Page 31 of It Happened Duo

“Oh, Suz, this is Rex, my handsome date,” Chelsea slurred her words and hooked elbows with me. The DJ exhaled her smoke in the opposite direction from me. Good thing, because I couldn’t stand smoke.

“Hi, Rex. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Suz held out her hand.

“How long have you been smoking?” I asked, ignoring the pleasantries.

“Um…” Her eyes shifted between me and Chelsea.

“Because smoking kills half of the users who don’t quit, in case you didn’t know. Have you ever tried to quit?” I continued my line of discussion, one I was familiar with, having been in it with dozens of other people, making it my life’s mission to get people to quit.

Chelsea pushed her locks behind one ear. “Rex, sweetie, maybe this isn’t the time or the place?—”

“Would next year be better? Another year of Suz sucking on cancer sticks, and reducing her lifespan? How many packs do you smoke a day?”

Chelsea gasped, and Suz appeared incredulous.

“None of your business, man. Chelsea, I’ll see you later.” She started toward the door, but I had something that would stop her.

“Ten thousands dollars is yours if you quit in the next thirty days,” I called out. She stopped in her tracks, half-turned and scowled at me.

“What?”

“You heard me. I’ll pay you ten thousand dollars if you quit. Hell, make it twenty.” I stood my ground.

She stomped back to me. “I won’t stop just because you throw money at me.”

“Are you sure about that? Could you use twenty thou to pay off your bills, to buy new equipment for your DJ business? Hell, quit working other jobs and try doing DJ gigs full-time?” I crossed my arms and watched her face change to realize my offer would mean a world of difference to her.

She scoffed. “What’s the catch?”

“Nothing. It’s the honor system. I’ll meet you right back here in thirty days and if you tell me you’ve quit smoking, I’ll shell out twenty thousand in cash.” I took out my phone and brought up my calendar.

“I could come back and tell you I stopped just for the money. How would you know?”

“The point is,” I shook my head. “You’llknow. Do you believe in karma?”

“Rex, what are you doing?” Chelsea asked.

“I spent years with my father smoking, and he ended up with lung cancer. The day he died, he still smoked. I made a vow to help any smokers who came within ten feet of me stop smoking. So, Suz, yes or no? Take me up on my offer—it only comes around once.”

She inhaled in and out slowly and brushed her purple hair back with one hand. “Yeah. Okay. Fine.”

“Good.” I punched in the details into my calendar and handed her a card from my wallet. “Here’s a help center Ifund in Manhattan if you need resources to help you quit. See you in thirty days.” I took Chelsea’s hand and led her back inside and didn’t stop until we were out the front door.

“You-you can’t just go around offering people money to quit smoking,” she exclaimed.

“Sure can. Just did.” I texted my driver to come get us. “I do it all the time. Since watching my dad die slowly for a few years after his diagnosis. No amount of money could pay him to stop, despite having the best medical care and treatments. He was a good man, just had this one vice he could never shake.”

“I’m so sorry about your dad.” Her hand flew to her heart. “How many people have you helped like this?”

I shrugged, never kept count. “Made the offer a few dozen times. Smoking is hard to quit, though. Only half a dozen ever came back thirty days later saying they quit. But at least that’s half a dozen I saved.”

“My God. Rex, you have a good heart, you know that?”

I snorted. “Yeah.”

“You do. Maybe other people don’t see it, but…I do.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed my mouth. Just when I went to circle my arms around her, she backed off quickly.

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no.”

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