Traditional I
Inspiration is funny, ya know?
Definitely multiple parts. Hope you like the idea, wasn't part of my list, but appeared in my brain without warning. Couldn't ignore it. Enjoy!
Main Character messages/Harry messages
Do you not want...a traditional relationship? If you’re paying me, how do you know I’d be a real companionship?
Because only the sweetest person on earth would send a profile out to a bunch of multi-millionaires to pay her a measly 1500 a month AND turn down a higher offer all because it’s more than she wanted.
There was a prominent frown on her face. She could sort of make out the sad, nearly disgusted face of the reflection in the back of half her computer screen. She looked over her profile again and again making sure it wasn’t too desperate but wasn’t overselling something she couldn’t produce. “Ahh...” she felt herself wincing at that reflection and bit her lip nervously as her cursor hovered over the submit button. “Ugh,” she sighed.
When Louis suggested it, she thought he was joking.
“Babe, someone would pay good money for your ass,” he told her.
“What is wrong with you?” She deadpanned.
But here she was. Making the profile to find someone willing to pay for her companionship. That’s what all the websites said. But it was a Sugar Daddy. That’s what it was called. It wasn’t ugly or distasteful. She didn’t care what people did with their lives at all. It wasn’t something that she thought she would have to do for herself until it was her last resort. That didn’t mean it wasn’t something to look at with disdain. She was all for women getting paid to be themselves simply for being lovely.
She didn’t want to do it because she didn’t think she would be good at it. She wasn’t sexy or wild, she didn’t feel beautiful, and obviously her ex didn’t think she was much fun if he was looking elsewhere for quite some time for entertainment both in and out of the bedroom. A stranger with a lot of money probably wouldn’t find her exciting like the other profiles she perused before completing a questionnaire of her own.
In all honesty, it seemed like it would be a second full-time job trying to convince a man that she deserved the money she was asking for and she wasn’t sure she could do that on top of all the other tasks she had to deal with these days. She told herself she wouldn’t let Louis convince her. But she needed the money—a good chunk of money at that. Best case scenario, there would be no takers to supply her with money. She would remain in her needy financial state and would find some other low paying job and try to manage the seemingly endless pile of obligations.
Louis was kind enough to let her stay with him and Eleanor until she figured out her shit. It wasn’t her fault that the guy she was dating cheated on her, broke her heart, and kicked her out of their shared house all in one swoop. She was living for free because they had been together for so long and it was his aunt’s old house near university. She had money and scholarships to pay for classes, so she didn’t need to manage a job while also getting an internship.
It was her final year before she would be awarded her master’s degree. Nothing could go wrong.
Except she returned early from visiting her mom and didn’t tell him.
So, there he was, moaning into another woman’s mouth on their bed.
She would have kicked herself out if he hadn’t done it first. “You could use a better dick in you too, love,” Louis had joked.
With a deep breath, like she was about to jump into a pool, she held her finger over her track pad. One last bout of reasoning ran through her mind. Her full-time internship would pay crumbs. Not enough to afford rent or a place of her own. She needed to get out of Louis and Eleanor’s hair. It was just one year.
Submit.
Blowing out a breath she smacked her laptop shut and headed to Eleanor’s kitchen—she would have said Louis and Eleanor’s kitchen, but Eleanor had a strict “no Louis near the oven” rule. One hand on her box of cereal and another on the silverware drawer to grab a spoon, she was shocked to hear her phone pinged with a message after two minutes. “Shut up,” she muttered to herself. She could almost hear Louis saying I told you so.
She ignored it. The first taker was probably not the way to go—too eager. She wasn’t a prude but the idea of having sex for money wasn’t really what she wanted to sign up for this last year of her program. But then there was another ping. And another.
“What the fuck?” She whispered.
“What is that dating app?” Louis called from the door. The pinging was incessant. “I’ve never heard that one,” he said as he meandered into the kitchen. She turned the volume down and Louis snagged it from her hands.
