Chapter 40
Dry Run – Kayla
“ W ell?” Callie is at the ready when I return to my room.
“Well, what?” I walk right past her.
“Are you kidding me? You finally have your big romantic day with Jack, and now you’re playing dumb with me. Details, girl! I want details!”
She’s wearing an oversized white t-shirt that looks like a dress on her, and she has as much hair as she could get up into a matching scrunchy.
“It was nice.”
She scoffs and bangs her foot against the floor. “Nice? Please.”
“Ah, fine.” I plop down on one of the couches, and she joins me, propping her chin on top of closed fists. “At first, we just skipped rocks.”
She gives me a funny look. “You… you skipped rocks. I haven’t done that since I was a child, but okay. Keep going.”
“Then, we did the Dirty Dancing lift a bunch of times.”
That seems to make her wriggle. “Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. That’s hot. Some Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling action.”
“The last time was on the sand, and he held me before putting me down, and I kissed him.”
“Mhm, mhm.”
“… and then we did it.”
“Where?”
“On the beach.”
She shoves my shoulder. “Oh, my god. I swear, this is like a freaking movie.”
I then shrug my shoulders. “I also found out that I like dirty talk.”
Callie’s mouth opens wide. “Shut up. What did you say? What did he say? Did you ask for it?”
I shake my head. “He brought it up.”
“Huh. Jack Shelley is a dirty talk kind of guy. Interesting.”
“What’s wrong with that?” I’m almost offended for him. I don’t see anything wrong with it.
“Nothing, nothing at all. I just wasn’t expecting that. I suppose I figured most high-powered men like him are more simpy in bed.”
“Simpy?” I’m not familiar with the word.
“Yeah.” She’s acting like it’s the most widely known thing in the world or something. “Like someone who is submissive in bed.”
“Oh.” Then, my mind flashes back to some of the things he’d done to me on that beach. “That he is certainly not. Although, I also wouldn’t say he’s particularly dominant either. He was just… him. Does that make sense?”
She nods. “Yeah, not every sexual interaction has to include particular power dynamics like that. But maybe you should try it.”
My eyebrows furrow. “Try what?”
“Being a little bossy. If I was a betting man, I’d put my fortune on the fact that he’ll like it.”
“Me?” I can’t imagine dominating a man like that. Although, I’ve also admittedly never tried.
“Yes, you,” she says in a funny, mockingly tone. “It isn’t that hard. Just bite him a little and maybe tie him up.”
I look away and tuck some hair behind my ear. “I don’t know about all of that.”
“Anyway,” she goes back to the subject matter at hand “What happened after sex?”
“I fell asleep in his arms for an hour.”
“Then what?”
That’s when it got a little less sexy. “We talked about business.”
Callie rolls her eyes. “Boring.” Then, she pats my leg as if to indicate that she’s getting up.
“I don’t think so.” Not as sexual, sure. But not boring. “His eyes have a way of lighting up when he talks about it. I can tell he has a real passion for what he does.”
Her face falls flat. “Publishing books?”
“Yes. More narrowly put, I think he likes representing people who shape culture with their words, ideas, and stories. Like Yannis Drakos. There are some people who devote a lot of their time into living in the worlds he’s created.”
She blows raspberries. “He’s no J.R.R. Tolkien or even George R.R. Martin, for that matter. I bet he doesn’t even have an ‘R.R’ in his name.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, the initials, I mean. But as to your other points, he isn’t yet. But I think he has the potential to grow to similar popularity. I really do.”
“If you’re right, we better get juicy, fat raises.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, that would be nice.”
“Nah-uh.” She’s holding her finger in my face. “None for you. It’s already enough you get to fuck our hot boss.”
“Callie!” The “f” word makes it seem gross.
“Oh, I’m sorry. You get to ‘make love’ with him.”
I don’t like that either because it insinuates that I love him, which I don’t. Right? No, that’d be crazy. I don’t know much about the guy.
She does finally get up, but she comes back with a piece of paper in her hands.
“What’s that?”
“I just found it by the door. But it has your name on it. Here.”
When I open it, I read:
Dinner tonight? I don’t know about you, but I worked up quite the appetite.
~J
“Who is it from? Your lover?” She exaggerates the last word.
“It’s from Jack. He wants to have dinner tonight.” This really surprised me because I thought he’d be all up in his head about the meeting. That was one of the reasons I called it quits earlier at the beach… believe me, I could’ve stayed there for hours and hours just lying in his arms.
