She giggled and took another hit from her bong.
“Alright.” She set it on her coffee table. “I like manly men; so someone who is handy and okay with getting dirty if necessary.” She thought about the rest of her answer. “I want to date someone who respects me, even with the job I work. I couldn’t be with a man who isn’t a provider because I’ve never dreamed of working, and now that I work when I want to, I don’t think I’ll ever get a regular nine to five, so…” She shrugged. “I like a little push and pull. I’m a bitch sometimes, so I’d love to be with someone who knows when to let me have it and when to put me in my place. They have to be clean, have their own car and place,and have a sense of humor.” She thought more. “I don’t know,” she finished. “I want the same shit a lot of women want.”
“But if it actually came to you, do you think you’re ready for it?”
“What are you? A therapist?”
“Nah.” I chuckled. “Just making conversation.”
“Well, I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.” She paused for a beat. “There is a man trying to apply for the position though.” She wagged her eyebrows.
She was talking about Stone and I felt a fire ignite within me. If I had to take Stone down to get her, I would. There was no way I would let him come between me and Jiselle.
I wouldn’t let anyone come between us and didn’t care if I had to set him up with drugs in his vehicle or have him knocked off the face of the earth. There wasn’t a limit to what I’d do for Jiselle.
I bit down my annoyance though.
“You feel good about it?”
“I don’t know. It’s new and we’re friends; so I’m not rushing to try it out.”
“Don’t limit your options until you know they check all your boxes,” I offered.
“Don’t worry, Ghost. I won’t. I’m not as easy as I act, I promise.”
“I never doubted you for a second.”
“Smart man.” She wagged her eyebrows and I smiled at her expression.
“You ever thought about being a sugar baby?” I asked.
“Like a paid girlfriend?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Not really,” she admitted. “I don’t think I can fake a relationship for money. Stuff over cam is different. It’s atransaction and it gets shown that way. When I think about being a sugar baby, I think about pretending to like someone for a lifestyle and I don’t think I can do that in my day to day life. When I need a break, I can just log out for a while. Checking out on someone in person when feelings get involved sounds… cruel. I like being up front about what I want and what I’m willing to do for it.”
“That’s real. I respect that.”
I heard the alarm letting us both know our talk was being cut short but I was okay with that.
“Thanks for hanging out with me for a little bit, Ghost,” Jiselle offered.
“Thanks for having me, Jezzy.”
“Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
It was both exciting and a little sad when the call actually ended. It would be our last anonymous one because I had every intention of seeing Jiselle in person and getting our relationship off the ground.
I would give it six days before I showed up at her job though. The last thing I wanted was to make her feel uncomfortable.
5
I yanked my door open and lifted my eyebrow. Stone winked at me. I cut my eyes at him and he grinned as he lifted flowers. I resisted the urge to smile at the sight of not only them, but him, which was wild considering I had been ducking him on purpose.
I’d seen him at work, and besides a few lingering looks in my direction or winking at me, he hadn’t changed his behavior. But when he texted this morning, reminding me of our date tonight, I’d immediately told him I was sick.