chapter three
florence thompson
song: dancing with a stranger - sam smith & normani
The lake house was straight out of a teen movie, but I don't know why I had expected anything less. I mean, I am here with Brandon Smith, one of the most wealthy men in Chicago.
It was three stories tall, made from nothing less than the best wood, as Brandon so cockily put it as we all walked in. The house was surrounded by full, towering trees. It was situated right on the shoreline, connected directly to a patio that you could walk onto that leads to a dock.
It was absolutely breathtaking and the moment I was told I could pick any room I wanted, you bet your bottom dollar that my ass found the third floor real quick. I tested out all eight beds on the floor, settling for the fourth door on the right. I dumped my duffel bag onto the floor and flung myself onto the large bed.
The drive here was nearly insufferable and I was fairly positive Aria was was five minutes away from mauling Brandon in the front seat.
Their mushy gushy talk made me mentally gag.
I always had this preconceived idea that sugar daddies are old and gross and just happen to have money but Brandon Smith was a pretty fair example that I am completely wrong in that thought.
Brandon Smith is 27 and owns his own corporation, making him the third richest man in the state of Illinois. He was the exact opposite of everything I ever thought made up a sugar daddy.
When I watched him with Aria there were moments that I forgot the financial relationship they were actually engaging in and instead fed into the fantasy that they were in a committed, happy relationship.
The thought made me curious, and suddenly I found myself wondering if Aria ever wanted something more from their relationship.
Isn't it just simply in our nature as women, as humans, to want more? To crave more? More human connection and less paid companionship? Isn't it a natural thing to wish for more than what's in front of you?
Something told me Aria was fairly content in their financial relationship, probably something to do with how giddy she was about life in general these past few months.
I wondered idly if I could do that. If I could just shut off the part of me that hoped for more than just a credit card to swipe and just suck it up.
"Hey! Party pooper, get up and get naked!" Aria's voice pulled me out of my daze and I propped myself onto my elbows, glancing back at Aria just in time to watch as she threw a yellow bikini my way.
The cloth lamely hit me before falling to the bed.
"Sounds like a threesome I don't want to be apart of," I mumbled more to myself than anyone else as I pushed myself up into a sitting position, grabbing the thin cloth.
"Meet me downstairs when you're done, we're going to go swimming," she informed me before quickly turning on her heel and strutting off in her white bikini, her long, tan legs on display for the world.
Thank you, captain obvious, I thought sarcastically.
I quickly found the en-suite connected to my room and shimmied out of my clothes before slipping into the yellow bikini Aria had just thrown at me.
It was more than what I usually went for but so is this whole trip.
By the time I made it down stairs I heard a third voice contributing to their conversation and my interest piqued as I slowly rounded the corner into the kitchen. There stood a man around Brandon's age, maybe a little older as he talked back and forth between Aria and Brandon.
I felt my heart drop to the pit of my stomach when I quickly realized what this was.
"Oh! Florence, this is Alex, Brandon invited him." Aria saw me over Alex's shoulder, stepping around him to introduce him to me as he turned on his heel to face me.
He was handsome but nothing to drool over. He had brown hair, thick framed black glasses and all around average features. Not that that's a bad thing, I have average features too.
"It's nice to meet you." I nodded, a tight lipped smile on my lips as I shoved my hand towards him.
"You as well, Florence." He nodded respectively in return, slipping his large hand into mine and giving it a firm shake.
My gaze slid over to a giddy Aria who looked like she nearly couldn't contain her excitement. I sent daggers at her with my blue eyes, hoping she would receive the message.
I mean, this is some parent-trap type shit!
My blood boiled under my skin but I did my best to keep my smile in place. After all it isn't Alex's fault, and maybe I'm just overreacting. Maybe Brandon really did invite him and he isn't apart of the whole sugar baby world if I'm lucky.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go get wet!" Aria called out, winking slyly at me as she turned on her heel. I caught the double meaning to her words and rolled my eyes dramatically, crossing my arms across my stomach as Brandon and Aria walked towards the sliding glass doors, hand in hand.
