Shouldn't Have Asked: A New Adult Romantic Comedy Novel

by Mara Lynne

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  Copyright © 2016 by Mara Lynne

  All Rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of required fees you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known, hereinafter invented, without express written permission of BLVNP Inc. For more information contact BLVNP Inc.The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  DISCLAIMER

  This book is a work of FICTION. It is fiction and not to be confused with reality. Neither the author nor the publisher or its associates assume any responsibility for any loss, injury, death or legal consequences resulting from acting on the contents in this book. The author’s opinions are not to be construed as the opinions of the publisher. The material in this book is for entertainment purposes ONLY. Enjoy.

  Shouldn’t Have Asked

  By: Mara Lynne

  ISBN: 978-1-68030-722-1

  ©Mara Lynne 2016

  Table of contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1: Diner

  Chapter 2: His Proposal

  Chapter 3: The Price

  Chapter 4: Hanging By A Thread

  Chapter 5: The Choice

  Chapter 6: A Not So Good Negotiation

  Chapter 7: Losing Face, Gaining Hope

  Chapter 8: Masking Feelings

  Chapter 9: Messing Up Heads

  Chapter 10: Putting Off the Fire

  Chapter 11: Beneath The Skin

  Chapter 12: The Job Description

  Chapter 13: A Night of Hunter

  Chapter 14: Limitless

  Chapter 15: Breathing Underwater

  Chapter 16: Tailing

  Chapter 17: Act Not Told

  Chapter 18: In Their Eyes

  Chapter 19: When Tables Are Turned

  Chapter 20: More Than Just That One Night

  Chapter 21: Disquiet In The Clouds

  Chapter 22: I Won’t Say

  Chapter 23: Grey and Dull

  Chapter 24: Not An Illusion

  Chapter 25: Under the Stars

  Chapter 26: I Love You

  Chapter 27: Stone

  Chapter 28: A Day with Hunter

  DEDICATION

  To all dreamers, never give up on your dreams! And to my first ever reader, I told you dreams do come true.

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  Prologue

  This is a wrong idea.

  Absolutely!

  I can already foresee the consequences of this move. One wrong move and everything will change. Then again, what can I do? This is more than life and death —emphasis there— more than life and death, period!

  Every time I look straight to his direction, I could feel my chest exploding. I hear it scream, No, don’t do it. There’s another way! My mind, too, surprisingly coincides with my rather divergent heart. This is a rare occasion. Most of the time, they fight like cat and dog, always in argument, the mortal enemies. It’s quite surprising that neither one of them is stopping me. My nape feels hot, and so are my cheeks. It feels like I am going through my first job interview.

  Am I actually letting myself do this?

  Perhaps my sanity is finally doomed.

  I took a deep, deep breath then slap my face with my hand.

  Ouch! I don’t mean to hurt myself badly, but I think I need a wake-up call. Nope, I think I need the strongest motivation that will push me through this.

  I gather my legs and take another deep breath.

  “You can do this, Angel!” I murmur to myself.

  I walk straight across the hallway till I reach the corner where he was standing and chatting with his friends, beaming that ever popular smile that propelled him to the Student Body Council. Well, I’m not underestimating him entirely as I believe I have no means to put myself above him. He’s everything I am not. That is why he is the perfect negotiator, and I think he will have a high chance of accepting my proposal.

  “H-hi.” I find my voice trapped in my throat. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

  “Me?” His lips curved, ribbing me intentionally. His friends start to poke fun at me by giggling with each other.

  “Yes,” I answer, shrugging off the tinge of mortification that is spreading across my cheeks.

  “Anything you want to say you can say to my peeps,” he confidently replies, not bothering to remove that smirk.

  “It’s a very personal matter.”

  “Okay!” He stands up and eyes me.

  I lead him to an empty room just a few walks away from where his friends are. I can still hear them laughing.

  “What is it?” he said with his hands on his hips and his brow raised.

  I gulp as my rehearsed speech demanded my mouth to be spilled out already.

  “You don’t have all my time,” he dryly says as he fixes his cold glare at me. Really, he can’t do better but humiliate me in the slightest possible way with those eyes. I don’t know why, but he has that effect on me. I always feel his eyes look at me like I am the lowest form of human on earth. Well, his friends do, too. Worse, I might add.

  Okay, here I go.

  “Do you want to have sex with me?” I blurt out.

  He drops his jaw.

  I shake my head at the thought of his reaction.

  Oh, my God! I have said it.

  Chapter 1: Diner

  Do you want to have sex with me?

  Christ!

  A loud whack echoes early in the morning joined by the ringing of my alarm clock.

  Ouch! I feel my bum sore after I fell off the bed.

  It was just a dream.

