I thought that would be an easy one.
After she declined my request, I spent the day aimlessly working on future updates for the app and working around the house when I ran out of idea. I had a lot of code stored in my laptop and making modifications to the app was pretty easy since I was mirroring apps my company created in the past, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her. I just wanted to keep the game going and learn more about her. Once the afternoon rolled around, I was tired of working around the house, and I had several updates set up for the app. I also wanted to know why Chloe rejected my proposal—a proposal that should have been quite easy. I tapped a new challenge into the app and waited.
Tell me why you turned down my last request: -5
Decline: +5
It was a fair offer, so I was pleased when Chloe accepted. The app flipped over to the chat box, and she typed out a message.
Chloe: I turned it down because you sent it when I was about to walk into work. I only had a short break between the breakfast and lunch rush.
Corbin: Ah, you must work in a restaurant. Okay. I’ll time the next one better.
Chloe: Thank you.
I stared at my phone for several minutes and then threw out another challenge—one that would benefit us both.
Set a schedule for working off your debt: +5
Decline: -5
The ten second countdown clock started, and before it hit five, she accepted—which reset her total back to 500. The chat box opened immediately.
Chloe: I think you messed that up. Declining is supposed to add to the debt, not subtract from it.
Corbin: We never made that rule.
Chloe: Fine. I get to set a schedule now?
Corbin: That is the agreement but make it reasonable.
Chloe: I get off work at four o’clock every day unless I pick up another shift.
Corbin: What about the weekends?
Chloe: I pick up shifts when I can.
Corbin: Maybe you should avoid picking up shifts until you pay off this debt.
Chloe: I need the money.
Corbin: You’ll just have to find a way to work around it then. I won’t bother you before four o’clock during the week, but the weekends are fair game.
Chloe: Give me time to get home at least. How about six?
Corbin: Deal.
Chloe: I can’t do Saturday and Sunday, but I rarely pick up shifts on Sunday. Today was an exception.
Corbin: Okay. Then Sundays are fair game.
Chloe: That’ s acceptable.
Corbin: And after six on Saturdays.
Chloe: I might pick up a shift on Saturday night!
Corbin: Another thing you’ll have to work around.
Chloe: Ugh! Okay.
I would have preferred to have her at my disposal anytime that I wanted to offer a new debt challenge, but the terms were acceptable enough for me not to have to worry about her declining one of them because she was working. I watched the clock as I returned to the stuff I needed to do around the house, but Chloe stayed on my mind the whole time. When the clock, finally ticked over to six, I had a strange sense of excitement. I poured a glass of whiskey, lit one of the expensive Cuban cigars from my father’s humidor, and sat down in the living room with my cell phone in my hand. I was going to give her an opportunity to make real progress on her debt before it was time for bed—if she was willing to play my game. I quickly tapped out the first one and stared at the screen for a moment before I sent it.
Name your favorite comedy: -25
Decline: +25
The screen blinked once the countdown started but it only took her a couple of seconds to accept it, which took her total down to 475.
Chloe: Idiocracy
Corbin: Never seen it.
Chloe: Really?
Corbin: I don’t really watch movies. I prefer books.
Chloe: I like books too, but movies are an escape when you don’t want to think.
Corbin: I suppose.
I stared at the screen for a couple of seconds and then flipped back to the app to lay out another challenge.
Make me watch Idiocracy: -25
Watch Idiocracy with me: -50
Chloe let the countdown tick—and I got a little nervous when it hit nine—but then she hit the option I was hoping for, which decreased her debt to 425.
Chloe: When?
Corbin: Tomorrow.
Chloe: Okay. I guess I have to work off this debt somehow. Where do you want to watch it?
Corbin: My place. You know where I live.
Chloe: Yes, I remember.
It was officially a date—I considered it to be one at least. I wanted to spend some time with her when she wasn’t just sitting in my living room, wrapped in a towel, and afraid of what was going to happen. I wanted to know if the spark—the flicker—if it was real or just my imagination. Without the element of danger, I would be able to tell if she really was a gorgeous girl begging to submit or if I read the situation the wrong way because I held all of the power. I could figure out which direction to go with the debt challenges after that. I wasn’t sure if I was actually capable of falling for someone. The game was fun, but it was the allure of control that I was clinging to more than anything else. I was too dominant and possessive for most women. My needs clung to the darker side of passion. I watched several relationships blow up in my face because I was too intense for the woman that thought she wanted to share my bed.
I can’t ignore the attraction I have for Chloe or deny what I felt—tomorrow, I’ll find out if it was real or just an illusion.
* * *
The next day
I didn’t touch the app during the day. There really wasn’t a point. The rules we set gave her immunity until six o’clock, and I was pretty sure she would be at my house by then. I spent the early part of the day straightening up, made arrangements to have dinner delivered, and got signed up for a movie streaming service so I could purchase Idiocracy. The synopsis of the movie wasn’t that interesting, so I watched the trailer, and thought it had potential. Based on what I could tell, it was a movie about mankind falling apart because our culture and politics. It might have been wrapped in a comedic shell, but it certainly sounded plausible—scary even. If nothing else, it would open up some conversation once it was over and I would learn a little more about the beautiful brunette goddess.
