“Yes.” Brady’s ruddy cheeks flush scarlet behind his thick beard. “I’d like to take you on a date, Piper.”
“Oh.” Alarm bells clang in my head as I meet his hooded, Jack Daniel's eyes. “That’s really sweet, but—”
“You already have a boyfriend.” Disappointment flickers across his face and he throws those massive hands up in self-defense. “I should’ve known. It was stupid of me to think a gorgeous woman like you would be single.”
Gorgeous?Did he just call me gorgeous?
So not the point, Piper.
Right.
“It’s not that,” I say, trying to soften the blow. “It’s just that I don’t date.”
It’s too risky with my X-rated side hustle. If the College of Education—or worse, a prospective employer—found out I was camming, I’d lose everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve.
Public schools are liberal, but they’re notthatliberal.
So, yeah, even though Brady Vaughn seems like the perfect man—an assessment my ovaries wholeheartedly support—dating is a risk I can’t afford to take.
“You don’t date?” Brady echoes, perplexed. “Ever?”
I shrug. “No time. Between work and school, I’m spread pretty thin.”
Facts. The only reason Jenna and I remain tight is because she refused to let me cut her out when I started camming. She didn’t know why I was pulling back from our friendship sophomore year, but with her usual grit and determination, she just kept chipping away at my defenses until I caved.
Still, I’m careful to keep my work secret because I don’t want to put her in an awkward situation.
“How about coffee, then?” Hope shines in his eyes and something in my chest loosens. “No one’s too busy for coffee.”
True, but… If things go well, next time he’ll want to have dinner. Maybe watch a movie. And then what?
And then you’ll have to break it off before he finds out you’re a cam girl.
No, it’s better to not start anything at all. No point wasting my time or his.
“I’m sorry.” I step back and give him a little finger wave as I make my retreat. “You seem like a great guy, but I just can’t.”
I turn on my broken heel and this time, I don’t look back.
The elevator ride up to my apartment is endless and by the time I lock the door behind me, I’m ready to put this entire night into a black hole.
Well, maybe not theentirenight.
Meeting Brady was…refreshing.
Wrong time, wrong place.
It’s the story of my life. With a sigh, I unbuckle my shoes and drop what’s left of them into the kitchen trashcan.
Maybe if we’d met a year from now, things could have been different. But we didn’t and they aren’t, so there’s no point dwelling on what might have been, even if it’s the first time I’ve ever been tempted to break my no dating rule.
I pad down the hall to my bedroom, flipping light switches as I go.
The thing about living alone is, it’s lonely.
Fortunately, I’m no stranger to solitude. My mother wasn’t around much growing up and I learned early that light and sound make great companions, especially when the darkness creeps in.
I pull up my music app, choose a playlist, and drop my phone in the docking station next to the bed. It’s just after eleven. If I crash now, I can get an early start tomorrow, but between my mother’s texts and the tension with Brady, I’m too revved up to sleep.
