by Claire Adams
If we had been in town, this would have been the time I ran off and back to my apartment to avoid any sort of implied intimacy. But we were 500 feet from shore and I was way too tired to go for a swim. Instead, I gave in to the comfort I felt there in his arms and I slowly drifted off to sleep. After a long day that stretched into the evening, I was exhausted.
***
I smelled breakfast cooking long before I actually opened my eyes. For a moment, I imagined I was at home and my in-laws had snuck into the house and were making breakfast, but then I remembered where I was. It had been a very long time since someone else had made me breakfast; in fact, it had probably been my late husband who had last done so.
The distinct smell of bacon filled the small house and I was about to wrap myself in a blanket and go to the kitchen when I noticed a set of clothes sitting on the end of the bed. I couldn’t help but smile at the gesture. It was rather sweet that he had the clothes there for me, although I had to wonder how they had arrived.
A pair of size 6 jeans, white lace panties, a perfectly-sized matching bra and a white t-shirt were laid out and waiting for me. I looked suspiciously at them and then toward the door facing the kitchen. How had the clothes gotten there? I even took a moment to look through the dresser to see if Brandon just had a supply of female clothing there or something, but all the drawers were filled with his clothes.
“It’s really weird that there is a pile of clothes that will fit me sitting right here,” I hollered out. “Are you some sort of magician? I’ve never been on a date with a magician before.”
“What? You think it’s weird that I have a set of white lace women’s lingerie?” he laughed. “Or is it weird that I have the jeans?”
His smile was so seductive that I wanted to jump into his arms and kiss him right when I saw him in the doorway. I held back my urge, though, because my curiosity about the clothes and how they had gotten there was bigger than my urge to kiss him.
“Do you have a supply of jeans here, too? It’s odd that these are my exact size.”
“Maybe I only sleep with women who are exactly your size. Hmmm, did you ever think of that?” he continued to tease me.
“That’s an option,” I said as I waited for him to head back to the kitchen and then slipped into the clothing. “The issue I’m having is that these all are new and still have the tags on them.”
I came out to the kitchen and sat down at the counter to watch him cook. The smell of bacon had my stomach grumbling. I had slept at least twelve hours, longer than I could ever sleep while at home, but I felt totally refreshed as Brandon slid some orange juice over toward me.
“I had my assistant bring us a boat, breakfast, and some clothes for you,” Brandon said as if it was a normal sentence to say to a girl.
“Oh, so you just ordered a boat, bacon, orange juice, and some size six jeans? That is one amazing assistant you have.”
“Basically, I told her we were here and to set us up for a good breakfast. I gave her my log in for the dating site so she could see what you looked like and bring some clothes. I didn’t think you’d want to swim back. Technically, she’s not my assistant any longer because she stayed working at the company I sold, but sometimes she helps me out when I desperately need her.”
I eyed him suspiciously as I sipped on my orange juice. I wanted to be angry with him for being able to so perfectly plan our morning. Without doubt, he must be a ladies’ man if he was so easily able to get such a set up for me.
But I was enjoying the soft cotton of my white t-shirt and the warmth of the pants. I positively couldn’t wait to taste the bacon and was equally excited not to have to swim back to the pier; I decided it wasn’t the right time to complain.
“You must have been a Boy Scout,” I announced as I watched him cooking. “You knew just what I needed.”
“A Boy Scout is always prepared.”
“Yes, they are. I do need to get back to town this morning, though. How about we eat and then head in shortly?”
“Sure, I’d like to get back to my phone. Isn’t it weird how badly we miss those damn things when they aren’t around?”
“Yeah, technology is in charge of our lives, that’s for sure.”
“I do like being without it every now and then, though. I just get anxious thinking about all that I’m missing and will have to catch up on. Now that my company is gone, though, it’s not nearly as bad for me.”
“I don’t get that many messages on a regular basis, but I still feel the separation anxiety from it, for sure.”
“Can we go out again sometime?”
“Yes, but could we keep the date to land-based activities? I’m not sure I’m ready to start training for a triathlon yet. I’m still working on the running part.”
“I think I could come up with something. How is next weekend for you?”
“I’ll have to check with my in-laws to see what their schedule looks like. I’m not sure I can get an overnight free,” I said and then felt totally dirty.
He was asking me on a date, not asking me to stay over. There was an awkward silence as Brandon seemed to be thinking about what he wanted to say. I quickly took the opportunity to fill my mouth with food and try to avoid making a bigger fool of myself.
“I’ll make some plans and call you to see if they work. Does Friday sound good?”
“Yes, Friday,” I replied as I covered my full mouth. “Probably Friday. I’ll just have to check their schedule. Unfortunately, I’m a slave to my babysitters.”
He smiled at me as I became more and more uncomfortable around him. It was his eyes. Those damn eyes looked at me and I felt my whole body losing control of itself. It was as if I turned into a silly, thirteen-year-old girl who couldn’t form a sentence and couldn’t respond without a giggle.
