Being around Gabe and Autumn was effortless. Paul, Gabe, and Autumn had a friendly banter that I loved to watch. Sometimes I would join in when I felt comfortable enough to get involved. They told me about their business and offered to teach me a few self-defense moves to stay protected while out with clients. I wanted to tell them it wasn’t necessary, that I probably had more training than them, but instead I thanked them and Paul being Paul said he would show me some—naked.
After dinner, we all sat around the table sipping on our drinks. Paul had his usual tequila and coke, Gabe was sipping on what I thought was a whiskey and coke, and Autumn had made us two different batches of margaritas: one with alcohol, the other without.
As we sat around the dining room table, the boys shootin’ the shit, Paul looked at Autumn with a smile on his face. “So have you guys been to the doctor yet? I’m dying to know when my niece or nephew will be making an appearance.”
Well, that explains the virgin margaritas …
“We just went last week. Our little monkey will arrive in about seven months.”
When I took a quick glance at Paul, I saw it. I couldn’t decide if it was envy or pain because just as fast as I saw it, it was gone.
Autumn brought both of her hands down on the table and stood, “Why don’t you guys make your way to the living room while I clean up.” As she started making her way to the kitchen, Gabe wrapped an arm around her hips and dragged her down to his lap.
“Angel, leave it. I’ll get it. You need to take it easy. That’s my unborn child you’re carrying.”
“I’m not gonna break. Promise.”
She wrapped her hands around his neck and plastered a kiss to his lips that made me blush. These two were an obvious power couple. The love displayed made me envious, but watching the love exchanged between the two of them caused me to worry. It reminded me that I was in love with Paul, but I hadn’t told him everything.
Wanting out of my own head, I stood and offered to help. As I walked past Paul to gather a few dishes, he slid his hand from my back to my hip and gave it a little squeeze. He pulled me down and whispered in my ear, “I’m glad you’re here with me tonight, gorgeous.” He kissed my cheek, letting his lips linger for a moment, so I turned and pressed my lips to his, then smiled and made my way to the kitchen.
When I walked in, Autumn was already washing the dishes she had brought in. She looked at me and smiled. “I’ve never seen Paul with a girlfriend before.” She laughed.
Her confession brought a smile to my face. “I don’t think he had a choice. I kinda barged in on him.”
She turned the water off, grabbing a dish towel to dry her hands “Paul’s … How do I put this lightly?” She thought for a moment, looking past me. “Like I said, I’ve never seen him with a girlfriend before. Just don’t hurt him, okay?”
I couldn’t do anything but stare at the floor. I couldn’t defend myself because in the end, when everything came out, I had no doubt he would be hurt … and that was what would destroy me.
“He doesn’t think we see it. I mean, we know he was burned badly in the past, but I have a feeling it was worse than the details he gave us.” She walked up and placed her hand on my arm to get my attention. “I’ll save you the details, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my experience, it’s how to recognize someone who has been through so much it almost broke them.”
The conversation started about Paul, but the way she was looking at me made me wonder if she knew about me and what I’d been through—maybe it was about her. “Everybody needs somebody, Andi.” She continued. “Sometimes it takes the right person to make you realize it.” She looked toward the living room where the guys were laughing and smiled. Shaking her head, she grabbed the two pitchers of margaritas. “Come on, let’s go see what the boys are up to.”
I told Paul I was meeting the girls. It was only a half-lie. I was meeting the girls, but he assumed it was Leah and Nina when really it was Martinez’s crew. I still had a job to do, I just hoped I didn’t get my heart broken in the process. If I was right and Martinez was the man in charge of the operation, then Paul would soon find out who I really was and everything would change. But he’d expressed numerous times that he no longer wanted to be an escort, so we could make us work. I knew we could.
When I arrived at PT’s, I scanned the restaurant for Jasmine. She was sitting at a moon shaped booth, sipping a cocktail. She waved me over and I slid in. I expected her to be sitting with a few girls because I wanted to meet with more than just her, but she was alone.
She reached over to give me a hug in greeting and I hugged her back. “Honey, it’s good to see you again.”
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“Oh, they’re coming. You know how chicks are. Always need to make sure they look good before leaving the house.” She laughed and took a sip of her drink.
Was I off base here? Were these girls just regular hookers out to make a buck? I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for in the sense of trafficking. Jasmine had said I would make three times what I was making at S&R, but what did that really entail?
“I seemed to make it on time.” I laughed.
“You’ve yet to reach this level. Let’s get you a drink and talk.” She flagged down the waitress and I ordered a margarita. “Now let’s get one thing straight.” She took a sip of her vodka and water. “If you choose to go on a date we set up, there’s no turning back. You work for Martinez, you do your job, and there are no problems. He’ll take care of you. Fuck up once? You better hope he can’t find you.”
As Jasmine was talking, I envisioned Martinez as your typical pimp. The kind who would slap you around when you didn’t pay or when you didn’t do your job correctly. I thought that maybe this would be my in; a way for me to find out more about the trafficking situation. As if right on cue, the group of girls we were meeting walked in and I overheard part of a conversation that peaked my interest.
