Misadventures with a Book Boyfriend

by Blue, Victoria

  “No, not exactly.” I quickly tried to deduce the meaning from the two separate words themselves. “Is it money left to a company in someone’s will?” Maybe she was forgetting the little detail that I wasn’t the best with money matters.

  “Not quite. It’s a person who invests in a business but is totally hands-off. They literally front money, and that’s it. They want nothing else to do with the business other than a return on the money they put in.” She waited to make sure I was still with her, ducking her head down for assurance I understood. I had had my fill of her insulting my intelligence overall.

  Maybe it was lack of sleep, maybe just too much stress in general, but I cracked. “I’m not an idiot, Janine. Just because I have a pretty face doesn’t mean there’s a rock instead of a brain. It doesn’t have to be a brain or good looks. I’d appreciate if you’d stop treating me that way.”

  She took a step backward and looked at me like I had completely offended her.

  “What? Are you going to say you haven’t been treating me that way?” I was still angry but lowered my voice. It was early in the morning, and my deep voice reverberated off the stucco exterior of the condos.

  “No, not at all.” She put her hand up to her chest and patted a few times. “I’m going to say thank God you finally stood up for yourself. I was wondering how long it was going to take you. Do you always let people walk all over you like I’ve been?”

  What the… “So you’ve been testing me?”

  “Yeah. I don’t want to be in business with some wussy boy. I want to know that you’re going to stand up for us if need be. I’ve been insulting you for weeks, and you just take it. Let that be a lesson to you.” She pushed my shoulder with an open hand, knocking me off balance because I wasn’t expecting the contact.

  I looked at her sideways. “You’re a strange lady. Maybe I was just raised with better manners than you’re used to from all these surfer boys. My mother would’ve washed my mouth out with soap if she heard me speak to one of my elders with such disrespect.”

  “Well, in business you need to stand up for yourself. Manners are all fine and good, but don’t let someone else walk all over you. Verbally or otherwise. And excuse me? Elders?”

  She was grinning when I looked up from the sidewalk I’d been studying for the better part of her lecture. “I’m glad we’ve settled all that. But seriously, think about it. I have an angel investor lined up for BBI.”

  “Okay, let me think while I’m doing these errands today. I know what you’re offering is amazing, but I also know my head isn’t screwed on straight right now. I need time to think.” When I met her stare again, she was more serious, but concern and understanding had replaced the teasing look.

  “We’ll come up with something,” I assured her. And I truly believed that. Above all else, I knew this business idea was solid. After the way I felt doing that last shoot, I was pretty sure my heart wasn’t in modeling anymore, either.

  “I’m not certain where things stand with Bailey. That shit Skye told me really has me looking at both of them in a different light. I’m not sure I know them at all.”

  “Would you even be convincing right now with a client? I don’t know.” She shook her head in doubt and continued. “I know you’re really stressed out. I just think you may want to think about turning clients away instead of wrecking the company’s image because you’re not giving them what they’re looking for. They’re already used to not being fulfilled at home. You know?” We walked the rest of the way to my front door while we talked and then stood in front of my unit for a few more minutes.

  She was making very good points. Nothing I hadn’t already thought of myself, but I quickly dismissed it because other, more immediate problems came pushing and shoving their way to the forefront. That’s how I currently dealt with life. Like a battlefield corpsman, triaging injuries. The non-anesthetized amputees were dealt with swiftly while the minor contusions waited outside the tent. Janine and I agreed to check in later that afternoon after we finished our to-do lists.

  * * *

  What I thought would be a few days of hiatus from seeing Bailey turned into two weeks. We sneaked a rendezvous in when we could, but the scandal surrounding her husband’s death had turned all eyes to her. She became a media darling, the curious public watching to see how the poor aggrieved wife was handling the shame her husband left behind for her to deal with. Of course, the reality was far different from what played out on the news, but she would ride the wave until the next news event caught everyone’s attention.

