Mr. Big Shot (Mr. Big 1)

LUKE: Looks like we have a deal.

DANA: *Squee* We should all go out and celebrate once you sign. Bring Alexa. Our treat.

LUKE: Alexa and I aren’t seeing each other any longer.

There was a pause.

DANA: Luke, she's a gem. She really likes you but is afraid of having her heart broken when you leave on your trip. She's a keeper. You're nuts if you let her slip through your fingers.

I held my cell, re-reading her messages, then reading all my texts from Alexa again, for the third time that morning.

LUKE: I'm going away for a year. I would only be able to see her now and then when she has vacation and I'm in port. Things don't look very good for anything more serious.

That was it, really. I had plans. Alexa had plans. Our plans didn't mesh.

DANA: Ask her to come with you.

I frowned. Ask Alexa to come on the trip with me?

I had to admit my mind went there a few times. She and I could share the main bedroom. There was still enough bed space for the other guys, but they might not appreciate having a woman along on the journey.

&n

bsp; Could I ask Alexa to come with me? Would she? She'd have to take a leave of absence and I doubted she'd want to do that, considering she was accepted into the PhD for the fall.

Sailing around the world was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It was something you changed plans to do.

LUKE: You're crazy.

DANA: You've already thought about it. Confess, brother. I know you…

I laughed at that. She was right, of course.

LUKE: You do know me.

DANA: See? I knew you really like her. I knew you were already thinking of asking her to come. *does the happy dance*

LUKE: Don’t be dancing too soon. Just because I passed the thought briefly over in my mind doesn't mean it's a plan. She might say no. She has big plans for her life you know.

DANA: Is the sex good?

LUKE: DANA!!! You pervert. I'm your brother.

DANA: Don't ask her if the sex isn’t good.

LUKE: The sex isn’t good. It's fucking great.

DANA: Ask her. She'll say yes. DO IT!

I couldn't wipe a grin off my face. Yeah, the sex was great. It was fantastic. She was very responsive. She clearly enjoyed me. I couldn't get enough of her. But it was more than sex. I felt totally comfortable with her, like I knew her for years instead of less than a month.

The truth was, I had thought about asking her to come with me on my trip around the world. I wanted to see her response to all the places we'd go – The Panama Canal. The Galapagos. Tahiti. And all the other places I planned to visit.

I could talk to her about everything. She was as smart – if not smarter – than most of my male friends. And she was fun. She was playful.

Fact was, if I admitted it to myself, she was everything I could want in a woman.

Beautiful. Sexy. Voluptuous. Great in bed. Smart. Funny. Fun. Ambitious.