“How would you feel about continuing our association?”
“I don’t understand. Are you saying you want to keep seeing me after I graduate?”
“Yes, but I’d like to renegotiate our terms.”
I folded the damp towel on my lap and frowned. I always made time for Micah, so I couldn’t imagine what more he wanted. Maybe specific days of my week.
“What were you thinking?”
“I really wanted to have this conversation face to face, but I know your future finances have been weighing on you. I’d like to stay on as your Daddy once you’re finished school. It would be different, Avery. The others would go away. You would work as a teacher during the day, and your nights would be open. I would take care of you.”
He already took better care of me than anyone else in the world. “But what if I found a job somewhere else?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to teach in the city.
“I have connections to some nearby private schools you might want to consider. I could help you find a respectable position nearby.”
I silently deliberated. After a certain point, it all became about debt. “Would I continue to live here?”
“There or somewhere else if you prefer. Your finances would improve—notably.” He paused for a moment then said, “This would be different, Avery. Our arrangement would be better defined as a closer relationship. You would teach as you planned, and never have to worry about finding a date for social functions. We would keep each other company—dependably there for one and other. No fuss, no drama, two satisfied parties.”
My first thought was of Noah, but I shoved it away, keeping my head on business. “Would we see each other more frequently?” I’d have a real job and my time would be divided. More so than now, even if I dropped all my other clients.
“I would want us to see each other at least three nights a week, but I’d also like you to accompany me when I travel—depending on your teaching schedule, of course. This would be a more … permanent arrangement, Avery. To others, we would seem a typical couple. However, I’d insist on seeing you were taken care of in all matters.”
“Where would we go?”
“Anywhere I’m needed. Next month I’ll be in Berlin. A few weeks after that, I’m visiting Mumbai. My schedule’s always changing.”
I didn’t even know where Mumbai was. “And if I went with you… We would…?”
“I’d expect you to stay with me in my suite.”
A jumble of nerves let loose in my stomach like a school of minnows. What was he saying, that we would actually have an intimate relationship as well as a sugar one? “You want a … relationship?”
“I want simplicity, Avery. I enjoy your company. I think you’re beautiful. You’re always graceful when we attend functions together. And I like taking care of you. But you're growing up, and I’m not going to keep you from the future you worked so hard to achieve. What I’m suggesting is a clearly defined association where I take care of you, and you take care of me. It would be very different from what we have now, but it would also be similar.”
“So … not through the system?”
“No, this would be a private agreement. I would take care of you financially. Anything you wanted you’d only need to ask. If you preferred to live in a house, we could meet with a realtor. If you needed a car for your commute, I would supply one. You could compile a list of assets you might require, and I’ll take each one into consideration.”
“And what would you get in return?”
“You’re a smart woman, Avery. You know how this would work. I wouldn’t want anyone else interfering with a woman others come to identify as mine. Reputation is important to me.”
I’d be a kept woman. Letting anyone keep me to that degree might feel like I was owned. At what point would Avery the sugar baby end and Avery the person begin?
“This is a lot to think about.” I couldn’t wrap my brain around his offer. Being a sugar baby had always been a temporary solution, a means to an end. Micah was proposing much more.
“Think of it this way, love, you would continue on the same path, hold a respectable job, but you would be taken. It would be a relationship, but unlike a traditional courtship, ours would have specific guidelines and expectations to assure we both remained equally satisfied.”