  “How can you keep watching this shit?” Skye snatched the television remote from the coffee table and turned the set off before I even looked up from my laptop, barely registering she was in the room.

  “Huh?”

  “So intelligent, Oll. You need to leave the house. Your brain is rotting in here without fresh air.”

  “I’m working. I have to come up with a schedule for next week for Janine by…” I took a quick look at my phone for the time. “Shit, I was supposed to be done with this twenty minutes ago. I’m going to have to hire more guys.” I shook my head as my sentence trailed off.

  “How many do you have on staff now?” she asked around a mouthful of cereal. My days of cooking for her ended about two weeks ago. I was just too busy with my own stuff now to wait on her. She was burning the midnight oil at the office anyway, most nights coming home well after I was asleep.

  “I don’t need a lecture right now, Skye. Thank you, though.” I was tired and frustrated, and while she wasn’t the cause of either, I had very little patience left for her judgmental attitude when it came to BBI.

  “I wasn’t going to lecture you. I’m genuinely curious.” She tilted the bowl up to her mouth to drink the milk left behind.

  “Four, not including me, but I haven’t been out with a client since I met Bailey. So, yeah, four.” I continued typing, not really caring if she responded.

  “And you got an actual business license for pimping them out?” she asked over the rim of her bowl.

  “It’s a dating service, Skye. It’s legal. And yes, I did.” I was so not in the mood for her jabs. She used to support me when no one else did. But now, whether it was the business concept she disliked or my relationship with Bailey she didn’t approve of, something had definitely shifted in the air between us.

  “Did you write up a business plan?” she called from the sink, where, wonder of all wonders, she was washing her own dish and spoon.

  “Yes. Why all the questions? Are you looking for a side hustle? City Hall not all you were hoping?”

  “Very funny. I’m just impressed.” She left the dishes to dry in the teak dish rack on the counter.

  I stopped what I was doing and raised my stare to her waiting one. “I’m sorry? Come again?”

  “Impressed, Oliver. I know it’s not a word you hear from me very often. But there, I said it. Twice. Nice going. You took an idea you truly believed in and ran with it. Good job, you.” She nodded in approval, probably of herself, for doling out praise to the lesser man, but still, I wasn’t going to ruin the moment.

  “Thank you, Skye Blue. I know that all but killed you to say, but I still appreciate it.” I watched her with narrowed eyes, as something told me there was more to the compliment.

  She let her shoulders slump, physically hinting at surrender. “I want the best for you. You have to know that. I love you.”

  “Mmmm-hmmm.” Usually it took half a bottle of vodka to get her talking that way. The L-word didn’t come across those lips without a price. I couldn’t help but feel suspicious. Definitely wasn’t falling for it.

  “Don’t be like that. We’ve been through so much together. Haven’t we?” Her voice shifted to little-girl-Skye. Also, typically only brought out by alcohol.

  “Yet, sometimes, I feel like I don’t really know you at all.” I was done playing. I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but I didn’t want any part of it.

  “What’s that supp
osed to mean?” She snapped out a hip, hands planted on either side. So much for surrender.

  “Nothing,” I said calmly and went back to typing on my keyboard. If she’d come around the other side of the sofa, she would have seen I wasn’t even in an open document anymore. I just wanted to make my point and then shut the discussion down by appearing occupied.

  A while back, when I first met Bailey, she had said something about Skye having to toughen up if she wanted to have a career in politics. That it wasn’t a place for the faint of heart—something along those lines. I no longer worried about my best friend. She could go toe-to-toe with the best of them, and I’d fear for her opponent more. She didn’t need a man to take care of her like I once teased. In fact, I don’t think I’d stand by and let one of my gender stumble into that minefield without proper warning and safety gear first. Manville didn’t need another soldier down, and after what I’d seen of her behavior lately, that would be the exact outcome.

