Page 10 of Sugar Baby
“Do you smoke?”
My eyes blinked three times before I responded, giving my brain time to process his quick change in subject. “Yes.”
“Meet me at the beach tonight at eight. By that new sand bar.”
“O—”
Before I could agree completely, he disconnected the call.
“You’re meeting him?” Rittany confirmed. “Alone?”
Nodding, I stood, and she followed me back to my bedroom. “Yes.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Baby?”
“If he was going to kill me, he would have done it a week ago.”
“Still. I don’t trust him.”
“I don’t either, but it’s something about him that I do trust if that makes sense. I trust him enough to not harm me tonight for whatever that’s worth.”
She sighed but didn’t bother trying to change my mind because she knew when it was set, it was set. We talked while she helped me find something to wear. With it being spring, the nights here could be cool, and they were even cooler near the beach. I decided on a two piece baby blue linen pant set with a long sleeved crop top. After taking a quick shower, I fluffed my curls, refreshed my makeup, and put on my signature red lipstick.
I confirmed that Tyreek was going to spend the night at my place, then me and Rittany left out. She made me promise to share my location with her and let her know when I’d made it back home, though a part of me knew she’d be tracking me the whole time I was out.
The ride to the beach from my neighborhood was about twenty five minutes, but once I made it, I wished it would have taken longer. I’d meant it when I said I trusted that Cash wouldn’t physically hurt me, but I was still nervous about being near him. When we initially met, he seemed like he didn’t want to be outside, so I was surprised he wanted to meet me at the beach.
As I neared the new sand bar that had opened last fall, I looked for Cash. This was the only bar by the beach that was on the sand, so it had been popular since its opening. There he stood by the front door, and I could only think about Patrick telling SpongeBob the maniac was just standing there . . . menacingly. That was exactly how Cash looked—tall, mean, and not to be fucked with.
“What’s so funny?” Cash asked as I closed the space between us.
“Nothing you’d find funny.”
“Try me.”
“Did you watch SpongeBob as a child?”
“As a child?” He chuckled. “I still watch that shit now.”
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, but when he smiled, I smiled. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. It’s one of my comfort shows. Don’t tell nobody. They wouldn’t believe you anyway.”
“They certainly would not,” I agreed through my laugh. “But I was just thinking about that episode where SpongeBob was the hall monitor, and he and Patrick were looking for the maniac that was supposedly destroying the town. Whole time it was him. And Patrick was like he’s just standing there . . .”
“Menacingly,” we said together before laughing.
“Yeah, that part was funny as hell,” Cash said.
“I know, right? As I was walking up, that’s exactly what you looked like standing here all big and scary.”
He shook his head and chuckled before pinching my nose gently. “You’re cute.”
Yet again, I was surprised by his words as he opened the door and waited for me to go in. I saw his eyes lower to my ass as I passed him, and for some reason, that made me smile. I bit down on my bottom lip when his hand went to the small of my back and he led me toward the hostess station. She greeted us and asked us if we had a seating preference. They were pretty packed, which didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was her offering us a back corner table when Cash told her his name.
I watched as a couple was moved from the table to the bar before it was cleaned for us.
“Do you get this kind of treatment all the time?” I asked as we headed to the now empty table.
