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He was by my side and sitting next to me before I could complete my explanation. “I would never kick you, Reese. Why would you even think…” He shook his head, and then bowed his face and squeezed his eyes shut. “I shouldn’t have come here.”
“No.” I reached out and caught his knee. “It’s fine. Really. I mean, if you need to get something off your chest, then…let it out. It’s not like you can talk to just anyone about this. And we’re friends, so…”
He looked up and studied me, his gaze pleading for some kind of deliverance.
But as he stared, his features collapsed. “Do you know I’ve never had sex just for the hell of it, just to have a little recreational fun with a partner of my choice? I have always, always been propositioned and paid. I’ve never gotten to decide when or where, or how, or with whom. I’ve never—”
“Then have recreational sex,” I said, frowning because I couldn’t see why this was so upsetting. Not for him anyway. The idea of him having recreational sex—without me involved—was incredibly upsetting for me. Sure. But we weren’t talking about me. This was about him. “Nothing is stopping you from giving out your…freebies.”
Mason pulled back as if I’d slapped him. “That wouldn’t be fair to the girl.
It wouldn’t be fair to me. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone.”
Oh.
Hmm.
So he was a gigolo with starch standards. Damn, another thing I had to admire about him. More than admire, actually.
With a burst of clarity, I realized he wasn’t a man-whore at all. In fact, if he’d never fallen into this lifestyle, I bet he’d be the commitment type, the one-woman man who never strayed or stayed in a relationship for less than two years.
He’d be perfect boyfriend material.
It was a wonder some girl hadn’t snagged him up before—
“Wait.” I shook my head when another thought struck. “Even your first time was—”
He made a sour face. “My landlady. She offered to knock off the back rent we owed if I…relented. Threatened eviction if I didn’t. She’s actually the one who set me up with meeting other women and got me hired at the Country Club.”
My eyes could’ve popped out of their sockets. “You mean Mrs. Garrison? So she’s like, what, your pimp?”
He huffed out a scoff. “Pimp? Yeah, I guess, in a manner of speaking. She…hey, how do you know her name?”
I shrugged. “She told me. I ran across her smoking outside when I left your house one night after babysitting.”
“Damn it.” And he was back on his feet with the pacing again. Seriously, the boy was going to run me dizzy. “I told her to leave you alone.”
“You did?” Well, that was alarming. “When did you do that? And why were you discussing me with your landlady?”
“Because she’s seen you coming and going and you’re…” He threw out a hand to motion toward me as if I should be able to finish that sentence.
I couldn’t. Straightening, I pressed my palm to my chest, already offended. “I’m what?”
“You’re…beautiful,” he muttered, turning away. “So, naturally, she thinks you and I…”
“Yeah.” I nodded and rolled my hand. “I got that part.”
Mason scrubbed his face, moaning. “God, I really hate this sometimes. Sometimes, I just want to quit it all.”
My heart skipped a beat. Hope sprung eternal. “Then quit. Quit it right now.”
He clenched his teeth and sent me a scowl. “I can’t!”
I shook my head. “Why not?”
“I just...” He winced. “I’m not going to do this forever. I do have a plan. As soon as I graduate, I’m getting a kick-ass job. Then I’m setting Mom and Sarah up in a house, one they own, not another rental. And I’m going to find my own place. I’m going to be free.”
I nodded as I listened. It was sad to hear how trapped he felt in his current life and how responsible he felt for his mom and sister. “Why can’t Dawn buy her own house now? And why can’t you move out now, if that’s what you want?”
