“Do you think I should do it?” I ask, looking up at Nathan.
He shrugs. “I mean, I’d think it’d be easy money. But I also know that stuff is hard for you, and I don’t want you to do something you’re uncomfortable with. Plus, you have no idea what he’d expect from you when no one else is looking.”
“He said anything we did would be my choice.” The words taste strange. For so long, things with guys haven’t been my choice. And here this gorgeous and rich guy is inviting me to do something like this, and I’m hesitating. What the fuck is wrongwith me? The money Dalton’s offering me would keep us afloat for weeks until I found another job. Maybe one that doesn’t involve me taking my clothes off for money.
“Look, if you’re scared of doing it, then don’t. You don’t owe that guy anything. But if it’s just uncertainty because it’s so out there, maybe you should think on it. If you didn’t have me, this is the kind of thing normal guys your age would get into.”
“I don’t think normal twenty-one-year-old guys get offered twenty grand to pretend to be someone’s boyfriend on the regular.”
Nathan laughs, and it makes me smile. “Maybe not to such an extent, but it’s normal for a guy to want to go out on dates and hook up. So if you want to, then you should. Just keep the GPS turned on in your phone so I can find you.”
“I don’t know . . . What about you? It’s a week, Nathan. And it’s Christmas.”
“I’m not sure if you missed it, but I did turn eighteen earlier this month. I’m fully capable of taking care of myself. And Kayla asked me to go to her place for Christmas, so it’d be fine.” He falls silent for a while, the only sound in the small space is my knife against the cutting board. Then he says so quietly that I almost miss it, “And I don’t want you working at Vinnie’s anymore. So take the money this guy’s offering.”
I jerk my head up to look at him so quickly that my hand slips and I slice the tip of my thumb along with the potato. “Fuck!”
I leave the knife on the counter and turn for the sink to rinse the cut. I’m almost thankful for it. This conversation will be easier if I’m not looking at Nathan. “How long have you known?”
“A few months. I went by the restaurant to see you, and they told me you didn’t work there. So I waited across the street and saw you coming out of Vinnie’s. I know you weren’t there to watch, so I put two and two together.”
My face burns as I watch the water turning pink with the blood oozing from my thumb. I never wanted Nathan to know I did that. Of course I know he’s not judging me, but I never wanted him to know that stripping is the only job I could get because it’s all I’m worth.
“Sam.” Nathan appears at my side with a cloth and turns the faucet off. He wraps my thumb in the cloth and applies a little pressure. “It’s okay. I know you took that job so we wouldn’t lose the apartment, but it’s not safe. You got fired today because someone tried to hurt you. There’s nothing wrong with taking what Dalton offered if it keeps you out of that world.”
“I just don’t know if it’s the right thing to do.”
“If you weren’t supposed to do it, you wouldn’t be hesitating this much,” Nathan replies, reaching into the cupboard above the sink to pull down a box of band-aids. “All I’m saying is to think about it. Because I really don’t want you going back to a place like Vinnie’s. I’d leave school before I let you work somewhere like that again.”
“You’ll do no such thing.” I dropped out of high school to support Nathan, to make sure he could do everything he needed. He’s in the middle of his second year of college courses while in his senior year of high school. He’s going to be valedictorian. I’d rather work at Vinnie’s for the rest of my life than watch Nathan throw that away.
“I’m just saying that it’s not right. I’m old enough now to help. If you don’t have a job, I should get one.”
“So if I take Dalton’s offer, and we have a cushion for a while, you’ll stay in school?”
“Yes.” He says it so decisively, and I realize he’s not fucking around. He’d drop out of school today if he thought it was necessary. Because he’s too much like me. For so long, all we’ve had is each other. I’d die for him, and I know he’d do the same for me.
“Okay,” I hear myself say. “I’ll text Dalton.”
Five
Dalton
I head to the address Sam gave me early in the morning on Saturday. It’s only a two-hour drive from Haversham City to my hometown of Huntsville, but I drive slow. I didn’t used to. Not until my older brother Colt died in a drunk driving accident on his way to pick me up from a party I wasn’t supposed to be at. I’d rather walk everywhere, but that’s not feasible when I’m out of the city.
The door to the apartment building opens, and Sam steps outside. It’s snowing a little, but Sam’s not wearing the coat I loaned him. It’s over his arm, like he’s just waiting to give it back to me.
When he opens the passenger side door to my car, I realize I’m right.
“Thank you for loaning this to me,” he says, laying it carefully in the backseat. Fuck, I love the sound of his voice. It’s soft and lilting, and I love the way his mouth forms words.
I shift as best I can in my seat without drawing attention to the way my body reacts to his presence. “You should still be wearing it. It’s snowing.”
“I’m fine.” He drops a duffel bag in the floor of the backseat before tugging his seatbelt on. “How far are we driving?”
“Just a couple hours. You ever been to Huntsville?”
“I’ve never been out of Haversham. I haven’t had the time.” There’s a note of sadness in his voice, but it doesn’t linger. “Tell me about your family. I want to know as much as I can before we meet them.”
