“I thought I lost you tonight,” he whispers.
“You almost did.”
His breathing halts. “Don’t leave me, Sarah.” His kiss is full of passion. “Be patient with me,” he mumbles into my lips. “I’m doing my best.”
I reach under his T-shirt and touch his warm skin. It’s sticky with his dried sweat. The muscles over his ribcage ripple under my fingers.
“I know, baby, I know.” His kiss is heavenly. “You’re doing so good, baby. So, so good,” I whisper into his lips.
“Don’t leave me.”
My body melts into his. “No more secrets, Jonas.”
“I promise,” he says. He leans back and looks me right in the face. “I’ll jump off any waterfall you want, baby. Just don’t give up on me.”
A light rain begins peppering our faces and splattering softly onto the sidewalk all around us. Oh, Seattle. You’re so predictable.
I nod. “Let’s go home,” I say. “I just figured out another item for my
addendum
.”
His eyes light up.
“You’re gonna take a flying-squirrel leap off a waterfall for me tonight, baby—whether you like it or not.”
Chapter 17
Jonas
Josh looks up from the TV when we burst through the front door, slightly damp from the rain and revved up like two dogs in heat. He’s sitting on the couch, watching basketball and drinking a beer.
“Well, well, well. Aren’t you the sneaky one, Little Miss Sarah Cruz? So much for me keeping an eye on you tonight. Sorry, bro, she just slipped out without me realizing it.”
“I went to spy on Jonas having a drink with a hooker,” Sarah says.
“Ah, so you figured out Jonas’ brilliant plan, huh?”
“It wasn’t hard.”
“And did it piss you off?” Josh asks.
“Oh, just a tad,” she says.
“Gosh, Jonas. Too bad someone smarter than you didn’t warn you about that very thing.”
“Yes, I’m a dumbshit, I know,” I say. “You should have seen her. She marched in there, kicked ass, and took charge of the whole thing. She was brilliant.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me? I seem to recall suggesting you ask her for her input in the first place.”
Sarah laughs. “You should have seen Jonas’ face when I first walked in. If I’d blown on him, he would have tipped over.” She looks at me sideways, her eyes mischievous. “I liked it.”
Oh my God, I’ve got to get this gorgeous woman into my bed.
“Josh, I’m sorry, man, but you’ve got to get the fuck out of here tonight. Go to a hotel, whatever,” I say. I’m losing my mind. My baby’s got something sexy up her sleeve and I can’t wait to find out what it is. Whatever it is, it’s guaranteed to involve her shrieking like a howler monkey tonight and I don’t want Josh sitting out here on the couch eating fucking Doritos while she does.
“A hotel?” He looks at the two of us and instantly understands why I’m kicking him out. “Oh come on, man. I’ll just go to my room. It’s way in the back. I’ll listen to music. I’ll put a pillow over my head. Come on. I just want to chill tonight and watch the game. I had a long day.”
“No, you gotta get the fuck out. Sorry.”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine,” he huffs. “Maybe I’ll give Party Girl with a Hyphen a call.” He looks at Sarah. “Can you text me Kat’s number?”
“Yeah, sure, but she’s busy tonight. She’s hanging out with her new bodyguard. Oh, yeah, that reminds me, Jonas, she asked me to thank you profusely. She says her bodyguard’s a total hunk—even cuter than Kevin Costner. And she did quite the Whitney Houston impression for me when I called, too.”
I laugh.
“You sent her a
bodyguard
?” Josh asks, incredulous. “Why didn’t you just ask me? I would have hung out with her and kept her safe and sound.”
I shrug. “It didn’t even occur to me. Plus, you’ve got plenty to do, right?” I beam at Sarah. “And, anyway, after Sarah’s magnificent performance tonight, I don’t feel all that worried about Kat’s safety anymore.” I kiss Sarah’s nose. “You’re so fucking smart, baby.” I kiss her mouth. She receives me with enthusiasm. Oh God, how I’m going to fuck this woman tonight. First off, I’m going to make love to My Magnificent Sarah with supreme devotion and expertly calibrated skill—and then I’m going to fuck Orgasma the All-Powerful’s brains out yet again ‘til she comes like a motherfucker.
Josh clears his throat. “I’m still right here.”
I pull away from Sarah and glare at Josh. “Don’t you have an acquisition report to analyze?” I laugh. I’m such a hypocrite. I haven’t put in an honest day’s work since we closed the deal on our rock climbing gyms.
