Page 120 of Forbidden Billionaires, Vol. 9

Saturday

“What’s your poison?” J.J. asked as we made our way to the outdoor bar portion of the restaurant. The hostess was turning over our table so we had a few minutes to spare.

We were both overdressed in this little beach town, and my mind screamed wine. It was the logical choice for a sophisticated night out. But I wasn’t really in the mood after downing half a box a couple weeks ago. “Oh! How about a tequila sunrise. Or a Manhattan. Or…no…a cosmopolitan.”

He laughed. “Which one do you like the best?”

“I’ve never had any of them. I thought it might be fun to try something different.”

“Well, try whatever you’d like, but I’d recommend sticking to one type of alcohol at a time. We have all summer to sample whatever cocktails you want.” He leaned against the bar. “So what will it be?”

He was right. We had all summer. “I’ll have a tequila sunrise.”

I sat down in one of the stools and watched J.J. flag down the bartender. I was so awkward doing things like that. If he wasn’t with me, I probably would have stood there for 30 minutes being ignored and then walked away with nothing.

J.J. handed me the cocktail.

“Oh, it’s pretty.”

“You didn’t even know what it looked like?”

“How was I supposed to know? I’ve never had one before.” I took a sip. “Mmm. It’s good too. Do you want to try it?”

He leaned forward and took a sip through the tiny straw. He stuck his tongue out like he was in pain. “It’s so sweet.”

“Mhm.” I took a bigger sip and smiled at him.

He smiled back. “So new phone, huh? I saw that your screen was cracked. What happened to it?”

I wasn’t sure if he was asking how I broke it in the first place or if it finally died on me.

But I wasn’t going to ever not tell J.J.

something just because it was uncomfortable.

I wanted to have a real relationship with him, not a summer fling.

Besides, the conversation with my dad was still bothering me.

It was nice to have someone who wanted to talk to me about this kind of thing.

“The screen was cracked because I threw it at my ex’s head when I walked in on him cheating on me. I missed…it hit the wall instead.”

“Bad luck.”

I laughed. “Yeah. And it was still working but I needed a new number so while I was at the store it just made sense to upgrade. Well, downgrade actually. It’s an older model. Phones are freaking expensive.”

“I know. I lost my phone back when I was in high school right when smartphones were becoming a thing. I went to the store and they showed me these thousand-dollar phones and I couldn’t even believe it. A few years before that there had been free upgrades.” He laughed.

“Oh yeah, I remember those! Ugh, I wish that was still a thing.”

He leaned a little closer. “So that explains the broken phone, but not the new number. Who are you ghosting?”

I swallowed hard. There was something in his eyes that I was beginning to recognize after our conversation the other night.

I would have originally thought it was jealousy.

But I knew it wasn’t now. He was being protective.

And the way he was looking at me made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

He was wondering if someone was bothering me.

He was trying to help. Unfortunately he couldn’t protect me from my own father.

I had to learn how to take care of myself around him.

“No one,” I said as I took a sip of my drink to clear my head.

“The added bonus of my ex not knowing my number is good. But I needed a new phone plan because my dad is cutting me off.” I didn’t look at him as I said it.

Saying it out loud sounded stupid. It was like I was a spoiled brat with my dad cutting up my credit cards.

But it wasn’t like that. I worked hard for everything I had.

The scholarship I’d gotten to SMU paid for more than half of tuition and on-campus housing.

I hated asking either of my parents for anything.

And I would have taken a hug from my dad over a check in the mail any day.

That wasn’t in the cards though. Regardless, it still sounded bad. Like I was an entitled asshole.

I kept talking so that J.J. couldn’t fill the silence.

“It’s not a big deal. He has two young daughters with his new wife and apparently he needs to focus all his time and money on them.

” You still sound bratty. “Which makes sense because I’m old enough to take care of myself.

They still need him, you know? And he did offer to continue to pay for my last two semesters of school, so I can’t complain.

I was actually more than happy to change my phone plan. I needed a new phone anyway.”

J.J. put his hand on my knee. “When we first met you said he threw money at you instead of love. I could tell it was a big deal when you said it then. And it’s a big deal now.”

I finally met his eyes and he wasn’t looking at me like I was spoiled rotten. He was looking at me like he was sorry that my father was the rotten one.

He shook his head. “And I have to wonder…if he showed love that way, how is he going to step it up now?”

“He’s not. He made that pretty clear on the phone.

