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“Do you think age is what makes people compatible?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve never spent this much time with one person.”
Whisper wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer. “I don’t think it matters. Maybe we’ll have different tastes in movies or music, but what matters is how we complement each other.”
I nod, thinking that over. “Are we, like, dating now or something?”
“I don’t know what word to use, but I want to be with you. Whatever that looks like or whatever it’s called, that’s what I want. What do you think?”
“I think it sounds good.”
He smiles and a flutter moves down my chest to my stomach, straight to my dick. He grabs a bottle of shampoo and pours some on his hands, rubbing them together before washing my hair for me. He massages my scalp and I melt into him.
“I could take care of you if you let me.”
I tense slightly. “What does that mean?”
“Make sure you have what you need. And your family. Could get you a bigger place and—”
“No. Nope. Nuh-uh. I’m not a kept man.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“I’ve made it this far. I’m fine.”
“Okay, Blush.” He kisses my neck then turns me around to rinse my hair.
I take over washing my body while he washes his own hair, my mind spinning with questions. Why can’t I let him do something nice for me? Fuck knows it’s hard and I’m getting tired of scraping together rent and grocery money every month. It just feels wrong.
“I could maybe talk to Shadow about getting you some work.”
That makes me freeze. “What kind of work? What you do?”
He nods, but his face is full of tension. “I’m conflicted about it, to be honest. You obviously have an aptitude for it, but you don’t have to go down this path. You can do anything. You can dance or go to school or start a business. Anything.”
“Then why are you offering?”
“Because you won’t let me take care of you. This way you could earn a lot more money. We could use more boots on the ground too, but you need to think seriously about it. This lifestyle is unique, to say the least. You probably couldn’t work at the club anymore. We pretty much have to be on call. And you couldn’t tell your family, obviously.”
“How would you feel about it? If I joined you?”
“At least I’d know where you were. You’d be with me.”
“What about my hobby? Would I have to stop?”
“Probably. To be fair, you likely wouldn’t be exposed as much to random freaks, but we do stumble on a lot of trash in our line of work.”
“How many jobs have you had this year?”
He shrugs. “Couldn’t tell you. A lot, but not as many as some of the guys. I get research projects a lot too.”
“How much does it pay?”
“That’s between you and Shadow, but let me put it this way: You’d never struggle again, and no one in your family would either.”
“I could pay for rent and the boys’ tuition?”
“Easily.”
