“This is more than a car. I have a car.Thisis a sexy experience.”
“Want to get in the backseat and make it sexier?”
Heaven scowls at me so hard her eyes close. “We are going wherever you’re taking me, eat whatever you have in the box in the backseat, andtalk.”
I stop for a red light and pull her into a kiss. “You’re so fucking cute.”
“Greenlight,” is her response, but her eyes are molesting me again.
We’re silent the rest of the way. It’s not a long ride; I just wanted to move farther up the beach to an unpopulated part. I call it my thinking spot. An unpopulated part of the beach is a great place for our conversation. It’s hard for the paparazzi to sneak up on us, and the waves drown out our words.
I park and open the door for her. We walk barefoot to the beach. I grab her hand in case someone is watching. My body warms when she squeezes my hand back. We find a spot and settle on a blanket I brought from my house.
“You don’t care about all the sand you’re going to get in my new best friend?” she asks.
“I’ll just get it detailed. I’m starting to feel like you’re cheating on me with my car.” It is meant to be a joke, but we’d have to be together for her to cheat on me. I start to worry she’d catch that hint of possessiveness until she grinned.
“I still like you more than your car,” she admits while opening her fried scallop sandwich. “And go! Tell me what was so urgent.”
I laugh around my bite. “Dang, can I digest a bite first?”
“Fine,” she mumbles before taking her own bite. “This is soooo good.”
We’re quiet long enough to finish our sandwiches; now, I’m anxious to get to the point. I doubt she’d have a problem helping me in the capacity that I’ve helped her, but this is a much, much, much larger scale. I’m talking paparazzi, public appearances, parties, and tabloids. I have to know just one thing before I ask her.
“Heaven?”
“Yup?”
“Was Dre the last man before me?”
“To what?”
“You know what I’m asking.”
“If you are trying to ask if you are the first guy I’ve had sex with since my break up, then I think you already know the answer to that question. But, yes.”
“Am I the only?”
Her eyes bulge with surprise. “Yes.”
I feel a surge of relief as I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “So, there is no man in Texas who would want to fly to Malibu and fight me?”
“No. If a man did, it would be unwarranted. What’s with the interrogation? Please don’t tell me this is what you wanted to talk about,” she huffs with a frown.
“No, the questions are leading to the real question. I’m not trying to offend you. You questioned me in Hawaii.”
“I asked if there was a woman currently in your life and if you were a gigolo. Not your sexual history before you met me and after,” she corrects.
“I was in a toxic relationship that ended seven months before I met you. She would cause the type of drama that has me far more popular with the paparazzi than normal for a businessman. Then, she snuck out in the middle of the night with the cash from my wallet and a credit card.” It’s embarrassing to say it out loud.How hard was I sleeping?“When I realized what she did, I canceled the card and severed her ability to contact me personally. I moved, changed my number, and blocked her from all email and social media.”
I toy with the sand, letting it slip through my fingers as I watch. “She ran off with one of my associates from the business side of my career. He’s supposed to be richer. I was too busy to date after that. I just focused on work until I decided to go to Hawaii.”
I’d waited to be hurt by her actions. That hurt never surfaced. I was angry. I’d felt betrayed, but not hurt. After I changed everything, relief was the main emotion dominating my body. I didn’t have to try to fix her anymore. Janet wasn’t my problem.
“Sounds like we have similar stories, betrayed by a philandering ex.”
I nod. “Yes, but you thought you were in love. I knew I wasn’t. I’d allowed myself to feel obligated to stay with her because she has a fragile psyche. Now, I know I can’t fix someone who wants to stay broken.”
