Page 58 of Draft Pick

The familiar creakof our apartment door signaled my return from Cason's place. I slipped off my shoes, tiptoeing in, but stealth was unnecessary.

Danielle was sitting cross-legged on the couch, surrounded by her usual chaos of half-eaten bags of chips, several flavors because she liked variety, her face illuminated by the glow of her cell phone.

"Hey, Star," she greeted without looking up. "How was dinner with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Baby Daddy?"

I flopped onto the other end of the couch, flicking on the small light and exhaling deeply. "It was... complicated — but surprisingly delicious. The man can cook and is really good with his hands."

Danielle's mouth twisted in a wry grin. "Well, duh, if he wasn't good with his hands he wouldn't be the Wolverine Golden Boy right now. Did you fuck him again? I mean, it's not like you can get pregnant twice."

"No," I answered quickly, proud of myself for staying strong, even though the feel of his hands on my body had created a languid warmth that made sticking to that decision difficult. "He gave me a massage after dinner and was a total gentleman. He didn't once try to persuade me to get naked, although it probably wouldn't have been hard."

"Nice," she said, finally looking up. "So you didn't have sex, you just ate dinner and talked?"

"Yeah, mostly. I mean, we did kiss. Once. It was…perfect," I admitted, frowning a little.

"If it was so perfect why are you frowning?"

"Because I'm worried that it wastooperfect and perfect is usually a red flag. Like, was he trying too hard? Or was it an appropriate amount of effort? Was he love-bombing me or was he earnestly trying to make amends?"

"Whoa, that's a tiramisu-level of second-guessing layering. How about just go with your gut? Did you feel it was appropriate in the moment?"

"Well, yeah, in the moment it was amazing."

"Then, go with that. They say your first instinct is almost always the right one."

I wasn't sure about that. "I thought we had something before, and then he ghosted me, so I'm not quite sold on the belief that first impressions are solid enough to build a foundation."

Danielle accepted my reasoning, shrugging, "Fair point, that's why I saidmostlybut from the outside looking in, he seems like he feels bad for royally fucking up and that's saying something. Most guys don't even think twice about their actions or how it affects others."

Not for the first time, I wondered about Danielle's history with men, particularly now that I knew she had a sugar daddy. She had no qualms about taking money from an older man to be his arm candy, but I doubted she'd always been this cold-hearted in the relationship department. You know what they say, 'villains aren't born, they're made,' and likely, someone had pushed Danielle into her villain era.

But I had my own emotional problems to solve. Danielle would have to figure out hers.

Danielle's phone dinged with a message, breaking the momentary silence. She glanced at it and chuckled, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Speaking of men not thinking twice," she said, "that's my sugar daddy. Wants to know if I'm free tomorrow night. Fucker should've bought me that necklace I had my eye on." She shared as she typed her answer, "Sorry, busy." And then returned to me as if she'd quickly jotted down a grocery list to remember later.

The sudden shift caught me off guard. Danielle's sugar daddy was a topic we rarely delved into because it was her business, and we'd only recently been closer. I wanted to stay within the bounds, but I had questions. "You ever worry about... I don't know, getting too deep into that lifestyle?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

Danielle shrugged nonchalantly, her eyes still on her phone. "It's just a means to an end, Star. Easy money, no strings attached. Besides, it's not like I have any real romantic interest in the guy. That's the key, never get attached. Besides, trust me, these kind of guysluvvvvvbeing abused. Seems weird to normal people but they aren't normal, so typical rules don't apply. I like it that way, actually."

"But isn't it hard to keep things so... transactional?" I prodded gently. The idea of juggling emotions and financial gain was foreign to me.

Danielle met my gaze, her expression more serious than usual. "Babe, you learn to compartmentalize. You know, protect yourself."

Her words echoed my own fears with Cason. It was all about self-protection, wasn't it? Whether it was guarding your heart or your financial security.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it, though," Danielle continued, a rare vulnerability seeping into her voice. "Like, am I missing out on something real because I'm too busy playing it safe? But then I get a new shiny present and I stop having those kinds of thoughts. Babe, don't underestimate the power of a 3-carat princess-cut diamond ring to lift your spirits."

"You have a three-carat diamond ring?" I gasped in surprise.

"Yeah, it's in my safe though. I keep all my sparklies in the safe, just in case. Also, diamonds make good collateral. If I'm ever in a pinch, I can sell one and I'm golden until I snag the next rich idiot willing to pay for my company."

I envied Danielle's ability to compartmentalize, but I worried she might encounter someone who wasn't quite as harmless as the guys she's been spending time with. "Just be careful out there, okay?" I warned, already feeling like a mother hen. "I don't want you to get hurt."

She shook her head, a wry smile returning. "Don't worry about me, babe. I know what I'm doing." Then, with a playful nudge, she added, "But enough about my questionable life choices. Back to you and Mr. Golden Boy."

The conversation flowed back to Cason and me, but Danielle's admission lingered in my mind. We were both navigating our chaotic paths, balancing safety and the risk of letting someone in.

It reminded me that, like Danielle, I had my own defenses. Maybe it was time to reassess them, especially with Cason and our little nugget in the picture.

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