action, I can feel all my cylinders firing. It’s an amazing high. But then my mind moves to Ana. The same intensity I have for work, I have for her. My feelings for Ana burn deep down to my soul.How did this happen? When I met her, I wasn’t looking for a woman, more than that, I specifically didn’t want a girlfriend. I figured I would have plenty of time for a girlfriend once my company was sold. But now I feel differently.

As my flight takes off, I wonder where I should take Ana tonight. Of course, I need to think of something other than bed. With a quick check of my texts, I see Logan one of my buddies from CrossFit is having some friends over. Perfect timing, I’ll bring Ana. After landing, I head over to pick her up.

Ana lives on a rustic, quiet street with old houses and big trees. Spotting her truck, I pull into her long driveway. She told me she lives over the garage, which is detached and behind the house. Even though I could text her to come down, I find myself walking around the garage in search of the stairs. I can see why she likes living back here. It’s private, quiet, and feels like you’re in a treehouse. There’s a small deck at the top of the stairs. It has a big twig chair, a number of pots with herbs, and Ana’s hiking boots. I can picture her curled up in this chair enjoying the sunset.

As I knock, I peek through the window. Ana gets up off her couch. She opens the door and twines her arms around my shoulders. Our lips meet as she melts into me.

“Are you ready?” I ask.

“Are we coming back here or are we going to your place? If it’s your place, I’ll need to pack a bag.”

I’ve never been interested in how people live. But with Ana, it feels like it’s information I should know about her. The apartment is small but very tidy. From the entrance, I can see into the bedroom and the second room, which houses a small couch and a TV. The room I’m in has a galley kitchen and a desk instead of a kitchen table. Stacked in a corner are a couple of chairs. All the colors are muted and warm.

“If we stay at my place, we can walk to University Ave in the morning for breakfast, and then go hiking.”

“If we stay at my place I’ll cook breakfast,” she counters.

“I’ve only eaten your camping food. It’s good. I think you’ve convinced me to stay here.”

“Do you have hiking clothes with you?”

“We can pick them up after breakfast.”

“Then I’m ready.”

I look her up and down. She’s wearing boots, jeans and a super-soft sweater that feels good on my fingers. Wrestling with my next impulse doesn’t have to take long. We can spend a half-hour with my buddies as the girlfriends talk politely and the men give each other shit. Or I can spend the next half-hour tasting Ana’s skin. My dick gives me my answer. I don’t hesitate to pick her up and head to her neatly-made bed.

Afterward, we walk down the stairs with our fingers interwoven.

“Oh no,” she exclaims

“What?”

“My landlord. My place is great, but Steven is completely OCD. He’s very particular about everything. He doesn’t like anyone parking on the driveway. He also doesn’t like my truck. But…whatever.”

We approach a slim guy in his late forties. He’s looking at my car. It’s an awesome car. As soon as I had more than two nickels to rub against each other, I bought it. He’s probably wrestling with if he’s pissed a car is parked in his driveway, or if he wants to go for a test drive.

“Steven, nice to see you. We’re heading out,” Ana brightly greets him.

Steven looks me up and down, then his eyes flash along the curve of my car.

“How do you like driving it?” he asks.

“Amazing, it goes from zero to sixty in three-and-a-half seconds. We’re heading out now, but I can take you for a ride tomorrow.”

Steven’s eyes light up.

“Tonight, when we get back, should I park on the street or is it cool if I park on the side of the driveway?”

“Over there is fine.”

I give him a nod of thanks. Ana and I get in my car.

“I can’t believe you just did that. Steven is always having a cow about my truck.”

I set my eyes on her and raise an eyebrow. Her truck looks like it spent the last ten years hauling bulls for a rodeo. This guy’s house and the yard are immaculate. I’m sure her truck is his idea of a nightmare.

We pull up front of Logan’s house.

“How do you know this guy?” she asks.

“CrossFit.”

“These are the guys you get up at four-thirty to be with?”

“I’ve never quite looked at it like that before.”

“Fancy street, big house.”

“He’s Chief Legal Counsel at SpaceNob. He’s the guy who took them public.”

“Wow, even I’ve heard of SpaceNob. And you work out with this guy?”

I nod and get out while Ana remains seated in the car.

“Are you joining me?” I ask.

“I’m feeling a little intimidated.”

