My hand trembles as my thumb hovers over the green answer button. I hate letting her drag me through a volatile roller coaster of emotions every time she decides she wants to be my mom again, but I never have the will to say no either.
But today, I feel different. I feel stronger. I definitively move my thumb over the red end button and then reject her call. Throwing my phone back in my bag, I hurry back to my room with my head held high. I don’t want to be late for my mystery date.
When I get in the car with Shane later that afternoon, he throws me a grin.
“Looking good, honey,” he says, surveying my jeans and crop top with approval. I merely giggle and tell him he looks good too because he does. The man is utterly gorgeous in a simple white t-shirt highlighting that broad chest with black jeans emphasizing his long legs. My mouth grows dry at the sight, my pussy already beginning to tingle.
But then, Shane announces that we’re going to need to stop at his office for a few minutes. While I’m a little bummed that our date is getting pushed back, I also feel happy about the fact that he’s comfortable taking me to his office. I don’t feel like a dirty little secret at all.
We park in the garage and I begin to head towards the door.
“This way, sweetheart,” Shane calls to me. Confused, I turn on my heels to see where he’s pointing.
“Why do we need to take the service elevator?” I ask. He doesn’t speak, and instead just waves for me to catch up. We make our way up to the top floor, and then wend through a warren of hallways before coming to an emergency door.
“Are you supposed to open that?” I ask with trepidation. “Maybe the alarm will go off!”
But he merely grins and throws his weight behind the heavy metal slab. As it opens, my eyes go wide.
“A helicopter? Is this yours?” I gasp. The propellers are already beating with a steady thwap-thwap and the noise is deafening. He laughs and pulls me in close to speak into my ear.
“It’s the company’s helicopter. The boss owed me one.” He kisses me on the forehead and then grabs both of my hands. “Are you ready?”
I practically hop with glee.
“Oh my god, yes! This is so wild! Rose is going to be so angry she gave me that date with you.” He tickles me a bit and I squeal. “What? I just mean she’s going to be jealous, is all,” I say, laughing. He grabs my hand and gently steers me towards the helicopter pad.
We approach the enormous machine and the pilot takes my hand to assist me into the back seat. He then shakes Shane’s hand, giving him a thumbs up.
Shane hops into the backseat next to me and drapes his arm around my shoulders. Before I know it, we’re taking off. The helicopter lifts into the air, and my heart is beating out of my chest. This is the most incredible experience I have ever had in my life. If you told me two weeks ago I would be on a date with rich, handsome, older man touring New York City by helicopter I would have laughed in your face!
I am practically spinning in my seat trying to take in all the sights as we ascend into the sky. The view is marvelous and I lean over, taking in the towering skyscrapers which seem close enough to touch. The clouds are fluffy and seem to drift about us like mist.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I sigh into my headset.
“It is,” replies Shane in a deep voice. But when I turn, he’s not looking at the view. He’s looking at me. He thinks that I’m beautiful, and my heart swoops and then drops, although it has nothing to do with the helicopter ride. I’m falling in love with this man, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. But does he feel the same?
10
Lucy
Three months later.
I’m hiding in a stall in the communal bathroom of my dorm, reading the sticker graffiti plastered all over the wall. My plan was to take the test here and then head back to my room to get the results in private, but it’s too risky. I don’t know what I would say if someone saw, so I’m huddled here in the stall of the bathroom like a coward.
Shane and I have been dating for a few months now in secret. We haven’t told anybody other than Rose because it’s just so wrong! I still call him Uncle Shane from time to time. I mean, I mostly do it to tease him, but he seems to like it. Even worse, Shane likes me to call him “Daddy” in bed, and sometimes I do. He comes so hard when he hears the words that I know the word triggers something in him.