ELEVEN
“Comeon,tellus about this guy you met.” Gina jostled me with her shoulder. “He’s treating you well? I thought Nolan had sold you to an asshole.”
I took a slurp of my lemonade. “I don’t want to talk about all that. Can’t we just hang out and have a good time?”
After being shot down by Sully, I’d called both Gina and Kelly to meet me for dinner, exacting a promise out of them they wouldn’t let Nolan know they were planning on seeing me. Although Sully had paid him for me, I didn’t put it past the bastard to still want to claim me, or worse, to think I would want to sleep with him, even though I was free now.
“Of course we can, hon,” Kelly said. “We’ve just been worried about you. There have been all kinds of whispers about who you were sold to. We didn’t know what to believe.”
“Well, you don’t need to worry.” I dug into my fanny pack. “I’m going to give both of you something, but you have to promise you’ll take it.”
“What is it?” Gina asked.
I slipped them each a little brown envelope under the table and returned to slurping at my drink. I should have ordered margaritas or something. Sully wasn’t here to read me the riot act about being too young to drink. I’d stopped being too young for a lot of things a long time ago.
“What the fuck, Kit!” Kelly’s eyes were saucer round. “There must be like a thousand dollars or two in here.”
“Five thousand each,” I corrected. “And I want you to have it.”
“No, it’s too much.” Gina pushed the envelope to me. “I can’t accept it.”
That was exactly why I’d known I would give Sully’s first check to these two women, who were like family to me. I shoved the envelope back at her.
“Please do it for me. I was lucky enough to get away from Nolan, but we both know you’re going to need money to do that.”
“There’s nowhere in this city Nolan won’t find us,” Kelly said. “He will only confiscate our money.”
“Then hide it. Or better yet, leave everything and don’t go back. Get out of the city and start over somewhere else. I know it’s not a lot to start over, but I can help more once I do another job.”
“Are you kidding me?” Kelly’s eyes filled with tears. “With this, we can rent a place together and won’t have to worry while we try to find a job.”
I reached across the table and covered her hand with mine. “And you can finally be together.”
They were so painfully in love with each other but had to sneak around most times. If Nolan found out they were lovers, he would split them up for no other reason than that he could and to show them he was in charge. I’d spent many nights lying awake, with my back turned to them while they whispered in the dark and tried to be quiet while having sex.
They deserved to live happy lives together. What was the point of making money if I couldn’t share it with friends who needed it more?
“Wait a minute,” Kelly said. “What exactly do you do for a job? How did you get your hands on so much money? Your new guy isn’t pimping you out too, is he?”
Not exactly in the way she thought.
“No, I promise. He’s not like that at all.”
If he were, I wouldn’t be pining for him so hard.
“Then what is it like?” she pressed. “We can’t take this money if you need it.”
My face heated under their scrutiny. “I promise you I don’t need it, and he’s a good guy. He takes care of me. We go shopping. He buys me stuff.” I fingered the pendant around my neck. “I have a new house all for myself and even a new car.”
“But you don’t drive!”
I chuckled. “Believe me, he knows that now, although he still insists on teaching me.”
“Oh my god, you like him,” Gina said. “You really do.”
“No, not like that.” I rocked back into my seat. “He’s not into guys.”
“But you still like him. Don’t deny it, Kit. You know you can tell us anything.”