by Anna Stone
Lindsey frowned. Why was she even getting messages from a woman? Any good dating site would have the option to choose gender preferences. And Lindsey was as straight as they came.
Lindsey heard the sound of a key in the front door. A moment later, Faith entered the apartment juggling a few bags of groceries.
“Hey, Lindsey.” She walked over to the couch and peered over Lindsey’s shoulder. “Is that the Sugar Bowl? Did you get any bites yet?”
“I got a few messages,” Lindsey replied.
“Oh? Does this mean you’re not going to delete your profile?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I’m not against the idea, but I don’t know about the ‘sleeping with someone for money’ part.”
Lindsey wasn’t a prude when it came to sex. In fact, she was pretty adventurous. But even for her, this was a little too far. Maybe if she was actually attracted to the guy, it would be a different story. But judging by the caliber of men on the site, that wasn’t going to happen.
“Being a sugar baby isn’t about sex.” Faith placed the grocery bags on the coffee table and perched on the arm of the couch. “It’s about providing a girlfriend experience. Sometimes that involves sex, but sometimes it doesn’t.”
“And how do you know so much about this again?” Lindsey asked.
“I already told you, that girl I had a few classes with in freshman year. She started sugaring while she was still in art school. She ended up finding some rich guy who has been paying for all her living expenses for years now.”
“Huh,” Lindsey said. “He pays for everything?”
“Yep.”
“And it’s really not about sex?”
“Nope,” Faith replied. “Apparently, the guy just likes having the company of a hot young woman. Whether there’s sex involved or not, what these men are looking for is all the good parts of having a girlfriend without any of the bad parts. In return, they give their sugar baby gifts. They can be fancy dinners, designer clothes, expensive phones, or even just cash. Some of them give their sugar baby a monthly allowance or help them out with bills.”
“That sounds like a pretty sweet deal,” Lindsey said.
“Yep. I considered it myself after I graduated and couldn’t find a job. Then the Yangs hired me full-time, so I didn’t need to worry about money anymore.”
“Hmm…” Lindsey glanced at her laptop again. Camilla’s profile was still open. “We must have made a mistake setting up my account. My profile seems to be set to men and women.”
“That wasn’t a mistake.” Faith grinned. “I talked you into ticking both boxes. It gives you more options.”
“And how is that supposed to work?” Lindsey asked. “Last time I checked, I’m not interested in women. Not all of us are as enlightened as you and don’t care about the gender of who we date.”
“What about all those girls you made out with in college?” Faith teased.
“That doesn’t count. I made out with everyone in college.” It was true. But she’d never gone further than a kiss with another woman. She’d never felt any attraction to them.
“Wait, have you been getting messages from women?” Faith asked. “It’s rare to find women who are looking for sugar babies.”
“I got one message from a woman. Here.” Lindsey turned her screen toward Faith. “She actually seems interesting.”
“Wow,” Faith said. “What a babe. And she’s only 39. She messaged you?”
Lindsey nodded.
Faith pointed to a number on the screen. “The two of you are a 97% match. You’re insanely compatible.”
“How do they know that?”
“Remember all those questions we had to answer for the application?”
Lindsey shrugged.
“Right,” Faith said. “You were drunk. They ask everyone a bunch of questions and then use algorithms to calculate how compatible two people are based on their answers. 97% is off the charts.”
“Unfortunately, there’s one problem with that,” Lindsey said. “She’s a woman. I don’t like women. That’s pretty important when it comes to compatibility.”
“That might not matter in this case. By the looks of her profile, this woman isn’t looking for sex. Maybe she just wants the company.”
“Maybe.” That could be fun. Going on fancy dates with some rich lady and getting paid to do it. “Either way, I’d be pretending to be interested in someone for their money. Isn’t that a little predatory?”
