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I glance over my shoulder toward the house. They’re all watching me, although they quickly look away, trying to disguise it. Lips twisting, I look back at the sea.
“I’ve got something to ask you,” I say.
“Oh?”
“It’s just an idea, and feel free to say no. But I was wondering whether you’d like to come up to Matauri Bay tomorrow. Spend the day here, or the afternoon at least. And stay the night with me.”
She’s quiet for a moment. I look up at the stars just beginning to pop out on the darkening sky.
“Of course,” I say when I can’t bear the silence any longer, “I’m sure you want to stay with your dad right now.”
“It’s not that,” she says quickly. “I mean, I do, but Kate’s here, and he’s sleeping a lot of the time anyway. Mack, you must understand why I’m hesitant? And why I didn’t stay the night at your apartment?”
“Yes, of course. And the last thing I want you to feel is obliged.”
“Obliged?”
“Sid, I wasn’t born with money. I know how life can be a struggle without it. And I know how difficult it is to accept money when you don’t have it. I’d hate for you to feel as if you have to spend time with me as a kind of payment.” I stop then. Jesus. Why not call her a prostitute and have done with it?
“Mack,” she says softly, “that’s not it at all. Although thank you for finally admitting that you were the one who paid the money. That makes me feel a lot better.”
I study my feet again.
“The reason I didn’t stay the night… and why I’m hesitant to join you…” She sighs. “I don’t know how to explain to you what you’re like. You must know how people react to you. Felicity compared you to the sun. She said you were dazzling, and that we’re all just comets shooting through your solar system.”
I cover my face with a hand. “Ah, shit.”
“Don’t blame her, I know what she means. The first time I saw you, striding through your offices, I just thought, wow. You blew me away. Not just your looks—I mean, you’re gorgeous—but there’s something about you, something magnetic… mesmerizing. It took every ounce of willpower I own to walk away from your apartment. I guess I’m saying I could easily fall for you, if I haven’t already. And I know coming up there, spending time with you would be amazing, but it would make it so much harder to walk away.”
I pick up a stone and skim it across the top of the water, then slide my hand into the pocket of my shorts. “What if I don’t want you to?”
“Do you mean that?”
“Sid, I can’t stop thinking about you. Everyone’s commenting on it. My family, the guys yesterday… I nearly passed out at the dinner table.”
She giggles. “That was a pretty saucy conversation.”
“It was, over my Carbonara. I don’t know what you’ve done to me, if it’s witchcraft or something. But I’m obsessed.”
“You’re saying you keep thinking about sex?”
“No. Well, yes. All the time. That can’t be a shock when you’re texting about covering me in whipped cream and then sucking me dry. But I mean that’s not all. I just…” I don’t know how to explain myself. I’ve never done this before. “I miss you,” I say simply.
“Oh…” I can hear the smile in her voice. “I miss you too.”
“So, will you come up here?”
“Surely your family won’t want a stranger intruding?”
“There’ll be a lot of people around tomorrow. Probably thirty or so. Nobody will even notice you. It’ll just be barbecues and swimming and drinking and then falling asleep in the shade.”
“It sounds amazing.”
I laugh. “Yeah.”
“Have you brought your laptop?”
“Uh, yeah, but I haven’t opened it since I got here. I’ll check my emails before I go to bed. But I’ve promised myself no work till I get back on Monday morning.”