“… Nelly is gone. That fucker sold her! We made the money we needed too and he still fucking sold her!”
Before I knew what was happening, Jasmine slide from the booth, pulled the girls aside and whispered something that looked like the fear of God in them. I didn’t know what was said, but after what just went down, I was certain Martinez was the guy I was after.
“What was that about?” I asked Jasmine as she slid back into the booth.
“Remember what I said about fucking up?” I nodded. “Her friend fucked up.” She glared at the girl who had talked about Nelly.
This was definitely the crew I needed to get involved with to learn about the trafficking that was going on.
The question was: How deep was I willing to go?
Chapter Sixteen
Paul
When I checked my back office for the week, I nearly had a stroke. A regular from Malibu had booked for Thursday night because she was going to be in town for a bachelorette party and wanted me to meet up with her.
Regular meant sex.
Any other time this would be okay, but now that I was dating Andi, this was horrible. But I couldn’t cancel because I had a long term relationship with this chick, and I at least owed it to her to show up and bring a guy with me for her to fuck. It would be a win-win for her. She would see me and she would still get laid, but she’d only pay for one of us.
I called up my buddy Nick and told him the game plan for Thursday.
“I’ll try to be home early.” I kissed Andi’s lips, savoring the feel. I didn’t want to leave her at home. I wanted to stay with her and watch movies—make her feel safe, comfortable. Ever since she’d told me about how her mom she sold her virginity, it was always in the back of my mind. I only wanted to protect her even if it was seventeen years ago. I just had that instinct now.
“You have a job to do, love bug, and I have a date on Saturday. Nothing changes.”
“We don’t need to do this job anymore, baby. I have my job with Gabe and Autumn. You can work with us, too.”
She laughed. “What do you think I can do?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Book new clients for us?”
She pushed on my chest. “Go have fun.”
I stopped walking, remembering I hadn’t told her who my date was with. I never needed to tell her before, but this one felt as though I should. I turned back to her. “Gorgeous …”
She looked at me from the TV, “Yeah?”
“I think I should tell you who my date’s with.”
Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Okay?” I walked over to her, sat on the coffee table in front of her and grabbed her hands. “You’re scaring me,” she whispered, looking into my eyes.
Reaching up, I brushed a piece of her brown hair behind her ear. “It’s not like that. She’s a client from Malibu.”
She stared at me, realization dawning across her face. “Oh,” she whispered.
“I’m not like that anymore.”
“I know.”
“I called Nick. He’s going with me and he’s gonna … take care of business.”
Her gaze darted to mine. “You called Nick?”
“I’m not going to sleep with her if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“But—”
“Just because we’re not having sex doesn’t mean I need to fuck clients. I lo … I love being with you and I want to see where this goes. I’m not going to fuck it up only to have sex. My hand is doing a good job.” I smiled at her hoping she’d laugh.
She looked up from ringing her hands that were in her lap. “It’s not that I don’t want to have sex … I’m scared.”
I tilted her face, grabbing her chin lightly so she had to look me in the eyes. “I know, and we’ll take this slow. We have forever.”
“Right … Forever.” She sighed.
“Forever, gorgeous.” I kissed her one last time and then I left to meet Nick at the Bellagio where we were meeting Brina, my client at The Bank where she wanted to be picked-up at a nightclub as though she didn’t know who I was. Part of it were true; she didn’t know Nick.
We waited in line to enter the club. It sucked being a guy in Vegas. The women got special treatment while men got the short end of the stick, especially if we weren’t with a group of females.
“Don’t you have connections here?” I asked Nick.
“Yeah, but I don’t see him.”
I groaned. This wasn’t how I wanted to start off the night. I wanted to get in and get out. Nick this is Brina. You two fuck, have a nice night, peace out.
“Let me text him,” he remarked, pulling out his phone.
I checked mine. I didn’t have a set time to be inside the club. Brina knew I’d show. The plan was to surprise her, dance with her, seduce her, fuck her in the bathroom or something and then leave. I was going to do the surprise and dancing parts while Nick did the dancing, seducing and fucking parts. The plan was fool proof.
“All right, he’s coming out.”
A guy came out the doors a few minutes later and waved us over. We went to the front of the line as people groaned. The bouncer unhooked the red velvet rope and after Nick had introduced me to his buddy, we entered a hallway and into an elevator. The bass of the music thumped as the elevator rose to the nightclub.
“What does she look like again?” Nick asked as the elevator lifted floor by floor.
I shrugged. “You know, a blonde babe from Cali with big boobs.”
“My type.” He laughed.
“The trick is to find her.” I chuckled because really finding anyone in a dark nightclub in Vegas was like finding a needle in a haystack.
“Let’s get a drink first.”
The doors opened. “Fuck yeah.”
The space was packed as we entered the two-story club. People stood around the upper deck, mingling, dancing and waiting to order at the upstairs bar. We made our way as I scanned each face looking for Brina, but I didn’t see her. I hoped I didn’t see her because if I did then the situation would be awkward and would throw off the plan.
After waiting ten excruciating minutes and scanning the dark club for Brina, we finally squeezed in between two chicks to order our drinks.
“Hi,” one purred.
