Chapter Four

Candy

The walk back to the shelter was absolutely miserable. My shoes were soaked through, and by the time I got back to my bed, I couldn’t feel my toes. Thankfully, I was able to cut through side streets and empty yards, so the walk wasn’t as long as I initially anticipated it being.

I had wanted to process my feelings, but the bitter cold and increasingly fluffier snow shifted my focus to getting back to the shelter. Now, sitting on my bed, I wonder if I overreacted. I like to think that I’m a pretty level-headed person, but tonight was a roller coaster.

Since becoming homeless, people have looked at me differently. It’s like they believe that I’m less-than because I’ve fallen onto hard times. I’m treated like trash, accused of taking advantage of programs that are meant to help me. I’ve been called a thief more times than I can count.

It’s hard to keep my head up. I’m doing everything I can to get myself back on my feet, but I rarely get any sort of recognition for it. That’s why I was so excited about being picked as a volunteer. Tons of people living here wanted to help at the gala, but only five of us were selected. It meant a night of good food, music, and rubbing elbows with people who can help us out. We were there to make a tangible difference.

And I was making a difference! One of our potential benefactors was moved by my work ethic. She wrote a check to the shelter right there and handed it off to me. Then, as soon as she turned away, the security guards were taking it away and carrying me out of the building.

I’ve never been more humiliated in my life.

Then, Ethan came along and made me feel special. He cared about me in a way that no one else has before. I even started to fantasize about the kind of life the two of us could lead together. But when he brought up me being escorted out, the little bubble I created in my head popped, and reality came crashing down around me.

“Stupid,” I whisper to myself as I curl up beneath my blankets. “So stupid.”

The sound of my roommate shifting around on her bed reminds me that I need to be quiet. I don’t get the luxury of privacy here. I’m not complaining, though. The fact that I have a bed is luxury enough for me.

I take some long, steadying breaths. As my body continues to warm up, the exhaustion of the day catches up with me. Before I know it, I’m drifting off to sleep.

Sleep doesn’t stick around. Not even 20 minutes later, I’m stirring from the loud sounds of the shelter. The commotion is even more intense than it usually is at this time of night. Then, before I can get my bearings, my roommate is shaking my shoulder.

“Candy!” she exclaims, sounding way too happy for someone who was passed out only a few minutes ago. “Candy, wake up! That billionaire’s here to see you!”

“Huh?” I say, scrubbing a hand over my face as I force myself into an upright position. “What do you mean?”

“Ethan Frost,” she says, taking a step back as I slowly get my bearings. “He’s here. At the front desk. He said he wants to see you.”

My stomach drops. I have no idea why he’d be here. Is it because he really thought I was stealing? Or maybe it’s because he wants to let me down easy in person. No, why wouldn’t he just leave me alone?

“Did he say why?” I say, proud of myself for how steady I manage to keep my voice.

“Well, no…” my roommate says, looking away with a shy smile on her face. “But I didn’t see him. I just heard that he was here and looking for you when I went out to see what the noise was about, so I came to wake you up.”

“Oh,” I mutter, swinging my legs off the side of the bed. “I guess I’ll go see what he wants, then.”

“Don’t you want to change?” she asks.

“What do you mean?” I ask, looking down at my pajamas. “Okay, maybe you have a point.”

“You should wear that green dress you have,” she helpfully as she walks toward the door. “It reminds me of a Christmas tree.”

I give her a smile, waiting until she’s out of the room to get changed. When I pull out the dress, I hesitate. Ethan said that he didn’t like Christmas, so maybe it’s best if I change into something that won’t conjure those images. Then, I decide that it doesn’t matter if I remind him of that. He already knows I love the holiday, and we’re so close to it that I refuse to hide my enjoyment of it for him.

Dressed and somewhat more presentable, I head down to the front desk. As I pass the other residents, I can hear their excited whispers about Ethan. I try not to get excited, but I can’t help it. If they’re talking like that, then maybe the reason he’s here is positive.

When I see him, my mood shrinks a little. He’s clearly uncomfortable, his gaze darting around the walls. I’m suddenly very aware of each and every crack and chip in the paint. This place is so different than that huge mansion that he lives in.

