was hurt. But I was shot in Afghanistan.”
My eyes widened. “Oh my god…are you okay?” It was a stupid thing to ask since he was obviously fine.
He touched the left side of his torso. “A bullet grazed me from the side. It didn’t hit any organs so I recovered quickly. But I had a really bad scar there.”
“Had?”
“I inked over it. I ink all my scars so you can’t see them.”
“Oh…” He had more than one?
“I had a cut on my forearm but I covered that.” He pointed to the area where a tattoo of a dog tag sat. But his name wasn’t on the metal. “That’s my buddy’s name. He died over there.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“He was a good guy. Had a wife and everything.”
“That’s terrible…”
“She’s really nice,” he said. “I’ve been paying her rent for a while now. That’s also why I don’t have much cash right now.”
“You pay her rent?” It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.
“She didn’t have a job when her husband died and she had no way to get by. If I had a wife and I died, I know he would have done the same for me. And she’s a really sweet person. She has a job now but it doesn’t pay much. She’s looking for something better.”
I didn’t know what to say. His layers were endless. “That’s really sweet of you.”
He shrugged and looked out the window again.
Maybe I got a bad first impression of him. There was obviously more to him than his arrogance. “Is there anything else?”
“Like I said, I’m not that interesting.”
“Do you have siblings?”
“Only child.”
“I’m surprised you aren’t spoiled rotten.”
“I used to be when I was younger. But when I started listening to rock music and playing my guitar, my parents assumed I was on the way to drugs.”
“Have you ever done drugs?”
“Hell no. My parents are just paranoid people.”
I hadn’t even met his parents but I didn’t like them. They had a wonderful son who was just rough around the edges. Underneath all of that, he was a great person. “You deserve better.”
“There are times when I wish I had different parents, but they did raise me and put a roof over my head. It wasn’t always bad like this. I do my best to get along with them, but sometimes I feel like they aren’t giving me that same effort. In the end, I do love them—even when I want to murder them.”
“They’re lucky to have you.”
“I don’t know about that…I was a handful. They deserve a medal for raising me.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating.”
“I wish I were.” He crossed his arms over his large chest. “So, anything else you want to know?”
“I assume you didn’t go to college?”
He just stared at me.
“That’s a no…”
“I’m not college material.”
“I’m sure you could do anything you put your mind to.” I made a few notes in my notebook.
“What’s your story?” he asked. “Why are you an escort?”
I spun the pen in my fingers. “We’re here to talk about you, not me.”
“We can’t be friends?” he asked. “Don’t I have to know something about you before I bring you home to my parents?”
“Well, I need to create an alias. What do you think your parents would like?”
“A goodie goodie. Someone well mannered and educated. Something boring.”
“Okay,” I said. “How about I say I attended NYU for literature and then started running a flower shop in Brooklyn? Where do your parents live?”
“Connecticut.”
“So, they probably don’t know all the flower shops in New York?”
“Doubtful. That works. You look like you’d work in a flower shop anyway.”
“Thanks…or are you calling me boring?”
“No.” He gave me a smile. “Actually, that’d be really cute. I’d totally make a pass at you if I saw you priming roses in the window of a shop.”
My cheeks felt warm again. “Thanks…I guess I’ll have to research different flowers and what not.”
“My parents aren’t going to interrogate you that much.”
“I’d rather be prepared,” I said. “It’s what you’re paying me for.”
“I feel like all my money was spent on your beauty.” He said it with a straight face. “Are you a model and just do this on the side for money?”
It was the biggest compliment I’d ever gotten. “Uh, no. This is my only job.”
“Really?” he asked in surprise. “You fooled me.”
“It’s good money and I have control over my hours.”
“Do what you like and don’t give a shit what anyone else says,” he said bluntly. “I’m just surprised you don’t get tired of men