Free James: A College Girl Romance by Sheila Grace Page B

people to call this a cow town, Podunk, middle of nowhere, or Bumfuck. The scenery blurred by the window the same way the past forty-eight hours had. Tonight, I was supposed to be starting my shift at Fantasy Land , but now some guy named Matt Irving was apparently collecting my paycheck and moving all of my belongings from my apartment.
    Less than twenty-four hours ago, I’d had at least the illusion of autonomy, even if my financial situation had left me with few options. Now, I was trapped in some sort of warped version of Cinderella , where Prince Charming would make all my problems disappear—for a price.
    It was a bet on both our parts. I was betting that I could make it through the remainder of the summer with my self-respect and virginity intact. James McDevitt was apparently very confident that I would be willing to let him bend me over the nearest piece of furniture for a victory fuck.
    Anyone would say it was a fool’s bet. All I had to do was not sleep with him—simple as that. Besides, some small part of me still clung to the idea of surviving this whole Alice in Wonderland -esque situation and meeting some nice, normal guy.
    It wasn’t like I was obsessed with my virginity. What I had told James last night was true—I wasn’t waiting for marriage. But that didn’t mean I wanted to start things off by having sex with someone who didn’t give a fuck about me. Maybe I was being sentimental and uptight, but it was still my choice .
    I looked over at him as he drove. I did have to admit that James McDevitt was beyond hot. Up until last night, I had sort of been hoping that he was hiding an epic beer gut under his clothes; although, that would have been quite a trick—or a damn good pair of Spanx for men.
    Unfortunately, he was head-to-toe perfection. Broad shoulders and a cut physique that repeatedly conjured an image of him lifting me onto a counter and doing naughty things to me, which was so not a good place for me to go mentally. He was well-built in all the right places.
    He was—what had he called me last night? Highly fuckable ? That description definitely applied to him, but that wasn’t what I was looking for. I was twenty-three. I wanted certain things that didn’t seem beyond the realm of possibility. I wanted a healthy reciprocated relationship with a somewhat normal guy.
    Sure, I knew that everyone had fucked up baggage—but not every guy offered money for sex. Besides, I knew that James McDevitt was way more fucked up than the average guy. Because what he had told me was true—he wasn’t paying me for sex. He was playing a game. I had agreed to the terms, but I was starting to regret signing on for some deranged arrangement that was purely for the entertainment of an eccentric rich guy.
    I looked over at him again. What if I just slept with him? Got it over with—now? Like if we just pulled off the freeway and I got it over with? Maybe he wouldn’t pay for graduate school, but at least I would be done with undergrad without the additional tens of thousands of dollars of debt tacked onto my mounting credit card debt.
    “James?”
    My skin prickled as I said his name. As silly as it sounded, it felt like I was invoking an evil spirit or speaking the given name of a fifteenth century vampire. When he looked over at me, my cheeks burned and I bit my lip. This whole thing was fucking surreal.
    “What if—”
    “No.”
    “You don’t even know what I was going to say!” I fumed.
    “I know exactly what you were going to say, and the answer is no.”
    “Okay. Seeing as you have mind-reading powers, what the hell was I going to say?”
    “You were going to ask, ‘ If I just sleep with you now, are you going to be satisfied? ’ The answer is no. What didn’t you understand about me not being a proponent of necrophilia or coercive sex?”
    “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re not coercing me?”
    “Have I compelled you by force, intimidation, or authority, while disregarding your individual