“It’s not like the other person isn’t getting anything out of the deal,” Faith said. “They’re pretending too. It’s not to say that the relationships can’t be genuine. But do you really think these 21-year-old girls are attracted to their 60-year-old sugar daddies? Do you think they’d be with them if money wasn’t involved? The sugar daddies—the mamas—they all know the score.”
“Hmm.” Lindsey chewed her lip. “I have to think about all this.”
“Let me know if you have any more questions. I can even put you in touch with that friend of mine if you’d like.” Faith got up and picked up the grocery bags from the table. “I’m going to put these away and have a shower. I’ve been chasing kids around all day.”
As Faith left the room, Lindsey went over everything Faith had told her in her head. Maybe it wasn’t such a crazy idea. The old Lindsey would have jumped at the chance to do something like this. She would have loved to be taken out and spoiled by some rich suitor in exchange for being their pretend girlfriend. The old Lindsey wouldn’t have even cared if that suitor was a woman.
But that adventurous, carefree college kid was long gone, replaced by Lindsey the insurance saleswoman.
Maybe Lindsey couldn’t afford to be as carefree as she used to be. But this could really help with her money problems. Lindsey turned back to her laptop. It was still open on Camilla’s profile. Camilla seemed much more interesting than all the men who had messaged her, and Lindsey hadn’t even read Camilla’s message yet.
She went back to her inbox and opened the woman’s message up. It was surprisingly short. All the other messages she’d been sent were page-long explanations of what the sender wanted from Lindsey. But this one was just a single sentence.
I’d love to take you out on a date.
That was it? It seemed presumptuous. Camilla hadn’t asked Lindsey if she’d like to go on a date. She’d simply stated what she wanted. But there was something to be said for being direct.
Lindsey returned to the woman’s profile. As she scrolled through it, her eyes landed on something at the bottom of Camilla’s bio. She had missed it last time. It was a single word, on a line all on its own.
Dominant.
Lindsey’s heart jumped. Camilla hadn’t elaborated, but she didn’t have to. Lindsey had already detected some hint of it in the way Camilla held herself in her profile photo. This woman was a Dominant, with a capital D. Lindsey had dabbled enough in BDSM that she knew exactly what that meant.
And Lindsey was intrigued.
She brought up Camilla’s message again. Her hands hovered above the keyboard. There was no harm in going on one date with her. If Lindsey had any reservations after meeting her, she could call everything off.
She thought for a moment, then typed out a response.
I’m free on Saturday night. Does that work for you?
Lindsey hit send and closed her laptop. It was done. At once, all sorts of doubts came to her. Had she been too forward? Had suggesting a Saturday night been a bad idea? Night meant dinner, drinks, or dancing. Should she have suggested something casual like coffee instead? But coffee barely counted as a date. Could this really be called a date?
It didn’t matter. It was already done. Lindsey got up and shoved her laptop in her suitcase. She had to stop obsessing about this.
A few minutes later, her phone buzzed. She picked it up. It was an email from thesugarbowl.com containing a message from Camilla.
Saturday night is perfect. Let’s have drinks at 8 p.m.
Before
Lindsey could stop herself, she sent off a reply.
It’s a date.
She set down her phone and sank down onto the couch.
What had she done?
Chapter Three
“You look like a nun,” Faith said.
Lindsey stared at herself in Faith’s bedroom mirror. Her long reddish hair was pulled back, and she’d spent plenty of time getting her makeup right, however, the black, knee-length dress she wore was pretty conservative. “The place we’re going to for drinks is really classy. I don’t want to look out of place.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t show a little skin. Don’t you have anything sexier?”
Lindsey looked at the suitcase she’d dragged into Faith’s room. “Most of my clothes are in storage. I didn’t think I’d be going on a fancy date anytime soon.”
“I have just the thing.” Faith leaped up from the bed and started to go through her closet. “Where did I put it?”
