There was moresex and then swimming and then James and I fell asleep, her ear pressed to my chest, listening to my heartbeat, the expanse of stars sprawled overhead. I dreamed of her… of us, actually. The dream was like a parallel universe. We were not a fling. We were long-term lovers and we lived in a house by a river. I was fishing just down the hill from our patio where she was sitting in a chair, nursing a glass of wine, watching me monitor my line. We chatted about our day and tossed jokes back and forth. Eventually, I caught one and we ate it outside by candlelight, and then we went inside to our bed and made love. It was a quiet dream, a sweet dream, unlike anything I had ever dreamed of in the past.
I awoke to the sound of a disapproving male voice. “Rise and shine, lovebirds.”
The sun blared overhead, blinding me, so I raised my hand to shield my eyes. Directly above me was a cop. And to his left behind him, his partner was shaking his head and sipping from a cup of coffee. Painfully aware of my nakedness, I said, “Morning, Officer.”
On my chest, James stirred at the sound of my voice. Lifting her head before opening her eyes, she wiped her mouth and said, “Oh, God, I drooled on you.”
I laughed nervously and she opened her eyes. Upon seeing the tension in my face, she looked left and got an eyeful of the officer’s knees. Still as silly as she’d been the night before, she stage-whispered, “We’ve got an audience.”
The officer dropped our clothes at the foot of the chaise, and with irritation in his voice, said, “Get dressed.”
I moved and James moved with me. When we were standing, I turned so my ass faced the cops, blocking James from their view. She smiled at the gesture. “You’re incredibly sweet, you know that?” Pressing a hand against my chest, she pushed up on her toes and kissed my cheek and then, still buck naked, she stepped around me. Holding my boxers in front of my junk, I spun. What the fuck was she doing?
The cop had taken a few steps back after dropping our clothes. James approached him, offering her hand to shake. Eyeing his name tag, she said, “Morning, Officer... Powell, I’m Jamison Hildebrand.”
Hearing James’ name, the cop enjoying his morning coffee spat the brown liquid all over himself and said, “Fuck.”
Jamison turned to him and curtseyed using a mock skirt seeing as she was naked. “Thank you for the enticing offer, but I’m more than satisfied at the moment.” Gesturing her hand toward what was presumably the quarry employees, a small collection of people lingering about thirty feet away by a closed snack bar, she said, “If you could be so kind as to collect their phones.”
The officer hopped to it. “Yes, ma’am.”
Next, James flagged one of the employees—a girl not more than seventeen with a thick dark braid down her back. “Honey, could you be a dear and bring me and my dashing friend towels, please?” James had suddenly developed a thick Texas drawl.
The girl nodded. She also moved quickly as if commanded by a queen. Was that terror on her face? Apparently, James was more than just a rich kid.
Officer Powell, who had lost all the color in his lips, addressed James. “Miss Hildebrand, I hope you will forgive our intrusion.”
“Not a problem, Powell.” She winked. “You’re just doing your job.”
* * *
A couple of hours later,drive-through coffee in hand, Jamison pulled up to the curb in front of my hotel and turned off the Porsche. I hadn’t said much since watching her command two cops and a gaggle of strangers in the buff. I wasn’t nasty or anything but I was quiet. I couldn’t quite decide if I was turned on or horrified by watching her boss around people who should not have been so easy to command. I also wasn’t certain if it was sexy because, well, naked, or if it was sexy because she was a bold badass, but I knew it was uncomfortable because watching her hinted at the idea that there were things about Jamison that I didn’t know. Jamison and I were different. I was homespun and she was something else. Sarah, Billy, and my sister-in-law, Kat, were constantly toying with the edge of where Jamison came from, the kind of wealth that detached you from reality. So far, my siblings had been able to stay grounded, but not everyone was capable of that and they started their lives in Conway, grounded in that small-town atmosphere and love. Jamison didn’t have that foundation, and I wasn’t sure where a person with unlimited access and no love landed. She seemed grounded enough, but I didn’t really know her, even if the thought of leaving her behind made me feel like shit.
She sighed. “Freaked you out, huh? Watching me swing my father’s clout
around.”
“A little.” I shrugged.
“It’s oil money. My father is richer than God. Almost single-handedly controls Texas politics.”
“They seemed scared.”
“They were, of him, not me. But I am an extension of him and that is power.”
I nodded, not knowing what to say.
“If he had been there, he would have been furious at me, prancing around naked like that.” She laughed sardonically. “But he would have had the same results. My face never graces the tabloids, no matter how I behave.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” I asked.
“I guess.” She shrugged. “But as a teenager, I think I would have rather had someone get angry that I was acting out, not angry that I was going to diminish their sanctimonious reputation.” She looked down at her lap and then softly said, “I’m sorry if it soured our adventure.”
I swallowed my concern. This was her life. I had no right to judge and she kept me out of jail, so there was that. “It didn’t.” I smiled. “There was hot car driving, breaking and entering, cliff jumping, and…” I trailed off, remembering what came next.
“Sexing and whooshing,” she offered playfully.
“Mmm, yes.” I licked my lip, eyeing her mouth, wanting to repeat our adventure. “What a night, what a night I say. We leaped from great heights; we got to laugh and to play. It’s one for the books, even with all the looks. The smooshing and whooshing was off the hook.”
My silliness pleased her and she gave me a radiant smile.
I took her face in my hands and kissed her, savoring the sweet taste of her lips one last time.
When we broke apart, she said, “It was a pleasure, Cody Morgan.”
“More than one.” I winked and snickered. With feigned shock on her face, she smacked my upper arm. “Hey, hey now,” I joshed. And then trying to relay just how wonderful I thought she was, I said, “The pleasure was all mine, James.” I meant to move, to open the car door, but I couldn’t seem to make it happen.
Her eyes looked a little glassy when she said, “Go on, git. I got a big fluffy bed to go home to.”
With a sigh, I exited the car and stood on the curb as she made a U-turn to head back the way we came. The sun glinted off the silver surface of her Porsche. Stopping across the street with her side of the car facing me, she rolled down the window, leaned out, and hollered, “Best whoosh of my life.”
I smiled and yelled back, “Only whoosh of your life.”
She lifted her hand in a silent wave, and then she was gone.