January (Calendar Girl #1) Anthology Anthology (79 page)

“Jesus, you really are sick.” Disgust was thick in his tone.

He didn’t even try to assist me as I heaved into the can, gagging and coughing. I heard the sound of clothes rustling and I could only hope he was putting his back on.

“Kathleen!” Aaron bellowed. “Kathleen, come here. Mia’s sick.” He continued to holler, the noise piercing my already tender brain.

A clacking noise started out far away and then got closer as Kathleen, in her prim heels, rushed into the room. “Oh goodness gracious. Mia, you poor dear.”

Her cool hands on my back were comforting and welcome. Quite the opposite of the way Aaron had touched me, uninvited.

“Handle her. I’ll be with Father. Until next time, Mia.” He said coolly leaving the room. I gagged again. After several minutes of dry heaves, Kathleen helped me up and into the shower.

“Sweet girl. I’m worried you’ve got alcohol poisoning. Perhaps I should take you to acute care.”

I shook my head. “I don’t have medical coverage.” Actually, I might have coverage now that I worked for my Aunt Millie. I’d have to check. Either way, I was not going to the hospital from drinking too much. “It’s okay. Sleep, water, and food is what’s going to fix this problem. That and not drinking again for another decade.”

She smiled shyly. “Okay dear. Let’s get you settled.”

Kathleen helped me put on a pair of yoga pants. I insisted on a sports bra this time and a t-shirt. That was the last time I’d sleep naked in this house.

“What was Aaron doing in your room while you were naked and throwing up in the wastebasket?” Kathleen asked softly. Not even a hint of judgement appeared in her tone.

I swallowed and sighed. “I don’t know. I think he likes me or whatever. But honestly, he was inappropriate. Touching me while I was asleep; it was creepy.” A shiver accompanied the memory.

Her eyes widened, and I knew instantly that I should have kept my mouth shut. A blush rose up from her chest, carrying on to her neck and over her face. Her brow furrowed and her eyes squinted into little slits. The skin around her lips turned white as she snarled. “He touched you while you were sleeping?”

“Um, not the way you’re thinking.” Well, technically yes, the way she was thinking was accurate, but it wasn’t enough of a something for me to do anything about it.

“That’s sexual assault. His father is going to go berserk!” Her tone was so sharp I swear it could cut glass.

I shook my head and placed my hands on her shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m fine. He was a little inappropriate, yes, but we’d been flirty the last couple times we’d seen each other. I handled it. Everything is fine. There is no need to make a big deal out of this. It won’t happen again.”

Her eyes were glacial, hard. “Mia—” she started, but I stopped her.

“No, Kathleen. I’ve got this. I shouldn’t have said anything. I took care of it, nothing to worry about.” Only that was a lie as well, but something I’d rectify as soon as I was feeling better and had a moment with the younger Shipley.

She took a deep breath and her shoulders fell. “Are you sure? Warren would never stand for a man touching a woman without an expressed invitation.”

I nodded quickly. “I know and I get it. I think it was implied before, and he may have reacted on it at the wrong time. That’s all. No harm done. I’m okay, and I’ll talk to him.” I got close to her face making sure she saw the sincerity in my eyes. “I’ll handle this, okay?”

With a tip to her head and a slow breath, she pulled me into a hug. “Okay. Just let me know if you need anything. Anything at all.“ She patted my back as though I was one of her children. I wondered if she had children of her own, but figured I’d ask her later when things weren’t so heavy.

“I will.” I squeezed her thin frame tightly, enjoying the motherly feel of her.

When she left me to my own devices, and after cleaning up the mess I’d made, I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands. How far would that have gone? Would he have really taken advantage of me? The entire scenario played out in my mind as if I had a rewind and fast forward button. If I hadn’t been sick, would he have stopped? I abolished the thoughts. Going there was going to bring nothing but heartache and self-doubt. When I had a chance, I’d talk to Aaron. Tell him how inappropriate he was and make it clear that whatever there may have been between us, the attraction or whatever, it was completely gone now, with no hope of ever coming back.

Now what the hell do I make of the dream about Wes? It had to be because of the sexting we’d done last week and the booze doing strange things to my subconscious. Right? The dream was so real. I could still feel the flutters of excitement when thinking back to the things we did.

