Beyond the Stars (6 page)

“Hmmm,” he sighed. He easily pulled himself away from my embrace. “Beauty
and
brains.” He stared at me, his expression unreadable.

All I could do was laugh. I had never heard anyone compliment me that way. “You’re not so deficient yourself,” I said, trying to say something witty. Great, I made it sound like he was lacking something. I wished I could take the words back as soon as they left my lips. Luckily, he didn’t seem offended.

“Can I see you again, Sami?” he asked with hope in his voice.

“Yes, of course.”

“Wonderful, I’ll call you tomorrow,” he muttered. He smiled and swiftly leaned in to kiss me on the cheek before he briskly strode away.

I walked into my apartment and headed straight to the refrigerator. I realized I was starving after eating only appetizers for dinner. I couldn’t believe how much fun I’d had tonight. I had to remember to thank Tess on Monday. All I could think about was Jack. He was the most amazing man I had ever met. He exuded a confidence that was not conceited but reassuring. He had the body of an athlete and the bravery of a soldier. He was intelligent and absolutely
gorgeous!

***

I covered my eyes with my blanket when I awoke to the bright light shining through my bedroom windows. I had forgotten to pull the shades before I went to bed last night. I lay there assessing my physical damages. My head hurt a little, but overall I might have evaded the dreaded hangover I’d hoped to avoid. I couldn’t believe I’d slept so soundly last night. I got up and got a huge glass of water, just in case there was a delay in the onset of symptoms. My body jumped while I chugged down the liquid after being startled by the music of my cell phone’s ring tone.

“Hello,” I answered cheerfully, pretending I had been awake for hours.

“Samantha, it’s me, Jack. Please tell me you remember me,” he pleaded playfully.

“Jack … hmm, let me see … I think I might know someone by that name.” I laughed. “How are you?”

“Great. I am guessing that you survived the night.” “Yes, I’ve never been better,” I replied.

“Well, Sami, the reason I’m calling is to see if you would want to go gliding with me today. I wouldn’t even ask you, but this is kind of a rare opportunity. My friend Regis just invited me to take his glider for a run. The weather today is perfect for it, so I already said yes. I would love it if you came with me,” he said enthusiastically. I was allured just by the sound of his voice.

“You’re just dying to get me in a plane, aren’t you?” “It will be
fun
,” he said in an enticing manner.

“That sounds tempting, but I don’t know—,” I hesitated while considering his offer.

“Please, I won’t let anything happen to you.
I promise
. You can trust me,” he pleaded.

I sat quietly on the extension for a minute, just thinking about his words. I really wanted to see him. I wasn’t sure if the alcohol made him so attractive last night or if he really was that hot. Plus, I couldn’t let him think I was a big chicken. Oh, I hated saying no. “Okay, I’ll go, but you aren’t going to keep me up there for too long,
right?
”

I ignored my temporary loss of sanity.

“No, of course not. We can just take a little cruise for some sightseeing.”

“Okay, I’ll bring my camera. I could use some aerial shots for my album,” I stated, sounding pragmatic.

“Can I pick you up in an hour?” he asked.

“Perfect. I’ll be ready. The sooner you get here, the better. It will give me less time to change my mind,” I said. He laughed. Little did he know I was completely serious.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. I’ll see you at one o’clock then. Bye.”

“Good-bye.” I hung up the receiver and quickly looked up at the kitchen clock, which read five minutes till twelve. I couldn’t believe I slept in this late. I hated drinking. I had already lost half of my day. I tore off my clothes and sprinted to the shower. I needed to try and look as good to him as I did last night. I got ready in record time. I left my hair down, just like I had worn it last night. I pulled on my black skort and a sleeveless coral sweater. I was grateful my mother brought me the outfit on one of our most recent shopping trips. It was my consolation prize for the torture I’d endured. The outing was the usual grueling day with my shopaholic mother. I generally tried to avoid getting in the car with her when she was in the mood to “run errands.” I became her victim out of guilt. I only agreed to join her to get some mother-daughter bonding time. Tragically, it always ended the same, with me pleading with her to take me home. She could spend the entire day going from shop to shop. I didn’t have the stamina or patience for that. I liked to go in a store, buy what I needed, and leave just as quickly as I had entered. I think that’s why my father was so thrilled to have a daughter. He pictured himself being relieved of all his shopping duties. Unfortunately for him, I hated it just as much as he did. Once I got older, we would fight over whose turn it was to go. “I went the last time,” we would each reply, trying to put the burden on each other.

CHAPTER 5

AMAZED

Jack arrived at my door exactly at one. What was with these people? I think it would be devastating if I stole all the atomic watches in the world. I swear they must hand out the satellite-controlled timepieces to every geek at birth. Although, deep down, I was happy not to have to wait one minute longer to see him. Jack declined my offer to drive, so we got in his car and left for our date. I couldn’t help notice him turn to talk to me while driving, appearing to not even glance at the road as we made a sharp right turn. He seemed to be functioning on autopilot. He told me that it would take about an hour to get to our destination. I found myself scrutinizing his driving. I was still trying to decide if I was going to trust my life with him.
So far, so good
, I thought. He appeared to be competent. I carefully studied him when his eyes were safely on the road. He really was as attractive as I’d remembered him. Actually, he looked even better today. I couldn’t help but feel turned on when I looked at his strong, muscular arms with prominent veins bulging when he gripped the steering wheel. I think I would have agreed to jump out of a plane with him if he asked nicely enough.

