“Are you ready, Daisy? You can still say no. Once we do this, there’s no going back. You’ll be mine forever.”
The words, while in the throes, weren’t just words; they felt more powerful than that. They were true. I knew it then.
“Yes, yours forever, only yours.”
He lined up his rigid length with my entrance, and slowly, he inserted himself into my body. I gasped at the sharp pain, but Gatsby’s soft words of reassurance in my ear as he pushed further inside helped take my mind off the pain.
“Look, it’s done. You took all of me,” he praised. Then, he began to move, slowly at first while my body familiarized itself with his. He looked pained, but he didn’t say anything. He just watched my face for cues, and eventually, my pain subsided and was replaced with a warm sense of bliss. Soon, I was writhing under his body and pleading for a deeper release.
He seemed to be an expert at this, and we came together in an eruption of love and emotion.
When morning came, we were forced to dress. It was like the rose-colored glasses were ripped from my eyes, and it was time to talk about the heavy thing weighing on me.
“I saw the tickets,” I started. He turned slightly, butdidn’t make eye contact, so I continued, “They are for two different places. I’m going to New York. You’re going to California.”
There was a long pause.
“I am.”
“Why?”
“That’s where basic training is. I joined the military.” He stared at me with those striking green eyes that just last night I got lost in for hours. He was lying, so was I. We made love, and I didn’t even know his real name. I allowed him to lie all day, up until we reached the bus station. The sun was starting to set, and two different busses pulled up. In minutes, we would each board one, and that would be it.
We spent five years talking daily, dreaming of a life together, out here in the real world. Only for us to have one weekend. Gatsby pulled me to him one last time, tilting my chin up for us to kiss. Tears slid down my face silently. He wiped them with his thumb, and I saw the hurt in his eyes. He didn’t want to do this, but he needed to. Whatever it was.
“You didn’t join the Army,” I said. “You’re not going to basic training.”
He took an audible breath and nodded. “No, I am not. You are going to go to school. You’re going to join a ballet company, and then you’re going to live your dream of dancing at Wolfsheim theater.”
My lips trembled. “And what about you? Where are you going?”
He looked up and away, as if dreading this moment where he had to confess the truth.
“Prison.”
Chapter 7
Gatsby
“Are you sure about this,sir? As your financial advisor appointed by Mr. Wolfsheim before his passing?—”
I waved the man’s concerns away, not looking up from the contract I was reading. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“The moment you try to open those doors, it’s going to be condemned.”
“I won’t let that happen. Tomorrow, we are starting construction.” I was bored already with his constant complaints.
“Tomorrow? Emi?—”
“Gatsby,” I corrected.
“Gatsby.” He sighed. “This money?—”
I slammed my hands on the desk, stood, and met the middle-aged man’s eyes. He flinched. “Park, I was handed 150 billion dollars. Even if I spent a million a day, it would take me...” I leaned forward expectantly.
“410 years.” He swallowed.
“410 years.” I nodded. “So, with all due respect, shut the fuck up. It’s done.” I bent over, grabbed the pen on my desk, and signed thepaperwork.