“Sugar.” I nodded.
“Whatcha drinkin’?” She eyed my tequila and coke.
“A charro negro.” She looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. “I’ve never heard of that. Can I try it?”
Did she just ask to try my drink? “You’re asking for trouble, sugar.”
“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?”
I caught the eye of Nick over this chick’s shoulder and took a deep breath. “Not with me.” I nudged my head for Nick to follow and we walked toward the railing where the upstairs looked down onto the dance floor. I was off my game and all thoughts were on Andi. I didn’t want to do the escort shit anymore, even if Andi and I didn’t work out. This wasn’t my scene anymore. As I scanned the bodies gyrating to the music, the lights changing colors and the disco ball reflecting from above, I spotted Brina and a few girls sitting in a booth next to the dance floor.
“See the blonde in the black dress with her hair pulled in a high ponytail?” I shouted over the music, pointing toward where Brina was sitting in the booth. “She just took a shot of whatever that is on the table.”
“Yeah, man. You sure you want to give her up to me? I mean. I’m all for hittin’ that.” He took a sip of his drink.
“I’m going to get out of the game.”
“Aw fuck. You too?” He shook his head in disapproval. “First Gabe and now you?”
I laughed. “Chicks, man.”
He chuckled. “I’m never falling in love.”
“Never say never. I didn’t think I would be in love again.”
“Enough of this love talk. Let’s do this shit so I can get laid.”
“All right. Pound your drink. We’re gonna get dirty on the dance floor.”
“Never say that to me again.” He chugged his drink.
We walked down the stairs then weaved in and out of bodies on the dance floor as we made our way to the table where Brina was. The club was packed. People were all around dancing, kissing—some maybe more. My plan was to tell Brina that I’d noticed her from across the room and ask her to dance, but as I got closer, she stood and joined her friends on the dance floor. I came up behind her and whispered in her ear, “Sugar,” Nick came around to the front of us, caging her in, “this is my friend, Nick.”
Our bodies began to sway to the beat of the music, her head rested on my shoulder, her gaze locked with Nick’s. Normally my hands would be roaming her body, getting her worked up, but I needed Nick to take this one. I wasn’t into it. I caught his eye and motioned for him to do just that. His hands worked up and down her sides, our bodies still gyrating to the music and then my body went rigid.
What the fucking fuck?
It took me a second to register what, better yet who I was looking at. There she was dressed in white—a color I’d always thought I’d see her walk down the aisle in on the day we said “I do.” A sash was across her body that read “Bride to Be”. My gaze darted to hers and everything clicked into place as she stood next to the table that Brina had just left. They were here for her bachelorette party before Vanessa got married—married to someone else.
Vanessa gave me a tight smile and waved. I stood still as Brina rubbed her ass on my crotch. I didn’t know if I could smile or wave back at Vanessa. “Hey!” Nick slapped me on the back of the head. “Are you going to dance or what?”
“I gotta go.”
I started to walk away and Vanessa grabbed my wrist. “PJ, wait!”
I stared down into her dark eyes. “I gotta go.”
“You’re still mad after all this time?”
I reached up and ran my fingers along the hem of the sash. “I don’t know what I am, Ness.”
“Can we talk, please?”
I stared at her, not saying anything. When she left
my house our senior year, we’d never spoken again. We’d never had closure. Now she was staring me in the eyes, wanting to talk, and for what? I’d thought about this moment so many times, wondered what I’d say, what I’d do. But now that the moment had arrived, I realized I had nothing to say. None of it mattered anymore. I just wanted to go home and be with Andi.
“PJ…”
“Nothing to talk about, Ness.” I knew what I wanted. What I needed—who I needed. And she wasn’t anywhere in this nightclub. “I gotta go. My girl’s waiting for me.” I smiled a genuine smile. “I really am happy for you, Vanessa. Congratulations.”
I turned toward Nick to give him a head nod, letting him know I was out. I was going home. Fuck the closure. She’d killed us and whatever future we may have had when she’d had the abortion. End of story. We didn’t need to talk. I’d moved on—finally. I didn’t need women, tequila or a pocket full of cash anymore.
I only needed Andi.
I was on autopilot as I pulled into the garage and killed the engine. I didn’t have a plan. My heart was pounding. My throat was tightening. My eyes were stinging, and if Andi walked out because she got the wrong idea, I was going to lose my fucking mind.
I took a deep breath, got out of the Jeep and walked into the house. Andi was laying on the couch watching TV. “Hey. You are home early.”
I didn’t say anything. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to say. I felt as though I was hiding the situation from her, but I just couldn’t come out and tell her. I reached my hand out to her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Come with me.”
She looked down at my hand and then took it. “Are you okay?”
“Just … I need you.”
“Okay.”
She took my hand and I led her to my room and then the en-suite bathroom. I smelled of smoke, sweat, and I wanted her naked.
“Paul …” she uttered.
“Please,” I begged, turning her so her back was against the wood bathroom door. She looked up at me, her beautiful amber colored eyes staring back, questioning me. “We can go slow. No sex. I just want to feel your body against mine.”
Tequila & Lace Page 13
