Call Girl

When Erin woke up in the morning, the first thought that ran through her mind was of the curly haired boy from the night before. Her lectures, exams, and studying were interrupted with Harry’s image consistently throughout the day to a point where it was almost maddening.

Erin wasn’t stupid; she’d had crazy thoughts of boys before. But, that was before she’d made the leap into the career of a professional date. The moment she’d turned pro, it was like her attraction to men had completely diminished. It wasn’t her intention, but it seemed to come with the job. Many of the girls she worked with felt the same way.

After realizing all the things men do to try to impress others, including hiring beautiful women to be their dates, there was something about them that just seemed less appealing for whatever reason. It was rare that Erin found any man even the slightest bit alluring, so she was surprised at how insistent her brain seemed to be on thinking of Harry.

Thoughts of Harry were the last thing she wanted on her mind, but it seemed she didn’t have a choice. As long as she didn’t run into him again, she wouldn’t have a problem, but as fate would have it, she wouldn’t be so lucky.

As she walked down the street, her textbooks tucked safely in her arms, she was so focused on not thinking about Harry that she hadn’t been paying much attention to where she was going. She’d walked back to her apartment from campus so many times that her body usually made the trip on autopilot, but when she ran straight into the person in front of her, she realized she wasn’t doing as well as she thought.

The older woman smiled back at Erin and apologized, as though it had been her fault.

“Oh no, it’s quite alright,” Erin said, while shaking her head. “I really need to pay more attention.”

Erin flashed the older woman a smile before spinning on her heels, yet again not paying attention to where she was headed. She heard the loud honking of a car horn before she even knew what was happening.

A car sped right for her, blaring its horn as loud as possible. It was headed towards her at such a speed that there was no way it would be able to stop in time. Erin knew that she needed to move her legs, jump back onto the sidewalk and get out of the way, but her body was frozen. She’d always heard about people freezing up in the face of danger, but she never thought that she would be one of them.

“Look out!” A voice called to her, while simultaneously reaching for her hand. Rough fingers gripped around her wrist, the large hands wrapping easily around her tiny bones, and she was flung into the body of the stranger.

The second her head hit his chest, the car blew past, just narrowly missing the both of them. Erin’s heart was racing more quickly than it ever had, and her breaths were deep and shallow.

The figure pulled her away, a hand on each of her shoulders, and when he looked down at her she recognized him immediately. Harry.

“Erin?” he whispered, cocking his head to the side. He took a moment to run his eyes over her face before snapping back into reality. “Are you alright?”

She nodded her head, still breathing deeply, and looked into his eyes. “I’m fine. Just a little shaken up.” She paused, taking another full breath. “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Harry said, nodding his head. His eyes roved over her once more before meeting back with hers again. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Erin chuckled. “Me too. I don’t know what happened.”

“You must’ve just spaced out,” he said, and for the first time since he’d pulled her from the street, Erin’s eyes moved around to the people surrounding them. A crowd of people had gathered, surely shocked at the scene they’d just witnessed. Erin imagined it was like a train wreck; they just couldn’t look away.

“Can I buy you a cup of coffee?” Harry continued, as he slipped his arms from her shoulders and back into his pockets. “Maybe it’ll calm you down a bit.”

As tantalizing as a cup of coffee with the emerald eyed boy sounded, Erin knew that she couldn’t possibly go with him. It went against everything she ever felt. No boy deserved to be wrapped up into the world she lived in, especially one as sweet as Harry.

“I don’t think that I can.”

Harry chuckled, giving her a small smirk. “Oh, come one. I just saved your life. Doesn’t that at least merit a cup of coffee? In fact, I think you should be the one buying me a cup.”

Erin couldn’t help but smile back at him, because that dimpled smile was just contagious. It was like a thousand wonderful things wrapped into one boy’s face, and there was something so special about that. Still, Erin knew better than to say yes to his request. She was biting her lip, getting ready to speak, before he stopped her.

“Do you want me to beg? Is that it? I’m not above begging. I’ll drop down to my knees if I have to.”

Erin chuckled, while shaking her head quickly. “Don’t do that.”

“I will, I swear it.”

“Don’t.”

“Then say yes. Say you’ll have a cup of coffee with me.”

Erin shook her head. “I really can’t.”

Harry pursed his lips at her, while tilting his head to the side. “Fine, you’ve asked for it.”

With that, he began lowering himself to the ground, while fluffing out the edges of his shirt which were tucked inside his belt. He smirked at her as he sunk to the ground, knowing the second his knees hit that concrete she’d say yes.

“Fine,” Erin said, looking down at Harry with a smile. “Just get up off the ground.”

Harry quickly obliged, his smirk turning back into his perfect smile. His eyes glistened in the sunlight, and Erin couldn’t help but think that she’d either just made the worst decision of her life, or the best one.