Lindsey pulled off the dress, careful not to smudge her makeup, and added it to the pile of rejected outfits on Faith’s bed. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d dressed up like this. And she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this excited about anything, let alone a date. Not that it was a real date. But even though it was pretend, a romantic night out at an upscale lounge sounded like the perfect escape from her dreary life.
“Found it!” Faith held up a black and silver patterned dress. “This. This is perfect.”
“That’s… short.” Although Lindsey and Faith were the same size, Faith was much shorter. And the dress didn’t even go down to Faith’s knees.
“That’s why I picked it. One look at you in this dress, and you’ll have Camilla giving you whatever you ask for. Money, fancy clothes, a car.”
Lindsey rolled her eyes and took the dress from Faith. “I’m not going to ask Camilla for money. I’m just going to meet her.” She slipped the dress over her head.
“Well, you have to talk about the financial side of things, at least. You don’t want to go on a bunch of dates only to find that your sugar mama isn’t going to give you any sugar.”
Lindsey looked in the mirror. The dress was exactly as short on her as she expected it to be. But it covered her up everywhere else. And it did look pretty classy.
“See?” Faith said. “It’s perfect.”
Lindsey turned in the mirror. “I sure hope so.”
“You seem nervous.”
“Well yeah. I mean I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Just treat it like any other date,” Faith said. “Well, a date with someone you’re really trying to impress. Flirt, compliment her, laugh at her jokes. Show an interest in her life.”
“I can do that.” Lindsey picked up her phone and looked at the time. “I should get going.”
“Okay. Don’t forget to check in with me when you get there. Just so I know you’re okay and that this woman isn’t some creep.”
“I doubt Camilla is a creep.”
“You never know,” Faith said. “And if anything happens, and you need rescuing, call me.”
“Is there anything else, Mom?” Lindsey asked.
Faith stuck out her tongue. “I’m just looking out for you. I know you weren’t sure about this, so if you start to feel uncomfortable, get out of there.”
“I will, I promise. And I don’t feel weird about this anymore. I’m actually pretty excited.” Lindsey took one last look in the mirror and smoothed down her dress. “Wish me luck.”
Lindsey’s ride pulled up to the club where she was meeting Camilla. The Lounge was an exclusive upmarket bar that catered to the city’s wealthy. As Lindsey stepped out onto the sidewalk, she wondered if she’d even be able to get inside. Then she spotted Camilla waiting for her out front.
The woman was even more beautiful in person than in her photos. Her chocolate brown hair was dead straight, and she had the kind of curves that would make a fifties pinup model jealous. Her black dress, which was short and tight but had long sleeves, flattered every inch of her. She was shorter than Lindsey, even in heels, but she somehow managed to look like she stood above everyone else around her. Lindsey knew from Camilla’s profile that she was 39, but Lindsey would have pegged her for a bit younger. Either way, she certainly looked older than Lindsey.
Suddenly, Lindsey felt like a high schooler.
As Lindsey stood on the sidewalk examining Camilla, the woman turned her way and gave her a warm smile.
Lindsey collected herself. Here goes nothing. She strode over to the other woman.
“Camilla,” she said. “Hi.”
“You must be Lindsey. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Camilla’s voice was melodious and clear, and she had a refined way of speaking. “Let’s go inside.”
Lindsey glanced at the line at the entrance of the bar. They were going to be waiting for a while. But Camilla simply walked to the door and gave a brief nod to security, who stepped aside without hesitation.
They entered the club. It was even more luxurious than Lindsey expected. Glittering lights. Gold accents on everything. Plush seating. Despite the line outside, the dimly lit club wasn’t full. Men and women lounged about, all dressed in suits and dresses. The music was loud, but not so loud that they’d have to shout to talk. It was the perfect place to take a date if you wanted to impress them.
And Lindsey was impressed.
Camilla led her to a small corner booth. “After you.”
Lindsey took a seat. The booth was only big enough for two. Camilla slid in after her and sat down so that they were half facing each other, half next to each other.
