CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR #2
I blew out a sigh. “I tried, remember? But after you saw me that night at Bahia Del Sol and then overheard my family… well, it didn’t go well.
I’m not trying to blame you for anything, because you did nothing wrong, but you didn’t want to listen to me.
” It sounded lame even to me, and I wasn’t surprised when she gave me a look.
“It’s just so hard to believe you couldn’t have expressed yourself better. You’re supposed to be so good with women…”
I laughed without mirth and ran a hand over my jaw. “Only kind of good.”
“You’re going to have to explain yourself better than that, Jack.
” Her voice was firm, and the look on her face was serious.
“You’re a world-famous, handsome billionaire.
You designed one of the best-selling video games of all time.
You’re brilliant. You’ve dated famous women and half the beautiful, rich women in West Bay.
” She leaned forward a little. “And you’re telling me you couldn’t figure out a way around the deli delivery girl’s defenses? ” She shook her head. “I don’t buy it.”
“I never had to ask anyone out,” I blurted.
She cocked an eyebrow doubtfully. “Seriously. The heiresses and debutantes from West Bay either asked me out, or someone fixed us up. The famous women? Their PR reps called my sister and set it up, or I had her call their people. I didn’t have to do anything but show up and take them out. ”
“Never? Not once?” She looked scandalized. “What about high school? Prom, school dances, things like that?”
“I graduated from high school when I was fourteen.”
“Oh.”
“I fucked around in college. But the girls approached me.”
She looked horrified. “When you were fourteen?”
I snorted. “Hell, no. I was seventeen when I lost my virginity. When I was fourteen, I was skinny, five-six, wore glasses and braces, and was mute around anything with boobs. I grew fast, though, got the braces off, and miraculously girls thought I was hot.”
“And you never fell in love with any of your college girlfriends?”
“No,” I scoffed. “I didn’t have girlfriends.
I fucked women and moved on.” I started to leave it at that, but knew if I wanted her, I had to work for her.
“I didn’t believe in love. By the time I graduated from college I was nineteen.
It took me five years since I double majored.
I published CaveSphere that same year, and by the time I was twenty I was famous.
” I reached for her hand again, and this time she let me hold it.
“Fast forward ten years, and I was doing all the same things, just on a larger scale. I dated lingerie models instead of cheerleaders and sorority girls. I worked on CaveSphere sequels. Still hung out with Tallon. My life was pretty much the same.”
The unspoken ‘but’ was hanging in the air between us.
“But then I met you,” I said simply. “And it was like I got struck by lightning. I didn’t believe in love, so I rationalized that I was just feeling extreme lust. I asked you out, but things didn’t go well, and I flipped out.
I had to know everything there was to know about you.
I convinced myself it was a temporary obsession.
But after I won you in the auction and we spent a few weeks together at the condo? ”
She nodded, urging me on.
“I knew it was love. I just didn’t know how to say it. At that point, I thought you might laugh at me if I told you I loved you already. You didn’t know that I’d been spying on you for weeks.”
“That sounds so creepy.”
“It’s messed up,” I agreed.
“But you love me.” Her eyes were wide with wonder.
I nodded. “I do.”
She looked out the window for a while as if she was weighing what she was going to say next very carefully. She still held my hand, though, so I had hope that she wasn’t about to throw me out.
“Do you know why I didn’t rat you out to the police?”
“Because Carmen and Enzo would’ve fed you to the fishes like in some generic black and white mafia movie?”
She laughed, then winced. “Oh, God. Don’t make me laugh. It hurts my ribs so bad.”
I squeezed her hand in sympathy. “Sorry.”
“No. It’s because when you saved me in that horrible basement, you picked me up and held me close.
I know I had to look horrid. I was covered in dirt, dust, blood, and sweat.
But you didn’t care a bit. You held me close and told me you loved me.
” She smiled then, and I knew we were going to be alright.
“I didn’t think you heard me. I thought you’d lost consciousness.”
She shook her head. “It’s the last thing I remember before waking up in the hospital.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m going to overlook the way we got together for one very important reason.”
