Turns Out I Was Just His Cheap Little Game
921 Views · Ongoing · Piper Hayes
To save enough for a summer trip with my boyfriend, Tripp, and his friends, I worked late every night after school as a food runner at the upscale French restaurant in town.
Tripp told me his family didn't have much money. He wore old thrift-store T-shirts and always ordered the cheapest lunch in the cafeteria.
I felt bad for him. During the year we were together, I quietly paid for most of our dates.
Until one night, when I carried a bottle of wine to a private dining room and heard voices coming from inside.
"Tripp, how long are you going to keep pretending you're broke?" It was Chase, Tripp's best friend.
Then I heard Bitsy's sugary-sweet voice. She and Tripp had grown up together. "Thanks for the limited-edition bag, Tripp. Eighty grand, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I love it!"
I froze. An eighty-thousand-dollar bag? He wouldn't even spend twelve dollars on a burger.
Then Tripp spoke in a lazy drawl. "Girls like Nora are low-maintenance. She's easy to fool. Buy her an iced latte, and she'll act like it means the world to her. She barely costs me anything."
He had never really cared about me.
Tripp told me his family didn't have much money. He wore old thrift-store T-shirts and always ordered the cheapest lunch in the cafeteria.
I felt bad for him. During the year we were together, I quietly paid for most of our dates.
Until one night, when I carried a bottle of wine to a private dining room and heard voices coming from inside.
"Tripp, how long are you going to keep pretending you're broke?" It was Chase, Tripp's best friend.
Then I heard Bitsy's sugary-sweet voice. She and Tripp had grown up together. "Thanks for the limited-edition bag, Tripp. Eighty grand, and it's absolutely gorgeous. I love it!"
I froze. An eighty-thousand-dollar bag? He wouldn't even spend twelve dollars on a burger.
Then Tripp spoke in a lazy drawl. "Girls like Nora are low-maintenance. She's easy to fool. Buy her an iced latte, and she'll act like it means the world to her. She barely costs me anything."
He had never really cared about me.

















































