He tapped the table and gave her a once over. “I’ll be right back.”
The smile stayed plastered on her face until her date was out of sight. After that, she rolled her eyes and tossed back the two remaining cherries, managing not to choke on the ice as she did. She was going to need at least one more drink in her system if she was going to get through the night.
Her date wasn’t bad, but he oozed foot fetish, and she was either going to make out like a queen tonight or earn her money the hard way. Obviously, she hoped for the former.
From her safe place at the darkened table, she rolled the bottom of her glass on the beaten up wood, her eyes drifting across the bar. Despite her reputation for dabbling in entrepreneurship, everyone was too drunk or too busy to think about her and her date. Which was a relief, because it was nights like that one, where one snide remark could toss her over the edge.
Everyone in Breck’s wanted pussy as much as the next person, at least she was getting paid for hers. Still, there were too many locals, too many friendly faces in the crowd for her to ever truly relax.
Oh, but that guy was new.
Black sweater, light wash jeans, and a pair of simple Nikes. Comfortable, yet not a frat boy. She could tell by his bristled salt and pepper hair and the laugh lines around his eyes he was well out of college, but couldn’t be older than thirty five. The calm energy radiating from him had her eyes locked.
He caught her looking and took a swig of whatever dark alcohol he drank. It was probably whiskey. Irish, not scotch. He didn’t look pretentious like a scotch drinker. His throat bobbed as he eyed her, and without so much as a tip of the head, he turned his back.
She darted her eyes away just in time for her date to return, her third drink in hand. It probably wasn’t a good idea to have another, but it would help her loosen up enough to do whatever he had planned for their evening.
Barney—at least she thought that was his name—set her drink down and kissed the top of her head. It didn’t turn her stomach as much as expand the black pit already lingering.
Don’t worry Barns, you’ll get yours tonight. You’re paying me for it.
She smiled and rubbed his inner thigh as he came up on her, bumping what she hoped was his dick. Soft. Placid. Underwhelming at best. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
Getting dates over the holiday was easy. The old fucks didn’t want to be alone, and getting their dick sucked all day for the low, low price of one thousand dollars was a steal for any rich and wealthy man. Lucky for her, she had two dates this weekend, the second paying her much more than the sack of well cured meat sitting in front of her.
Evin put the glass to her lips and pretended to down the drink while she eyed the man who didn’t give her the time of day. He was her type, through and through. Well, his outward appearance anyway. There was something about the way his jeans hugged his ass that told her just enough to want to know more. Like how he moved, danced, kissed.
Fucked.
Her eyes darted back to Barney. “Would you like to dance?”
Barney huffed a laugh and looked toward the divey dance floor. It was odd to have a date at Breck’s, but that was what he wanted, to be treated like a local. Then, after they were alone, he wanted to be treated like garbage. It was a kink she never understood but it wasn’t her place to understand it, only to provide it.
She didn’t kink shame. Barney boy could do whatever he wanted as long as she got her money and safely walked out of that room after. No shame—on his part.
“No, my hips couldn’t take it.”
Cowgirl it is.
He leaned forward and caressed her hand with a smile that said he drank too much red wine for a man. “Besides, I’m thinking it’s time to get out of here.” He wiggled his white caterpillar brows, and she gave him her best customer service smile before downing her drink.
“Sounds perfect.”
“I closed the tab already. Get your coat and I’ll get the car warmed up.” He kissed her hand as if they were in some sort of fancy French restaurant, not the dark, divey atmosphere of Breck’s Bar, and brushed by her.
Finally. She could breathe and take a moment to think. It was always a façade. Every fucking moment with a date was one long customer service routine after another. The pay was better than slinging drinks behind the bar, and once in a while she got her rocks off too, but her cheeks hurt from smiling and pretending she liked her date. Luckily, her ego was already so far in the dirt she couldn’t find it anymore.
That made her perfect for the job.
