Chapter 8
Scrolling. That’s all Dom had been doing for the past hour, and he wanted to rip his hair out. The website wasn’t kidding when it said over 5 million people were on there. He couldn’t find her. He searched her name, and there were so many Annas, he wanted to scream, but he continued on, and from what he could tell, none of them were who he was looking for. Blonde? Yes. Blue-eyed? Yes. But his? No. So when he got to the last page of Annas, he decided to try a different way to find her. What did he know about her?
Not much. Dom sighed.
Gelato grumbled and scratched at the door. He wanted to go for a walk.
“Not right now, buddy.”
He whined and scratched at the door. Dom scrolled a little more before opening the door.
“Fine. You want to go out? You go on your own.”
Gelato huffed a bit and ran out the door. He didn’t need Dom at all; he could walk himself.
Dom chuckled as he walked back to the computer. He and his dog were too alike sometimes.
Back to today's task. He wouldn't give up until he found her. So what else did he know? He knew Anna was beautiful, funny, and liked to eat. She held her camera like it was her baby. Her camera! That’s what led them to meet in the first place. Her trying to take pictures. He searched photographer and skimmed a bit. Not seeing her he tried the word “camera.”
Bingo.
CameraChick. There she was, staring at him with one big blue eye wide open and searching, staring into his soul. The other was squinted behind the huge camera, the same one he'd rescued when he had found her.
He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his growing beard. He found her. Now what?
Dom couldn’t believe Anna was on this site. The idea of her, waiting for someone to buy her time was frustrating. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. He was on edge, maybe a little jealous, too. He was feeling a little too much, disappointed that a woman he liked so much would be on a site like this, and angry that a woman on a site like this had him all over the place.
His mouse hovered over the Contact Anna button as he weighed the risks. This was a risk. What was it about this woman that he couldn’t leave her alone? Why did he need to talk to her? Now that he knew how to contact her, could he resist?
He left-clicked and stared as the empty message box appeared. She was worth the risk. He needed to see her again. He needed to say something. The little blinking line made him feel stupid, and there was so much on his mind that he decided to keep it simple. Starting slowly never hurt anybody.
D: Hi.
He pressed send and smiled at the light feeling in his chest. He hoped she responded. She wouldn’t know it was him either by his profile picture because it was just a picture of his abs, not his face. He stared at the computer for a minute, willing her to message him back before walking away to grab a beer. There was nothing to do but wait.
While he was waiting, he decided to give Gelato some of that companionship he'd been after earlier.
“Gelato!” His loud whistle carried into the woods. “Here, boy.”
*****
Anna walked through the door to her apartment, feet throbbing, and threw herself onto the couch. It had been a long day. Dollar Tree, the discount store where she worked part-time, had had some kind of no tax sale and the lines had been crazy. You’d think it wouldn’t be a big deal. Everything in there was already a dollar or less, but the annual sale drew in all the crazies. She had been ringing customers up until the literal last minute.
She kicked off her shoes and went to heat up some leftovers. She drained a glass of water while she waited for the microwave to beep, and then ate while standing. It was that kind of day. She felt like a zombie, and only a long bubble bath could bring her back to life, but she knew if she did that, she would go straight to bed when she got out. So she decided to do all her work before bath time.
She pulled her laptop from her backpack, slow enough to feel all the muscles in her back. Her message icon jumped with excitement on the home screen.
“New message from SB,” she said to herself before clicking the link.
She pursued her lips at the abs in the picture before clicking to look at the profile of D. “What kind of username is D?”
To be fair, her username was CameraChick. She had no room to judge. It was pretty straight forward, everything looked good and in order enough for her to read the message.
D: Hi.
It was short, sweet and to the point. She wasn’t sure what he wanted or who he was for that matter, but it wouldn’t hurt to say hi back.
CameraChick: Hey yourself.
He must have been invisible because she thought he was offline, yet his message came right back.
D: I saw your profile, and I like. You free to chat?”
She had no plans that couldn’t wait a bit.
CameraChick: Sure. What exactly did you see that you like?
D: Location. You’re close by.
CameraChick: You’re in Canada?
