Page 44 of Orc'd At A Wedding
"Ending this."
I open the gig app, navigate to our active booking, and hit the options menu.
Her hand shoots out, gripping my wrist.
"Wait. If you cancel, you won't get paid. You'll lose the rating. Your account?—"
"It really doesn’t matter."
"Olog, you worked for this. You can't just?—"
"Watch me."
I selectCancel Contractand the app immediately prompts me for a reason.
I chooseClient Relationship Changed - Full Refund.
The confirmation screen loads.
Are you sure? This action cannot be undone. All fees will be returned to the client, and this booking will be permanently closed.
"Olog, please." Bliss's voice cracks. "Don't do this. You need this job. You need the rating. I can't let you?—"
I hitConfirm.
The screen flashes.
Contract Cancelled. Refund Processed. Thank you for using RentADate.
I close the app and pocket my phone.
Bliss looks at me, her face pale in the moonlight.
"Why would you do that?"
"Because I'm not your employee anymore, Bliss. I'm not your fake boyfriend. I'm not your hired protection."
"Then what are you?"
I step into her space, backing her gently against the stone wall of the alcove, my hands braced on either side of her head.
"I'm the man who wants you so badly it's compromising my ability to think straight. I'm the man who hasn't stopped thinking about you since the moment I walked into that lobby and saw you trying to look brave while falling apart. I'm the man who is completely, irrevocably done pretending this is professional."
Her breath hitches.
"Olog—"
"I don't want your money, Bliss. I don't want a five-star rating. I don't want a glowing review. I want you. Messy andstressed and sarcastic and real. I want the version of you that hides in bathrooms and mutters insults under her breath and falls asleep plastered against me. I want all of it."
"But the contract?—"
"Is over. Cancelled. Done. Which means everything that happens from this moment forward is real. No performance. No service. No professional boundaries. Just you and me and whatever the hell this is between us."
She's crying now, tears streaming down her face.
"What if I mess it up?"
"Then we'll figure it out."
