“Maybe,” Kallie said. “Maybe not.”
Before Ash could get another word in edgewise, Kallie slid from the barstool. He went to go stop her to make sure she paid, but Johnny put a hand on his shoulder.
“Look at her wrist,” his friend whispered to him.
His eyes looked down as she rounded the corner and he saw the red band on her wrist. An all-inclusive stay at the resort.
She was loaded and alone.
A wonderful combination for a man like himself.
He watched her leave, her hips swaying with every step she took. Her dress fell against her body majestically, accentuating the slope of her waist and the taper of her shoulders. She held her drink and walked along the sand, taking t
he long way back to the private beaches that lined the southern shoreline. Those villas and bungalows were reserved for the especially rich. Those who wanted a private vacation with all the public amenities. Like getting drunk on the beach and having illegal bonfires.
He wondered what a timid woman like Kallie did to earn such money.
Ash was glad he had two weeks to try again and win her over. Jet lag was a bitch, that much he was aware of. He’d done enough traveling with his rich-ass family throughout his childhood to know enough about that. He watched from behind the bar as he grabbed his protein shake, then gulped it back before the taste became too much.
The blowing of her hair around her back made the drink more palatable.
Or maybe simply nonexistent with her beauty cascading over the shoreline.
Ash could see himself spending a night or two between the sheets with Kallie. And if she didn’t burn by simple association with the sun, maybe he could talk her into a bit of hot tub sex. He knew those villas had them and it had been a long time since he’d partied like that.
He could treat a woman like her to a wonderful time, then send her home full of confidence and able to take on the world.
It was a service he provided, really. Instilling confidence into lost, unassuming rich women.
“Thank fuck she ordered a drink you knew how to make,” Johnny said with a grin.
“I’ve learned enough peeking over your shoulder over the years,” I said as I tossed my plastic blender cup into the sink.
“You gonna clean that?”
“Isn’t that your job?”
“Not when it’s not mine, asshole. That shit belongs to you. Rinse it out and take it with you,” Johnny said.
“Not my fault you guys use the same blender I’ve got at my place.”
“Next time, blend it there too.”
“When I order a replacement base, I will,” Ash said.
“Resenting Mommy and Daddy but not afraid to use their money. Sounds about right,” Johnny said with a chuckle.
“Earned that money fair and square when I turned thirty years old. Not my fault they gave me enough to live off of and then some. Maybe if they were decent enough people I wouldn’t have run off to live an island life.”
“Ah, the disappointing son. I know that schtick all too well,” Johnny said.
“I think that’s why we get along.”
“That and we fuck around with the same women.”
“Maybe phrase that better next time,” Ash said. “Or stop gunning for my sloppy seconds.”
“Don’t talk to them for so long and maybe I won’t swoop in to give them what you took too long to offer.”