White marble floors, white walls with white board and batten, white bookshelves with vaulted ceilings and chandeliers. Yeah, I guess I can see how it might take your eyes some time to adjust if you aren't used to it.
"Did you paint that?" she asks, pointing to the canvas above the fireplace.
"No. My mom did, actually. Anyway, my parents hate my art—they think it's a distraction, even though they were the ones who enrolled me in art classes as soon as I could hold a pencil so that I'd bewell-rounded. They even sent me to study art in Paris two summers in a row, so they have only themselves to blame. Ironically enough, my parents actually met at an art gallery there. Mom was an art dealer, and Dad was there on business."
I get a text and take out my phone.
ELIAS Where is everybody?
Saige and Nolan are with me. See you tomorrow.
And you're not fucking invited.
Saige moves toward the back of the main room, which is lined with folding windows leading out to the patio. I watch her push one open and step outside.
"Does the cliff bother you?"
"Yeah," she says. "How'd you play out here when you were a kid without falling over?"
"We didn't move here until I was eleven, and there wasn't a lot of playing when I was a kid. I mean, definitely not out here. Our nanny took us to the park."
"How many bedrooms are there? Fifteen?"
"Nah, only ten."
"Only?"
Nolan comes up behind her and kisses the top of her head. "I made you a drink," he says, handing her a daiquiri. In his other hand, he holds two whiskeys. "Made you one, too."
"Yeah, we also have a fully stocked bar," I tell her. "It's a stressful life."
She scoffs. "I bet it is. You seem very stressed out."
"That's why you like me, though, isn't it?" I lean over a kiss her lips. "Act like you like me, Ripley."
"You already know I like you, Dax. It's actually really embarrassing for me." She walks over to the hot tub, sits at the edge, and rolls her jeans up to her knees before sticking her feet in. "I guess it isn't that bad out here, though."
She takes a drink from her glass and then sets it down, staring out over the cliff, watching the sun set behind the water. Nolan sits beside her and does the same, pushing his joggers up to the top of his calves. She stares while he does it and then looks away when he dips his feet into the hot tub, too, like she's just seen something explicit.
Right. Saige has never seen his legs before.
She's going to kill me. Oh, well.
I turn the jets on and then sit beside her before casually pushing her into the water.
"Dax, what the fuck?!"
I shrug. "Whoops. Guess you'll have to take your clothes off now. Oh, well."
"You're an asshole!"
I pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside. I don't appreciate the attitude, but if she needs to get it out of her system, I'll allow it—for now. "I've heard worse."
After stripping down, I get into the water with Saige, who's tossed aside her wet jeans and top, and now sits between Nolan's legs, not touching him.
I fucking love seeing them together. They're my favorite fucking thing to look at.
Mine.
