Page 145 of The Moon Also Rises
“You’re so beautiful.” And then I push up on my tiptoes so I can find his ear. “Daddy.”
He nuzzles his stubble against my cheek and I love how rough and raw it feels. “Can I still be that for you?” He sounds genuinely worried I’m going to refuse him.
“You already are,” I say. I suck on his ear lobe and rock my body against his.
“Jake, keep doing that and you’ll spend the rest of your party tied up to a bed upstairs.”
God, yes, please.
“No.” I sigh. “We have to go face the music inside.”
“We do,” Rami says and his hands come down to find mine. Our fingers locking together. “But guess what?”
“What?”
Rami kisses my lips one more time. “The music sounds better with you.”
Epilogue
New Year’s Eve
Sydney, Australia
Rami
“Jake, you can stay in the hotel room tonight if you want?” I say to my boyfriend’s back. It’s been many long minutes since he looked away from the floor-to-ceiling windows that give him a full view of Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, the North Shore and the vast harbour itself.
“I think I can see my old apartment building,” he says, pressing a finger to the glass. I move to stand next to him.
“Look, that one. The lighter-coloured building with the rectangular windows.”
“Wow, nice location.”
“Yeah, it was. And it should have been. It cost enough.”
“How long did you live there?”
“Just over a year. I would have stayed longer but I hated my job and I missed Jenna. I also ran out of money,” he adds in a quieter voice.
“Where were you working?”
“At Harbour North Hotel. Look, you can see that too. There,” he points to another tower block, “I was assistant manager of the restaurant.”
“I don’t think I’ve heard of it,” I say.
“I bet all the hotels you’ve stayed in over the years just blend into one another.”
“Depressingly it is a bit like that. When were you working there?”
Jake looks up, thinking. “Sixteen years ago. God, sixteen years ago today I saw in the new year there with this awful guy. He was married to a woman, had terrible style, and opened beer bottles with his teeth.”
“Sounds like a real catch. You think you’ve moved up since him?” I come to stand behind Jake and I wrap my arms around his waist. He leans back on me.
“Well, on paper you’re hardly an upgrade. Ex-cult member. Closeted until your forties. Turned down a multi-million two-album deal.”
“So I could spend more time with you!” I tighten my hold, on him.
“As I said, on paper, you’re a dubious prospect. But in reality, you’re a sure thing.” He grips my arms. “You’re my sure thing.”