“Lou—”
“YOU DID IT,” he gasped, practically cheering as he unlocked her phone without her permission. “HOLY SHIT! You’ve got like fifteen takers already, babe. I told you that ass was worth it.”
“Louis, please give—”
He gasped. “Love, are you that dumb?” He asked gazing at her screen.
“What do you—”
“You can’t ask for a crummy fifteen hundred dollars a month,” he rolled his eyes. “You’re going to get all kinds of creeps and people that will make you do despicable things.”
“But I don’t—”
“A fifteen hundred dollars a week would be a lot better, don’t you think?”
“Louis, I just need a little bit of help. I don’t want to take someone’s money if I’m going to be bad at—”
The pinging stopped. “See?” He rolled his eyes placing her phone back in her hands. “Much more selective clientele...and you won’t be bad at it. I’m telling you that ass is going to pay for anything you want.”
“Louis,” she groaned and rubbed her hand over her face.
“Eleanor thinks so too, don’t you love?” He called down the hall.
“You’re home?” She called to her friend supposedly down the hall.
“Is it your profile that you've been whining about all this time? I would have helped you,” she said. “He’s right; your ass is going to be a great selling point,” Eleanor didn’t leave her room.
“I don’t want a ton of money. I just need to get by...” she explained to Louis.
“Yeah, but if you’re going to get paid for sexual activities you need to be compensated appropriately,” he said seriously.
“Why do you know so much about this?” She rolled his eyes. “Eleanor, you know he doesn’t have money, right?”
“Unfortunately!”
Flicking her cheek, he finished pouring the cereal for her (he was only allowed to touch kitchen items that didn’t involve cooking. He only recently upgraded to having microwave privileges again—especially after the baked potato incident). “I just know some girls from my dorm a few years ago talked about it a lot,” he rolled his eyes.
She was quiet while Louis slid the bowl in front of her and she took a few bites. She was still mad and upset about her ex. But she had bills to pay and quick. She frowned. “This is not what I wanted,” she mumbled.
Louis frowned grabbing a second bowl to join her cereal party. “I know, babe, but it’s okay. You’ll do great. Let’s see what your serious options are now.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to look right now. I’m too nervous.”
Louis chuckled around a bite of his food. “You don’t have to do sexual favors y’know.”
“Based on my research, I think I have to if I want this kind of money.”
He smirked. “Then we better find you a guy with big hands.”
“Jesus Christ.”
*
She didn’t look the next day or even the day after that either. It was too much to think about all at once. Submitting the profile and having her best friend talk about her ass and sexual favors was a bit much. Eleanor eventually came out from the other room and gave her gentle encouragement that Louis often lacked.
There was a bunch of remote training she needed to do before she started her internship on Monday. A company she had never really heard of; it was a good company. Not one that was plastered everywhere, but the research she did on it seemed to show it was a good place that made a good amount of money. She was emailing her supervisor, Niall, who had interviewed her for the position at the time. He was extremely nice, and she was grateful it was one less thing she had to worry about when the rest of her life seemed to be falling apart. She would be Niall’s assistant and learn the ropes of his job that entailed, “really two jobs in one. I just know the owner, so I often get stuck in two roles,” he joked to her.
Good morning Mr. Horan,
You’ll see that I’ve completed the training required. I’ve attached all the certificates and approvals and sent them to HR as well. This was just for your record. Please let me know if there’s anything else I need to do. I’m very excited to start, is there anything I need to do specifically when I get there to make your life easier? Please let me know.
Have a great weekend!
Her phone pinged yet again with an alert that someone was interested in giving her money for companionship. She frowned slightly, almost wishing that it wouldn’t ping anymore. She didn’t want Louis knowing and she was really wishing that it didn’t have to be like this. She didn’t want to do this. She wanted to be with her ex and live happily ever after the way she had planned for so many years.
For all the shit to hit the fan in the last, busiest year of her life, she was incredibly sad.
Hello!
I’m glad you’re excited. You don’t have to do anything special. I’ll show you around on Monday. Don’t stress, you’re going to do great.
