“But what if he’s the best thing that’s never happened to you?” Peyton’s voice was soft.
“You know how it goes in this line of work. It was never going to work anyway.” I shrugged as if I wasn’t bothered, but deep inside there was a tiny knot building in my stomach full of disappointment.
“Wait … No, fuck that. What do you mean Jax visited? He came to your fucking place?” Andi mumbled with a mouth full of bacon and eggs.
“I got so busy. Distracted, I guess. The days completely slipped away from me, and I didn’t realize I was late to pay him.”
“Avery, I told you we can try and get help. This isn’t okay. This is extortion. He can’t just come to your home and threaten you.” Her hand reached out for mine, forcing my eyes to look up to hers.
“Yeah, Ave, this isn’t right,” Peyton doubled down, furrowing her eyebrows.
“It’s fine. I promise. I’ll work overtime, and in less than a year, I should have everything paid, and this can all be behind me.” My phone dinged, as if knowing I needed an excuse to tear myself away from this conversation.
“Oh my God.” My jaw dropped.
“What is it?” Peyton asked in a worried tone.
“Is it him?” Andi panicked.
“No. Uh, it’s a job for tonight.”
“Okay, so why does it look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Andi scooted closer to me, taking a glance at my screen.
“It’s a big job. I don’t think I’ve ever had one this big.” My heart pounded as I continued to read through the message. “He’s willing to paytwenty grandfor the night.”
“Holy shit.” Peyton coughed, almost spitting her coffee out.
“Yeah. Fuck. I have to get going. I need to respond to this ASAP, so I don’t lose the opportunity.” Sifting through my wallet for cash, my mind was all over the place—scattered being an understatement.
“Hey, we got this one. Get out of here,” Andi offered me a warm smile.
“Thank you, I owe you one. Both of you.”
Taking a strip of bacon for the road, I hugged both of my best friends and waved to Colton on the way out. I couldn’t help but think about how this job could put me a few weeks ahead of schedule. It definitely wasn’t one I could miss or turn down.
Hopping out of the cab, I rushed back to Ol’ Red, pulled out my laptop, read over the details of my potential client, and immediately responded to his e-mail.
Name: Cameron
Age: 40
Reason for inquiring: Looking for an overnight date tonight. No physical activity required. Private setting. Five-star meal.
Straight to the point.
Twenty grand for an overnight dateandI didn’t have to pretend to be into the guy? What was the catch?
Hitting reply, I shot back a confirmation message.
Hi Cameron,
I’d be happy to meet you tonight. Just let me know what time you’d like me to arrive and when it makes sense in your schedule for me to leave. I see you requested a private setting—please provide me with any details necessary so I can plan accordingly and dress appropriately. My only request is that we meet in a public setting to begin our evening.
Please let me know if you have any other questions,
Sky
Unsure of when he’d be requesting our meet up, the panic set in.
