“Damn. I hate you for that.” She smiled.
“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the blue I’m looking at right now.” I set my hand on top of my hair. I’d gelled it up after I showered in the room’s en suite, and since it was fresh, the strands felt extra hard.
“But green … it’s just different.” She sighed.
“Sky, you don’t need green to be different. You look like no one I’ve ever seen.” My hand dropped to my beard and ran across the length of it. “You’re fucking stunning.”
She broke eye contact, her cheeks still just as red.
“I get the feeling you have no idea how beautiful you are.” I paused. “Am I right?”
When she looked at me, a flicker of emotion passed through her expression. “The things I want to achieve, places I want to go, everything I want to learn—those are things Idoknow.”
I was right.
This woman had no idea at all.
“All right, I like that.”
I took my time really studying her face. It was obvious she was younger than me. Much younger, I suspected, but by how many years? Grays had already started around my temples, and lines creased at the corners of my eyes, but she had none of that. Her skin was like a fucking doll’s.
“Given that you’re here and what we’re about to do … I’ve got to ask, how old are you?”
“Twenty-three. I know I look way younger. I get asked a lot what year of high school I’m in.” She let out a half laugh. “But on the inside, my soul’s in my forties.” Her eyes narrowed. “How old are you?”
“Thirty-five.”
“Ahhh, now the Hooked handle makes sense.”
I could see that old soul.
I could feel it.
I could hear it.
And I was so curious what had aged it this much.
But I wouldn’t ask. Getting to know her wasn’t on tonight’s agenda or what this evening was about.
Now that most of the basics were out of the way, I asked, “What can I get you to drink?”
I sure as hell needed one. I’d been so rushed when I got to the suite, knowing she was going to come over soon, that I hadn’t had time to pour anything.
I went to the bar, scanning the bottles inside the small fridge. “Options are limited, but they’ve got just about every category covered.”
“Sparkling water. If there is none, I’ll just take a Coke. Or tap water is fine too.”
I glanced across my shoulder. “Club soda … with vodka? Coke with rum?”
“Hold the vodka and especially hold the rum.” She was combing her hair with her fingers. “I don’t drink.”
I handed her a club soda and returned to the bar to grab a mini bottle of whiskey and poured it into one of the glasses, dropping in some ice. “Ever?”
“Nope, not ever.” She was staring at the tumbler in my hand.
“You don’t have to tell me why … but if I drink this, is that going to be a problem?”
“No.”
