by B. M. Hardin
I couldn’t believe how calm she was being as her daughter screamed at the top of her lungs.
Her daughter was out of control.
She was constantly asking her to stay still, and to be quiet but the small girl ignored her requests.
The other passengers frowned and whispered in disbelief at the mother’s lack of authority.
If Horizon ever acted out like that in public she was going to see a very bad day.
Though I tried to look in the other direction, I couldn’t help but stare at the child.
And then I would look back at the mother.
The longer I stared, the more and more I began to notice a few things that were causing me to become unsettled.
For only a second I took my eyes off of the child and put them on my own.
I stared at my daughter Horizon and studied every curve and feature of her face.
She was her daddy’s twin and she reminded me so much of him.
She had his eyes and his nose. She even had the same shade of skin.
The funny thing was that her father wasn’t the only one that she looked a hell of a lot like.
I looked back at the misbehaving little girl and then up at her mother, who was surprisingly now staring at me.
She looked at me as though she found the look on my face amusing.
“Yep, she’s Keymar’s daughter,” she said.
Huh?
Keymar who?
I know damn well that she wasn’t talking about my Keymar.
We had been together since we were kids and he’d always been faithful to me.
I was sure of it.
“I know exactly who you are. I’ve seen you a few times before. My daughter, Keymarie is five. My name is Marie, so Keymarie was the perfect name for her. Keymar worked with my best friend’s husband which is how we crossed each other’s paths; at one of their events. We fooled around for almost a year and no one bothered to tell me that he was with you until I popped up pregnant. It wasn’t until then that he’d told me that he had a fiancé and then he’d said that he didn’t want anything to do with me or his daughter. He wouldn’t see me. He stopped taking my calls. I remember coming by your house one evening. My best friend and I were going to expose him for the lying, cheating bastard that he was. But then I saw you two. You were playing outside with each other. You were laughing as he tickled you and he smiled and looked at you in a way that he’d never looked at me. And I guess I had a change of heart. We kept on driving and I decided that I was just going to raise my baby all on my own. It wasn’t until things got hard and I lost my job that I thought to reach out to him again but found out that only a few days before…he’d died. We even came to the funeral. You were too busy crying and holding your new baby to notice that Keymarie and I had lingered at his casket just a little too long. So, yes, she is his daughter. And she is your daughter’s sister. It’s crazy. They almost look like twins,” she said and stood up, grabbed her daughter’s had and got off of the bus at the current stop.
Everyone, including my sister and daughter, sat staring at me.
As if they were waiting for my response or a reaction but I couldn’t move.
Damn, she could have at least tried to reveal the proof in private instead of telling a bus full of people a truth that I didn’t even know existed.
But more than being embarrassed, I was hurt.
I didn’t know that it was possible for a dead man to break your heart, but my heart had been broken into a thousand tiny pieces.
I was always faithful to him.
And call me stupid, but I thought that he had always been faithful to me.
We’d had a bond so strong and it was so rare that loving or being with anybody else just didn’t make sense.
He was the only person that I’d ever trusted completely.
But to find out that not only had he been unfaithful to me, but he’d conceived a child with another woman and then denied the child the right to know her father was just sickening to my soul.
I was so disappointed in him.
I was so furious that I didn’t even try to stop the tears from falling from my eyes.
I’d given him my all, even after he was gone.
I’d loved him so much that I couldn’t give another man my love or barely anything else out of loyalty to him.
But this was the thanks that I get?
To have some strange woman, on a bus, with a daughter that could have been my daughter’s twin, tell me that my loyalty had been in vain.
It made me feel so stupid and ashamed to have ever even loved him.
He was lucky that he was already dead because if he wasn’t I would have surely killed him.
But since he was already dead, the loyal, dedicated Envy had just died with him.
No more remaining by myself or running from love out of fear of losing the love that I had for him.
No more lonely nights because my mind, my heart and my loyalty still belonged to the only man I’d ever loved.
No more.
No, I was mad as hell and as of this day forward, Keymar and all of my feelings for him were history.
And to prove it, I was going to slang this pussy in every direction that I could!
Okay, so no, I probably wouldn’t.
Especially since it was already a part of my current job description, but I was hurt and the only way to get revenge on a dead man was to stop holding on to him and truly let him go.
And as of right now, that was exactly what I was going to do.
We finally arrived at our stop and still speechless, I grabbed my purse, and Tia grabbed Horizon and we made our exit.
“Are you okay?” Tia asked once we were alone on the sidewalk.
I forced myself to grin at her.
“I will be. Now, let’s go get us a new car,” I said and headed in the direction of the car dealership.
