by Ashlee Price
The restaurant that she lived above was busy and the crowd was more than she was used to in front of it. Struggling to get out of the throng of people milling around, she pushed passed as gently as possible and opened her stride up when she reached the other side of the human mass. There was not a cloud in the sky and as the sun went down, the many lights littering the sidewalks turned on. It wasn’t long before she left the bustle of the valley behind her and started to climb up a small bluff.
The height did not bother her, because it afforded her a view that many people would never see. Silicon Valley was a crowded space full of tall buildings, but the views were beautiful if a person could just go a little higher. She sighed out loud and wished that she could stay there all night. It was her place to think and her place to take pictures. Like everyone else in the valley, she was trying to find her way. There was an air of innovation in the city that was hard to describe, but beneficial to the creative process. Her bluff and view was her process.
An hour passed and she looked up at the stars, lying on her back. It was hard to filter out the many lights from below, but it was the best she had seen since moving into the cramped city. If she hadn’t found a decent priced apartment from a family friend and the bluff she was on right then, she would probably no longer be there. She was there on a whim and so far, it was paying back in spades.
Climbing back down was always worse than going up, but she made it down without a misstep. Nikki took her time walking back to her apartment, enjoying the open space. The night was dry and clear, not too hot. Everyone seemed to be on the streets and another couple of hours had passed before she found her way back to her cramped apartment that smelled like bacon most of the time.
“Nikki dear. I want you to meet someone.”
Nikki looked at the owner of Milley’s, the daytime diner that she lived above as she walked in through the main entrance. They didn’t have much selection at the diner, but the few things they did, they did well and most likely included bacon. The aging restaurateur stepped back for a redheaded man to walk towards her. He was tall and broad shouldered, his hair cut into short flames. He was handsome in an eccentric way. His charm seemed to come from within and the smile on his face beamed.
“Hi, I am Nikki.”
“I know. I have heard a lot about you. Me and Conrad were in the military for a few years together.”
“Yeah those were the days, but I am not going to get started on that. Why don’t you guys go out and have a good time?”
The man was more than willing, so Nikki agreed to take a walk with him. Even though she had just came back from one, the man in front of her intrigued her. Conrad had tried to tell her more, but she had not needed any more convincing. The guy was hot and had a bit of an accent that was every girl’s dream with a British lilt. It sounded good and quite sexy, something that made him stand out beyond his playboy looks. They walked towards the bluff, her body automatically taking him to her favorite place.
“Well this is kind of awkward, but Conrad has been trying to set me up with someone for a while, so hopefully if I play his game he will give me a break. What was your name again?”
“Dyson. I will leave you if you have somewhere else you need to be.”
Nikki touched his arm, trying to dull her rudeness.
“Nothing against you Dyson. Just, he can be impossible sometimes. Ever since he found out I was single, I never hear the end of it. But it is a beautiful night, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
The man was barely able to get a word in edgewise as Nikki continued to chatter nervously. He followed her up the small incline, her dress rising a little higher in the back as she bent over some with the change of terrain. Dyson had no idea where they were going, he just followed her higher. When they got to a rocky plateau, she sat down on the edge of the bluff, her feet dangling over. She smiled and patted the rock next to her. Dyson had a moment of unsureness. He was not too particularly fond of heights.
“Oh come on, the view is worth it.”
He walked closer and sat down tentatively next to her. When he was finally able to focus on more than the deadly fall underneath him, he had to admit that the view was incredible. All of the twinkling lights below seemed to be alive, moving and flickering out of sync.
“I didn’t know Conrad was in the military. What did you do there?”
“Not much, followed orders mainly. We worked on helicopters.”
“Awesome. I am in no way mechanically inclined. Can’t see it in my head like some people can. So what do you do now?”
“Me and my business partner David that I met from college, started an app company.”
“I may be the only person in Silicon Valley without a smart phone. I am not even really sure what an app is.”
She pulled out a small flip phone and giggled. He took it from her and looked at it like it was from a museum. He punched in a few numbers and closed it back up, handing it to her.
“I haven’t seen one of those in a while.”
“I know. I hate phones, I wish it was back in the days of pay phones, but that is just me.”
“Not sure I agree, but something is lost on a phone. So what do you do?”
“Take pictures, draw, paint, just whatever moves me at the moment I guess.”
“Sounds like a good job.”
“Jobs are over-rated and so is money.”
There was a silence in between them. Dyson had never met someone like her before and he was a bit shocked that she didn’t know who he was. He had a recent story done on him about his bachelorhood, as well as the huge merger and sale that made him a billionaire. The man shook his head and wondered where a girl like that came from. She wasn’t too old, early twenties, but she reminded him of his younger self, before he got fixated on making money. When he was still moved by life, instead of only the biggest profits that could be made.
