by Jamie Knight
“Please, Vicky,” I begged. “I just… I don’t want any more attention from these people. I’m self-conscious enough as it is. I just feel small and pathetic compared to them.”
Vicky leaned forward and grabbed my shoulder. She looked me right in the eye.
“That’s crazy. You’re awesome, Carina! Why would I be friends with someone who wasn’t completely awesome?”
The way she said that made me laugh. Vicky was always so upbeat. It was one of the things I cherished about her.
“Thanks,” I said, matching her grin even though I didn’t want to.
Vicky nodded and let go of me.
“I’m not just saying that. You are your own worst critic, ya know that? Even back in high school, you always said you were never pretty enough, never smart enough, but now, you work in Manhattan teaching kids in a private school! That’s an important job! I just work at my husband’s law firm as a secretary. It’s so lame.”
She dropped her shoulders slightly.
“You have a kid and you have a husband,” I pointed out. “I’m just going to be an old school marm with too many cats one day.”
Vicky grunted in disgust.
“I can’t believe how down in the dumps you are about yourself,” she countered, shaking her head. “What happened to that confident Carina that got off the plane yesterday?”
I let out a sigh and leaned back into the wall feeling like the world was falling apart around me.
“I don’t know. I never should have hir — I mean, I never should’ve brought Leo.”
“Why? He seems great. Definitely handsome.” Comically, she quickly raised her eyebrows twice. “I can’t believe you kept him to yourself this entire time. Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?”
My heart started beating a mile a minute. This was why the whole plan was stupid. I was so bad at lying.
I couldn’t admit to my best friend that I hired an escort. I had to come up with a way to get out of this so she would never suspect that I did something so desperate.
“I don’t think it’s going to last,” I said pessimistically. “I wanted to have someone come with me and he ends up just hanging out with Jim and ignoring me.”
There was a little bit of whine in my voice that bothered me. Being ignored by another man sucked, but it shouldn’t have hurt this bad.
Plus, this was a financial deal between Leo and I, if anything, I should be arguing that I shouldn’t have to pay. It wasn’t like he was doing his job of being an attentive fiancé.
Vicky looked at me quizzically.
“So, what if he’s not at your side all night? You’ve been with Leo for a while, right? I mean, you need to give each other space,” she advised. “Jim and I would kill each other if we were constantly on top of each other. We work together and I have to avoid him there.”
“Really?” I asked curious.
We hadn’t really talked much about her work life at the firm.
“Oh, yeah. I hang with the secretaries, not him and the partners. That would be… Well, it would just look bad. At home, we’re together, but at work, we’re in two different worlds,” she explained. “That’s what keeps us from getting sick of one another.”
“Huh,” I said. “Guess I didn’t really think of it like that.”
“Relationships are work, babe,” said my mentor. “They don’t just work. I mean, sure, Jim and I have romantic dinners, but romance is just a tiny part of it. You have to put in time and effort. You have to compromise a lot. Just like tonight. So, don’t get too upset at Leo, okay?”
“Okay. I get it. I get it,” I lied.
There was no relationship to work on, but Vicky didn’t need to know that.
We finally started to head back into the gym after nearly blocking the entrance for several minutes. Right on cue, Sabrina and her minions were headed our way. My heart started pounding again. I did not want to have another run in with my least favorite bullies.
I should’ve just come here as myself. This ridiculous scheme I concocted wasn’t real. It wasn’t me, and I think, at some level, Sabrina and everyone around me sensed that. This was karma catching up to me for lying.
So, what if I was alone? I should be okay with myself. Relationships weren’t the end all, be all. I needed to be okay with me and I needed to look Sabrina right in the eye and tell her to get lost.
Just as Sabrina stepped up with a smirk on her face — I knew she was prepared to cut me down again — a body moved between us. A tall, broad-shouldered body.
