Page 3 of Not Ready

Or it didn’t until now.

I briefly consider calling the police, but I’ve seen how it goes. Unless there’s something serious to report, the cops can’t do anything.

Maybe I can ask one of the other girls to take his table the next time he comes in.

It’s clear I need to distance myself from him.

My second job is as a cam girl for the omega-only website Slick.

It’s not a bad gig, or it wasn’t before I got pregnant.

Not that I have a ton of time for cam shows anymore. I’ve thought about doing away with them completely, since I ended up losing a lot of clients when I got pregnant. Only then, an entirely different clientele tuned in, wanting to watch the pregnant chick get herself off.

It kind of grosses me out, but I have to find a way to afford Aurora. My hand runs over my baby belly.

I don’t have the luxury of cutting the website off completely. It brings in the bulk of my income, and I’m more than a little worried about what will happen when I give birth.

The only customer that I know for sure won’t ditch me is Bishop.

The thought of saying goodbye to him makes my stomach ache in a way the girls at work have warned me about. To me, he falls outside the normal parameters for a client, but my roommate and coworkers at the club have repeatedly told me not to get attached.

That’s practically impossible, though.

Bishop did start out watching my live streams, but over the last two years, he became a VIP member. He gets to watch me do random shit in my apartment.

Well, in my bedroom.

Fine, maybe it’s a little weird that he pays money to watch me do things like fold my laundry and sleep.

I’m twenty-two years old and about to be a single mom with no support system. I’m doing the best I can, under the circumstances. It’s not ideal, but I’ll do whatever it takes to provide for my kid.

My hands shake as I pull up the Slick website and log in. My screen changes to active, and I wait to see if Bishop will send me a video chat request.

It’s been a slow process, but once I opened the higher tiers of subscriptions, it allows for chatting in private and video calls. There’s always a level of guilt for me because he pays money to listen to me talk about my day or complain about how the tips at work were crap.

It’s a little strange that he’s not looking for sexy shows, but I’ve let him lead the relationship, and honestly, it’s not like I’m complaining that he wants to keep things friendly instead of sexual. Although, I don’t really get why he uses the site if that’s not what he’s after.

I exhale heavily when the video request pops up.

“Hey,” I say, pulling out my computer chair and taking a seat.

“Hey, gorgeous, how was your shift?” His deep, growly voice fills the air as he pops up on my screen.

We don’t do full faces, but I’ve caught glimpses of him over the years. I usually keep my camera focused from the neck down. I mean, I’m sure he’s seen my face over the years while I’m walking around my room or when I’m in bed, sleeping, but when we chat like this, it’s always with a layer of anonymity. And he never pushes the issue.

My sexy shows have always been chin down because I’ve never been able to stomach the thought of someone recognizing me.

His full blondish-brown beard fills the screen, but the bottom half of his smile is as high as the feed goes. I just wish he was here. I’d bury my face in that fluffy beard and breathe him in.

“It was fine.” I chuckle awkwardly and pull a hand up to cover my face.

“Uh-oh. I know that voice. Tell me about it,” he says in a soothing tone that makes me yearn to be there with him.

“No, my shift was fine. Busy, but okay.” My mind races. It’s not like he can help me from wherever he is. Is it even worth it to bring up Andrew? What if it worries him? Maybe that’s the whole point. Kate isn’t home. I didn’t want to text her what happened. If I disappear randomly, it wouldn’t hurt to have at least one person know what happened to me. “How’s work?”

He chuckles. “As boring as ever, but I want to hear about whatever has you sounding especially anxious.”

“It’s probably nothing,” I say, hedging my words. “But one of the guys who comes into the club I work at…” I sigh, burying my face in both hands as my elbows dig into my desk. “I guess he saw me leaving tonight and decided to follow me home. He said it was to make sure I got here safely, but…”

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