The Debt 7 (Club Alpha) (7 page)

“This is the place,” he told her, grinning,
as he gunned the motor and shot through the opening in the wall, driving up a
modestly long driveway and parking in front of a beautiful mansion that
belonged totally to the island, with that Spanish Mediterranean style that so
many of the homes in the area showcased.

It had palm trees surrounding it, and
colorful flowers bloomed on the walkway to the door.
 
The place was enormous and sprawling,
private, but it almost looked more like a resort than a home for one person.

A moment later, the car was off and they
were getting out.

Jake grabbed their bags and lugged them
up to the front door, then unlocked it, stepping inside.
 

Raven gasped once she walked in behind
him.

Inside, the place was cavernous, with
enormous white pillars and beautiful travertine tiles on the floor, leading her
forward as she stared in awe at the staircase leading up to the next floor,
while her eyes were than caught by the enormous windows that let in brilliant
sunlight and blue sky.

Across the entire backside of the house
were wide doors that Jake opened, letting in fresh air, and exposing an Olympic
sized pool enclosed by a screened in porch.

The kitchen, living room and dining room
areas were all open and spacious, allowing you to see into each area from the
other, making the home feel even larger than it was.
 

The furniture was white, comfortable and
elegant.

The kitchen was huge, with a restaurant
style stove, enormous refrigerator and freezer, gorgeous overhead lighting and
an immaculate island that a five-star chef would have been happy to have at his
disposal.

“I’ve never seen anything so gorgeous in
all my life,” Raven said.

“Come upstairs, there’s more,” Jake said
proudly.
 
He led her back around to
the staircase and upstairs, where her breath was taken away by the view over
the back wall and onto the private beach.

“I feel like I want to cry,” Raven said,
staring out one of the picture windows at paradise, her hand covering her mouth
reflexively.

The beach was almost literally in Jake’s
backyard, and the white sand looked like powdered sugar, the water like
beautiful blue jewels sparkling in the sunlight.
 

Raven couldn’t believe she was standing
in Jake Novak’s Florida mansion, with the man of her dreams next to her,
charming her, wanting to please her with all of this opulence.

This
can’t be real
, she
thought.

“Come on,” Jake said, leading her by the
hand to the master bedroom.

The bedroom was big, with floor to
ceiling windows that showed off the view of the island even more
brilliantly.
 
The carpeting was soft
and white, almost like beach sand.
 
The bed was big, and there was a TV and even a fireplace on the wall
across from it.

“Why would you ever need a fireplace
here?” she asked him.

“It doesn’t cast much heat, but it looks
nice at night,” he said.
 
“I’ll show
you later on.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yeah, it’s a guarantee,” he told her,
pulling her suddenly into him, as he wrapped an arm around her waist and
squeezed her butt.
 
He pressed his
lips against her and then they were kissing, their tongues circling, their mouths
searching, needing more.

She pushed her breasts into him, wanting
him to grab them, to release all the tension and sexual excitement she was
feeling.

“Jake,” she moaned, pushing her hips into
him.

“I’m going to throw you on the bed,” he
growled.

“No, the floor.
 
Fuck me on the floor,” she whispered.

His tongue was more insistent now, as he
kissed her more deeply, his hands finally sliding up the front of her shirt and
grabbing her breasts, massaging her nipples until they were so stiff as to be
almost painful.

She couldn’t wait for him to be inside
her, to climb on top of her and take her completely.

But just as the inevitable seemed to be
about to happen, Jake’s cell phone began ringing incessantly.
 
He tried to ignore it, but it kept on
ringing.

“Shit,” he muttered, breaking away from
her and answering his cell.

Raven was left breathless and dazed,
standing in the bedroom and waiting to see what was going on.

“Yeah?” Jake said into the phone, his
back to her,
one
hand resting impatiently on his
hip.
 
“Right, well I’m in Florida…
.no
…no…I don’t plan to be back anytime soon.”

There was a long pause and Jake’s head
was bowed as if in focused concentration, listening intently.

“I heard you,” he said, emotionless.
 
“Yes.
 
Yes, I understand how serious this is.”

Raven’s heart was beating faster now, and
it had nothing to do with Jake’s hands touching her body, or what he might do
to her on the bed or the floor.
 
Now
her heart was beating fast out of fear and anxiety.

“I appreciate you letting me know,” he
said.
 
“But I’m not returning to New
York right now to deal with this.
 
It can wait.
 
It’ll just have
to wait, that’s all.”

Jake hung up the phone and stayed still,
not turning toward her again.
 
His
head was still bowed.

“Is everything okay?” Raven asked, knowing
it wasn’t.

“Yeah, everything’s fine.”

“Do you—“

Jake cut her off.
 
“I don’t want to get into it,” he said,
his voice cold and harsh.

“Oh, okay,” she said softly, trying not
to feel hurt from the tone of his voice.

He put his phone away and then stared out
the window, taking a deep breath.
 
“Beautiful day,” he said, but she could tell he no longer meant it.

“Yeah, it is.”

“Come on,” Jake told her, exiting the
bedroom as if their closeness from a few moments ago had never even
happened.
 
“I called some of my
people and had them get everything we would need for our vacation,” he told her
as they walked.

They went back downstairs and Jake
brought her to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator, which was stocked with plenty
of food and drink, and grabbed a couple of pre-made gourmet sandwiches, and a
couple of beers.
 

