Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 139(@200wpm)___ 111(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Lily squints, still looking at the photographs.
“But what do you need my help for? It sounds like you’ve got it all figured out,” she says in an arch tone.
“Well,” I say, my heart dropping a little. “I was hoping you would help me choose which pictures to include in the album. There are like two hundred of them, but I only need about thirty good ones.”
“Thirty!” my mother snorts. “That’s a lot of pictures. Why would Logan want so many?”
I stop for a moment, stunned.
“It’s for his birthday, Mom,” I say in a flustered tone. “I thought it might be a nice gesture. Why, do you think thirty is too much? Would twenty be better?”
“You know him better than I do,” she breezes, “so I guess you’re probably right. Let’s look at these, then.” Hope rises slightly in me now that Lily seems to be getting on board. I watch her pick up a picture between her thumb and index finger and study it. But her beautiful face is a mask of judgment.
“Jasmine,” she says derisively, “these are a bit…”
“What?” I breathe.
“Cheap.”
“Cheap?” I blurt out. “What? Why?” Yes, they’re racy, daring, and even scandalous. Those are words I could attribute to these pictures. But cheap? That’s hurtful.
Mom holds the picture out demonstratively. On it, I’m lying on my back, my breasts cupped by one arm so that they’re pushed up, spilling out over the sides. My other arm is reaching down, where two of my fingers are disappearing into my pussy. My eyes are closed, my mouth open with pleasure. The picture is taken from the top and the idea was to show me pleasuring myself to the thought of my man. Alice had to do a lot of acrobatics to get this one right, using a ladder and a few mirrors to reflect the light, and we were both very happy with the result.
“I know it’s graphic, but I think Logan will find it sexy,” I explain, my brow furrowing.
Lily turns to me.
“And this was for an art project?”
I stare at her.
“Yes, my friend Alice is a fine art photographer. But I don’t think she would include this in her show because it’s obviously very explicit. But that’s not important now. Do you think Logan will like it?”
Lily looks at the photo again, her mouth pursed.
“Like I said,” Mom shrugs, letting go of the picture like it’s some filthy rag from which she could catch a disease, “you know him better than I do. It’s really not my place to say if you want to be a hussy.” The words hurt more than I would have expected them to, and tears rise in my eyes.
“Why are you being like this?” I whisper. I blink hard, trying not to cry about this in front of her. Lily sighs.
“Hussy, I mean honey, I just don’t like seeing you making a fool of yourself,” she shrugs again.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I demand.
“Only that you seem to be throwing yourself into this relationship with Logan Daniels, a man infamous for being a playboy, with some kind of expectation that it’s serious.”
“It is serious,” I reply, anger rising in me. But it’s not anger at Mom. It’s anger at myself for stupidly thinking that I was only imagining her jealousy, when clearly, it’s very real. It’s anger at myself for wanting a meaningful relationship with Lily, after all these years, when she obviously doesn’t seem to care about me. But it’s also anger at her undermining my decisions and my life. Why isn’t she concerned with getting on my good side? Isn’t she worried that by treating me in such a hurtful manner, I might tell Logan, and he might ask her to move out? She must not understand the deep connection he and I have.
“If you say so, Jasmine,” Lily sighs. “Just don’t read too much into any of this,” she gestures to the room around us, “or anything Logan says to you about his feelings for you.”
“What do you know about his feelings for me?” I demand hotly.
“All I’m saying is, don’t get attached,” Lily continues, putting her hands up defensively. “But obviously you already are.”
“You wanted me to sleep with him when this started so that we could keep a roof over our heads,” I bite out. “I’ve done that. I did it for both of us. But now that it’s turned into something else, you’re calling me cheap?” Which is rich, coming from a woman who lives in a harem on a wealthy dude’s estate. “You’re telling me I’m making a fool of myself? How about you? You live here for free because of me!”
“I never intended for you to take it this far,” Mom hisses, eyes sharp like daggers. “You need to be careful. You can’t expect a man like Logan Daniels to provide you with the life you want. He keeps multiple women in this house. Even if he’s exclusively sleeping with you right now, that’s right now. At any point, he could swap you out for someone else. Or more likely, for several other women.”