Groaning, I pulled out my phone and dialed my girl.

“Ugh, do you have telepathy or something?” she groaned into the phone.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, becoming more alert now than I’d been all day. Gin didn’t do the whole woe-is-me thing like other people. If she was unhappy, she told it like it was, and she definitely didn’t stew in it for any given length of time.

Ginelle paused and then clucked her tongue. “I was just sitting here flicking an unlit cigarette telling myself not to light it.” I knew that tone. Regret.

I closed my eyes. “Gin, babe, it’s been how long now?”

“Three months, two weeks and two days.” She rattled off the numbers as if she’d really been focused on every single day of being smoke free, the same way an alcoholic does of their sobriety.

“And you’re doing so well. Don’t do it. You’ve been so happy not smoking and remember that peanut butter cup you texted me about? The one that you ate and felt like you tasted for the very first time now that your taste buds weren’t destroyed from the cancer stick?”

A heavy sigh filled the receiver. “Yeah, that was really tasty. I still can’t believe how good it was. I mean, who isn’t a fan of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? They’re like the most perfect food in the entire world…”

“True.”

“...and it was as if I’d never tasted anything so good. Smoking kills your taste buds,” she said matter of fact.

“And remember, hot guys do not want to fuck chicks that smoke.” That was my ace in the hole. Gin had hot-guy-itis and wouldn’t dare risk messing up her chance with sexy men.

A long, drawn out groan hit my eardrums. Then I heard the sound of gravel crunching off in the distance.

“What was that?” I asked.

“That was me destroying that ciggy. I can’t believe I almost fucked up hot guy kisses. You really are my best friend.”

I tipped my head to the side and smiled. “Hey, someone has to protect you and ensure you’re still gettin’ it from the sexier sex.”

“I guess I’m just missing you, missing Maddy.”

Concern slipped through my tone. “What’s going on?”

“Now that Maddy’s got Matt she doesn’t want to hang out. You’re gone, and the girls in the show are just catty bitches. I don’t know…” Her voice sounded really sad and downtrodden. “It was like I had the best time in Hawaii with the two of you. Then you went off to DC to hang out with an old dude, Maddy went back to her guy, and I’m stuck with the dicks who drool over the show.”

“You’re lonely?”

After a long pause she relented. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s been a long year. When you left to go to Cali, I thought I could handle it because I planned on coming out eventually, but I don’t know, sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever leave Vegas.”

“You will, babe, if you want to. How about this? When I finish this year, no matter where I go, I’ll scoop you up and take you with me.”

“Even if you choose to be with a guy?”

I laughed out loud. “Yes, even then. We don’t have to live in the same house do we?”

“I don’t want to share a bathroom with your filthy ass. You’re a goddamned slob. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to live with you.”

That’s why the man I’m with will need a housekeeper. Gail will handle that problem.

“Fuck…” I swore realizing where my thoughts went.

“What?” This time her tone was concerned.

I closed my eyes, deciding if I wanted to admit what had been running through my mind. Shit. Ginelle was my best friend. She was the only one I could tell and would set me straight. “When you said that about the bathroom thing…”

“Not sorry. That shit is totally true.”

“I know it is. When you said that, I thought about how Wes has Gail and she cleans the house so I wouldn’t have to worry about a clean bathroom.”

Her gasp was loud. “No you didn’t just go there. How the fuck are you going to get through the rest of the year if you’re thinking like that?”

I groaned and ran my hand through my hair. “I know and it’s worse.”

“Whaaaaat?” she said, long and drawn out. “Lay it out there. Come on.”

“We sexted last week and then I had a crazy sex dream about him.” I said this really fast as though if I said it fast it couldn’t burn me.

“Really? Sexting? Huh. Can you send me the thread?”

Seriously? I’m bearing my soul here, and she wants to see the texts? “Are you fucking kidding me? Hello…BFF, be one!”

“Oh yeah, okay okay. Sorry, I got sidetracked. That’s hot shit. Anyway, for realz this time. Did you like doing it?”

“Yeah but that’s not the point.”

“No, but was it fun?” she continued.

“Yeah, I think we both had a good time.”

“And was the dream fun?”

