Dylan keeps making things difficult for me.
I put something on, he takes it off.
“Dylan, I’m not the one with the recording deal,” I say, laughing. “This girl’s gotta go to work, to get a pay check, to pay rent and stuff.”
He’s already dressed, and lounging on my unmade bed. He hooks his finger into the waistband of my underwear as I walk by. He drags them down my hips.
“You don’t need these,” he says. “They’re always getting in my way. I’m banning underwear from your wardrobe.”
“I need underwear for work.”
“You can still work without them.”
“But I’d rather not.”
He rolls back on the bed. He relaxes with his arms folded back behind his head.
“Then wear the white cotton ones,” he says.
“Why? I bought all new underwear. I thought you didn’t like the white ones. Too virginal or whatever.”
He raises his eyebrows and gives me his trademark hungry wolf look.
“What I like… is variety.”
The way he says variety makes my skin crawl.
What if I’m not enough variety for him?
I’m not even going to see him this week. Will he need more variety before then? We won’t be together until the weekend, because he’s traveling for work.
He’s flying off to New York with Marley and Bianca, the twin sisters who will be touring with him. They’re doing appearances this week on talk shows, plus some sightseeing.
I wouldn’t mind seeing New York.
I’ve been hoping he’ll tell me to quit my job and come with him.
But he hasn’t.
I pull off my new underwear and pull on a pair of the plain white cotton panties I moved to LA with. When I came here, I was a virgin. And now I’m not.
For a brief moment, I feel the loss. I’m a long way from home. I’m a long way from who I used to be.
“What’s in here?” Dylan reaches for the jewelry box on the dresser beside my bed.
“Accessories. If you’re so interested in my wardrobe, pick out something for me to wear.”
He opens the miniature treasure chest and starts sorting through my things. There’s not much in there, except some braided friendship bracelets and costume jewelry.
“You’re not into jewelry, are you?” he asks.
“Sorry, it’s just cheap crap.”
“I’ll have to buy you something pretty.”
“Maybe in New York.”
“There’s an idea.” He lets out a low chuckle, like he’s planning something.
While he’s occupied, and not trying to undress me, I quickly finish getting my clothes on. I choose a dark gray dress with a thin belt. I pair it with a blue blazer. It’s more clothing than I need for a sunny day in LA, but the basement archives can get cool.
“This looks expensive.” He holds up the gold key pendant that Stephanie from Morris Music gave me. “You must have a billionaire boyfriend I don’t know about.”
I grab the necklace from his hand. I should have pawned this thing as soon as I got it.
“It’s kinda tacky. Just a dumb bonus gift from work.”
Dylan stays in his casual pose on my bed, but his eyes are alert. Almost suspicious.
“A bonus for what?” he asks.
“For sleeping with you, ha ha. What do you think?”
“Q warned me about some of the Morris tactics.”
My heart starts racing. I should just tell him. I should confess that I took money from Morris to get close to him, but only because I wanted to be with him anyway.
“What did Q say?” I ask cautiously.
“That you guys are tricky.”
“That’s all?”
There’s a tap at my door.
Riley calls out from the other side, “Safe to come in?”
Dylan answers, “Jess has a boy in her room.”
Riley pushes open the door. “Really?” She looks right at Dylan and frowns. In her most disappointed voice, she says, “Oh, it’s just you.”
Dylan flicks his eyes over to me. “I think I liked her better when she was too shy to make fun of me.”
“What is it?” I ask Riley.
She frowns down at her phone, which is in her hand.
“Your boss has a crush on me,” she says.
“Nick?”
“No, Mr. Morris. The big boss.”
“What’s going on? A crush? I thought he was trying to recruit you?”
Dylan looks confused, so I turn to him and explain. Last week, I went out on assignment with a musician who’s with Morris. I took the guy shopping for hats and sunglasses for a photo shoot. Then we went out dancing, and I took Amanda and Riley with us.
It was all on a Morris expense account, and we had a great time. The next morning, Mr. Morris had already gotten a full report, and tried to recruit Riley to work for the company. She turned him down, because… I don’t know.