“Yeah, actually, I wanted to talk to you about that for a minute,” Josh says. “Sarah, do you mind if I steal Jonas for five minutes?”
“Not right now, Josh,” I say quickly. “Sarah’s gonna make me jump off a waterfall tonight to prove my unwavering devotion to her.”
Sarah swats me on the shoulder. “Jonas!”
“What?” I laugh. I look at Josh. “Let’s talk tomorrow.”
I grab Sarah’s hand and pull her toward my room.
“No, I really need to talk to you tonight, bro. Five minutes.”
Sarah drops my hand. “Talk to your brother. I need a few minutes to set up the
waterfall
, anyway.” She grins broadly and leans into my ear. “I’ll be waiting for you, big boy.” She smiles at Josh. “Will I see you tomorrow?”
“Probably not.” Josh looks at me, stone-faced. Oh shit. Something’s up. “But I’ll be back in Seattle again soon, no doubt. I’m up here all the time.”
She crosses the room to give him a hug. She whispers something to him and he nods. He kisses the top of her head like she’s a little kid and she blushes, nodding. She walks out of the room, but not before flashing me a look that makes me grin from ear to ear.
I sit down next to Josh on the couch. “What’s up?”
“I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
I sigh. I know exactly what he’s referring to. “I know. I’ve been MIA lately. I’m sorry.”
“Just tell me straight. What’s the deal?”
I let out a long exhale and rub my face. “I can’t do it, Josh. Something’s clicked inside me and I can’t pretend anymore—about anything. I just can’t put on a suit and a fucking mask and try to be someone I’m not. I’ve never been that guy. I can’t keep trying to be him. I’m done.”
He exhales. “Are you sure?”
“I never gave a shit about Faraday & Sons; you know that. And now that we’ve got the gyms, and I’ve got Sarah, I don’t have the stomach for bullshit of any variety anymore. I know what I want.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?”
“Well, thank you for asking. I want to build Climb and Conquer into a worldwide brand. Not just the physical gyms themselves, but an entire lifestyle brand—clothes, shoes, gear, equipment. Maybe even a blog or magazine. The Climb and Conquer brand will embody adventure, fitness, the pursuit of excellence—each person’s individual but universal quest to find the divine original form of himself.”
Josh smiles. “Sounds pretty awesome, bro.”
“This is what I’m meant to do. I don’t care about acquiring shit just to acquire more shit. I’ve already got more money than I know what to do with. What’s the fucking point?”
Josh nods. “Okay. What else?”
“I want to climb. Obviously.”
Josh nods. This he already knows.
“All over the world. The highest peaks. With you.”
“The Two Musketeers.”
“Fuck yeah. The Faraday twins.”
He half-smiles at me.
“I’ve had enough of bankers and financial analysts and fucking lawyers and accountants to last a lifetime. I want to be with people who understand me—people who love to climb.”
Josh nods. This part he knows, too. I’ve never really belonged in the high finance world of Faraday & Sons. You wouldn’t know it from the outside—you’d assume quite the opposite from the outside, probably, just because I happen to be good at it—but most of the time, secretly, I’m a fish out of water in that world. Josh knows this about me. He’s always known. But no one else does. And I don’t want to pretend anymore.
I sigh. “And last but certainly not least I want to be with Sarah as much as humanly possible.” A shiver runs down my spine. “I almost screwed everything up tonight, Josh. For a minute there, I thought I’d lost her.” I run my hand through my hair. “You were right—things weren’t nearly as ‘simple’ as I thought they’d be.”
“Surprise, surprise. Yet another flash of brilliance brought to you by Mr. Book Smarts, Jonas Faraday. I told you so, moron.”
I shake my head. “I’m not even gonna say fuck you. That’s how right you were.”
“Thank you for the much-deserved validation. How can a guy be so fucking smart and yet so fucking stupid?”
“I thought she was gonna leave me. And it scared the shit out of me.” I swallow hard.
Josh grins at me. “I told you not to fuck it up, and what did you go and do?”
“Almost fucked it up. If it had been any other girl, I’d be toast right now. I got lucky this time, only because she’s so smart. But I can’t fuck it up like that again or I might not be so lucky next time.”
Josh laughs. “She’s good for you, bro. I like her.”
“I like her, too.”
Josh takes a deep breath. “So is that everything you want? Or is there more on the list?”
