"Good girl," I tell her softly, reaching my free hand to tuck some loose hair behind her ear. It's weird to me how much I like doing that, how much I like seeing a blush rise on her cheeks or hearing her sweet little laugh. Things have been turbulent for us, and that's definitely my fault. It's been way more complicated than any other arrangement I have had in the past. Most of my other arrangements have been pretty void of any conflict because I set up boundaries before anything even began. There is a whole clause of the contract that I had removed before Amelia even saw it that basically states the lay of the land. You go to events with me, pleasure me, I pay you, and it ends when the contract finishes.
I get bored easily; I've never signed a contract longer than 3 months, always afraid that something sweeter will come along while I'm tethered to someone else. I thought for sure Amelia would be the same thing, despite Grace's assurances that Amelia would be something new for me. I'm a businessman; my job is to make deals and get people to do what I want, and God knows I love a challenge. I thought for sure, I can definitely take this young naive girl, and she will become what I need her to be with a little bit of convincing. But each day that I spend with her; instead of changing her, I think that she's changing me.
"Stay the night with me tonight," I tell her. I don't want to force her into spending the night with me, of course. I would never make her do things that she wasn't ready for. I just want her to spend time with me.
"I can't," she says after a few moments. She's thinking about it, considering it. "I have an 8 a.m. class tomorrow morning." I sigh at her reasoning. It's moments like this that I feel like a bit of a pervert. Yes, it's completely legal; she's 19 and I'm 33, but still. Also, I'm paying her, which is a little weird, but it's not like I'm paying her explicitly for sex. Yet is it weirder that I basically pay her to hang out with me?
"You can get your books and some things to wear in the morning. I'll have Ambrose take you in, and I'll make sure you aren't late." I try and relax my tone to sound a little more casual and a little less desperate. Her head tilts to the side, and she presses her lips together in thought before they part and emit a soft sigh.
"Okay, fine, I'll stay." I lean down and immediately press my lips to hers. I know we last kissed yesterday, but for some reason, it feels like it's been too long. Her lips are soft and sweet, a hint of vanilla ice cream still lingers behind. Her lips part gently, and I take the opportunity to press my tongue into her mouth, pulling her in close to my body by her hips. I don't care if we are in the middle of the pathway in a busy park, but it seems that she does as she only indulges my desperation for her for a few seconds before she breaks our kiss.
"T-there's a bus stop just outside the park that can take us to my apartment so I can get my things to take to yours." The slight stutter in her voice pleases me greatly. I like it that she gets flustered with my touch; if only she knew how good I could really make her feel.
"No, Ambrose will pick us up. I don't do buses," I say, taking my phone out of my back pocket and scrolling through the numbers and clicking Ambrose's name. Her lips spread into a wide grin as I wait for Ambrose to answer.