Leo wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I was suddenly breathing in his spicy cologne. I guess he must’ve spotted my distress. He made a big show of pulling me into his arms in front of the bullies.
“Baby, I missed you,” he said while smiling down at me.
As I looked up into his light green eyes, I started to feel weak in the knees. He was just doing his job, but he was so handsome. How could I resist a man that looked this good?
I was pressed against his wide, hard chest. The feeling made me feel flush. Suddenly shy, I wanted to look away, but couldn’t. His face, his lips — so soft and full, with the perfect cupid’s bow — they were mesmerizing. My head was spinning.
Then he kissed me.
His soft lips pressed into mine gently at first, but as he pulled me closer and slid his hands up into my hair, his lips got more demanding on mine. It felt real. I lost my breath, opening my mouth at his urging and letting our tongues twist together.
Leo tasted like a mixture of scotch and mint — clean and masculine.
Pushing my head back slightly, he kissed me deeper, practically sucking my lips back and then pushing into them over and over.
My whole body was beginning to melt. My pussy was warm and aching. I wanted to grind against him but held myself back.
I was blushing red hot by the time he let me go.
That moment made me immune to Sabrina — like a magical force field. She and her minions just passed us by and went right into the bathroom. What was she going to do? I was here with the hottest guy on earth.
Once she was gone, I pulled away from Leo and caught my breath, trying to remember that none of this was real.
“Thanks,” I gasped. “Your timing was impeccable.”
“Why don’t you and I have some fun, alone?” he asked, taking one of my hands.
I stole a glance back at Vicky. I felt kind of bad ditching her, but she gestured for me to go.
“Uh yeah, sure, babe,” I smiled up at him. “Just you and me. Let’s get a drink.”
“Great,” he smiled.
We started to cross the high school gym towards the bar. As we crossed the dance floor, Leo suddenly pulled me close and started moving against me.
“I thought we were getting a drink.”
I laughed uncomfortably.
“You didn’t even have a dance yet,” he noted. “Don’t you want to have one?”
“I’m not a great dancer,” I blushed.
“It’s okay, I’ve had some lessons,” he assured me.
Leo spun me around the dance floor quite expertly, and I was okay as long as I followed his lead. To my pleasure, I saw quite a few jealous faces among the crowd as he twirled and twisted with me.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised that he was such a good dancer. If you were going to work as an escort, you probably needed to know these things.
I liked dancing as much as the next girl, but I was normally too self-conscious to do it. With Leo, I relaxed and got into it, and after a few minutes, I was laughing and having fun.
This was the high school reunion I wanted. The one I envisioned when I came up with this crazy plan.
I was half-tempted to stay at the reunion and do more dancing, but in the distance, I spotted Sabrina and her harpies coming out of the bathroom. I figured I should quit while I was ahead.
“All right,” I said, stopping our dance by putting a hand on Leo’s chest. He was warm beneath my palm. “I’m good,
” I said with a giggle. “Thanks for that. It was nice.”
“You’re pretty light on your feet for someone who can’t dance,” he noted, taking my hand between his and putting it to his lips for a gentle kiss.
My knees felt weak and I almost had to shake my head to remember what was really going on.
“Boy, you really know how to turn on the charm at the last minute,” I grinned. “I guess I’m not mad at you anymore.”
Leo’s body stiffened and his face fell into a frown.
“Were you mad at me before?”
Suddenly, I felt bad for saying anything.
“Just a little. Since you were talking to Jim all that time. I felt ignored.”
I shrugged my shoulders, turning before he could respond and walking towards our table to get my purse.
Chapter Five
Leo
I didn’t like that Carina was mad at me, but I wasn’t quite sure why. For some reason it went beyond wanting to just do a good job at the gig I was hired for. There was something about Carina, something I just couldn’t quite get over.
Like when her dark-brown hair slid over her shoulder when she looked down shyly to hide her eyes. Or how she would bite her lip a little while she was thinking. There was just something about her.
And that kiss!
