by Rion, Paige
Callie’s jaw drops and instant fire heats her cheeks. “What? Who was he telling?”
“Just Emmett. I only heard the tail end of the conversation, but once I did, I knew I had to go out with you. I figured this is the best solution. Dean can’t get pissed at me if we don’t work out. After all, you are the one with the business, and I’m just a paying customer. It’s a business transaction. Plain and simple. Plus, I knew this would make it easier to get over my nerves.”
Callie chews the inside of her cheek. Makes sense…but a business transaction? I hate the way that sounds.
What do you expect, Callie?! Whether he has a crush on you or not, this is a business transaction. You’re accompanying men on dates for money. What do you want him to say?
Oh, I don’t know. Something romantic? Anything’s better than that! Isn’t he trying to win me over?
She glances up at him and realizes he’s been staring at her during the little tirade in her head. His dark eyes are intent on her face, and a small smile twists the corners of his mouth.
“What about you? Why are you doing this?” he asks.
A fair question.
“Truth?” He nods and she continues. “I have a pretty large amount of debt I need to pay off, and what makes it ten times harder is I have a bad, and I mean bad, shopping habit. With school and the internship I have, there’s not much time left for another job. I’d be working myself ragged for minimum wage. So Jinny and I were talking about selling my stuff and, I don’t know…I joked that it would be nice if I got paid to date. Then it popped into my head that some people actually do. And what if I did that? I know it’s kind of weird, but I’m in a pretty bad spot. And this is only temporary,” she reassured him.
“Well, I was actually hoping you’d say that. I figured there had to be a major financial reason for it, and I may actually have something that will help you get a jump start on things.” He smiles wide and puts a hand inside his jacket, searching for something.
Callie frowns, and her heart skips in her chest before it races full speed at the sight of the thick white envelope he pulls from his blazer.
“I have a proposition for you. In this envelope is five hundred dollars and a contract. The money is yours, and you’ll get this much each week. All I ask for in return is…you. Whenever I want you. I call, and you come running.”
What? Callie’s eyes widen, and she sucks in a sharp breath.
No, he didn’t. He can’t possibly be serious. Please laugh. Please laugh. Because this is just a joke.
“You mean, you want to pay to date me. Continuously? Exclusively?” she asks, but something tells her that’s not what he means.
Jason chuckles and reaches out to her. He runs a finger down her cheek. “That’s cute. No, I don’t mean to date. And, frankly, I don’t even care about exclusivity. I’m talking about sex.”
Callie sucks in a sharp breath and glances around the room. Is she on Candid Camera or something? One of those hilarious prank shows? This cannot be happening.
“What do you say?” Jason asks.
She turns back to him just as he begins drawing circles on her bare knee with his fingers. “You’re not serious?”
Because he can’t be.
“I’m very serious. Think about it, Callie. Five hundred dollars a week. All you have to do is what all college kids do anyway.”
“What? Put out? Sleep around with anyone who asks? I don’t know what kind of women you know, but I’m not that way. Contrary to popular belief, most college girls aren’t that way.”
Jason rolls his eyes. He actually rolls his eyes!
“Come on. Not too many girls would pass this up. I’m a good-looking guy, athletic, built, and that’s a lot of money. Besides, you’re selling yourself anyway. What’s the difference?”
Callie jumps to her feet. Her hands ball into fists and her jaw locks so tight it takes everything in her to loosen it so she can speak. “I get paid to go on dates! By men who have no time to meet women! Or just want company but no relationship. I’m not a damn prostitute!”
Jason snickers. “Call it whatever you want. It’s all the same. And everyone has a price.”
“Gah! You’re disgusting. Disgusting! And I am so out of here,” she says, but before she can turn around, he grabs her wrist and stops her.
“Are you sure you wanna turn me down? I’d think long and hard about rejecting this offer. I have connections, and I can make life on campus just a little more difficult.”
