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“Yes, sir.”
He frowns, and I immediately know what he's going to say.
“I have to get home earlier for my sister,” I lie.
He nods. “Maybe one of these days, you'll finally eat with us. Good night, Ivy.”
There's a huge emotional lump in my throat as I make my way out of the house.
All the way back to my apartment, I try not to focus on how difficult it's becoming every day to resist him. I don't know how long it'll take me to break, but I hope to God that I will have found a new and better-paying job by then. Not that Rafael isn't paying me well anyway. I just have too many responsibilities, one of which just doubled.
On my door is a notice stamp: Rent increase by a whopping five hundred dollars.
Unbelievable.
Snatching the notice off my door, I'm tempted to rip it into thousands of pieces. Still, I hold myself and take it inside the apartment, where I dump it on the table and immediately fetch my phone out of my bag to call my best friend. I need to rant. And she's the only one I know I can do that to without fear of judgment.
“Hey you, why are you calling me while I'm at work?” Roxanne's voice comes through the phone.
I sigh. I forgot she has the evening shift tonight. “I'll call you back, I'm sorry.”
“No, something’s wrong. Tell me what it is.”
“I just got home to find out that my rent is getting raised an additional five hundred next month.”
“Shit, that’s a large jump. Who does that?”
The shittiest landlord in the history of home owners, that's who. “I don't know what to do, Roxanne. I'm barely floating as it is. With Tara in school and the current bills, I can't afford an additional expense right now. And there's no way I can ask Rafael for a raise. I’ve only worked for him six months!”
“Okay, calm down, we'll figure something out just… give me a minute.”
“Okay.”
I hear muffled conversation from her end and some movement before she speaks again. “All right, I'm outside. We can talk now. What are your options?”
None. “You know there aren't any,” I mutter in frustration.
She goes silent. And I wait, knowing she's probably thinking of something. This is one of the things I love about her: how quickly she comes up with solutions. “I might have a solution for you…”
“What is it?” I ask, my heart beating fast at the tone she used to speak.
“You've still got your V-card, right?”
I pause, wondering what my virginity has to do with making extra money to pay my bills. “Yes,” I respond, regardless.
“Are you still interested in getting rid of it?” she asks.
I shrug. I guess I am. I've been trying to get rid of the thing since college, but I just couldn't find the right guy. It's not like I'm looking for flowers and chocolate, but I still wanted my first time to be special. Why is Roxanne asking about it, though? “Why are you asking?”
“Because I may have a way you can kill two birds with one stone.”
Uh-huh. Whatever she's insinuating, it can't be good. But still, I open my mouth to ask her what it is.
What have I got to lose anyway?
Chapter Two
Rafael
