did meet Nick, and we helped each other a lot. I just didn’t date. I couldn’t. For a long time, I felt like no one could With Seth.”
James’s hand makes comforting strokes down my side. “He was your first?”
Leaning my head back against his hard chest, I close my eyes and let the memories wash over me. “Yea, we were together all through high school. There was a lot of breaking up and getting back together though.”
“Why would anyone ever break up with you?”
I smile at the sincerity in James’s voice. He could be so sweet sometimes. “We were both pretty immature. He would cheat on me, or I would cheat on him. It was a kind of game, but I knew we would always get back together. Of course, it didn’’t feel like a game at the time.”
“You loved him.”
James says it as a statement not a question, but I answer anyway. “Yea, I did.” Memories of Seth play through my mind. “It’s funny. Seth, Chelsea, and I were so wild in high school. When I think back to the partying and some of the crazy things we did, I’m amazed we survived. I almost think it would have been easier to live with if they had died doing something stupid or crazy. It just makes no sense to me that they died because of something as commonplace as running off the road.”
Shaking off the melancholy mood that always follows my thoughts of Seth and Chelsea, I turn sideways so that I can see James’s face. “So who was your first?”
The lazy smile that passes over James’s face makes me curious. “That would have been Anastasia.”
I raise my brows at the exotic-sounding name. “And?” I prompt. “Details, please.”
“It was the summer after my freshman year of high school.”
“So you were fourteen?” I interrupt.
James gives me a look of reproach. “Do you want to hear this or not?”
I move my hand over my mouth in a zipping and locking motion and wait for him to continue.
“I was almost fifteen, and my grandfather, mother, and I spent the summer on my grandfather’s yacht. We sailed around the Greek Isles, Monaco, and the southern coast of France. There was a group of us about the same age that was spending the summer yachting around Europe. We all went to the same places and saw each other whenever we were at the same port. There were a lot of parties, and that’s where I met Anastasia. She was from Greece, a few years older than me, and had some experience. I think it turned her on that I was a virgin. She taught me a thing or two, and after Anastasia I went from one girl to the next. Thank God I was smart enough to wear condoms, or I probably would be dead from some venereal disease by now.”
“You make it sound like you were a real playboy.”
James laughs derisively, “Oh baby, was I ever. Girls throwing themselves at me left and right did not help in the character development department.”
“Was it Amanda’s death that changed you?”
“Not entirely. I won’t deny that I enjoyed the thrill of money and girls for a while, but by the time I was in college, it had lost some of its appeal. There was also the fact that I didn’t want to be like my parents. I also wanted to be independent from my grandfather and not have to answer to him for the rest of my life.”
“So you decided to go to law school?”
“Right. My grandfather actually thought it was a great idea until I told him I wasn’t going to work for him when I was finished. That was a real fight, but in the end I got my way. I did make a few concessions. My grandfather’’s company hires its own lawyers, but he has other interests. I agreed to represent him in those instances. In the end it is a good balance between doing work for my grandfather and pursuing the cases that interest me and play to my strengths.”
“You have something of a reputation as a good negotiator. I notice they bring you in on all the important cases where there will be serious negotiations.”
“Oh yea? I can think of some things I would like to
James’s hand makes comforting strokes down my side. “He was your first?”
Leaning my head back against his hard chest, I close my eyes and let the memories wash over me. “Yea, we were together all through high school. There was a lot of breaking up and getting back together though.”
“Why would anyone ever break up with you?”
I smile at the sincerity in James’s voice. He could be so sweet sometimes. “We were both pretty immature. He would cheat on me, or I would cheat on him. It was a kind of game, but I knew we would always get back together. Of course, it didn’’t feel like a game at the time.”
“You loved him.”
James says it as a statement not a question, but I answer anyway. “Yea, I did.” Memories of Seth play through my mind. “It’s funny. Seth, Chelsea, and I were so wild in high school. When I think back to the partying and some of the crazy things we did, I’m amazed we survived. I almost think it would have been easier to live with if they had died doing something stupid or crazy. It just makes no sense to me that they died because of something as commonplace as running off the road.”
Shaking off the melancholy mood that always follows my thoughts of Seth and Chelsea, I turn sideways so that I can see James’s face. “So who was your first?”
The lazy smile that passes over James’s face makes me curious. “That would have been Anastasia.”
I raise my brows at the exotic-sounding name. “And?” I prompt. “Details, please.”
“It was the summer after my freshman year of high school.”
“So you were fourteen?” I interrupt.
James gives me a look of reproach. “Do you want to hear this or not?”
I move my hand over my mouth in a zipping and locking motion and wait for him to continue.
“I was almost fifteen, and my grandfather, mother, and I spent the summer on my grandfather’s yacht. We sailed around the Greek Isles, Monaco, and the southern coast of France. There was a group of us about the same age that was spending the summer yachting around Europe. We all went to the same places and saw each other whenever we were at the same port. There were a lot of parties, and that’s where I met Anastasia. She was from Greece, a few years older than me, and had some experience. I think it turned her on that I was a virgin. She taught me a thing or two, and after Anastasia I went from one girl to the next. Thank God I was smart enough to wear condoms, or I probably would be dead from some venereal disease by now.”
“You make it sound like you were a real playboy.”
James laughs derisively, “Oh baby, was I ever. Girls throwing themselves at me left and right did not help in the character development department.”
“Was it Amanda’s death that changed you?”
“Not entirely. I won’t deny that I enjoyed the thrill of money and girls for a while, but by the time I was in college, it had lost some of its appeal. There was also the fact that I didn’t want to be like my parents. I also wanted to be independent from my grandfather and not have to answer to him for the rest of my life.”
“So you decided to go to law school?”
“Right. My grandfather actually thought it was a great idea until I told him I wasn’t going to work for him when I was finished. That was a real fight, but in the end I got my way. I did make a few concessions. My grandfather’’s company hires its own lawyers, but he has other interests. I agreed to represent him in those instances. In the end it is a good balance between doing work for my grandfather and pursuing the cases that interest me and play to my strengths.”
“You have something of a reputation as a good negotiator. I notice they bring you in on all the important cases where there will be serious negotiations.”
“Oh yea? I can think of some things I would like to
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