I moved closer to her, practically holding my breath. “What is it?”
“I love you, too.”
“You do?”
“Oh my God, yes. Even though I briefly thought you might be a serial killer, I’m totally gone over you.”
I grinned at her. “I could never be a serial killer.”
She snorted. “Why? Because you like people so much?”
I barked out a surprised laugh. “No need to be sarcastic. But no, that’s not the reason. It’s just way too messy. Can you imagine me getting someone else’s blood on me?” I shuddered. “I mean besides yours, of course.”
“Of course,” she whispered, leaning into me.
I laid my head on her shoulder, and she laid her head on top of mine.
“I love you so much, Daisy. I never want us to be apart again,” I whispered into the side of her neck. Then I cringed. “Does that sound stalkery?”
“Totally.” She nodded her head but smiled. “But I think I get it now. At least somewhat.”
“You’re not breaking up with me?”
“I’m not breaking up with you. But… what do you want from this relationship?”
I pulled back and looked at her. I tucked some hair behind her ear just so I had a reason to touch her. “Everything.”
Her eyes widened.
“We can go slow. Ish. Slow-ish. I don’t think I do slow very well. At least not with you. I’ve been like a snail with any other woman,” I admitted.
“Their loss.”
I stood up, still holding her hand. “Give me another chance? I can do better, I swear. I might always be a little nuts when it comes to you, but I won’t go full tilt stalker. Not anymore. I promise.”
“Jack, you didn’t throw me in a kidnap van, roofie my water, and lock me in a creepy basement.”
“True. But that’s a pretty low bar.”
She laughed, and I was pleased she was able to do so this close to when it had happened.
“I want the real thing with you, Daisy. When the contract is up… are you going to leave me?”
“No.”
A swell of relief hit me. I’d been hoping for that for so long, it seemed impossible it was coming true. “Thank goodness.”
A nurse walked in. “Okay, handsome. Time to let Sleeping Beauty get her rest. You can come back at the next visiting hours in…” she looked at the clock, “three hours. Until then, go take care of yourself.”
I must have looked pitiful at the thought of having to leave, because she softened her tone. “If you want her to get better so she can go home with you, she needs her rest.”
I nodded. “I definitely want her home with me.”
“How long have you two been together?”
I looked over my shoulder at Daisy.
“Just since a couple of months,” she said, smiling.
“Oh, I would’ve thought longer the way you two lovebirds have been staring at each other.”
“I feel like I’ve known her forever,” I admitted.
“Ah,” the nurse gave us a knowing smile. “Only the best relationships start that way. That’s how you know you’re meant to be. Maybe you were already together here on Earth before.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Daisy said.
I thought about it for a minute. I didn’t know what I thought about the afterlife or reincarnation or any of that stuff.
I’d never put much effort into trying to figure it out.
But I believed in souls. And energy. Since laws of physics tell us energy never dies, and souls have energy, it made me think souls go on to live beyond our bodies when we’re gone.
Maybe we did come back and inhabit different bodies. A recycling of souls, if you will. If that were the case, then I could easily believe that Daisy and I were reconnecting souls who’d known each other when we were in different bodies.
“That’s beautiful,” I said, startling both Daisy and the nurse. It had been a while since anyone had spoken, and I guessed I was just standing there with a strange look on my face. “We’ve probably been looking for each other for all these years.”
Daisy blinked at me. “That’s romantic.”
I thought about how something clicked deep inside me the first time I’d looked into her deep green eyes. “No. It’s not just romantic. It’s our reality.” I bent down and kissed her lightly, well aware the nurse was watching us.
“I’ll be back soon, baby. You just get some rest. We have all the time in the world to be together.”
And, I thought, we did. I’d move heaven and Earth to have a life with Daisy. But it seemed I didn’t have to. She was right here with me, and she wasn’t going anywhere. She accepted me for who I was, quirks and all.
And there was no one I’d rather be with than her.
Maybe that’s what a soul mate was.