Alex and I made no move to follow, and I shuffled my bare foot a little against the hardwood flooring. Honestly, I hadn't followed them in hopes that Alex would and I could ditch back to my room. I'm not in the business of set-ups and that isn't changing today.
"So, this is a set-up, huh?" Alex's voice tore me out of my thoughts, breaking the awkward silence that filled the kitchen. My gaze snapped up to his amused expression, a weight slightly lifting off of my shoulders at his words.
I chuckled lightly, rubbing my arm absentmindedly. "Absolutely a set-up," I concluded, nodding slowly.
He shook his head, his light brown hair moving with the motion. He trained his gaze onto the floor in front of him, inspecting any blemish in the surface.
"Do you think it was Brandon's or Aria's idea?" He asked, his gaze finding it's way back up to my face.
I scoffed.
"Have you met Aria? This has her name written all over it," I joked, releasing my grasp around myself. Here I was, standing in a yellow bikini in front of some guy I don't even know, and it made me wildly uncomfortable. How did Aria think I would ever survive even one day in the sugar baby world?
He nodded, a smile tugging on his lips. He brought his hand up to scratch his jaw which had slight facial hair covering it.
"Maybe we should go join in on the fun," he spoke, hooking his thumb over his shoulder to motion towards the patio where Aria and Brandon were currently. Well, Brandon was. From the looks of it Aria was running down the dock, about to dive into the lake.
I released a long sigh, watching as my best friend jumped into the air, her legs squirming ridiculously before she plunged into what I imagined to be freezing water.
"Why not."
The two of us strode side by side to the patio and watched as Aria surfaced, laughing loudly as she waved to us.
"Its nice!" She called out, cupping her hands around her mouth to assure we heard her. "You should come in, Florence!"
I rolled my eyes.
"In your dreams!" I yelled back, holding my hand over my brows to block the sunlight, sticking my tongue out playfully at her.
She didn't respond verbally, just chuckled loudly and as I went to say something else, a strong pair of arms hooked around my waist from behind and lifted me into the air effortlessly. I let out a loud screech and surely any of the neighbors—if there are any—would've thought that someone was being brutally murdered.
"Put me down!" I yelled, clawing at the arm around my middle and kicking my legs dramatically in hopes to catch the person off guard as they continued carrying me down the long dock.
I glanced over my shoulder to find Brandon's dashing features sporting a wickedly amused grin.
Of course it's Brandon, I thought to myself.
"Get. Your. Sleazy. Hands. Off. Of. Me!" I enunciated, continuing my attempt at escaping as a low chuckle vibrated his chest.
"You think I'm sleazy, Florence?" He asked from behind me as we neared the edge of the dock and I realized quickly that this was a trick question.
Do I think he's sleazy? Absofuckinglutely.
But am I about to be thrown into a freezing lake by said Sleaze Master? Sí.
"No, no I don't!" I sputtered out as he stopped at the very end of the dock, still holding me off of the ground. "You are a glorious man who is so kind and nice and very, uh—very respectable! Yeah, respectable! I think you should get a rai–," My words were cut off and in their place a scream erupted once again as Brandon threw me into the lake.
I can confirm. The water is freezing.
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After being dunked oh-so ruthlessly into the Lake of Death, as I like to call it, I proceeded to chase Brandon around the property with a neat little Nerf water gun I'd found inside while grabbing a towel, in attempts revenge.
After a few hours of basking outside and chatting about nothing in particular, the sun began slipping under the horizon leaving us with a blanket of darkness and night stars to accompany it.
Brandon quickly started a fire in the fire pit outside which the four of us gathered around and talked about a few fleeting topics that didn't really pique my interest. I just sat next to Alex, a thin blanket wrapped around myself. I'd changed out of my bikini about an hour ago and instead slipped into some pajama shorts and an old t-shirt that I'd brought along with me.
Aria didn't seem pleased with the choice, probably since it wasn't exactly the "Hey, wanna bang?" outfit she was hoping for but unfortunately for her she hadn't decided to warn me on the whole blind date thing so my old PJs would have to do.
