Call Girl

Erin didn’t want to go to work that night, but that wasn’t anything new. She never wanted to go, especially when she knew the client was going to be handsy, like she knew Cooper was. This time, she had a whole new reason for not wanting to go to work, and that reason was Harry. Suddenly, going out on all those dates with all those guys just seemed so wrong, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to justify it in her mind.

Taking a deep breath, Erin flattened out her dress as she began walking towards the restaurant, spotting Cooper immediately. He was a handsome guy, just barely older than she was, and was working his way up the corporate ladder. He was a prime contender for any single lady looking for a man, but Cooper was never pleased with any of the women who were pleased with him, which was why he always hired Erin for dates.

She didn’t really understand why he did what he did, but she assumed that he just wanted someone to talk to, hence him hiring her for a date with just the two of them. It was unusual and Cooper was one of the few men who hired her for any reason other than to impress their colleagues, but Erin knew better than to ask questions about that sort of thing.

“You look beautiful tonight,” Cooper said, smiling as he reached out for her hand.

“Thank you,” Erin returned quickly, barely even able to smile at him. She couldn’t believe how awful it felt to hear him say that. It was like someone had punched her in the stomach and kicked her while she was down. She knew she didn’t want to go on this date, but she didn’t know it was going to be that bad. She just hoped it would be over quick.

The hostess seated the two of them at a booth towards the back, and Erin tried to ignore how uncomfortable she was feeling. She just had to get through the date, make her 500 bucks, and try to make herself feel better about it with a tub of ice cream.

Cooper was engaging her in the small talk that he usually did, talking about work and stocks and a thousand other things that Erin would have been interested about if it had been at any time and coming from anyone else’s mouth.

She couldn’t focus on Cooper’s words at all. The only thing that she could think about was Harry, what he was doing, and whether or not he was thinking about her too.

She thought about texting him just so she could see his name pop up on the screen of her phone, but she didn’t know what she’d say.

“Erin, are you listening to me?” Cooper asked, a small laugh littered in his words.

She let out a deep breath, nodding her head quickly. “Yeah, sorry, I was just off in my own little world.”

“That isn’t like you,” Cooper said, taking a sip from his water. “Is there something you need me to take your mind off of?”

If anyone else had asked that question, Erin might not have thought anything of it. It was simple and harmless on its own, but coming from Cooper, it was far from that. It meant that he wanted to take her home, feel her up, and get her dress as far off her body as he could.

“It’s nothing, really,” Erin said, hoping that would drop his prompting. Dealing with Cooper and his mal intentions was the last thing she wanted to do at that moment.

“Erin?” a voice questioned next to her, and she immediately felt her heart sink in her chest. It was like someone had dropped a piano on her head, like in those old cartoons, only she wasn’t going to bounce back up like they did.

“Harry,” Erin practically whispered, her throat clenching up the second her eyes met his. He just looked at her, his face blank, and Erin felt like she was choking. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just finishing up dinner with a couple of my friends,” he said, motioning towards a small group of boys who were now standing at the front of the restaurant. “Care to introduce me to your friend?”
Erin cleared her throat, almost certain that she was going to cough up blood, but Cooper stood up before she could do anything.

“I’m sorry, where are my manners?” Cooper joked, giving Harry a firm hand shake. “Cooper Jones.”

Harry smiled and nodded, shaking Cooper’s hand as well, and when the boy sat back down, Harry turned his attention back to Erin.

“Well, I just wanted to drop by and say hello. I hope the two of you have a wonderful evening.”

“Harry, wait –”

Erin called to him, but he was out of her reach before she even began speaking. She wanted to run after him and explain the whole situation, but she wasn’t sure the situation she’d be explaining was any better than whatever was playing out in Harry’s head.

It was strange how everything could fall apart so quickly and the world could just keep on turning as if nothing had happened at all. She’d ruined things between Harry, just like she always knew she would, and Cooper was still rambling on in front of her like he didn’t have a care in the world.