  My phone rang, and I recognized the burner phone number Bailey used. I purposely didn’t change the contact name in case my phone was taken by someone thinking they could get information about her through me. Everything had to be reconsidered now. Every move and every thought had to be carefully evaluated for risk and reward before being executed. I grabbed my phone and laptop and went into my room, closing the door behind me. Skye would know who it was by that action alone, but she could suck a bag of dicks for all I cared at that moment.

  “Hey, beautiful.” I hadn’t realized how much I’d been hoping she’d call until I saw it was her.

  “I’m not so sure you’d say that if you saw me right now. Seriously, worst day ever.” She sighed into the receiver.

  “Why? What’s going on? And how can I make it better?”

  “I really don’t know how you are so sweet and so single. It just doesn’t add up. Do you turn into a big smelly ogre in the moonlight?” she asked playfully.

  “Well, you’ve seen me in the moonlight. What did you think?”

  “Hmmm. No, definitely not smelly.” She laughed a little bit but trailed off too soon.

  “Okay, seriously, tell me what’s going on.” I flopped back on my bed, squishing the pillow under my head to prop me up.

  “Just the press. They won’t let up. I just wanted to have my hair done. That shouldn’t be too much to ask. My roots are a disaster, and the salon can’t deal with all that commotion going on out front of their store, you know? It scares away other customers. The owner called the police, but the bastards just circled the block a few times and came right back when they saw the cops move on to more important calls.”

  “That does suck. I’m sorry that’s what your day was like.” I wished I had something better to offer than sympathetic words, but really, what could I say?

  “And I know, total first-world problems, right?” She chuckled, using a teenage girl dialect.

  “I didn’t say that. Didn’t even think it.”

  “Well, you’re sweet, that’s why. But I feel like a brat even saying it. There are people in the world with way more serious problems than gray hair showing.”

  “Wait. You have gray hair? Oh…that changes things, Bailey. I’m not sure—” I teased.

  “Shut up!” Then she laughed a little longer, and I smiled, hoping the teasing at least lightened her mood a little.

  “It won’t last forever. The media has a very short attention span. Something juicier will come up in the news, and they will be like a cat with a laser pointer and be off to chase the bright light.” Trying to sound optimistic and pointing out the crappy habits of the media seemed like an odd combo, but it was definitely their pattern.

  “So true. So true.” She let out a big sigh. “Tell me about your day. What did you do with your time?” Bailey asked, clearly looking for a change of subject.

  “I spent a lot of time rearranging the schedule for next week. Now that we have four guys to juggle, it’s getting a little complicated. I try to match the clients up with who I think will best fit their requests, so it just takes a little time. Then, just when I think I have it all worked out, I either realize I forgot one request, or someone calls with an appointment they forgot to tell me about, or Janine tells me she already promised one of the guys somewhere else. It’s maddening. But again, like you said, first-world problems.” I did my best to emulate her teenage girl tone on the last sentence.

  “Oliver?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “I’m so proud of you.”

  And for the first time, maybe ever, it felt like someone said those words and meant them. It was hard to talk around the enormous lump that swelled in my throat.

  “Did you hear what I said?” Her voice was so steady, I was afraid to answer, knowing mine would be anything but.

  “Yeah. It’s just hard.” I gulped down the emotion squeezing my throat like a python.

  “I know, but you’re doing it. And it sounds like you’ve got a great handle on it.”

  Even after clearing my throat, I still answered roughly. “No, I mean, it’s hard to hear that.”

  Of all the times in my life to be missing my family, I guess this was one of the worst. I was trying to deny it to myself, but Bailey’s praise brought it all right to the surface. I knew they were never thrilled that my so-called fame came from looking good. That it wasn’t a skill, or talent, it was a genetic gift that I chose to cash in on. Even then, I screwed up and blew through the money I made and didn’t plan well for the future. I don’t think I ever heard words of praise from either of my parents’ mouths, so when she said them, I was really caught off guard.

