by Lena Skye
“Just give it some time. You don’t have to stalk the site every day, just keep your profile up and check it from time to time. Eventually, you’ll find someone but you need to know that the good-looking men are in high demand. Finding someone with great looks and money is rare. It’s kind of like the holy grail.”
“I’ll have to think about it. But for now, I’m going to continue doing what I’m doing.” I said as I got up to grab my things.
“Where are you going?”
“Work. Some of us still have to do that…remember?”
“You wouldn’t have to go to that shitty job if you were willing to live a little.”
“I want to live a lot and I don’t mind making my own money. Would it be nice to find a man that was willing to do all of those things for me? Absolutely. But I just don’t feel good about this.”
Before I headed out of the door for work, I went to my laptop and updated my profile on the site. At the top of my profile in big bold letters I put, “If you are looking to pay me for sex, then don’t message me. I am not an escort.”
I saved it and felt a little better before I headed off to the hellhole that I called work.
*
I arrived at work a few minutes early and put on my apron.
“So where is your friend?” Georgia asked me.
“I don’t know.” I said.
“Don’t the two of you live together? I’m getting ready to fire her ass.”
“Well then just do it.” I exclaimed.
“Tell her that she doesn’t need to come back here.”
“You know what, somehow I don’t think she cares very much. You do what you have to do and please leave me out of it. I’m here and that’s all that matters.”
“I don’t know why you’re friends with her anyway. She seems like a really self-centered and stuck up girl. She doesn’t even have the decency to quit her job. Now that’s some childish and irresponsible shit. Does she know what kind of position that puts me in?”
“Don’t you mean what kind of position that puts your staff in? We’re the one that have to clock in extra hours, not you.”
“That’s even more of a reason for you to not like that bitch.”
“What is your problem today?” I asked. “Can you please not talk about her to me? If you want to fire her, fire her. I don’t want to talk or hear about it.”
“Watch yourself little girl or you’ll end up broke and needing a job, just like her.”
I shook my head, “You’re so clueless it’s funny. If she needed the money, don’t you think that she would be here? Have you ever considered that she found a better opportunity?”
“Her? With a joke of a high school education? The only option available to her is selling that pretty little ass of hers and jobs like this.”
I laughed, “That’s your problem with her? She’s too pretty for your taste?”
“I’m not intimidated by pretty women. I know that pretty doesn’t pay the bills unless you put a price tag on it.”
I groaned, “Just stop! I’m about to get ready to go out on the floor. If you need anything from me that pertains to my job then just let me know. I don’t want to gossip with you, and I don’t want to hear your rants.”
“Don’t forget to punch in on time. You have a bad habit of that.”
“But I do the work and I never ask you to cover for me.”
“I swear I just need people in here that will do their job. There are people who would kill to have the opportunity to work. The economy is horrible right now, so I’m going to need you to act like you’re grateful.”
“I’m here when I’m supposed to be and I do the work. If that’s not an expression of gratitude then I don’t know what is. I don’t have to put up with this harassment.”
“Just go do your job.”
I rolled my eyes and went to punch in. I couldn’t wait until I graduated so that I could get the hell out of that place. The jobs that pay the least treat you the worst and want the most. That’s some ironic shit.
*
After I got off of work, I headed to see my mom. I brought her some cream of chicken soup for her this time; it’s her favorite. She could eat it every day of her life and be happy.
“Hey baby.” my mom said.
I looked her over and smiled. She was having a good day.
“You look good mom.”
“I feel good.” she smiled.
“What have you been up to this evening?”
“Nothing much, watching The Good Wife.”
“You’re so addicted to that show.” I laughed.
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it girl.”
“I don’t have time to get addicted to shows. I’m lucky if I get to watch TV at all. It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even know why I have that thing in my apartment.”
“Because Jezebel loves TV.” my mom said with a grin.
“Her name isn’t Jezebel mom.”
“I know Jessica’s name. I still don’t understand why you would move in with that heffa. She’s been trouble from the day that you met her.”
“I’m not about to talk about my friendship with you.” I said shortly, “She’s my friend, she’s not going anywhere and that’s it.”
My mom raised an eyebrow and gave me a look that I knew all too well. I was always free to express myself with my mother but she didn’t tolerate disrespect.
“Sorry for being so evil. It’s been a long day. I also had to hear Georgia talking shit about Jessica today. I don’t understand why everyone hates her. What has she done to anybody?”