I laughed and answered honestly. “Yeah.” Of course it was, until I woke up. I wasn’t about to tell Gin that part though. She’d lose her mind, overcharge her credit card to come here and kick some politician ass.

“Do you feel like you owe him something? Like your loyalty?” I thought about that until she added, “Is he going to stop seeing the actress?”

“No, he’s not. Not that I know of anyway.” Just hearing Gin mention her felt like a stake in my heart. A bout of anger prickled along my hairline, forcing my blood to heat.

“But end of story is, you had a good time with him?”

“Yeah.” I admitted not sure where she was going with this.

“Then why does it have to be anything other than that? Just a bit of fun. Didn’t you tell me you learned that in Hawaii with Tai?”

My bestie had a point. A really excellent one. Even Wes said to let it be what it was. Enjoy what we had. Remember how good it was. And boy, had it been good.

“No, you’re onto something. I’m just having trouble keeping it all separate. It’s like when I’m with a guy, I’m one hundred percent with him, and when I’m not, I’m not. But with Wes, it’s just…there’s always something there, haunting me.”

“You love him,” Ginelle said simply stating what she saw as fact.

Instantly, panic sheared through my body and my subconscious. Even the air around me felt charged with a nervous fear. Not being able to respond, I took the coward’s way out. “Gin, babe, I gotta go. The boss is calling for me. I love you, skank. I’ll call soon. Bye!”

My fingers shook as I pressed the “End” button.

Chapter 8

I thought long and hard about what Ginelle had said on the phone today. Did I love Wes? Of course, I had very strong feelings for him. More so than I’d ever admit to him, but I was leery to call it love. With Alec, Mason, Tony, Hector, and even Tai, those three words, ‘I love you’, slipped so easily out of my mouth but not with Wes. Why? What was holding me back? I think somewhere deep down, I knew that if I said the words, the feelings of hope and loyalty would build. I wouldn’t be able to move on to new experiences, finish off the year with a new guy every month, and pay off Pops’ debt.

Even though there was something there between Wes and me, there was no way in hell I’d confirm it. Putting words to what we had would destroy us, or at the other end of the spectrum, it could very well bring us closer. Either way, my fate would be sealed and with six more months of earning the money to pay the debt, I didn’t have the liberty of making that type of decision unless I wanted Wes to bail me out.

No matter how much Wes wanted to pay off my father’s debt, I knew I’d regret it for the rest of my life. I’d be beholden to him. And what if we didn’t work out? Then he’d have paid a million dollars—well, five hundred thousand now—for me and my family to be free, and I just walked? I’d owe him with no way possible to pay that kind of money back. Aunt Millie gave me this opportunity to fix the wrongs that my father made and the guilt I had over ever introducing Pops to Blaine. I had to take this opportunity for what it was and recommit to my decision.

Mia Saunders was an escort. I’d be an escort for another six months, I’d pay off my father’s debt to the prick of an ex, make sure my baby sister was still happy with Mathew, and then I’d decide what there was left for me.

Resolve firmly in place, I went over to my closet and scanned the contents. A slinky gold number caught my eye. It would be perfect for the huge charity event tonight. Warren had us flying into New York and staying over for a few days so he could meet with some big wigs and talk shop about his project. Shipley, Inc. also had a base in NYC, making the trip even easier. I’d been to New York with Mason on business but still, I was pretty stoked. I only had a little over a week left with the Shipleys and I was off to my next location. Which reminded me that I hadn’t heard from Aunt Millie.

Instead of waiting for her call, I decided I’d give her a ring this time. I punched in her number while pulling clothes from the closet and setting them on the bed. Kathleen told me to lay out the items I’d planned to take and she’d make sure everything was handled. The way she spoke, it sounded as though she wouldn’t be taking the trip with us. Not sure why that was. I’d have to ask Warren about it. He’d been opening up to me a bit more since we had our drunken celebratory evening when we landed the Benoit assistance in Canada.

“Exquisite Escorts, Ms. Milan’s office, Stephanie speaking. How may I help you?” a perky voice answered. I rolled my eyes. Every time I heard my Aunt’s fake name it gave credence to how very fake the entire business was. Don’t get me wrong. I was very thankful for the opportunity to make the cash I’d made and pay off Pop’s debt, but it’s not something I would have chosen if we weren’t in dire need of making a lot of money in a small amount of time.