"It might," I said with a mock glare.
"I guess that means you will have to punish me again when we get home." When she flushed with happiness, I felt my own heart soar.
"Does this mean you're coming back home with me? I'd like it if we could live together. You don't need to waste your hard-earned money on an apartment. You could just stay with me and I'll take care of you."
"We can talk about it when we're alone someplace private," she said. It wasn't the yes I'd been hoping for, but it wasn't a no either. "Let's get out of here."
"You got it." I grinned and I led her by the hand back to our table where Vick and Gwyneth looked relieved to see us.
"Is everything okay?” Gwyneth asked with genuine concern.
"Yes," I said as I pulled out Kayla's chair for her. "Sorry I left so abruptly. I was feeling pretty tense, but we had a good talk in the bathroom and I feel much better now."
Kayla winced slightly as she sat down, and I wished I had some soothing ointment for her beaten behind. I saw Gwyneth notice her brief expression of discomfort, and I knew we'd been busted.
Vick, on the other hand, was completely oblivious. I had to stifle as laugh as he said naively, "You were in the bathroom? I noticed several patrons complaining to the manager that they couldn't get into the men's room. They said there was some kind of ruckus going on inside. You two must have been having quite the noisy argument."
Gwyneth smacked him on the shoulder knowingly and grinned. "They weren't arguing. Just the opposite. They were making up."
"Oh?" Vick looked confused, and then suddenly, his expression changed to one of understanding. "Oh! Were you two really fucking in the bathroom?"
"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," I said, wanting to be respectful of Kayla's modesty. "Suffice to say, Kayla has the special key to relieving my tensions and making me feel like my true self when I'm filled with doubt or fear."
"Wow, you're a completely different man than guy you were in college," Gwyneth said, and I took it as a compliment. "The guy I dated would have closed himself off in a private stall to get loaded, and never opened up his true feelings to anyone. I like the new you a lot better.”
"I have Kayla to thank for that. Ever since we started seeing each other, I've felt like a different man. First, I closed myself off to the world with drugs, and then work. My career was a healthier obsession than speed, but an obsession none-the-less."
Vick nodded and said, "This is the longest I've seen in you a relationship with a woman since Gwyneth. You've had nothing but a string of one-night stands for the past 20 years."
"You're right," I admitted with chagrin. Squeezing Kayla's delicate hand in my own, I looked into her eyes and said, "It feels so good when we're together, I don't want to leave."
"Does this mean you're in a real, committed relationship now? Is the infamous bachelor officially off the market?" Gwyneth gasped. Her eyes were sparkling and she licked her lips, hungry to be the first one to hold such juicy gossip.
"We have to go now. Thanks for the drinks. We'll have to go out again soon, when I have more time. Right now, Kayla and I just want to be alone together," I said, without answering her question. I admit I took a cruel delight in leaving her hanging like that. as I grabbed Kayla by the hand and escorted her from the restaurant
I took her home to my mansion in Beverly Hills and poured us each a drink from the bar. We carried our drinks outside onto the balcony, looking up at the moon shining brightly over my backyard pond filled with Japanese Koi. I told Kayla everything she wanted to know about my past: my years in college, when I first started working for Krueger, and how I shared an apartment with a bunch of friends, partying all the time.
As the moonlight sparkled on the water, the fish leapt at insects drawn by the light and I kept talking. Sometimes she would ask questions, and I answered them all. It was like the dam had been opened and all my life's secrets came flooding out.
I told her about the pressures I'd felt to succeed at Krueger and how it got me addicted to speed. The erratic emotions of being a drug addict probably contributed to my quitting the company and deciding to branch out on my own. No sane man would have made such a decision, but I did it.
We talked about my relationship with Gwyneth and how shattered I'd been when it was over. I told her about the months I'd spent in Garden Hope Center getting myself cleaned up, and how I made my company my new obsession when I came out. I told her how my career was the only thing that mattered to
me and how I refused to ever let myself fall in love.
Finally, we talked about the lawsuit, how ridiculous it was, and how scared I felt that I might actually lose half my company to Dorsey.
"Well, if the jury decides in his favor, then you'll just continue making the greatest motorcycles in the country. Your number one for a reason, and you don't need the money. You already have more than enough." Kayla was always one to look at the bright side of anything, and I kissed her lips for it.
"Thanks," she smiled happily.
"Thank you," I grinned at her. "You can make anything seem better. Now, what do you say we go inside?"
"Sounds great, but I just have one last question."
There couldn't possibly be anything left that was unsaid between us, but I was curious to know what she wanted to ask. "What is it?"
"It's actually Gwyneth's question from earlier at the restaurant, but I'd like to know the answer. Are we in a committed relationship now?"