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Chapter Two

Tobias

I roll over in bed, feeling something tugging on my dick. I open my eyes, but immediately shut them because the bright light feels like a million needles stabbing my eyeballs. I blink a few times, allowing my eyes to adjust before I look down at what’s going on.

Used condom.

I chuckle, not recalling how that happened, and glance behind me to find three people squished in the king-sized bed with me.

Oh, yeah. That’s right.

I pull the condom off and dispose of it in the trash in the bathroom once I make it in there.

There’s enough memory of the night to know I didn’t fuck anyone, because I don’t usually do that.

The two girls were playing a game to see how many condoms they could fit on my dick.

People like weird shit sometimes, but it’s not my job to judge. I go along with it to get paid .

I wash my face and my balls, then piss and go back into the main room to look for my clothes while the three of them—my client, Charlie, and two girls he picked up—sleep peacefully. There is discarded clothing all over the large hotel room, and I dig through them, looking for what belongs to me.

Thong. Nope.

Bra. Nope.

Chinos. Nope.

Fuck, where are my clothes?

I move to the other side of the bed, hoping for better luck, and catch a glimpse of more clothes behind the couch, toward the kitchen.

Last night, I was attacked when coming through the door after going to the store to get more alcohol.

Charlie and the two girls bombarded me the second I walked inside.

They were already naked, and apparently I had to be too.

I’m not mad about it. Charlie always pays well, and he’s one of the only people I party this hard with.

He knows I don’t fuck anyone, but he always tries to push it.

Once he realizes I’m not going to break, he takes both girls for himself, which he's never mad about. Still, I’ve come pretty close a few times.

Most times I end up naked and watching. Once I even jerked off while I watched.

I grab my clothes from the floor, shoving on day-old underwear which has me cringing.

“Leaving so soon?” Charlie calls from the bed.

I smirk as he leans over to suck one of the girl’s tits into his mouth, waking her up with a moan.

I chuckle. “Yeah, I gotta get to work.”

“Who the hell wants dates this early in the morning?” he says, his hand moving down her stomach and disappearing beneath the white sheet.

“My other job, Charlie.”

“Oh, right.” He chuckles again, pulling the blanket off the girl who is smiling at him.

It was a wild night. The empty alcohol bottles and coke baggies on the end table say so.

I didn’t do any of that shit, but I did drink enough that some of my night is blank.

Sometimes I think Charlie hires me to babysit him—make sure he doesn't go too hard. I'm totally fine with it.

“Hey, there’s a tip for you in the microwave.”

“The microwave?” I ask with a raised brow.

“Knew we wouldn’t be using it last night and didn’t want it to get lost or blown on...” His eyes go wide as he leaves me in anticipation. “Blow,” he finally adds, then laughs as he rolls over on top of the girl.

I shake my head and pull open the microwave door to find a letter envelope stuffed full. I pick it up and shove it into my back pocket.

“Thanks, Charlie.”

“No, thank you, Toby!” He hikes up the girl’s thigh and I get a glimpse of his dick disappearing inside her, the other girl just waking up .

I grab my jacket from the floor and shrug it on. My phone and wallet are in the inside zipper pocket, and thankfully my cell has enough battery to call a car. I leave the room without another word, knowing I'll hear from Charlie again in a few months.

“Morning, sir,” one of the cleaners says as I make my way to the elevator.

“Morning, Miss.”

Once in the elevator, I pull the envelope from my pocket to count.

Charlie doesn’t call me for dates often, but he’s done it enough over the years that I know what to expect.

I have to prepare myself for days. He likes to party hard, but it’s always worth it in the end.

I have no idea why he pays for me instead of making actual friends.

It wouldn’t be difficult for him because he’s rich and hot.

I think he likes my discretion though, and the fact he knows I’m going to let him have all the girls in the end.

As an employee of Foxy’s Rent-A-Date, I get all kinds of people wanting dates, but there is a strict no-sex policy.

However… that sometimes goes out the window.

For me, not so much anymore, though it did happen often in my earlier years.

I like sex, what can I say? Am I ashamed of having been a prostitute?

Nah, not really. There’s no room in life for shame.

I just like to do whatever feels right. So when being paid for sex stopped feeling right, I stopped doing it. Now, I'm as professional as they come .

The bills inside the envelope are all hundreds.

There has to be at least five grand here.

Yeah, definitely no room for shame when this is what I’m walking out with as an off-the-books tip.

I tuck it into the inside zipper pocket with my wallet and pull out my phone to order a car as I get off the elevator.

I need to go home, shower, eat, drink a ton of water, and head to my day job which pays next to nothing, but it's not about the pay check. I do it to keep myself humble.

The car shows up right on time, and thanks to the early hour, we don’t hit traffic. Seattle is a bitch for traffic. Once I get back to my house, a small two-bedroom just outside the city, I go right to the shower and wash up quickly.

I put some product in my hair, blow dry it, and get it styled just right while I air-dry my body.

When I’m finished, I brush my teeth, moisturize my face, then get dressed in my blue scrubs.

I call another car to take me to work, and ask them to stop at the bank on the way to deposit the money—$5,800.

We get to the rehab center twenty minutes early, which gives me time to grab a coffee at the small café before heading up to punch in.

“Morning, Tobias. How were your days off?” Hannah asks once I reach the counter to order my coffee. She works most day shifts here at the Little Donuts Café, and because I'm a frequent visitor, I know her well enough that we chat.