For some reason, the hotel briefly crossed my mind.
Maybe now I could make this money and not feel so damn guilty about it.
Maybe.
***
I pulled in at the hotel in my new Toyota Camry.
Well, it wasn’t all that new, but it was new to me.
I didn’t know what to do with myself now that I didn’t have to walk or ride the bus anymore and despite the way that I had to earn the money, I couldn’t help but be thankful for it.
I walked into the hotel in my regular maid outfit and headed towards Carmen’s office.
She was sitting at the desk, with her eyes closed.
She opened them at the sound of my footsteps.
“Feeling better?” she said.
I simply nodded.
“Did you get the car?” she asked.
I nodded again.
The dealership had to verify my employment with Carmen.
I’d sent her a text in regards to what I needed her to say.
I wasn’t sure if she was going to do it, but she had. She’d lied on my behalf and said that I was the head maid, on salary, and that I had been there for over two years.
“Thank you.”
“No thanks needed,” she said and got up and headed to the wall.
She was still all over me, more so than she was with the other girls.
I guessed it was because I was still fairly new.
The thirteenth floor was quiet.
Either the other maids hadn’t started rolling in yet, were already gone home, or they were already busy.
Some of the maids worked at night.
I only worked day hours because of Horizon.
“I need you to get yourself together. You’ve been ordered already…twice,” Carmen said.
She briefly talked numbers and told me that before any tips unless I was ordered again before it was time for me to leave, I would be taking home another three thousand dollars.
She’d said that I had been ordered for just basic sex, both times, and that this time should be easier for me.
It all stil
l seemed so unreal.
But as I headed to my room, I knew that what was about to take place was absolutely….real.
Here I was, about to give myself to another stranger, for money, and it just didn’t get any more real than that.
“Oh, by the way, you should work on your oral sex. I’ve heard that you could use a little practice. Good oral means good tips,” Carmen said behind me.
Luckily no one else was around or she would have embarrassed the hell out of me.
I stared at the 313 on the door in front of me.
Here we go again.
“Hi,” the gentleman said.
I was hesitant to look in his direction but once I did, I was surprised by my reaction.
At the sight of the client, I accidently licked my lips.
The man that was standing in front of me was beautiful, if I was able to identify him as such.
He was tall, dark and deliciously handsome.
The broadness of his shoulders had me mesmerized.
He was wearing a high priced black suit with the cutest little white and black bow tie.
The Rolex on his arm beamed as bright as an evening star. He had the most beautiful white teeth and the most adorable smile that I’d ever seen.
He surely didn’t look as though he belonged here and I just couldn’t believe that he had to settle for paying for a piece of ass.
No, I would never believe that he couldn’t have any woman that he wanted.
Hell, he could have me…for free.
I just wanted to take him home so that I could look at him all day.
“What’s your name?”
I looked at him confused at first, but then I remembered that Carmen said that they never revealed our names; we were labeled with a number.
I figured that I should probably make up a name, but after all, who would believe that my real name was Envy?
“Envy,” I said and stood still.
I watched him look me up and down.
He looked at my hips and at every single curve of my body with lust in his eye.
Uh, oh, he was hip hypnotized.
It was my turn to fully check him out.
I scanned him once again from top to bottom.
I couldn’t help but become aroused.
I couldn’t help but want him.
It had been so long since a man had turned me on or even caught my interest that the feeling not only surprised me, but it made me extremely anxious.
I guess it was because I was so used to being so guarded but since the bus incident yesterday, I had a whole new attitude and my heart was as cold as ice.
Men hurt women that love them all the time and they cheat on the ones that are faithful to them so it was time to use them the same way that they used us.
I had what he wanted and he had what I needed.
It was just that simple.
I still wasn’t sure of all the code names yet, but Carmen had mentioned that he had ordered just the basics, but I didn’t want to be basic.
Not with him.
I was going to allow myself to enjoy this---this time.
Yes, this one was for me.
I took a deep breath and walked closer to him.
I won’t pretend as though I wasn’t still nervous or uneasy because I was.
But I wasn’t as grossed out and uncomfortable as I was before or as I should have been.
Not with him.
To be honest, he seemed a little nervous as if this was his first time at the rodeo.
But I was sure that it wasn’t.
“Before we begin can I ask you for a favor?” I asked him.
He looked as though he didn’t know how to answer the question or as if he didn’t know if he was able to do “favors”.
But I was sure that he wouldn’t mind doing this one.
He nodded his head as I stood only inches away from him.
“Can you teach me how to give good head?” I asked him.
His eyes widen and it was as though he’d stopped breathing for only a second.