When we finished our food, Brandon led me out to a small motorized boat on the shore. It was a relief to know we weren’t going to be swimming back, but I couldn’t help wondering how the boat had gotten there. If the assistant had taken a boat out to the island, had they pulled a second one behind them just to leave there? I thought about asking him, but then decided I didn’t want to risk sounding ridiculous.
“I had a great first date,” I said as we walked to his car. “I hope they didn’t tow my car from the bagel shop.”
“They didn’t; I had my assistant call them.”
“Really? When did you do all of this? Was I sleeping for a year or something? That assistant is one hell of a lady. You’re lucky to have her around.”
“I was up late last night and couldn’t sleep. You were so peaceful, I didn’t want to bother you. I’m glad you got some sleep. I suspect as a single mother you probably don’t get as much sleep as you’d like to get.”
“Sorry. I don’t normally pass out for a whole day when I’m around a guy.”
“I take it as a compliment,” he winked. “I must have totally exhausted you.”
We made our way back to the bagel shop as our flirty banter continued. I really did like talking to Brandon; he was fun and definitely kept me on my toes. The car ride was comfortable, yet my nerves continued. The light of day on my sordid night was playing tricks with my confidence.
“Maybe it’s just that I’m a single mom and never get to sleep in, but I feel totally lazy now.”
“Nah, I’m sticking to my reasoning. You were just exhausted by my awesome love-making skills. You might need a little time to recover,” he laughed. “Seriously, though, I’m glad you got some much-needed sleep.”
“I do feel like a new woman.”
“Enjoy the rest of your day,” he said as we pulled into the parking lot. “I’ll text you or call to set up our date Friday.”
My body tingled with desire when he leaned in to kiss me. I wanted to tell him I had just creamed myself, as a joke, but I decided that sounded too crude and he might not get my humor. Our night had been amazing, he was amazing, yet I was more nervous in that moment than I had been while in bed with him.<
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“I’ll talk to you later,” I said as I climbed out of his car and over to mine.
He stayed in the parking lot until I drove off, and I watched him in my rear-view mirror. His eyes continued to watch me as I drove down the road, like he was making sure I safely got on my way before he was even going to leave the parking lot.
Chapter 8
Brandon
“You slept with her, didn’t you?” Josh said before he had made it past my front door.
“What are you talking about?”
“That blonde sugar baby from the website. You slept with her. I could read into that text you sent me.”
It was impossible to keep anything from him, and I didn’t know why I even tried. He didn’t have a life of his own and seemed to live vicariously through me. I’d much rather just move on with what we were doing for the day and not talk about Delilah at all, but that wasn’t likely to happen.
“First of all, I don’t think she’s one of those sugar baby girls like you think she is. Secondly, she’s a really nice girl and I’m not going to talk about what I may or may not have done with her. I’m a gentleman.”
“I can’t blame you. I’d have taken a trip on that sugar rush, too. How much money does she want for her allowance each month? Maybe I can afford to have a girl like that by my side, too?”
Josh was really good at stock investing, but not all that great at listening. I understood where he was coming from with the idea that Delilah would be a girl looking for a rich boyfriend to mooch off of, but that wasn’t her – I knew it. I knew from the time we’d spent together that she wasn’t that sort of woman.
“Are we going to work on the futures trading market or are you just going to keep talking about my sex life?”
“Is that an actual question?” Josh said as he pulled up to my computer. “Because I’d much rather talk about your sexy girl than the futures market. I think you have an idealist view of this market. It’s not nearly as much fun as you think it is.”
“Just show me the basics, and we can go from there. I like to make my own decisions about things. I’d much rather know about it and choose not to invest, than not know what’s going on at all.”
My computer was set up with three monitors so I could watch the financial news, look at stocks, and have financial graphs all going at the same time. Josh had helped me get the set up organized and working; it made me look the part, even if I hadn’t figured out all the details of day trading yet.
“Have you been trading without me here?” Josh said as a red flag popped up on my account when we logged in. “You know you shouldn’t be doing that. There are a lot of rules, especially since you just sold your company.”
“Yeah, but nothing too crazy. I’ve been sticking to the stocks we talked about and the rules for trading.”
“Something’s wrong. It looks like your account might have been flagged by someone outside of the trading platform. We better not do any investing until I get this figured out.”
“They think I’m doing illegal trading?” I asked, a little nervous at the assumption.
“Not necessarily. You could have just had a really good investing day and they flagged you. I’ve had my account flagged before, and it was removed the next day. Sometimes it’s for a silly infraction, like not taking enough time between trades and they think you have some software program attached to your account. Let’s just give trading a rest for a couple of days.”
“I haven’t done anything illegal,” I protested. “Really, I’ve stuck to the stocks we researched – and only those. I know there are a lot of companies I can’t invest in right now.”
“It’s not always about that. Between the trading platform and the dozens of federal agencies out there, it’s better to just give them a day or two to clear the flag.”
“Should we call someone?”
“No, they will contact you if they have concerns or questions. Instead, tell me about this hot piece of ass you went out with.”
