I dug through my purse as I waited for the elevator. I was fuming! How could he offer me something like that? Didn’t he realize just how offensive he was being? There were so many things that I wanted to go back and tell him, starting with the fact that he wasn’t god’s gift to women as he seemed to think he was. Sure, it was the best sex I’d ever had before, but his entitled and self-righteous attitude more than ruined it for me. The longer I stood there fumbling around as I looked for my keys, the more pissed off I got. After a few more minutes of angry searching, I realized that they weren’t there .

It was worse than the walk of shame. At least I would have been leaving that way. Instead I had to go back to his penthouse and knock on the door. Admittedly, it felt good to see his face light up when he realized I had come back. I had to force myself to stay strong and shove past him in a desperate attempt to find my lost apartment keys. The last thing I wanted was to go back there ever again .

“I can’t find my keys,” I grumbled to him .

He seemed rather happy to have me back. “Well good, then we can talk while you look for them .”

“Or you could shut up and help me find them,” I shot back. “Then it would go twice as fast and no talking needed at all .”

“Please, Tabitha. I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean to upset you. I really just want to know more about you .”

“Look—” I started to say .

Earl held up a hand and shook his head. “I promise that I won’t say another bad thing about your apartment. I will be a perfect gentleman and not push any subject. I really just wanted to get to know you some. Me and my dad aren’t really close so it’s nice to get to meet someone from Opal’s life .”

I snorted as I laughed. “If you are looking for a positive voice for Opal, you are barking up the wrong tree, my friend. She hates me and I hate her .”

“What a terrible thing,” he said with a frown. “My mother died when I was seven. I would give anything to have her back .”

“Really?” I said softly .

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He had lost a parent too. Earl nodded his head, but said nothing. I set down my purse and looked at my hands as I folded them back and forth in my lap .

“My father died when I was younger too. I don’t think my mother ever really forgave him for leaving her penniless with two kids to feed. Once he died, our lives all changed .”

“It really sucks to lose a parent,” Earl said .

“Yeah,” I offered as an awkward silence fell between us .

He cleared his throat. “You know I took you to your apartment building last night. After seeing it, I just couldn’t leave you there alone. I know I should have just left, but I couldn’t. That’s why I brought you here. I guess part of me just wanted to make sure that you were safe .”

“Well that’s a very noble gesture, but I’ve walked home many nights all by myself and I seem to do just fine .”

Earl winced at the words and I realized how they sounded. I quickly cleared my throat. “I work a couple nights a week at a bar downtown. It’s not great hours, but the tips help, so I walk home to save money .”

“Do you have any idea how dangerous that is for a beautiful woman like you? I heard gun shots last night !”

It was impossible for me not to laugh at the expression on his face. The poor man looked genuinely afraid. I wiped away the tears and sat down next to him, fighting the laughter once again .

“After my father died, my mother couldn’t afford to keep the house any longer. She sold it and spent most of the money on a lifestyle we couldn’t afford. My sister and I got stuck in a crappy apartment, even worse than the one I have now. If you could see the size of the rats I use to live with, you’d think my place now was the Ritz .”

Earl shuddered. “No child should have to live like that. But I still don’t understand why you won’t let me help you now. We are family after all .”

I shook my head. “You don’t get it. If I take money from you, I’m no better than her. I will find a way to have the breast job done, but it will be on my own terms. I didn’t sleep with you to get a boob job, I hope you know that .”

“You’ve made that abundantly clear,” he said with a pout .

“Listen, I appreciate everything that you are willing to do for me. I really do. But you have to understand where I am coming from. My whole life I saw my mother resent my father until the day he died. Then she went from one man to the next as she made her way up the food chain. I don’t want anything that I have earned or traded for .”

“Well then,” he said with a shrug, “I’m sure we could work something out .”

I laughed. “Then that would make me a hooker, or maybe a ‘kept woman’, either way it’s not going to happen. I like the independence that I have. I’m not sure what kind of deal we would work out, but I’m sure everything will work out in the end .”

“Why don’t we just start with breakfast? Unless you are really in that much of a hurry to get home ?”

