Each room I passed on my way to the rear terrace was pristine and empty. If I’d have walked around in the shorts and t-shirt that I slept in, I would have surely met Mother and Alton along the way.

I walked around the grounds. Perhaps it was because it was Sunday, but everywhere I went, there was no one but me. I wasn’t looking for anyone, but it seemed strange that no one was about.

Even with the heat of the summer, the gardens were beautiful. Path after path wove through flowers, some as tall as me. Iron benches dotted the path. As a little girl I’d pretended it was a maze and only I knew the way in and out.

When I passed by the pool, the crystal clear water beckoned and I thought about swimming, but decided it wasn’t worth redoing my hair. Instead, I sat on the edge, pulled my dress higher on my thighs, and let my feet dangle in the tepid water. My mind slipped back to the last morning in Del Mar.

It was the sunrise I’d been dreading—we’d been dreading. If I didn’t wake up, if I lay perfectly still with my body pressed against Nox, maybe I wouldn’t need to get on the plane, maybe I could stay in Del Mar forever. The warmth radiating from his skin covered and shielded me from the cool air-conditioned chill of the suite.

Skin to skin, nothing separated us.

“Are you awake,” he asked, his deep voice gravelly with sleep.

“No.” I buried my head against his chest.

“Isn’t this early for you? Yesterday you didn’t wake until, what… ten?”

My cheeks filled with crimson. “I think you wore me out the other night.”

“Oh?”

Nox rolled me onto my back, his hands upon my shoulders and chest against mine. “Does that mean I didn’t do a good job wearing you out last night?”

I looked into the pale blueness of his eyes. It was barely light outside, but his gaze held that hint of menace that twisted my insides. He’d done a fine job of testing my limits. I still didn’t know where they were—not with him. It wasn’t that I’d ever imagined some of the suggestions Nox made. It was that when he proposed the limit, no matter what it was, I wanted to test it, for him and for me. I saw the happiness he derived, and I knew the happiness he could provide. Nox made each and every prospect sexy and pleasurable. Even if, like the wax, it didn’t start that way, Nox made sure it ended that way.

I shook my head. “No, you did a fine job. It was just…”

The pad of his thumb tenderly caressed my cheek as his prominent brow furrowed. “Charli, why are you crying? Did I..?”

I swallowed and shook my head. I didn’t want Nox to think he’d done anything wrong. I also didn’t want to admit how strongly I felt for him, or how I didn’t want our time together to end. “I don’t want to wake up. If I stay asleep then today will never come.”

His lips gently brushed mine. It was meant as an affectionate kiss, but I didn’t want that. I wanted more, needed more. I wove my fingers through Nox’s dark hair and pulled him closer. The taste of his lips and his tongue as it wrestled with mine was the catalyst to my desire. Breathing no longer mattered as my back arched and I pushed my pebbled nipples against the hardness of his chest.

We didn’t rush. For what seemed like an eternity, we lost ourselves in one another. It was much different than our first time, and different from every time after that. Nox had said he’d made love to me the night he brought me back to Del Mar after 101, but this was more. Every movement of his hands, tongue, and body was deliberate. He played me like an expert musician plays a prized instrument.

My body ached with need and desire as he took me to amazing highs with catastrophic earth-shaking conclusions. I gripped the sheets and called out his name, afraid I’d fall, and yet each time he was there to catch me. When we both descended from the final high, I collapsed against his shoulder and slipped off to sleep.

He’d granted my wish. The day wasn’t ready to begin.

A warm breeze brought me back to reality, and I shifted against the edge of the pool. I had no idea where Nox was, but even from far away he could do things to my body. Looking down at my breasts, I thanked God that I was alone. My thin strapless bra and pink dress did little to conceal the thoughts my nipples broadcasted.

I leaned back on my arms, lifted my face to the sun, and twisted my head from side to side. The slow movement allowed the warm wind access to my perspiration-moistened skin and freed the few stuck renegade strands of hair that had escaped from my messy bun.

Is it the Georgia heat that turned up my internal thermostat or my thoughts?

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been outside when I made my way back toward the house and up the stone staircase, but when I entered the house, Mother and Alton were in the sitting room. They didn’t hear me enter and for a few minutes I stood and watched them. Last night I’d heard their exchange, but today, from their expensive casual clothes to the way Alton waited upon my mother, filling her wine glass, they appeared the perfect couple.

It wasn’t until my shoes clicked upon the hardwood floor and Adelaide’s red-rimmed eyes met mine that I knew there was more to their current charade. She didn’t speak, but sighed, bit her lip, and turned toward the window.

“Alexandria,” Alton said, “have a seat. We need to speak to you about our meeting tomorrow morning.”

I sat, but spoke to Adelaide. “Momma, what’s the matter?”

“I just can’t… I can’t…”

Alton stood taller by her side. “Your mother has been upset since our office discussion yesterday.”

I moved to the edge of the chair. “It’s fine,” I placated, like the good daughter I’d been taught to be.

Tears coated my mother’s cheeks as she reached for Alton’s hand.

“Momma, are you sick?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Alexandria, if only you would have tried.”

“Tried? What are you talking about?”

Her chin dropped to her chest. “The meeting tomorrow is to update you on your trust fund.”

“I thought it might be, but why are you so upset. If I get it early, I won’t do—”

“You’re not getting it early,” Alton said. “You no longer have access to it. It’s gone.”

“GONE? I DON’T understand. How is a million dollars gone?” I stood, unable to contain my fury.

“You’ve lived on it for four years,” Alton said. “Stanford isn’t inexpensive. I guarantee it wasn’t a million any longer.”

“I review the online statements every month. It was not gone the last time I looked.”

“It’s been re-appropriated.” His tone slowed. “Before you decide to make any more threats, I assure you, it’s completely legal and within the guidelines of the clauses set forth by your grandparents.”

“Darling,” Mother interjected. “I didn’t want you to be blindsided at the attorney’s office like you were yesterday with Bryce. That was my fault. I should’ve talked to you about Bryce earlier in the day, but we were having such a nice time.” She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.

I didn’t give a rat’s ass about Bryce. I did about my trust fund.

“Columbia?” I asked collapsing on one of the many sofas.

“That’s what we were saying yesterday. You don’t have the funds to attend Columbia.”

“Your first semester is paid,” Alton interjected. “You’ll need to transfer, or you could withdraw and receive a refund. It’s time you stop wasting money and concentrate on the future.”

I palmed my temples and pushed. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. The future? Law school was my future.

“Dear, are you all right?”

“No, Mother, I’m not. I’m not all right. I was accepted into Columbia Law. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? No, you don’t. You don’t because as soon as you finished your degree—in art appreciation—at Emory—you married my father. You didn’t apply to graduate school. And you…” I stared at Alton. “…your master’s is from Georgia State!”