“Yes, I am.” It’s really all quite simple and makes perfect sense to me.
She huffs through her nose, tilts her head to one side, and looks at me hard.
“All right,” she says, “let’s play this out. What do you think I’m going to do during the day?”
“Whatever you want.” I reach up and run a finger over her cheek. “I’m gone a lot of nights, too. When I’m not here, I don’t care what you do as long as you aren’t turning other tricks.”
She continues to stare at me with a look of incredulity. I have no idea what the problem is. It’s a perfect situation.
Maybe she’s worried about money.
“You can go shopping. See a show or whatever. I’ll even get you a credit card.” She doesn’t look convinced. “I can still pay you cash as well. You’ll just get room and board as a bonus.”
“This isn’t what you want, Evan.”
“Of course it is.” I reach for her hand, but she pulls it back. “Hell, what man wouldn’t? You’d be here whenever I want you. It’s perfect.”
“It isn’t.” Alina shakes her head. “Yes, you want the sex on a physical level, but it’s really having someone to sleep with that you pay for.”
I stiffen slightly.
“And?”
“And I’m not your girlfriend, Evan. You said it yourself—that’s not what you are looking for—but that’s the situation you’re trying to set up. I’m not here for you to be my sugar daddy.”
“Well, why the hell not? You’re here a lot anyway, and I’m still paying the bills and getting you the groceries you ask for! What the hell do you care if I throw in a little extra? Besides, the deal’s done. Teto agreed.”
“No, Evan!” Alina pushes herself off the bed and stands beside it, pointing a finger at me. “You do not get to buy me! I’m a person, a person with a job, not a sex slave!”
I rub my fingers into my eyes. This isn’t going well, and I don’t understand why. It’s all very clear to me, so why can’t she see it?
“Your job is to fuck guys! What the hell is the difference?”
“Because I choose it!” she yells back at me. “I decide who I fuck and when! Not Teto, not the guys who pull up to my corner, and not you!”
I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to me in such a way. Maybe in basic training when I was still only seventeen, but it certainly hasn’t happened in my adult life. She glares at me, all red-faced and as pissed off as she could possibly be. The look is making my heart pound, but I have no idea if I’m angry or turned on.
As I try to figure all this out, Alina is pulling her clothes back on and picking up her purse.
She’s leaving me.
I just stare as she gathers everything together, not even bothering to sit down to strap up her heels. I wrap my arms around my stomach as my body tenses up on itself. I’m reminded of the note from Lia I found in the cabin, and my stomach cramps again. Alina tosses her purse over her shoulder and doesn’t even glance back at me when she heads for the bedroom door.
“Don’t leave.” I can barely get the words out, but somehow she hears me.
Alina stops in her tracks and turns to looks at me. The fire in her eyes lessens, and she lets out a big sigh. With her lips mashed together, she stares down at the floor and grips the strap of her purse. Glancing up at me, she runs her hand through her long hair.
“You can’t buy me, Evan.”
In the back of my head, I know how horribly wrong she is. If I want to buy her, I can. Her consent is irrelevant. I have the means and the connections to do exactly that. I can keep her against her will as long as I want. It has nothing to do with Teto, either. The phone call to him was nothing more than a business courtesy. Pimps keep a hold on their hookers through fear—whether it’s fear of being on the streets without protection or fear of the pimps themselves—and I’m far more dangerous than any pimp.
But Alina doesn’t appear to be afraid.
“I want you to stay.” I move over to the edge of the bed and place my feet on the floor. I lean over my knees, trying to come up with the right words. “I don’t care what we call it; I just want you to stay.”
“Why, Evan?”
“I need you.”