I looked down at the meal he was making and listened to my stomach growl. I could use some food. Begrudgingly, but feeling a little better about the situation, I set my purse down on the ground and turned toward the kitchen as Earl started to fry up the food. The smell of bacon wafted up to meet me and I was glad I decided to stay. At least I was until he decided to ask more questions. Then, I couldn’t help but glance at the door again for an escape .

“So were your mom and dad married for a long time?” he asked as I scarfed down the food .

I nodded and swallowed quickly, trying not to be rude. “Oh yeah, up until he died when I was twelve. He always made sure that me and my sister were taken care of. I know that my mother loved him back then. It was near his end that she started to ‘wander’ as he called it .”

He frowned. “I guess I don’t know very much about my new step-mother .”

“What about your dad? Him and your mother were married, right? Did he meet anyone else before my mom ?”

Earl shrugged. “I don’t really know. After my mother died, me and him weren’t very close. I spent most of my time getting kicked out of private schools and boarding schools until he finally found one that stuck. Then it was off to college and starting my practice .”

“Do you ever miss that time with him?” I asked .

I was trying to keep the conversation focused on him. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of my life, but there wasn’t all that much to be proud of. Beyond graduating college, I’d done absolutely nothing with my life. At twenty-two years old I had no idea what the future held for me. Already my nineteen-year-old sister had a better-looking future than I did. It was a hard pill to swallow. As the meal neared its end, I thought about going home again and my heart sank .

It would be a lie if I told myself that I didn’t want to stay. Everything about Earl and his home were so inviting. That was part of the problem though. How many other women had been invited there under the same ‘nice guy’ pretense that he used on me? I never realized just how much of a skeptic I was until that point in my life. I wanted to stay with him, lie around all day naked, and talk about our hopes and dreams for the future. The harsh reality of it was that we were from two separate worlds. The only time our paths would cross after this was in his office when I had the money for my surgery .

“Can I use your bathroom?” I asked him .

He looked at me like I was crazy, but nodded his head. “Sure .”

“Thanks,” I replied as I quickly made my way into the bathroom and shut the door behind me .

My heart was racing. This whole situation was insane. How long would it be before he was asking about my work plans and moving in again? I wanted to like him, I knew that my feelings for him were real which just made the situation even more terrifying. There was no way that we could ever have a future together. The best thing that I could do for myself would be to get out of the apartment and never look back. Exhaustion was starting to play a part in my decisions too which was never a good thing .

He said nothing as I came back out and sat down again. “Well, I really should be going. Thanks for everything though .”

“Are you sure? You know I have a spare room here. It wouldn’t be any problem for you to sleep a while longer. I know you woke up really early .”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you really that worried about me going back to my apartment? Even after everything I told you about how I grew up ?”

Earl shrugged, a large pout crossing his face. It was the most convincing puppy face I’d seen in quite some time. I had to give him credit as I started to laugh and tossed my purse once again on the floor. Earl made me feel good about myself. He made me forget temporarily that my life was in shambles, my apartment was a hellhole, I had no money, and no family that I could count on. No matter what I told myself, I couldn’t take money from Earl because he wasn’t my family .

He was just a guy that I slept with, a distraction that I didn’t mind having for a little while longer. Eventually the real world would creep in and I would be forced back to my own place. I rested my elbow on the table, putting my chin in my hand and watching Earl as he looked me over. The wheels in his head were turning, but I could tell with one glance that he wasn’t sharing information. Whatever he had planned, it was for his eyes only. At least for now .

“So, you’ve got me here and we’ve already had sex twice. I’ve told you all about my crazy ass mother and my family. Now it’s your turn, I want to know everything there is to know about you and your dad .”

Earl’s eyes grew wide as he swallowed. “Everything ?”

“Either that or I can go?” I said as I reached for my bag .

“No!” he said quickly as he set down his place. With a dramatic eye roll he sighed. “Fine, you want to know about me then that’s what we will talk about, but I have to warn you, it’s not pretty .”

“I find that hard to believe,” I told him honestly .

He grinned. “That’s okay. I like a challenge .”