Evin cleared her throat to dislodge the stray lump of regret. She needed a moment alone and the bathroom seemed like the only place to get it. Back straight, pride scraped up off the floor, she strutted to the bathroom.
Her tight black dress left nothing to the imagination, and the glossy black stilettos her date picked out polished off her completely overdressed look. If this wasn’t Breck’s she’d look elegant as shit. As it were, she looked like a pretentious bitch.
Once locked in the bathroom, she took several long, deep breaths. Her therapist taught her that, back when she used to go to one. Back when she could afford one. This wasn’t where her life was supposed to be at thirty.
Not at all.
An educated bitch such as herself should be somewhere, building her career in some stuffy office making just more than minimum wage for a job she was overqualified for. Because that’s what you did, you did the grunt work and built yourself up. That’s why she got her degree in the first place. What she was doing now was circling the proverbial drain. But there was no way in hell that office job was going to pull her out of the financial hell she was currently drowning in.
After splashing water on her face, Evin meditated to clear her mind. She needed to make room for all the dirty things she’d have to do that night. Once she was as numb as she was going to get, she was ready to face the music. As her last act of bravery, she swung the door open, right in someone’s face. The scream escaped her before she had time to process.
She took a breath and huffed a laugh, clutching her chest. “Holy shit, you scared me.”
It was the man from the bar. The tourist. She smiled and tried to act calm, but his hot stare and cocked brow had her silent again.
“What are you doing loitering outside the door?”
He cleared his throat and she followed his finger to where he pointed. “This is the men’s room.”
Oh God, he has a good ol’ boy drawl, too.
Evin laughed and patted his chest, finally feeling the alcohol in her system. She drank it so quickly it was about damn time it showed up. “Well damn. I thought you were hunting me down.”
I wish you were hunting me down.
“I wouldn’t need to hunt you down.” He stepped close and they turned in the doorway, chest to breast. “You’d come willingly...and beggin’.”
Holy shit, was this guy coming on to her? Usually she was the one who had to start the dirty talk, but this dude just jumped right in. Maybe she was projecting because of her insecurities. That’s what her therapist would say.
It was too dark to see his eyes, but the shadowed gaze still felt heavy on her, stealing her voice. Unable to talk, she couldn’t step away. He caught her off guard and she didn’t like it. Mostly because he sent heat to her thighs and she had to go home with the Barns tonight. Fuck. Life was unfair.
Didn’t have to be, though.
One step his way and she was pushing him back into the privacy of the bathroom. It wasn’t romantic, but it was better than what she was going to have to do to old man Barns back at The Gant. And hell, she looked hot, a gentleman wouldn’t turn down a woman looking her best.
“You want to test that theory?” She pushed him until his back hit the wall, and her hands went for his belt. “I’ve never begged for a thing in my life.”
He grabbed her hands, stopping her from going further, and looked her dead in the eye, a playful tilt on his lips. They st
ood in silence, but she couldn’t ignore how his eyes traveled over every detail of her face. “You’re gonna to regret this tomorrow.”
“Oh yeah?” She bit her bottom lip and pulled his gaze to it, but he didn’t react. “Will I still be sore by then?” She hoped so. It’d been too long since she got any sort of satisfaction that didn’t come from the vibrator she hid in the upstairs bathroom. And by the way his cock felt solid under her palm, she knew he’d be well worth the effort.
“Somethin’ like that.” The man with the heavy dark brown gaze grabbed her wrists, and just when she thought she was about to get bent over the sink, he slowly maneuvered her out of the bathroom. “See you around.” Tall, dark, and steamy closed the door and Evin was left standing there.
Like an idiot.
Holy shit. Did she just? Did that asshole turn her down?
A couple blinks, a few more what-the-fucks, and she turned on her heel. She made her way back through the bar with nothing but wet, black lace panties to show for her failed attempt at lust. If she wasn’t going to get his dick tonight the least she could do was get her current date hot and bothered while she was still wet and primed.
