Chapter 6

I tapped my fingers on my laptop's keys, waiting for information that needed to be written down. I wasn't exactly one for note-taking but figured in college it would become more important. I also wasn't one for studying but had been working on that as well. I had been working hard to keep up with my homework since I really hated doing it but wanted to keep my grades up. Somehow back in high school, I had passed my math classes without ever turning in the homework and by quizzes and tests alone.

My phone buzzed with a notification, dragging my attention away from the lecture as I pulled it out of my pocket to check it. It was another message from the sugar daddy website. Skeptically, I opened the message, followed by the profile. The man was attractive, looking to be in his forties or fifties. He had dark hair and a peppered gray beard, and slightly tanned skin. I opened the message once again and read over it this time.

"Hello, Malia. My name is Arthur. I found your profile and thought you were exceedingly beautiful." I smiled slightly at the compliment. "So I had to message you. I hope you are doing well today."

I quickly wrote a message back without another thought. The other men I had chatted with seemed to have only one thing in mind, going as far as telling me how much they'd pay for certain sex acts, but Arthur seemed to be taking it slower than that, at least.

"Hi, Arthur. My day has been fine so far! I'm a college student, so I'm in classes right now, but saw your message and had to respond. I find you really attractive too. :)"

He responded almost immediately, scolding me for texting during class but saying he was flattered that I was doing it. We proceeded to chat through the rest of my classes, getting to know one another some. I wasn't used to messaging people, but I admittedly enjoyed it with him. I still felt weird about going into a relationship with the only motives being money, but I suppose, if we were to go farther, he'd know what he was getting into, and I wouldn't be doing it under false pretenses.

Eventually, it was lunchtime, and I had to meet up with Chani. I told her that I had come out to Alice, and she wanted to talk about it, so we agreed to meet up. Not saying that we don't usually hang out most days anyways.

I spotted Chani already sitting down at a table, her purple hair standing out.

"Hey." I smiled at her as I took a seat.

"Hey, girly. How are you doing?"

"Alright." I shrugged. "Bit down about how Alice responded."

"Tell me about it, Mal." She tilted her head to the side sympathetically.

"Well, I told her, and she was really…blasé about it, I guess." I shook my head, sighing.

"It's probably because she's straight and has no idea what it's like to be queer, Mali." Chani pointed out what I had already felt.

I nodded weakly. "I know. She thinks it's just no big deal."

"Even though it took a lot of courage to come out to her." Chani finished my thought.

"Yeah."

"Well, what're you going to do now? She didn't tell you that she is too, right? So, do you think you still have a chance?"

"No, I guess not." I slumped over.

"I think you should move on. Even if it's not with me."

"It's not going ot be easy. I've had a crush on her since middle school."

"I know." Chani nodded knowingly. "But I think it'll really help you."

"Well…I have been messaging a guy from this website, as of today, that is."

"Which website?"

"Alice…convinced me to join a sugar daddy website." I spoke quietly.

"Good for you." Chani shrugged with a smile. "Might as well do that rather than get a job." She laughed. "If I liked dick, I'd totally do it."

"You can also meet women."

"Might try it for myself then." I smiled slightly at her comment. "Anyways, if you're going with the moving on choice, want to go out on a date?"

"Can I…get back to you on it?"

"Course, Mal. No rush." She smiled at me widely. She really was stunning. I just wasn't sure if I could move on from Alice so easily.