Callie glances down at the large hand wrapped around her wrist, and her stomach clenches. She swallows back her fear and refuses to let him intimidate her. “Oh, I’m sure,” she hisses, and, with a flick of her glass, she splashes the entire contents of the ruby-red wine onto his face, then tosses the glass to the floor, where it shatters.
He sputters and blinks through the liquid, wiping at his eyes, but Callie doesn’t stand around to watch. She’s already heading for the door, and on her way out, hears his parting words.
“You’ll regret this.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
DEAN
“You. Are. So. Busted.” His sister stands in the doorway of his dorm room and pokes him in the chest, emphasizing each word.
He knocks her hand away and rubs his sternum. “What are you talking about?”
Jinny sticks her head inside, moving her gaze about the room. “You know what! Are you in here gorging yourself on cookie dough ice cream like some hormonal teenage girl?”
Dean runs a hand through his already disheveled hair and tries to hold onto his quickly dissipating patience. “What do you want, Jinny? It’s been a long day. I’m tired. Emmett and I are just having a couple beers while we watch some action flicks with gratuitous violence and sex. Not something you’d be interested in.”
He begins to shut the door in her face. If he’s being honest with himself, he’s still pissed at her for not siding with him on Callie’s situation. She can’t possibly be that blind or dumb, and the fact that she is, where this whole escort business is concerned, irritates him to no end. It’s partly her fault Callie’s out with a snake like Jason—partly her fault Callie’s going out with tons of slimy, loser guys, for that matter.
Jinny slams her open palm on the door and stops it from closing. “Uh, no you don’t.” Without an invite, she pushes it open enough to slide inside and move around Dean.
Emmett turns, eyes wide, as if he hadn’t heard their bickering until now. But one look at Jinny and an appreciative smile lights up his face. “Hey, gorgeous. It’s been a while. Miss me?”
Jinny grimaces, and Emmett throws her a couple air kisses before he shoots up from his bunk. “I know. I could barely stand it, too. It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other. We can’t keep letting this happen. Who cares if my best friend is your brother? We can’t allow that to get between us any longer.” He steps forward and reaches for Jinny’s hand, but she snatches it away. “You need to stop fighting your feelings for me. It’s not natural—”
“Can it, worm,” Jinny says, grinning.
Dean rolls his eyes and moves back to his six-pack, popping the top off a fresh Rolling Rock.
“Hey, you’re not supposed to have that in here,” Jinny says, her tone scolding.
Dean eyes her over the mouth of the bottle while he chugs half the beer down in seconds. “Okay, Mom.”
“I’m serious. You better not get kicked out of the dorms, because you’re sure as hell not moving in with Callie and me if you do.”
Emmett’s eyes brighten. “Is that an option? Dude, I’ve never thought about that,” he says as he turns to Dean. “That’s not a half-bad idea, actually. Hurry, call the RA and have him come down here.”
Dean laughs, but Jinny puts her hands on her hips and scowls. “Hilarious.”
“Again, what do you want?” Dean asks, all humor gone from his voice.
“I came to tell you that I’m on to you. I know exactly why you’ve been acting extra crazy lately with this,
” Jinny pauses, eyeing Emmett, “with this business of Callie’s.”
Dean takes another swig of his beer, feeling the room spin from the six he already downed. He smirks. If Jinny only knew…
“Oh, yeah? And why’s that?” he asks and turns away from her, reaching into the bag of chips sitting on the top bunk. Shoving a handful into his mouth, he smacks his lips and chews as loudly as possible, knowing this will only further irritate her. And the more irritated she gets, the better he feels about his own anger.
But it doesn’t work. Jinny meets his obnoxiousness with a grin and crosses her arms. “You have a thing for Callie.”
Dean chokes. He brings a fist to his chest and pounds it, sucking in air and coughing, trying to dislodge the chip blocking his esophagus. “What?” he croaks.
“You heard me.” Her brown eyes brighten as if she hadn’t been completely sure until that moment. She straightens, and her expression turns triumphant. “I see it now, plain as day. You’re completely hung up on her. Aren’t you?”