“It’s not that we hate her, it’s just that we see the good in you and we see the evil in her. When you’ve lived as long as we have, you get to know people really well. We know when people aren’t about anything. She is going to drag you down. You should have gotten an apartment with someone that was going to school like you. What does she do all day? Is she paying her part of the rent? I wouldn’t put it past her to come up with excuses when it’s time to pay up.”
“Mom, would you stop worrying? I would also appreciate if you respected my decision in friends. I know what kind of person she is, better than anybody, and I love her anyway. Yes, she can make questionable choices but she truly is my friend. We look out for each other and I’m not going to throw that friendship away because other people don’t feel comfortable with it.”
“You didn’t answer my question about the rent.”
“Yes she pays her part of the rent. If anything, I’m the one that needs her to cover me sometimes and she does it without complaining. If it weren't for her, we would have been evicted by now. And you know what? She’s never thrown it in my face.”
“Where is she getting this money from? It’s not like she’s done any real work in her entire life.”
“Can you stop judging her?” I asked. “You don’t know her like I do. She’s my friend, not yours. I find funny is that she actually likes you.”
“Why is that so funny?”
“Because you don’t like her. You’ve never liked her.”
“That’s because I don’t like her conniving ways. You deserve better.”
I saw our conversation wasn’t going to come to a sensible resolution so I changed the subject, “Did your nurse come by today?”
“No, she’ll be over tomorrow. But Penelope came by today and she did some shopping for me.”
“Aww, I’m sad I missed her. I wish that I could see her more.”
“You two are some big babies. She said the same thing.” my mom laughed.
“Well, I can’t help it if I love my big sis. Maybe I’ll get to baby sit Bianca in the next couple of week. I miss my baby.”
“She misses you, too. She kept asking to see her Te-Te. She went looking all around this apartment looking for you. I guess she thought that you were playing hide and seek.”
“Awww. I gotta stop by their house this week and see them.”
I had a great family. Our
circumstances weren’t ideal but I was blessed to have them.
“Baby…” my mom said.
“What’s up?”
“Do you need some money?”
“Why would you ask me that?”
“My check came today and I can give you some money.”
“No mom. You keep your money and I will figure it out.”
“You don’t have to be ashamed. I know how hard you’re working. You deserve to have some extra money in your pocket. I don’t have many bills, so go get my purse and take $100.”
I shook my head quickly, “I’m not taking your money, mom. You need your money. I work so that I won’t have to ask you for anything. Let me take care of myself.”
My mom shook her head, “I swear, you’re so damned stubborn. You need to learn how to let people take care of you. You’re only twenty-one, you need help. I love that you’re independent and everything but you should have a better life than this.” My chest ached as I saw my mom tear up. She felt so guilty about not being able to take better care of my sister and me.
“Mom, just stop it. You are an amazing mother, so just stop it. I’m self-sufficient; you’ve done your part.”
“If you need anything, just let me know. I will do my best to make it happen for you.”
“I will mom.”
We both knew that I wouldn’t to ask her for anything. I never do. Her disability check wasn’t a lot and she couldn’t afford to share with me. I would go without necessities before I asked her for anything. She didn’t need a begging daughter. She needed to focus on her health so that she could get better and get the hell out of that place. My mom was vibrant and I couldn’t wait until she recovered.
Her words still got to me. I thought more and more about that sugar baby website and I wondered if I should give it another chance. That would be a great way to supplement my income. I just needed to state my ground rules, stick to my convictions and get some cash. If the men stepped out of line, I would just splash more drinks and leave. Maybe Jessica was on to something. I was tired of struggling.
#Chapter6
A week later, nothing truly changed about my uneventful life. I didn’t go back to the website although I got messages every now and then. I saw the photos of them in my email and they all looked creepy and old. My thoughts to leave the site alone seemed like a better idea than to move forward with it.
Chris even tried to call me a couple of times to apologize but I sent him straight to voicemail. I wasn’t going to deal with anyone that tried to treat me like a hooker. It looked like I was going to have to make my money the good old fashion way.
Jessica had finally been fired officially and she couldn’t have cared any less. She had no intentions on returning to the restaurant, anyway. She never even showed up to pick up her last check. Georgia was pretty pissed about having to put it in the mail. She loved being able to lord over people and Jessica wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
I aced my test just like I thought that I did. Rodney was a little jealous because he got a B. He then suggested that we be study partners but I declined. I didn’t want to be bothered with his advances.
