Paid Companion

by Nia Forrester

  Kevin smiled, watching Nicki lean into Blake, basking in his attention. Whatever their differences, in lives, in temperament, in choices, there was always that—they both loved spoiling their little sister.

  “Nah,” he said, echoing Blake. “We’re not leaving.”

  ~22~

  “Hey.”

  Lia answered on the first ring, too surprised, too pleased to contain her excitement by letting it ring a respectable three, or even four times. She even sounded a little breathless. Seeing his name flash onto the screen had been so unreal she’d almost forgotten that Blake had programmed in his number. It had been what? Almost a month since then? And two weeks since Nicki’s party when she had finally made herself try to begin to accept that she would never hear from him again.

  “Hey. So, I wondered whether you like West Indian food and music.”

  Holding the phone away from her ear, Lia wrinkled her brow for a moment. “Ahm, I guess. Yes. I do.” And then when he said nothing further. “Why?”

  “There’s a festival in Baltimore this weekend. Was thinking about driving up there to check it out. Wondered whether you wanted to come.” He exhaled once he’d said the words.

  Was he nervous? Unsure she would say ‘yes’?

  “That’d be cool,” she said, trying not to have him hear that there was a broad grin on her face.

  “Okay, so it’s about a forty-five-minute drive I’m guessing, so after, we could just hang out and get some drinks at the Harbor or something. Maybe grab dinner there if the food at the festival isn’t …”

  He was babbling now. He was nervous. Lia grinned again.

  “Sounds good,” she said. “I like the Baltimore Harbor. Especially at this time of year. Sometimes they’re street musicians, and yeah, it’s cool. Have you ever been?”

  “No. This’ll be my first time there.”

  They were conversing, politely like strangers. But it was far better than the past few weeks had been when they were not talking at all.

  “You’ll like it. And if it’s not too late, the Aquarium might be open and …”

  “Lia, I’m from Florida. You really think there’s something at the Baltimore Aquarium that’s going to impress me?”

  She laughed. “Maybe not. But you never know.”

  “Yeah,” he said slowly, a smile in his voice. “You never know.”

  Kevin picked her up in a car Lia had never seen, a dark-blue Cadillac that looked like a cross between a sedan and an SUV. She told him she would be waiting outside, not sure she wanted him to see the shabby innards of her apartment just yet, and when he pulled up in front of her building, she ran outside, because there was no place for him to park. Wearing a pair of pressed linen shorts and a gypsy-style blouse, Lia had even pulled out a purse that had some semblance of a shape, instead of one of her usual hobos. If they went to dinner at the Harbor, she didn’t want to look like someone who worked on one of the boats docked there.

  The inside of the car was cool and sleek; tan leather and wood finishings made it look opulent.

  “I never figured you for an American car kind of guy,” she said by way of greeting, pretending not to notice when Kevin’s eyes fell to her freshly-waxed and oiled legs.

  She pushed out of her mind the memory how he liked to run his hands along them when they were back on the island, those few times when they’d managed to be alone. Being with him, just the two of them in such a small space made her slightly breathless in anticipation of … something.

  “You look nice,” he said. He was wearing shorts as well, and a lightweight shirt that would keep him comfortable if they wound up standing out in a crowd in the sun.

  “Thank you.”

  They drove in silence for a short while and Lia struggled to find something to say. The conversations between them back in Florida had always been filled with humor and innuendo, teasing and flirtation. But now they were not yet comfortable enough with each other again to flirt, or to use innuendo. It made Lia’s spirits sink a little.

  How long, she wondered, before they could get to the good part again? Before they could be friends again.

  “Blake said you got fired.”

  Lia gave a brief laugh. “Yeah. It was what I deserved, probably.”

  “Probably?”

  “Okay, definitely. But if I hadn’t done what I did, I never would have met you,” she offered, only half-joking.

  Kevin glanced at her, pulling onto New York Avenue.

  “Too soon?” she said.