Jack asked me about my family. I explained that I was an only child and how my parents had me late in life. I told him about how much I loved my parents. I even felt comfortable enough to share how I used to pretend that my dog was actually my sister. I disclosed how my third grade elementary teacher was the one who brought me back to reality. She had asked my parents, during a parent-teacher conference, when my little sister Mikayla was going to be starting school. It wasn’t until then that I had to drop the charade.

We traveled on an empty highway surrounded by thick forest on both sides. I looked at my watch. It was already two thirty. I was definitely lost and starting to get nervous. What was I thinking? I didn’t really want to go up into the sky. Maybe I should have just stayed home. Why was it taking so long to get there? He better not be some psycho in disguise, planning to kill me and dump my body in some remote creek. Surely he would have had a thorough background check along the way to work for the Air Force and the SIG. I never had to answer so many questions in my life when I applied for the job.

It felt like I had nothing left to hide after that interview.

But still, where in the world was he taking me?

“Where is this place? Shouldn’t we be there by now?” I finally asked after we turned off the highway down a woodsy back road surrounded by thick rows of tall hemlocks.

He didn’t answer right away and appeared to be concentrating on the road. He started to slow down and took a sharp right turn in between two tall brick pillars harnessing an open, thick black iron gate. It marked the beginning of a long tree-lined drive. “We’re here,” he said triumphantly. “I’m sorry—it took longer to get here because I’m driving a little slower than my usual.”

“
Oh
my, what is this place?” I asked, trying to make out the structure peeking through the thinning forest trees. I quickly looked over at him and caught him smile at my reaction. We rounded the bend, opening up the obscured view. I looked ahead in the distance and saw what appeared to be a beautiful mansion with groomed flowerbeds and exotic plants rivaling a plush resort. We approached the circular drive in front of the stone façade and parked the car. My first impression of it being a mansion was an understatement. This place was a castle!

“This is my friend Regis’s home. Well, one of them, anyway. It’s amazing what you can do when you have a lot of money,” he said with admiration as he raised his eyebrows.

“How do you know him?” I asked, sounding impressed.

“He took flying lessons from me for years, and then we just became friends. He’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He made his money in hotels and real estate. He lets me fly some of his toys now and then. I try to never say no. Regis is the kind of guy who is always on the go. You never know when he is going to take time off again to play.”

“Did he ever get his pilot license?”

“Oh yeah, he’s a great pilot. I taught him, after all. He will launch us off today,” he said with a smile.

“Hmm,” I sighed, suddenly remembering why I was here.

“Let’s get going,” Jack said as we got out of the car. “If I know Regis, he’s been ready to go all day. There’s nothing worse than keeping a billionaire waiting.” He took hold of my hand.

We started up the herringbone-patterned brick walkway to the front entrance. Massive, carved wood doors topped with a leaded glass transom window towered high above our heads. The thing probably cost a small fortune. The craftsmanship was exquisite. I studied the patterned, spiral grooves in the wood while Jack rang the doorbell. A moment later, a man dressed in a black butler’s suit opened the door to greet us.

“How do you do, Mr. Bennett?” the butler said formally to Jack. He motioned for us to come into the large foyer. I looked around. My eyes were immediately drawn to an elaborate crystal chandelier hanging above the central staircase that sparked like it had just been cleaned. The entrance’s grandeur was undeniable and clearly well cared-for,
by staff
, judging by the fresh bouquet of starburst lilies adorning a high, circular table. An enormous bronze mirror and pair of hand-painted oriental chairs completed the showcase, making it picture perfect.

“Oh, very well, William. I couldn’t be better,” replied Jack politely.

Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in a white pilot’s outfit strolled briskly towards us down the long, marbled hall. “Jack—it’s about time! We’re burning daylight! I was starting to think that you forgot about me.”

“Never, Regis. We just got a late start, that’s all,” he reassured him before he shot me a quick glance, knowing what he had said about Regis probably growing impatient.

“
Well
, who is this young lady?” Regis smiled at me.

I reached out my hand to greet him. “Hello, sir. I’m Samantha Gerris,” I replied in my professional voice.

He shook my hand as firmly as I would have expected from someone so accomplished. “Regis Coleman. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Samantha. I was hoping that my boy, Jack, here would find himself a nice young lady like you one day. I was starting to get worried that he
scared
all the women away with all of his extracurricular activities.”

Jack grimaced and looked carefully at my expression after the last comment. I thought I saw a glint of worry in his eyes, thinking I might actually be scared off and change my mind about being with him today. I stared back at him and just smiled, pretending not to care about any extracurricular activities. I’m not sure I really did care right now. I could only think about getting through today without losing my composure and looking like a wimp. Oh, what a turn on that would be. The memory of one plane ride in particular still haunted me to this day. Once, on a long flight home to New York, there was a lot of turbulence and a terrible snowstorm outside. I almost got in a fight when the lady sitting next to me actually had the nerve to ask the flight attendant to be moved to a different seat. She complained that I was making her nervous because I kept jumping and squeezing the armrest. I couldn’t help it. I really thought we were going to die. In my opinion, I controlled myself quite well considering the circumstances. It’s not like I was hysterically screaming or crying. How rude!