But soon after, his lips curled up into a small smile and he shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head.
When he unbuckled his belt and dropped his pants, I knew that he was onboard.
Well…let’s get this party started!
*********************************************
Chapter FOUR
After only two months, I’d made so much money that I’d lost count.
And the craziest thing of all was that I was actually starting to like it.
In a weird way, it had become…normal.
I’d even lost count of how many men I’d been with.
Here lately, Room 313 was where everyone wanted to be.
Most of the time I was ordered at least twice a day and I was something like the new hot thing on the floor.
I was being ordered so much and so often that I was being reserved; which meant that the men would pay extra to ensure that I was available and not busy at the time that they arrived at the hotel.
Carmen said that the demand for a woman had never been so extreme to the point that she made money just by reserving my curves. So the way I saw it was that he now needed me, just as much as I’d once needed her.
I still kept my distance from the other women and so far, I hadn’t made a single friend.
But I was fine with that.
As long as I had my sister, I didn’t really need anyone else.
Speaking of my sister, Tia was dealing with her pregnancy pretty well.
She was going to classes as promised, helping with Horizon and still managing to keep her body together.
She hadn’t gained but ten pounds, if that much, although she ate like a horse.
But she was my rock at the moment and part of my motivation.
She still didn’t know the truth about what I did at the hotel and I had no plans on telling her either.
I made sure that she had everything that she needed and then some.
I gave her money every week for the days that she looked after Horizon.
Of course she would refuse it but I would always leave it for her on her dresser the next morning before work and I wouldn’t take it back.
She was about to have a baby.
I was sure that there were little things that she wanted to buy, so she needed money.
And I had plenty to give.
I dropped Tia off at the doctor’s office and Horizon and I headed to grab some lunch.
I figured that Tia was going to be there for at least three hours, as always, so we had plenty of time to spare.
It was the end of October but it was still pretty warm so Horizon and I stopped for lunch at an outside café.
After ordering and getting Horizon settled, I stared at the couple sitting across from us.
They appeared to be a happy family.
There was a husband, a wife and a little boy and girl.
They talked and laughed as they ate and made jokes with each other.
I couldn’t help but smile at them.
What I wouldn’t give for that life; that completion.
Not just for my sake, but for my daughter’s as well.
That was the life that we were supposed to have.
I was supposed to be married and raising her with the man of my dreams and the love of my life, but things hadn’t turned out that way.
It’s funny how things never turn out the way that you want them to but in the end they usually end up being what they are supposed to be.
I forced myself to hold back the tears as the waitress placed our food on the table.
One day, is all that I could think to myself as I prepared Horizon to eat her lunch.
One day that will be me.
One day that would be us.
“Excuse me, but do I know you from somewhere?”
Immediately I became nervous at the tap on my shoulder.
I hesitated to turn around.
My biggest
fear was to see one of the men from the hotel out in public.
It would remind me of my secret life, and I didn’t want to be reminded of anything that I did on the thirteenth floor.
When I wasn’t there I just wanted to enjoy being normal.
Just being me.
I turned around to look at the man whose hand was still on my shoulder.
Surprisingly, he wasn’t one of the men from the hotel. In fact, I didn’t know him at all.
I’d never seen him before.
“Um,” I started to say but he interrupted me.
“I’m just kidding. I don’t know you. I’m just a little out of practice when it comes to, well---I’m Silas.”
I studied him as I shook his outstretch hand.
For the most part, he was fairly attractive.
Since I’d only been in a relationship with Keymar, I hadn’t developed a certain type, but I was sure that whatever it was, he was it.
He was dressed casually.
A little inappropriate for the weather, but I could only assume that it was due to his profession.
He was wearing a long sleeved button up shirt, with dress pants, suspenders and a black tie.
He had strong, bold facial features and his brown eyes stood out the most.
I’d say that he was a strong seven or maybe even an eight.
Judging by his accent, I was sure that he was of African descent; but his shade of skin was a warm, soft brown complexion.
His skin reminded me of soothing caramel, and the more I stared at him, the more my mouth began to water.
“I’m Envy,” I cleared my voice.
“Envy? Interesting name. I guess I sounded pretty corny approaching you but I just couldn’t leave without saying something. When I saw you take your seat, I knew that I would regret it if I didn’t come over here and say something to you.”
Okay, so I was flattered.
It had been a while since anyone had genuinely shown interest in me and not just because they’d purchased me.
I couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by the statement that he was out of practice.
I figured that now wasn’t the appropriate moment to ask him too many questions so I just smiled.
Was I really ready for something like this?
Looking back at the happy family, I got my answer.
Hell yeah!
***