Emmett eyes him with a raised brow, but Dean ignores him. He takes a quick drink of beer, washing down the rest of the chips and giving him a moment to think.
I’m completely busted. Should I ’fess up? What would it mean if I did? Would she ban me from coming to their apartment again? Call me out on it in front of Callie? Would she get all weird and think of every time Callie’s been around me in her pajamas or a short skirt, or…
Shit.
Dean turns to Emmett—whose eyes continue to dart from Dean to his sister and back again. Raising his hands, Emmett backs away and flops back on his bunk. “Don’t look at me, dude. I didn’t say anything. Hell, I’ve known all these years and never said a word. Why would I squeal now?”
Sighing, Dean glances back at his sister, whose jaw drops.
“Holy crap. How long have you liked her?”
He steps forward, hands outstretched. “Listen, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you keep this to yourself. Don’t go blabbing it to her like you do everything…” His voice trails off when Jinny’s phone begins to ring.
She digs it out of her coat pocket and answers it. Dean can barely make out the voice on the other line, but from what little he can hear, he’s pretty sure it’s Callie, and by the rate at which she’s talking, he gets the feeling she’s worked up. It doesn’t matter that he has no idea what she’s saying, just the sound of her voice cuts through the alcohol, sobering him.
Jinny closes her eyes, making Dean wonder if he’s not the only one that can’t make anything out. “Okay. It’s fine. I’ll be right there,” she says into the phone, and when she hangs up and says nothing about it, he stares at her, waiting.
“Well?” he asks.
Sighing, her shoulders slump. “That was Callie. She’s fine. Nothing’s wrong. Let’s just say she didn’t have the best of dates. I’m going home.”
The muscles in his back spasm with the news. “What happened?”
I’ll kill him. I’ll absolutely fucking throttle him if he touched her.
She shakes her head. “Nothing—”
“I want to know. Now.” Dean’s breathing quickens, and he can feel the ball of anger fisting in his chest.
“I don’t really know. All I know is that she’s super pissed and a little upset. You can come with me, but only if you promise,” she says, stabbing a finger at him, “and I mean promise, not to blow a gasket and flip out. No matter what happened.”
“Fine. Whatever. Let’s just go.”
When he moves to the door, Emmett follows, too, but before he can leave with them, he and Jinny turn together and yell, “Not you!”
When they enter Jinny and Callie’s apartment, Dean has no idea what to expect. His chest feels tight, like a million tiny fists are squeezing his ribcage. He spots her standing in the middle of the living room, arms crossed over her chest, and before he can stop himself, he rushes over to her and puts his arms out, ready to envelop her in them.
What are you doing? Friends, you’re just friends.
He lowers his arms and sinks his hands in his pockets instead.
She looks fine, a little pale maybe, but she hasn’t been crying and she’s not distraught. No need to get worked up.
Jinny moves to her side and hugs her, squeezing her tight, doing what Dean wishes he could.
Callie’s gaze darts to him as Jinny releases her, and her mouth tightens. As if reading her thoughts, Jinny says, “Dean’s fine. He won’t act like an ass again. Right, Dean?” She turns her gaze to him, brows raised.
He gets the message. “Right. I’m good,” Dean says. It’s all he can manage through his locked jaw and the pressure in his chest.
“So what happened?” Jinny asks.
“He propositioned me.”
“Meaning what, exactly?” Jinny asks, reading Dean’s mind.
Callie runs a hand through the length of her blonde hair and sighs, then begins to pace the floor in front of them. “The date was going fine. We went to the musical, so we didn’t have a ton of time to talk, but, still, things were going great. Then he was supposed to take me to Anwar’s.”
Of course he was.
Jinny’s eyes widen. “It’s impossible to get in there.”
“I know, right? So, I was a little unsure, but we went and when we got there, he spoke to the maître d’, and it was clear he was upset. That there was a problem. It turns out that his family has monthly reservations there and, unbeknownst to him, his parents were using them tonight. So we opted to go somewhere else, because dining with his parents would just be—”
“Majorly weird,” Jinny finishes for her.
