Night Flower by Billings Hildred

Author:Billings, Hildred
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barachou Press
Published: 2022-01-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Noelle was torn between two inevitable events. As she took her time freshening up in the bathroom, she thought of Claire’s sweet surrender… and all the reasons one had foregone talking to her for so long.

One month. It didn’t seem that long, but as Claire had astutely observed when they fell into pillow talk only an hour ago, it had felt like an eternity when one person yearned for another.

She’s catching feelings for me. Noelle didn’t want to admit it, because that meant having to acknowledge her own thoughts. The ones asking her to go back out into the bedroom and make Claire her official girlfriend.

Wouldn’t it be nice? To have someone who not only cared about her but made her feel better after a bad day? The world had been against Noelle up until that evening when she risked Johanne’s wrath to see someone outside of their arrangement. Wasn’t that why Noelle had foregone communication with anyone who made her feel human? After the trip to Hawaii, she had been cautious. That guy – what was his name? Andy? – was enough to send Johanne’s jealousy over the edge. Jealousy. I can hardly believe it. Who did Johanne think she was? Noelle’s actual girlfriend?

No. She thought she was Noelle’s master.

The last thing Noelle ever needed was that kind of toxic situation in her life, yet here she was, dreading the next time she would have to meet Johanne. It was draining enough pretending to be her significant other when they were out in public. Storekeepers and waiters were already making assumptions whenever they went out on “dates.” Soon, word would get back to Claire. That would be a reckoning for the ages.

Perhaps not as bad as Johanne finding out about Claire, though.

I have to tell her. Claire, that was. As things grew more serious between them, Noelle realized that she would have to do something. Those two somethings?

Dump Johanne and risk bankruptcy. Or tell Claire and risk being found wanting.

She said she didn’t care what I did as long as it wasn’t morally reprehensible. Or something like that. The examples had been murder and running a drug cartel. What about sex work, though? It may have been the 21st century, but many attitudes had yet to change. It didn’t matter that Claire was younger, too. Noelle had met as many young women who derided her for her life as she had older women who completely understood the circumstances. Age and generation had little to do with it.

Then there was the fact that Noelle didn’t even want this to be her life any longer.

Yet the job hunt was still fruitless. The one callback she received didn’t offer enough money to make it worth her while. Or she had to forego benefits and a retirement plan for an entry salary, with the possibility of getting a big promotion after six months. As much as Noelle wanted out of her current situation, she couldn’t take those risks. Not with the guaranteed money Johanne gave her now.

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.