Free Ceasefire by Scarlett Black Page A

own.  They’d been high school
sweethearts, married during college, and had spent the past year, since right
after graduation, trying to get pregnant.  Trying so much that Aaron had
jokingly complained about friction burn.  For the time being, any chance she
had to get her hands on Joey was a worthy consolation prize.
    She
was twenty-one going on thirty-five, so maturity wasn’t a problem, but I don’t
think she understood just how much work was involved with a baby.  Maybe it
would be different for them, with an extra parent for backup, but I’d never
known the luxury.
    Besides,
the things a pregnancy would do to that sculpted physique would horrify her.
    Anyway,
enough about Michelle.  I had bigger things to worry about.
    I
gave her some instructions in case he woke up, said goodbye, and then walked
out to my car.  Thinking ahead, I’d left a dressier change of clothes in it
before she arrived, because I knew I’d never make it out of the apartment
without being bombarded by so many questions I didn’t want to answer.
    I
drove down a couple of blocks to the nearest gas station and did a quick change
in the restroom, careful not to let my clothes or bare feet touch the floor as
I slipped into a pair of heels.  I wasn’t as spectacular as the day before, but
no way was I going to commit the faux pas of wearing the same dress
twice.
    Roman
wouldn’t approve.
    I
had on a white, button-down top and a charcoal gray pencil skirt, and my hair
up in a tight bun, along with my glasses that I rarely ever wore.  I looked
like a lawyer, or a librarian, all uptight and conventional, but I wanted to
give an impression of, “Can you guess what’s underneath?”  You know, like in
one of those shampoo commercials where the pretty, conservative looking girl
lets her hair down and she’s instantly a goddess.
    Lipstick,
a dash of eye shadow, and off I went. 
    But
not without a serious case of butterflies.  My stomach did back flips on the
way—every stoplight was another chance to reconsider.
    Eventually,
the tide of doubt gave up, and I drove to the Midnight Fantasy office without turning
around and speeding home, hell bent on getting as far away as possible.
    Alice
smiled warmly at me when I walked through the door.  Without saying a word, she
practically skipped around the front desk, looking like she was proud of me in
that grandmotherly way.  She hugged me like we were longtime friends. 
    “Hi,
Alice.”
    “You
came back.”
    “Yeah. 
I mean, yes.”
    “Of
course you did.”
    I
had trouble grasping the idea that this sweet old woman would be proud of me. 
I mean, I had a contract in my hand, which said I would potentially be selling
my body for ridiculous sums of money.  But I hadn’t signed it yet.  I still had
some questions.  “Is he waiting for me?”
    She
nodded.  “He asked me to keep his calendar open all morning, honey.  All for
you, just in case.”
    “Really?”
    “I’ve
never seen him do it before.  You must’ve really impressed him yesterday.”
    “Huh. 
Maybe so.”  I’d left with the notion that I’d made a fool of myself.  I guess
we never really do understand what people think of us.  We spend so much time
worrying about the impression we made, when in reality, they’re probably
thinking about what to cook for dinner instead.  And in Roman’s case, if I
actually had made a fool of myself, he might’ve been too blinded by
dollar signs to care.  I was a commodity to him.
    “There’s
no maybe about it.  You should’ve seen his face when you left yesterday.”
    I
didn’t know what to say, so I bit my lip instead.
    Alice
flicked her chin toward Roman’s office, grinning.  “Go on.  He’s expecting
you.”
    I
thanked her and took yet another walk down the hallway.  The day before it had
seemed like it was miles away and took me forever, but this time I felt like it
took three steps and I was there, swallowing hard, allowing my last-second
reservations another