“I think Gabe could whack you and toss you in the trunk, yeah. So stop trying to piss him off. The only reason he went inside is because he’s been yelling at me to wear a coat, too.”
“Awh, he likes you! Old man Gabe has a crush on my girl.” Sean smiles broadly.
I roll my eyes and laugh. “You’re so stupid.”
“Probably. Okay, definitely. Especially when it comes to you. You make me cray cray.”
A raw laugh bursts from my throat. I slap my hands over my mouth and turn to look at him. I start cracking up when I see the grin on his face. “Making you laugh is way too easy. Really, Avery. Class things up a little bit.” I continue to giggle and lean into him. “So, what are the odds that I get to keep you after this is over?”
I smile at him. I want to say yes, but I can’t. Not yet. Not to mention that I never thought I’d find someone this way. “I don’t know, Sean. What do we say when people ask how we met?”
“We tell them the truth—that we met on Deer Park Avenue when some jackass stole your car. No one needs to know anything else.”
“Aren’t you afraid they’ll find out?”
Sean gives me a strange look. “Who? The press? My Mom? Who are we talking about, Avery? It’s not like buying a hooker will ruin my reputation.”
The smile slips off my face. “There’s a fine line between fact and fiction. Don’t you wonder what side you’re asking that question from? I did things that I can’t undo. No matter what you do, you’ll never be the person who was bought and sold because she was broke. No one will condone that, like ever.”
“We don’t need anyone to condone anything, Avery. If you want to be with me, be with me.” I look up into his dazzling blue eyes.
“I wish it was that simple.”
“It is.”
“No, it isn’t. I need this job, but I don’t want it. I need money to live, but—”
“I’ll give you that—”
“But what does that make me, Sean? I go from being your hooker to being your—what—private call girl? I take money from you instead of Black? It doesn’t feel right.” It feels wrong. I glance out the window. I want a real relationship. I’m greedy, but I want things the way I want them. I want to work in an office and be able to pay my bills. I want to be able to go out on a date with Sean and not have to worry about whether or not I need to fuck the guy sitting next to us the following day. I want normal so badly, but my life is everything but normal.
“Avery…” Sean’s voice trails off before he says anything else. I look up and see why. Gabe is standing outside my door with a garment bag. He knocks, and opens the door.
“Miss Stanz, your coat.” He unzips the bag and takes the jacket off the hanger.
I smile when I see what he chose. It’s a bright blue ski jacket with a purple reflective stripe across the shoulders and down the arms. He holds it out and I slip into it. “It fits.” And it feels nice. I pull up the collar and snuggle into it. Damn it’s soft. I glance down at the price tag and my eyes bug out of my head. “I can’t wear this! It cost more than my car!”
“Mr. Ferro bought it. Yell at him.” Gabe leans in to say something, but thinks better of it. He takes the door handle and gestures for me to move inside.
After I sit next to Sean and Gabe closes the door, I smack Sean in the chest with the palms of my hands. “You bought me a $1200 coat? What the hell, Ferro?”
Sean laughs and shoves me back. Gabe makes a noise in the back of his throat, like a warning. Sean ignores him. “Yes, I told him to get you something that was so soft and purple that you couldn’t resist. It’s more blue than purple, though. You might want to get your eyes checked old man.” Sean glances at Gabe. Gabe holds the steering wheel tighter and grits his teeth.
I smack Sean’s arm, so he stops taunting Gabe. “Sean, you can’t buy me stuff like this.”
“But I want to.”
“But you can’t. It’s too much. You fixed my car and I didn’t say anything, but this—”
“Is hardly enough. I know. I’ll buy you more stuff.”
“Sean,” I warn.
“Avery.” He smiles back at me. He’s loving this.
I let out a rush of air and look at him out of the corner of my eye. “Arguing with you is pointless, isn’t it?” He nods. “You know I won’t wear it, right? I’ll still walk around most days with no jacket at all.”
“I understand.” He’s still smiling. He’s still wearing that smug grin.
“So this is a waste of money…”