Page 21 of A Constant Love
Then again, maybe not. After all, I wasn’t about to put the pregnant girl in danger by giving James any type of a reason to come after her.
Taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I searched for the right response.
“Do you ever have a bad decision come back to haunt you?”
She laughed, “Sam, you’ve seen the men I’ve dated. Clearly, I know exactly what that’s like.”
I giggled. “True. Let’s just say that’s what’s going on and leave it at that.”
Her hand covered her barely-there baby bump as she spoke. “Good old Sam Flemming…just as private as ever.”
“I promise one day I’ll tell you about it.”
She merely smiled and changed the subject, clearly understanding she wasn’t getting anything else out of me.
She began rambling about her many complaints about Kevin, but my mind was somewhere else. Instead I was thinking about how one day, maybe I wouldn’t have to hide these secrets anymore. Maybe one day, I could tell Emily everything that happened to me.
I just prayed that one day was actually a possibility.
Chapter 14 – Tyler
My anger flared all the way to the bar where I was meeting Andrew. I hated leaving Sam in the middle of an argument, but I wasn’t about to have that conversation in front of Emily either.
I didn’t understand why my girlfriend had to be so damn hardheaded all the time. I didn’t need, nor want, her money! Why couldn’t she understand that?
I understood she believed in working for things, but I didn’t want her breaking her neck to pay to live somewhere that I didn’t even pay to live.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I was glad the place looked fairly dead. I didn’t want to deal with a crowd of drunks at the moment.
I walked inside and found Andrew already waiting at a table in the corner. Before heading over, I walked to the bar and ordered a bottle of my favorite brew.
“What the fuck’s wrong with you?” Andrew sniped before I could even get fully seated.
“Hello to you too,” I muttered.
“Sorry dude. I can just tell something is wrong. Something happen with Sam?”
Taking a long swig before answering, I said, “She’s just being stubborn.”
“About?”
I leaned back in my chair. “When I first asked Sam to live with me because she was getting kicked out of her apartment, she insisted on paying rent. I didn’t want her to, but she was adamant. After we started dating, of course I didn’t expect that to continue, but tonight, she hands me an envelope full of cash to cover the past few months. Says she’s not living there unless she pays rent.”
“Why’s it so important to her?” Andrew asked.
“She says it’s because growing up, she never really had money, so she sees the worth in a dollar. She doesn’t believe in working for nothing.”
“So, what’s the problem with that?”
I turned to see if he was joking, but his face was all business.
“It’s a problem because I don’t want to take money from my girlfriend!”
His hand shot up in a ‘stop’ motion to calm me down. “Look, what I am saying is she has a good ethical code. There’s nothing wrong with that. You used to always tell me about how most women just seemed to be after your money and wanted you to spend it on them. Now, you have a girl who doesn’t want your money and wants to do it herself. You can’t have it both ways, man. Do you want a girl who leeches off you? Or an independent woman who makes her own way in the world?”
Rubbing my hand across my forehead, I knew he was right, but it still didn’t make me feel better.
“So, what am I supposed to do when she hands me money? Drew, it makes me feel like her damn pimp.”