“When I was little, my dad always told me the moon had a silly twin that danced on the water,” she says, grinning as she points to the reflection of the moon on the rippling water. The waves move the image to make it look as though it actually is dancing, and I smile.
“What’s your Dad’s name? I hate to ask that, but you’ve met my entire family—with the exception of Dixon—and I don’t know anything about yours.”
She leans closer as she gazes out at the ocean. “My dad’s name is Vince, my mom’s name is Val, and my... um... friend’s name is Shanna.”
She started to say something else, but I have no idea what. I’m just shocked that she told me that much. In five minutes, I’ve learned more about her than I have in two weeks. And people call me private.
This trip might have been a bad idea, because now I want to ask her more questions. What happens if she turns out to be more than just a hot time?
The last thing I need is a serious relationship of any kind. My gym is still somewhat new, and my time is getting to be more of a rarity these days. This trip is the last of the free time I’ll have for a while.
Bo nestles in closer, making me grin. She’s never much for cuddling, so it’s actually a little sweet to see her doing it. Especially since there hasn’t been any sex.
Yet.
“What has you opening up tonight?” I ask, frowning at how she tenses against me.
“I thought talking would be better than our usual interactions, given the fact your family is downstairs. Your turn to talk. Why does your mother think I’m a gold digger?”
I burst out laughing, admittedly a little shocked, and she leans up to gaze at me, seeming honestly confused. I roll my eyes as I lean forward and kiss her swiftly, loving how much softer her lips have felt. It’s as though they’re a whole new set of lips, even though they look exactly the same.
“I suppose it’s because I’m set to inherit the family ‘fortune.’ My father owns a decent sized business. It’s not Sterling money, but it’s still a chunk. She’s going to think any woman without a severely wealthy family is after my money, but I’m not going to take over the business. She’s just the only one who hasn’t figured that out yet.”
I decide not to mention the fact that my mother has already stalked her and learned of her living situation. I could tell Mom that Bora… er, Bo and I have a sexual relationship and little else, but that might cause a major meltdown.
“Who’s to say I don’t have a severely wealthy family? In fact, I could be independently wealthy and have family money at the same time.”
The challenge in her eyes is intriguing, but I’ve seen her small apartment. Not to mention, she usually takes the bus to my house. I’ve never even seen her car, if she has one.
“I’m not judging. You could be flat broke. We’re just having fun, which is nicer than the way you usually lay it out there. It’s not like either of us is looking for something serious.”
The look in her eyes confuses me. Usually she’s too busy talking dirty to have a real conversation. I’m positive this is the first time we’ve ever spoken about anything of substance.
“You don’t think much of me, do you?” she says, a disappointed look marring those sexy, soft lips. I prefer her smile. The smiles I’ve seen on her today have been genuine, warm, and damn near unmanning.
“Because I don’t think you come from wealth? Why are you getting so defensive?” I ask.
She shakes her head, acting as though she’s shrugging it off, but the disappointment still resides in her eyes. Even in the dark, it’s easy to see. What’s going on?
“Skin deep,” I hear her mutter.
What?
She’s calling me skin deep? She’s the shallowest person I know. And where did that come from?
I laugh humorlessly while she moves over on the small couch. The air out here just got stuffy.
“Picking a fight with me on the first day?” I muse, trying to defuse the situation.
“No. Just reminding myself about the truth. This is skin deep. Nothing more. So I shouldn’t be getting so... um... well, I think that’s enough. You can go to bed if you want to. I’m sure you’re tired. You haven’t slept as much as I have.”
Getting so what? Just the other day she was telling me I was getting too clingy because I asked her to spend the night. It was raining, and I didn’t want her having to wait on a bus. She refuses to let me drive her home. Hell, I’ve only gone to her apartment a few times, and that was because we were closer to her place than mine on those occasions. She kicked me out the second we were done. We’ve never once spent the night with each other. She also called me clingy for inviting her on this trip, but I had ulterior motives for this.
“Yeah,” I mumble, deciding to skip the argument. “I’m pretty tired. You staying out here?”
The flight must have really screwed with her head, because she’s not acting like herself at all.
“For a while,” she says on a sigh, not bothering to look at me. Her eyes stay trained on the ocean, but she seems a million miles away.