Page 62 of Tide and Seek
I stretched my arm across the back of his seat, teasing the hairs at the nape of his neck.“We can do whatever we want.No obligations.”
“I love the sound of that.”He grimaced.“Until tonight.We still have C.J.’s party.She keeps saying the party is in my honor, but I hate being the center of attention.How does she not know that about me?”
“It’s just a few hours, and she means well.”
“I suppose.”He sighed.“At least I get to spend the day with you before I have to suffer through small talk with a bunch of people I don’t know and don’t want to know.”
“We’ll survive.It’s just one little party.”
The morning drive up the Pacific Coast Highway felt peaceful after all the recent chaos.Max handled the BMW with obvious pleasure and skill, taking the winding curves with a relaxed set to his shoulders.
“It’s so nice to ride in a vehicle that isn’t a small aircraft,” he said.
I chuckled.“You don’t think the Hummer had personality?”
“Oh, it had personality all right.The personality of a parade float,” Max said, smiling.For the first time since those threatening texts arrived, he looked genuinely serene.
After a while, the Getty Villa came into view, tucked into the Malibu hills like a film set.Even from the parking area I could see the elegant columns and manicured gardens—a world away from anything we had back in Rainy Dale.
“It’s so peaceful here,” I said softly as we walked through the entrance gardens.The sound of trickling fountains mixed with the scent of salt air and what smelled like jasmine.The villa itself rose before us in perfect symmetry, all cream-colored columns and red tile roofs.
We collected our tickets and wandered into the first gallery, where Greek and Roman sculptures lined the walls in spaces so quiet I could hear our footsteps on the polished floors.The light was different here, filtered and golden, making the marble look almost alive.
Max stopped in front of a bronze of a handsome young athlete frozen mid-motion.His whole face lit as he studied the piece, and I found myself watching him more than the sculpture.
“So beautifully detailed.You can see every muscle,” he murmured.“The Romans were masters of realism.”
I smiled, eyeing the genitalia between the young man’s thighs.“Yeah, it’s not just muscles on display.”
Max laughed.“Don’t be a prude, Royce.”
“Me?A prude?”I pretended to cover his eyes.“All I’m saying is I think your gaze shouldn’t drop below his chin.”
Smirking, Max batted my hand away.“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Maybe I need to spray myself with bronze paint so you’ll look at me that way.”
He squinted at me.“Are you pretending I don’t love your body?Because that’s a flat-out lie.”He crowded me against the wall.“Shall I have my way with you right here, just to prove a point?”
“No,” I said in a strangled voice.“That won’t be necessary.I don’t want to get kicked out.You can look at the pretty bronze boys so long as you go home with me.”
He planted a kiss on my mouth and backed off.“Romans had a different relationship with the human body than we do.Nudity in art was about celebrating physical perfection, not sexuality.”
“If you say so,” I grinned.“But if I see you trying to put this statue in the trunk, I’ll have to stop you.”
“You’re the only naked man I… er… want in my trunk.”
I laughed.“Well, thank you.I think.”
He smiled, took my hand, and we continued on.We moved through the galleries at our own pace, and I found it endearing how Max read every placard, sharing aloud all the details listed.We were treated to displays of glassware, jewelry, coins, and fragments of frescoes and wall paintings of faded gardens and mythological scenes.
I leaned closer to one delicate piece of painted plaster, and murmured, “Life can be so strange.”
Max glanced over.“What do you mean?”
I lifted one shoulder.“All those people lived their whole lives, had families, likely worried about money, fell in love, fell out of love, fought wars, probably fell in love again—and this little piece of their wall painting is all that’s left.”
Max turned toward me, something shifting in his expression.“It’s a good reminder to live in the moment, isn’t it?”