  Wait, it isn’t just a dream! It actually happened a week ago, and it has been haunting me every single second of my life. Even my sleep has become more of an option now rather than a necessity.

  What was I even thinking when I said that?

  I hate myself because of it.

  “Angel, are you awake?” I hear Mom knocking on my door. Breakfast is ready for sure.

  “I’m coming, Mom!” I sit on the floor before standing up. I feel my blood rushing from my stomach to my limbs and head, flowing throughout my body as the dizziness wanes. I clean up my bed and hit the shower.

  School starts at ten, but I have a two-hour day job at Maxwell’s Diner which starts at seven thirty in the morning. After class, I will resume work for another three hours. M
y day doesn’t end there, though. I have another job at my school’s cafeteria as a waitress. All these help me cut my college expenses and help Mom run the house.

  After the economic meltdown, the New Jersey plumbing industry almost shut down, affecting almost all plumbers and agencies. Dad was a plumber and a small businessman while Mom worked at our office. We had this small company office in our building, just a floor away from our space, so we were fine for a while after the crisis. But when our small company shut down as well, Dad lost his living. Mom was forced to find a job in a small hotel as a chambermaid. Consequently, Dad got sick and was diagnosed with CRF or Chronic Renal Failure. It’s in the end-stage, so he has dialysis twice a week. His medications and treatment really cost us a fortune. He has been in and out of the hospital three times already, the recent just two weeks ago. With Mom’s job and my part-time jobs, we’re hoping to sustain Dad’s medical treatment. I’m finding school a nuisance now even though I only have a semester left before graduation. As a matter of fact, I have yet to pay my tuition dues for the final exam. I have thought of dropping school and just concentrate on my jobs. Maybe look for work that can support my family, perhaps a job with higher pay.

  As I lather shampoo on my hair, I think of applying as secretary to Dr. Martin’s clinic. He has offered me this job a week ago, and I turned it down. Yeah, I know I was stupid to do that. If only I knew things will be this tight, I would have accepted it right away. However, working full time in Dr. Martin’s clinic means leaving school, and dropping out a few weeks before graduation will be as good as a blunder. Just four weeks more and I will be graduating! Think of what Mom and Dad could have done to me if I stopped school! Dad worked his ass off to get me to a university. Mom does all the household chores so that I could concentrate on my studies and my part-time jobs. Imagine the heartbreak I would have given them! It could have been awful. I would have sent Dad to an early death and Mom to the depths of despair.

  Money is life, though.

  Money is a college degree.

  And money is Dad’s assurance to a longer life.

  Geez! I wish that one day it will rain money, and I’m going to make sure to carry big buckets and grab all money that my hands can. Dreaming doesn’t hurt, I guess.

  I scurry out of the shower and dry myself up.

  I choose a pair of faded blue jeans and pink tank top ‘Dream Big’ printed in bold captions. Yeah, I believe in it. Well, that’s what poor people hold onto in times of great need. It’s free anyway.

  I turn on my blow dryer and start doing my hair. My thick copper brown hair is used to ponytails, so I did the same old ponytail with full bangs. Today is not an exception I had this hairstyle since elementary. I put on some lip gloss as I never really wear makeup. Unpopular students like me stay away from the glitz and glamor like that. Besides, I’m pale and will not look good with it on. Trust me! I’ll only look like a clown. Done that in high school for a stage play. I always take pride in my hazel green eyes, though. They’re just like Dad and Mom’s. They become light as gray when soaked in the sun.

  “Mom?” I hurry downstairs with my leather sling bag.

  “Hush, Angel!” reprimands Mom as she hears my footsteps on the stairs. “Your dad is still sleeping.”

  So I slow down.

  “Toast and eggs for today!” Mom greets me with a kiss. Yeah, she smells like fried eggs.

  I place my bag on the chair next to me.

  “You can use my ATM for Dad’s dialysis today, Mom,” I say after taking a mouthful of bread. I am indeed very hungry for I missed dinner last night. The diner was so busy, and we were short of staff.

  “Oh no, honey! You use your paycheck for school. You only have four weeks before graduation. Finals week is just a few sleep away,” says Mom, giving me a kiss on the cheek. Her response sends guilt down to my stomach. “Your father and I are so proud of you!” Her smile reaches her eyes.

  “Mom, are you sure you still have money for Dad’s treatment?” No matter how I try to hide the worry in my voice, I can’t help but crack. She always says no to me. Come to think of it, we still have to pay the monthly house lease which is two months delayed already. I am saving money for it, but I am keeping that a secret. I don’t want the landlady to send us away and be homeless. That will be absolutely deplorable! Not with Dad’s condition. No, I’m not going to let that happen. “I still have two more paychecks coming before the exams.”

  “No, Angel!” says Mom. “Keep your money. You will need that in the future.”