Alex and I had talked momentarily and I couldn't say I was all too interested in him. Don't get me wrong, he seems like a good guy and everything, he just isn't exactly my type, I guess. I never thought I had a type but you just know when you're not attracted to someone and for me, thats how I felt about Alex.
Maybe if we'd met organically and hadn't been shoved into one another's laps I would see him differently and definitely hold less pent up annoyance for Aria towards him.
He didn't seem all too interested in me, which I counted as a win on my part because how awkward would the rest of this trip be if I had to avoid this guy that had feelings towards me that I didn't reciprocate.
Yikes.
"Florence, are you still in school?" Brandon's voice broke me out of the daze I was in and I glanced across the fire at him where he sat with his arm draped around Aria's shoulders as she scrolled through her phone.
I chewed the inside of my lip momentarily as he stared at me, his brown eyes held a more scrutinizing gaze than most would for such a simple question.
"Yeah." I nodded, glancing down to the bottle of water clutched in my hand. "Yeah, I am. I graduate next year, thankfully."
Brandon nodded slowly, bringing his twisted tea to his lips and tilting his head back.
"What are you in school for?" Alex's voice pulled my attention away from Brandon to beside me where he was sat.
"I'm trying to get my bachelor in art education. I want to be an art teacher hopefully, and if not I've at least got the qualifications to be a struggling artist," I joked, swishing my bottle around and watching the water wash against the sides of the plastic.
"Thats really interesting." Alex nodded, looking as if he was mulling over my words.
I couldn't figure out why it was interesting, but I didn't say anything in return.
"Do you know how much art teachers make annually?" His words made my heart drop slightly, my cheeks pinking immediately.
If there was one thing I didn't want to talk about with one definitely rich man-Brandon- and one possible rich man-Alex- it's my future salary. Especially men that look to give younger women financial stability in return of favors of companionship.
"I do," I said, my tone clipped as I stared at him. His expression didn't show me that he picked up on my annoyance, and honestly it didn't surprise me all that much. Even if he did, I doubt he cared. He was probably used to asking people such invasive questions if he was anything like Brandon.
"They make what?" He glanced over to Brandon who was watching us closely, no expression quite present on his features. "Like 50K a year? You're going to go to school for 4 years and pay out the ass for schooling to make $50,000 in one year?"
When I'd first met Alex I pegged him as the quiet type, the passive kind of person. I was now rethinking that whole analysis.
The silence between the four of us was thick now, Aria's attention finally broken from her phone as her wide eyed gaze trained on the two of us. My heartbeat thudded hard in my chest, more out of anger than nerves. I mean, who says this to a complete stranger?
A total assfuck, thats who.
"If you'll excuse me," I said, my voice quiet as I stood up, unwrapping the blanket from around my shoulders and placing it onto the chair I'd been previously sat in.
Alex said something as I stalked away, heading to the sliding doors. I hadn't caught it and it was probably mostly due to the pulse thumping in my ears.
When I came to the glass doors I yanked it open, stepping into the kitchen and onto the cold tile before doing my best to not slam it closed. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding as I was surrounded by the darkness of the kitchen, closing my eyes momentarily and enjoying the silence around me.
Without wasting another moment I made my way to the stairs, climbing each floor until I'd made it to the third where my bedroom was located and quickly found my room, closing the door and locking it behind me in case anyone decided they wanted to follow me.
The last thing I want to do right now is talk to them.
I plopped down onto my bed, gnawing the inside of my lip in complete and utter frustration as I pulled my phone out of the nightstand I'd placed it in earlier.
I wondered momentarily if I was overreacting but as the memory of Alex's expression and distant words slid into my mind, my teeth gnashed together and I didn't care if I was overreacting. Who talks to someone like that?
Guess what, bud? I don't care if you have enough money to buy the apartment complex I live in and the whole damn neighborhood along with it, my life choices are none of your business.
My phone pinged, drawing my attention to the device in my hands. On the screen Ben's name displayed along with a text he'd sent me a few minutes ago.
How is the get away? Super boring? ;)
I chuckled quietly at his text. Little does he know.
Unbelievably so, I quickly replied back, a small smile on my lips.
