“Nope, just tired.”
“He doesn’t look too tired.” She grinned.
“I just need to get some sleep.”
She stood up from the bed and looked around my room in search of her clothes. I couldn’t help but take in her perfect form. She was an attractive girl, as were all the girls I brought home, but they were nothing more to me. They were here merely to fill a void that I had felt for the past three years.
“Are you taking off?” I asked.
“I think so. Maybe I’ll see you tonight?” she asked, avoiding eye contact with me.
“I doubt it, babe. Got to study.” It didn’t really matter, I didn’t normally hang out at the bar I had met her at, and I was always careful not to divulge my local hangout. I normally didn’t bring girls back to my apartment either. I may have slipped up on that one. Chances of running into her again were slim to none unless she came back here, which I prayed she didn’t.
“What about over the weekend?” I watched as she covered up her beautiful legs in jeans; not too long ago they had been wrapped around my neck.
“I work most of it, and I have to finish off a few assignments,” I said, stretching.
She threw her shirt on and grabbed her coat from the back of my desk chair. “You going to walk me out?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at me.
I sat up and pulled my sweats on.
“Perhaps dinner?” she asked quietly as we got to the door. I was going to be in trouble with this one. Three times in the last five minutes she has asked to see me again. I guess it was time to lower the bomb. It wasn’t the first time; I’m sure it wouldn’t be the last time that I had to do this either.
“Honey, I’m not really looking for anything serious right now.”
I watched her eyes drop to the ground. She turned away and slipped her shoes on. “I had a good time,” I whispered in her ear, before sucking her lobe into my mouth.
“Me too,” she mumbled, stepping out into the hall.
“I’ve got your number. Maybe I’ll call you sometime. You suck dick like a fucking champ,” I said, winking at her. I’d become a total asshole when it came to women, and it wasn’t something I was proud of. My mother would have slapped the smile I wore right off my face if she’d heard me say something like that. Regardless, it had to be done.
“Don’t bother,” she called back as I watched her perfect ass walk away from the apartment door before heading back inside my apartment to study.
Chapter Nine
Hope
Ihad been in thecity a little over two days and hadn’t heard a thing from Carter. In fact, he hadn’t even read my message. I had gotten myself a dingy little hotel room for the week. It was a dump. There were stains on the sheets, and the room smelled of urine, but it was cheap; it would have to do. I had barely slept. I had listened to two people fight on one side of my room and two other people fucking on the other. My dad would go haywire knowing this was where I was staying.
I opened the door to my room and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. Pieces of garbage lined the outside wall of the building, and dirt was caked on the windows so thick, it looked like they hadn’t been washed in years. As I shut the door to my room and turned to walk toward the stairs that would take me to the parking lot, two men sat outside of their rooms. They both looked at me and smiled. Both were missing teeth, and a heavy BO smell poured off them. They probably hadn’t washed in months. I hurried past them both as they whistled and catcalled after me. Once I was down to the street, I headed off in the direction opposite to the one I had come from two days ago. First thing I needed was to find some type of a job. I certainly wasn’t planning on ever going back home, but there was no way I could stay in this place any longer than necessary.
Soon, I was in a better part of the neighborhood and I walked past a bunch of restaurants and storefronts hoping that one of them had a sign stating help wanted. I was feeling defeated as I came to the end of the buildings—there was nothing. I was just about to turn around when I saw a sign for Joe’s Bar and Grill. The place looked like a hole in the wall. It was in the basement of this building, but they had a help wanted sign out front. As I approached the stairwell, I was greeted by a bunch of bikers. Most of them ignored me, but one of them stopped me before I went in.
“Look at what we have here...” he said, eyes raking over me. “Sweetheart, you look good enough to eat.”
I felt a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I ignored him and pushed past him into the pub. I looked back over my shoulder to see his face pressed up to the glass, continuing to watch me from outside.
The place was empty inside. One or two people sat in booths against the far wall sharing some food. I walked over to speak to the girls behind the bar. “I’m here to inquire about the job?”
She looked me over. “One moment, darling,” she purred. “I’ll get the manager.”
I sat down while I waited. Within minutes, this guy walked around to where I was sitting. “Hey, I’m Mike. Holly said you were here to inquire about the help wanted sign.”
“I am.”
“Well, it’s a waitressing position. You ever waited tables before?”
I shook my head. “I can learn. I’m sort of in a desperate position.”