Close To Her Asian Billionaire

*****

Carla didn’t live far away and Tony kept close to her as they negotiated the busy night traffic. She led the way into her underground parking area and parked in her space. Tony was parked and at her side as Carla opened the passenger door and helped Jason out. Jason shrugged their help away, only to stagger when they weren’t holding him up.

Shaking her head at his stubbornness, Carla hurried across to the elevator, Tony helping Jason along. They rode up to her floor and Carla let them in. For a moment she was overcome with nerves at showing Jason Liu her apartment. It was a mess. There were clothes on the couch, the dishes weren’t done, and the remains of her breakfast were still on its plate on the counter.

Her bedroom was even worse but Carla wasn’t planning on taking Jason in there.

She pulled herself together. It was just to patch Jason up and send him on his way. There wasn’t much point in worrying about the state of her apartment; he wasn’t going to be here long enough to care.

“Sit him down on the couch.” She ordered, slinging her jacket across the armchair and dropping her purse on the coffee table. “I’ll get the first aid kit.”

Ducking into the kitchen, Carla retrieved the first aid kit from under the sink. When she came back into the lounge, Jason was sitting on the spare space on the couch, Tony standing by the wall, hands folded in front of him as he stared straight ahead. It was a little unnerving seeing him like that.

Jason was looking around the lounge, taking in her eclectic tastes. Carla wasn’t one for matching things; she liked to have an individuality that separated her from everyone else.

“Nice place.”

Carla arched an eyebrow at him.

“Was that a sarcastic comment?”

“No, really. It’s a nice place.”

Carla decided to take that comment with a pinch of salt. She knelt at the coffee table and put the first aid kit on the glass table top.

“Thanks.” She opened up the kit and fished out a packet of antibacterial wipes. “Does your head hurt?”

“It stings a little.”

“I promise I’ll be gentle.”

Carla opened the packet and shuffled across on her knees until she was in front of Jason. Jason sat up and opened his legs so she could get closer. Carla was very aware of how close he was as she gently wiped at the cut, removing the blood. Jason winced but he didn’t jerk away.

“This wasn’t exactly how I wanted the date to finish.” He joked.

Carla gave him a wry smile.

“I don’t often have such adventurous first dates.”

“You call this adventurous?”

“Usually adventurous classes as finding out you’ve been stuck with the entire bill and trying to wangle their share of the money off them.” Carla wiped away blood that was beginning to crust on the outside of his eye, trying not to look directly at him. “That often means tracking them down later and billing them.”

“Ouch.” Jason’s mouth twisted as if he was trying to hold back a smile. “Good thing I was paying.”

“I might bill you all the same. For a deductible.”

Jason blinked. “Deductible? Why?”

Carla finished cleaning the blood away and lowered her hand, settling back so she could look at him without feeling like they were about to enter something intimate. The thought of intimacy with Jason had her belly fluttering and her pu*sy contracting but Carla concentrated on the matter in hand.

“I always pay half. No arguments.” She said firmly when Jason opened his mouth. “I always pay my way.”

Jason closed his mouth and raised an eyebrow at her in amusement.

“You don’t let the man treat you once?” He asked.

“It’ll come back to bite me eventually.” Carla tossed the bloody wipe onto the table and found a square bandage. She ripped open the packaging and placed the bandage over the cut. “Hold that in place?”

Jason obliged, his fingers brushing against hers. Carla’s hand was still tingling even after she pulled away. Biting her lip as her body decided to go haywire, she reached for the medical tape and tore off a strip.

“I was engaged a few years back.” She placed the tape on one end of the bandage and then did the same on the other side. “When we broke up he billed me for all the times we went to dinner and he paid the entire bill.”

Jason stared at her in stunned amazement.

“He billed you for all the dates you went on as a couple?” He sounded incredulous. “That’s mad.”

Carla shrugged. “That’s men for you.”

Did she really say all of that to him? Nobody at her job knew that she had been nearly married when she was in her early twenties. The only person in the city who knew was Amy and only because Amy was the one she had stayed with after being kicked out and got her back on her feet. And here she was telling a man she barely knew and who might be a criminal what had happened to her.

She turned away and shut the first aid kit with a sharp snap as Jason stood. He held out a hand and pulled her to her feet.

“How about we go on another date and you pay for it?” He suggested with a smile. “That’ll make us square.”

Carla raised her eyebrows.

“Was that a subtle hint you want another date?” She asked.

“Not exactly subtle.” Jason looked sheepish. “But I do want to go out with you again. I enjoyed myself tonight.”

“Me too.” Then Carla realized they had been standing there staring at each other with Jason still holding onto her hand. She gently extricated her hand and took a step back. “Okay, we can do that. What do you suggest?”

“There’s a new high wire center that opened up just outside Boca Raton.”

High wire. That meant going up in the air. Carla felt panicky. Not with heights. Please, not anything with heights. But she didn’t want to upset Jason’s suggestion so she nodded.

“Okay. That and dinner?”

“Sure.” Jason grinned. Then he reached up and tested the bandage gingerly. “Thanks for this, Carla.”

“You’re welcome.” Carla moved towards the kitchen. “Now go home and get some rest. You’re going to have one helluva headache but you’ll be fine.”

“Okay. I’d better be going then.”

Carla heard the words but when she came back after storing the kit away Jason was still standing by the couch staring at her. She rolled her eyes and laughed to cover the awkward moment.

“That means moving your feet towards the door.” She teased.

“Sorry.” Indicating to Tony to lead the way, Jason looked back at Carla. “See you on Saturday. Pick you up at ten?”

“That’s fine.”

Jason looked like he was going to say something else but thought better of it. He turned and went towards the door. Carla followed him and stood in the doorway.

“Bye, Jason.”

Jason turned back. His eyes flared when he looked at her and Carla found herself frozen to the spot. Jason stepped back, leaned his head, and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. Carla closed her eyes as his lips brushed over her skin. It was an intimate moment she hadn’t experienced in a long time and her body was humming from it.

Jason pulled away. “Goodnight.”

By the time Carla finally managed to open her eyes Jason was gone.