CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
DANA
Dana was packing for her tropical trip with Rux when she decided to give Ms. Sarah Anderson a call. They had become closer than colleagues since she had started seeing Rux and had finally succumbed to a first-name association.
“So, this is your first trip with anyone serious, eh?” Sarah asked.
Dana was folding a few summer dresses into her bag along with a sleek, one-piece bathing suit. She couldn’t wait for Rux to see her in it, but some of that excitement had been dampened by a harsh reality.
“I’ve done weekend trips,” Dana said over speakerphone, “but nothing like this. It feels like a lot, to be honest.”
Sarah Anderson, as blunt as they come, arrived at the root of the question.
“And that means what?” she asked.
Dana sighed loudly, finishing off her packing and deciding what she would wear on the plane ride.
“I mean the audition, my job, worrying about Jennifer,” she said, thumbing through her cupboard. “Now Rux, I mean, what is he? My boyfriend now?”
Sarah chuckled softly over the phone.
“Honey,” Sarah said firmly, “you’ve got to stop talking yourself out of pleasurable situations. Life is full of so much bullshit. Why not just let yourself enjoy a man who would probably go down on you for hours?”
Dana found a long, baby-blue floral dress buried in the back of her closet. She pulled it out and held it up against her in the mirror as she chuckled.
“You’re not wrong,” Dana said.
“Then that means I’m right,” Sarah said.
Dana got dressed and was picked up by Rux to head to the airport. It was a bright, sunny day, and she tried to heed Sarah’s advice and sink into Rux’s absolute dedication to her. He had his hand on her thigh as they drove and held her hand through the airport.
As wonderful and storybook-like as it was, it scared Dana, and she had a desperately hard time letting go of that fear completely.
They sat together on a private jet, Rux’s hand once again resting on her thigh. She held it as they ascended, eventually evening out and soaring through the deep blue sky.
“I’m assuming this Griffin guy's security is pretty tight,” Dana said, gazing out the window.
“Uh-huh,” Rux said. “People with wealth love their security teams. But I thought we could figure that out when we get there.”
Dana turned to him, a harrowed look painting her gaze.
“Don’t you think it's better to have a plan before we get there?” she asked. “As you said, rich people adore their security.”
Rux removed his sunglasses and placed them on his head. He gazed over her shoulder through the window and into the seemingly infinite sky.
Rux eventually shrugged, then leaned against his hand, eyes still fixated on the sky behind her.
Dana took his chin in her hands and slowly guided it to face her. His handsomeness still struck her every time she looked deep into his enchanting eyes.
“Rux,” she said softly. “Where are you right now?”
Rux sighed through his teeth as his eyes once again wandered away from hers. Despite knowing him for only a few weeks, she felt that she could already read his body language like a book.
“In the clouds, I suppose,” he said plainly.
“Rux?” Dana widened her eyes at him. “Tell me what’s wrong, please.”
He paused for a long time again, irking Dana to the core. Patience was not one of her virtues, but she did her best for the man she had grown to care for deeply.