“She was hot, but not in the traditional way. She was sweet and had a raunchy sense of humor. Within five minutes of meeting me, she was making a joke about women creaming themselves when I’m around. It was really funny.”
“Sounds like my kind of woman.”
I went on to tell him a little bit about Delilah, without going into too many details. It wasn’t necessary to tell him about her past and her loss; I felt like she had told me that in confidence, and I didn’t want to tell Josh just yet.
Although, it was clear that all those things from her past had made her into the person she was now. Delilah was much more put-together than the women I typically ended up going out with. It had been a refreshing change of pace for me.
“She’s a single mom, and I think she said her son is six. No, five, he’s five and his name is Connor.”
“Have you ever dated a woman with a kid before?”
I had to laugh. The idea that I would have dated a woman with a kid was preposterous.
In fact, up until I found out that Delilah had a son, I would have vehemently denied ever being willing to go out with a woman who had a child. It just seemed way too hard for me to deal with. I still had to deal with the loss of my son; I didn’t think I could handle a woman having a kid.
Yet, I hadn’t even thought about ending our date when Del told me she was a mother. The thought hadn’t crossed my mind at all because I was enjoying my time with her so much.
“No, I’ve never even thought about dating a woman with a kid. It always seemed a little too close to home for me. Plus, I’m not really the dating type, and I wouldn’t want to hurt someone who had that type of home life.”
“Are you sure this girl isn’t looking for a free ride?” Josh asked as concern crossed his face. “Let me play the devil’s advocate here for a second. Let’s say she looked you up and found out about your son. She plays off of her attractiveness and makes up having a son to play off of your sadness. Soon she has her claws in you and your paying for her rent and buying her a Mercedes.”
“Oh, now you’re being a little dramatic. I’m not going to be paying her rent or buying her a car. She has a job and drove a very reasonable vehicle to meet me for our date.”
“What kind of car?”
“I don’t know…an Infinity, I think.”
“Brandon, how can a single mom in Los Angeles afford a car like that? What does she do for work? I think you’re not seeing the big picture here. This girl sure seems like she’s looking for a sugar daddy.”
I was excited to answer this because Del’s job was pretty damn impressive to me. There weren’t that many women who worked in technology, and I really thought it would impress Josh enough that he would back off his criticisms of her.
“She’s in computers. Helps with websites and coding and stuff. It sounded like a really interesting job, and I think she seems like she likes it a lot.”
“Oh, man. Seriously, you are totally getting played here!” He burst into laughter. “A girl that hot is not working on computers.”
“Okay, enough, Josh. I like her. I’m not going to let her steal all my money. Let’s just leave it alone,” I said as I started to get frustrated with him.
“Sorry, dude, I just smell something fishy going on, and I can’t put my finger on it. Just be careful around her. You know those professionals are really good at their jobs. I’ve heard they can practically convince a guy it’s his idea to give her his money.”
“And, you think I’m dumb enough to fall for it?”
Josh paused and looked up in the air as if he was thinking about if I was dumb enough. “I’m not sure,” he joked.
“I’ll keep my eyes out. Now what am I supposed to do with my trading account? I’m already bored to death; can’t I at least trade regular stocks?”
“I wouldn’t advise it. Even regular trades could get blocked or you could end up doing something stupid while they are watching. Let’s just go over the rules again; I want to make sure you understand
everything.”
“I know, I know, I can’t trade stocks for my old company. I can’t trade stocks for my close friend’s companies. I can’t buy more than ten thousand shares at a time. What else?” I said as I became more and more frustrated.
“These rules are for your own wellbeing. They aren’t technically illegal, but you can get yourself into a full investigation, have your accounts frozen, and be unable to access your money; it’s serious, Brandon.”
I knew he was just trying to help me out, but I honestly hadn’t been trading enough to get on the radar of any big agencies. My trading account was probably less than some teenagers who were investing. I only made small trades and had been listening to all the advice Josh gave me. I’d been researching stocks before purchases, keeping my stocks until the first signs of a down turn, then selling. There wasn’t anything exciting going on in my trading account.
“I understand.”
“I’m going to head out for the day. Let me know if you notice the red flag disappear from your account and don’t start trading again until I’ve come and looked things over.”
“You do know I’m the boss here, right?”
“You do know I know what I’m doing and you don’t, right? Try spending your day doing something fun. You’re rich, remember? You get to go do fun stuff all day if you want to.”
He did have me on that one. Josh was very knowledgeable with all the trading information I’d asked him about. He clearly was very passionate about his day trading, and I knew I needed to listen to his advice. I wasn’t going to risk having all my bank accounts frozen. Even a rich man could get himself into a heap of trouble if he didn’t have access to his money.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t let being smarter than me in the stock world get to your head, though. I’m a quick learner, and I’ll be snowing you in these investments in no time.”
“All right. I’ll check back with you tomorrow before I come over. I don’t want to come all the way over here if we can’t trade.”
“See you tomorrow. I’m sure it will be just fine.”