"What does that mean? Logistics?" Amila asked hopping into the high barstool by the outdoor kitchen. The granite was still warm to the touch even though the sun was beginning to set, painting the sky with an orangey hue above the thick line of pine trees that made up the backyard of the vast estate.

He didn't immediately answer her as he also took a seat. However, his attention went to the leather portfolio case that was just as exquisite as the gold link watch latched around his wrist that had to cost him a couple of thousand. He slipped out a crisp sheet from one of the pockets and she recognized the three words that were printed in a bold, black script although most people usually referred to it by three alphabets.

"You want me to sign an NDA?" She asked, crossing her legs and sweeping her eyes over the passages that were crafted by a lawyer or many a team of them determining the wealth he wielded. "It wouldn't be my first. I went to a party once..." She stopped, letting her index finger pause in the middle of a wordy paragraph.

She flashed him a cheeky grin and then continued. "I can't tell you about it because I signed it but it was fun."

"And so will this." He uncapped a pen and handed it to her.

"Thank you." She accepted the pen ignoring the warmth that coursed up her arm as her fingertips briefly grazed his hand. "I have two more paragraphs to get through but this seems standard and straightforward."

He reached in the pocket of his dress pants for something she was privy to since her sight was trained on the page before her that required her John Hancock. She took documents that requested her signature seriously and consumed every word and sentence seriously hearing her mother's nurturing yet profound tone in the back of her head saying 'Never attach your name to anything you don't wholeheartedly agree with and or trust because you might have to give up something you don't want to or tarnish a bit of your conscience.

"It is." He quipped and took in a deep breath feeling the heat of his eyes glide over the side of her face as she intently read and then down her body quickly as he waited. His sight moved away from her and her body reacted to the loss of his optics. "It's only to make sure everything that happens during the duration of our arrangement stays between us."

"You don't have to worry about that with me." She retorted. There wasn't any way she was going to tell anyone the intricate details that went on between them. She didn't want anyone to know she was about to exchange sex for money as if she was one of Heidi Flesis' girls. Then her pen halted over the line.

"I...um...kind of." She stopped, tilting her head to the side as a crinkle formed on her button nose. "You remember the girl at the coffee shop with me."

He nodded. "The one grinding on you."

"Yeah." She smirked. "Her. I...um...kind of told her about our arrangement. She's my best friend and kinda like..." She paused, catching herself before uttering the sad fact that she was the only family she had since her immediate family was no longer in the land of the living and her other family was so far removed from her that they were practically strangers. "She knows about the proposition."

He let out a sigh with the hint of a frown beginning to form.

"Look, I get if this is a deal-breaker." She placed the pen down. "It's fine. It's cool."

She moved to get up and he immediately reached out, placing his hand on her arm halting her movement.

"Where are you going?"

She glanced towards the door she exited the house from. "I already breached the contract."

"You can't breach a contract you haven't signed." He chuckled, the concern melting from his face like a tub of Blue Bell left off in the middle of July. "You two seem close and having a friend is important. I'll get my lawyer to send her a copy to sign also."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He nodded, the bright beautiful smile that showed off his pristine teeth ignited her to smile too. "I want my privacy not isolation for you. I know girl talk is important."

She laughed out loud then said, "It's true. It really is." She claimed the pen back in her hand and effortlessly wrote her whimsical signature.

"There it's done." She placed the cap back onto the pen not feeling any different as she handed it back to him.

His smile didn't disappear as he received the pen and tucked it back in the pocket of the portfolio. "Here. These are yours, now." He handed her a ring of keys. "The silver ones are for the front door, garage door, and pool house. That one should be self-explanatory."

She blinked at the black box in her hand with the insignia that was familiar. "Huh." She peered at him dazed. "Keys to this house. Is this your house?"

"No." He shook his head like it was also self-explanatory. "It's yours and the BMW is a convertible. I hope you like them and the color black. I thought red would be cliche but if you don't like it then I'll get you the color you want."

"Wait a minute." She paused taking a breath feeling as if she could faint. People weren't known to do such a faint sitting down but she could most definitely be the first. "You really bought me a house and a car." She whispered as if someone else was on the acre property with them. "This is. This is....this is too much."

She held her head as if it was on the verge of tumbling off her shoulders and plummeting to the bottom of the pool.

"I guess you're really going to think this is too much then." He reached in his pants pocket and produced a credit card. He slid the card over to her. "There isn't a limit so don't fret."

Her hand fell from her head and shifted to her heart because it was most certainly going to lurch from her chest with how rapidly it pulsed.

"Dominic, I—" Her voice got stuck in her throat but her movement was on autopilot as she rose from the chair.

"Where are you going?" He inquired, taking hold of her hand and halting her pace to the door. "Amila, wait. Look at me."

She took a moment trying to gather herself. She needed more time but turned around instead. She set her hand over her quiver lips as her eyes watered. She was losing her nerve. It was all happening so fast.

"You can't do all this. I'm not—" Her voice broke as a tear slipped from her eye. "You can't like me this much."

"Oh, I like you." He coyly smirked, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. "And I can do whatever I want with my money and I told you I'd take care of you as long as you take care of me...give me quality time when I need it and—"

"And sex." She dried the tear hanging from her cheek. "Whenever you want it."

He read her features, "Is that too much to ask?"

"Uh..." She paused to think about the house behind her, the new car in the garage, and the limitless card on the bar. But she wasn't just receiving material possessions and money, she was also getting the distraction she needed to get her mind off her grief. If she was busy being his girlfriend without the baggage she wouldn't be thinking about what had already shattered her heart. Plus, she did want to have sex and had entertained having it with him that morning after their date so what was she really fretting about, anyway.

"Not at all." She let out a sigh.

"Good." He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I mean we're not having sex tonight but I hope we can have dinner. I'll order whatever you want."

She closed the space between them, lifting on her tiptoes relishing in the familiarity of her calves behind contracted in that way. She hung her arms over his shoulders and linked her fingers, "Why don't we eat what you want?"

He licked his lips as his sight dropped to her mouth and once he refocused on her she saw the mischief toying within his gaze. "If that's what you want then that's what we'll do."

"Then it's what we'll do." She smoothed her thumb over the back of his neck getting lost in the lure of his eyes and the promise of what lingered there. She pulled away from him feeling a fiery passion igniting within her that she wasn't ready to chase just yet. "So, we're eating pizza."

"I don't want pizza." He refused.

She gave him a look of disbelief, remembering the rant he went on as they walked down a New York street after the tiny portions of food at the fancy restaurant didn't quell his appetite.

"Fine." He chuckled, shaking his head. "But, that's the only thing about me that hasn't changed. "How do you feel about pineapple and pepperoni."

She shrugged. "I've never had such a combo."

"Oh, girl!" He draped his arm around her shoulder. "Prepare to have your world rocked."

It was her time to laugh as she walked along with him back to the house not seeing the downside to their new partnership just yet. 

Do you think Amila is being naive or is there really no downside to their partnership?