We ride the elevator to the rooftop with the night bellhop. He unlocks the doors for us, and we step out into the open air.
“Just give a call when you’re ready to come back down,” the bellhop says with a smile and a wave as the elevator doors close behind him.
I don’t know that I ever want to come down. Not with the way I’m feeling right now. I smile at Dylan as we walk to the glass doors that lead to the enclosed swimming pool.
It’s cool and windy on the roof, but once we step inside the pool room, all I feel is warm, humid air.
Dylan’s already got his shirt off, and he’s reaching for mine. I keep my bra and underwear on, and then I put one foot and then the other into the water. I take a seat carefully on the tiled steps and feel the cool water on my legs. Dylan drops his pants and then dives into the pool immediately, right into the deep end. No bathing suit or boxers. He swims to the shallow end to coax me into the water with him.
“I don’t know.” I stay where I am.
Dylan reaches behind me and unhooks my bra. “You’ve got too much on, babe.”
I float into the water and swim up to him. He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist.
“Are you sure nobody can see us?”
“Positive,” he whispers back. “There’s not a soul up here. And no cameras. We’re safe to stay all night if we want.”
“Then we’d look like prunes,” I say to him.
“I’m not sure we’d care,” he says as he slips my underwear off my hips.
I watch my panties start to float down to the bottom of the pool and try to grab them. I miss.
“I’ll get them later.” Dylan puts his lips on mine.
His mouth goes to my breast, and I hold onto him for dear life. I’m not sure I’ll remember about my clothes later. I’ll probably be too happy to care.
* * *
We drive out to Malibu in the early hours of the morning. The freeway is nearly empty, and the sun still hasn’t risen, but it’s about to. I love Los Angeles when it’s quiet like this. The lights never stop shining, but when there’s less noise, I can almost hear myself in the city, and it’s very peaceful.
Malibu is a lot quieter than downtown, even at night. When we pull into Dylan’s driveway, and I open the car door, I can hear the birds just waking up.
“It’s nice out here,” I say.
“Yeah, it is,” he agrees.
We get into bed with Bessie and Balaster curled up at our feet.
“Sometimes I can’t believe I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere.” Dylan pulls the comforter over my shoulder. “I’ve become such a city guy.”
I can hear his heartbeat as I rest my head on his chest. “So who’s Uncle Irv?”
Dylan exhales. “My mom’s brother. He’s the oldest sibling in her family, about ten years older than her. She was the baby of the family. Like me.”
“And he’s sick?”
“He’s dying. I’ve seen him a few times since he was diagnosed, but not since we won. I wanted to bring back my MVP trophy to show him because I know he’ll have passed on before we get our championship rings.”
“You’re close to him?”
“I wouldn’t say close. He’s kind of a recluse. But I’ve known him my whole life, and he was always proud of me.”
I sit up straight. “I have an idea.” I don’t stop for breath, hoping that won’t allow me time to think about what I’m saying. “I think we should fly to your hometown together. Tomorrow, before we go back to Tucson.”
Dylan furrows his brow in thought. “I did get a text from Brayden earlier. He said everyone’s flying into town early so they’ll be there tonight. You could meet the rest of my cousins this way.”