“Exactly!” Callie stops pacing, and her cheeks bloom a fiery red. Her voice grows louder when she goes on. “So, he suggests we go back to his place, since it was only a block away and he could make us dinner there.”
Dean steps forward and squeezes his eyes shut. “Please, tell me you didn’t.”
“I did. He was being a perfect gentlemen, and I felt, I don’t know…flattered that he’s harbored these feelings for me for so long—”
“This is exactly what I knew would happen! You’re so naive—” he stops mid-sentence at Jinny’s warning glare.
I can’t believe she actually fell for that bullshit.
“Anyway,” Callie says, glaring at him. “We were there and he was telling me about the first time he saw me and how he’s liked me ever since. Blah, blah. And the next thing I know, he’s asking me about the whole escort thing and why I’m doing it. So I tell him, very briefly, that it’s to pay off my credit cards. That I’m in a bad spot.”
Bite your tongue. Just keep it shut, Dean.
Callie’s talking fast now, her tone incredulous. “And the next thing I know, he’s pulling an envelope out of his pocket and he’s offering me five hundred bucks a week to basically be his booty call whenever he wants it.”
Jinny gasps and slaps a hand over her mouth. “No way!”
Rage hits him like a bomb, and fury encapsulates him. He can no longer see Callie or his sister. For a moment, he’s lost in the anger that consumes him, and the only thing he hears is the pounding of blood in his ears with Callie’s blurred voice in the background.
“Yes way! The deal, as he put it, would just be that when he wanted me, he could have me, and he’d pay me weekly for the rest of the year.”
“So, what did you say?” Jinny asks, and Dean is grateful, because nothing coherent enters his mind, only murderous thoughts of Jason, and Dean beating the piss out of his cocky-pretty-boy face.
“I really hope that’s not an actual question.” Callie waves her hands while she talks. “I told him that he was disgusting and that I’m not a damn prostitute. Well, he didn’t seem to like the things I had to say, apparently, and he said that I should reconsider because if I didn’t take him up on his offer, I’d regret it. That he could make my life on campus miserable or something. I’m not exactly sure because I was still shocked and furious.”
“Yeah. I’m sure it was just some dumb-ass, meaningless threat, but still… After that, I threw my wine in his face and ran out.”
“The ol’ wine in the face.” Jinny snickers. “Awesome.”
Dean pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to rein in his anger before he speaks. “I hope you don’t find anything about this funny.” He turns his burning gaze to Jinny. “This is exactly the kind of thing I knew would happen. You can’t…” He slices his hand through the air. “Just expect men to actually pay you for a date and not want or think they’re getting more than just your company out of it.”
Callie puts her hands on her hips. “My guidelines are very strict, the regulations on my site very clear.”
“I don’t give a flying crap about your stupid guidelines, and neither will any other guy. I tried to warn you! I tried to tell you this was a mistake, but no, neither of you wanted to listen to me. You just had so many dollar signs flashing through your head, like this was going to be the solution to all your problems, that you couldn’t see anything else.”
Callie’s blue eyes darken to midnight, and she steps forward, standing toe-to-toe with Dean. “Excuse me if I’m not willing to just let everything I’ve worked so hard for the last few years slip away.”
He can’t help it. Anger—partly at himself for his role in Jason asking her out—builds inside of him like a raging inferno, and it needs a release. “You wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place if you’d just lay off the credit cards and stop spending your money every-damn-where you please. You’re a college student. You’re not some working professional with a six-figure bank account.”
Callie looks up at him, fire in her eyes, and it’s not lost on Dean how much he wishes that she’d look at him like that with the heat of passion instead of anger. And damn, she’s beautiful, but that’s hard to think about right now. Not with his own mixture of debilitating emotions—fury, vengeance, desire, fear, anxiety—running wild within him like some poisonous concoction.
