Chapter 29: Shady Deal
I licked my lips. "What did you have in mind?"
"I just want to hold you if that is alright." His statement caught me completely off guard. I could feel his erection already making its opinion known against me.
"Okay."
"Turn around and lean back."
I maneuvered myself facing forward and leaned against his chest. It felt genuinely nice just sitting there in the quiet without either of us needing to fill it. Then I felt his finger enter me slowly from the front as his thumb began working against my pearl in slow careful circles.
"Why did you become an escort?"
Now. I want you to understand the particular experience of being asked a deeply personal question while a man’s fingers are inside you. It is a specific kind of vulnerability that I was not entirely prepared for.
"Because I needed to support my sisters," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Both my parents died and left us with practically nothing. My mom took her own life and my dad died of a heart attack. I was left to raise them."
He kept working his fingers. Calm and patient.
"How old are they?"
"Fifteen."
"That is a lot of responsibility for someone your age." I rocked against his hand instinctively and felt myself building fast.
"Come baby," he whispered in my ear.
I wrapped my arm back around his neck and used him for leverage as I rode his fingers. The release hit me and I crashed down onto him hearing his quiet moan underneath me. I finally caught my breath. He gave me a few moments.
"I am still sore so maybe next time you can return the favor," he said. I was grateful and quietly a little sad that next time was not right now.
"Did you have no family who could have helped with your sisters?"
"No one I knew of. I was in my final year at Baylor when my dad died. I did not think twice. I left and came home. I was not going to uproot them from everything they knew."
"Baylor is a great school. What were you studying?"
"Healthcare Management. My dream was to run a hospital one day."
"And you gave that up?"
"No. I am enrolled at Tulane now. I can finish my final year and get my degree."
"Baylor then Tulane. Impressive."
"I have just started. Three classes this semester, three more next and then hopefully I graduate." I genuinely hoped I could do it. Saying it out loud always made it feel more real.
"I have every confidence you will. I like a woman with goals."
I leaned my head back and smiled. "Thank you for that."
"You are quite welcome."
We sat in the water a few more minutes without talking. I felt more like myself. The tension had left my muscles and I was grateful for both the sea salt and the man behind me even if I was not going to say that last part out loud.
"Next time you see Tara will you say hello from me?" She was a beautiful little girl.
"Of course. I am actually seeing her later this evening. They are throwing a small gathering for my nephew."
"I am sure your parents are going to be all over him," I said smiling. It sat quietly heavy in my chest that my own parents would never see my children. Never meet anyone I loved in the future.
He went quiet. Tensed up slightly. I turned around and his eyes were fixed on the wall in front of us.
"They are deceased," he said. "My mother died of cancer. My father died in a plant accident."
"I am so sorry. Losing both is its own particular kind of pain." I paused. "When my mother took her life it hurt in a way that was specific to that kind of loss. She was going to miss everything. And my father basically chose his ending slowly with drugs and alcohol until there was nothing left of him." I shook my head. I was not going to cry in this man’s bathtub.
"What did you put in this water?" I said, redirecting. "My muscles feel genuinely better and I know lavender flowers alone did not do all of this."
"Special sea salt from the Dead Sea. Refined lavender. Very good for sore muscles. I called the spa downstairs this morning and had them send it up."
"It absolutely works."
"Good. Maybe next time you will not overdo it."
"It was entirely worth it," I said. Then after a moment: "I feel comfortable with you Paul. I can laugh. I can be myself. That is not something I take lightly."
He did not respond immediately. Just let it sit there between us.
"We should get out before we both shrivel up. The water is getting cold." He stood first and grabbed two towels, helped me up as I got a small chill stepping out.
There was a beautiful yellow sundress hanging on the door.
"I hope you like it," he said.
"It is really cute. Thank you." I walked toward it.
"How do you know it is for you?" He said it with his arms crossed, muscles sitting there being entirely unnecessary.
"Well I could always go retrieve my dress from the elevator."
"If you did that I might have a relapse," he said with a smirk.
My eyes went wide. He looked at me for a moment then laughed.
"I am playing. I have somewhere to be in a few hours. Let me take you home."
"How do I know you are not a stalker?"
"I promise to behave."
"It does not matter either way because Ben is already on his way."
"Next time then."
"You know the rules Paul." Something shifted slightly in his expression. I put the dress on quickly, found my silver sandals in my purse and pinned my hair up in the mirror. I would wash it properly when I got home.
Now. I need you to know something about this moment because it matters. We had shared real things in that bathtub. Losses. Dreams. Embarrassing details about whipped cream. And now it was time to go back to reality. In less than six hours I would be with another man. Being with two men in one day was something I had not fully thought through when I agreed to the schedule and I was trying not to think about it too hard right now.
I walked up to him.
"Thank you for the dress and for an extraordinary evening," I said. "Did I meet your expectations?"
He looked at me with those blue eyes for a long moment.
"It was way more than I was expecting," he said. "Suga."
I smiled. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"Until we meet again Mr. Captiville." I stepped back, turned around and walked out.
Comments