Raven was hungry, so she didn’t mind
sitting at the island in the kitchen and eating with Jake, sipping her beer and
enjoying the warm Florida air as it blew in through the back doors.

But still, she couldn’t shake the feeling
that whoever had called Jake just then had irrevocably changed his mood and
maybe even this entire trip—and not for the better.

Jake smiled and made small talk about the
town, the beach, some of the kooky neighbors that they might run into, but none
of it felt real or even sincere.

The smile didn’t reach his eyes.

***

Raven woke up in an incredibly happy
mood.
 
Jake was still sound asleep,
but when she looked out the window and saw the beach in the near distance, and
the blue sky, palm trees…how could she not feel ecstatic?

Looking at Jake again as he slept, she
noticed that his brow was slightly furrowed, as if even in sleep, he wasn’t at
peace.
 

That made her think back to the strange
phone call that Jake had tried to pretend didn’t happen, refusing to discuss it
even as his entire mood changed.
 
The rest of the day and into the night, he’d been somewhat withdrawn,
turning on the television and watching sports while nursing a beer, as Raven
had sat next to him and tried to stay upbeat.

There had been no sex or touching then,
either.

They’d fallen asleep with a huge gap
between them in the bed, and Raven had been too embarrassed to try and get
close to him.
 
She didn’t want to be
rejected,
it would have been too painful.

Now, her mood threatened to sink, but she
refused.
 
Getting out of bed, she
stretched, smiling.

I’m
in a mansion in Florida, and it’s amazing, I’m with the man that I love.
 
I refuse to be sad right now.

Raven changed into her red bikini (hoping
the sight of it might snap Jake out of his sullen mood) and went downstairs,
hopping into the pool and swimming, luxuriating in the pleasant coolness of the
water.

Even early in the morning, the Florida
air was warm, in the high seventies, and the pool seemed to be heated to a
perfect temperature—not too hot, not too cool.

She swam for a bit, then got out and lay
in one of the lounge chairs.
 
She
was in a screened in porch area that actually was big enough to include an outdoor
kitchen with a huge grill that would be great for entertaining.

Raven let the sun dry her skin, breathing
deeply.

After a little while, she thought of
Skylar, and realized—with a huge pang of guilt—that she absolutely
needed to check in with her.

Raven called, and Sky picked up almost
immediately.
 
“Hey!” she said,
sounding chipper.

“Hey,” Raven replied, shifting to a
sitting position.
 
“I’m sorry I
haven’t been in touch for a couple of days.”

“Don’t be silly,” Skylar said.
 
“It hasn’t been that long, Raven.”

“I just—I feel bad.
 
I want to be there for you.”

“You have been.
 
I would be so screwed if you and Jake
hadn’t helped me with my healthcare costs.”

Raven’s mouth dried up, thinking about
Jake’s financial problems.
 
What
would happen if he could no longer help Skylar out, and she still needed treatment?

“Well, that’s all Jake—it had
nothing to do with me,” Raven replied, trying to keep her voice light.

“Speaking of Jake,” Skylar said, “I need
details.
 
What the heck’s going on
with you guys?
 
I’ve been reading
and hearing all sorts of stuff on the news, but I’m sure it’s all rumor.”

Raven sighed, getting off her chair and
starting to pace around the perimeter of the pool.
 
“Actually, a lot of the rumors are
true—depending on which ones you heard.”

“So Jake’s cancelling his tour, firing
everyone—all of that’s true?”

Raven nodded.
 
“Yeah.
 
He says he doesn’t want to live that
lifestyle anymore, doesn’t want to pretend to be that squeaky clean boy band
character.”

“And how do you feel about him quitting
his tour?”

“It’s not really my decision,” Raven said
slowly.

“Yeah, but it effects you.”

“I don’t know,” Raven sighed.
 
“He’s been acting a little strange,
Sky.
 
It’s making me afraid that
he’s going to somehow blame me for everything going wrong in his career and his
life.
 
And maybe I would too, if I
were him.”

“That’s bullshit,” Skylar told her.

Raven laughed.
 
“I love that you’re giving it to me
straight, Sky.”

“Well, it is bullshit.
 
Jake’s a grown man, he can’t blame you
for his problems.
 
He needs to
figure it out, and you can’t take responsibility for any of it.”

Raven smiled.
 
“You’re pretty wise, you know that?”

“I’ll take just being pretty.”

Raven’s smile faded a little.
 
“How are you feeling, Sky?”

“I’m doing good,” Skylar told her, but
her tone had changed slightly.
 
“The
day I get chemo isn’t that bad, but it seems like the days afterward I just
feel worse and worse.
 
I’ve been
pretty nauseous and just so tired.”

“I need to come back there.”

“No, you don’t.
 
My Mom and Dad are taking care of
things, and honestly I’m mostly sleeping anyhow.”

Raven took a deep breath, shaking her
head.
 
“You’d tell me if you needed
me, though—right?
 
Because
I’ll fly back today—this very hour—if you need me.”

Skylar just laughed.
 
“Don’t be a fool.
 
I know you’re here for me and it means a
lot.
 
But you need to live your
life, and you and Jake obviously have some stuff to figure out.
 
So go and figure it out and stop
worrying about me.”