Escorting the Player (The Escort Collection 3)

I was completely taken aback. "For real?" I asked, finally.

She nodded. "For real. I shouldn't say she's a hooker. She's an escort, is what she calls it. She gets wined and dined all the time. The wedding she just went to? One of her escort friends was the bride. She married a billionaire who was one of her clients."

"Wow." It was all I could think of to say.

"You should do it," Kylie said, nodding at me. "You've got the look. Perfect skin. Rocking body. All that blond hair and those big blue eyes. And you're quiet, unlike me."

I laughed, but it came out bitter and sharp. "I don't think I'm…qualified. Sexy isn't really my thing, you know?"

Kylie tossed her ponytail over her shoulder again. "My sister got paid ten thousand dollars for one night once," she said. "I think you could fake the sexy for that."

I felt my jaw drop. "So why don't you do it?" I asked, wondering if she was just teasing me.

She grunted. "Maya said she'd blackball me. She said I seriously talk too much and she doesn't want to be associated with me at work. But I'm not kidding, girl. If you want the number, I'll give it to you. Maybe you'll marry a billionaire and set me up with one of his friends. Or eventually put in a good word for me at the agency."

I shook my head. "I don't think I could do it. I'm too shy. And I'm not exactly, uh, experienced." I felt my face flame.

"You're a virgin?" Kylie's eyeballs looked as though they might pop out of her head.

"No," I said quickly. "But I've only ever had one boyfriend. And he was pretty…vanilla."

"Think about it." Kylie shrugged. "I know you're broke. I've seen you stealing crackers to eat."

My face got even hotter. I did steal packages of crackers; I pretended that I had to go to the bathroom and stuffed them into my mouth as often as I could. I was always hungry, shaking from the emptiness inside me. Kylie had seen me. She'd known, and she felt sorry for me.

Being poor was so fucking humiliating.

"In case you change your mind," Kylie said. She scribbled something onto a cocktail napkin and slid it into my apron. "It'd be nice to be able to eat three squares a day, right? And it's gotta beat waitressing."

I'd pulled out the napkin after my shift. It had the name and number of the agency.

I didn't call for a few weeks. Not until Lila got fired from her third consecutive job and had started burning through my limited supply of cash at an alarming rate. There hadn't even been enough money for Ramen.

Hunger could drive you to crazy things.

And then there was my sister, who seemed to be getting even more adrift. She was my responsibility, my family. I needed to take care of her. I hadn't been able to save my mom, but Lila was going to be another story. If only she'd cooperate.

So I called the service. I'd taken a couple of clients. Neither of them were that bad, but I'd still cried afterwards. It was just that I'd always tried to be a good girl. I'd tried to be a good girl my whole life, and still, I couldn't get ahead.

And it didn't seem to matter to anyone.

Except to me.

Chapter Three

CHASE

"Hey hey hey, there's the big guy," called Reggie, our running back and one of my closest friends on the team. He patted me on the shoulder. "You ready to work?"

"Yeah," I said. Work was the one thing I was looking forward to today. As the starting quarterback for the Boston Warriors for the past five years, I'd led us to two Super Bowl wins. At thirty-seven, this season would be my last. I had great expectations. I wanted another Super Bowl ring. I had several NFL records in my sights. But I had to stay healthy, and I had to stay smart. I couldn't let this stuff with Jessica mess with my head and ruin everything I'd worked so hard for.

I turned to my teammate. "How about you? You ready to rumble?"

He grinned at me. "Not like I got anything better to do than kick some ass."

Someone snorted behind us. Pax Unger, our new cornerback, swaggered in. "Word on the street is that you're ready to retire, Reggie," he said, his tone nasty.

"Oh man—why do you always have to start that shit?" Reggie asked.