er be or else I might have to spank you.”
“Is that a promise?” I asked with a grin.
He smiled, “It is now.”
All of a sudden I could feel the steady descent of the aircraft. This had to be the best honeymoon ever. Anywhere I wanted to go? How many people got that opportunity?
We exited the plane and a white Jaguar XKR was waiting for us. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Jonathon whistled appreciatively. “I might have to get one of these too when we get home,” he slid behind the wheel. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips. I knew by now there was no point in saying anything.
The car purred to life and he stepped on the gas. I quickly buckled my seatbelt. The tiers of many white houses shone brightly in the morning sunlight. I leaned against the black leather seat and pulled out my sunglasses so I wouldn’t have to squint. Jonathon with his sensitive eyesight had put on dark sunglasses before we even left the plane. I took in the cool blue color of the Mediterranean as its white caps sparkled like diamonds in the glittering sunlight. Jonathon opened the car windows and a warm breeze filtered in. He looked over and smiled at me and his teeth sparkled in the light. He turned onto an obscure dirt road that seemed to run parallel to the ocean. My hair whipped around my face and into my mouth. “Phff,” I swatted my hands trying to get the hair out of my mouth. Jonathon chuckled. I had never liked riding in a car with the windows down. Laughing still, he closed the windows. “Thanks,” I smiled appreciatively.
“No problem,” he continued to chuckle at me.
He drove through a thick copse of trees that seemed to grow thicker and thicker.
Ahead I could see the trees begin to thin and a lightness that wasn’t there before. Jonathon glided the car around a bend and then the trees opened up to a large modern all white beach house. It was huge, though not as big as Jonathon’s family mansion. It was all one level and spread out over a large expanse of beach and covered in floor to ceiling glass I wondered how there would be any privacy. It was so close to the water that I could literally run right into the Mediterranean. Jonathon pulled into a carport and hopped out of the car to get my door for me, before popping the trunk and getting our luggage.
He pulled a key from his pocket and undid the lock. The floors were a gleaming white wood and the walls were white too. The door opened into a kitchen and everything, except the stainless steel appliances, were white too. There was an archway and beyond it I could see three steps down into a family room with white couches and a large white rug. The views were stunning. I could understand now why everything was so sterilely white; the deep blue color of the Mediterranean was the only color needed. “Whose house is this?” I asked. “Yours?”
Jonathon’s hand came up to the small of my back and he answered, “Gabriel’s.”
“Really?” I asked, turning in his arms.
“Yeah,” he sighed. “Gabriel travels a lot so he said we could use it.”
I looked around the house with new eyes now. It looked like nothing I would associate with Gabriel. This place was so white and airy compared to his dark personality.
The shrill tone of my phone ringing made me jump. I pulled it out of my pocket. The number was unfamiliar. “Hello,” I stepped away from Jonathon.
“Tell Jonathon that it’s your brother on the phone,” said the slightly familiar voice. “Then excuse yourself to the bathroom. I’ll give you more instructions once you’re in there.”
I mouthed to Jonathon that it was my brothers on the phone and started down the hall. “It’s the third door on the left,” said the voice. I did as he said and found myself in what must be the master bedroom. I saw the door to the bathroom and went in. “Now lock the door and turn the sink on.” I did.
“Gabriel?” I whispered into the receiver.
“Shh,” he hissed. “I don’t want Jonathon knowing that I’m calling you.”
“Why are you calling me?” I asked.
“Because there are some things I think you should know but Jonathon wants to keep it from you. He’ll kill me if he finds out I’m giving you this information but I think you deserve to know. It’s your life after all. Don’t get me wrong… I understand where Jonathon’s coming from… it might not have anything to do with you… but then again it might…”
“I’m really confused,” I groaned.
He took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I need to you to open the right cabinet on the vanity.”
“Okay,” I opened it. “Now what?”
“You see that red lever on the pipes?” He asked.
“Yeah.”
“Turn it towards you.”
“Are you sure? Water’s not going to squirt out at me is it?” I questioned. This was Gabriel after all.
“No,” he huffed.
“Hang on a second,” I put the phone down so I could use both hands to pull the lever.