by Thomas Henry
“And I thought I was being so clever. Anyway, go on…”
“Well, I enjoyed being the gay guy’s escort. The clothes, the fancy restaurant, the fancy limousine. Pretty much like going out with you...except for the gay part, of course.” She winked. “And he was really nice. So it was a good first experience in getting paid to go out with a man.
“Sooo…when Sally asked how I’d like to go deep sea fishing with one of the other girls and some guys from the Mainland… Well, I’d never been deep sea fishing before, so it sounded fun.” She paused. “Of course, I knew the guys would want sex, but…well, anyway, I decided I’d give it a try. I mean, it wasn’t like I was walking the streets or meeting some guy in a sleazy hotel.
“So when we got to the boat, I was surprised there were four guys. Sally hadn’t actually said how many, and I guess I had assumed there would be two…one for each girl. But it’s like you always say. Once you’re in over your head, it really doesn’t matter how deep the water is. If I was willing to prostitute myself with one man, why not with two? And it would have been really embarrassing for Sally if I backed out at the last minute, so I went ahead.”
“Didn’t actually turn out to be only two, did it?”
Karen shook her head. “I guess I just hadn’t thought it through. I mean, we were out there a long time, so we both ended up having sex with all four of them.”
“What about Kimo and Keoki?”
“Oh, no…they just took care of the boat and the fishing. I mean, I knew they were ogling me, but nothing happened. Keoki never even said anything. And Kimo just stayed up on the flying bridge, hiding behind those mirrored sunglasses.”
“I noticed that you gave Keoki a really big hug when you got off the boat.”
“Oh…did I? I don’t remember. I was pretty drunk most of the day.”
“But I guess you were okay with the experience? I mean, having sex with those guys for money.”
“Yeah…it was okay. I mean, they were nice enough. And it wasn’t like they were stuffing money in my bikini or anything. Sally took care of the payment, so I didn’t see the money until later. Maybe that made it better, somehow. Kinda like just going on a date…but with four guys at one time.”
“So the next night, you went out with that local Asian guy.”
“Uh-huh. We’d met a couple days earlier at this meet-and-greet thing Sally had at the Club. I guess he told Sally he really wanted me. He was a handsome guy, and by that point I guess I was making peace with the notion that it was okay to get paid for sex.” She shook her head. “And you wouldn’t believe how much he paid for those few hours with me.”
I pulled her to me and kissed her forehead. “Bet I would.”
“So,” Karen said. “I guess you know the rest.”
“Tell me about that tattooed freak…Yoshi. How the hell did you let yourself get talked into doing that?”
Karen chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve asked myself that, too. I don’t know. The challenge? The fact that it was a new experience? Sally really wanted me to do it, and I guess I told myself I should try anything once. Not necessarily a good philosophy, by the way. But she did let me take my pick of which guys I was going to be with the first two nights, which was good.”
“I’m curious about something. What would you have done if she had paired you with that really fat guy?”
Karen shook her head. “No way. Wouldn’t have done it, no matter how much money…”
“So Sally always gives you a choice?”
“Of course.”
“So what if none of the women want to take a particular client? What does Sally do then?”
“Oh, I think someone always will. They want the money, and they want to keep Sally happy so they can keep working for her. But it’s different for me…I have a different motivation.”
“Okay. So what happens now?”
“Now…you and I snuggle and make love…and later, we eat pizza!”
“A grand plan all around, but what I meant was the bigger picture. What happens when you leave here? Are you going home or back to Sally’s or what?”
Karen put her head on my shoulder and hugged me. “It’s been over two weeks now. I have to go home and patch things up with Ted.”
I was relieved that she wasn’t going back to the Oasis. “Got a plan?”
“Uh-huh. I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
“Really? I didn’t know Ted owned a racehorse.”
“What?”
“You know…Khartoum? The Godfather? Never mind. What offer?”
Karen sat up and took a deep breath. She looked into my eyes and then looked down. “Lately, Ted’s been talking about us having another baby.”
I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I couldn’t breathe.
Karen continued, “He’s still hoping for a son. And you know what that would mean. No more fun for Karen once I go off my birth control. Obviously, I can’t risk getting pregnant by another man. And after I give birth, it’ll mean years and years of being a hum-drum mother and housewife before I’ll have any fun again…assuming I’m not too old and ugly by then.
“So, I’m going to offer to make a deal with Ted. After we move to San Diego, we’ll resume being a monogamous couple. I’ll go off my birth control, and we’ll have another baby. But until then…until we move…anything goes. He can have Crystal or whoever he wants, and I can do what I want.”
“So where does that leave us?” I asked.
Karen hugged me and pressed her cheek against my chest. “Where we’ve always been, I guess.”
She sat back and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Let’s not talk about it anymore right now, okay? How about if we fix some snacks and watch a funny movie? Got anything good?”
“Have you ever seen ‘I Love You to Death’ with Kevin Kline?”
“No, I don’t think so. Is it funny?”
“One of my favorites. And there’s pizza involved.”
We spent the day snuggled together on the sofa, watching movies and napping. After our dinner of pizza and beer, we took a long shower together. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the last moment like that we’d ever have.
Our lovemaking was tender and sweet, but I was tortured by images of Ted impregnating her…images of her belly swollen with his child. I knew it was irrational. I knew it was impossible. But I wanted it to be mine.
* * * *
I half-awoke when I felt Karen slip out of bed. I supposed she was going to take a whiz, and I went back to sleep. Sometime later, I realized she hadn’t come back. I lifted my head and looked toward the bathroom. There was a strip of light at the bottom of the closed door, and I thought I could hear water running. I wondered what she was doing, but I didn’t give it much thought before I drifted off to sleep again.
The next time I awoke, I had a strong sense that something wasn’t right. I sat up and looked toward the bathroom. The door was open, and the light was off. I thought Karen must have gone out to the kitchen. I called out as I got out of bed, “Karen? Hey, Karen?” I got no answer.
I grabbed my robe and went to look for her. She wasn’t in the kitchen. I had a really uneasy feeling. I opened the door and looked downstairs where the cars were parked. Karen’s car was gone.
I heard my phone chime. I rushed back into the bedroom and picked it up. It was a text from Karen. “Couldn’t say goodbye. Love you.”
THE END
Like James Bond, Karen will return. For information about
all my upcoming books, please visit my website:
http://www.thomashenryauthor.com/coming-soon/
grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