  “I’m not sorry we met, obviously. I’m not even sorry you stole the booking, I guess. Just that …”

  “I never told you,” Lia finished for him. “I know.”

  “You said everything on the island was a lie …”

  “But I didn’t mean ‘us’. I didn’t mean that was a lie.”

  “I know you didn’t.”

  “Then why were you such an ass at Nicki’s party?” she demanded.

  He laughed a little. “I guess I wanted to make you pay for not telling me. And for showing up in that yellow dress, looking like you did. And with that bad-ass haircut, making me all … hot-and-bothered.”

  Lia’s eyes opened wide. She turned in her seat so she could look directly at him instead of with her peripheral vision.

  “I’m sorry, too,” he said. “For overreacting. The way we met … it was all kinds of jacked-up. So, I had no right to judge you for … whatever the hell crazy circumstances got us there, in another crazy circumstance.”

  “I don’t care about that,” Lia said waving his apology away, and babbling on. “You like my haircut? The way you said, ‘nice hair’ at the party sounded all sarcastic. And you were with Barbie, after all, with the long, brown hair.”

  Kevin laughed. “She’s got nothin’ on you. Believe me.”

  Lia let herself sink back into the seat, pulling in her lower lip and blushing.

  “Although … in the interests of full disclosure, I did ask her out that night. And a few days after that, we went to dinner.”

  Lia’s face fell, but then Kevin’s hand was on her knee. He squeezed it.

  “It was one date,” he added.

  “You don’t owe me an explanation.”

  Lia was torn between displeasure at the date itself, and pleasure that he felt the need to explain, whether he owed that to her or not. Torn between wanting to put her hand on top of his, and wanting to cut it off altogether, imagining him touching the woman with the long brown hair.

  “I’m not calling her again.”

  Still, Lia didn’t speak. Kevin turned on the sound system, and for the rest of the ride, they listened to jazz. John Coltrane unless Lia was mistaken. She loved Coltrane, especially the way he made reason out of songs that at first listen, sounded like chaos.

  They got the festival just as the skies darkened a little and the air had that heavy feeling of a threatening downpour. Undaunted, Kevin pulled a canopy-sized umbrella out of the back of his car, and they walked down a dusty hill toward the fairgrounds where the event was being held. Halfway there, when he noticed Lia skirting around a medium-sized ditch, in which a person could easily sprain or break an ankle, Kevin took her hand and held it in his large, firm one. He didn’t let go, even when they got inside.

  The light summer rain began just as the first musical act took to the stage, a rough-voiced Jamaican woman who said that “in solidarity” she would come perform on their level even if she got wet because “if you can brave to elements to listen to me sing, I can sing in the elements.” At that, there was a loud cheer of appreciation, and she removed her shoes, coming to sing and dance on the somewhat muddy surface, holding the mic with both hands, her eyes closed as she sung up to the skies.

  She performed two songs and Kevin stood close behind Lia, holding the umbrella aloft to shelter them both as they rocked and danced to the music. The heat of their bodies, the smell of the earth, the music and the scent of spicy Jamaican food and the faint whiff of marijuana in the air made L
ia dizzy with the need to touch Kevin. She gyrated her hips a little, moving backward so she was touching him. His free hand clamped on her waist, moving her away from him and she felt reproached until he leaned in and she felt his breath against her ear.

  “You’re makin’ me crazy doin’ that,” he said, and she smiled.

  “I want to make you crazy.”

  He gave a soft groan and then his lips were on her neck and Lia felt as though someone had lit her afire. She hunched her shoulder and with the opposite hand, touched the top of his bowed head and thrust her ass backwards so that she was pressed against him once again. They danced like that for a while, oblivious to the heat, their perspiration, and the other people around them. Only when the performer ended their set did they regain their senses. And then, only barely.

  “You hungry or anything?” Kevin asked, while the MC summoned the next performer.

  “No,” Lia said, though she was tempted to say something corny, like, ‘yes, I’m hungry for you.’

