circumstances weren’t ideal but I was blessed to have them.
“Baby…” my mom said.
“What’s up?”
“Do you need some money?”
“Why would you ask me that?”
“My check came today and I can give you some money.”
“No mom. You keep your money and I will figure it out.”
“You don’t have to be ashamed. I know how hard you’re working. You deserve to have some extra money in your pocket. I don’t have many bills, so go get my purse and take $100.”
I shook my head quickly, “I’m not taking your money, mom. You need your money. I work so that I won’t have to ask you for anything. Let me take care of myself.”
My mom shook her head, “I swear, you’re so damned stubborn. You need to learn how to let people take care of you. You’re only twenty-one, you need help. I love that you’re independent and everything but you should have a better life than this.” My chest ached as I saw my mom tear up. She felt so guilty about not being able to take better care of my sister and me.
“Mom, just stop it. You are an amazing mother, so just stop it. I’m self-sufficient; you’ve done your part.”
“If you need anything, just let me know. I will do my best to make it happen for you.”
“I will mom.”
We both knew that I wouldn’t to ask her for anything. I never do. Her disability check wasn’t a lot and she couldn’t afford to share with me. I would go without necessities before I asked her for anything. She didn’t need a begging daughter. She needed to focus on her health so that she could get better and get the hell out of that place. My mom was vibrant and I couldn’t wait until she recovered.
Her words still got to me. I thought more and more about that sugar baby website and I wondered if I should give it another chance. That would be a great way to supplement my income. I just needed to state my ground rules, stick to my convictions and get some cash. If the men stepped out of line, I would just splash more drinks and leave. Maybe Jessica was on to something. I was tired of struggling.
#Chapter6
A week later, nothing truly changed about my uneventful life. I didn’t go back to the website although I got messages every now and then. I saw the photos of them in my email and they all looked creepy and old. My thoughts to leave the site alone seemed like a better idea than to move forward with it.
Chris even tried to call me a couple of times to apologize but I sent him straight to voicemail. I wasn’t going to deal with anyone that tried to treat me like a hooker. It looked like I was going to have to make my money the good old fashion way.
Jessica had finally been fired officially and she couldn’t have cared any less. She had no intentions on returning to the restaurant, anyway. She never even showed up to pick up her last check. Georgia was pretty pissed about having to put it in the mail. She loved being able to lord over people and Jessica wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.
I aced my test just like I thought that I did. Rodney was a little jealous because he got a B. He then suggested that we be study partners but I declined. I didn’t want to be bothered with his advances.
One evening as I was leaving work, I got an email and I looked at it on my iPhone on my way home. It was another message from that horrid site I opened it so that I could get a good chuckle at the loser in my inbox. Only this time, the man was really good-looking and he looked pretty young. His stat said that he was thirty-two. I went to take a look at his profile on the site out of curiosity.
His name was Vince and it said that he’d just joined that day. He was recently separated and looking for a “stress free arrangement with a girl that he can spoil and treat like a princess”. White men usually weren’t my style but even I had to admit that he was pretty fuckin’ hot.
I shook my head. He was