Page 13 of Left on Read

Hayden: I honestly have no idea. $100?

River: really?

Hayden: Too high? What about $50? Sawhorse included.

River: way too low my man. I’ve got $300 to spend and even that feels wrong to offer

Hayden: That seems like a lot.

River: trust me when I say that what you’ve got is worth more than that

Hayden: How about $200?

River: I’m not sure this is how bargaining works lmao

River: aren’t you supposed to go higher?

Hayden: Lol. Technically, yes. But I don’t feel right asking for more.

River: are you sure?

Who was this guy? He could have easily fleeced me and accepted fifty, but he was trying to make the deal fairer for me? I didn’t know anyone who wouldn’t have jumped on the chance to save money.

Confused, I headed back upstairs.

Hayden: Yeah. I got a lot of them on clearance so it’s not like I spent what they’re worth.

Hayden: Is it a deal?

River: heck yeah!

River: I gotta go get ready for my set in a few. Message me tomorrow and we can work out a pick up time

Hayden: How long will you be performing?

River: about 15-20 mins

Hayden: that’s a really long time to be dancing

River: lol my bad. I’m only on stage for about 4 mins but with stretching, getting in the zone, then doing the crowd work after, it takes about 15-20 for a set

Hayden: Makes sense.

I’d never met anyone who worked as a stripper, and I’d never been to a strip club. I believed him, but I had zero frame of reference for what he was talking about.

Hayden: I’ll still be awake in 20 if you want to message me back.

A thought occurred to me just as I pressed send. Had he just been using his job as an excuse to cut the conversation short? We’d already hashed out the most important details.

River: yeah? Okay. Talk soon!

The little dot under his name went dark.

Still reeling, I settled back in my desk chair and put my phone aside. As exhausted as I was, I wouldn’t be able to sleep until all the papers were done, so I’d be up for a lot longer than twenty minutes.

Now to see if he messaged back or if this had just been a random act of trolling by a hot guy who had zero interest in buying anything.

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