It’s almost time—and I hear a car.
“Your ankle seems to have improved quite a bit.” I opened the front door and watched as Chloe walked up the steps.
“Yes, it’s still sore, but it has improved a lot.” She nodded and paused when she got to the door.
“Please, come inside.” I took a step back and motioned with my hand. “Dinner will be delivered shortly—we can eat while we watch the movie if you want. Are you hungry?”
“Yes.” Her eyebrows shot up, and she nodded quickly. “I had lunch at the restaurant, but it was pretty light.”
“Good.” I smiled and followed her into the living room.
She’s just as beautiful as I remember—that part was no illusion.
“Is this how I’m going to work off my debt?” She looked over at me once we were seated on opposite sides of the couch. “Watching movies?”
“I don’t know yet.” I shrugged and chuckled under my breath. “I wasn’t even sure if you would come.”
“I thought about declining it, but fifty points is a lot—and I rarely turn down a chance to watch my favorite movie.” She tilted her head and smiled.
“It seemed like a fair price to me.” I leaned back against the couch. “Did everything work out with your friend once I called the police?”
“I don’t know if it worked out, but she didn’t spend the night in jail. Her parents were pissed—obviously.” Chloe shrugged.
“At least one of you got punished.” I looked towards the door. “I think our food is here.”
I made it to the door before the delivery driver and took the food from him. My tip
was generous, especially since it arrived right on time. I wasn’t sure what kind of stuff Chloe would like, so I got a salad and a cheeseburger for her—she opted for the burger. It wasn’t the most extravagant meal in the world, but she seemed to be okay with it. I started the movie once we had our food in front of us and found it to be fairly humorous. Chloe laughed several times—that laughter was like music to my ears. We made several jokes throughout—I pointed out parts that were unbelievable while she tried to explain how it could actually happen. There were a few parts that made me chuckle, but the movie was too crude for my tastes. I preferred movies that had quite a bit of substance—like the books I normally read. The movie had enough of a plot to keep my interest at least, which was rare with movies designed to make people laugh at sex jokes and random nonsense.
“You didn’t like it did you?” Chloe turned to me once the credits rolled.
“I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, but you enjoyed it—that’s good enough for me.” I shifted my weight on the couch and reached for my drink.
“Easiest fifty bucks I ever made—or paid off.” She shrugged. “I assume that’s what the points are, right—dollars?”
“Not exactly.” I shook my head back and forth. “It’s just currency for the debt.”
“Well, either way—my time is up.” She leaned forward. “I guess I should be going.”
“Already?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Fifty points in exchange for the movie.” She nodded. “That’s it.”
“Okay.” I reached for my phone and quickly typed out a new challenge in the app.
Stay another hour: -10
Stay another two hours: -25
“There’s no option to decline.” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m not the kind of girl you can rent by the hour.”
“You have ten seconds, or the app will automatically pick one for you.” I motioned to her phone.
“Fine…” She hit the button to stay another hour, and the debt reduced to 415. “Don’t do that again—otherwise I’m going to delete this app.”
“You would just skip out on your debt?” I scoffed.
“I’ll do anything that’s reasonable, but you need to give me an option to decline—and buying my time by the hour doesn’t work for me.” I saw a hint of anger in her eyes, and her tone reflected it.
“Okay.” I nodded. “I’m sorry—you can leave if you want. I’ll just consider this a ten point lesson.”
“No.” She shook her head back and forth. “I’ve already accepted it. What are we going to do for the next hour?”
There’s a lot I would like to do—with those soft pouty lips—with those gorgeous curves…
“Let’s just talk.” I settled back into my spot on the couch and reached for my drink.
“As long as you don’t plan on interrogating me—answers cost points.” She narrowed her eyes and smiled.
She’s certainly not going to make this easy—but I like a woman with a bit of a defiant edge.
“I’ll let you ask the questions.” I motioned to her. “Is that acceptable?”
“I guess that would be okay.” She nodded. “Okay, first question—why are you doing this?”
“Doing this?” I tilted my head inquisitively.
“The app—this game you’re playing with me.” She motioned to her cell phone. “You did me a favor, and I’m obviously in your debt, but this is quite elaborate.”
“Not for me.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’ve been designing apps since college. It was easy to piece together a few of them and build this one.”
“That still doesn’t explain why.” She narrowed her eyes.
“Maybe I’m bored.” I shrugged. “I sold my company and retired earlier this year. Now I’m stuck in Los Angeles dealing with my father’s estate—the only interesting thing that’s happened since I got here was finding a beautiful woman skinny dipping in my pool.”
“There were two of us…” She smirked.
