Sugar Daddy

For some reason in the past couple of months she’d gotten into the habit of sharing stories she’d read online that she found shocking or just plain funny.

With him away, she was more than okay to try to focus on her studies and work. Even as she tried not to think about him, her body had other ideas. At night she’d wake up missing his touch, and the way he’d stroke her just to hold her.

“You’re very quiet about that. You don’t speak about anything, do you?” he asked.

“My relationship is no one else’s business.” She shrugged. “I don’t expect you to share your relationships with me.” Nor was she interested in knowing the details.

“So you’re still dating him.”

Elizabeth sighed, staring at him. “What is all this about?” she asked.

“What’s what?”

“Cut the bull here. I’m not a sophomore or a high school girl. I’ve seen the way you and your little clique operate. I’m not buying this sudden interest in me.” She tilted her head to the side. “Is this some kind of joke, or are you betting money? I’m sure that’s the latest rumor I’ve heard.”

Spending most of her time alone, and tending to be invisible, she got to hear a lot of the gossip. Most of it was crap, but she heard there was a bet going on between Billy and his friends that he can’t get a girl into bed. If he does, he wins a couple thousand dollars, and some car.

Billy’s face went bright red, and for some reason, Elizabeth found this to be the most entertaining thing she’d seen.

“Wow!” She shook her head. “I’m the girl. Right? You’ve made a bet to see if you can get me into bed.” She bent over laughing, and remembering that she was in the library, she continued to laugh all the way back to her desk.

She saw several of his friends waiting at the table, and that just set her off. Even though there were several people studying, and she hated being the center of attention, she couldn’t control her humor.

“This is just … I cannot believe this.” She picked up her bag and books before returning her attention back to him. “No. Hell no. It’s never going to happen.”

She borrowed out the books, leaving a shocked Billy and his friends behind.

Walking the short distance to her apartment, she dropped her bag and books before calling Daniel.

This was the first time she’d have called him in a week.

Grabbing a soda out of her fridge, she dropped down into her chair and waited for him to pick up.

“Hello,” he said.

She frowned as he sounded a little put out. “Would you like me to call another time?”

“No, no, everything is fine.” Elizabeth heard some laughter in the background along with music.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing was wrong. I just wanted to tell you something. You know, to do with Billy.”

“Are you dating him?”

“No, of course not. He asked me out, and I figured out that it was all for some kind of bet. I’d been hearing a lot of rumors, and I couldn’t—”

“Daniel, baby, come on. It’s our party. Come and join the fun.”

Everything inside Elizabeth froze.

The feminine voice sounded flirtatious and familiar with Daniel.

Biting her lip, she heard Daniel respond.

“So what was this about a bet?” he asked.

“Erm, it’s nothing. I’m tired. I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I’ve got to go.” She quickly ended the call, dropping her cell phone onto the sofa between her thighs.

Her heart raced, and she hated that her tears began to sting from the pain.

She didn’t know what to think in that moment. Her cell phone buzzed, but with how close the tears were, she didn’t trust herself to answer. Turning her cell phone off, her apartment seemed so quiet.

He was with another woman, and she sounded way more familiar than Elizabeth would have liked.

Determined to put it to the back of her mind, she focused on the book right in front of her, wishing more than anything that she could just forget it. She didn’t need or want to think about Daniel right now.

No matter how hard she tried to focus on the pages of her book, her breaking heart wouldn’t let her. Finally giving up, she grabbed her cell phone and headed toward her bedroom.

She needed to turn it on as she used her phone as an alarm.

Sitting down on her empty bed, she stared at the phone, wishing she could just leave it, and not have to worry about him calling her.

In that moment she realized that even though he didn’t want to share her, and she’d agreed to no other men, Daniel hadn’t done the same about women. He was the boss, and this she needed to remember. Just because she enjoyed his company and he was a lot of fun, he paid her to be there.