I take this opportunity to announce my presence and knock gently on the open door leading to the terrace. He’s talking to his brother, who’s made it evident that he doesn’t want me involved with Talent for the greater good of his younger brother and for the good of his family’s reputation.
It’s too early to predict a future for Talent and me. It’s easy to imagine one when our bodies do the talking. When he’s inside of me, I can’t imagine a life that doesn’t involve him. It’s like I’ve waited my entire life for him to rouse me out of the semi-existence I’ve suffered through this long. But it’s not clear where we’d be headed under the influence of the outside world.
Reality waits for us under the lust-fog that’s left us blissfully blind. We’re equals fourteen stories high, but we can’t hide away in the sky from our differences forever. On ground level, the truth is, I’m the highest paid whore in Grand Haven, and Talent Ridge is on his way to taking over the world.
The world can have him back once the sun comes up.
But I want him while we can still hide in the dark.
Talent looks over his shoulder at me and exhales another cloud of smoke. “I have to go.”
He ends the call and discards his phone on the chair beside him. I close the distance between us and hug him from behind, pressing my cheek against the back of his shoulder. His skin is warm, and he smells like sex and salt and contraband.
“I like your shirt,” he says, tapping ash from his joint against the railing.
“Took it from your closet,” I say. Unbuttoned, the shirt falls open and my bare stomach presses against the lowest part of his back. “I didn’t bring anything to change into, and the clothes I came in felt too tight.”
With the memory of his touch and his mouth on every inch of my body fresh in my mind, I’m not ready to have anything that close to my skin yet. Not even my own clothes.
“Take whatever you want from me, Lydia.” Talent brings the joint to his lips and inhales one last time before offering it to me. I shake my head, and he flicks the butt into the sea fourteen stories down. Holding the hit in his lungs for a fleeting moment, he exhales and says, “It’s yours.”
Talent lifts his arm and I tuck myself into his side, safe with the weight of him adorned over my shoulders. In front of us is the ocean, and to the side is the twinkling city, which doesn’t have a clue that two of their most unlikely residents have found comfort in each other.
Nodding toward the roach that’s been carried away by the waves, I say, “Didn’t consider you the type.”
Talent laughs. “There’s this guy on the second floor who sells it to me every once in a while. I pay him handsomely for his confidentiality.”
“And if he ever tells anyone Talent Ridge buys pot from him?”
“I’ll break his neck.”
“You might be forgiven for the dope, but I think Grand Haven elite might have a hard time looking past a killing.”
“What they don’t know won’t hurt them.” Talent erupts in laughter and it’s contagious. Maybe he finds humor in the high standards he’s held to because he’s lived with them for so long, or maybe it’s the drugs. Either way, I love being up against his body when he laughs.
I should have thought about that when I next asked, “Are you supposed to be somewhere?”
Any trace of humor drains from his expression, and his arm grows heavier across my shoulders as the weight of the world comes crashing down on Talent again. Despite the change in demeanor, he says, “I’m exactly where I need to be.”
“Your brother didn’t seem to think so.” There’s no point in pretending I didn’t catch some of their conversation, just like there’s no point in pretending we can change circumstance. I’m ready to stretch out our time together, but eventually, the universe will demand we return to our assigned seats.
Talent drops his head back and closes his eyes, groaning. He walks away from me and heads toward the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of water from the built-in refrigerator. I linger in the doorway, leaning against the frame, interested in watching his apparent frustration. There’s a new side to Talent I’ve seen since my arrival this afternoon, and it makes him more human than I ever gave him credit for.
For the sake of Ridge & Sons and for the sake of everyone who’s watching, Talent’s composed and tolerant in his position among the Grand Haven hierarchy. Behind closed doors, he struggles and finds small ways to damn the man. I have a feeling smoking pot and fucking a hooker is only the tip of his disobedience.
Steely eyes don’t bail from their assault on mine as he gulps water, but I don’t cave under his brutal stare. Talent isn’t the explosive type. He won’t act out in anger or say something he doesn’t mean, even if I’m strong enough to take it. He’s spent his entire life in line and under a microscope, and he’s learned to say what he means and mean what he says. There’s no time for blind rage. It’s deliberate.
Wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand, he asks, “Have you ever considered that I have something to hide? That this is an illusion? Think about it, Lydia, it’s not natural for a family to be as fucking clean as mine.”
“Do you have unpaid parking tickets or something?” The penthouse has an open concept floor plan. When I sit on the couch in the living room, I still face Talent in the kitchen. “If you plan on spending the rest of our time together justifying how you’re as morally bankrupt as I am, give it up. Nothing you say will convince me of that, Talent.”
He rubs the back of his neck. “Why are you so damn hard on yourself?”
“Do I need to spell out the reasons why I’m not a good fit for you?” Counting the examples on my hand, I hold out my pointer finger to call off the first of many reasons and say, “I don’t have a formal education, my only real family consists of a dead junkie, and I’m just one part of a prostitution ring that would rock this city to its core if the truth about Hush got out. You’ll never be able to take me anywhere because I’ve had sex with people you work with. I’ve probably fucked some of your friends.”
All five of my fingers are up when Talent throws the bottle of water across the room. I’m pleasantly surprised by the show of aggression. Now maybe he understands I’m not the one he should put everything on the line for.
“That’s what you get with me, Talent.” I drop my hand and mentally prepare myself to be thrown out. I hoped we’d have more time together, but ending it while we’re ahead is for the best.
“Is getting paid for sex the worst thing you can come up with?” Talent asks. “Lawyers are called devil’s advocates for a reason, Lydia. Nothing fucking surprises me. Not even a prostitute.”
I roll my eyes and scoff. “Please, you’re a business lawyer. That hardly makes you an expert on the slimy part of humanity.”
“The girls have a choice, right? You have a choice?” Talent steps around the kitchen counter. He doesn’t approach me, but we’re closer together and my heart beats in anticipation of his nearness. “She doesn’t traffic women? They work with Inez of their own free will?”
“Of course, it’s a choice. What the hell do you think this is? She’s not a monster.”