I scrolled through my phone, waiting for Ben's response. I began looking through my newsfeed on Facebook which as per usual was filled with the interesting stories of what exactly Betty Pine was up to these days from cleaning the fish tank to "Going out with the girls!!"
After scrolling through an annoying amount of pointless posts I came across an ad that made me scoff slightly.
Sugar.
The memory from my birthday night came into mind, Aria telling me about the new app and how I should dip my toe in the pond. My mind then floated to my conversation with Ben last night at the diner before the war I started.
"She thinks that you of all people could be a sugar baby?"
My thumb hovered over the download button.
I could be a sugar baby. It can't be that hard. I mean what do I have to do asides from look pretty and go to dinner maybe twice a week.
I made a split decision and pressed my thumb down, closing my eyes momentarily.
I can do this.
Aria does it all the time. Why can't I?
I hesitantly clicked on the now downloaded app, watching as it took up my whole screen.
Welcome to Sugar, it read, a place where Sugar Babies and Daddies can meet safely. To start, please tell us if you're a Baby or Daddy.
Nausea waved over me, my cheeks pinking slightly as I stared down at the phone in my hand. The thought of anyone finding out I was on here chilled me to my core. What if my mom found out? Her picture perfect little virgin daughter trying to become a sugar baby.
Without mulling it over further I pressed the Baby button and watched as it took me to the next page where I had to fill out everything from my age to education. I quickly filled out everything, using the fake name Mary in case anything went left before uploading a few recent pictures of myself and writing a short bio.
I rolled over onto my stomach as I sprawled width wise of the queen sized bed and pressed the next button.
I was brought immediately to a page similar to Tinder where I could read over profiles and swipe left or right.
Let the games begin, I thought.
I began swiping, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth. I came across a few interesting candidates, swiping them to the right while swiping everyone else to the left quickly. It didn't feel too much different than Tinder which I maybe found myself on more often than I should be more recently on my hunt for the perfect guy.
"Oh. My. God." I breathed, coming across quite an amusing profile.
George Kyle, 65.
Bio: Hello there, my name is George Kyle and I wish to shower you with my affection and riches. I may be old but I can get down with the young adults ;-)
I made an audible gagging noise as I swiped left, wrinkling my face in moderate disgust.
A new face appeared on the screen, one that made my heart thud in my chest.
Vincent De Bellis, 29.
Vincent De Bellis...why does that name sound so familiar?
It felt like the answer was on the tip of my tongue but it never came, so I pushed the thought away. Probably just one of those deja vu moments.
His features were sharp, no flaw to be seen from the pictures of him. I looked closer to see his icy blue eyes were slightly different from one another. His left eye had a separated patch of brown that took up less than half of his iris. They were the most breathtaking eyes I'd ever seen.
I've heard of it, Heterochromia, where the someone can have two completely different colored eyes but I've never seen it as only a portion of an eye.
His dark hair was messy, a few strands falling over his forehead in most pictures. He was dressed professionally in each still, usually sporting a dark suit that looked more expensive than my monthly rent.
His hardened expression in each picture that was taken of him, never taken by him, sent a fluttering sensation in my gut. He looked like he meant business and took no BS.
He would never go for someone as Plain Jane as myself, but I humored the thought and swiped right. I knew in my core that he would never match with me, but it felt nice to think about the possibility of someone as immaculate as Vincent De Bellis being interested in someone as simple as me.
A small smirk danced on my lips as I tugged my bottom lip into my mouth.
Florence Thompson at it again with her fantasies.
I continued swiping through a few people, matching with a handful that couldn't keep a conversation going past "Hello."
A text ding signaled that Ben had finally replied, and it harshly pulled me out of my sugar baby world that was all encompassing at the moment. I nearly laughed at myself when I realized what I was doing.
Shaking my head, I double tapped my home button, getting ready to swipe the app close and call it good before deleting it all together when a foreign notification sound pinged from my phone, catching my attention. A banner popped up at the top of my screen that made my breath hitch in my throat.
Good news, Vincent De Bellis likes you too! You're a match!
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let the fun begin!
q: what was the last movie you watched? did you like it?