Her Billionaire Toy Boy

Mira’s head shot up. “No! No! I can cook.”

“I’ve no doubt that you can,” said Sam lightly. “But I’m not giving you a chef’s knife if you’re not one million percent sober. You can help me with dinner tomorrow. In the meantime, why don’t you rest out here?”

Mira smiled at him and went to sit out in a hammock on the porch. She brought her book with her but didn’t end up needing it, as after reading approximately one line of the thing, she fell fast asleep.

The sky was dark when she woke up.

She stumbled back inside, wondering blearily how long she had been out. Lisa and Damien were nowhere to be seen. Calmly reading a book—it appeared to be The Count of Monte Cristo—and drinking wine with his feet propped up on the ottoman, was Sam. He grinned at her when he saw her.

“I guess you really needed that,” said Sam.

“I guess I did,” said Mira. “I’m completely disoriented,” she said, swaying a little on her feet.

“I’ll get you some water,” said Sam.

“To start,” said Mira. She sank onto the couch next to him and smiled up at him when he came back with her beverage.

“What are you reading,” she said sleepily.

“Well,” said Sam, and he showed her the front of the book.

“Feeling vengeful, are we?” asked Mira.

“It’s just one of my all-time favorites,” said Sam simply.

“I feel like there’s something for me to be worried about in that statement,” said Mira.

“If you’re dating me, there’s a lot for you to be worried about.”

“Um, okay,” said Mira. “Anything you want to clue me into, or should I just guess.”

She snuggled her head down into his shoulder, being just tired enough to be more forward than she usually would be.

Sam dropped his book.

“Guess,” he said. “This should be funny.”

“Well, you’re probably dangerous,” Mira said. “How many ex-girlfriends have you dropped into vats of wine when you decided to break up with them?”

“All of them,” said Sam. “To avoid the awkwardness. Plus, you know. Fermentation.”

“Wow,” said Mira. “That was simultaneously incredibly gross and nerdy.”

“Do I win?”

“All of the points,” said Mira. She looked Sam up and down. “You probably snore, don’t you?”

“Even when I’m awake. No,” said Sam, and he pretended to consider before continuing to reply. “Especially when I’m awake.”

“Who in their right mind would want to go out with you, I wonder.”

“Oh, I’m pretty sure that you’re not in your right mind,” Sam gently teased.

“What makes you think that?”

“You’re a lawyer in New York,” Sam said. “Why on earth would you do that to yourself?”

“The pay,” Mira said, after a minute. “Plus, I love to win.”

“I wouldn’t have thought so after watching you fail so epically at gin rummy earlier.”

“Qualification,” Mira said, raising a finger. “I love to win at things that, like, matter.”

“Wow, your keen legal observations and argumentative skills are just always on, aren’t they?”

“Shut up,” said Mira, but she was laughing. She looked up at Sam. “I think I’m going to go get another glass of wine, I’ve slept off my glass from earlier.”

“Let me get it for you, you look almost too comfortable where you are.”

“Sure.”

Mira stretched out along the length of the couch, touching one end with her fingertips and the other with her toes. She had rarely felt so comfortable in a place which was not her own home. Taking the nap first thing had likely helped, she thought, reflecting back on her stay. When Sam reappeared, she smiled at him.

“Hi, there,” she said.

“Hey,” said Sam. “Good news—great news. It’s begun to rain.”

“Oh?” Mira cocked her head. “Is that good news?”

“Well, it’s the news that we’ve been given. Oh, you were asleep earlier, when we figured this out—but it’s going to be raining most of tomorrow, too.”

“Oh, no,” said Mira. “We were going to go kayaking.”

“Yep,” said Sam. “But we can do a bit of that on Sunday afternoon, now. It just won’t be nearly as intense. And our Saturday just got a lot more relaxing.”

Mira stretched out again instead of replying.

“I see that you’re having a good time here,” Sam said with amusement. “But, hey, if you’re up for a change of scenery—want to go out and sit on the porch?”

Mira sat up. “But you said it was raining.”

“That I did. And that’s precisely why we should go sit on the porch. It’s gorgeous right now, and there’s an awesome breeze. I already moved some blankets out therefore us.”

Mira got up and took her wineglass from Sam and followed him outside. He helped arrange her on a deep, comfortable couch and piled blankets on top of her before sitting next to her and doing the exact same thing.

The rain pattered down on the roof on top of them. It was raining so heavily that even though they were technically under cover, a fine sort of mist or spray was wetting them both, but only in a revitalizing sort of way.

“This is the life,” Mira said, quietly.

“Yep,” said Sam. “This is why I come out here, too. It reminds me of who I am and who I want to be and why I enjoy things, instead of being constantly caught up in the quickness and loudness of life back in New York.”

“Do you like the quickness and the loudness?”

“Most of the time,” said Sam, sipping his wine. “But I try not to get used to it so much. This place helps.”

“I can see that.”

“Mhm,” said Sam.

Mira paused. “And hear it. This place—it’s like audiovisual therapy.”

Sam snorted. “As opposed to what? Are you usually not able to see or hear your therapist?”
Mira reached up through the blankets to punch his arm. “Stop being such a literalist,” she grumbled.

“No,” he said, simply. “I think it’s hysterical to see you all riled up like this, so, nope, not gonna stop.”

They laid on the couch and sipped their wine and looked out at the dark forest and talked about everything in the world and under the sun and mopped off their faces when the rain began to pound under the roof, but they didn’t move because it was such a strangely cozy feeling. They talked for what felt like hours and hours, possibly because it was hours and hours. Mira in, particular, felt as if she were living in a different life and the night would have no end because she had woken up to a dark sky and had completely disrupted her routine in every way.

A thought occurred to her when there was a lull in the conversation. “I slept earlier,” she said, “and I had no idea when I got up. I assumed it was still late at night…”

“It was,” Sam assured her. “You woke up around 11pm.”

“And Damien and Lisa were already asleep?”

Sam looked at her.

“Well, they’d already retired to their room?”

“Yep,” said Sam. “I told you that they weren’t going to be fantastic company.”

“You weren’t kidding,” Mira said thoughtfully. “Well, for your sake, I’m glad that I’m here.”

“For my sake.”

“Yep. I’m being purely charitable.”
“Are you, now,” said Sam. His voice was sounded bemused.

“That I am,” said Mira.

“Can I ask a question?”

“You can ask it,” said Mira.

“Is there any chance in the world that you’re also glad that you’re here for your sake? Like—even just a little bit? At all?”

Mira was quiet for a moment, and then she looked up at him and grinned. “There isn’t any place in the world that I’d rather be right now.”

They smiled at each other for a moment, and then Mira’s gaze was distracted by something in front of her. She sat up and peered at the horizon. She gasped and then laughed. “Sam, the sun’s starting to come up. We’ve been out here all night?”

“I suppose we have,” said Sam.

“What a wonderful night it’s been, too,” mused Mira.

“I’m glad you think so,” said Sam.

“So,” said Mira. “Who wants to make the coffee?”

Sam groaned. “I’m going to go to bed,” he said. “You can make coffee. But wake me up at noon to drink it!”

Mira smiled and walked inside. She, too, might take a nap.