  “Want a beer?”

  “Yeah. That’d be good.”

  They bought ice-cold Red Stripe beer from one of the vendors who had a large tent set up with picnic tables for people to eat and drink at their leisure. They sat, drinking their beer, staring at each other from across the table. Kevin sat on the edge of his bench, his long legs stretched out in front of him. They were covered with smooth, dark hair. Lia wanted to touch and stroke them, the way he did hers.

  “Let’s go look at some of the vendors,” Kevin suggested.

  The rain had stopped, so Lia agreed. They finished their beer and walked among the craft stalls. Kevin held her hand, and bought her some silver earrings, and a Rastafarian tam. She bought him a woven-leather bracelet that he insisted she fasten on his wrist right away. And at a stall that displayed colorful fabrics—pashminas, rugs, and immense tapestries—he pulled her out of sight and leaned in.

  “I’ve been wanting to do this all day,” he said before he kissed her.

  His kiss was sweet relief. Lia felt her lips soften beneath his and her entire body relax. Her arms were slack at her sides and her shoulders dropped as she surrendered to him. He kissed her hungrily, frantically, but with complete command, his tongue on and around hers, his lips pulling and tugging at the corners of her mouth. She raised a hand, and he seemed to know that she intended to slide it between them and touch him, and he smiled against her lips.

  “Are you crazy?” he asked, moving his lips to her jaw. “I’d never be able to stand that … not out here.”

  “So, let’s go,” Lia said.

  He laughed aloud and lifted his head. “No. We’re on a fuckin’ date. C’mon.” Taking her hand again, he led her sulking from behind the fabric vendor’s tent.

  They stayed at the festival until late in the afternoon, and around five, a little dusty and sweaty, and Lia a little woozy from two more Red Stripe beers, they drove toward Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

  “Is that what we’re doing?” Lia asked as they drove.

  “Is what what we’re doing?”

  “Dating. Back there you said we’re on a date. And are you … dating anyone else?”

  Kevin took a moment to answer. Not as though he was trying to avoid the question, but Lia got the sense he was considering and choosing his words.

  “If that’s what you want to call it,” he said, matter-of-factly. “But as far as I’m concerned, I’m not dating you, Lia Hill. I’m claiming you.”

  After that comment, every moment was excruciating. The drive took way too long, the meal at the perfectly nice seafood restaurant, the eating, the process of Kevin calculating a tip, thanking their server and leading Lia out into the now darkening day. It all took way too long.

  “Let’s not go back just yet,” she said when they walked back outside into the warm, damp air from the coolness of the restaurant.

  Kevin looked at her. “You want to walk a little bit? Looks like the rain’s done with us for today.”

  “No,” she said. “I don’t want to walk. I want us to find somewhere private. Somewhere we can be alone.”

  Kevin gave her a small smile and nodded, but said nothing.

  They checked into the Sheraton, which was only a few blocks away, Kevin smoothly sliding an AmEx Centurion card across the reception desk to pay for their unplanned night away from home. All the other rooms were booked the desk clerk had told them, and the suite was all they had available. She said it with a note of regret in her voice, which implied that she was sure he wouldn’t want to pay the five-hundred and seventy-five dollar a night rate.

  “There’s some benefits to being rich, I guess,” Lia said as they headed for the elevators.

  “I ain’t never knocked it,” Kevin responded.

  Upstairs, as soon as the door was shut she turned to him and pulled him toward her. She didn’t care anymore about pretending that they had to take things slow, or reacquaint themselves with one another. They would do that. After they got this part done. Because if she didn’t have him now …

  “Hey,” Kevin said, holding her away from him a little when she started working on the buttons of his shirt. “We have all night. How about we go check out that Jacuzzi tub they’ve got in here?”

  That was true. They had all night.

  ~23~

  “I wish I’d tried scuba again,” Lia said.

  She was leaning back against the side of the Jacuzzi, her arms stretched out on either side of her, eyes shut, a somnolent, blissful expression on her face.

