Retirement Pains (Chloe PoV)

I closed my locker a bit harder than I’d meant to, my frustration finding a means to manifest itself physically. A step back and a few breaths helped center me but did little to temper the burden I’d been carrying.

Quitting my after school ‘job’ had been the right thing to do and I didn’t regret making that decision. It was nice meeting Jake and heading to the library together to do homework and otherwise hang out—even if he still left a lot to be desired as a conversation buddy. Breaking the news to my clients had gone better than expected…so far. There were a few guys who weren’t used to being told ‘no’ and I suspected there might be trouble with them later.

So what I thought was going to be the hardest part turned out to be the easiest. Instead, I was blindsided by something I never considered: my own body. After three-plus years of getting fed a constant diet of dick, going cold turkey left me feeling horny and frustrated. A few times, I’d been tempted to talk to Jake about it. There were even times where he seemed to pick up on something being off with me. It should have been easy to talk to him about it, yet I found myself hesitating when it came time to say something.

Frankly, it was embarrassing. It was stupid considering all he knew about me and my past. There was more there than my embarrassment though. For one, I knew he didn’t have the same physical drive that I did. The last thing I wanted was to burden him with more shit from my end of things. That wasn’t the only reason either. I still remembered how my Gift affected him. How exhausted he looked after our night together. The terror of him passing out after being overwhelmed by my Gift.

Besides, he had mentioned doing it again—sooner rather than later I hoped. Three or four times a week was probably not in the cards, but I hoped at least twice a week. Once a week at the minimum. I had an amped-up sex drive and it was going to be a bitch to wind down.

I let out a long breath. There was no way around it. I was going to have to talk to him about it sooner or later. Still, I could hold for the rest of the week. Hopefully, something would happen this weekend. If not, I would mention something to him then.

“I know that sigh.” My body tensed at the voice. Spinning on my heel, I found Adam standing there with his smug smile. My hands balled into fists as I resisted my initial urge to punch him. “Frustrated are we? Makes sense considering the rumors that have been going around.”

I unclenched my fists are **** myself to calm down. The last thing I needed was him getting under my skin. No matter what he said, I needed to show no reaction. “What do you want?”

“Such a cold welcome for a loyal customer.”

“Ex-customer. I quit, so don’t bother asking.”

“So I’ve heard.” Silence followed as he continued to look at me. I didn’t look away, staring right back. “You know, it’s not healthy to let that frustration build up. I might know a thing or two about how to release it.”

“What part of ‘quit’ do you not understand? I’m done. Finished. Go find someone else to stick your dick in. Your girlfriend would be a good place to start.”

He took a step towards me. The moment he did, I felt the cold metal of the locker press against me as I stepped back. I felt trapped despite the wide-open space on either side of me.

“I won’t waste time by offering you more money.” He towered over me yet I didn’t feel threatened. There was a comfort of sorts having such a good-looking guy close to me. His voice lowered as he bent forward to have his face closer to mine. Damn was he good-looking. I mentally jerked myself away from that thought. Bastard was using his Gift on me. “We both know that this whole thing is only temporary. Have your fun pretending to be the good little girlfriend you want to believe you are.”

His hand ran along the side of me. My initial reaction was to swat him away, but that felt a bit ****. I remembered just how wonderful those hands of his could be when used correctly. His mouth was near my ear, my nose filled with that expensive cologne he wore. It was causing my body to react in uncomfortable ways. The words were a whisper, his voice husky as his hot breath hit my ear. “But we both know that’s bullshit. When you want to get good and properly fucked like the whore you are, you know how to reach me.”

Pulling away, air flooded into my lungs as I remembered how to breathe again. He was smirking at me, knowing the effect he made. “We’ll be in touch,” he said before walking off.

With him gone, I could shake off some of the thoughts I’d had when he was around. Fucking prick was still using his Gift on me.

Still, that had gone better than I hoped. If he was going to wait around for me to contact him, good riddance. That certainly wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t believe he was going to stand around waiting for me for a second. He undoubtedly had something planned. No way was he content with letting things go peacefully.

But there was no use worrying about that now. Brushing the encounter off, I headed to the library. I barely made it out of school when Jake found me. He had a habit of that—not that I minded.

“Hey!” I said, stretching myself up so I could kiss him. I noticed a pair of girls give us—well, me—a dirty look as they passed. I ignored them. “Ready to hit the books?”

“How about a change of venue?”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “How about we go to my place?” Hope surged inside me, but before I could answer, he clarified. “Not… for that,” he said, clearing his throat.

Damn. He was reading me again. I tried to push past the disappointment and remain upbeat. “Not… what?” I asked in a teasing voice.

“Sex.”

Of course he would come out and say it. I glanced around, happy no one was close enough to hear. It was weird I was feeling so embarrassed right now considering a guy would normally be balls deep inside me about now—which actually didn’t sound so bad.

I hooked my arm through his as I pushed those thoughts aside. “Hey now, you are the one bringing that up, not me.”

“Yes but—”

“Ah-ah. Get your mind out of the gutter. We have homework and studying to do.” I grinned, showing him I was teasing even if he could read my intentions.

I knew I should tell him about my encounter with Adam, but I didn’t want to ruin the mood. That could come later. For the moment, I only wanted to enjoy our time together.