One evening as I was leaving work, I got an email and I looked at it on my iPhone on my way home. It was another message from that horrid site I opened it so that I could get a good chuckle at the loser in my inbox. Only this time, the man was really good-looking and he looked pretty young. His stat said that he was thirty-two. I went to take a look at his profile on the site out of curiosity.
His name was Vince and it said that he’d just joined that day. He was recently separated and looking for a “stress free arrangement with a girl that he can spoil and treat like a princess”. White men usually weren’t my style but even I had to admit that he was pretty fuckin’ hot.
I shook my head. He was probably some loser behind a computer screen that was trying to catfish me. He probably stole the pictures from some unsuspecting man on Facebook. I didn’t see why a man that looked like that would use a sugar daddy website. I’m sure that he didn’t have any problems finding a woman to give it up.
I sent him a message, “Nice try, why don’t you show me your real pics?’
I closed my eyes and waited for my train to get to my stop. I wasn’t about to get my hopes up over some fake. I’d seen enough of the show Catfish. I was home about 45 minutes later and I saw I had another message from Vince.
It said, “Send me your number and we can FaceTime, if you like.”
My senses went on high alert. I paced the floor a few times and wondered if I should go through with it. If he really turned out to be the same person, then he had to have some major issues, right? Why would a man that good-looking want to pay someone for their time?
I sat on the couch and waited. Five minutes later I felt like an idiot. Why was I waiting for him to call me? He was probably busy and he never specified when he was going to contact me. I went to my laptop and prepared to get started on my Women’s Studies homework. Right as I was about to begin, my FaceTime app alerted me. It was him!
I smoothed down my hair quickly and cursed myself for not reapplying my lip gloss. I licked my lips and answered his call.
And, he was a cutie!
He has short jet black hair, beautiful blue eyes, dimples and a five o’clock shadow. He looked so sexy. I was a little speechless. We sat there staring at each other for at least a full twenty seconds before we said anything.
“Wow.” he said in a breathless tone.
“Wow?” I asked.
“You’re stunning.”
I blushed, “Thank you, so are you. I mean, you’re handsome.”
He smiled and I melted. He had beautiful white teeth with elongated canines. I immediately thought of the vampire movies that I loved so much. He could bite me anytime he wanted.
“Thank you, babe.”
“You’re very welcome. So what are you doing on a site like that anyway?”
“I could ask you the same thing. Honestly, it was something that I did on a whim. When I saw you, I just had to reach out.”
“I’m glad that you did.”
“So what do you do?” He asked.
“I’m an accounting student. I work at a restaurant and I intern at an investment firm.”
“Whoa, you’re a busy woman. When do you sleep?”
“When I can.” I laughed.
“I know the feeling.”
“So what do you do?” I asked.
“The easiest way to explain it is that I buy companies.”
“Oh, so you’re the big fish, eating up all of the small fish?”
“Exactly.” he laughed.
“So how close are you to graduating?”
“I’ll be done next year.”
“Then what?”
“Then I’ll enter into a CPA program.”
“Wow, I’m impressed.
I was the one that was impressed. He was asking me a lot of questions about myself. That was rare. We spoke for the next few minutes and then we were interrupted by a knock on his door.
“I’m sorry. I’ll have to speak to you later. But let’s catch up tomorrow and arrange a time to see each other in person, if you’re interested.”
“I would like that.”
“Cool, it was very nice to meet you. I look forward to speaking with you tomorrow.”
“Same here, have a wonderful evening.”
“Goodnight.”
The interaction ended and I squealed like a school girl. He was the kind of guy that I could really see myself being with. He was rich, successful and seemingly normal. I probably wouldn’t have met him under any other circumstances, so maybe that site wasn’t so bad after all. I finally felt something that I hadn’t felt in a long time: butterflies.
“What are you screaming about?” Jessica said when she poked her head from her door.
She startled me, “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yes, I’m here and I’m trying to get some sleep but
that’s ruined now. So go ahead and tell me what you’re all excited about.”
I gave a huge grin and walked to her room with my phone in hand, “You have to see the guy that I just met off of the site. He’s sexy as hell, and he’s young.”
Her eyebrows raised, “Oh yeah? Show me.”
We sat on her bed and I pulled up his profile. I watched her eyes get huge and she shook her head, “There’s no way he’s real. He’s gotta be a fake. That’s another thing that I wanted to warn you about. Some men on there are posers. They just want to have phone sex or start a text relationship. They’re usually broke losers.”