“What? Why?”

“This guy,all the guys who are senior executives at SpaceNob...they’re famous.”

“Ana, who cares? I kill him every morning.”

“That’s how you measure people?”

“I don’t measure them by how much money they have or what shit they buy. Logan is a smart guy and he was damn lucky. Now he has an uncontrollable need to spend money. Whatever. I work out with him and the other guys. He never shuts up and gives everyone shit, but I ignore him. We each do our thing. That’s what we’re about.”

“He talks and you ignore him. But you still listen.”

I nod. One more thing I like about Ana—she gets me. I enjoy the feeling of the soft wool of her sweater over the curve of her hip, but I like what’s below it even better.

“Now I get why you have such a fancy car,” she says.

“I’m not keeping up with the Joneses. My car is cool, I couldn’t resist.” As we get near the door, Logan buzzes us in. “Logan is into every gadget imaginable. Like most of what Logan has, it’s over-the- top expensive. He lives by the motto, ‘He who dies with the most shit wins.’”

Ana gasps when we get through the door. The entryway is enormous. It's two stories high with a large stairway made completely out of glass. Of course, Ana is awestruck. That’s the purpose of a crazy-big entrance like this.

“It’s really spooky, walking up those stairs. Logan only lets us do it if we take off our shoes. Even freakier is doing it after you’ve been drinking,” I say.

With my hand on her waist, I escort her in to the great room. The back of the house is a wall of glass doors. Immediately I spot Logan holding court with a few other guys and their dates. They’re all standing and sitting around the large firepit. As we approach, everyone turns and stares. They all look surprised to see me.

“So, a thumbs-up means youare coming,” Logan chides me. Overtly, he checks out Ana, which at some level, pisses me off.

He holds out his hand to her. “I’m Logan. Who could you be?”

Ana simultaneously stiffens and shoots me a look of surprise. Yeah, I definitely should have told Logan I was bringing someone. Ana turns to Logan with a surprisingly gracious smile and she shakes his hand.

“I’m Ana, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Brody has spoken fondly of you.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard Brody say a complete sentence, and none of those words he has spoken I’d identify as sounding fond.”

“Really? When the two of us are together he’s a total chatterbox.”

Logan barks out a laugh as his eyes shoot to me. “Where did you find her?”

Ana is right. When we are alone together, I am a chatterbox.

Logan’s girlfriend Hailey joins us. She extends her hand to Ana as a greeting. “I’m Hailey, you’ll need to filter out about seventy-five percent of what any of these guys say to each other. Then again, Brody never says anything. So, really, you need to filter out what Logan says. By the way, I opened a bottle of Champagne, can I get you a glass?”

 “I believe it was Mark Twain who said, ‘Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right,’” Ana says.

“Let me get you that glass.”

“And here I thought you were a cyborg,” Logan goads as he hands me a beer.

***

The sun streaking through Ana’s window the following morning wakes me. It takes me a couple of seconds to realize where I am. My hand reaches out along the mattress as I target in on her warmth. Good, she’s still in bed.

“You slept in?” Ana sleepily asks.

“That’s what I was just going to say. When we camped, you were up before me to make coffee.”

“I love sleeping in but I can’t when I’m camping.”

“I never sleep in, but I got up later than you when we were hiking.”

She leans in and gives me a kiss. I grab a hold of her and bring her tight since I want more.

“Your friends were nice,” she says when we finally release our kiss. “Let me guess, you don’t bring too many women to any of Logan’s barbecues?”

“Good guess. Should I apologize to you?”

“I think you should apologize to the host for bringing an extra person.”

“Why? Logan always has plenty of food.”

She moves so her forearms are on my chest and she’s looking down at me. “Brody, that’s what people expect in our society. Please tell me you’re not that devoid of common social etiquette.”

“Now you’re starting to sound like one of my sisters.”

“Then you do know what you’re supposed to do, you just don’t want to do it.”

“It was an impromptu barbecue at Logan’s. He does this every month.”

“Does he live alone in that enormous house?”

“Hailey would love to move in, but I don’t see that happening.”

“Interesting.”

“What, other people’s lives?”

“No, your friends. If you had that kind of money, would you buy a crazy-big house like that and live in it all alone?”

I shake my head.

“It would creep me out to live all alone in a house that big. It would be like living in the lobby of a Marriott hotel.”

