I twisted my fingers until my knuckles turned white.
“She called me yesterday afternoon in a panic and told me the truth; that she'd surprised you and you were angry with her when you found out.” His frown deepened. “I wasn't pleased with her myself.”
That surprised me. He'd gotten paid. Why would he care what Adelle had done?
“Understand something.” His voice was firm. “I don't do surprises and I don't lie about what I am or the services I provide. Fantasies are fine. They're role-playing, but both participants are always aware of the truth of the situation.”
An idea was starting to take shape, a reasoning behind why he was offering an explanation and apology for something that hadn't been his fault. He cared about his reputation as an escort.
“I provide women with companionship when they need it, and often sex is part of that. I teach women how to pleasure themselves and their lovers, how to enjoy sex in ways they've never dreamed.”
I almost shivered at his words as they flowed over my skin.
“I am not in the business of love and I don't believe in emotional attachments,” he continued. “These are things my clients always know up front, and why I generally screen them personally. For Adelle, I made an exception and I regret it now. Not the events of the night. I don't regret those, but rather the circumstances surrounding them.”
Tears burned in my eyes as a part of me died. I hadn't realized I'd been holding onto a small hope that he'd actually cared about me. I appreciated his apology, and any anger I'd felt toward him was gone now that I knew the full story. But I couldn't stop myself from thinking that maybe I'd been right before. Something was wrong with me.
“Aubree?” He gave me a puzzled look. “What's wrong?”
I shook my head, fighting back the sudden wave of emotion washing over me.
He crossed over to where I was sitting in two quick strides and crouched in front of me. “Tell me what's wrong.”
I didn't know if it was the command in his voice or maybe I needed to tell someone how I was feeling; but everything started spilling out of me.
“What's wrong with me? I mean, first my fiancée takes off with our wedding planner, then the first guy I've gone on a date with in years tries to get me drunk.” I wiped at my cheeks. “Am I so pathetic that my best friend thinks I need to pay to get laid? Is that the problem? Am I just such a lousy lay that it's a job to fuck me?”
“Stop.”
I hiccupped and looked up at Cade, surprised. He didn't sound disgusted at my outburst, but there was something hard in his eyes that told me he wasn't to be trifled with.
“I have an idea, but I need to make a call first.” He glanced toward the kitchen. “I'm going to step out and make a call. Pour us each a cup of coffee and I'll be back shortly.”
My mouth opened, then closed again. My mind was spinning. What was going on?
“Coffee, Aubree,” he said firmly.
I stood and started toward the kitchen, moving automatically. I heard my front door close as I retrieved two mugs from my cabinet. I could end this now, I knew. Go into the living room and lock the door. When he knocked, tell him I didn't want to see him again. But I didn't do any of that. I filled the mugs and went back to the living room. As hurt as I was, he hadn't been the one to do it. The least I could do would be to hear out whatever this idea of his was.
When he came back into the apartment, he looked pleased with himself. He sat back on the love-seat and took a drink of his coffee before speaking. “I spoke with Adelle.”
I stiffened. If he said he thought I should forgive her, I was going to dump my coffee in his lap. See how well he could work with a burnt dick.
“I have a proposal for you.”
I frowned.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Aubree.”
He spoke like his statement was common knowledge. There was no hint of gentleness or flirtation in his voice. He was stating a fact.
“You're not bad in bed. You're a beautiful woman and you deserve better men than those jackasses you mentioned.” He took another drink. “You just need the confidence to make everyone else see it. And I'm going to give you that.”
My eyes widened.
“I'm going to teach you everything I know. Show you everything. For however long it takes, I'm offering my services. No fake dating or anything like that. A pure learning experience.” One side of his mouth tipped up in that cocky grin I recognized. “Though an enjoyable one, I promise.”
He stopped and looked at me, his expression clearly saying he was waiting for a response.
How the hell was I supposed to respond to something like that? “I-I,” I stammered. “Thank you, Cade.” I finally managed to find words. “I appreciate the offer, but I don't do casual sex.”
He stood and grinned down at me. “Trust me, there's nothing casual about how I do sex.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, rectangular card. He held it out to me. “Like I said, this is all business, and Adelle is footing the bill.” He winked. “The least you can do is make her pay. Literally.”
I took the card. “Tempting as it is, I don't think I'll be using your services again.” I stood. “Thank you very much for coming to set things straight. I really do appreciate it.”
“But you're not interested in my offer,” Cade finished for me.
“No.” I shook my head.
“Well,” he said as he headed for the door. “If you change your mind, give me a call. There's no expiration date.”
As the door closed behind him, I looked down at the card in my hand. There was no way I was going to call him, I told myself as I carried our mugs back into the kitchen. I stuck the card under a magnet on my refrigerator.
No way at all.
Chapter 4
I tried to be insulted by Cade's proposal but, in a way, I knew it was a result of what I'd said. I was annoyed at myself for sharing such personal thoughts, but I couldn't really be angry that he'd taken what I'd said and tried to help. He hadn't acted like I was pathetic and couldn't do things on my own, only that I needed more confidence or whatever it was he offered to women. I hadn't seen any pity in his eyes at least, and for that I was grateful.
Still, I couldn't consider taking him up on it, even if it would be nice to make Adelle pay for what she'd done. By Wednesday morning, she'd called half a dozen more times, leaving voicemails each time. When I saw Mindy waiting for me in my classroom, I knew Adelle had reached out to her.
“Bree, I don't know what happened between the two of you, but you need to talk to Adelle.” She didn't even bother with a greeting or trying to ease into it. The annoyed expression on her face said that Adelle had either called her more than once or had woken her up early this morning.
“It's complicated,” I said as I unpacked my bag.
She leaned against one of the front row desks and crossed her arms. “So complicated that you're not even going to give your oldest friend a chance to explain?”
“You're my oldest friend,” I joked. She scowled at me. Apparently she wasn't in the mood for our group's way of reminding her that she was three years older than Adelle and me.
“What happened, Bree?” she asked.
I sighed. This was not a conversation I wanted to be having.
“Look, something's going on and you're obviously not talking to Adelle about it. You can't keep all this bottled up. It isn't healthy.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? You're going to go all school counselor on me?”
Mindy raised an eyebrow and got that stubborn look on her face that meant she wasn't going to let this one go. She wasn't pushy about everything, but she believed that once she chose to fight a specific battle, she stuck through it to the end.