An open door revealed some stairs leading downward. "What's down there?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Nothing really. Just where I hang out when it's just me and close friends."
I waited. "Well, can I see it?"
He looked at me quizzically. "You want to see my Man Cave?"
I laughed. "Of course I want to see your Man Cave."
I walked down the wooden stairs. The light from the basement stairwell only reached slightly into the room, so I had to squint in order to see. Owen switched a switch and the room lit up.
A tattered, comfortable looking, leather couch sat in front of a big screen TV. One of every video game system made since the Super Nintendo was hooked up, with controllers and games neatly filed in drawers on either side of the entertainment center. An old pinball machine whirred to life in the corner. Neon signs flickered on over a wooden bar with every kind of liquor I could think of.
"What do you think?" he asked.
"It's... a Man Cave, alright," I said.
He walked behind the bar, immediately picking up a washcloth and a glass. "What can I get you, young lady?" he inquired.
"Were you a bartender in a past life?" I quipped, taking a seat on one of the stools. "I'll take a Malibu on the rocks."
"A good vacation choice," he said. "I play bartender every chance I get. Someday, when I retire, I'm going to open up a bar."
"Bars are too much trouble," I said. "You have to get a liquor license, jump through all sorts of hoops, and then you have to make the place chic."
"Too true. Would you like a splash of pineapple juice?" he asked, pouring a drink for himself as well.
"That sounds delicious." He set the drink down in front of me and I took a sip. "When I retire, I want to open a bed and breakfast. Just a few rooms, I'll cook up eggs and pancakes every morning, my husband can gossip with the guests..."
"So this is a group thing, huh? You're going to drag your future husband into this scheme of yours as well?" he asked, a teasing tone to his voice.
I shrugged and took another drink. "It's my fantasy, so yes, he's into the scheme."
"What other fantasies do you have?" he wondered, leaning in.
Danger! Danger, Kaylee! I thought. The comment was clearly sexual in nature, and if I spent all day talking about my fantasies, he'd have me right where he wanted me...
I tossed the rest of the drink back. "Pour me another, barkeep, and don't skimp on the pineapple juice," I said. Another drink was poured for me, quick as could be. I reached into my pocket and opened up my wallet, fishing out a dollar bill. I slid it across the table toward him. "Don't spend it all in one place."
He grabbed the pocket of his shirt and opened it toward me, leaning in. I picked the dollar back up and tucked it in the open space. As I stuffed the bill in, I felt his muscular chest again, but I didn't pull my hand away.
"What kind of fantasies can a man like you have, anyway? What can a billion of these not buy?" I asked, moving the dollar bill against his chest more.
His eyes flickered, a flash of sadness behind them for just a moment. "I'm still a human being, you know. One with wants and needs. Do you really want to know what I want the most?"
I leaned in closer. "Tell me."
He pulled away. Was it something I said? I thought. I didn't know what I had done to offend him, to make him pull back, but then he walked around the bar, and sat down at the stool next to me. His voice got even lower as he leaned in conspiratorially.
"Jack and I were supposed to hang out last year at his vacation. Even though he brought his secretary, it was supposed to be kind of a bachelor party that we'd never have, because we both knew that we'd never find someone who could look past all this," he said as he waved his hand in the air, as if this Man Cave were the measure of his wealth.
"But, after I didn't see him the entire trip, we shared a flight back to New York. He had met someone, and he wouldn't shut up about her." His voice got lower, as if he were ashamed. "How witty she was. How fantastic in bed she was. When I found out that she hadn't even known about his money, you can't even imagine how jealous I was. When I met Emma, I was immediately attracted to her." The tone of his voice betrayed the fact that it was more than just an attraction.
It was a startling confession. The suave billionaire must have known that the way to a woman's heart was not to basically confess their unrequited love for their younger sister, but he had done just that.
"But Jack had never been happier, so I kept my distance. Oh, we spoke, and of course I flirted with her, but it was painful. She has no idea of course." He looked at me, and his eyes conveyed an unspoken And I'd like to keep it that way.
I nodded, unwilling to interrupt him. "But, I found out that Emma had a big sister. One who was somehow even more beautiful and just as witty. One who was having just as much problem finding happiness as her little sister had. One who I was finally going to meet at a wedding."