A doorman opens one of the clear glass doors for us. He greets Jay by name. Handing him a pair of keys, I notice Jay let go of my hand to wrap his arm around me and pull me tighter against him.

“They know you here already?”

“They knew I’d be by to see the space they wanted to lend to me.” He guides me toward the elevator. It’s off on its own and marked private at the top. This place is very fancy and modern too. Nothing like where we live.

“It says private.” I point up at the sign, making sure that we are going the right way.

“It is.” The doors slide open, and Jay swipes a key on the keypad in order for the elevator to move. It’s as if we’re in one of those super fancy hotels. It must be fast because we are on the top floor at the moment. The doors open right into the penthouse.

“Are you sure someone doesn't already live here?” The whole place is already furnished and decorated. It reminds me a little of my own home. Not in how fancy and top of the line it is but more in the sense of how it is decorated. The style is very close to what I would imagine I would pick if I was to decorate it.

“Yep. They are leasing the place out right now. They offered it to me.” I frown. The thought that he won’t be living next door anymore doesn’t sit well with me. A pang in my chest starts to throb. “Watch this.” He pushes a button, causing the curtains to slide open from one end of the room to another. I walk over to the window. The view practically takes my breath away. Up here the city looks totally different than it does from below. I can see why they wanted Jay to capture this part of it.

“You really can see everything from up here.” Jay comes to stand next to me, looking out the window. “I haven’t even shown you the garden and giant patio yet.”

I let out a laugh and smack his shoulder. “Stop with all the bragging.”

He grabs me, pressing me against the glass window. “I’m not bragging. I want you to come stay here with me. I’m trying to make you fall in love with it.”

I’m finding with Jay around it’s not hard to fall in love with a lot of things. “You want me to stay in this giant place with you all alone?” Wow. That's a hell of an offer. It wouldn't be impossible. I could keep working and paying my rent. Hell, my other bills will probably go down too if I'm not there using the electricity and water. His offer is very tempting, but it almost sounds too good to be true.

“What’s the catch, Jay?” There has to be one. There always is.

“On the weekends and some nights you’ll have to help me with my work. An extra set of hands is often needed.”

“That’s the catch?” That is way too easy.

“And I like you. I want to get to know you better. With how much you work it makes it hard, and I want to give this a shot.” I lick my bottom lip. I want that too. I’m just nervous.

“I have one rule.” I hold my finger up.

“I can’t promise I can keep my mouth off you.”

My body warms thinking about how good that felt. If you think about it, even if this all went to hell I could still go back home. I’m not giving up anything. I could pretend I’m on a mini vacation at a fancy resort for now. If Jay and I crash and burn, at least he’ll be here, and I won’t have to worry about those awkward moments we’d have when we saw each other.

“That wasn't the rule.”

He pushes his body into me. I can feel the hard outline of his cock against me. I tilt my head all the way back to look up at him.

“You’re killing me, sweetheart. What’s the one thing?”

I give him a mysterious smile. “I get the master.”

“Deal,” he agrees without missing a beat. “Now we need to seal the deal.”

Before I can ask how he plans for us to do that, he kisses me. I think this man could get me to agree to anything with a mouth like his. I’m not sure if I hate it or love it. What I do know is I don’t want him to stop kissing me. Ever.

Fifteen

Jay

“I’m not letting you do this, Jay,” my agent barks into my ear. “Canceling a book contract when they’ve already paid you a million dollars. You must be suffering from lead poisoning at that rat-infested apartment you’re in.”

“There’s no rats at the apartment. It’s clean and safe.” I repeat Dove’s words. I crane my neck so the door to the master bedroom is in sight. She was joking when she said she wanted the master, but I wasn’t. I don’t need much space; besides, having this secondary bedroom set up as an office worked out just fine. There’s a third bedroom, but I doubt I’ll use it. It’s clear on the other side of the penthouse, and I want to be close to Dove. If I can’t sleep in the same bed or in the same room, I can sleep one wall away. That’s enough for me right now. When she’s ready for more than kissing, I’m just a few steps away.

“Then you ate something, and it messed with your head.”

“I can pay the advance back.”

“Let’s not be hasty here. As your agent, I need to tell you all the contractual clauses you’ll be violating.” There’s a shuffling of paper, and then Davis clears his throat. He starts to read about the party of the first part owing shit to the party of the second part and the obligations herein, therein, whereforeartthouin. I swing the chair around and lift my feet onto the desk. Davis is worked up, and from experience, I know he needs to release his steam or it’ll blow up later. I flip through my lost city photos with disinterest and know I’m making the right decision. This project doesn’t interest me, and if I put it out now, everyone who picks it up will come away with the same sense of dissatisfaction. That’s not who I am or what I want to put my name on.

“How about a different project?” I say, pausing on one photo of the old man and his granddaughter.

Davis stops mid-rant. “I’m listening.”

“I’ll fulfill my contract, but it’s not going to be lost cities. It’s going to be about connections and it will feature this city.”

“Yeah?” He’s intrigued.

“I’m sending you some images.” I attach the grandfather and send that one and two more off to Davis. There’s silence on the other end as I wait for him to receive it. Then there’s a long protracted quiet that makes me fidgety. I get up and walk over to the doorway. Dove’s been sleeping for a few hours now—or, at least, her bedroom door has been closed for a few hours. It’s two in the morning, and there’s no light leaking from the bottom of the door, so she’s either sleeping or she’s huddled under the blankets with her phone.

I stare harder, wishing I had a lens to see through the wooden barrier. Was she sleeping on her side or on her back? In my apartment, the old one, she slept on her side, with a pillow hugged between her knees. It could be my body between her legs. No. It will be my body. She wants to take it slow, so that’s the pace we’re going at. My dick wants to hammer inside her pussy, but I’m satisfied that she’s here in this apartment with me. Every night I’m the last thing she sees before she falls asleep and every morning, I’ll be the first thing her eyes set upon. It’s all good.