Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Clemson

Grace appeared at the foot of my bed. My heart launched from its secure place between my lungs.

“Fuck!” I yelled and clutched my throat. She just scared about five years off my life.

“I called your name twice,” she said with an expression so guilty I instantly felt bad for my reaction. How ridiculous was that? She was the one who just frightened me right out of my skin, yet I was the one apologizing.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Shit, you scared me.” I flopped back down into the pillow pile on my bed.

An enormous smile spread across my face when I remembered my night with Luke.

“I’m guessing that smile has a story behind it? You want some coffee?” she called over her shoulder as she left my room.

Why did she wake me?

“Grace? Why did you wake me? I was finally sleeping well,” I shouted, not ready to leave my little nest.

“Because…” She peeked her head back in through my open door. “It’s almost noon. Don’t you have practice or weight training or something? You always do. I didn’t want you to oversleep.”

She was being a good friend. A good roommate. Little did she know, I texted my coaches this morning and told them I was under the weather and needed a recovery day. I never missed practice. Ever. So they were understanding and told me to listen to my body.

“I called off today.”

She rushed back into my room. “You what? What’s wrong? Why didn’t you say something was wrong?”

“Calm down. Nothing’s wrong. I just needed a day to myself. I’ve been so damn tired lately.”

She relaxed. Marginally.

She sat on the edge of my bed and gave me a long stare. “Really, Clem. What’s up?”

“Seriously, I’m fine. Just wasn’t feeling it today. Buuuuttt…” I dragged the word out a few extra beats to build the anticipation. “Luke spent the night last night.”

“Oh my God! I knew that smile had sex written all over it!”

She clapped her hands, and I chuckled.

“I don’t even have to ask how it was. I think you might actually be glowing.”

There was no hiding the smile on my face.

“So what was it like being with an older man? And aren’t you seeing Brian tonight? Are you going to tell Luke about Brian? And vice-versa?”

I didn’t have time to answer either of those questions.

As I made a cup of tea in our little single-cup brewer, I eyed her suspiciously. “Girl, how much caffeine have you had? I thought we talked about this?”

It was only a partial tease. Caffeine seemed to hit differently with Grace than most other people.

“I haven’t seen you in close to a week! I’m just making up for lost time.”

“Yes, but we spoke on the phone almost every day,” I said and poked her ribs.

She laughed and squirmed out of reach.

I stirred some oat milk creamer into my cup. “Nothing has changed. I’m still confused and worried about how to handle all that. I’m mostly leaning toward not telling them about each other, simply because it’s the easiest way out of the situation I guess.”

“Aren’t you worried that’s going to blow up in your face, though?”

“Not if I’m careful. And really, why should it matter? To either of them. As far as Luke is concerned, Brian is just like a friend. I haven’t felt the need to run through a list of all the people I’m friends with for his approval.”

Her raised brow spoke volumes.

I plowed on anyway. “And as far as Brian is concerned, we never said I couldn’t date in the real world. I’m not planning on getting romantically attached to him.” I shrugged. “It should all be fine.”

That was the best I could come up with after the countless hours I thought about the situation. I thought it was fair.

“So what are you wearing tonight? Have you thought about it?”

I was so glad she’d changed the subject.

I’d finally made peace about both men and about them not knowing about each other. As long as I remained confident in my decision, it would all work out. I had to believe that, or I’d drive myself crazy.

“You’re not going to believe this,” I said, flitting off toward my room without warning.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to show you what was waiting for me last night when I got home,” I shouted from my room.

Walking back into the living room with the box under my arm, I proudly announced, “My first little spoonful of sugar,” and plunked the box down in front of her.

“What is this?”

“Open it. Brian sent it.”

She opened the box and gasped. Digging through the tissue paper, she grabbed the high-end designer pair of jeans. She stood and held them up to her waist, eyeballing them to see if they would fit her.

Of course, the inseam was way too long for her, but I tried them on last night, and they fit perfectly. In fact, I never wore such a lovely pair of jeans in my life.

Grace searched the waistband for the maker’s label and froze. Then she shot her eyes to me. “Do you know how much these go for, girl? This is fucking crazy…” She dug back into the package to find the top he also sent.

It was a beautiful, deep-red sleeveless number, and I was in love with it. The color looked incredible with the tan I had going and made my blond hair pop.

“This is gorgeous, Clemson. Well, I guess you know what you’re wearing.”

“That sure made it easy, didn’t it?”

Last night, when I opened the box, I went through a whole series of emotions. I was giddy at first because come on . What girl doesn’t love getting gifts? Then I felt suspicious. Would he expect something in return for the present? Was it going to be a tit-for-tat type of thing? That answer I would have to find out over time.

