Page 15 of Someone Like You

“Isaac, can I talk to you? Over here?”

I looked at Brody, expecting to find amusement at my plight. Expecting him to laugh and be smug, because now he had the upper hand. What I found instead was a soft expression that bordered on sad, and my stomach flipped. He jerked his head toward the peeling leather chairs, and I nodded once. Followed him to the chairs and sat down next to him. But I couldn’t meet his eyes. I just stared at my hands in my lap, fingers twisting together.

“Isaac. What can you afford right now? Be honest with me. Please,” he said, and when I looked up, gray eyes bored intomine. They were kind, those eyes. I could feel myself getting lost in that kindness.

I hated feeling this vulnerable. Hated feeling helpless and powerless and all I wanted to do was run away from all these feelings. But Brody wasn’t looking at me with judgment. There wasn’t an ounce of satisfaction on that beautiful face of his. So I told him, “Honestly? Half of that.”

He nodded and said, “Okay. We can make a deal. I’ll help you if you help me.”

I scoffed. “Help you with what? I already told you, I don’t want your help if it means I have to do something I don’t want to do. I’m not going on a date with you.”

He shifted nervously, and that only made me nervous. “That’s not what I need help with. I…” Brody looked away, one tattooed hand coming up to toy with the hair at the nape of his neck. And then I noticed the pink flush staining his cheeks, and damn if he didn’t get even prettier with that color. “I thought…maybe you could help me with one of my classes.”

“Huh?”

Then he rushed out, “One of my classes has a required reading in a book I can’t get on audio and I…I’ve been having trouble reading it. I wondered if you could read it to me.”

I stared at Brody. My heart was beating hard, and then it felt like it cracked open at how he’d just lain himself bare at my feet and I wanted to do anything he asked of me, opened my mouth to sayyes, of course I’ll read to you, you big beautiful manbut what came out was, “Why can’t Bri read it to you?”

“Too busy,” Bri called from where she sat, obviously listening.

“I figured we could come to some kind of agreement,” Brody said. “I’ll cut the price down and all you have to do is help me with this book.”

In truth, what he was offering was an insanely good deal that I would be getting way more out of. Eight hundred dollars was nothing to sniff at, and all for, what? Reading to him? I could do that. But it wasn’t a question of what Icoulddo, it was whether or not Iwantedto. Brody was dangerous for me to be around, and agreeing to this would mean being around him a lot.

Butfuckit was too good to pass up. I’d just have to erect some very sturdy, very high walls that he couldn’t get through.

“Fine,” I heard myself say. And then I was so glad I’d said it, because the slow smile that stretched across Brody’s face was breathtaking. His eyes lit up and small lines crinkled around the edges. He was still slightly flushed and it felt like lava was smoldering low in my belly.

“Really?” he asked, as if he hadn’t ever believed I’d say yes. As if I’d take it back.

“Really,” I said, a little breathless all of a sudden.

“Ring him up for eight hundred, Bri,” he tossed over his shoulder, still smiling.

“Yes, master,” Bri said.

Brody leaned forward in his seat and said, “When are you free? I figure we could meet up twice a week since the assignment for the reading is due in two months. What days work for you?”

It was slowly sinking in, what I’d just agreed to. Even the high of seeing Brody happy wasn’t enough to stop the dread from creeping in. That feeling that I’d made the wrong choice, that this would turn out horribly. That he’d break his promise. And I could break mine, couldn’t I? I could just say I was gonna help him, take my car and drive off into the sunset without ever following through. But I wouldn’t do that. As nervous as I was about seeing Brody twice a week, I wouldn’t do that to him.

“Um…” I said. “I mean, I’m free on the weekends, usually. And Wednesdays are always lighter, I don’t have class that day.”

He tugged his bottom lip between his teeth and absently played with the piercing while he thought about something. Then he said, “Can I have you for two hours on Wednesdays and Saturdays?”

Why—oh why—did he have to word it like that? My cock gave an enthusiastic twitch and I shut my eyes as they rolled to the back of my head before he could see. I tried to count or something, tried to think of anything but Brody and the dirty images his words had shoved into my mind.

“Isaac?”

“Yeah,” I gasped out. “Sounds good.”

“Are you…what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just got a headache.” I rubbed my head to give the lie a little life.

“Do you want your card back? And your keys?” Bri cut in.

Bri had effectively killed any growing arousal just by opening her mouth, so I stood up and walked to the counter without looking at Brody. I just needed a few moments to recover.

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