Read Just Ask for Free Online

home, because home was a safe place. They both liked baseball, though opposing teams, and neither had made the Pennant Race, thank God. Ryan didn’t need Jordan crowing with delight. Ryan discovered Jordan had played lacrosse in college, a game Blake had enjoyed, too. Ryan had played baseball through high school and college. They both liked pizza, same toppings. The same music and beer, though Jordan seemed to like the more artisan stuff to drink.
    “So. What are you going to do to relax this weekend?” Ryan asked.
    “What would make me really relaxed is hammering out the deal we need to make.”
    Ryan laughed, because it was so Jordan. “Not happening. I’ll talk to you Monday morning about this, no sooner. Blake made his wishes clear, and I intend to meet my side of the obligations. You’ll relax, see the entire island, and we’ll talk Monday.”
    “Fuck.”
    There’s that, too… “I can escort you around and show you all of the aspects I’m sure you’ll want to see before making a decision.”
    “I have a decision.”
    “No, you have a pre-disposed notion. You don’t want an island, it’s not your dream, and so you’re out. You don’t even have a dream. Maybe that’s why Blake did this, to make you sit back and take stock in your life. Find a dream, something that excites you.”
    Jordan’s shoulders tensed as he stabbed a piece of fish with his fork like a man out for vengeance. “Who the hell are you to make assumptions about my life?”
    “I’m someone who was in your shoes five years ago. I had power, money, suits. Life isn’t worth that stress.”
    Jordan’s eyes narrowed as he chewed then swallowed. He set his fork down. “So you live here like a beach bum and ride horses all day.”
    “Yep. Don’t try to make me ashamed of my life. I love it. There’s nothing you can say or do to make me want something different.” The only thing that would make his life totally complete would be someone to share it with, but he knew the odds of that. Slim. He’d found love once. He didn’t expect it again and had made his peace with that.
    Jordan took a moment, sipping his wine, studying Ryan over his glass as if he were a science experiment gone wild. “All right. I’ll rise to the bait. Blake wanted me to relax, and it seems you’ve got a good handle on that. Teach me how. Prove to me your life is better than mine.”
    Ryan, shocked, stared at Jordan as he sat back in his chair. It couldn’t be too much wine, since they’d only had half a glass so far. Maybe the guy bumped his head on a tree during the ride. “You want me to teach you how to relax.”
    Jordan nodded. “I think that’s exactly why Blake wanted me to meet you. You have a weekend. Change my mind.”
    Wow. He couldn’t have asked for a harder challenge if he were Sisyphus, rolling that fucking rock up the hill. Or a more desirable challenge, teaching uptight Jordan to live.
    Ryan studied Jordan, the outline of his jaw in the flickering torch light, the lean lines of his torso as he stretched his legs out to rest his feet on another chair, hands folded on his tight stomach. Ryan’s cock stirred for the zillionth time that day, and he willed the thing to stay down. Oh, the things he wanted to teach Jordan. Hot, dirty, nasty things. Instead of voicing those, he asked, “What did you do this afternoon?”
    “Researched.”
    “You didn’t go swim? Walk on the beach?”
    “No. I did research and hauled my ass down to the shop in the hotel to purchase casual clothing.”
    Which meant Jordan knew his hands were tied. “When was the last time you swam in the ocean?”
    “Uh, never? Have you been to the Atlantic? Iceberg cold.”
    “There are other oceans.”
    “Yeah, and I’ve flown over all of them.” Jordan shook his head with a small smile. “I went to college in Syracuse, smack in the snow belt, on a lacrosse scholarship. No ocean. No money at that point to get to one.”
    “You made your first million at