She grabbed her coat from the peg by the door and wrapped herself up. It was cold as tits outside, and that was just one more reason she hated Aspen. Take her to the beach where it was hot and sandy. Somewhere she could wear a bathing suit all day and never be pale again.
Just the thought had her ready to jump any rich old man’s bone. Not really, but the confidence was there, and that’s all she needed to do her job. If it weren’t for all her personal baggage, she’d be gone in a heartbeat.
But there was a reason she needed therapy. Despite having a good life, the last couple years had one hell after another.
Once she stepped outside and the icy air hit her lungs, her libido fizzled out. All yummy thoughts of Mr. Steamy were gone, and the realization she had to go home with a man older than her father hit.
His car waited out front, fog from the exhaust making an ominous, holiday mist with the twinkle light effects. It was sleek and black, with a larger than life Mercedes symbol on the front.
It was a rental.
Sometimes she wondered if the men she went on dates with actually had money or if they came on holiday trips just to blow their hard earned savings to live the life of luxury once a year. Whatever it was, it wasn’t her problem. She got paid in cash.
Without one more pity excuse, Evin plastered on a perfectly straight smile her dad paid for, and got in the car. It would be an interesting night, there was no doubt about that.
Five years ago, sitting at her college graduation, if someone told her she’d be an escort to old men back in her hometown, she would have laughed in their face.
But there she was.
“You ready for a night of bliss?” Barney slid his hand up her thigh, pushing the tight black material up until her underwear played peekaboo.
It was all she could do to hold back the maniacal laugh that threatened to ruin her date and the mood. Not that there was a mood. Or a date. Being paid didn’t count.
She held his face in her palm and settled for a sultry smile. “More than ready.”
As he drove off, Evin watched the twinkle lights go by and the snow blur outside her window.
What the fuck had her life come to?
One thing was certain, it wouldn’t be Barney’s old ass she was thinking about if she was forced to touch the shriveled dick between his thighs. It was going to the Mr. Steamy.
Chapter Two
Was it really the walk of shame if it was an hour later and you were three hundred dollars richer than you thought you’d be?
Thirteen hundred dollars total and all she had to do was go to a bar, then let the dude suck on her toes while she beat him off. She knew he was a foot guy, was getting better at reading men. The last year of working beneath them was paying off...in one way.
Evin popped up the front steps and unlocked the door. It was still late in the evening, but the caregiver was there and awake. Jenny smiled when Evin walked in.
“How was he?” Evin shucked her coat and hooked it on the rack, then toed off the uncomfortable stilettos before breathing a sigh of relief. Finally, comfort. “Did he give you any trouble?”
“Of course not.” Jenny turned off the television and stood. “He was sweet as always.” She gave a glance to the hospital bed that took up the entire living room, and smiled. “I think he missed you.”
Just lay on the guilt why don’t you.
“Well I have to keep the roof over our heads somehow.” Evin padded over to the bed and grabbed his hand. “Hi, Daddy. I’m home now.” She smiled, even if he wasn’t aware of her, and patted down his straggly, graying hair.
Without looking her way, she addressed Jenny. “I need to ask you a favor.” She winced, hated asking people for favors. It always meant they could ask something of you later, even though Jenny wasn’t that way. Still, it was always in the back of her mind. “Can you care for him this weekend? I have a big job lined up. I can pay you for the holiday.”
Jenny was silent for a moment, and Evin reluctantly glanced her way, too chicken shit to look her in the eye. There was indecision plastered on her face, and she hoped the woman had an ounce more of empathy in her than she already gave.
She was the best caregiver Evin could find and worked so well with her father. Maybe he responded so well because she and Evin had dark hair and he thought it was her. His vision wasn’t great after the stroke.
