What Can You Not Buy With Money?

The sound of a sharp smack ripped me violently from my sleep as I sat up as quickly as I could, my heart racing and my entire body trembling. I looked around wildly, trying to remember where I was and why I felt so terrified all of a sudden. Looking at the window, I saw that it was beginning to snow, and the windows had a recent cake of ice stuck onto the glass. Some of the ice had broken off it seemed, as a large chunk wa missing and the rest of the glass was clear. That was the source of the noise.

“Are you all right?” Burgess sat up, his naked body exposed as he stretched and put a worried hand onto my shoulder.

“Yeah… I was just startled.” I was taking calmer breaths and I sighed as I smiled lovingly at him.

“Good morning,” Burgess kissed my mouth, causing both of us to fall back onto the soft mattress. Certain regions of my body were sore and still throbbing from both pleasure and pain from the evening before. Quietly, he added, “That was the most wonderful night in my life.”

“Really?” I had been half worried that I wasn’t as good compared to the other times he’d have before in his life.

“Yes. Did you like it?” A concerned shadow crept over his face.

“Like you promised, it was perfect.” I kissed his mouth, and pulled him tightly. Pleased, Burgess returned my affection by playfully biting my lip, his hands falling down to the small of my back.

“Ready for a second helping?” He teased, but I could tell in the fire glowing from his eyes that he was eager for a round two.

>

“Woah!” I cried out in surprise as I felt myself being pulled by the sudden strength that the fish was boasting by tugging roughly at the fishing line. I was in a very heavy coat and in a thick life jacket, but I wasn’t looking forward to the idea of falling into the just barely above freezing waters. Burgess and I were on a small boat… or rather a mini yacht that was at the small harbor where only a few serious fisherman wandered about.

“Hang on,” Burgess wrapped his arms around my waist as he stubbornly held me as I tried to real the killer in. My arms were tired but my heart was pounding as I tried to keep dragging the fish, but I couldn’t reel the creature any longer. “Give slack,” Burgess advised, and I quickly let go enough for the fish to swim away a few feet away. “Now reel it in.”

I quickly pulled the pole and the fish seemed to have gone in a daze as I continued to drag the line back to the boat. After a few moments, Burgess released me to grab a net. Suddenly, a large salmon leaped out of the water, fighting the hook and line for dear life.

It sounds sad what we do to fish, but as we brought the flopping monster on the boat and watched it leap helplessly in the open air, I was satisfied at succeeding in catching my first real fish.

“You mentioned Charles wants us to bring one back?” Burgess took out a mallet, gently hitting his palm as he stood to watch the poor creature try to inhale water. It was still twitching its tail, the creature silently gasping at us with its wide and blinkless eyes.

“Yeah, I think he’ll like this one.”

“Good,” Without another word, Burgess quickly threw the blunt object at the fish’s face, and without any time to gasp, the fish died.

“What was that for?!” I cried out in shock as I covered my mouth, almost about to cry at the loss of the creature.

“Stunned it. That way it won’t go and try to surprise us by jumping back in the water.” Wary of my appalled expression, Burgess added, “Would you rather have it slowly die or just have it done with?”

I looked at the fish’s now dead eyes, no longer seeing anything but a black circle gazing emptily into a void.

“Come on,” Burgess quickly went to the boat’s controls, noticing my discomfort. “We don’t have to fish anymore.”

When we reached the cabin, I went to take a shower. But when I was under the hot water, my mind couldn’t get past the fish. I think I had suddenly went vegan, guilt drowning me.

“Mary,” Burgess knocked the bathroom door and called out. “Dinner’s ready. Hurry up.”

I turned off the shower, looking at the door with a raised eyebrow. Burgess sounded earnest, an eager tone in his voice that captured my curiosity. I was half expecting Burgess to have made something sexual and called it a meal—hint, hint—but I quickly changed and went to the dining room. There was a small table set, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a small freshly prepared dinner.

“Looks good,” I felt better, and smiled as Burgess came in with an apron oddly worn on his body as he had a bottle of champagne in his hands.

“It does,” Burgess beamed as he placed the alcohol on the table and took off his shroud. “I made it.”

I raised an eyebrow and was impressed. “Do you cook often?”

“This is the first time. I want you to try it.”

Flattered, I took a seat and he served me his dish. He sat across from me while pouring the champagne, gesturing for me to go ahead and have a taste.

I thought he was being cute, and I took a bite of a piece of mystery meat. But when my tongue came into contact with what I assumed was a piece of steak, the color vanished from my cheeks and I struggled not to cough.

Burgess had folded his arms, leaning forward for my reaction. But his excited smile quickly frowned. “You don’t like it?”

Forcing myself to swallow, I resisted a shiver as I forced a smile. “It’s… uh… sweet.”

“Strange,” Burgess sat up straight and quickly took a bite off of his plate, but quickly grabbed a napkin to spit it out, his face now sour and full of disgust. “What the hell happened?” He looked furious, glaring down at the monstrosity he created.

Now it was my turn to start trying not to smile, and I put my head down on the table as my shoulders trembled.

“What’s so funny?” Burgess’ voice was full of mock outrageous as he jabbed at his dish violently.

I wiped at my eyes as they watered from laughing. “I didn’t think it was possible… but you just proved that you’re human.”

Confusion rushed through his facial expressions, and he persisted. “What do you mean?”

“You always act perfect, and I was starting to think you were… but even you make mistakes.” I added, “It makes me feel better knowing that. It’s good to have some flaws.”

“They’re not flaws, I just merely used sugar instead of salt.” Burgess wasn’t amused at being called imperfect, and he showed his discontent by folding his arms and standing up. “I’ll take you to a restaurant,” he griped as he turned to leave.

“Wait,” I stood up, throwing my arms around him and planted a heavy kiss on him. “You’re sweet, and you tried. What more can I ask for?”

“An edible meal,” Burgess answered, his voice back to the cold and annoyed snap that wouldn't forgive himself. Despite his harsh shell, I could tell from his quickened heartbeat and soft eyes that he was feeling better about his epic fail.

“You don’t have to try to be perfect, okay? I’m not even close to perfect.”

“No, you’re not.” Burgess smirked but kissed me on the cheek while continuing, “But I’m sick of perfection. All my life I’ve done nothing but be perfect.”

“Of course, almighty Burgess Christ,” I rolled my eyes but kept my tone full of humor. “Welcome to the world of the human species.”

Burgess had a coy smirk as he replied, “If I’m now mortal, then it looks like I should try to contribute to keeping the line of our proud race going for the next generation. Don’t want my legacy to end.”

“We’re kids—we’re not supposed to think about reproduction until we’re pushing thirty,” I teased but was half worried he was serious. And him being serious about us meant being in a serious relationship... of serious commitment. I was being repetitive, but I never committed myself to a person before. The idea made me nervous.

“Thinking about something won’t cause any trouble. At least we can talk about it,” Burgess held my shoulders as he went to playfully bite my earlobe. “When you’re old enough, how many kids do you want?”

“I don’t know,” I laughed at how he tickled me and turned around to escape his arms playfully. “Maybe one or two. You?”

“I want seven.”

“No way,” I folded my arms and stuck my tongue out. “I’m never going to give birth seven times.”

Burgess burst out laughing, holding his sides as he held himself tightly.