Chapter Two
Two hundred dollars, I remind myself. I’ve just earned two hundred dollars for two hours of work, including travel time. Not bad. Just for filling out a questionnaire. And if I get chosen to be one of the participants at the evening party, I will get a thousand dollars, regardless of what happens.
I inhale a long calming breath as I climb into my car and take off.
I finally get home, not remembering the drive at all. My brain is fuzzy, and I still can't believe what I’ve just done. I'm also a little disappointed to be honest. I was really hoping to meet the famous Colton Rossi, if for no other reason than to tell Cassie all about it. She would have loved that since she's never met him either. He’s extremely reclusive, and his parties are very exclusive.
I slam the door a little too hard as I get out of the Jeep. I drive a crappy old Jeep, not unlike the one Lorelei drives inGilmore Girls, but mine is blue and probably older than hers. It's slowly falling apart, and is in dire need of mechanical help. That’s yet another reason I need money.
I’m here at Christian’s school, and today I'm picking him up since it's my day off. I pick him up on Mondays, and we have a little tradition: we go to McDonald’s and have ice cream. He lives for this. When you don’t have a lot, it’s the little things that make a big difference.
He is in full jabber-mode today. He's a very happy boy, so I have that working for me. I just love watching him play, and listening to him talk. He's just so high on life. I never tire of looking into those big gorgeous brown eyes. People say he looks exactly like me. He has my eyes and dark hair and round face. And he’s small like me. He’s my mini-me.
I honestly don't see much of his father in him, and that's a good thing because sometimes I'd rather forget about Keith all together. And he obviously would rather forget all about us since he hasn't been much help at all. I don't even really know where he is right now, and I really don't care.
Tonight I'm making mac and cheese. It’s Christian's favorite, and Cassie's too. She should be here within the hour, and we’ll be having ourgirls’ nightinas we usually do on Monday nights. Yes, drinking red wine on a Monday. Is that so wrong? If it is, I don't want to be right.
Cassie is one of my most important people. Her and Christian are my everything. I’m not very close to my family since I'm unfortunately far away from them. Sosheis my family, her and our next door neighbor, Judy.
Cassie is absolutely stunning, a slim blonde, who kind of looks like Reese Witherspoon. She is perpetually single and unlucky in love. Unfortunately, I am also very unlucky in love. We are two peas in a pod.
She works at the local casino, and she loves her job. She’s very social, and she gets to interact with people. I’m a bit less social myself, but I like a small amount of interaction, and that's what I get at the café. My regulars are my friends.
She's all smiles when I open the door to greet her. She's wearing the cutest little jumper, and her face brightens up when she sees Christian. He jumps in for a hug, and they do their regular little dance. He grabs her hand, drags her by the arm to the living area, and sits next to her on the sofa.
“So what will it be tonight?” I ask her. “A Shiraz or Cabernet, or perhaps a margarita?” She will probably be Uber-ing home tonight. It’s what she typically does when she chooses not to crash at our place.
“The Shiraz sounds perfect,” she says as we settle down at the table to eat and chat, a bit of small talk to start with before dinner. We catch up on basic stuff, and I don't talk much about the interview. It’s understood that we are saving that for later. We just chat about the regular boring stuff.
“So how’s school going, Christian?” she asks. “You like it?”
He is full of words when he tells her all about his new teacher, which I suspect he may have a little crush on. Apparently, Mrs. Garcia has curly hair and blue eyes and is really, really nice. Cassie and Christian help me set the table, and we enjoy mac and cheese and a garden salad, followed by dessert, apple pie which I just bought on sale at the farmer’s market in town.
We then have a bath, and by we, I mean Christian. Once he’s all clean and cozy in his pajamas, he picks his bedtime story selection, which Cassie gladly reads to him. He’s reluctant to go to sleep because he just wants to be with us, but he also knows it's grown-up time. I kiss him goodnight, and I know he'll be completely out and dreaming shortly.
We move to the living room, and it's time to dish.
She settles herself comfortably amid my throw pillows. “So how did the interview go?” she asks. “Was it good? Tell me all about it.”
I smile, and hesitate a little when I tell her, “It was good. It was definitely interesting. Some of the questions on the questionnaire sheet were hilarious. For example, one was ‘Have you ever committed a crime?’”
Her eyes widen. “Oh yes, that one time when you stole that bag of chips. I remember you telling me all about it.”
I laugh. “Yes, that’s what I wrote down. And another question was ‘What is the kinkiest thing you've ever done in bed?’”
She laughs out loud.
I shrug. “So I said 69.”
And she absolutely cracks up.
“Well, I’m glad I can entertain you.” I venture a sip of my wine. “Yes, not super kinky I know, but you know I'm kind of boring.”
“You’re not boring,” she argues. “You’re just a ‘good girl.’”
“So what else happened?” she asks, curious. “Did you get to meet Colton Rossi?”
I sigh. “No, I didn’t,” I tell her, and disappointment traces her features. “He was nowhere in sight.”
