Chapter 2

As soon as we stepped outside, I felt like we had walked in on a private moment. Jonathan had his hand up under Jordan’s skirt. I couldn’t help but be upset with Jordan. While we had both agreed to have fun and let loose on our trip, I had been clear that I didn’t want to have to deal with what I had just walked out on. On more than one occasion I have had to sit by while she, right in front of me, got “busy” with someone. The last straw for me happened right before we came on this trip. We had invited a few people over to my apartment to celebrate my new job. After most people left, Jordan started making out on my couch and was, no exaggeration, being eaten out on my leather couch. I was beyond pissed. Despite Jordan apologizing, I knew she only apologized because she was worried I was so mad and not sorry that she engaged in the behavior.

“Seriously, Jordan! What the fuck!” I let my anger get the better of me.  I did not care if Jordan fucked the guy. Hell, I would probably be happy for her. I took a deep breath and responded before she could. “Save that for after dinner. I am starving and I don’t need to see that shit.”

Jordan’s faced turned a deep shade of red as Jake laughed. I guess her lack of embarrassment in these types of situations only went so far as me. She mouthed a “sorry” at me before turning to the food and checking it.

I hadn’t realized Jake had gone back inside until he handed me my refilled wine glass. “I figured you would need this.” He said, smirking.

“Thanks,” I replied, taking a large sip from my glass. I moved toward the Adirondack chairs that sat facing the ocean, taking a seat, Jake sitting next to me.

“I have grown accustomed to that type of behavior from my brother. It doesn’t excuse it, but it helps to know to expect it.” Jake shrugged and took a drink of his wine.

“I don’t care what they do, I just don’t need it in my face all the time.” I proceeded to share the situation that occurred at my apartment and on my couch. Jake was in agreement that it went a bit too far and shared his own story of Jonathan kicking him out of their shared bedroom when they went on vacation at 18 to bring a girl to the room.

We talked for a few more minutes as Jordan finished up on the grill. Jake was easy to talk to. We talked mostly about family. I shared about growing up in Naperville, Illinois with a younger sister and parents who just celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary. Jake shared that he was the middle of four siblings. Jonathan and Jake were only 11 months apart, with Jonathan the older of the two. They have two younger sisters who also work for the family company. His mom died a few years ago from cancer and his dad was looking at retiring really any day now. When that happened, the three siblings would take over, one most likely taking over at one of the several company locations.

“Where are you hoping to end up?” I asked as I took another sip of my wine. The sun had already set, just a few pink hues lined the sky.

“Well, Jonathan is going to want to stay in New York. I know that for certain. My one sister is already in Dallas. That is our newest location and she helped to get it up and running and stated there. My youngest sister is not interested in a CEO position. She likes the investment aspect of our company. Plus, she is the only one of us married and already lives in New York. So, I guess that leaves Chicago.” He leaned toward me as he continued to speak. “If we continue to enjoy each other’s company, I wouldn’t mind coming to Chicago.” I blushed at his statement. We had just met, and I knew that he was only flirting with me, but the idea of seeing him again made my heart flutter just a bit.

“Food is ready!” Jordan called over. I was thankful for the interruption, as I really hadn’t been sure I could trust myself to respond to the Jake’s last statement.

Jake and I joined Jordan and Jonathan at the outdoor table. The meal was mostly uneventful, sharing some small talk as we ate. Jordan tended to get chatty around guys, especially those she was hoping to spend the night with, so she talked pretty much the entire meal. I found it to be a welcome distraction from the sexual tension that seemed to come up between Jake and I right before dinner.

As dinner wrapped up, I started cleaning up. Most of it was easy, thanks in part to purchasing “fancy” disposable plates. I placed the leftovers in the fridge and could feel eyes on me. I turned around to find Jake looking at me as he stood next to the island.

“You want to go for a walk? I don’t know where Jonathan and Jordan went off to.” Jake leaned against the counter as he spoke, the muscles in his arm clearly visible as his arm flexed as he spoke.

I closed the fridge and turned around. “Sure, let’s go.”

We walked out toward the pier. However, instead of going down the pier, Jake kept walking along the beach. This stretch of beach was fairly private. I was told that it was reserved mostly for these beach houses, so it was never crowded.

“My family used to come out to our beach house every summer when we were kids. We would spend at least a month out here. My dad would take off the entire month of July and we would come out, spending everyday swimming. I loved it.” Jake shared as we walked. It was obvious that he had some fond memories of this beach. “Most of these houses are privately owned. How did you two end up out here?”

“Jordan’s uncle owns the house. I am actually really close to her family. When he found out about the shitty month I had, he offered us up the use of the house to celebrate my new job.” I shrugged as I spoke, not really realizing until this moment that Jordan’s uncle must have a lot of money to own a beach house here.

