Beautifully Broken

“Seriously,” I repeat. “And no, I can deal with it. Thanks for offering though.”

“Man, that blows.”

“Tell me about it,” I agree. “Now you can answer my question. Why are you here so early?”

He shrugs. “It’s always dead this time of day. I thought we could have a little fun.”

Okay, I know what you’re thinking and it’s not as bad as it sounds. All right, maybe we’ve taken advantage of the fact that customers can’t see us from the waist down a time or two. But in my defense, Dylan is very talented orally.

“What happened to Britney?” Britney is the girl he’s been seeing for the past month or so.

“Britney is being…difficult.”

I laugh. “What you really mean, is that Britney hasn’t given it up yet.”

He throws his hands up in exaspera

tion. “Exactly! I mean, what’s the deal? You’ve seen my cock. How could any chick resist that? Justin Bieber ain’t got nothing on me! One night, we got drunk and she gave me a hand job but that’s it! No below the waist action since. She won’t even blow me, Kat. How cruel is that?”

“Oh, so cruel,” I mock.

“Right?” he says, clearly not picking up on my sarcasm. “So what do you say? You up for a little oral exchange to pass the time?”

I watch as he begins unbuckling his belt. “As tempting as that offer is, I’m going to pass.”

His hand pauses as he looks up in disbelief. “What? Why not? C’mon, baby, I’ll even offer to make you come twice before you suck me off. You know it will help get your mind off of everything.”

I shrug. “I’m just not feeling up to it.” No way am I going to tell him that I don’t want to lose myself in sex for the first time since...before. Normally, stress triggers my cravings, no matter how recently I’ve been with someone. I still don’t know what I think of that. I certainly don’t need anyone else to psychoanalyze me.

He smiles. “How about I just take care of you, then? You know your pussy is my favorite.”

“Any pussy is your favorite,” I retort.

“Not true. You can be a prickly one sometimes, but your pussy is sweeter than all the other girls combined. Yours is definitely my fave.”

I smirk at his attempt to sweet talk me. “As flattering as that is, I’m still going to pass. You have a girlfriend, Dylan. You know that’s a hard limit for me—I won’t be anyone’s piece on the side.”

Dylan sinks down into the small chair we have propped in the corner. “Well, shit.”

I laugh. “Sorry, bud. Raincheck?”

“Yeah, I guess,” he pouts. “What’s the deal, Kat? You okay?”

The nice thing about Dylan is that his concern is genuine. I’ve learned that I don’t need insincere people in my life anymore so I’m selective with my friends. His honesty is what makes him one of the chosen few even if he does think with his dick more often than not.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. I’m just preoccupied with other stuff.”

“Like what?”

“Well, whether or not I’ll have a job at the end of the day for one,” I reply. “My reunion with Cybil didn’t go so well either. She actually got engaged while I was staying with the Martin family. He’s some rich guy that owns the big strip club in town. She said she’s moving into his giant house on the bluff next month. Can you believe that?”

He thinks about that for a minute. “Wait a minute…where does that leave you? Where are you going to live? You can’t afford rent without her assistance from the state, right?”

“Right,” I confirm. “They said I can move in too but I’m not sure I’m okay with that option. Her fiancé, Marcus, doesn’t give off the best vibes, ya know? The dick actually offered me a job as a stripper in his club. If wanting to see your soon-to-be stepdaughter naked isn’t sleazy, I don’t know what is.”

“Babe, that sucks. Are you sure you don’t want me to talk to my mom? Maybe if she knew the situation, she wouldn’t be so hard on you. Maybe she could even give you more hours.”

I take his hand. “Dylan, that’s sweet. I appreciate the offer; I really do. But I’m a big girl and I need to figure this out. I’ve been through worse. In the grand scheme of things, this is nothing.”