And she doesn’t ask me about my business. I actually like that about her. Most rich girls immediately want to know how much money I make, although they’re too polite to actually come out and say it. Sadie doesn’t seem at all interested in that. In fact, she mostly asks about hobbies and interests, and spends a lot of time talking about how much she likes to paint, although she says she’s awful at it.
By the end of the ride, I’m totally fucking charmed by her. I had a feeling that she was different, but I couldn’t have known how right I was. Sadie is the first girl from rich parents that I haven’t actually despised after ten minutes of talking to her.
Pretty soon we reach Luberto’s. The ten-minute car ride passes in the blink of an eye, which surprises me. We step out and I open her door.
“It’s cute,” she says, smiling broadly.
“It’s like home to me,” I say. “I grew up around here, you know.”
“Really?” she asks.
“Really. The place we’ll go after this, it’s where I had my first beer.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Impressive.”
“Not really. It’s a dump.”
“I’m going to love it.”
I laugh a little and we step into the restaurant.
Luberto’s is a little Italian place, maybe seats for forty people or so, but it has the best food in the whole damn city. I rented out the private back room, and the hostess ushers us back there. It has a single table with a white tablecloth, a single white candle, and a single red rose. I get Sadie seated, sit across from her, and the waitress takes our drink orders right away. I ask for a whisky, and Sadie asks for some white wine.
“This is nice,” she says.
“Normally it’s more crowded,” I answer. “But for tonight, I thought I’d give us a little privacy.”
She laughs lightly and shrugs. “I don’t mind crowded. Although I’m sure Reginald won’t love that.”
I cock my head at her. “Reginald?”
“Oh, he’s the chaperone for tonight. I’m sure he’s in the other room right now, fuming that we’re in a private space.”
“What, does he think I’m going to corrupt you too easily?”
She blushes a little. “Probably.”
“Maybe he’s right.” I lean toward her with a wicked smile.
She blushes deeper and looks away. She pauses for a second. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
We’re interrupted briefly as the waitress returns with our drinks. I sip my whisky and Sadie fusses with her wine.
“I wanted to know why you spent so much money,” she says finally, blurting it out once the waitress is gone.
I grin huge at her. “Maybe I just like kids.”
“Maybe,” she says. “But you could just write a check instead of bidding on me. Or you could have bid on any other girl.”
“You interested me,” I say.
“Did you . . . know about my family?”
I sigh, leaning toward her. “That’s what this is about?”
She shrugs. “A lot of people do things just because of my family.”
“That’s not why I bought you. Actually, that’s a reason not to. I think your family hates me.”
She smiles a little. “Yeah. They do.”
I laugh. I like how honest she is. “Do you really want to know?”
She nods, getting into the conversation. “Yeah, I do.” I can see a little sparkle in her eye.
“It’s because I want you,” I say simply.
She looks surprised. “W-what?” she stutters.
I smirk at her again and sip my whisky casually. “As soon as I saw you on that stage, I knew you were different. And I wanted you then, and I still want you now. Do you even know the effect you have on men?”
She gapes at me, clearly shocked and at a loss for words. I can’t help but laugh softly at her reaction. I can tell nobody has ever talked to her like this before, and she doesn’t know what to do. Conflicting emotions play on her face. She’s torn between disgust, surprise, anger, and pure desire.
“I see,” she finally says. “Are you always this forward?”
“No,” I admit. “Not always. But I wanted to see you blush again.”
That finally gets the reaction I want. She blushes slightly and looks down at the table. “So you bought me just because you want to sleep with me.”
“Not entirely, no,” I say. “That’s part of it. I want to undress you and make you experience things those rich little prep school assholes could never do.” She stares at me and bites her lip, and I know I’m right about that. “I also thought you’d be different from those other stuck-up rich girls up there. I didn’t plan on bidding at all, but as soon as you stepped out, I couldn’t help myself.”