“Should we go to your place?” Cammie said.
“Here’s the thing,” Josh said.
“Let’s talk outside,” she whispered. “In case there’s any undercover po-po around here.”
He followed, because he wasn’t sure what else to do. Undercover po-po? That would suck! Was he about to be arrested? Oh, God, what would his mother think? She’d kill him. Jen would never let him see the kids again, and—
It was a cool night, and the air helped the brain fog lift. They walked down the alley, like any good prostitute and her john. About halfway down, Josh stopped.
“Cammie, I don’t know how this works, but—” he said.
“That’s fine, sweetie. We can do whatever you want. You just have to Venmo me three grand.”
Jesus. That was a lot. Not that he’d ever paid for sex before, but that was a very high hourly rate. Focus, idiot, he told himself. “What I mean is, I don’t know how it works, but I don’t need to know because . . . I don’t want to sleep with you.” He felt himself flush, afraid he might hurt her feelings. “Also, I feel like I might be breaking the law,” he said. “Which I generally don’t do.”
“Oh. A good Catholic boy?”
“Lutheran.”
“Most of my clients are Catholic. I mean, this is Rhode Island.”
“Right.”
Cammie thought a minute. “Okay. Here’s the deal. You’re sweet. You’re lonely. I love your story, and you’re cute. I’ll kiss you for free. Anything else, you pay.”
“I didn’t want anything else. Not because you’re not beautiful or . . . you know. You’re very sweet and likable. And beautiful. I’m just . . .” He swallowed. “I’m still in love with my wife.”
The words sounded huge in the alley.
“Aw, sweetie. I get that. I do.” She leaned against the brick building. “I would kill to have someone be that in love with me.”
“I’m sure there are many people in love with you,” he said honestly.
She shrugged, smiling. “True. I just haven’t found the one, as they say. Well.” She tilted her head. “You ready to be kissed?”
“Oh. Um. Sure.” His face felt hot, and his hands were clammy.
“You want tongue?”
“No, thank you.”
“God. The manners on you.” She smiled, then leaned in and kissed him, their lips interlocking. His hands went to her waist. Her lips were very smooth and firm, and it was . . . nice. Quite nice. Lovely, in fact. He didn’t hate it. It just felt . . . new.
Then he pulled back. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you, too, hon.” She wiped a little lipstick from the corner of his mouth. “We could be friends, you know.”
“I’d like that.”
She ruffled his hair. “Okay. Well, I got another date at ten, so if you don’t need me anymore . . . ?”
“I’m good. Thanks.”
“Okay. Can I call you an Uber? I’m getting one for myself.”
“I’ll walk. Take care, Cammie.”
“You too, hon. See you around.”
He started walking toward the river, then turned around. “Hey, Cammie.”
“Yeah?”
“If you want an investor for Shine, let me know.”
She folded her arms and gave him a fond smile. “You. You’re the sweetest thing ever. I just might take you up on that.”
He lifted his hand and turned around. The walk should clear his head. Two cocktails were one and a half too many, he thought. He pulled out his phone and tapped Radley’s name.
“Hello, hello!” Radley said.
“Cammie’s a working girl,” he said.
“I know. So how was it?”
“You set me up with a prostitute.”
“I thought I made that clear.”
“You did not.”
“Whoops. Um . . . are you super angry?”
“No,” he said. “She’s great. Very genuine.”
“Did you . . .”
“Kiss her? Yes. And that was it.”
“Got it. Let’s try to be more clear with each other moving forward, okay?” Radley said.
“I’m not the one who—”
“I have a date. Gotta run. Bye!”
Everyone had a date tonight, it seemed. Jen had asked him if he would babysit so she and Darius could go out (his mother had leaped at the chance when he said he was busy). Sarah had mentioned she was going on a rare second date. Radley now. Cammie, even if hers was a business transaction.
Well, he’d had a date, too. Sort of.
Cammie wasn’t his type, of course. His type was Lauren. He’d only ever been in love once. He might not ever be again.
But he’d kissed a woman tonight, and it had felt nice. He hadn’t crumpled in grief, he hadn’t yearned for more. More than anything, he was glad it was over.
Lauren had been right. Get it out of the way, keep moving forward. “Did you know she was a consensual sex worker?” he asked her out loud.
He’d bet she was laughing somewhere in the Great Beyond.
He hoped so. She’d had the best laugh in the world.
25
Lauren
Thirty-five months left
March
Daddy,
I am a smug married. I love being married. Marriage is the best thing ever, and I can’t believe how happy we are. We’ve been married for five weeks, and every day is like a dream come true.
Our wedding—shoot, Dad, would you like to hear about our wedding? You would! Great! I know you were there in spirit, but this is my official update to you, assuming you can read in the Great Beyond.
All signs were pointing to doom. First, I caught a cough from one of the little germ sponges at the Hope Center, because I’ve been volunteering, reading and doing art projects. Anyway, I had this cough for a month. Then I apparently lost six pounds (coughing burns a lot of calories) and had to have my dress tightened. Then there was a huge storm two days before the wedding, and it was expected to park over Rhode Island for the whole weekend and either snow or rain or both. The downside of choosing Valentine’s Day for your wedding.