  Kevin laughed. “Where’d that come from?”

  “It’s bothered me since I left Florida. That I didn’t even try. I thought we would have more time. That there’d be another day when you could show me.”

  “There will be another day when I can show you,” he said.

  At that Lia opened her eyes and looked at him. Watched him, really. Like she was reading his expressions, trying to decode the tone of his voice, dissecting it to find the truth. She still didn’t quite believe him, he realized. That he really wanted her, and wanted this to work between them was still a source of skepticism But, he couldn’t say he didn’t understand. Blake, the fake boyfriend had been more of a constant than he had. Blake had told him about how he’d gone over to her place almost every other day for a couple of weeks, and how they sat around and talked, how Lia had done sketches of him. One of those sketches Blake had gotten mounted, and it was now displayed in the hallway in his apartment at the Watergate.

  Kevin wondered whether Lia knew that.

  They had showered—separately—before getting into the Jacuzzi, because she said she didn’t like the idea of them “stewing in their own dirt” while sitting in the hot water, and so she had gone first. By the time Kevin showered, she had already stripped and gotten in without him. She playfully told him he should strip too, and that she would cover her eyes while he did. And she did cover her eyes, until he slipped into the warm blanket of the water, and sighed.

  “Why are you all the way over there?” he asked her now.

  “Because I have a feeling you want to show me something very different than scuba.”

  “And you don’t want me to?”

  Lia opened her eyes. “No, it’s because I do want you to. Very much. So much that it kind of scares me.”

  “You didn’t seem scared when we first got to the room,” he reminded her, arching an eyebrow.

  “Because that was me being fun and wild, and spontaneous. Now it feels different.”

  “The hell with all that. Get over here,” he said.

  She moved, slowly and hesitantly at first. Kevin shoved aside the urge to reach out for her. When she was right in front of him, she got up on her knees. He was level with her breasts. As she raised up, and they emerged from the water, her nipples hardened in reaction to the cooler air. Tiny goosebumps rose on her skin. He looked at her, taking her in, studying her.

  “You’re not saying anything.” She sounded a little shaky, a little nervous.
/>   “Because this is the first time I’ve ever had a chance to just look at you.”

  Lia breathed a little heavily, and a little more audibly the more he stared. And her nipples hardened further. Unable to restrain himself any longer, Kevin bent to take one in his mouth. Lia gasped and arched her back, pressing her chest forward. Putting a hand at the small of her back, he held her still as his lips moved, working one nipple and then the other. They were firm and pliable at the same time, rolling beneath his tongue like small pearls.

  His hand on her back slid further downward as if on its own accord, between the cheeks of her ass, pulling her closer until he had enough reach to caress her from behind. Lia made a mewing sound and pushed herself down, onto his fingers then rising again.

  “Stand up,” he said, his mouth now just beneath her chin. When she didn’t seem to hear him, he kissed her mouth instead, and when the tip of her tongue emerged, reaching for his, he pulled back a little, teasing her. “Stand up,” he said again, this time demanding rather than asking.

  Mechanically, immediately, Lia did as she was told. Droplets of water coursed down her body, and Kevin ran his hands over her waist and hips, pausing when he got to her thighs, and with both palms splayed shoved them gently apart. He looked up at Lia looking down at him, her chest heaving in excitement, her full, beautiful lips open, her eyes partly shut. She knew what he was about to do, and the anticipation of it was making her literally breathless. That pleased him.

  Kevin closed his eyes, leaned in, and tasted her, his fingers holding her apart so he could have better access. He could hear Lia; her cries and moans and the sexy purring noise that came from the back of her throat, but all of that was secondary and far away. His focus was on how she felt beneath his tongue, how she tasted on it, and the sensual squirming motion of her hips as she moved against him. Letting his fingers fall away, he instead cupped her ass and held her tight until she cried out hoarsely and in a way that let him know she was sated.