  Okay, here she goes again parading her motherly pride. She always thinks that children have no responsibility over their parents.

  I stuff myself with the hefty breakfast. There’s no room for me to get sick these days.

  “Kiss Dad for me, too!” I said as I kiss her goodbye and left for work.

  I took a bus. Maxwell’s Diner is just three stopovers from our apartment.

  “Ray!” I call my gay friend who works with me at Maxwell’s. We attend the same university and take up the same degree.

  “Yes, darling?” He winks at me after wiping a spill on a table.

  “Can you cover table three for me?” I try to hide behind him. Table three is seven tables away from us, but I have to pull Ray to the counter beside the fridge to stay hidden.

  “What’s wrong with you?” He narrows his eyes at me while placing his hands on my hips.

  “Check table three!” I say.

  He turns to the table near the glass window.

  “Oh my God!” he exclaims in terror, takes out his notebook and pen, and catwalks toward the group of guys. “I better get this!”

  My heart thumps as I watch Ray talk to them. I commend him for his superb social skills. He’s an expert when it comes to handling nerve-wracking conversations and can easily turn a rotting conversation into a spectacular show of laughs and jokes even if he has to lie. This time, Ray’s doing so well, I don’t think he notices me. By he, I mean Damien Etheridge. He’s with his friends, obviously trying to have their breakfast in my territory. But why here when they can find a posh restaurant in a glamorous hotel? I’m pretty sure Damien has all the means. I just hope Ray plays them with his golden tongue.

  I pull back, moving closer to the wall so they don’t see me watching them. From afar, I can see Damien’s poker face as though he doesn’t believe anything he’s hearing. Perhaps he is too smart to be fooled.

  Ray returns with wide eyes and a thin line on his lips.

  “What?” I ask.

  He grasps my hand and pulls me inside the kitchen. Mr. Nguyen is busy cooking and so are two of his assistants.

  “He asked for you!” Ray said in one breath. “He won’t give his order unless you take it.”

  “Does his friends know?”

  “I don’t think so. Your stupidity is safe with him.” Ray is stifling a laugh. I can see the telltale crinkles in his eyes. But when he sees me not amused with the friendly mockery, he stops. “They’re asking for you and why you couldn’t do the job.”

  “What did you say then?”

  “I told him you’re busy with the dishes and must not be disturbed.”

  “And he says what?”

  “Well, I think I’m no good help after all.” He heaves a sigh. “He won’t leave the diner until you show up, or he said he’d call Mr. Maxwell.”

  Does he have the power to make things difficult for me?

  Yes, he does!

  Damien Etheridge is the mayor’s only son, and his grandfather is one hell of a rich businessman. Hence, he is the first person who I thought would generously pay for pleasure. He’s gained quite a staggering reputation, and from what I’ve heard, he keeps a group of beneficiaries who satiates his sexual hunger. Though these are just hearsays, I believe it. These rumors completely contradict his intelligent, charming, and well-respected front as Student Body Council President, but there’s always two sides to a coin. Damien can do whatever he wants since he has all the resources. Why stop wh
en he can well afford it? I don’t mind becoming his beneficiary for money. I actually thought about it for so many hours every night, weighing all the pros and cons. The cons outweigh the pros because I’m pretty sure a woman’s dignity is irreplaceable and priceless. However, it is my father we’re talking about here.

  “You must go there, Angel,” Ray says.

  “No way! You know what? I’ll let him do whatever he wants. He can intimidate me using Mr. Maxwell all he wants, but I will never ever see his face again!”

  Huh! What childish way to get to me!

  Suddenly, I feel my cheeks warming when I remember that day when I asked that stupid question. He was stunned into silence for a couple of minutes. I was surprised, too. Not because of how I asked it, but with his reaction. I readied myself for bouts of degradation from him. I thought he was going to laugh, but he remained calm— too calm that I thought he was overwhelmed with shock. Who would have thought that I, Angel Mohr, a straight A student, a devoted daughter, and a popular nerd who was featured in the local newspaper for being a role model to the youth and for winning the Essay of the Year could do such thing? These distinctions are as good as the Nobel Peace Prize for me, and I bet my life that Damien didn’t see it coming. I quickly ran away from him as soon as I realized that it was a big, big mistake. I’m glad the realization came quickly for me.

  “Okay, whatever works for you!” Rey replies before turning away from me, but before he could open the kitchen door, he frantically whispers, “Oh my, Angel! He’s at the counter!”

  I stand on my toe to peek through the circular glass window on the door.

  Heavens! He’s indeed there with his eyes roaming around, probably waiting to catch my shadow. Why is he even here?

  He’s holding his hands together, rubbing them as though his patience is slowly taking a toll out of him.