D: Yup. Which is why I want to know if you’re free this Saturday. Your profile appears to be exactly what I’m looking for. Can we meet to see if we’re a good match?
She had no plans on Saturday. She rarely did, but he didn’t know that.
CameraChick: I don’t know yet. Let me check and get back to you.
It was only Wednesday. She had time to figure it out.
D: Okay. Let me know. I’ll be waiting.
Anna slid the computer from her lap and sent a quick text to Rachel.
Anna: 911. Call me.
She didn’t have to wait long. She picked up on the first ring.
“Rach?”
“Yeah, girlfriend. What’s the deal?”
“Well…”
Now that she was on the phone, she wasn’t sure what to say. Rachel seemed to know everything and Anna was tired of being the naïve friend.
“Come on, Ann. Don’t get shy on me now. Talk to me. What’s up?”
That was encouragement enough for her. “I got a dinner invite.”
“From a PD?” P.D. meaning potential daddy. Rachel routinely abbreviated things. It made it easier to talk about being a sugar baby without eavesdroppers being judgey, or worse, trying to interfere.
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Great. Tell me when and where. I’ll come by and do your hair and makeup for you since I know the extent of your beauty routine is running a brush through your hair and mascara.”
“Well. We haven’t set a time or date or anything. I …” She didn’t want to admit it, but she had to. “I didn’t accept yet.”
“What?”
Anna held the phone away from her ear to protect herself from Rachel’s screech.
“Why not? And Anna, you better have a good reason.”
Anna sighed. Even though she meant well, sometimes Rachel spoke to her the way a mother spoke to her child.
“I’m just not sure I’m ready.”
“Oh. Really? And what’s holding you back? Your non-existent sex life or the bills piling up on your table?”
To be fair, she had moved them from the table to a drawer in the kitchen.
“No, it’s not that; it’s just... I’m not sure it’s right?”
“Girl, are you really having moral second thoughts when you got bills to pay?”
Anna laughed, because she knew that was a hindrance for some women. They felt being a sugar baby was morally wrong.
“No. It’s not that.”
“Then get to explaining, girl. I ain’t got all day.”
“It’s Dom.”
“And he is?” She could imagine Rachel’s perfect brow arched in question.
“The guy I told you about the other day.”
“Oh, the knight in shining armor you’re crushing on, but can’t seem to find his house again and forgot to at least get his number. That guy?”
When you say it like that, it sounds stupid.
“Yes. Him,” she admitted.
“Girl! You do not know him from Adam. You can’t be putting your life on hold for a man you don’t even know!”
But she did know him. She knew him enough to know she wanted to get to know him better.
“I mean, it’s more than that.”
Rachel made it sound like she was pining over a man that didn’t exist, but he did. He did, and he was somewhere nearby, she just didn’t know where. What were the odds she’d run into him again?
“Anna, listen to me,” Rachel said, interrupting her internal dialogue. “Your life cannot be put on hold for a man you do not know. You need to move on. If this man wants to be your daddy, for the right amount, let him. If you happen to meet your Dom sometime after that, cross that bridge when you get there, love. Don’t go burning bridges that aren’t even there.”
She was right. Rachel could be loud, egotistical and overly sexual, but sometimes she was downright wise.
“You’re right.”
“I know,” she said, causing Anna to shake her head. “Now get off my line. Go get you a new daddy and call when the deed is done.”
She hung up while Anna laughed, not waiting for her to say goodbye.
Anna stared at her phone, then at her computer where the chat messenger was still open. It taunted her, and she decided Rachel was right. What did she have to lose?
CameraChick: I’m free on Saturday.
D: Great. I know the perfect place to go.
He sent her an address, and they agreed to meet there at 7pm.
It was official. She had her first date as a sugar baby coming up. What was she going to do?
D: I made the reservation just in case you get there before me.
CameraChick: What name is it under?
D: Dom.
She tapped her foot thinking through the butterflies in her stomach. What were the odds this Dom was him? She decided the odds were high enough that she had to go. Unwilling to miss out on the possibility, she typed back.
CameraChick: See you there.