Page 13 of Hire A Cuddler

I ask without thinking, “How old are you?”

He smirks at me. “Forty.”

I nod, quickly doing the calculations in my head. As if I didn’t figure it out on my own, he tells me, “I’m fifteen years older than you.”

He pauses and then continues. “Holden and Gabriel are brothers. Holden’s a baseball player for the Jasper Bears. Gabriel is a firefighter in Whiskey Run. Ledger is in the military, but he’s supposed to be retiring soon. Dominic is a mechanic in Whiskey Run, and Chrissy is a nurse at Jasper Hospital, but she lives in Whiskey Run too.”

I point to his face. It’s something to see the way his face changes when he’s talking about his family. “You light up when you talk about them.”

The gold specks in his eyes are sparkling. “I love them.”

“That’s good, King. I’m glad you had them.”

His voice is calm and steady. “I got off track. All that is to say that I know what it’s like to be afraid to put yourself out there. I know what it feels like when you think the whole world is against you and you’re not sure what tomorrow is going to bring… that’s all. So yeah, holding hands is a big deal… I know it is, and there’s no pressure. I just want you to know I’m here… if you want to try it… I’m here, that’s all.”

He searches my face and breaks me with what he says next. “I’m sorry no one was there for you, Haven. I’m sorry that you’ve spent all this time dealing with things on your own. You didn’t deserve that.”

He lets out an anguished breath, and it’s like I can feel how important this is to him. I can’t help but wonder if he puts this much effort into all his clients, but a part of me refuses to believe it. I want to feel special to him, even if I’m not.

I’m silent, and he asks, “What are you thinking?”

I look down at his hand that is still open between us. I suck in a deep breath and slowly move my hand to his. We’re both staring as I let my fingers slide across his palm and then line them upwith his. We sit there for a moment, neither one of us moving.

He’s the first to spread his fingers a little, and I let mine slide between until they curl around his. He closes his hand on mine, and I take in the difference between us. His hands are dark, big, and strong. I’m pale in comparison, but it feels good to feel the strength from his touch. I’m the first to move, and I slide my thumb across his. He holds me tighter, and I slowly lift my other hand, placing it on the back of his. King sharply inhales, and I startle my eyes up to his. “Is this okay?”

He croaks, “Yeah, peaches, it’s more than okay.”

As I stroke my fingers across his hand and then trace his fingers, I ask him, “Why do you call me that?”

“Because I think you’re sweet.”

I hold on to his hand as a tremble goes through me. A thousand thoughts are going through my head. He’s my cuddler. I’ve hired him to spend time with me. He’s older than me and not just a little, but a lot. He’s a charmer and knows the right things to say to make me feel comfortable, but I have to remind myself yet again that even though this is all out of the ordinary, it’s not real. This is not a date.And with that thought, I squeeze his hand and then gently pull away. “I should go.”

He sighs, and frustration rolls off him, but he doesn’t try to talk me out of it. “I’ll see you Thursday, then?”

I nod and stand up. “I’ll see you Thursday.”

I walk toward the door, and he’s following me. I could tell him he doesn’t have to walk me out, but I know I’d be wasting my breath. We walk side by side, and both our hands are hanging between us. I can’t help but imagine what it would be like if we were holding hands like a normal couple. And even though I know it can’t happen, I know I’m not going to be able to get it out of my head for the rest of the night.

8

KING

I domy best to blend into the crowd, but I can feel all the eyes on me. My name is well known, but most people don’t usually recognize me because I try to stay out of the public eye as much as possible. But there’s no avoiding it today.

I had to see Haven.

I set up an alert online so if anything goes public with her name, my phone alerts me. I found out about the fashion show this morning, and it took me about two minutes of debate to decide that I couldn’t miss this. I had to see her.

I was at my office, trying to catch up on the last two weeks because my concentration has been on her instead of my work. I was just about to walk outwhen my brother showed up at the office. I don’t get to see him a whole lot, so I brought him with me, and I’m already starting to regret it.

Holden hits his shoulder into mine. “Remind me again what we’re doing here.”

I’m staring at the stage, and the anticipation builds as I wait to see Haven. “I told you I was busy.”

He clasps his hand onto my shoulder and grips hard. “You’re always busy, big brother.”

I finally look at Holden, and I almost feel guilty until I see the smirk on his face. He likes to bust my balls. “I’m busy? You’re the one traveling the country and living your best life.”

---