In Harmony by Helena Newbury

Author:Helena Newbury
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: New Adult Romance
Publisher: Foster & Black New Adult
Published: 2013-09-18T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“I can’t believe you went there without telling me,” said Jasmine. It was the next morning and, despite the cold, we were sitting on the swings in a kid’s playground down the street from Fenbrook. It was early enough that we were the only ones there, surrounded by yesterday’s snowmen.

“I thought I could help. I didn’t know that you—”

“I haven’t done it yet. We’d just talked about it. I was going to do it last month, but then you saved my ass with the $300.”

We sat in silence for a second, swinging slowly back and forth. “Whose idea was it?” I asked.

“Mine,” said Jasmine. “I thought…you know, I thought—” She took a deep breath, and I waited while she got her voice under control. “I thought that if I took the lead and set the terms, then I could control things. Better than having him pressuring me when all my stuff was already out on the street.”

I closed my eyes. “There must be another way.” I frowned. “Doesn’t your brother live in New York?” I vaguely remembered her mentioning it, one night in Flicker. Then my stomach lurched as the rest of the memory swept in—she’d been talking about avoiding him.

Jasmine shook her head. “No. That’s a whole world I don’t want any part of. He’s trouble. He’s done time, for God’s sake.”

“People change,” I said, thinking of Connor.

But Jasmine shook her head firmly. We sat there for a moment, legs kicking occasionally to swing us, trying to keep moving so that our feet didn’t freeze. Then Jasmine took a deep breath and said, “Now that you know about…the arrangement…I need your help with something else. But you need to promise me something.”

“Anything. What?”

She turned and stared at me. “You need to promise me you’ll still be my friend after I tell you.”

Cold fear clutched at my chest. “Jasmine, of course! What is it?”

She looked towards the horizon. “I’ve decided to start escorting.”

I sat there in dumb shock for a moment. “Jasmine, no!”

“You said—”

“I’m not judging! I’m just saying—isn’t there another way?”

She shook her head. “I have to pay my rent, but between Fenbrook and auditions I don’t have time to work any more hours. Escorting is the only thing that’ll cover it, and it’ll cover it well.” She kept staring straight ahead. “I’ve really thought about it. I can work in the evenings, which is perfect because it leaves the daytime free for auditions and classes. I figure I’d be good at it—I mean, it’s just acting, right? Acting and sex, and I’m good at both.”

I bit my lip.

“I need to find an agency and go for an interview.” She finally looked over at me. “I really don’t want to do it on my own. Could you…come along with me? Moral support?”

I thought of her in a hotel room, crushed beneath some married, forty-something businessman and closed my eyes. No. No way. I couldn’t let her do it.

But…I couldn’t stop her, either. I could feel the fear rising up inside me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.