Chapter 4
Carey
DATING THALIA WAS a whirlwind in the best way. There was something uniquely attractive about her that kept me wanting more. Maybe it was her unavailability. She never seemed to be mine, even though we've been together for a month now and fucking each other pretty much every day. If I hadn’t grown up with her, I wouldn’t know anything about her. She’s a black box and exceedingly stingy with information about herself. It was only last night that I learned she was working two jobs instead of one. Apparently she catered occasionally and one of those occasions was yesterday when I called her to ask her out only for her to tell me she can’t talk because she’s about to serve at a luncheon.
But even that wasn't enough to dissuade me from not wanting to see her. And instead of doing something else with my weekend, I found myself waiting for her in the parking lot of the place she was working at, waiting for her.
She was driving me insane, and I loved every minute of it. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her every waking moment of my life. A memory of her smile, or her laugh, the way her mouth turned into an 'o' whenever I pleasure her would pop into my mind at the oddest times. It's silly that I once thought one night with her would be enough. A month later, and I doubt if my desire for her will ever dissipate.
She left the building an hour after I arrive and I got out of the car so she could see me. "You shouldn't have waited," she said after I hug her and give her a kiss. "I had nothing else to do," I replied.
She smirked. "Yeah sure. A high powered New York attorney has nothing to do on the weekends."
"Well," I said, opening the passenger door for her, "this high-powered attorney cleared his weekend so he could spend it with his amazing girlfriend, whom he thought had a day off."
Her face fell just as I closed the door and went over to the driver's side. "I had to take the job," she said as I entered the car. "I kinda need the money."
"If you tell me why you need it, maybe I could help."
"No personal stuff, remember?"
Every time she flung that rule at me, I want to curse myself for coming up with it in the first place. I thought I was doing myself a favor by making sure our relationship would be nothing but sex and free of attachment. Now I'm not sure if it was a good idea.
"Can we change the rule? Because finding out you had another job was kinda a surprise I wasn't expecting."
"Or maybe it's best to leave it like that. You wouldn't like my sob story, anyway."
But I didn't want to, at least not anymore. I thought I was doing both of us a favor. If my father knew I was slightly interested in her, he would have done all he could to destroy the relationship.
"I don't mind listening to a sad story," I said.
She smiled, and before she said anything, I knew she was about to change the conversation. "You never told me where we are going."
I wanted to take the conversation back to learning more about her, but I knew when not to push a button. And besides, why should I be so curious about her personal life? There could be skeletons in her closet. We had the perfect no strings attached relationship. Why mess that up?
I returned her smile. "Our old place at the Hamptons. Ever been?"
"One time when your mother hired me to cater for her labor day weekend party. I have to confess the only place there I know is the servants' quarters."
We drove to her apartment first, where she grabbed a few clothes for the weekend. Once again, she didn't let me go with her. Respect her boundaries. She came out half an hour later with an overnight bag in her hand and a fresh set of clothes on her. A blue and yellow flowy dress that hugged her cleavage well and showed off her shapely legs. My groin tightened as I helped her put the bag in the car. If she was going to dress like this throughout the weekend, we would never do all the activities I had planned.
We boarded the family jet and arrived at the Hamptons just before sunset. Farlow, the butler and caretaker of the property, was there to greet us, and Thalia's hand tightened in mine as they no doubt recognized each other. But Farlow was professional enough not to say anything. As I led her to our room she said, "Are we the only ones here besides, you know…"
"The staff? Yeah. My family only uses this place for parties. No one ever comes except for my dad when he has been scolded by Jacqueline."
She squeezed my hand again.
"Don't worry," I reassured her. "They rarely argue this time of the year." We reached my bedroom. The room was freshened up to prepare for our coming and as the staff came in with our bags in tow, I said to Thalia, "Want a tour?"
She nodded, and I took her around the estate. As we strolled through the gardens, I watched as the low orange light of the sunset shone on her brown curls and made her light brown skin glow.
"This place is beautiful," she said. "Yes." But I wasn't referring to the estate. It was large and gorgeous, though no one in the Hawthorne family, including me, seemed to care for it that much. Except Dad, of course. As the waves crashed, I remembered why I brought her here.
"Do you like sailing?"
She cocked her eyebrows, "Do I look like I would know whether I like sailing or not?"
I chuckled. "Do you want to find out?"
Thalia glanced towards the ocean.
"Not today, of course, but maybe tomorrow."
She frowned slightly. "I don't think I brought any sailing clothes."
"Did you bring shorts?"
She nodded.
"Those are all the sailing clothes you need."
Her eyes darkened at the double innuendo. "I am not going to sail topless, if that's what you're implying."
