Beauty and the Billionaire

“So, where are you two ladies headed this evening?” I ask.

“None of your business,” Jana answers.

“Neptune,” Ash answers. “It’s a new club that just opened up in Milwaukee.”

“Getting kind of a late start if you’re heading out of town, aren’t you?” I ask.

“Ha!” Jana exclaims.

Ash locks the door to their apartment and we walk down the hall and out the side door of the building.

“Well, I guess this is it,” I tell them.

“I swear, if you give another big, long goodbye, you’re going to have another bruise on your face,” Jana says.

“And I guess that should about do it,” I say. “See ya.”

“Hold on,” Ash says. “I think the corner’s coming loose on that bandage. Hold still.”

“Will you hurry up?” Jana complains. “By the time we get there, we’re only going to have like an hour.”

“This will just take a second,” Ash says.

“So, is Ash short for something or are your parents Evil Dead fans?” I ask.

“My full name’s Ashley,” she says, patting down one corner of the bandage on my forehead.

“Good to know,” I say. It’s kind of awkward having this near-stranger attend to me like this, but not awkward enough to complain.

“Well,” Ash says, “that should about do it. You have yourself a good night, Mason. Try not to get into any fights on the way home.”

“If only I could promise that,” I smile.

“I’m going to the car,” Jana says as she turns and starts walking away. “If you’re not there by the time I get it put in gear, I’m coming around the block to run over both of you.”

“She doesn’t like you very much, does she?” Ash asks.

“I think it’s because you’ve spent all this time flirting with me,” I tell her.

“Oh, I’ve been flirting with you?” she asks.

“Pretty brazenly,” I answer. “I was going to say something, but I was just so shocked by how incredibly attractive you find me.”

“You’re actually going to walk away thinking that, aren’t you?” she asks.

“What if I am?” I ask.

She shakes her head, putting her hands in her pockets. “Then you probably should go to the hospital, because I think you must have gotten kicked in the head a few too many times,” she says. She pulls her hands out of her pockets as I’m starting to turn to walk away and she says, “Hey, just one more thing.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“I was rude to you before,” she says. “You offered me your hand and I didn’t shake it.”

“Oh,” I say, furrowing my brow a little. I extend my hand once more and this time she takes it, only there’s something in her hand and she’s closing my fingers around it as she’s pulling her hand away.

“Have a good night,” she says. “Be safe out there.”

“Yeah,” I answer. “You, too.”