“They were great. How was your weekend?”

“Not too bad. Mom got a new cat.”

“Another one?” I ask in surprise .

“Mhmm,” she says with an eye roll as she pumps the hazelnut syrup into the cup, then adds a swirl of caramel around the rim before adding ice.

“How many is that now?”

She presses the button on the machine to add cream, then pins me with a stare.

“Nine.”

I whistle, shaking my head.

“I can imagine the cat litter bill.”

"Food bill is worse," she says as she slides my coffee over and rings me up. It's just over five dollars, but I hand her a ten and tell her to keep the change. “See you at lunch,” she calls after me as I walk off.

I raise a hand in acknowledgment.

I take the elevator up to the second floor and head over to the nurses’ station.

“Morning, Max,” I say as I grab an iPad from the dock and drop into the seat beside him. He’s the head nurse and makes sure everything around here runs smoothly.

“Morning,” he mumbles.

“Late night?” I ask.

“Not really.”

“Then why do you look so tired?” I sip my coffee and pull up the app to clock in.

Max turns to me with an annoyed expression. “Not everyone can be as happy as you all the time, Tobias. ”

I grin, just to annoy him further. He rolls his brown eyes, then turns back to the computer screen.

His dark hair is pulled back in a messy bun.

He has a twin brother, and they look nearly identical, even though they aren’t.

He stops by now and then to bring Max food.

Cool guy; hot girlfriend who’s a bartender and apparently cool with him fucking guys.

I heard this from Max when he relayed a message from his brother that he was interested in hanging out.

He can say his girl is cool with it all he wants, I don’t believe it and I don’t need the drama. So I declined.

“Oh hey, just a warning that—”

“Good morning, Tobias.” My spine stiffens at that voice, and I turn to Max with narrowed eyes.

He mouths, “Sorry.”

I can only assume this is what he was going to warn me about, but too little, too late.

I look up at Brandon, who’s dressed impeccably in a three-piece slate grey suit.

His hair is slicked back, his jaw as angular as ever.

He’s tall, lean, and could pass for a vampire.

Honestly, he sucks the life out of everyone around him, so he probably is.

He’s also an arrogant prick who always has to let everyone around know he’s made of money and owns the place.

As if the recovering patients who can hardly remember their loved ones are going to give a shit about the owner and what he does with his days.

“Hi, Brandon,” I grit out, putting my drink down and turning to Max. “I’m going to get started on my patients. ”

I enter my info into the tablet to get to my patient list and tasks for the day.

I leave the station and head down the hall.

I feel Brandon following me, but I ignore it because it’s better to ignore him than give any kind of attention.

He thrives off negative attention more than positive, so telling him to fuck off would probably give him a hard-on. Learned that the hard way.

“Things would be much easier if you just talked to me,” he says once I reach the end of the hall, about to turn into my patient’s room.

“Easier for you. So why would I want to do that?” I grin at him, but it isn’t friendly.

Brandon purses his lips, eyes shining with humor. “You do realize I could fire you at any point, right?”

“You do realize that I couldn’t care less because I have another, better-paying job that doesn’t have a dickhead boss, right ?” I quip back.

He shrugs a shoulder. “That job helps you financially, but it doesn’t feed your need to please. You’re too nice to date people forever, Tobias. You need something else. Need to do good. You love this job.”

I grit my teeth, not wanting him to know how much he’s pissing me off.

But of course he knows. He always knows.

It’s why he does it. Brandon is one of the only people in the world who can infuriate me like this, and he is very aware of it.

That’s what happens when you spend four years of your life with someone and split yourself open for them.

He was the wrong person to do it with. The manipulation and cheating taught me that.

“There are hundreds of physical therapist jobs in the area. I don’t need this one.”

“But you want it.”

He’s right, I do. I like this place. The hours work, and it’s close.

If I were to quit or get fired, I’m not sure I would find another job that I loved as much, even if the work is the same.

The staff here are great. I have friends—or whatever is right below friends, I guess.

The shift is perfect. The only problem is Brandon.

Who, honestly, isn’t here all that often.

He’s usually worrying about bigger and better things, but now and then when he gets bored with his life, he has to come annoy me.

Remind me why we broke up in the first place, which is honestly a good thing, because constantly dating does get tiring, and I think about settling down often.

Then Brandon comes in like a wrecking ball, scaring me away from even the idea of marriage.

So maybe it’s a good thing he sticks around.

“Don’t you have checks to write or something?” I ask.

He smiles, taking a step closer to me.

“Don’t you ever think about us, Tobias?” he asks in a quiet voice.

My teeth grind together so hard my jaw aches.

“Only when I picture putting your head on a stick,” I grit out.

Somehow, his smile grows. “There’s a very thin line between love and hate. ”

I huff out a laugh. “Trust me, I am so far from loving you, it’s not even funny.”

“Hey, Tobias, can you help me please?”

I glance around Brandon to see Suzie, one of the CNAs. Her cheeks are red, hair a mess. She must be dealing with a difficult patient.

I don’t spare Brandon another glance as I go help my co-worker.

She’s relatively new and still learning things.

Though it isn’t my job to change patients, I assist her because that’s the right thing to do.

I help her get her patient situated, even though he fights us the entire time, and thankfully when I return, Brandon is gone.

At least I shouldn’t have to see him again for another couple months.