Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Bianca's jaw dropped, and her eyes bulged in disbelief.

"Are you for real?!" She asked with a shriek. Then she sighed. Feeling frustrated, she frowned and pouted.

"Uhu...:" he just hummed his answer while he munched his food. "For real..."

Asher was observing her every facial expression that he was having a hard time holding his laughter. He faked, clearing his throat, and coughed to let his chuckles go without being too obvious.

Bianca was disappointed to know about his deal. But she did not doubt his words to be lies. She can tell he is sort of a pussy magnate. Nikita was one proof. That girl was a blonde bombshell with her body figure and face, although a lot shorter than Bianca. And with the way they wrestle in bed all night during weekends, Bianca can tell Asher is a beast with his endurance, and maybe, just maybe, as she cannot be sure, he is a beast in his skills in bed as well.

"Well, if that's the case…." Bianca took a deep breath and sighed. Asher was holding his breath, waiting for what she was about to say.

"If that's the case…?" he could no longer wait, so he asked with so much expectation.

"I will have to call for an escort. I can't afford your price," she pouted and glared at him.

"What!? An escort instead of me?" He sat up straight then turned his whole body around to face her fully. "An escort? Really...?"

"Your deal is quite outrageous for me. I am not going to give my first time away in exchange for just a date!" she annoyedly grimaced at him.

"Wait, what?!" Asher was not sure he understood what she just said. He needed to process what he heard. "You mean to say you haven't done it before?" Asher was astonished. He was surprised to realize that this beauty living with him in his house is a pure one. He felt proud of her.

But his reactions arrived differently to Bianca. She has been teased by many of her school friends and colleagues about being a virgin and naive, so she took his reaction as teasing her as an old maiden.

"Yeah, so what?" she defensively argued.

Asher noticed her getting annoyed, so he explained his reactions clearly.

"I am amazed, actually!" he raised his open palms up, surrendering, making her feel assured he was not teasing her. "I never thought I would ever meet someone who is… You know…?"

"Clueless and…" she retorted but didn't get to finish her words because Asher cut them off.

"Pure and innocent…." Asher quickly butts in.

"That's different," Bianca paused and gave him a calculative glance. Checking if he was playing her with his words. But when she saw his face, she was convinced he was not teasing her at all. She calmed down. She took the glass of wine in her hand and gently twirled its content. She took a sip and sighed.

"I wanted to make sure I won't fail, so I never indulge in any romantic engagements. I have so much to do before I can stand on my claim as a successful self-made fashion designer. I am twenty-four, but I have never gone beyond kissing a man. I know it will be a part of any relationship to get physical, but I am worried about committing even a little mistake that I chose to be single during my whole college days." She looked down at her glass as she spoke that Asher could feel the depth of sadness and sorrow in her voice.

"You look younger than twenty-four, by the way," Asher playfully commented. He sat like her, leaning their backs into the sofa behind them, and he, too, took a sip of his regular wine. He let Bianca have all the sweet wine. He wanted her to spill her heart out if she wanted to. He is more than willing to lend her the ears if she needs them. Shoulders, too. He was really shocked to hear her say her age. He knew she was in her internship but with her height and build. Asher actually thought they were only a year difference in age. He is twenty-seven. He thought Bianca would be twenty-six. And with her beauty, he was stunned to know she was a gorgeous flower untouched!

"I don't know why you are doing the things you do, but I want to tell you something," he raised his wine glass in front of them before he continued. "You are an admirable, inspiring fighter of a woman! I, as a friend, am very proud of you. I am sure your parents are the proudest."

Bianca smiled faintly. "There are good and bad fruits to it, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Asher asked, confused.

"The good thing is I am doing well being focused, but I am missing a lot of fun as I go up to my goals," she answered weakly. "I don't even have to if I settle with what is already on my plate, but I am so stubborn that instead of taking the easy path, already paved for me to walk into, here I am, struggling to be someone I dream of being," she shook her head as she let out a breathy laugh.

"Well, there are always sacrifices in life, no matter what we choose to do," Asher patted her shoulder closest to his side.

"But when I need a date, I always feel troubled," she complained. "I don't even know how to date, ughhh!" she groaned in frustration. "I have to hire an escort who would do things according to my demands, but sometimes, they go overboard. I don't like where their hands roam around my body, but I cannot reprimand them when we're already in the crowd, or it would be my own embarrassment. I sometimes feel sexually harassed, but even if I complain to their company, even if they lose their job because of me, I already feel violated. I really hate that I cannot erase the fact or even the memory alone of it." she took a gulp of her wine.

"Bastards!" Asher could not help cursing when he heard Bianca say she was harassed. As a man, he can imagine those guys not being able to keep their hands off her with such a distance, but he was still outraged that they did those things without her permission. That was indeed harassment. He wanted to break their hands and smash their faces if only they were in his sight right now.

"That is why I hoped I could ask you instead of calling for an escort," Bianca stated helplessly. "But it turned out. You cost more than I can afford," she chuckled as she moved her wineglass forward to clink with his.

She wasn't mad with his demands, he can set his demands in whatever way he likes, but it would be for her to take or leave it. She chooses the latter with no hurt feelings.

"Okay, fine! Fine! For you, I'm breaking my deals," Asher hurriedly uttered. He was afraid she would call the escort company if he delayed even for a second.

"Are you sure?" Bianca was not so convinced. She had been a living witness to how this man was wild in bed with Nikita. Would he really go on a date with her without ending it in bed?

"Sure with what?" Asher was confused. He already forgot what he said about his dealings with dating as his mind was so bothered with her being concerned about her getting sexually harassed by an escort.

"What will it cost me to have you as my date then?" Bianca asked.

Asher paused to think for a while. He recalled he gave her a deal about his dates and knowing she wasn't like the other women he had been with. He gave up that idea. He needs to think of something not outrageous for her. His thoughts were bothered by the loud ringing of his cellular phone. He checked the caller id, and he tossed his phone on the farthest end of the sofa before turning it off.

Bianca did not say anything. She did not want to poke a bear, although she was itching to tease him by saying, 'was it your girlfriend?' They must have been in their lovers' quarrel because he did not want to answer the girl's call. But Bianca chose to shut up and eat. She was also hoping Asher would agree to be her date so she wouldn't have to call for a paid serviceman to be her date.