"Nice suit, good job?"
"Exactly."
"Why'd you stay with him so long?"
"Good body."
He laughs. "Really?"
"It didn't hurt." My gaze fixes on the cluster of buildings downtown. "He was charming. And a good time. And it was easy." He got me into drugs, but it's not like it was his fault. I made those decisions. I knew what I was doing. "But, he had a stronger presence. I lost what I liked. What I wanted. That's why I'm doing this self-help thing." Okay, it's only half of the why. But it is true.
"What do you want?"
I motion to the trees behind us. "I want to come on your hand. Like you promised."
His smile gets devious. "Oh no, sweetness. You aren't even close to desperate enough yet."
* * *
He's evil.
Really, he is.
He spends the entire afternoon leading me around the massive park, teasing me, winding me up.
The sun sinks into the horizon, streaking the sky red.
He drags me to a hidden thicket of trees, rolls my shorts and panties to my knees, and slides his hand between my legs.
I come twice.
Then two more times at his place.
I wake up in his bed, smile plastered on my face.
I like him.
I really, really like him.
And I don't even care that it's going to end in heartbreak.
Only that I get him now.
Chapter Seventeen
Iris
Walker motions to the silver sign like it's a precious gem.
I tilt my head to one side. "And…"
"You didn't like the restaurant?"
"It was amazing." Really. I had no idea ramen was supposed to taste like that and not like ten cents a pack sodium overdose.
"Trust me." He pulls the glass door open and motions after you.
I step into the tiny, crowded store. We're the oldest people here by quite a few years. It's mostly teenagers and just barely not teenagers.