Page 67 of Trick
“The food will be ready in just a minute, babe,” he said as the microwave dinged. One of the club bunnies – I wasn’t sure which one – wandered in at that moment wearing a pair of cut-off shorts and a tiny bikini top that was losing the battle to contain her considerable assets.
“Hi, Trick,” she said, batting her false eyelashes at him.
“Hey, babe,” he greeted her distractedly as he carefully removed the bowls of hot soup and placed them on the counter.
My spine went rigid at the casual use of the very same endearment he had just used with me only seconds before, and I had the sudden, desperate need to be anywhere else but here.
I stood up abruptly. “I’m gonna head back to the room.”
Trick looked up in confusion. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said flatly, “I’m just not very hungry after all. I’ll see you later.”
The club girl gloated as I brushed past her and hurried from the kitchen. I slammed the door to the guest suite, startling Elvis who’d been napping on the loveseat.
I was pacing angrily when Trick burst in just seconds later.
“What’s going on? One second, you want lunch, and the next you’re hauling ass out of the kitchen. Was it because DD walked in?”
So that was the infamous DD. Molly had explained once that the woman used her initials as a nickname – initials which just so happened to be the same as her cup size.
“She’s one of the club bunnies, but you don’t have to worry about her.” He had the barest hint of a smirk on his face, which only made me angrier.
“She’s not the problem, you are,babe.”
I continued pacing the length of the small room as Trick eyed me in confusion.
“Those sweet endearments of yours lose their meaning when you use them with every damned woman who crosses your path, as I was just so clearly reminded. Do you even realizethat you called both of usbabewithin the span of ten seconds? Do you understand how disrespectful that felt for you to call me that, and then literally turn around and use the very same endearment with some woman that you’ve obviously fucked in the past?” My voice took on the slightest hint of a screech, but I couldn’t bring myself to care.
The smirk slowly fell from his face with every word I said, but I was determined to get this off my chest.
“My name isLauren, notbabe,” I emphasized, “and I would appreciate it if you didn’t call former fuck-buddies by any little pet names as long as our arrangement is in place.”
He stared at me for a long moment, then slowly nodded.
“I’m sorry,” he sighed heavily, “I didn’t even realize I’d done it. You’re right, and I get it. I wouldn’t like it if the situation were reversed.”
There was an awkward silence, then Trick asked if I wanted to go back to the kitchen for lunch. Not wanting to see DD again, I declined.
“I think I’m just going to hang out in here for a while. Tony stocked some snacks in the cabinet over the coffee bar, so I can eat something later if I get hungry.”
Trick gave me one last look, then quietly left the room. I continued pacing until Elvis wrapped himself around my feet and I almost tripped over him.
I picked him up and nuzzled my cheek against his head. “If it bothered me that much to hear him call her babe, I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when this is over,” I whispered. Elvis was decidedly not interested in hearing about my problems, which he made clear when he wriggled free from my hold and jumped out of my arms.
Trick returned about ten minutes later, balancing a plate of sandwiches in one hand and a large bag of potato chips in the other.
“You need something a little more filling than a few snacks. Viking was eating the soup and grilled cheese by the time I got back, so hopefully a turkey club and chips are all right instead.” he said, setting everything down. I got the feeling the food was a peace offering, and suddenly I felt like an absolute idiot for making such a big deal out of it.
“I’m sorry for overreacting like that. It upset me, but I should have just explained my feelings instead of being so bitchy about it. I don’t like being called ‘babe’, and every time you’ve said it, it’s bothered me. I should have said so before now,” I sighed.
“It’s stupid, but Beau used to call me that. When I found out about his cheating, I read the chats on his Tinder account and all the messages he’d saved in a hidden app, and he called every single one of those women ‘babe’ as well – never by their names – like we were interchangeable. Then I realized he did it so that he didn’t risk calling the wrong woman by the wrong name. He didn’t call me ‘babe’ because I was special, he did it to make his life easier and to keep himself from getting caught. That just added to my sense of betrayal, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
Trick immediately crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. “Don’t apologize for calling me out on my bullshit. If I’m doing something that upsets you, even if it’s because it triggers something from your past, I need to know about it so I can fix it.”
He cupped my face in his hands and placed a sweet, gentle kiss on my lips. “I am truly sorry for making you feel disrespected, Lauren.”
He glanced down at the table, spotting Elvis creeping closer, clearly curious about the food.
