Fallen Woman(41)

At least I knew his angle. I could better play my part if I knew the role expected of me. I was comfortable with him holding my hand and putting his arm around my waist. Even when he pulled me into his side and tucked me into that spot men reserve for women—I didn’t cringe. But when he wanted me to sit on his lap, my cheeks burned with embarrassment. As I tried to maneuver out of the situation gracefully, he smacked my butt and I just about lost it. Excusing myself, I went to the bathroom to regain my composure, not expecting Drake to follow.

I tried to close the door to the powder room behind me, but he slipped his hand in the crack just before the gap was gone. I backed off to allow him space to enter. I hoped I hadn’t embarrassed him, but I needed a second away.

“You okay?” he asked once the door was secure behind him.

I gave him a brief grimace of a smile. “Yeah. I just needed a minute. When you said you needed to seem committed, I didn’t know you meant quite that committed.”

He stepped closer to me, running his hand slowly up my bare arm. I couldn’t help but watch his fingers as they moved across my skin. “There’s a huge investor here. He and his wife just got married—she’s quite the little gold digger—but he believes they’re in love because they fuck like rabbits.” His hand continued to peruse my exposed flesh, traveling over to my shoulder and down the back of my arm again, sending chills all over me. It wasn’t arousal so much as being ticklish, but he must have thought otherwise. “You could certainly help me out. If I land this investor tonight with your help, there’d be a hefty bonus in it for you.”

I kept listening but didn’t speak.

“I could make your medical bills disappear. All you have to do is help me work this deal.” His gaze went from my face to my lips then slowly to back to my eyes.

He knew he had me over a barrel. If he truly knew what I was up against, he’d know the demand would never go away. “I’m not sure what you have in mind, Drake.” I prayed it wasn’t what I thought it was.

But his hand went to my hip as he pulled me into him, my waist to his. His eyes took on a sultry appearance as he stared into mine in some odd attempt to woo me in a bathroom.

“I’m sure that trip to the emergency room cost you a small fortune… You’ll never get out of The Village with debt like that stacked against you.” The words flowed from his mouth as though they were a pickup line—like I should swoon at the thought of financial suicide. Sadly, he only knew a fraction of the deck stacked against me. The whole scene was very odd. “All you have to do is play along, and Monday morning, I go pay those bills in full,” he whispered onto my neck. His breath was hot and muggy and left a trail of ickiness just below my ear.

He was right. I’d never get out of the ghetto as long as I continued to amass debt instead of wealth, and in my situation, I needed to eliminate bills, not collect them. The enormity of Emmy’s ongoing care was more important than my being uncomfortable, but Drake didn’t know that.

I let out a deep breath. “What do you need me to do?” I was exasperated but resigned to my fate.

“Good girl.” He praised me like a child. My brow furrowed, waiting for him to answer my question. “Just be a bit…more affectionate. I just played the part. You can too.” He winked at me, and some of the creepiness I’d just felt eased from the room. He was playing a part and that’s all he wanted me to do.

I agreed to his request, hoping if I played by his rules, he’d make good on his end of the agreement and stop by the hospital on Monday. The majority of the party started to wane around nine o’clock, which seemed terribly early to me on a Saturday night, but I didn’t make the rules. Those still in attendance appeared to have congregated together in a small group. I noticed all the men were slightly older than Drake but considerably older than the women on their arms or in their laps. I began to wonder what type of party this had become and prayed Drake’s expectations didn’t morph into something I couldn’t handle, just to land a business deal. I’d made sure to stay sober, not wanting to relive what took place with Holland, but these women all seemed completely straight as well. They were just very…loose.

I watched each of them with earnest curiosity. These were the types of women Jase and his friends were worried about—every one of them seemed invested in earning a lifestyle, not loving a man. It was easy to discern listening to them what their motivation was, but the men seemed fine with having eye candy instead of love. I was fascinated by the dynamic as I tried to ignore the feeling Drake’s hand on my hip gave me. He had pulled me into his lap when we joined the group and his fingers lingered dangerously close to my pelvic bone. The way the tips dug into my skin when he’d laugh caused me to jump, which in turn caused Drake to give me a peculiar look almost pleading with me to hang in there and bear with him. I grimaced back, indicating it was a reflex—I was ticklish. Surely, he could tell how uncomfortable I was as I nursed the same glass of wine I’d been sipping on all evening.

Slowly, the women, all but me and one other, seemed to migrate toward each other in the center of the room. Having kicked off their heels, they made themselves comfortable on the floor while the men talked business around them. Drake never made a motion for me to move, so I held my position and prayed time would speed up. Either these girls were drunk as skunks or they were used to…playing with each other. When the first two kissed, my eyes shot straight up to the only other female, who wasn’t sitting on her butt on the floor acting like a high school Harriet exploring her sexuality. The same look of fear crossed her face. I suddenly needed a bathroom reprieve and asked my new friend across the room if she’d like to join me…an invitation she quickly accepted.