Page 55 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Casey***

A rich man’s plaything, that’s what you are—a shiny, new

toy he’ll be bored with soon. What could he ever see in you, other than

a few good romps? And now, here comes the payment. I guess I should have

known after seeing his house. And the Conti… I mean, who keeps a $3,000 bottle

of wine just lying around the house? Now the phone doesn’t seem like a big deal

after all. “If this is about money, I can give you money.” I guess the signs

were all there, but I was too blind to see them. How come nobody told me he was

Bill fuckin’ Gates?

Take it slow. I guess that’s what he tells all the girls. I

don’t understand. I offered myself freely, no strings; why did he still feel he

needed to lie?

Taking my hand away from the necklace, I fix a smile on my

face as people begin to surround us. There’s a flurry of faces as he introduces

me to people I’ll probably never see again, even a mayor. I say “thank you” for

all the compliments, smile, pose for pictures, and play the dutiful companion.

After all, it’s what I’m being paid for, right? On our way to the ballroom, he

pulls me aside and forces me against a column.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“Casey, I don’t want you to think of this as less than what

it is.” I meet his gaze and desperate eyes search my face. “I care for you… deeply.”

“You do?”

“Of course. Haven’t I made that clear?”

“I just feel like… Were you testing me or something?”

“Absolutely not. I just wanted tonight to be special for you.”

“Why did you hide it?”

“I didn’t.”

“You didn’t show it, either.”

“You said it’s not important.”

“It’s not. But I feel like you weren’t honest with me.”

He cradles my face, and the desperation in his eyes

intensifies. “I promise you this was no test, and I’m not playing any games. I want

you, Casey. More than I’ve ever wanted any woman.”

Fuck. I should be mad at him, but how can I be when he’s

looking at me like that? I did say I trust him, didn’t I? Besides, I’m

the one who doesn’t want a relationship; why should I care if he gets bored

with me? We’ll just go our separate ways when this is all over.

“Any more secrets I should know about?” I ask.

“Not right now.”

Not right now? Does that mean he has no secrets now, or I

don’t need to know now? Before I can ask, an older woman interrupts us, placing

her hand on his shoulder.

“Ethan!” She gives him a seductive smile. “What a surprise!

I didn’t think you would come, though I was hoping to see you.”

She bats her heavily made-up lids and flips her obviously

dyed hair. Blonde is not her natural color. Her dress is two sizes too

small and at least twenty years younger than her. It clings to her pear-shaped

body like a second skin, and I wonder how she’s able to breathe. She pouts her “puta

red” lips at him and he cringes almost imperceptibly. I caught it, though.

“Well, I can’t avoid these things forever,” he replies.

When she tries to move closer to him, I clear my throat. I

know this bitch sees me standing here. He slides his hand around my waist

and pulls me close.

“Edna, meet Casey… my girlfriend.”

Girlfriend? I’m his girlfriend? That’s news to me. Huh… It

has a nice ring to it, though. Edna sputters for a moment before extending her

hand.

“I wasn’t aware you were seeing someone,” she says. “Nice to

meet you, dear.”

“Casey, this is Edna, Mayor Burton’s wife.”

“Pleasure to meet you. I met your husband earlier.”

Between mine and Ethan’s references to her husband, I’m

hoping she’ll conduct herself like a married woman, but they don’t faze her.

“Yes… well, I’ll see you two inside.”

She gives Ethan a final appraising look before moving off. The

nerve of the woman; she could be his mother! And married no less. Some women

have no shame.