“Ask me what I won then?”
I grin. “What did you win?”
“I won a scholarship for the rest of my studies.”
“Oh, WOW!” I scream. “That is truly amazing.”
“That’s not all. I also won ten thousand dollars and I’ve won the chance to meet Leon Joseph Chernyshevsky.”
“Sorry, that name doesn’t ring a bell for me.”
“What? I’ve told you about him before.”
“Uh, you know, whenever you start talking about computers I switch off, right?”
“Leon Joseph Chernyshevsky is almost like God,” she says in an awed voice. “He’s a mathematical genius.”
I giggle softly. “A computer God. Right, okay.”
“You better not have that attitude when you meet him.”
I stop laughing. “What?”
“Well, the meeting is going to be at a black-tie dinner party in New York, and I’m allowed to bring a guest. You’re that guest.”
“Back up, back up a second. New York?”
“Yes, New York, but don’t worry. It’s all paid for. Here’s the plan. I’m coming down to you and we’ll travel together to New York.” She stops to take a breath. “We’ll be travelling first class, Autumn. We’ll be picked up at the airport, drop our bags off in our suite at the Four Seasons Hotel. Afterwards we can spend the whole day in the Big Apple just sightseeing and shopping. And, and, get this: we’re allowed to order anything we like from room service. Even champagne!”
“Hang on, hang on. When is all this supposed to happen?”
“I’m coming the day after tomorrow and we’ll be flying out on Friday. The dinner is on Saturday.”
“Sam, I have to work on Saturday.”
“Oh, come on. Larry can give you one day off. You haven’t had a day off since you started work there. It’s just one damn day. You’ll be back on Sunday night.”
I sit on the bed. “You sure you want me to come with you?”
“Are you kidding me? Who else would I ask? You’re the only one who would be truly happy for me. Everyone else I know would be jealous as hell and try to ruin it for me.”
“How do you know I’m not jealous as hell?”
“Because you’d rather die than get a scholarship in my field, and I’m gonna stick my neck out and say you’ll almost certainly find Leon Joseph Chernyshevsky the most boring person you’ve ever met in your life.”
I laugh. “I have to say, I think you’re right.” Then I take off the towel and quickly pull the Victorian nightgown over my head. Snapping a selfie of myself, I send it to her.
“What on earth are you wearing?” she asks with a laugh.
I laugh too. “This is the nightgown I’ve been given for the night. Sexy, huh?”
“Where the hell are you?”
“I am in Rocco’s house.”
“Whoa! What?”
“It’s not what you’re thinking, I came here to paint his portrait and I was supposed to go back after that, but there was a big storm. Actually, it’s still raining outside. Apparently, the roads are too dangerous to use so I’m staying the night. I have my own room, and the door is locked.”
“What’s the house like?” she asks curiously.
“Like something out of a period movie. Very beautiful, but somehow cold and dead,” I whisper, as I slip between the covers. The sheets are silky and cold and I move around to warm them up before huddling onto my side.
“Like the owner?”
“Yes, like the owner,” I echo quietly.
“But you really like him, don’t you?”
Somewhere in my mind, thoughts uncoil like wool on a spool. I think of Rocco’s blue eyes, how calm and meditative they can get, even though I’ve seen them blaze dangerously when provoked. “Like is too mild a term,” I tell her softly. “This man makes my blood race. He frightens me, Sam. No, strike that. He doesn’t scare me. I scare me. When I am near him, I feel almost like a feral animal, without the veneer of civilization. I want him. Even that is not right. I crave him. Every cell in my body wakes up and cries out for him, and my skin tingles as if it knows him.”
“Jesus, Autumn. That’s so freaking crazy,” she mutters, shocked.
“I know it’s fucked up, but that’s how I feel.”
“Wow! I haven’t heard you swear in a very long time.”
“I know, but it’s like I’m changing inside. When I am with him, I feel different. There are no limits. There are no rights or wrongs.”
“I hate to say this, but I don’t have a good feeling about this,” she admits reluctantly.
“Yeah, I don’t have a good feeling about it either, but the force pulling me towards him is beyond my control. I’ve tried to resist it, but it’s like an event or thing from which all else must follow. It sounds so crazy, and I can’t even believe I’m saying it, but it is as if our mating is pre-ordained.”
There is stunned silence while she digests what I said. Finally, she speaks. “Maybe I can meet him when I come down to see you?”