  “Why? What do you mean? It’s true. I feel so proud of you.”

  “No one has ever said that to me. Or at least said it and really meant it. That just seemed… I don’t know. It just felt like you meant it.” The exchange between Skye and me moments ago felt completely disingenuous compared to this.

  “Of course I did. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. But it makes my heart sad that your parents didn’t nurture you the way parents are supposed to.”

  “Well, they did the best they could. That’s what I tell myself, at least. They were young when they had me. Had no actual plans of becoming parents so soon after getting together. My dad resented me my whole life for ruining his.”

  “Please, God, please tell me he didn’t actually say those words to you.”

  “Okay, I won’t tell you that.” I just let silence fill the phone line. It always sounded so much worse when I told the story to someone else. I guess I’d built up some sort of protective shell against the awfulness of it.

  “You poor boy. I wish I was there holding you in my arms.”

  “I wish you were too but for completely other reasons.” I couldn’t help but rub my cock through my pants. We were having to go way too long in between times we could see each other.

  “Oh, I like the sound of that even more.” Finally, her voice picked up excitement. Our phone conversation had gotten way too heavy.

  “Right? Can we meet somewhere? Can I just come over? Are you alone?” Some nights, her personal assistant came over to help with errands or chores around the house or just to keep her company.

  “Actually, I am. How soon do you think you could be here?”

  I was already pulling up the Uber app while she was talking. There were usually drivers near my condo complex because we were fairly close to a shopping center.

  “I’d say twenty minutes if the traffic gods are on our side.”

  “Please be discreet. Come around the back. I’ll leave the garden gate open and the lights out. I’ll even turn the pool lights out, so be careful.”

  “Oh, guess what? Perfect timing. The Emmys are tonight down by the Grammy Museum… Damn, what is the name of that theater now? Whoever paid to get their name on it—doesn’t matter. What matters is all the paparazzi are going to be planted downtown, not at your gate.”

  “That’s excellent news. Let’s err on the side of caut
ion regardless. I don’t want to get cocky and be back in the headlines.”

  “Agreed. I’ll see you soon. Wear something sexy!” Reenergized by the idea of seeing my girl, I zipped around my room, freshened up, and changed my clothes, leaving a wake of haphazardly strewn things all over the floor and bed. I knew I’d regret it when I came home to the mess later, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the extra time cleaning up.

  I stuffed some things into my backpack with every intention of spending the night fucking Bailey into the mattress. We’d been holding off, waiting for the media vultures to go circle something else, and this might be our only chance for a while. I wasn’t going to waste it. I made sure I had plenty of condoms in my bag, grabbed my wallet and phone charger, and went out into the living room. All the lights were out except the one we kept on in the kitchen overnight as a night light, so I assumed Skye had gone to bed. I checked my phone again to see how close my ride was and realized she was already out front. I quickly locked the front door and all but skipped to the waiting Prius in the parking lot.

  The ride to Bailey’s went quickly. I texted with her the entire way. Teasing and taunting her about what I had planned from the moment I walked in the door, I had a raging hard-on when I got out of the hybrid vehicle behind her large suburban home. A neighbor’s dog barked in the distance when I closed the gate, but nothing out of the ordinary to arouse any suspicion.

  When I got to the back door that led into the kitchen, I peeked into the window beside it and saw her waiting, pacing and glancing at her phone to see if I’d texted since we exchanged our last messages. I quietly turned the handle of the door, and she looked up, smiling the minute she saw me. After closing the door and sliding the three different locks into place, I pulled the blinds closed. When I turned to face her, she stood motionless, waiting and staring, wordlessly challenging me to make the next move.

  Two strides and I covered her mouth with my own, bending her back, my hand woven through her loose hair, twisting my tongue with hers. I wrapped my arm around her waist, which seemed even smaller since I first met her, the stress of the past months showing in the neglect she punished her body with.