“I did, not sure why, though.”
“I’m taking you somewhere, obviously. I had to work while you were on your Spring Break, so think of it as a second, shorter break. Steve’s gonna take Pongo and Lulu, and we’re going on a little adventure.”
“You’re sure that’s smart?”
“Yep. Mills and Cyn will let me know if anything blows up while we’re gone. Oh, and before you ask, yes, you’ll be back in time for school on Monday. Promise.” He drops another waffle on my plate. “Eat up, because we’re gonna have a late lunch. We’ll bring the leftovers to snack on in case we get hungry.”
Two hours later, we’re on the road headed north out of Los Angeles on the Pacific Coast Highway. The weather isn’t too warm yet, so the windows are down and I’m watching the scenery pass by as Chase sings along to his playlist.
“Shit, I’ve never been this far north before. At least not on this side.”
“What? Seriously?” He looks over at me for a second. “Okay, eyes ahead. Trust me.”
He takes my hand, kisses my knuckles, and nods toward the road ahead. I’m not sure what I’m waiting for, though. So far, I’ve seen a ton of trees and random freeway stuff, just like it has been for the last hour.
I gasp as we come around a corner and I’m met with a stunning view of the ocean. The beautiful view leaves me speechless.
“You spend too much time in the city.”
“Something tells me you’re going to change that.”
“Damn right.”
“We used to go to the beach as kids. I always looked for the animals, but all I ever saw were birds.” Even now, I’m staring out at the water, looking for any signs of life. “Mama saw a big shark fin while out fishing with my father once.
“You’ve never seen anything?”
“I’ve never even been to an aquarium. I haven’t seen much beyond the Shark Week programming I watch with my class.”
“Shark week? For robotics kids?”
“I use it to promote pushing the limits of computers and technology. Most of them question it, like you did. Forgetting about submarines and exploratory robots that give us more insight into ocean life we can’t safely reach.”
“Fair. I never thought of that.”
We’ve been driving next to the water for an hour, and the road ahead turns away from the ocean view. As we continue on our trip, I turn back for one last look. “Oh no, I didn’t take any pictures! Shit!”
“We’ll be back this way, don’t worry. Besides, you’re going to take a ton of pictures when we stop for lunch.” He glances over and winks at me. His hand wanders up my thigh, squeezing it. The speed that I just went from wishing I could see a dolphin to wishing I could ride this man like a bull makes my head spin.
“God, I can’t wait to get you alone later. Maybe I’ll pull over and stop at a shady motel for a couple of hours.”
“Yeah, I can see those headlines now. Dive motels, sex, and drugs. Cynthia will fire you as a client. How did she even handle you trying to be a playboy like Steve?”
“I avoided stupid shit.” He goes silent and I worry I’ve overstepped, but after a pause, he adds, “I sucked at it. Steve’s a natural, charismatic and open to his wild side. Even when I’d work up the nerve to take a woman home, I’d be out of the house before she woke up, leaving her flowers and a note saying it isn’t going to work out.”
“You’d leave them alone in your home with a note? Brave of you. I’m glad I didn’t know about that before I got the note this morning, or I might have done something only slightly out of character.”
“One of them took a kitchen knife to my sofa.”
“Clever, but amateur,” I reply. He smiles at me with a wink. I glance around again and have a full-blown fuck it moment, reaching over and sliding my hand up his leg. “How about I pay you back for still being there when I woke up this morning?”
“Now that’s a headline. I’d probably crash the car into a tree with the way you give head.”
“Why don’t you pull over, big shot?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we can do that later. I don’t want to miss…something.”
* * *