I grabbed her waist and pulled her to me. "Just playing the odds. I don't know, you might be into that sort of thing."
She frowned. "I can't swim."
I kissed her frown away. "Great, because we will be on a boat."
The waters were calm, and the sky was cloudless the following day. Perfect for sailing. We woke up later than I intended because we spent all of the previous night fucking each other's brains out. By the time I unfurled the sails and left the dock, it was closer to midday. Thalia was more than helpful as a first time first mate. She followed all my instructions enthusiastically, and when we were finally further into the ocean, she seemed to enjoy the experience.
"You like it?" Thalia said. She was sitting behind me on the deck as I sailed the boat. I took a quick glance at her and felt a thrill rush down my spine. The white shorts and blue crop top she had on were so distracting that I was thinking of taking the boat somewhere where we could be alone so I could ravish her on the deck.
"You mean sailing? Yeah."
"I don't remember you having a love for the water."
"I didn't until I spent a few months with my uncle in Copenhagen when I took a gap year. He loved sailing so much he spent most of his days either on water or fixing boats. He taught me all I know." We were on calm waters now and it was safe to leave the boat as is. There were no other boats in sight. It was just us two. I went below deck and brought out the picnic basket I had asked Farlow to prepare for us. Thalia seemed amused as I pulled out wine and some snacks to go with it. She kept her eyes on me while I prepared the meal.
"What?" My curiosity was getting the better of me the longer I felt like I was under a microscope.
"Is this how you seduce all the women you bring out here?"
"If you must know, you're the first woman who's ever been on this boat. Even my sister hasn't gotten on it."
"Liar."
"It's true. I could call her to confirm, but we no longer talk."
She moved closer to where I was setting the food and sat down opposite me as I poured the wine into a solo cup. I handed it to her. She took the wine but did not drink. "You and Ivy are no longer on speaking terms? Why?"
I stretched out my legs on the deck, picked up the other solo cup, and poured some wine. "Ah. No personal information, remember?"
She stretched her legs out as well and took a sip of the wine. "Touché."
"I usually sail alone," I said, feeling like I needed to give her something. "It's a great way to be alone with your thoughts. There's something about the endlessness of the ocean that feels comforting. "
She looked around her. "I get it. Sometimes I feel like wanting to get away from everything and just, well, sail away." Her face fell, and I wanted to know the cause. The question was on the tip of my tongue, but before I could even dare to raise the question, she plastered a beautiful smile and just like that, it was as though there was never any sadness.
We went back to safer topics after that. Then when we finished eating, Thalia got out of her shorts and crop top left only a red bikini, while I got down to my swimming trunks. "Help me with this," she said as she handed me a bottle of sunscreen. I applied the lotion liberally, but soon got carried away when I got to her chest. I played with her tits until we drove each other crazy. Soon, the bikini too was gone, and so were my trunks, as we made love under the sun.
The sky was red and orange by the time we got back to the house. I had planned a candlelight dinner on the terrace for just the two of us. But as soon as Thalia went upstairs to shower, Farlow came to me asking if I wanted to still stick with the plan or not. "Why? Is there a reason you can't arrange it?" I asked. Farlow cleared his throat. "Your father is here, sir. He asked you and Thalia to join him."
I frowned. "He specifically said her name."
"The chauffeur's daughter," my father said as he came into the foyer, chuckling. "You've always had a penchant for the girls on the other side of the track."
"Dad." Why did he have to come here and ruin everything? His elitism was downright nauseating and had already caused a lot of pain in this family.
"She's different, though. She's a nice girl. I would love to meet her. Let's have dinner together." He flashed an artificially white smile. His attempt to look younger through veneers, fake tan and hair dye made him look older than he realized. No doubt a pathetic attempt to look closer in age to whichever young mistress he was hooking up with.
"I don't think I would enjoy double dating with your mistress. I'll pass."
He raised his chin up, and I felt a chill run down my spine. That look used to intimidate me, but not anymore, I reminded myself. I straightened my back and stared right back at him. The corner of his mouth turned up slightly. "Fear not, son. I came alone." He gently slapped my shoulder.
"Would you mind if Thalia and I spend time alone? We haven't reached the meet your parents part of the relationship."
"Come on," he said a little too casually, "When have you ever introduced me to one of your girlfriends? And besides, it's John's daughter. I don't think it would be that awkward if we share a meal."
I couldn't think of a rebuttal. I wasn't sure if this would scare her away or not. Thalia had been so determined to keep our relationship firmly in the non serious category. But it's not as if she didn't know my father or my family. "Fine."
Dad clapped his hands. "Great. Dinner in the blue room."