Page 95 of Brat Baby
Oakley chokes on a mouthful that she just swallowed. She coughs and gasps, finally getting it unstuck.
My eyes widen, and I reach for her drink to offer it to her.
She accepts it and takes a long drink, clearing her throat before speaking again, this time with a bit of a rasp. “Did you just saythe rest of college? As in, you plan on being with the four of them for at least four more years? As in, a long-term relationship. With four much older men. Sharing you. You being exclusively theirs for four years? What happened to six months? We’re talking no college boyfriends or even fooling around. What if you want to go to a frat party or do a semester in England or something? And what about after college, what if the job you get is across the country? Are they going to follow you?”
I…
Well, when she puts it like that, it does sound a little naive. They aren’t my forever home. They can’t all keep me. As much as I wish it did, the world doesn’t work like that. We just need to sort out the next six months. Then we can talk about another extension.
I mean, if they do all want to keep me, that’s something we can work out ourselves, in our own time. As much as I’m fairly certain I want them for a lot longer, right now, I need to figure out the next six months. Get them back on track with the contract, which is apparently still in place, because I got paid for my weekend again Sunday night.
That has to mean something, right?
I hold up my hands, palms out. “Look, I’m not sure where this is all going, and I may have gotten ahead of myself. But I want them, and they want me. I know they do. I just need to remind Derek of that little fact, then we can all work on a plan. Together.”
She stares at me, sucking on her straw, before putting the drink back on the table. “Em, if this is what you want, I’ve got your back, you know that. Cheerleader, Anakin Skywalker, and all that stuff. Just make sure it really is what you want. Don’t confuse their sugar daddy interest with actual feelings. Rightnow, they are just clients, and clients can drop you without any warning.”
It's my turn to stare at her as my dinner threatens to make a reappearance. “Why would you put that out in the universe after everything I just said?”
Oakley turns in her seat to face me more fully, puts both hands on my shoulders, and gives me the hardest stare she has ever given me. “Em, you are amazing, and you have that tragic backstory and everything, but this is notPretty Woman. This is real life. Four older men do not carry one young woman off into the sunset for the rest of their lives. At least, not to my knowledge. This relationship you have with them, it’s transactional. I know you really want this thing you have with them to move beyond contracts and timeframes, and if it does, hell yeah, I’m going to support you, but I want to make sure that you’re being realistic. What you are looking for with them is the extreme exception. It is not the most likely outcome. I just really don’t want you getting your hopes up too high.”
My throat tightens and my appetite disappears. I know she’s right. I do.
I just don’t want to believe her.
Chapter 49
Emery
What. The. Fuck.
I glare down at Justin where he stands at the lectern. Just Justin. No Derek.
The jerk is avoiding me. Dipped out before I could talk to him on Monday and then failed to show up to our Wednesday class. Justin didn’t even provide the class with an explanation.Just stood in Derek’s spot, started the presentation, and started teaching.
Not that I need him to actually explain. I know exactly why.
I had a fucking plan for today. I’m even dressed in relatively demure clothing, no boobs on display. And no vibrator shoved up my pussy.
Heat flushes through my body, and not the good kind, so I pull my T-shirt over my head and sit with just my tank top and then reach for my brand-new insulated bottle filled with ice water—thank you, Hudson—and take a long drink. Anger burns a hot hole in my stomach.
I was going to be a perfect little student today, only speaking when called upon, and then I was going to line up with all the other students wanting one-on-one attention and be polite and ask for further explanation of the chapter five reading. Even though I read that last week and understood it easily.
But no.
The asshole didn’t even have the decency to show up, fucking with my plans.
How the hell am I supposed to convince him that we can find a way to be together if he won’t even be in the same room as me?
I need to find another way to get some face time with him. And I need a new plan. Something foolproof. Something that will force him to interact with me.
I just need to figure out what that plan is.
Chapter 50
Xavier
I capture the hand that is drawing swirls on my chest and open my eyes to find Emery staring at me. Her cheek rests in the palm of her hand as she lies next to me in her bed.