“Your friend was pretty, but I wouldn’t call her beautiful.” I lifted my drink and took a sip.
“I bet you wouldn’t even notice me on the street.” She looked down at the couch.
“You’re wrong.” I shook my head back and forth.
“We may have met under some unusual circumstances, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re beautiful.” I shrugged.
“Okay, next question.” Chloe had a slight blush adorning her cheeks as she tried to change the subject. “How long are you planning to stay in Los Angeles?”
“Why?” I leaned back and chuckled. “Are you trying to find out what the expiration date is on your debt?”
“Of course.” She nodded quickly. “No reason to hide that…”
“It’s undetermined.” I shrugged. “The house is under contract to a buyer, and I have to get everything moved out—the family that is buying it wants to move in before their daughter starts college in the Fall.”
“So, a few months…” She raised her eyebrows.
“Maybe.” I nodded. “I’ll go back to Chicago eventually. My mom lives there, and she’s the only real family I have.”
“I know you mentioned that you weren’t close with your father…” She sighed. “I don’t know really know mine either.”
“I spent four years here in Los Angeles while I was in college—literally across town from him.” I lifted my drink and took a sip. “I reached out once, and he didn’t even return my damn call.”
“Wow!” Chloe blinked in surprise. “Yet he left you his house?”
“I haven’t figured that one out either,” I sighed. “He never changed his will after he remarried. My half-siblings were ready to go to war in the courtroom when they found out, but I offered to split everything with them, so they backed off—now I’m here.”
“Why bother? You didn’t know him.” Chloe reached for her water and took a sip.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “I thought about trying to sign over the estate to one of my half-siblings, but there was a part of me that was curious about him—I doubt I’ll find any answers in this house, but I wasn’t doing anything productive in Chicago…”
It was the truth. I hated to admit I was curious about the man who abandoned his family when he decided some cocktail waitress with silicone tits was more interesting than this wife, but I couldn’t shake it. His infidelity was part of the reason why I was so scared of falling in love. I buried myself in my work and that kept me busy, but once I retired at thirty-two, I found myself wondering if there was more to life than making money. I told Chloe all of that as we continued talking, and the hour went by in what felt like an instant—but we kept talking for a little longer than the time I got when she clicked the accept button the app.
“My hour is up.” Chloe looked at her phone.
“Your hour has been up for fifteen minutes,” I chuckled under my breath.
“Yeah.” She sighed and drained the rest of her water. “It’s time for me to go—I have to be up early tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I nodded and started to stand. “I’ll walk you out—I’d hate for you to stumble on your bad ankle.”
“I think it’s fine now.” She stood and tried to hide the grimace.
I opened up to her more in one hour than I’ve ever opened up to anyone—maybe I’m not in control after all.
Chapter Seven
Chloe
My night with Corbin left me feeling a little flustered—in a good way. I was used to guys always looking right past me. Sometimes they were looking at Daniella—sometimes they were looking at someone that I would actually call beautiful. I never considered myself worthy of a compliment like that. Maybe it was because I spent my high school years obsessing over Jeff with rose-colored goggles. He was the only guy I ever wanted to notice me. I let one guy distract me from him for a brief time during my junior year, and he was my first kiss, but it just felt wrong because I wanted it to be Jeff. I was his fool, and he hardly knew I existed. Cor
bin was different. When I was with him, I felt like I was the only person that mattered—and despite the age difference, I couldn’t help wondering if the most unusual way of meeting a guy could turn into something I never expected.
He’s hot—he’s obviously interested—and I may be interested too.
I had a smile on my face when I got back to my apartment—a smile that was left behind from spending the evening with Corbin. There was just something about him. I got dressed for bed, and when I slid under the covers, I reached for my cell phone. My total was flashing on the app—415. I had managed to shave a lot of points off the debt in one day. I clicked on a few of the new icons that had been added. One of them was a history that detailed all of the challenges and my choices. The next one I clicked requested access to my camera. Corbin must have been logged into the app too, because the second I clicked it, I got a pop up that a new challenge had been added.
Send me a picture: -15
Decline: +25
“Damn it. I’m already in bed…” I groaned and stared at the screen as the countdown started.
I accepted the request, and it immediately flipped over to the part of the app that could access my camera—and another countdown started with ten seconds. Panic shot through my veins. I wasn’t ready to take a picture. I sat up in bed, flipped on my lamp, and pulled the ponytail out of my hair. I managed something that looked halfway presentable when the timer counted to the last second and snapped the picture. There was no option to delete it or take another one—it simply loaded the picture that had been taken into the app and flipped over to the chat box.
Corbin: Beautiful.
Chloe: You need to give me a warning when you’re going to add new features! I wasn’t ready to take a picture!
Corbin: That takes the fun out of it.
Chloe: Your fun is going to come to an end soon. I’m down to 400 points—at this rate I’ll have the entire debt worked off before the week is over.
Indebted To A Daddy: Once Upon A Daddy Page 5
