Page 20 of Forking the Billionaire

Sage stood there wearing a green vest over one of her flowy paisley dresses. Her globe eyes blinked behind her thick glasses.

She said, “I knew I recognized that bright head of orange hair.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, as if it wasn't obvious given that she was wearing a vest with the words Pirate’s Pantry over her right boob.

“Working. Sadly, the ghosts haven’t started bringing in the fortune seekers yet, except for Mona Maloney this morning. She’s still missing her glasses, but she didn’t stay for a reading once she recognized me. Anyway, I had to get a nine-to-five to support me while I wait for the ghosts to work their magic.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. It’s after five though.”

“Overnight nine-to-five.”

I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.

“Do you need help with something?” Sage eyed the locked case and twirled the key on her pointer finger.

Poop on the stoop.

“Yes.”Be brave. The test is going to be negative anyway. These things happen to people all the time, and if anything, Sage would probably congratulate you on your hookup anyway.

She opened the case and put her hands on her hips as she looked over the selection. “What’s your poison?”

All the pee sticks.I swallowed the lump in my throat. And grabbed a random box of something that wasn’t a pee stick.

“Strawberry.” She nodded. “Nice choice.”

I looked down at the box of flavored condoms in my hand. Who would want flavored condoms? Me, apparently. Yep, that’s right, strawberry rubber was exactly what I’d come here for. I smiled.

“Shacking up with someone in town for the wedding? One of those nice-looking boys hanging around your brother?”

“Gross, no.” Even if I was interested in Oscar, he was engaged. That left Layana’s friend Chester, who was a guy, but also seemed to be completely into Juno, and I got the sense he was even more of a weirdo than I was.

“Not even the one with the long hair?”

It took a moment for me to realize who she was talking about, because there was only one guy with even kind of longish hair, and there was no way she was suggesting what it sounded like she was suggesting.

“Jasper?”

Sage shrugged. “Fine then. But whoever these are for, I want to hear about it later.”

I tried to shake the mental image of my brother’s best friend from my head. His smarmy smile. His tanned, tattooed arms and strong calves. Jasper was objectively, physically attractive, sure. He was downright hot, but I’d known him since I was five years old, since he was lanky and covered in pimples. Plus, he had a girlfriend. Plus,he was Jasper.

Without committing to sharing my non-existent sexcapades, I paid for my strawberry condoms and left feeling worse than I had when I got here. I was definitely going to have to leave the resort for my pee stick needs.

I skated my way out, passing the rundown remains of the old resort that you couldn’t see from inside the bounds of the current resort. In the nearby-ish village, I was able to find two shops that were both open and sold the tests I needed. I bought the entire supply in both. I was a bit suspicious of the ones from the dollar store, but desperation meant I couldn’t afford to be choosy.

My thighs and calves started to burn. No way I could make it anywhere farther away and be able to skate my way back home after. So, I decided my only course of action was to head back.

I tried not to think about how this thing that was definitely not happening to me possibly could have accidentally happened. There was only one possible explanation.

As I skated, my mind transported me back to three months ago, to the night of November twenty-seventh, to First Contact.

The plan had been to slip in undetected, use my stolen invitation and the anonymity of my costume to be free. No one I knew would ever be in a place like this. That made it safe.

I’d planned to pretend to be the kind of person I’d always wanted to be. I’d been foolish enough to believe I could actually pull it off.

I felt like I could float up to the stars. I could rip the gold toilet straight out of the bathroom floor and waltz out the door with it. I could do anything.

I spun to the music, moved amongst the animal-masked socialites, and patted myself on the back.

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