Camilla looked around the bar. “I haven’t been here for a while. I have to say, it’s a lot tackier than I remember.” She brushed some invisible dust off the table in front of her.
Lindsey didn’t know what Camilla was talking about. This place was classier than anywhere Lindsey had ever been.
A waitress came over to take their orders. Camilla ordered a cocktail, so Lindsey did the same.
“We’ll have the truffle fries too,” Camilla said. She turned back to Lindsey. “I hope you’re hungry. I don’t usually eat this kind of food, but the truffle fries are to die for.”
What kind of person doesn’t eat fries? Lindsey looked around. She couldn’t help but feel out of her element. And not just because of the fancy bar. Camilla herself looked like she was too good even for a place like this. She was sitting next to Lindsey with perfect posture like she was having dinner with the queen.
“Is everything okay?” Camilla asked.
“Yeah,” Lindsey said. “I’m just a bit nervous. I’m still new to this.” She meant the sugar baby part, not the ‘going on a date with a woman’ part.
“I know it can be nerve-wracking at first. It’s easiest to think of it as the two of us getting to know each other. No pressure, and no obligations.”
“Okay.” Lindsey remembered Faith’s advice. Flirt. Show an interest in her. Lindsey was too nervous to flirt. Instead, she opted for the latter. “So, what do you do for work?” It wasn’t a very exciting topic, but it was all she could think of.
“I run my family’s company,” Camilla said.
“Wow.” Not her family’s business. Her family’s company. “That sounds like a lot of work.”
“It takes up almost all my time and energy. I mostly work from home for efficiency’s sake, which helps. But I enjoy it. It’s been in my family for generations and I inherited the company from my parents years ago. I’ve managed to build on their successes since then.”
“What is it that your company does, exactly?” Lindsey asked.
“Oh, a little of everything. You’d find it all dreadfully boring.”
The waitress returned with their drinks, along with a large plate of truffle fries
Camilla took a sip of her cocktail. “Well, at least they still make decent drinks. Here.” She pushed the plate of fries toward Lindsey. “Try some.”
“T
hanks.” Lindsey grabbed a few and nibbled on them. They were good.
“How about you?” Camilla said. “What do you do?”
“Well, at the moment I work at a call center selling overpriced insurance to people who don’t need it.”
“That sounds delightful,” Camilla said dryly.
“It’s pretty depressing,” Lindsey said. “But it pays the bills, and I really need the money.” Crap. Now she sounded like she was begging Camilla for money. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring money up.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’m not the type to delude myself that some beautiful young woman is actually interested in me and not my money.” Camilla looked Lindsey up and down. “All my charms aside, I’m old enough to be your mother.”
“You’d have been a pretty young mother.”
“Trying to flatter me, are you?”
Lindsey shrugged. “It’s true.”
More small talk followed, and Lindsey began to relax. No doubt, the cocktail helped. Soon, they were onto their second round of drinks.
“So,” Camilla asked. “What are you looking for in an arrangement?”
“Uh, I’m not sure,” Lindsey said.
“You really are new to this. Most women have a whole speech ready.”
“Actually, you’re the only person I’ve met up with.”
“I’m flattered,” Camilla said. “But a word of advice? Don’t be afraid to speak up about your needs, or you’ll get taken advantage of.”
Lindsey nodded.
“So, what is it you’re after? Someone who will take you out to fancy dinners? Help to pay off your student loans?” Camilla took a sip of her cocktail. “Money for a set of double D’s?”
Lindsey almost choked on her fries. “You mean a boob job?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time.”
“No, that’s not what I want. I guess I’d like some help paying off my medical debt. I was in a car accident a year ago, and I ended up with a whole heap of bills that weren’t covered by insurance. Plus, my apartment building has been shut down because it’s a health hazard, so I need a new place to live, but I can’t find anything within my budget. I’m sleeping on my best friends couch for now, but I can’t stay there forever. So, help with my living expenses would be great too.”