Rock Star Billionaire

"I'm going to leave the two of you to negotiate this on your own," Liz said as she slung her backpack over her shoulders and turned toward the street.

"Do you want a ride?' I called as she trudged through the snow.

"Nah, I'm good, I've got a cab coming," she called as she waved. As she reached the street, a cab pulled up and we watched as Liz climbed in. I felt a little nervous now that our buffer was gone.

"Are you hungry?" I asked as I looked down at the pretty young woman in front of me.

"Honestly, I'm starving," she said. "We didn't get much of a lunch break today because the ER was so busy."

"Then how about we go get a couple of big, juicy burgers and some beer to help rectify that?" I asked as I turned and gestured toward where my truck was parked. "I'm over on the side street."

"That sounds like a great plan," Alex nodded as she turned and started walking in the direction I'd pointed to.

Halfway down the walk, her foot hit a patch of ice and she slipped. I quickly reached out and wrapped an arm around her to keep her from falling.

"Oh!" she gasped as I held her tightly for a few seconds longer than absolutely necessary before setting her back on her feet. She turned and looked up at me, "Thank you, Cam. I guess it's a little more slippery than I thought it would be tonight."

"No problem," I smiled as I held out my arm so she could hold on to it. "That's what your friendly neighborhood firefighter is here for."

Alex laughed out loud as she gripped my arm and walked a little more cautiously. At the truck, I unlocked the door and helped her up into the cab before hopping up into the driver's seat.

"This is a really nice truck. It's so modern," she said looking at the dashboard, which had the appearance of the control panel for a small aircraft. "These things must cost a fortune!"

"It's all in the financing," I laughed as I sidestepped the issue of money for now. It wasn't that I wanted to hide the fact that I had money, it was more that before I'd learned to be careful about who I let into my life; I'd been burned and had emerged wiser in the way I allowed women to know things about me. Now, when I went out on dates, I tried to give the impression that I was a normal guy rather than trying to impress my dates with how much money I could spend on them.

"I guess it would have to be, wouldn't it?" she nodded as she ran her hands across the smooth leather seats and then let out a little laugh as she realized the seats were warming up. "Oh my, now that's nice! I wish they had this feature on the buses!"

"If they did, no one would ever get off of them," I observed as I backed out of the parking space and headed toward my favorite downtown pub. "Is O'Neil's on Wells okay with you?"

"I've never been there," she said. "Do they have good burgers?"

"The best in the city!" I said as I headed down Van Buren. "Do you live downtown?"

"I have an apartment near campus," she nodded. "It's small and a little cramped, but it's convenient for school and work. Do you live downtown?"

"I have a house over on the West side," I said not wanting to be too specific. "Just me and my dog."

"Oh, what kind of dog do you have?" she asked as she squirmed a little in her seat. The movement of her hips made me very aware of the fact that it had been a long time since I'd seen, let alone felt, a woman moving like that, and the blood began to flow from my brain.

"Um, what?" I said trying to pretend that I'd been concentrating on finding a parking spot rather than on fantasizing about what it would feel like to have her squirming like that on top of me

.

"Dog? What kind?" she repeated as I pulled into a spot and parked the truck.

"She's a yellow Lab. I got her from the pound," I said as I looked across the street and said, "We're here!"

"Oh good, I'm starving!" Alex said as she hopped out of the truck and waited for me.

The bar was mostly empty, save for a few of the regulars, so we found a table at the front and quickly placed our order. I grabbed the beers from the bar and got a knowing wink from Billy the bartender before returning to the table.

Alex was a lively conversationalist, and after she grilled me about how I found Tesla, we quickly fell into a discussion of career choices and the ups and downs of public service. In addition to being pretty, she had a good head on her shoulders, and I immediately felt comfortable with her. But not comfortable enough to reveal the secrets I'd learned to hold close to my chest. I'd have to wait and see if this turned into anything before deciding whether to let Alex in to that part of my life.

"...So I told the guy that while I wasn't sure where he came from, where I came from hands were meant to be kept to oneself," she laughed before popping the last bite of her burger into her mouth.

"It sounds like you've got a good sense of humor," I laughed. "That's going to be a really good asset as you move into nursing."

"I know," she nodded. "My mother was a nurse and she always said that if she ever lost her sense of humor, she'd know it was time to get out of the field."