I pause, embarrassed by my situation. I’m about to turn tail and run back to my room, but then his eyes find me. In a flash, his expression morphs from discomfort to elation. It happens so quickly that I nearly get whiplash.

“Candy,” he says warmly, walking up to me like he owns the place – he probably could if he wanted to. “I’m glad you’re safe. You left so quickly tonight.”

“Yeah,” I agree, feeling my face heat up. Was he worried? About me? That can’t be right. Although, he did put on a gala for this place’s benefit. Maybe it’s just a general worry for a homeless person.

“Is there somewhere that we could talk privately?” he asks after a moment, glancing between me and the staff member working at the front desk. “It’s a little… busy here.”

“The meeting room is open,” Drake, the part-time staff member, offers. “You two could go in there!”

“Sounds good to me,” Ethan says, his eyes landing on me again. “Care to take me there?”

“Sure,” I say, my brain still not registering this situation.

I motion for him to follow me, and start leading him through the lobby. My face burns hot with the knowledge that he’s taking in the surroundings that I live in. I’m not normally embarrassed about my situation, but I’ve seen the way that he lives. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that he’s judging this, even if his heart is in the right place.

“Quite the place you have here,” he says, glancing around the sparsely decorated room. I have to squash down the urge to defend the scrawny Christmas tree sitting in the corner. “You like living here?”

“I do,” I say, bristling a little as he leads me to one of the chairs around the long table. “Why?”

“I’m just making conversation,” he replies as he settles in next to me, pulling his chair close enough to me that our knees touch. I can’t help the rush that I feel at the bit of contact, like an electroshock between us. “I really like you, Candy. That’s why I came to find you.”

“Oh,” I breathe, looking down at where he’s threading our hands together, his massive hand engulfing mine. He really is the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, age difference be damned. I can’t believe someone as gorgeous and powerful as him is interested in me .

“I like you, too,” I reply a bit sheepishly. His directness is relieving, it shows me that our encounter last night meant something to him.

“I thought so,” he replies, his touch red-hot as he rubs comforting circles into my hands. “I can take you away from here. I want to. I’m going to.”

“You– you don’t have to do that. I can take care of myself,” I say, a little annoyed with the presumption that I need saving.

“I know you can,” he replies, pulling me even closer. Our mouths are less than an inch apart. It would be so easy for him to close the distance between us. “But I want to show you how you should be treated. I’m going to treat you like the angel you are. You’ll never want for anything again, Candy.”

“I’d like that,” I whisper, feeling drunk on his words. I almost don’t register that I’m speaking, agreeing with him.

“Good,” Ethan agrees before closing the gap between the two of us.

I gasp into the kiss. It’s full of promise – searing and insistent. Keeping up with him is difficult, but I do my best. I need him to know that I’m with him, that I’ll follow him wherever he wants me to go.

I wonder what it is about him that makes me feel so safe. I guess some of it might be his money, but I have no illusions about how easy it is for wealth to be taken away. I trust him in a way that I never thought I’d trust another person.

Growing up, I learned not to rely on anyone. My parents were too absorbed in their addictions to ever give me the attention I needed, the things every child deserved.

If I needed money, I had to get it for myself – even when I wasn’t old enough to get a job, I would find ways to get the cash for field trips. It wasn’t just money I had to figure out for myself. I learned to cook and clean when my parents didn’t want to help me. I learned to rely on myself for emotional matters, too.

The neglect that I experienced growing up is the reason I want to give back to the shelter. I want to be the person that I needed when I was struggling. Having someone be that for me has never registered as an option.

Ethan makes me reevaluate that opinion. I believe him when he says he’s going to take me away from here, that he’ll take care of me. It’s such a foreign sensation, but I want so badly to get used to it.

I kiss him back with everything I have. I use my mouth to tell him that I want all he’s offering. Our tongues touch and I can’t hold back the whine that escapes me. He yanks me into his lap so I’m straddling him.

It’s like he understands what I’m saying without words. The trust I’m putting in him is heavy, and he shoulders the burden easily and eagerly. And, when his hands start to slip beneath my dress, I don’t stop him to tell him that we could be walked in on, that the door to this meeting room doesn’t lock.

But I don’t care. Let people see how much this man adores me and how much I adore him in return.