Page 20 of Rum & Coke

I helped her stand and then moved behind my desk. I motioned for her to take a seat in one of the chairs. Leaning back in my chair, I said, “All right, here’s the short version of why and how I became a special ed teacher. I went to USC on a full ride for volleyball. Specifically, I wanted to do beach volleyball, but I tore my ACL my sophomore year. I recovered after surgery and had a year of rehab, but in the end, the doctors didn’t clear me to play again, so I continued with my education to become a teacher.”

“Aw, that sucks. Why did you pick special ed? It has to be challenging, right?”

“It is. I couldn’t play volleyball anymore, but I wanted to coach. The Special Olympics in L.A. needed volunteers, and the rest is history. I got my bachelor’s degree, and I got credentials in special education.”

“That’s amazing. Do you still volunteer?”

I smiled. “I do.”

“What made you want to be an escort?”

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on the desktop. “Why are you a stripper?”

She snorted. “Because I need money to survive and raise my son.”

I nodded. “Right, because of the money. You could easily do something else, right?”

“Well …”

“Tess, I makea lotof money being a part-time escort. I like to travel, not live paycheck to paycheck, and I like to have fun. After I lost my scholarship in college, I was eating ramen to survive. I know how hard it is, and I get it. My buddy was working as an escort and needed me to help him one night—”

“Help him have sex?” She scrunched her face in confusion.

“No.” I laughed. “Well, yes, but not with him. He’d overbooked and needed me to take out one of the ladies. After that date, I realized it was easy money, I got laid, and I never ate instant noodles again.”

Her face softened, and I knew she finally understood why I did both jobs. “So, what do we do?”

“What doyouwant to do?”

“I don’t know.” Tessa shrugged and looked away from me.

“Can I tell you what I want to do?”

Her gaze met mine again. “Okay.”

“I suggest we go over what I have planned out for your son, and I won’t go back to Red Diamond anymore so there’s no line crossed.”

“And we’re no longer friends?”

I frowned. “We can still be friends.”

“How?”

“Friends go to lunch, dinner, movies, whatever. I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Can you get in trouble once the school year starts?”

“Well, they can’t tell me who I can and can’t be friends with, but it’s probably best we don’t say anything.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. I agree to everything you said.”

“Great.” I reached for the folder to go over everything with her, but then stopped. “You know, I was going to text you tonight because the Dodgers and the Giants play in L.A. next weekend. We should go.”

“I can’t leave Colton.”