“I know that you said were starting a new job, but what happened?” Jake stopped and turned to look at me as he spoke. The moon was high in the sky by now, as it was almost 10 PM.

I sighed, not really wanting to share too much. I decided a certain level of honesty was okay since I probably wasn’t going to see Jake again anyway. “I gave notice at work the day that one of my colleagues took all of the credit for a new product innovation.” I looked down as I spoke, took a deep breath, and continued. “Deciding that I wanted to get my mind off of what happened at work, I went up to my then boyfriend’s lake house and found him balls deep with someone who wasn’t me.” Jake took my hand as I spoke. I didn’t want to burden a stranger with my struggles, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying the contact that Jake was making as a means of comforting me.

“So, what happened?” He asked, slowing rubbing circles in the palm of my hand.

I shook my head and laughed to myself. “After spending nearly two weeks trying to get me back, I caught him cheating with yet another woman. He essentially told me that he cheated because I wasn’t pretty enough for him; that I didn’t turn him on enough.” I looked ahead as we started walking again.

Jake turned and looked at me. “Amalia, you are beautiful. Your ex was a dumbass if he couldn’t see that. His loss will be someone else’s gain.” A sudden feeling of heat went through me, and I could feel the redness creeping up my chest and into my face. I don’t know if it was Jake looking into my eyes or just the fact that he said those things to me, but I flushed. He pulled me closer to him and took my face in his hands. “Don’t let your self-worth be dictated by some asshole who didn’t care about you. Find someone who finds you beautiful for who you are.” He brought his lips down to mine and kissed me gently, never extending it beyond the gentle kiss. Yet, even with the gentleness of the kiss, I could feel passion. It made me feel wanted; a way that Dylan had ever made me feel.

“Let’s go out on my boat tomorrow. Just you and me. We can go out around 3 and spend the rest of the day out there. I can find a spot where we can watch the fireworks. What do you say?” He kept me close, his forehead against mine.

I looked at him and smiled. “I would love to.”

We walked along the beach for at least another hour. We talked about nothing and everything, although I avoided talking about work and my ex. We mostly shared stories about growing up. Jake shared some of his experiences the many vacations that his family had taken to the beach. We complained about cold winters in New York and Chicago. And although I didn’t talk about my ex, Jake did share that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend after he found out that she faked a pregnancy. It sounded very soap opera like to me, with the girl trying to tie down the guy because he had money. I know I don’t have as much money as Jake does, but I make really good money in my work, so I have never understood that. I was raised to be self-sufficient, and I made sure that my career and education supported that.

I paused by the pier outside of the house. I was debating whether or not it was safe to go back in the house. It has been over an hour at this point and I wanted to make sure that Jordan and Jonathan had enough time to complete whatever amorous activities they were engaging in.

I turned to Jake to ask his opinion when the door opened, and Jonathan walked out. I couldn’t really tell from the look on his face what happened or if it was any good. I didn’t doubt that Jordan would tell me it was amazing, but the look on Jonathan’s face was hard to describe. Perhaps flat? I would have expected to see a somewhat satisfied look on his face, but I couldn’t read anything.

Jake was looking over at me and must have read the confused look on my face. He laughed. “That is my brother’s, ‘I just had sex and it was just okay, but I am not going to complain because I just had sex’ face.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, probably a bit harder than I should have, especially when I saw Jordan’s face as she looked out the door and waved goodbye. She had the “I have been thoroughly fucked” face on. Over the years, I had realized that Jordan was a pretty selfish lover. For being willing to do things on my couch, she really lacked skills. She thought it was the guy’s responsibility to do all the work, and I am sure most guys walked away from her with the same look that Jonathan had on his face. Maybe that was why she struggled so much with finding someone to date long term. Not that sex was everything, but it really needed to be a joint effort.

Jonathan approached, “I think I am done here.” He stated. “Amalia, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“As it was to you as well. Will you be seeing Jordan again before we leave?” I asked, knowing the answer without asking the question.

The smirk on his face answered my question. “I don’t think so.”

I laughed at his statement. Jake shook his head and turned to me. “Do you need me to bring anything tomorrow?” I asked.

“Nope, I will take care of everything.” He leaned over and kissed me gently again, then turned with his brother and left back towards their house.

Jordan’s account of the sexual escapade between her and Jonathan was much different from the story I had gotten just from reading Jonathan’s face. Jordan raved about his size and his performance for much too long. When I asked if she planned on seeing him again before we left, she said no. I wondered if she realized how unimpressed he had been with the evening or if he had made it clear that he wasn’t going to see her again. I informed her of my plans with Jake, and I couldn’t help but notice the twinge of envy in her eyes. I didn’t worry myself with it, as I was looking forward to spending the day with Jake.