Page 24 of All Bets Are Off
Brow furrowing, she sits up, looking between me and the rolled paper.
“You…This is a present? Forme?”
Suddenly, I’m feeling rather inadequate about my artistic abilities. “My preference would have been sapphires to set off your eyes, but…” I clear my throat hard and step back, picking up the drawing and setting it in her lap. “I guess this will have to do.”
With a hesitant smile, she drags the rubber band off and unfurls my creation, staring at it in stunned silence. One that lasts way too long.
“Youmadethis?”
“Yes, well, it’s not exactly Caravaggio?—”
“You remembered how much I love the Milky Way.”
I rear back slightly. “You only told me last night, Vida. Dark matter and all that.”
“Yes. But…you drew it for me. You made this yourself?”
I give a succinct nod. “I had colored pencils delivered this morning.”
A dimple pops in her cheek, and Lord, I amtransfixedby it. “Delivered from where?”
“I have no idea, angel. I ask for things and they appear.”
“Such a rich boy,” she whisper-laughs before turning serious. “I love this drawing with my whole heart. It’s the most incredible gift you could have gotten me, Tripp. Iloveit.”
My pent-up breath comes whooshing out. “Great.”
She sets the drawing down carefully, like it’s on loan from the Louvre, then she scrambles off the table and throws her arms around me, squeezing me in a way I feel deep in my throat. So hard and so meaningfully that I realize I’ve never been hugged like this before.
I’ve been given perfunctory hugs. Polite ones.
Being in Vida’s embrace is like stepping off the edge of a pier and floating into the sunset while dolphins leap in unison around me.
Wait.
Ocean. Sunset.
“Angel, I know I just told you I would never ask you for anything else if you let me lick you off, but I have one more request.”
I’m still holding her close as her laughter vibrates through me, unleashing a feeling that I can only describe as blissful. “You only made it one minute.”
I kiss her forehead twice for good measure, because I have a feeling what comes next is going to be an uphill battle. “Come out on my yacht tonight.”
“You have a…” She pulls back, visibly stunned. “Of course you have a yacht.”
“I dock it here in the summertime.” I tilt her chin up, concerned that I’ve overwhelmed her. Reminded her too soon that we come from opposite worlds. “It’s just a boat, angel.”
“And you want to take me out on it?”
“More than anything,” I say, meaning it. “Here’s the catch, though. I’m hosting a party. It’s an annual tradition and…” I search for the right words to explain. “My entitled prick friends don’t take no for an answer. Traditions are the most important thing to them, and if I shirk that tradition, they will smile in my face while they find some backhanded way to punish me.”
Her confusion is obvious. “I thought you said they were your friends?”
“They are. It’s just…”
“A different world.”
“It’ll be such a better one if you’re there.” I give a flat laugh. “Let me rephrase that. I’ll be miserable without you there, Vida.”