“I used to think that.”
“Used to? Is money all it is cracked up to be?”
“Sometimes it can give you experiences that you would not have without it.”
Nikki chuckled, “I bet.”
Nikki laid back and stared up at the stars. She felt more relaxed than she should have, but he still affected her in different ways. When he lied down next to her, she turned her head and their eyes met. Hers were glistening and happy, his were filled with a darker desire. She swallowed hard and stared back at him. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her with his flashing emerald eyes.
Her own hazel ones were turning green as he looked at her. She bit the bottom of her lip, wanting him to kiss her in that perfect moment and when he did, it was as it should have been. His lips were soft against hers and it surprised her how gentle he was. When he pulled back, it took him a minute to recover. He wanted to kiss her again, but she had sat back up with a blush across her face that he could see even in the moonlight.
“Well that was nice and completely free, so I don’t know about the whole money thing. Come on, you want to get something to eat?”
Nikki realized then that she was completely alone with the man she hardly knew and the way he looked at her, made her heart stop. She was going to get herself in trouble if she was around him like that much more. She waited for him to get up and then he followed her down the steep hillside. Nikki needed to be back in civilization. Dyson was along for anything. He was becoming completely transfixed by the woman so different than the ones he usually met. The ones that knew about his money and he would have to question their real desire with him.
His musing was getting the best of him and he watched her start to walk faster as she picked up momentum down the hill. When she got to the bottom, she smiled up at him so bright that his heart skipped a beat. There he was in a suit that cost more than her car undoubtedly, covered in grass and dirt, running down a hill like he was a kid. Dyson hadn’t felt that good in a long time. He too, could not keep the smile from his face.
“You are very unusual Nikki.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just have never met anyone like you.”
“I hope not. So what are you hungry for?”
Her question was innocent, but the implications to him were far different. His face moved towards her again, but she side-stepped him.
“I was thinking Chinese.”
She pulled him along with a light touch on his hand. To Nikki, the impromptu date was going well, though the man seemed to be having trouble. She knew what they all wanted and Nikki had learned ways to sidetrack men, which usually involved talking and activities. If she could keep him from getting too close and giving her that look, she would make it through.
They went into the Chinese place that she was at more than she was in her own small kitchen. She sat in the corner booth where she always did and Lena brought them water and her some wine. Dyson didn’t want anything else to drink and he had Nikki order him some food.
“Bring him what I get Lena.”
Nikki talked to him about his business and more about his partner David. By the end of the meal, she knew more about him than most people in his life did. He was not used to that part of a relationship. Dyson actually had more dates that he had never talked to, than those that he had. It was a different feeling to deny his basic needs for mental stimulation. It was too early when they parted ways, but he could still feel the heat on his lips from the barely-there kiss he was allowed, as he walked away.
“Call me Nikki. I am in your phone.”
Chapter 2
Nikki walked back into the restaurant, to thank Conrad for the introduction.
“So did he take you on his plane or anything?”
Nikki looked at him kind of strangely for a moment.
“No, we had some Chinese and took a walk up to the bluff.”
Conrad looked incredulous. “Do you even know who he is?”
“Yea he said he owned some business with apps or something. He told me, but you know how I am about that technology stuff.”
The bald man chuckled to himself and went to the counter. He leafed through a stack of papers and found a magazine that he had been reading a few days before. Handing it to her, he loved the wide-eyed expression that she had seen on his face.
“Most eligible bachelor, huh? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought you would know. Everyone knows who he is. He just sold one app for a couple billion. I can’t believe you took him to Wong’s.”
“What? I love Wong’s and he didn’t tip very well for a billionaire.”
Conrad roared and shook his head. “So are you going to see him again? He told me he is looking to settle down and have some kids.”
“Calm down. I met him once and he seemed nice. He told me to call him, but didn’t give me his number, so I don’t know. I am tired. I will see you guys tomorrow.”
Nikki went up the back stairs and up to the small apartment. It was cramped but she was not there very often and she had found a new type of family since she didn’t get to see her own but a couple of times a year. Conrad was a friendly father figure and his wife Jilliane was a good friend that had went to school with her mother. While she was sure that they kept tabs on her, she didn’t mind having people around she trusted. Nikki had been warned many times that she should be careful that the big city didn’t change her.
Things had changed though and Nikki’s date that evening was a good example. She was starting to want to push back her ideas of waiting until marriage. Men like Dyson did not come around a lot and she knew that like many, once they realized that she was a virgin, would either try twice as hard to change it or backed off for someone that was a bit easier to bed. When the women did a search of him online, it had numerous pictures of him snuggled up to an array of women. When she closed her laptop and lay down on her bed, she figured it was just as well that she didn’t have his number.