But then I felt bad, and my emotions took me by surprise. When I let the insecurity monster that lived deep inside me out of its cage, I had a million questions. Did he not like the dress I wore on our first date? Was it not up to his standards? Was he quietly embarrassed to be seen with me and how he’d dressed me?

After a few minutes of letting that yuckiness run through my field of happiness, I shut it down. I reminded myself of the specific nature of our arrangement. He told me in very plain language that he liked giving a woman gifts. It made him happy to do so.

He was also very well aware that I was in a financial bind or would never have gotten into the whole sugar-dating world in the first place. It wasn’t wrong for him to simply do something nice for me.

“I can’t wait to see you in this outfit. Girl, you’re going to slay tonight. That poor man isn’t going to know what hit him.”

Grace became my personal glam squad. She fussed with my hair until every strand was exactly where she imagined it should be. She applied make-up with a careful hand, using at least three times the products I normally did, and the final result took my breath away when she turned me toward the mirror. I was a polished, dewy, glowing version of myself I’d never seen before.

“Holy shit,” I muttered and leaned in to take a closer look. “You’re a magician, Grace.”

She shook her head but beamed with pride. “You are the easiest canvas to bring to life, my friend. But I have to say, I did a damn good job here.”

I gave her a little squeeze, careful not to disrupt anything she’d just worked so hard on.

Brian sent a car to pick me up for our date. I was hesitant to accept the offer at first because Solei had advised me not to share my home address with anyone. Especially at first. But I liked the idea of being picked up, and technically I didn’t give him my address. I gave it to his assistant via an email exchange.

I had a feeling that if we continued seeing each other, I’d be getting to know the woman that made his arrangements as well as I’d get to know him. It wasn’t like he didn’t warn me going in, though, and honestly, it didn’t bother me. It kept the whole situation in perspective. It felt less like a romantic date and more like a business arrangement, and for that, I was grateful.

My handsome date was waiting for me outside the comedy club. He wore dark denim jeans and a button-down shirt with two buttons open at the collar.

The night was a bit cooler than it had been most of the week, and despite the nicer weather, I was a bit overheated because of my heightened anxiety. It all evaporated when I watched him drink me in. His mouth nearly hung open as he raked my body from head to toe.

I think he approves!

After a warm hug and soft kiss on the cheek, he stood back and checked me out again. “You look incredible. I’m speechless, really.”

“Thank you,” I said softly and smiled. I reminded myself to own the effect I was having on the man instead of shy away from it.

“Shall we?” he asked and motioned toward the door.

The night was a complete ten. We had great conversation while sipping fancy cocktails before the show started. The opportunity arose for me to talk about my tuition needs and the urgency that predicament had taken on. He listened attentively and nodded while I explained the tuition-extension deadline I’d missed and that I needed cash immediately or I’d have to leave school.

As though it were nothing at all, he said, “I’ll have Lindsay take care of it tomorrow.”

I just stared at him. Could it really be that easy? I had lost so much sleep over this and had worried myself nearly physically sick at several points, and he barely batted an eyelash over depositing the money into my account.

“Darling, listen,” he said when I couldn’t find a single word to say in response to his generosity.

His calling me darling like Luke had the night before made me twitch with guilt, but I had to stuff that shit down and stay focused.

“You made your needs very clear at our first meeting,” he continued. “I agreed they were needs I could meet for you. It’s that simple. It would make me happier than you understand to support you in continuing your education. I value an education over almost anything else, and I don’t want you to miss your window. I’ll take care of it, okay?” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Thank you, Brian. You have no idea how grateful I am.”

He smiled. It wasn’t a lecherous grin like he was thinking of ways I could pay him back but a genuine smile of contentedness. Like he was truly happy to be helping me out of a bind.

“Now let’s enjoy the show, shall we?” He pulled me closer on the padded seat and slung his arm across my shoulders.

We sat that way through the entire show, and I enjoyed the closeness. He smelled divine and was so confident and strong without exerting any effort. It was like his natural state was assured and steadfast. I found a sense of calm while next to him I didn’t usually find on my own.

How had this man not been taken by a legitimately interested woman?

After the show, we strolled into a little diner we found as we walked along the street the comedy club was on. After a cup of coffee for him, a vanilla milkshake for me, and another hour of incredibly diverse conversation, it was time to say goodnight. Brian gave me a slow, sensual kiss right in the middle of the sidewalk while my ride sat patiently waiting to take me home.

From the back seat, I watched him stroll down the street, alone, until the driver made the turn to get to the freeway onramp and I could no longer see him.

With a heavy sigh but a content smile, I sat back and enjoyed the quiet ride home.