Page 55 of Crushing Clover

“Men who aren’t expecting to go to the beach,” he said sourly, kicking wet sand off them. I was wet to the ankles now, so I assumed he had a decent-sized soaker.

“So, you landed yourself in trouble, and now you’re stuck with us.”

“Horror of horrors.”

His smile turned sharp. “Our tastes aren’t exactly conventional.”

“Neither are mine.”

I didn’t miss the flare of interest in his eyes, but he reined it in and changed the subject.

“What did you plan to do before you ended up here?”

A flock of seagulls decided we were getting too close, and they took to the air, squawking indignantly.

“I had good enough grades in school that I thought I might eventually do college or university, but then I moved out and bills have a way of changing your plans.”

He squeezed my hand.

“The sex resort I worked at was offering a scholarship, but then I got hurt.”

“Having sex?”

“It was a resort for men who like the rough stuff, so yeah. Job hazard.”

“But you went anyway.”

“It’s hard to turn down hope.”

He nodded like he understood. “What had you planned to go into?”

“I’d always said I wanted to go into medicine, but who am I kidding? My marks were good, but I don’t want it bad enough to slog through that much more schooling—but living paycheck to paycheck was hell, and I never want to do it again. What I really wanted was stability—a decent paying job, a shitty house to work on, and someone I could build a life with.”

God, I sounded so boring.

“Didn’t your boyfriend help?”

“I was the only one pulling that plow. He was just along for the ride.”

He snorted. “So, you left his sorry ass?”

“He cheated on me first.”

His whistle was whisked away by the wind.

“Pathetic, right? I don’t understand how he could think he loved me but not care enough to help out.”

“He prioritized entertaining himself over you, and he had no reason to change his ways. You sacrificed everything for him, and he let you.”

I sighed. “I was always so worried about choosing a field where I could make good money, and now I’ll never make any again.”

“Your relationship with us might not be exactly what you planned on, but at least you know where things stand. You give us what we want, and you get what you need in return.” He shrugged. “If there are things you want, ask.”

“To be honest, I thought this was going to be awful, but I’d rather do this than shake my ass all month and find out he went behind my back and spent our food money on a new game or something.”

“He really did that?”

“More than once. Thank fuck for soup kitchens.”

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