“Are you going to go?”
“Of course.”
She grins and pats me on the back. “Thatta girl.”
But I also enlist her help in picking out an outfit.
“There’s nothing in this little note to suggest where you’re going?” She picks it up off the table and examines it.
“No, nothing.”
“Hmm.” She pouts. “But knowing it’s Jack, I’m assuming it’s a least a little fancy. Right?”
“I honestly don’t know. I guess that makes sense.”
Callie goes over and starts inspecting my clothes. “Plus, it’s Greece, so I feel like you can get away with dressing nicely and going just about anywhere.”
She’d know better than me.
“Here, what about this?” She’s pulled out a long black dress with thick straps. “This is pretty.”
I try it on and model it for her.
“Oh, yeah. Very classy. Then, if it gets cold, you can wear your jean jacket.”
“My jean jacket? That isn’t very elegant.”
She flicks her wrist at me. “Who cares?”
“But you—”
“Come on,” she takes me by the shoulders and practically shoves me out of the door. “Have fun. Make good choices. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”
“That doesn’t exist!” I yell after she slams it in my face. From what I’ve seen, she does whatever she damn pleases.
Ugh. But I take a compact out of my clutch and make sure my hair is in order before I head down into the lobby again. He’s waiting for me there, and he’s wearing a navy button-up, black pants and a matching belt and shoes, and a maroon tie.
“You look stunning,” he comments after I tap his buff shoulder.
“Thank you. You look great, too.”
“Thanks.”
Then, he offers me his arm, and I take it—despite my fears that someone might see us. Although apparently, he doesn’t care anymore.
“So where are we off to?” I ask in the back of the car.
“It’s called Grande Café Bar. It’s Yannis’s favorite, and I want to make sure I have the place staked out before I meet with him tomorrow.”
Oh. Perhaps I was foolish for simply thinking he wanted to spend more time with me.
Then, as if reading my mind, he leans over and says, “And of course, I was dying to spend more time with you. So, it was a win-win in my book.”
That makes me feel better.
When we walk in, I see several small tables and one of the most gorgeous views.
He pulls my chair out for me, and I’m still dazzling over the mountains and stereotypical white houses in the distance. Above us are a bunch of lights, which only add to the ambiance.
“This place is gorgeous.”
“Right?”
I take the napkin and put it in my lap. “Yannis can’t be that much of a hermit if he comes out to eat frequently.”
“I suppose. I guess I just made projections about the guy based on our less than enthusiastic conversations we’ve had.”
“Really?” I would’ve thought a man who was capable of writing such sensual and captivating love scenes would be more charming than that.
“I mean, he thinks I’m just after his money… of which he doesn’t have much. Not yet, at least. He also thinks I want to change his books.”
“No!” I detest in horror. They’re perfect, as is.
“Of course, I have no intention of that either. It’s never my aim to change or alter an author’s vision. I mean, they’re the writers not me.”
That’s good to hear.
“What do you want? I want to practice my Greek.”
I look at the menu and tell him.
“You don’t mind me ordering for you?”
I shake my head. I get how it can be seen as pretentious to do so for a woman, but in my opinion, that’s only gross and pompous when he chooses what to order for you.
I listen diligently as he orders for both of us. And by the unchanging face of the server, it seems he did a pretty decent job.
“Very impressive!”
“Ah, thanks. Hey, listen. Thank you for agreeing to come out with me on such short notice.”
“No problem.” I mean, it’s not like it was much of a sacrifice for me. I got to be in his presence and enjoy a nice meal with a gorgeous view. As long as it involved being with him, I would agree to do a lot less than that.
“So, are you excited for your friend to get in?”
“I am! Very. I’m actually anxious to get her and Callie together.”
He takes a sip of the water before him. “Are you afraid they won’t like each other?”
My tongue presses against my cheek. “Well, they’re very similar. Like it’s almost scary.”
He bobs his head.
“So, I think it’s either going to be that they love each other or hate the other for being too alike.” I squint my eyes. “Does that make sense? Or is that just a girl thing?”
“No, I get what you’re saying.”
“Okay.” I was worried I sounded like a crazy person. “Good.”
“But let’s hope it goes the other way, and they get along great.”
“As long as they don’t leave me out.”
He chuckles. “No, maybe you were right. Women are very complicated beings, aren’t you?”
“… I’m afraid so.”