“One more thing.” I bite my lip, trying to decide how to word this. “I’d really like to pull my head out of my ass and give a shit about something bigger than myself.” I pause. I haven’t thought this one through very well yet. “Maybe Climb and Conquer could adopt some causes and donate a portion of all proceeds—not for some gimmicky promotion, not to get publicity, but as our basic business model. We can talk about which causes we care most about—I’ve already got a couple in mind, maybe you’ve got some, too—but the basic idea is that I’d like to actively and unabashedly try to make the world a better a place, every single day.”
Josh tilts his head and looks at me like aliens have overtaken my body. And I understand why. I’ve never said anything like this before. Ever. Between the two of us, despite Josh’s love of fast cars and other assorted high-priced toys, he’s the one who’s more accustomed to wearing a red cape. He’s the one who invites little leaguers or kids with leukemia into our box seats at sports games. He’s the one who calls his celebrity friends to ask them to donate a signed jersey or guitar to a charity auction. He’s the guy a hundred different people would call first if they were to find themselves in a Tijuana prison or on a desolate highway with no gas in their tank. And, of course, he’s the one who’s picked me up every time I’ve fallen down.
I’m suddenly thinking about Sarah—how passionate she is about wanting to help people and make the world a better place. How she puts her money where her mouth is every single day. Josh and I have all the money in the world, but what do we do with it? And then there’s Sarah who comes from nothing and is working her ass off to get a full-ride scholarship, just so she can take a job after graduation that pays next to nothing, all so she can help others. My heart’s suddenly in my throat. She makes me want to be a better man.
“I’m gonna start being the guy I should have been all along,” I say quietly. “The divine original form of Jonas Faraday.” I exhale. “The man she would have wanted me to become.”
Josh’s eyes are moist. He rubs them. He knows exactly who the “she” is in that sentence. He clears his throat, but he’s unable to speak.
There’s a long beat. The rain outside has gathered strength. It’s beating loudly against the windows and the roof.
Josh slaps his face, hard. “Okay, crazy-ass motherfucker. Sounds like a fucking plan.”
I slap mine in reply. “Okay, pussy-ass-bitch-motherfucker.”
“I’m proud of you, Jonas,” Josh says quietly.
“I’m proud of you, too.”
We look at each other for a brief moment. The Faraday boys weren’t raised to say “I love you” to each other—or to anyone, for that matter—quite the opposite—but Josh and I have just said it to each other in our own way.
“When do you wanna put out a press release about your departure?” Josh asks.
“Give me a couple days at least. I’ll write it personally so it doesn’t leak before release. And I want to be the one who tells Uncle William, of course—I owe him that much. Plus, I’ve got to tell my team. I want to assure them their jobs are secure, that we’ll keep the team intact, continue pushing forward with acquisitions, blah, blah, fucking blah. And we’ll have to put some thought into who should take over managing my team, whether we want to look internally or put out a nationwide search. Or, I guess, you could just assume management of my team along with yours. That would probably make the most sense—you come up to Seattle so much, anyway.”
Josh is stone-faced. He doesn’t speak.
“What do you think?”
Josh doesn’t reply.
“Josh? Any thoughts?”
He exhales loudly. “Shit, man. I don’t give a fuck about Faraday & Sons, either.”
Chapter 18
Sarah
I expect Jonas to feel apprehensive at first, or maybe even anxious, given the forcible bondage of his mother he witnessed as a boy—and that’s exactly why I chose this activity as his metaphorical waterfall in the first place. My actual waterfall in Belize was thirty feet tall, after all, so his symbolic waterfall can’t be a frickin’ pony ride. I’m just hoping that, with a little bit of coaxing and tenderness, or, as the case may be, a little tough love, he’ll be able to view this situation through new eyes—his
adult
eyes—and perhaps replace some of the tortured memories from his childhood with new, delectable, decidedly adult (and pleasurable) memories. Hey, it’s worth a shot.
Jonas’ bed frame is a sleek design without bedposts, so I need to get creative. I improvise four long tethers using neckties from Jonas’ closet and loop them around the base of each leg of his bed. I finish off this brilliant feat of modern engineering with a dandy slipknot at the end of each tether (courtesy of a handy “how to” video on YouTube). The whole setup isn’t nearly as simple or functional as the luxurious bondage sheet with soft Velcro cuffs described in reverent detail in one of the applications I reviewed, but, hey, my Jonas-Shall-Surrender-to-Me-and-Thusly-Expunge-the-Remainder-of-His-Demons idea only came to me an hour ago. I think I’ve improvised pretty well considering the timeframe and what I’ve got on hand.