The Misplaced Lover

Things with Lionel got intense. So intense that he slammed his head against the nightstand and passed out cold. When he woke up, something was… off. He stopped clinging to me, treating me like a cat he suddenly discovered he was allergic to. A few words from me and his ears would turn crimson before he’d bristle and bolt. After two weeks of being sexually ghosted, I was sure he’d found someone new. I decided to end our contract early. But before I even reached his study, I heard him on the phone. "I went to sleep eighteen and woke up twenty-seven. That’s one hell of a long nap." "I know I sound crazy, but the girl I was secretly in love with is suddenly my girlfriend. She asks me every night if I want to sleep with her. How is a guy supposed to handle that?" The girl he was in love with? Was he talking about me? I thought this was just a transaction. I stared down at the contract in my hands, my mind reeling.