Page 116 of Nailing the Billionaire

Billy leaned back with a shrug.

“I’d like Cocoa Puffs,” Dennis answered.

“Me too,” Billy shouted.

I took the milk glass back inside and located the cereal for them. I wouldn’t have guessed Dennis for a guy that ate kids’ cereal, but there was a lot I didn’t know about him. Granola would have suited me better, but I poured myself a bowl of the dark little balls as well.

The three of us ate on the patio while Dennis quizzed Billy about his school.

Dennis ate slowly and was the last to finish. “Should we start by skating, or swimming with the sharks?”

Neither of us answered right away.

I shot Dennis a disapproving glance. Hanging out was a better idea.

Dennis stood and grabbed his empty bowl. “Skating it is, then.”

Billy followed Dennis’s lead and brought his own bowl to the sink—another first. “But I don’t know how.”

“Today’s a good day to learn.” Dennis grabbed a hat.

Billy went first down the stairs, and I followed Dennis.

“Cocoa Puffs?” I asked.

“Chocolate is the food of the gods.”

The man surprised me at every turn.

At the rental shop, I got outfitted with roller blades, and Dennis chose easier-to-balance roller skates for himself and Billy.

Billy also got the full pads, gloves, and helmet treatment.

Our shoes went into a backpack Dennis had brought along.

Dennis held Billy up between his legs for the first half mile or so, working with him on balancing and understanding the basics of pushing off one foot onto the other.

At an open stretch, Dennis let him go. “Turn right. Lean right.”

It was no use. The little guy went left, off the cement, and face planted in the sand. But he got up laughing.

After several more tries, my nephew got to where he could turn the right way and stay on the path if Dennis kept giving him a boost to keep going.

Dennis kept at it patiently, and by the time we got to Santa Monica, Billy didn’t look elegant, but he stayed upright and was nothing but smiles and laughter. The pads had done their job, and he was still in one piece.

“Here’s where we stop,” Dennis announced.

Billy scowled. “But I’m not done yet.”

The disapproving glare Dennis sent his way changed that instantly.

“Can we please do some more?” Billy asked.

Dennis had already chided him twice about talking back.

“Sure,” Dennis answered. “Later. First we have some rides to check out.”

Dennis sat on a bench to undo his skates, and we followed. The shoes came out of the backpack, and the skates went into a locker.

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