Wolfe #2
I pulled out my phone and texted Francesca. Deal is complete. No injuries or casualties.
Her three dots appeared right away, like she’d been waiting by her phone. Thanks for letting me know. Are you on your way home?
I loved the way she phrased that question, like we had a home together, a home that only existed when the two of us were both present.
It wasn’t so much a physical place, but something we created when our beating hearts were pressed together, skin-to-skin.
Leo and the guys want to go out. Can’t get out of it.
I wasn’t sure how she would react to this. Would she get possessive and jealous and demand I come home? Kinda hoped so, because that would be really hot.
Okay, I’m going to bed, then.
Disappointment filled me. Not the reaction I’d hoped to hear. Maybe she was actually mad, but I wasn’t picking up on it.
I’ll see you tomorrow, babe.
Nope, she didn’t sound mad at all. I’m going out on the town with a bunch of single guys, and that doesn’t bother you? I should have kept that to myself, but I didn’t have any kind of filter whatsoever. My thoughts just poured out like water from a broken dam.
Should it bother me?
I didn’t type back, not because I was ignoring her, but I didn’t have an answer to her question.
I trust you—with my life and my heart.
An indescribable warmth moved through my heart and then the rest of my chest. I got off on how much she wanted and needed me, but in search of that, I got something better. Got something that meant a hell of a lot more.
We went to a couple bars, the guys got plastered, and I was the only sober one because I drank all the time anyway. This was just a Tuesday for me. Women came over to our table a couple times and the guys tried to seal the deal, but no one could make the magic happen.
Whenever one of the women went for me, which was pretty much all of them, I was silent and impolite, and they moved on pretty quickly. By the end of the night, all the guys struck out, so we ended up in a brothel.
Fuck, I was gonna be stuck here until tomorrow.
I tagged along, went with the flow, tried to blend in.
Let the guys pick their dates for the evening and go into the room first, that way, I could just leave without them knowing I’d skipped out.
I’d already said all the women who’d hit on me weren’t attractive enough, and at some point, they were going to think I was either gay or I was in a relationship.
I’d rather they think I was gay.
My plan almost worked, but then Leo blew it to smithereens. “I’m paying for your woman for the night.”
“Why? I don’t need a man to pay for my women, alright?”
“I know I was kind of a dick to you before.”
“We’re good, alright?” I said quickly. “Pick your girl, and we’ll meet up later.”
“Come on,” he said, completely trashed. “Be cool, man.”
“Are you even going to be able to stick it in when you’re this drunk?”
“Pick.”
Cristo. “Fine, I’ll take the blonde.” I preferred brunettes, so I took the one who was the least attractive, not that it would matter anyway.
“Nice choice,” Leo said. “I want that one…with the cat eyes.” He kinda pointed but almost stumbled over.
He was gonna collapse on the bed, and she was going to rob him blind.
I headed to the back with the blond girl, and we went into a private room. It had a king-size bed, lamps on the nightstands, and a couple couches on a rug. It was a room without windows that reeked of sex.
I had my regulars come to my place.
“I’m Cynthia.” She untied the sash around her robe and started to take it off. “What are you into—”
“Put that back on.”
She stilled, the robe hanging in the crooks of her elbows, her tits out, and all she wore was a little thong.
I only looked at her eyes.
“I said, put that back on. Now.”
She put the robe back on and covered herself.
I set my phone on a table across the room and started to record before I moved to the couch. “You play cards?”
“Excuse me?”
I pulled out a deck of cards that I kept on me sometimes, what I played with the guys while we waited for a deal to finish. Sometimes it could be hours. “Poker? Blackjack? If you don’t know how to play, I can teach you.”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “You’re going to pay me to teach me cards?”
“Yep. Sit.” There was a little cushioned purple stool for her.
She took a seat across the table and crossed her legs.
“Long story short, the guys forced me here, and I’ve got a girl at home that I can’t tell them about. So, we’re going to play cards. Easiest money you’ll ever make.” I nodded to the camera. “Just some proof in case I ever need it.”
“Why don’t you just leave?”
“Because he drove,” I said with a sigh. “I’ve gotta roll with it.”
“Why don’t you just tell them you’re seeing someone?”
I shuffled the deck then started to deal the cards. “Because one of the guys I’m with…it’s his sister. Kinda under wraps right now.”
“And when he realizes you’ve been seeing her, don’t you think he’ll be pissed off, knowing you came here?” She grabbed the five cards I’d put in front of her.
I nodded to the camera. “Hence, the camera. So how about poker?”
She looked at the cards in her hand before she looked at me. “How about Go Fish?”
I smirked. “Not my style, but hey, whatever you want.”