What Can You Not Buy With Money?

Ben was all I could feel, taste, hear, see, and smell. At that moment, he was my whole world and it felt greater than any feeling I ever experienced. The best metaphor I could compare it to was as though I was in space, floating in nothingness but staying warm by the sun and not needing oxygen to survive.

Time was lost when I had Burgess on top of me, his body heat a roaring fire and his mouth slow and passionate as he gently caressed the inside of my lip with his tongue. As he massaged my tongue, my eyes fluttered open to see his eyes closed as he was lost in our closeness.

“Mary,” He murmured softly with a compassionate voice that only sung of sweetness. His hands ran through my hair and down to my neck, but he never brought his fingers any lower than my collarbone.

My lips were pulsating and swollen from the long and sensual brushes against Burgess’ mouth. We took a break, both simultaneously stopping as I realized my surroundings. I was on his bed, with conflicting feelings of lust, love, and exhaustion. I wanted more than anything to just hold Burgess and fall asleep with my head resting against his chest, but I forced myself up instead. “We should… go now.”

Burgess looked like he didn’t want to, even though he had planned the party and had been impassioned to hold it. But instead of getting up right away he took my hand, intertwining our fingers as he squeezed it while smiling up at me. He held it as though he was holding a crown jewel, his eyes full of serenity and peace. “All right.”

When we opened the door, loud music echoed off of the walls and my ears throbbed as it did when Walker took me to the concert months ago.

There were already couples making out on the top floor, pulling their lovers into Burgess’ guest rooms for a free room.

I threw a worried look at Burgess but only amusement was etched on his face. “Do you dance?” Burgess closed his bedroom door behind him, locking it, and gestured at a few of his maids to stand guard in front of it. They quickly obeyed, a clear discomfort on their face as they were not used to the new environment of festivities.

Burgess led me to the ballroom where the DJ had set up a large system of audio heaven at the front of the gym sized chamber. I didn’t recognize anyone in the party, and I doubted Burgess did either. We stayed near the wall of the area, shying from the heavy mass of dancers in the center of the room.

I was never a good dancer, so I timidly watched as Burgess confidently took my hand and moved to the rhythm. He had this graceful gait that was mesmerizing. I found myself hypnotized by how he blended his body with the music and before I knew it he had me by the hands and helped me move with him like a current.

We were all smiles for hours as all we did was dance with each other. My heart beat was quickening, sweat was dripping down my brow, my muscles were sore, and my chest hurt from so much laughter. I felt so happy that I knew this was what heaven felt like. I wanted that moment to last forever.

But I didn’t have any endurance to continue. Burgess saw that I was out of breath and suggested we go to the dining hall for some water.

We passed by the living room, where all the guys were yelling like high strung wolves, howling at a person who was keg standing. I went on my tiptoes to get a better look, craning my neck, and I let out a laugh when I saw it was Lucy who was chugging beer upside down. Walker was holding her legs up to give her support while the bystanders were counting the seconds she kept herself in that position.

Burgess shook his head, but a small smile of amusement tickled his face. “You have some dynamic friends.”

“They make my world go round.” I used my fingers to shape a giant circle.

Burgess raised an eyebrow and brought me bottled water. “Oh?” He added a sentence but the crowd of guys suddenly exploded into a scream, blocking out all of his words.

“What?” I yelled over the noise, placing my hand by my ear.

Burgess gestured for me to follow him outside into a patio, where a few pairs of partiers had already had the idea for a quiet night.

“What did you say back there?” I looked up at him as he sat down on a bench by one of his gardens.

“It was nothing.” Burgess shook his head for a moment, then curled a corner of his lip. “Remember when we first met?”

“Yeah,” I nodded slowly and my skin burned in embarrassment at the memory.

“When you went up to me like that, I thought you were a typical loon.” Burgess chuckled, but I glared at him in half jest.

“Hey, just because I asked you to apologize to Lila didn’t make me crazy.”

“No.” Burgess agreed, “But it wasn’t until you opened your mouth that I was surprised. No one stood up to me for something noble. At first, I thought it was sickening.”

“But— ”

“And I wanted to hear you talk even more. So I offered you the job, not expecting to keep you for more than a week. And I haven’t regretted it.” Burgess rested his chin in his palm while he leaned his elbow on the armrest of the outdoor furniture he sat in, a secret smile shining down at me.

I wondered why he told me this, and when we were leaning our faces closer to each other the familiar ringing of a phone stopped us again. And so it was the curse of our relationship, for we were eternally linked by work. But then again, so is life itself.

