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“No shit,” Isabella muses.
They get into a conversation about teachers, while I stand there in awe of Isabella. She manages to make everyone in the room fall in love with her in a matter of moments. It is like she knows exactly how to talk to people to get them to like her. It is impressive as hell. I’m sure it also comes in handy when it comes to being an escort, but I can’t ask her about that right now. I let Lefts and Isabella talk, standing idly by while they discuss teachers and other school things. Eventually Isabella tries to include me in the conversation but Lefts is too enamored by her to notice me.
“So how did you two meet if you’re upstate a bit?” he asks, looking between us.
“Oh,” I start, but my mind draws a blank. This is one of the things we should’ve rehearsed.
“She’s always so embarrassed this is how we met, but I was on a blind date and she stole me away,” Isabella lies with a smile.
“How’d that happen?” Lefts asks with a look of confusion.
“Well, I was on this absolutely terrible first blind date with this man. Mind you, I don’t date men. And I’m trying to tell him that when he just keeps going on and on about fishing. Another thing I can’t stand. So in walks this beautiful woman, I flag her down and put my arms around her, whisper in her ear help me and she does! She quickly kisses me and the man is so annoyed that he takes off and leaves,” Isabella rattles on.
“That must’ve been one hell of a kiss,” Lefts muses.
“Oh it was,” I add, smiling at Isabella adoringly. I don’t know where she pulled that story from, but I’ll have to thank her for that later. One more second of umm and we would’ve been screwed.
“Well, I’ll let you two mingle a bit. I need to catch up with some others. Isabella, it was wonderful to meet you.” Lefts smiles and takes off before saying another word.
“Damn, where the hell did you pull that from?” I ask.
“It’s the story of how my parents met,” she adds with a laugh.
“Really?” It is actually a cute story if you think about it.
“Well minus the not dating women part, I added that for us. My mom was on a blind date with someone terrible so she pretended to know my dad. He kissed her and the rest is history, they’ve been married for over thirty-five years now.” Isabella shrugs and pops a cherry in her mouth.
“Wow,” I say, impressed.
“Yeah, they’re big on soulmates because of that.”
“Do you believe in soulmates?” I ask with a raise of an eyebrow.
“Nope.” She pops the p and throws another cherry from her drink in her mouth.
“How come?” I ask.
“I don’t believe there’s just one person out there for everyone. I think we all need different things at different times,” she says a matter of factly.
“Interesting,” I muse. I don’t believe in soul mates either but with stories like her parents, it is hard not to.
“I hope it was okay I told that story. We just hadn’t discussed anything and I didn’t want you to panic.”
“It was perfect.” I nod.
“Okay, cool.” She looks around the room. “Is there anyone else to introduce me to?”
“Sure, want to meet some authors?” I smile.
“I’d love to.” She nods, and I take her hand in mine.
We walk around the room and I take my time introducing her to different people I think she’ll like. Mostly authors and a few other people from my team. Everyone is super kind and inviting to Isabella, and I can tell some of them are happy to see me with someone. I just wish in this moment, with how well she is getting along with everyone, it isn’t because of her job.
Sometimes we have these moments of tension and electricity pass between us and just as quickly it’s gone. It is hard to tell whether that is real or if it is just temporary. It is also hard to tell whether that is part of what I am paying for or whether it is real. Because fuck, if that can be faked I’ll never think twice, but the connection we feel for each other seems as real as my growing feelings for Isabella. No matter how stupid that is.
By the end of the night, I’ve had a little too much to drink and I know it is stupid considering the situation I’ve put myself in. But I am tired of overthinking my feelings for the woman I am paying to like me. So I drank too many dirty Shirleys and I am lighter, happier than I have been all night.
“Do you need any help getting home?” Isabella asks as we walk outside. the party was a success and that’s all that matters.
