“Of course he can.” I grin, holding my hand out for her key. Truth is, I have a weird affinity with animals, which is probably why I like them better than humans.
“When do you leave?”
“Day after tomorrow. I’ll only be gone three days, four max. The rest will be filmed in the studio.”
“Okay, well, let me know if it runs over. I’ll take care of Charlie.”
She kisses me on the cheek before leaning over the desk and pecking Sugar on the lips.
“Gotta go. I have a waxing appointment. Laters, my loves,” she calls over her shoulder before she leaves, pulling the door closed behind her.
“Does she seem…off to you?” I flounder, trying to put into words the sad look in Lollie’s eyes.
“Yeah, and ever since Dulce left, it’s been getting worse.”
“She misses her. We all do,” I admit begrudgingly.
“It’s more than that. I think… I think she’s lonely.”
Lonely? That look in her eye… Yeah, lonely. It fits.
“She has us.”
“And she always will, but it’s not enough. Not anymore. She has always held herself apart from people because of who she is. People think when they interact with her that she’s Lollie Evans, the pornstar. She is, but she is so much more than that. People don’t care, though. Nobody wants to see beneath her layers. It’s why she spends so much enhancing what she is on the outside. The lips, the hair, the boobs. It’s all just another layer of camouflage.”
“She’ll be okay, though, right?”
Sugar gives me a half-grin. “She might be a pornstar to the world, but we both know that’s what she does, not what she is. She’s strong. Not just anyone can handle being a Candy Girl.”
That’s true. We’re all made of tougher stuff than most people realize.
“Fair enough, but just…” Jesus, I don’t do feelings for a reason. I never know what to say.
“Don’t worry, when she needs us, we’ll have her back. She’s just not ready to see it yet.”
“See what?”
“Her future,” Sugar replies cryptically.