Free Claiming Callie: Part one by Paige Rion Page B

and taken them farther than anyone has in the last fifteen years. We need to have a strong friendship. If things turn to shit with Dean and me, the team suffers…so I was stuck. Stuck with this huge crush on this gorgeous girl and nothing I could do about it.”
    Oh, my! He’s hot and adorable.
    “Well, I do love Dean like a brother, but it’s none of his business who I date. He looks out for me a lot—I think more so than a normal friend would, just because of what happened with my parents, but he needs to learn when to quit.”
    Jason narrows his eyes. “What happened with your parents?”
    “Uh, that’s probably too long of a story to tell.” She shakes her head. The familiar wrenching in her chest makes it hard to breathe, and she waves the subject away before it can paralyze their conversation. “So, how’d you know about my, uh…the business I’m doing now?”
    Jason chuckles and glances up at her over the rim of his glass before he takes a sip. “Well, I heard Dean talking about it, actually.”
    Callie’s jaw drops and instant fire heats her cheeks. “What? Who was he telling?”
    “Just Emmett. I only heard the tail end of the conversation, but once I did, I knew I had to go out with you. I figured this is the best solution. Dean can’t get pissed at me if we don’t work out. After all, you are the one with the business, and I’m just a paying customer. It’s a business transaction. Plain and simple. Plus, I knew this would make it easier to get over my nerves.”
    Callie chews the inside of her cheek. Makes sense…but a business transaction? I hate the way that sounds.
    What do you expect, Callie?! Whether he has a crush on you or not, this is a business transaction. You’re accompanying men on dates for money. What do you want him to say?
    Oh, I don’t know. Something romantic? Anything’s better than that! Isn’t he trying to win me over?
    She glances up at him and realizes he’s been staring at her during the little tirade in her head. His dark eyes are intent on her face, and a small smile twists the corners of his mouth.
    “What about you? Why are you doing this?” he asks.
    A fair question .
     “Truth?” He nods and she continues. “I have a pretty large amount of debt I need to pay off, and what makes it ten times harder is I have a bad, and I mean bad, shopping habit. With school and the internship I have, there’s not much time left for another job. I’d be working myself ragged for minimum wage. So Jinny and I were talking about selling my stuff and, I don’t know…I joked that it would be nice if I got paid to date. Then it popped into my head that some people actually do. And what if I did that? I know it’s kind of weird, but I’m in a pretty bad spot. And this is only temporary,” she reassured him.
    “Well, I was actually hoping you’d say that. I figured there had to be a major financial reason for it, and I may actually have something that will help you get a jump start on things.” He smiles wide and puts a hand inside his jacket, searching for something.
    Callie frowns, and her heart skips in her chest before it races full speed at the sight of the thick white envelope he pulls from his blazer.
    “I have a proposition for you. In this envelope is five hundred dollars and a contract. The money is yours, and you’ll get this much each week. All I ask for in return is…you. Whenever I want you. I call, and you come running.”
    What? Callie’s eyes widen, and she sucks in a sharp breath.
    No, he didn’t. He can’t possibly be serious. Please laugh. Please laugh. Because this is just a joke.
    “You mean, you want to pay to date me. Continuously? Exclusively?” she asks, but something tells her that’s not what he means.
    Jason chuckles and reaches out to her. He runs a finger down her cheek. “That’s cute. No, I don’t mean to date. And, frankly, I don’t even care about exclusivity. I’m talking about sex.”
    Callie sucks in a sharp breath and