“No thanks needed. You’re my droid momma, and I aim to take care of you.”
Her forehead skews. “You don’t actually think we’re going to be a couple, do you? Because if that’s why you’re helping me, you shouldn’t.”
“Samantha, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about you day in and day out, wanting desperately to be by your side, but that doesn’t mean I’ll withhold support to get what I want.”
“We can’t build a life together because of a baby,” she reasons.
“Maybe that’s the best reason to build a life together.”
“Don’t you think people should like each other first?”
I chuckle. “Samantha, I more than liked you before I found out about the baby. After we hooked up that night, you were all I thought about, and when you finally revealed yourself, telling me your secret, I guess I just figured it was fate.”
She stares back at me, unblinking, like she’s trying to figure out if I’m serious.
“Of course I can understand why you’d be hesitant, seeing as how I’m a stripper. Luckily, I do damn well in poker tournaments and could take on other work. I just need to save a little first, to smooth out the transition.”
“You can’t be real…” she says, her voice trailing off.
I feel the weight of her judgment in the very depth of my soul, and for the first time since I found out she was pregnant, I realize how inadequate I am to her.
“Never mind. Let’s get you settled into a hotel.”
She reaches over and taps the table to get my attention, then she points to herself. “Eyes up here.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I know for a fact it’s one-hundred percent wrong. There are times I am furious with you, that I want to hate you, that I think life didn’t leave me lemons, it left me shit—but then I speak with you, and I get even more mad.”
“Is this supposed to be some kind of motivational speech?” I snap out.
“I get mad because you make me believe there is good in people. That not everyone is a self-involved asshole, and I’m terrified, because, for so long, I only had myself. I’m well aware people call me Satan, but I wasn’t born like this. I was made.”
It breaks my heart knowing that someone hurt Samantha, but maybe this is how I find my way into her heart.
“I will never give you a reason to mistrust me.”
She snorts. “You know what—I believe you, and that’s fucking scary as hell.”
“So, are we doing this? Are we a thing?” I ask, hoping she’ll let down her walls.
She shrugs. “I don’t think now’s the right time to answer that question. We need to get to know each other first, and that can’t be done over the phone.”
“I’m currently under contract with the Hunks, and I can’t break it now. Plus, I’m trying to save as much as possible for when little droid gets here.”
She nods. “I guess we could continue to get to know each other from a distance, and maybe when little droid comes, you could take some time off?”
“There is another option we could explore,” I offer, knowing she won’t react well to what I say next. “You could stay on the bus. There are a few bunks free, and I believe Carl will be understanding of the predicament.”
Her brow jumps up her forehead. “You want me to live with you on the bus?”
“Just until you go back home or find a more permanent place to stay. I have been looking at RVs, but that’ll take a month or two to secure.”
“When did you decide to go ahead with the RV?”
“When I realized the Hunks would throw a fit if they were forced to bunk with a baby. Besides, I need a safe place for them when they’re with me, and it’ll do.”
She bursts into giggles, which makes my heart feel light. I need to make her smile more, and give her endless reasons to laugh.
