Page 107 of The Dance

“Remember how I told you that Brody and I started Sweethearts back in college?”

“To get laid.” She nodded.

I blew out a breath, the memory of what was a good time and all my hard work tainted by a rapist. “Yeah, well, Karla was my first everything. First sugar baby, girlfriend—”

“Fiancée,” Stacey murmured.

“Yeah.”

“How did a sugar baby even turn into a fiancée?”

I stood, took a deep breath, and paced. “How does anyone get engaged?”

“You know what I mean.”

I faced her. “Yeah, but the sole reason we started Sweethearts was—”

She cracked a grin. “To lose your virginity.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Her eyes widened the moment she realized what I was getting at. “So, she was your first everything?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that Karla wasn’t the first girl I’d fallen in love with. That it was Stacey when we were teenagers, but something told me it wasn’t the right moment to tell her. If I told her, she would think I was only confessing my love because I didn’t want whatever we had to end. And what did we have? We were dating, but she had been on tour for five months, and even though we were exclusive, I wasn’t sure we were boyfriend and girlfriend since we never put a label on it.

“Yes,” I partially lied.

“And you were in love with her.”

I looked up at the white, sterile ceiling and ran my hands down my face. “I thought I was.”

“You were engaged. How could you not be in love?”

Lowering my head, I looked at Stacey again. “Because I was young and naïve. I thought sex equaled love.”

“She was a sugar baby, though. Sugar daddies don’t propose to babies.”

“Right, but Karla gave me the attention I wanted from the start. She knew we were just starting Sweethearts, and she helped, but she also became greedy once we started making money. When I realized she wanted me for what I could provide for her and not because of who I was, I ended it.”

“Didn’t other babies give you attention?”

“I didn’t date other babies until I ended the engagement.”

“Oh,” Stacey breathed. “She hates me.”

“She feels I misled her,” I admitted.

“How so?”

“Because when I reached out to her to get you the audition, I told her you were a friend from high school, which you were at the time. It was before the New Year’s Eve party.”

“Well, I was, but at the audition, she was snarky with me.”

“I’m sure it was only jealousy.”

“Because of you?” Stacey challenged.

“Given I’m much more successful now, and you’re fucking beautiful, she was probably envious.”