Have a lovely, relaxing weekend as well.
Best,
(Please call me) Niall
She smirked at his response. This seemed like the least of her worries, but she had heard others didn’t typically last long at this company. Niall probably knew that as well as she did. He probably had to be polite to the rotation of interns coming through his office when his boss didn’t like them.
Another ping.
She sighed and figured it was now or never.
She deleted the creepy pick-up lines and anything that had a picture attachment noted on the message threads. That narrowed her choices down to four. She read through each of the opening messages and only one particularly stood out.
I’d like to give you five thousand dollars a month.
The only reason it stood out was because it was the only thing that was said. The other messages, while kinder than the ones she deleted, talked a lot about themselves and said they liked her profile. You seem cheap, lol wasn’t exactly what she wanted to hear. But there wasn’t a lot to go off of the one negotiating for triple the amount she was asking for.
She looked at the username for a moment trying to make heads or tails of his name. Coming up short she sighed quietly. “Louis? Eleanor?” She called.
With no response she decided she was on her own and clicked on his message thread again.
Thank you, that’s very kind, but I really don’t need all that much. I’m just...a little down on my luck and need enough to afford a place and whatnot. I couldn’t possibly use all that every month.
Hmm... The reply was almost instantaneous. Been waiting for you to reply, love. Can’t say I expected you to say that. You must be new to this whole arrangement.
She frowned. Appearing inept made her feel grumpier than she already was.
I am but I’m not greedy. That’s all. I just want what I need.
I appreciate that. But then you’re on the wrong app love. I want to give you five thousand a month AND pay for your place.
She was really glad Louis wasn’t around. She was blushing madly and there was no way he wouldn’t make fun of her nor take her phone from her himself and send messages she didn’t want to send. Taking a deep breath, she pursed her lips and nodded. I think you’re right...I don’t know. I really need the money. I just...I don’t want to take what I don’t EARN...and I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this arrangement, after all.
You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, love. I make a lot of money. More than I know what to do with. I give to a lot of charities, and I’d just like to have a bona fide companionship that wasn’t about my money.
She snickered. Maybe you’re on the wrong app.
:(
Sorry, I guess I am new to this. Do you not want...a traditional relationship? If you’re paying me, how do you know I’d be a real companionship?
Because only the sweetest person on earth would send a profile out to a bunch of multi-millionaires to pay her a measly 1500 a month AND turn down a higher offer all because it’s more than she wanted.
She didn’t respond for a while. A few minutes turned into half an hour. Then before she knew it two hours had passed, and she felt like she hadn’t done anything in that time yet somehow no time had passed and the man at the other end had enough of waiting for her reply.
I didn’t mean to scare you. I spend a lot of time scouring these profiles. I want someone GOOD for my money. You hardly want anything. I could pay you what I want and any apartment you wanted before breakfast for a whole year because my company already has that money transferred into its account. I could pay your student loans if you wanted. I just want someone real, and you have the most real and lovely profile I’ve ever seen.
Sucking her lip into her mouth she kind of wanted to share this text with Louis but maybe it was too private. Maybe it was too ridiculous to believe that on her first attempt, her first profile and site she found someone so sweet.
If you don’t want to, I understand. But please be careful. If you’re not interested in traditional relationships this isn’t the site for you.
Then why are you on this site?
To find someone like you.
She frowned. Seems a little predatory :)
He sent an eye rolling emoji. Just trying to help you out, love.
She waited only a few moments this time before replying. You don’t want a traditional relationship?
It’s not a make or break it for this deal. I’m willing to work up to it if needed. I think you’re lovely and would like to spoil you however you see fit.
If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall in love with his messages. That definitely couldn’t be part of the deal. Pacing in front of Eleanor’s refrigerator, she looked over the message that caused a flutter in her heart. Even her ex didn’t talk like that about her.
I think I’m interested. She messaged. What’s your name?
Harry. Harry Styles, love.
625 notes
·
View notes