Burgess closed his eyes and bowed his head with defeat and disappointment. “Excuse me,” he politely stood up and took his phone, snapping, “What?” at the caller. His voice slowly softened and he began to walk away, a habit he had to ensure no one would eavesdrop. He was clearly lost in the interruption, so I went to my feet to go inside. A strong breeze had rolled by and caused me to feel uncomfortable, so I quickly retreated back through the door.

Terra Slater was at the kitchen nearby, boredom crackling in her fierce eyes as she looked me down with conviction. “Don’t get cute,” she spoke calmly as though she was a prophet.

“What?” I asked as I looked behind me. No one was around to hear, so it was surely me that she was speaking to. And I wasn’t the least bit happy with how she looked at me with a dismissive sneer.

“I mean don’t get too comfortable with him. It’s not going to last,” Terra had a wine glass in her hand that she delicately drank from, her eyes never leaving my face.

I narrowed my eyes, my skin growing warm at her words. “What makes you say that?” I gently demanded, careful to keep my temper under control.

“He goes through girls as he walks through air. He’s a womanizer; a player. I didn’t think you would be so innocent to fall for his charms… but it seems I was wrong.” Terra was seated on a stool that was nestled at an island counter, her legs crossed. She waved for me to come closer and gestured for me to take a seat next to her. “It is because of my strict upbringing that I give you warning.”

“He wouldn’t hurt me,” I replied dimly but deep down I was so sure and confident in Burgess that I truly had no worry. No fear plagued my mind nor any paranoia fill my heart. But my faith in him didn’t last.

“Ah, and another victim has been revealed,” Terra scoffed. “The tabloids may not cover it as much as they should, but Burgess is a hedonist. He is the biggest lady’s man I have ever affiliated with. I’ll have you know that he is as pure as a prostitute.”

I raised an eyebrow and confusion clouded my mind. “He’s only seventeen. I’ve never seen him with a woman.”

Terra sniffed and let out a slow giggle. “Then you’ve never looked close enough. Ever since he was a boy he was driven by testosterone. He’s a typical teenager, only with more experience; more wisdom.” She paused as she studied my skeptical face. “I’ve screwed him more than once. Tell me, have either of you discussed your previous love lives? Ask him how many girls he’s fornicated with and he’ll not be able to give you an exact number.”

I looked down with discomfort. “Well if it’s true… I guess it’s not that much of a shock. I can see why lots of girls would like him.”

“And you’re okay with that?” Terra rested her chin in her hand as her elbow was pressed against the clean counter. She waited as I was silently asking myself the same question, her motives unknown as to why she prodded.

But she continued the assault. “What if he doesn’t really care about you as a person but just wants to conquer you because you’re a challenge? Do you know why his previous assistant threw herself off of his building to her death? They had an affair. I met her twice, she was a lot like you. In fact, both of you have many similar characteristics—you both could have been friends—and the first time I met her she was timid but strong. She seemed to love life and it was obvious she had an attraction to Ben. The second time, she was at his arm, a smile on her face. Ben filled me in that he was sleeping with her. At first, it seemed like nothing but your typical unethical business relationship… until a good amount of Burgess Incorporated lost profits last year. Burgess blamed the distraction on their affair and fired her. Told her to leave and never return to his sight. And then her death came around.”

The color in my cheeks that had been from my anger quickly disappeared and I felt my skin pale. I felt even colder all over, my heart pounding an echo through my body.

“You’ve spent a great deal of time with him,” Terra pressed, “But you can never truly know a person unless you are that person. So this is my Christmas gift to you, this warning.” Terra stood up and downed her glass, putting it on the counter as she turned to leave. “Take care of yourself. Because no matter how good or kindhearted or any other pauper bullshit you are, you cannot survive in our world if you let your emotions get in the way. It is clear you do not belong, so watch yourself. I don’t think your body could handle the stress,” she looked me up and down as she turned to leave.

“What about you?” I asked softly, almost believing she didn’t hear me. “How have you handled it?”

“By my birthright. To be in our world—our class—you must be born into it. Or throw away everything else for it. No one can simply just waltz into it without sacrificing everything else. You believe that you’re in love. I can see it in your eyes, in your words, and it makes my stomach upset. You’re a person who holds their heart in their hands.” Terra’s hands were on her hips as she proudly stood tall. “And if you keep trying to give your heart to one of us, Ben—Walker, even—it’s just going to end up broken.” With those words, Terra turned and disappeared into the next room, where the chanting of the partiers carried her away.

As a few college crashers ran through the kitchen, I went up to my feet off balanced, feeling as though I was about to fall over.

Burgess came in, with a clear frown as he looked for me. “There you are,” he answered. “Come on, that was Adelmo Bohr. He’s waiting at corporate. I couldn’t hear him clearly, but he yelled something about the video game project and his brother.”