Alpha Billionaire Series

MARK

That new car smell surrounded us. The detailers must have sprayed down the interior before they put the used car on the lot. David fiddled with the seat controls, and I poked at all of the above dash accessories. A storage compartment, the perfect size for a single pair of sunglasses dropped open.

“I thought you said you were done with minivans?” I asked.

“Iam done, but Shelly hates the SUV. She says it's a million times bigger on the outside and a million times smaller on the inside”

“You don't need room for strollers anymore. Or do you?” I emphasized the question.

David and Shelly said they were done having kids after number two came along. They had four kids. Now that all of them were in school, it wouldn't surprise me if Shelly decided she wanted to have another baby around. I saw it all the time in my practice.

David let out a nervous chuckle. “God, no. I had that taken care of. You know, snip snip.”

I nodded. Having a vasectomy was the smart thing to do for David.

“The only extra kids we're having are all on Bryce's hockey team. Shelly needs room for all the kids plus extras and all the gear,

Islid out of the passenger seat and tried to open the side door.

“Hold up, I need to press one of these buttons.” David fumbled with the control panel I had been messing with earlier.

The door began making grinding sounds before it popped away from the body of the car and slid back.

I climbed into the back seat. “That's potentially dangerous. How are the kids supposed to be able to get into the car if someone has to push a button like that?”

“Yeah, this one has all the same features as the last van we had. And I still hate it” He climbed out of the driver's seat, and I met him outside.

The lot had a variety of makes and models to choose from. So far, they had all seemed fairly similar to me, but David knew what he was looking for, knew what his wife would want.

I followed him to another model. This one was a different shade of gray from the last one. They all seemed to be various shades of gray, or white.

I opened the passenger door and had a seat. It wasn't too bad. One of the things I hadn't expected was how well I fit into the vans. I was tall, well over the six-foot mark. I was entirely too used to having to fold up to fit into cars. Even my own Maserati took some flexibility. The vans fit more like an SUV with more upright seats and plenty of headroom.

It had similar controls in the ceiling. Buttons for the doors and the back. I hit the tailgate and the back popped open.

“This one has in-floor seat storage. That's always a good thing” David announced.

“How else are you supposed to store them?”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“They used to come out, and we'd put the extra seat in the garage for when we needed hauling room. Shelly likes to be able to fold and unfold extra seats.”

He walked around the car and slid into the driver's seat. I could tell he liked this one by the way he kept shaking his head. “You want to take this one out?” I meant for a test drive.

“Speaking of taking this out. Shelly wants to set you up with this new woman from work”

“You didn't waste any time on that segue. Did you?"

“I saw an opening, so I took it. It's a skill you should learn” He gave me one of those, “you dumb a*s, looks he'd been giving me since we were kids.

“I know how to take advantage of an opening.”

“You sure? We lost last week, and the ball was wide open.”

Even though we technically did not keep track of the scores during our somewhat regular and somewhat friendly basketball “games, David always kept score just so he could remind me. If we lost, it was always my fault. If we won, it was solely becaus of him.

“Are we bitching about the ball or are you trying to set me up? I'm sort of seeing somebody.”

“I thought you were sort of f*****g that one up?”

I shrugged. “We made up” We made up, and down, and sideways. Brooke had more than knocked my socks off with her enthusiasm and drive.

David's attention was on the steering column. He peered around it and moved the levers. “What does that do?” he muttered His eyes were on the car, but his conversation returned to setting me up. “You can date more than one woman at a time.”

I could, in the past I had. Something about Brooke demanded all of my attention. I did not need anyone else vying for my focus.

“Eh, I could. But I'd rather not.”

David sat up and turned his gaze on me. “What?”

“I'd rather not. Dating is exhausting. It’s like you need a spreadsheet just to keep track of names and likes. Jennifer likes sushi and is available on Mondays, Thursdays, and weekends. But not Saturday mornings, she has her weekend ritual of running and getting her nails done. Next column Lisa, shes good for games, especially loves going to the stadium and eating hotdogs and drinking beer. But won't touch either in any other situation. Rachael likes sushi and sleeping in on Saturdays. Now you have to cross-reference Jennifer and Rachael, “cause it's your balls if you get them mixed up.”

“You keep track of your dates on a spreadsheet?” David was staring at me with an expression of confusion and concern. “No. Yes, in my head. Dating multiple women at one time is an art of coordination and memory. And I just do not have it in me to deal with that right now. I need to focus on one woman at a time."

He cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head. “At least you're dating. This isn't serious, is itz I mean you were asking for advice on wooing this woman, and now you're dating her exclusively...

“Il wouldn't say exclusively. I'm just not in the mood to date more than one at a time.”

We started walking back toward the sales office. David turned and pointed at the different vans we had looked at before continuing.

“So, when do we get to meet her? Why don't you bring her over for dinner? If Shelly knows there is a real woman, maybe she'll ease back on trying to find someone for you.”

I shrugged. What was it wiith these women in my life like my sister-in-law and Karen? The ones in healthy stable relationship that wanted to set me up. Even Mrs. Cranbrook, one of my patients that I only see once a year, kept trying to set me up with one of her daughters.

I was doing fine all by myself. I didn't need anyone setting me up. Maybe they couldn't stand the thought of an eligible straight man not being in some kind of hurry to get married. And frankly, I wasn't interested in being anyone's second husband. Most of the women Shelly and Karen tried to introduce me to were always freshly divorced.

I had dated a few of them. The ones that were in their rebound phase and out to have a good time, they were fun. They didn't want anything serious. The ones who were looking for their next husband to take care of them, I wasn't into that. I didn't really care either way if they came with kids or not. I wasn't dating their kids, and I never intended on being around long enough to meet them.

I'shook my head. “Yeah, I don't know about that.”

Now, Brooke was all the fun and no interest in a commitment. And she was younger.

No, I wouldn't be introducing her to my brother anytime soon, if ever.

“Why not?”

“To quote a cliché, it's complicated” I said with a little chuckle.

It was very complicated. I was banging the sexy daughter of my friend and colleague. A move that was stunningly moronic, ir that I could very well be jeopardizing a long-term friendship. But Brooke was worth the risk.

Warm air rushed over us as we stepped into the showroom.

“Did you find anything you liked?”

“I'd like to take a few out for a test drive.”

I laughed to myself. Shopping for a car seemed a lot like dating. You tried to get to know each other before you decided if you wanted to commit. I had longer relationships with my cars than I did with women, and I upgraded and traded in my cars every four to five years. I also didn’t buy used. I knew what I wanted, and I was willing to pay for it.

I shook my head. Women were nothing like cars. Cars were easier.