Page 23 of The Arrangement

Georgia

The bookstore was fairly silent all day, with a few customers coming in and one selling a box of used books for store credit. It was drizzling outside; red and orange leaves blew across the street while people passed by the window. It was one of my favorite kinds of days and I wasn't even enjoying it. To be fair, I was supposed to be fucking Sebastian Quinn in less than twelve hours. Now, as much as the idea excited me, it terrified me in turn.

This morning I had picked out an "outfit," if you could call it that, in a mad dash to find something to wear without spending any money. I had sent the additional $600 to the clinic this morning and ended up with under $10 in my account, so hopping over to the mall was a big no-go. Sure, I had small savings set aside, but lacy underwear didn't exactly scream emergency. So I dug in my drawer until I found a cute set of deep green underwear and a bralette I barely wore because of the cleavage it produced on my A-cup breasts that I found uncomfortable for long periods. But like Quinn had said, it was just going to be taken off anyway.

"Good afternoon, Georgia," Emma greeted, coming through the door quickly and bringing with her the howling wind and burst of icyarctic air. Her skin was red with the cold, and the shape of her lips pressed into a thin line.

I smiled at the older woman. "Good, I had a few guests in today. Is it still alright for me to leave at three today? I was going to visit my grandmother."

Emma nodded, a smile softening her face and as she rested her hand on top of mine. "Of course." She looked around the place, which had a few clients milling around, her hand clutching a letter. "They’re raising the rent again, just enough to get around that new rental gouging law."

I placed my hand over hers and squeezed. "Hemingway's will get through this. I know it." Emma smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

It wasn't milkshake day,but I did bring my grandmother some sugar-free candy and a Diet Coke since the facility's vending machine had been broken since last week.

"You’d think they could afford to fix the vending machine with how much I pay," I grumbled as I knocked on my grandmother's door.

Mary Clark was sitting at her small dining set, putting together a puzzle, a black and white TV program droning on in the background at an almost intolerable level.

"Hi, Grandma!" I greeted her, setting down the sack of treats and kissing the top of her head. She seemed bright and alert today, which meant today was a good day. I helped her assemble the puzzle that depicted cats napping on a window.

"I think, next milkshake day, I'm going to smuggle in Hannah," I whisper conspiratorially, pushing a piece into the halfway-completed puzzle.

Grandma looked up with a twinkle in her eyes. "I like the way you think, Georgia." I laughed and looked around her place, thinking of a few items I could bring from the apartment that would make the placeseem more homey. Maybe a few plants. I could even afford to get her new furniture if this all went right tonight.

My stomach flipped.

"You okay, honey?" she asked, her maternal instinct catching the subtle change in my expression. I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Of course, just thinking about work stuff."

She grinned, placing another piece of the puzzle. "You should try to stop working so much and get a guy or girl in your life." Grandma winked at me. "You're a pretty girl and deserve to be treated right. That Dylan fellow just wasn't it."

I chuckled but nodded. "I do agree with you there."

She raised her eyebrows, pretending to study the puzzle. "Are you talking to anyone?" She smiled wider. "Or not talking with someone?"

Huffing an indignant laugh, I shook my head. "Grandma, those regency romance novels are rotting your brain, and no, me and Hannah are very happy just with ourselves. Thank you very much!"

She scoffed, "You're way behind. I'm reading about cowboys now." At my incredulous expression, the older woman waved me off. "You should be out having fun! Your twenties are for figuring yourself out; have fun!" She shook her finger at me, "Go flirt a little, go kiss a boy."

Oh, grandma, if you only knew…

It beingfall meant my razor and I hadn't been as close as we were in summer. I was in the shower for at least an hour, exiting from the hot water dehydrated and dizzy. At this time I would normally be getting ready for bed or at least reading for a few hours; I was instead tweezing my eyebrows and mangling my winter dry hair into something resembling curls.

I looked down at my phone, currently reading 8:30 p.m., which meant I had 30 minutes to finish my hair and toss on some makeup to look fuckable. I shook my head at my train of thought; okay, that was problematic. Leaning on the bathroom counter, I stared at myself in the mirror.

"Am I really doing this?" I whispered to my reflection, and then I remembered my bank account and put on some mascara. I swear I’d only been fixing myself for a moment when my timer went off, reminding me I had five minutes to get across the hall.

"Shit," I whispered, popping another piece of gum in my mouth and smearing some black cherry lip balm on my chapped lips. "Okay, okay. This is good, I look good."

I kept repeating that as I fed the cat and pulled on a pair of black sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt with a faded National Park logo on, hiding my coordinating pieces. Jogging to the door, I stopped, nearly colliding with a chair, before running back into my bathroom and throwing open my cabinet drawer to find a small bottle of perfume I had sitting there for special occasions.

"Well, if this isn't a special occasion, I don't know what is," I muttered, spraying behind one ear and on my ankles, wincing at the burn from my freshly shaved legs.

It was time.Fuck, what was I doing?

I walked across the hall and tried to tell myself that I was shaking due to the cold hall as I knocked on the door. It opened almost immediately. "Hey, c'mon in!" Quinn greeted in a muffled tone, and I was glad to see he was in some basketball shorts, a t-shirt, and a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. I walked in, hearing some music drifting from the bathroom that he retreated into.

"Mozart, huh?" I called with a smirk as I put my bag down by the door. "A little on the nose, don't you think?"

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