” I blinked fast, surprised at how emotional J.J.

caring made me. “He does this thing whenever I call…he talks about his family like I’m not a part of it.

I’ve fought it off for a long time, but I’m done trying.

He doesn’t want me in his new life. So I’m going to give him what he wants. ”

J.J. lowered his eyebrows like he could feel my pain. “I’m so sorry, Mila.”

“It’s fine. Really. Our conversation today was a long time coming.”

“Anyone who doesn’t want you in their life is crazy.”

I smiled. “I don’t know…you fought me off pretty hard.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t want to set myself up to get hurt again when I’ve been burned before. But I realized pretty quickly that you were worth that risk. You’re worth any risk, Jellyfish Girl.”

“About that.” I was looking for the perfect opportunity to tell him I might be transferring.

I leaned a little closer to him. The bar was getting more crowded as it got later, but it somehow made it more intimate.

“The reason I called my dad today was to tell him to hold off on tuition to SMU. I applied to transfer to the University of New Castle. I’m still waiting to hear back, but…

I’m hoping to stay in Delaware this fall. ”

The smile on his face was so genuine. “Delaware’s a lot closer than California.”

“It is.”

He leaned a little closer too, his eyes dropping to my lips.

“I know we haven’t really talked about what we’re doing,” I said.

“And we only just started whatever this is. I applied for myself just as much as I did for us. I get it if you still don’t want to do long distance after this summer.

We don’t even need to talk about it right now.

I just…wanted you to know. But if you want to talk about it, I’d be happy to.

I don’t need to label our relationship or whatever this is. Unless you want to of course.”

He took my empty glass from me and set it down on the bar. He absentmindedly spun it around in a circle as he listened to me babble, a smile on his face the whole time. His silence was infuriating.

“And I know I talked about how I needed to take this summer to better myself. And figure out what I want. But there’s no reason I can’t do that while we’re together.

It’s not like we’re going to be together every second.

I’m rather independent. Not that I don’t want to spend a lot of time with you. I do. I really, really do.”

He smiled.

“But I’m in a better place now than I was at the start of this summer anyway.

I feel like this weight is off my shoulders.

Especially after talking to my dad. If I’d had the conversation I had with him today a few months ago, I would have fallen apart.

But I’m fine. Clearly. Did I tell you I can almost run five miles?

That’s far for me.” I heard crickets in my brain.

“God, just say something and put me out of my misery.”

He let go of the glass and leaned even closer to me. “Across the country would have been hard. But I thought I made my intentions pretty clear the other night.”

“You said that I was yours. I don’t know what that means.”

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “It means I’m not going to pull the plug on us just because the weather changes. I really really want to spend as much time together as we can too.”

I smiled at his comment. I knew he was trying to appease me, but it wasn’t as simple as time. We were running out of that. “It’s more than the weather. Even if I do get into the University of New Castle we’ll still be living in different states. You said you didn’t do long distance.”

“That was before you. And if we have to spend weekdays apart for a year, I can handle that if you can.”

“Just weekdays?”

“You’ll just be a train ride away. I can swing that.”

“So…what does that make us?”

“You’re exasperating.” He pulled me into his lap, not caring that the restaurant was packed around us. “Jellyfish Girl, will you be my girlfriend?”

“Hmm.” I was smiling so much it hurt. “I think I can swing that.”

“You can, can you?” He tickled my side sending me into a fit of giggles.

I would have kept laughing if he didn’t silence me with a kiss. Everyone around us faded away. It was just me and my lifeguard. No…my boyfriend.

“So what are you trying next?” he asked and tapped my glass. The kiss left me dizzy, but he still seemed perfectly composed.

“What else has tequila in it?” I asked.

“Margaritas…”

“Bad idea. I talk too much when I’ve had margaritas.

” I pressed my lips together. I hoped that wasn’t a general tequila thing.

Oh God, it probably was. But the bottom of my glass meant I had already committed to a night of tequila.

And who cared if I had loose lips around J.J.

? I had been myself around him since the start and he liked me enough to date me.

“Good to know,” he said. “That sounds like the perfect drink for you.” He waved at the bartender.

“No,” I said with a laugh and grabbed his arm. “What else has tequila?”

“Mojitos.”

“Oh perfect. Unless…what’s in a pina colada?”

He laughed. “That would be rum.”

“Ah. I’ll just have a mojito then.”

I’m pretty sure whenever I tasted tequila from now on I’d think of him.