“If I don’t follow through with it, I won’t be able to pay the bills this month or next month. I may not be able to pay you.” Evin dropped her dad’s hand and went for her coat, pulling out the wad of cash. “I can give you an advance.” She was going to make four times what she made tonight and could survive giving Jenny more money if that meant she didn’t have to cancel the date.
“Evin, no.” Jenny pushed the money back and looked her in the eye. “I’ll stay the weekend.”
Her stomach lept with the answer, and some of the pressure on her shoulders eased. “Thank you!” Evin pulled Jenny in and held her tight. “I wouldn’t be able to survive without you, Jen.”
“Oh, I know it.” There was a playful hint in her voice, and Evin smiled.
Jenny had been there through the worst of it. Pneumonia, twice. Bed sores. If it wasn't for her and her kind heart, her father would have died months ago. That was something she couldn’t wrap her head around at the moment. One day he was fine, the next he was all but lost to her. But he was living and breathing, and it was all she could ask for anymore.
“Well, thank you for tonight. A car will come for me at noon. Can you be here around then?”
Jenny nodded and grabbed her purse. “I’ll see you then. Bye, Mr. Coates!”
With a deep sigh, Evin locked the front door, then sat back in the chair next to her dad’s bed. She laid her head on the side of the mattress and took a long, deep reflection on her life. It was shit. Not much more to reflect on. Her dad made a noise, and she lifted her head, grabbing his hand.
One year since his stroke and he still hadn’t recovered. He couldn’t talk, walk, or do anything for himself. Medical bills piled up fast when you didn’t have insurance or steady income, and she was still drowning in it. There wasn’t a mortgage but making sure she kept the heat on was priority in the winter, along with every other bill.
She wasn’t lying when she said she couldn’t make it without Jenny. The woman was a certifiable saint.
“What is it?” She kissed her father’s knuckles and delicately stroked his arm. “Do you need something?”
There were no words, there never were, but sometimes she could figure out what he wanted. It just seemed to be him making noises that time. Evin stood and kissed his head, then wiped away the red lipstick she left on his skin.
“I’m going to shower. You get some rest. Okay?”
With a sigh, the weight on her shoulders feeling heavy again, she pa
dded up the stairs. The walls in the house were covered with pictures of her life. Her dad loved taking pictures and being in pictures.
She didn’t know how many hours of home movies there were of her playing in the backyard, swimming in the Gulf of Mexico every summer, or ice skating at Silver Circle, but it was a lot. With his commentary on every single one. That was the only way she could hear his voice, and cherished them more now than ever before.
There hadn’t been a better father, and she knew it. Her mom was trash, but her dad loved her, and she’d never leave his side. Not when he needed her most.
He’d be ashamed if he knew how she was keeping them afloat, if she could call it that, but it was all she had. Anything else and they’d sink faster than the Titanic. It would hurt too much to see him in a nursing home because she didn’t have a safe place for him, and he didn’t pay off the mortgage just so she could lose the house. Not only that, she couldn’t afford to keep him in one of those places. It’d be one more financial mess she couldn't handle.
It was sex or the street. Quite literally.
She ran the water as hot as she could stand it, until it burned her freezing fingers and toes. She used her favorite body wash that smelled like expensive perfume—but cost two dollars—ripped off her fake lashes, scrubbed her face, and did the lady bits last.
After the night, and Barney, were scrubbed off her skin she felt like she could breathe again. She got out of the shower and dried off. It hadn’t been ten minutes, even with all the scrubbing she did. Teeth brushed, jammies on, she was ready for bed. And by bed, she meant the couch downstairs in the living room next to her dad. She sold almost everything else, things she didn’t need or want anymore. The money kept the gas on for a couple months, so it was worth not having a bed to sleep on.
Evin padded down the stairs and turned the lights off before snuggling into the couch. Her dad was quiet and sleeping, and she was more than ready to forget the night and start fresh in the morning. Then, start the whole loathing and scrubbing process all over again.
Stocking Stuffers: A Five Story Christmas Anthology Page 29