“If you had a lot I mean a lot of money, what would you do?” I ask her.

“I don’t know. I guess, if I had a ton of money, I’d buy a little around town car, maybe electric. It’s so expensive to fill up my truck and it’s a total pain trying to find a parking spot. Hmmm, I know what else I’d do if I was really rich, when I’d go on a vacation, I’d fly business class. Did you know that in business class the seats recline all the way? I love to travel, but I hate to fly. Those thin crappie seats…when I fly, it feels like I’m in the modern version of Ellis Island. Flying makes me feel one step removed from carrying a chicken on my head. Oh yes, if I suddenly had a lot of money, I’d pay off my student loans. Now that would feel amazing.”

“What about a house in the hills?”

“You mean a lot,a lot, of money. If I had that kind of money I would buy a house in the hills, with a window to watch the sun rise.”

“That’s it? You don’t want to go on some crazy shopping spree?”

“And buy all the crap your friend Logan has? How many different kinds of drones can anyone own? What’s with that anyway?”

“You could fly drones over the mountains to check on your lions.”

“Your right, that would be cool. I never thought I would want a drone, but maybe….”

“If you had more money than what anyone can spend, what would you do with it?”

“Like the kind of money Logan has?”

I nod.

“I’d hire a private Hazmat team to clean up the toxic dump we found. I’d finance a notification program to tell us when lions are near inhabited locations. Then I’d fund the Connectivity Conservation Project. It’s an organization I’m involved with that builds bridges and tunnels over or under freeways for animals. It saves animal and human lives. I’m giving a talk about our lions next month at one of their local fundraisers. Let’s see, what else? I’d fund animal habitats. There’s a lot of private land not part of any park system housing endangered and threatened animals and habitats. The owners have a hard time managing the land. If I had a lot of money, you know like ‘Bill Gates-kind-of-money,’ I would provide grants to support endangered and threatened land. I would also provide grant funding for research. There are so many good programs out there, and with all the federal attacks on science, researchers are having a hard time getting funding. Global warming is just starting to affect the earth. We need to fund innovative programs that can protect the earth.”

It doesn’t escape me that besides a few simple things for herself everything else she wants to spend money on has to do with making the world a better place. Something I can get behind.

“If we’re dreaming about wealth, what would you do?” Ana asks me.

“I’d help out my family. But besides that, I don’t have a clue. I didn’t get into the high-tech world to make money. I did it because it’s what I found interesting.”

“You’re the only person who didn’t get in it to make money?”

“Most of the guys I know have worked for others to support themselves, but they create start-ups to create something bigger than themselves. No one complains about making money, but to make a company work, you need passion, and there’re a lot of people who make it big, and they still keep on working. That’s because they like being part of the creative process. They have passion for creating something and they love the excitement of growing company.”

Ana snuggles into me. “Supporting yourself is good. All that other stuff is fun to fantasize about. My life is good.” She kisses me softly on the lips. “I don’t need an around town car. It would be one more thing for Steven to get pissed about. I’m happy with what I have.”

***

Sneaking out of Ana’s warm bed early Monday morning is hard. Even so, I make it to CrossFit on time.

“Morning Brody, Payton wanted me to tell you she’d like us to get together with you and Ana,” Jax comments as a greeting.

With a nod, I start working out. Logan joins me. “This Ana...are you two serious?”

“She’s the one,” I confidently state as I move on to my next rep.

“The one what?”

“The one,” I repeat in exasperation. And with that statement, I head to the other end of the gym and start doing pull-ups. I’m done gossiping.

Logan follows me. “Dude, dating a woman for a month or two it’s way too early to declare that she’s the one.”

I ignore Logan, which never stops him from talking. “Dude, they’re valuing your company in the billions of dollars. You really need to be careful of gold diggers. How do you know she didn’t read some article and is targeting you?”

“Good point,” Aiden throws out as he watches my rep. “Did you ever see the movieBlack Widow?”

“Scarlett Johansson’s hot,” Jax adds.

“Not the character. There was this movie from the eighties about a hot, blonde serial killer who studies rich guys. She pretends to be his idea of the perfect woman, marries the guy, and then murders him to get all his money.”

“You see, that proves my point,” Logan smugly replies.

“Let’s get this workout going,” I call out to Jax.