***
Nikki was up with the sun, crawling out of bed to find her coffee pot already gurgling brown nectar. Her nose took in the smell as she stirred in some cream and went out to the balcony in her robe. It was her favorite time of the day, before the city really woke up and came to life. It was sleeping like most of its residents and as she looked out at the buildings in front of her, she actually felt like she was on top of the world.
The sun was coming up beautifully and she went back inside to grab her camera. She took several pictures before she set it down and picked her warm mug back up. She did not notice a man staring up at her from the sidewalk until she looked away from the pink-tinged sky. He waved up to her and Nikki realized it was the man that she had almost run into the day before. She waved back and smiled, looking back up as more of the horizon was filled with color.
Nikki went into her apartment and got dressed. She went out for a walk, as she did most mornings, though she decided against her mountaintop oasis. If she was honest with herself, she knew that she was going down to her friend’s house, but she hadn’t actually thought it yet. When she got outside and took in the morning, she was surprised to find the guy she had waved to still there.
“Oh hey. Are you looking for someone?”
“No, I was hoping you would come down here. Conrad isn’t here yet, is he?”
“No, he won’t be in till at least eight. Where do you know him from?”
“We were in the military together.”
“Oh, I met one of you other guys yesterday, Dyson?”
“Yes, he is my partner in business now.”
“Apps right?”
“Right. So how do you know him?”
“We went out last night, nice guy. Small world huh?”
“Yes, increasingly smaller. So are you going to see him again?”
Nikki laughed and nodded her head noncommittally. She didn’t want to talk about it with his partner. They were alike in some ways, but in other ways, completely different. The biggest thing the two men had in common was their size. They were both built more like high school football players, than business men. She remembered the articles she had read before and realized he too was richer than sin.
“Well nice meeting you. Conrad will be here in a while.”
“Do you want to go to breakfast with me then, help the time go quicker? That is, if you don’t have anywhere to be.”
“Not really. Sure I will go with you.”
Nikki expected to walk, but he pulled her towards a dark tinted car. He opened the back door for her and climbed in after she was seated. He nodded to the driver in the front and the car pulled away from the curb quickly.
“So you don’t drive?”
“Not when I don’t have to.”
Nikki was intrigued, but a bit put off by the man. He was a lot different than his partner in the way that he acted. If Nikki hadn’t already known, she thought she would have seen it. There was an air about him that was unmistakable.
“So how do you like it here Nikki?”
“It’s okay. Been here about a year. The sunrises and sunsets are almost worth all the hassles. I am from a small town back east, so I guess it is just a lot different here. Takes some getting used to.”
“So how have you managed to stay single with all of the choices?”
“I date once and a while, but haven’t found the one yet I guess.”
“The one?”
“Yeah you know, the perfect one, soul mate.”
“Ah. Never believed in that.”
“That’s a shame. I was hoping you were going to say, “until now.” Nikki got out of the car before the driver could go around to open it for her. He looked at her like a naughty girl.
“So what is this place?”
“This is my business. We actually have a great kitchen in here and it is where I usually make breakfast.”
“You or a maid or something?”
His blue eyes went to hers and she laughed. He had never felt like the way he did then. He felt silly and wanted her to think he was capable.
“I will make
you breakfast. I wasn’t always rich you know.”
“Uh huh.”
She followed him into the all glass building. There were small seams of metal within the walls, but everything seemed to be this barely see-through glass. It made the inside bright and airy, though it did not feel like a legitimate business. They walked through an open room with several tables and chairs. She was impressed with the design and when they got to the kitchen, she was surprised. It was all stainless steel and glass and looked fully functional. Nikki sat at one of the silver stools around the counter and watched the man tried to impress her further with his cooking skills. Since she was unable to boil water most of the time, it was not that hard.
The two talked while he moved around the small office kitchen. He had taken his jacket off and she spent some of her time checking out the man’s large body, flexing as he moved. Her thoughts were dominated with the way her own body felt to look at him. There was something about a hot guy in the kitchen. She barely had time to consider how strange the last couple of days had been, before he was putting a plate in front of her.
Nikki wasn’t sure what it was, but it smelled good. David saw the hesitation in her eyes and put a bit on a fork and fed it to her. While she was chewing it, she still wasn’t sure what it was, but it was good. He fed her again before she pulled the fork out of his hand.
“Here, you have something…”
His finger rubbed against her bottom lip and then stilled as he leaned closer. Nikki’s heartbeat thudded in her chest, as her eyes fluttered closed. She waited for a kiss that never came.
“Good morning David. I see you have another breakfast guest.”
Nikki’s eyes opened and she recognized the voice from the night before. While she was doing nothing wrong, she still felt incredibly guilty of being there, about to suck face with his partner. David too, looked a little discombobulated.