Sure, I had done it just to piss off those other prissy girls, but now, I kind of wanted to do it again. Her lips were so soft and warm.
Just one more kiss couldn’t hurt. Could it?
As we got to the exit of the gym, I reached out to grab Carina’s arm and pull her back to me. She looked up in surprise. I took her narrow chin in my hand and dropped my face to hers, touching her lips with my own.
I told myself it was just one more kiss to rub our ruse into the face of her classmates, but to my body it felt like more. This girl was fire. I wanted her, badly.
I pulled back, feeling worried all of a sudden. I shouldn’t have done that.
Carina laughed as I dropped my arms, despite herself and I found myself staring at the way her bright-blue eyes lit up when she was happy.
“Okay, no one really saw that,” she commented, leaning her head to the side. “That wasn’t part of our deal.”
“I know,” I said. “I just wanted to kiss you.”
I was surprised by my honesty and so, it seemed, was Carina. Her lips snapped shut as her arched eyebrows went up just slightly. In her eyes, though, there was a fire —a fire that was calling to me. A fire I needed to avoid.
I slipped my hand into hers as we walked out into the hallway and headed for the exit. I was a professional after all. I could pretend without getting too carried away.
Along the hallway, I stopped, noticing the trophy case.
“Any of these yours?” I asked, slightly curious, suddenly wanting to know more about my “fiancée”.
Carina bit her lip and bent down slightly.
“I won the spelling bee as a freshman,” she confessed, sounding like she was remembering that day.
“Oh, my God.” She pointed. “The trophy’s still here! That was thirteen years ago!”
I looked inside the trophy case at where she was indicating. Inside there was a small trophy and a newspaper clipping with Carina’s face.
“Aw, you were a cute kid,” I commented. “You seem happy in that photo.”
“Yeah, I guess I was that day,” she admitted. As she stood up, her smile faded, and she looked away. “I don’t know what happened to me.”
“What do you mean?”
“This,” she said gesturing to me and herself. “I hired an escort just so my former classmates wouldn’t see that I was still single. It’s stupid.”
“You have to stop beating yourself up,” I advised.
Not meeting my eyes, Carina looked down and leaned against the trophy case folding her arms over her full breasts.
“Why does everyone say that to me?” she pouted.
It was adorable.
“Because you’re constantly beating yourself up!” I laughed.
There were butterflies in my stomach. If I was smart, I would just let the evening end here. I would walk away and let this just be another escort job.
“Come on, before we go, show me around your high school.”
I guess I wasn’t smart.
Carina rolled her eyes and blew out a breath. “I suppose.”
She looked up and met my eyes. I wasn’t quite sure what she saw in them, but a slight blush came to her cheeks.
We looked at each other till it became awkward, then she turned and continued down a different hallway. The way her sweet, round ass moved — I was happy to follow her.
Walking the halls together, Carina pointed out the various classrooms. She remembered the teachers, the students, and some of the incidents that shaped her life.
“Over by that water fountain, I got into an argument with Sabrina,” she told me. “She was being particularly annoying that day and I lashed out when she called me ugly. None of my yelling seemed to bother her. She and her friends just started chanting ‘psycho’. Everyone in the hallway crowded around. It was so embarrassing.”
“Did you get into a fight?”
“No, we just yelled at each other.” She bit her lip and shrugged. “It got a little out of hand. Fortunately, there were so many people in the hall, I just melded into the masses and disappeared at some point. I left her rushing around the hall looking for me in the crowd.”
I nodded. The poor girl really had it rough in high school. The thought made me sad.
We continued down the hall.
“Is that the AV room?” I asked, looking into an open door.
The room was filled with old electronic equipment.
“Yeah,” she sighed, smiling slightly. “This was one of my favorite places. I was a nerd. I was in the AV club.”
“Me too.”
“Really?” she said, not believing me at all. “I mean, you seem so…cool.”
Her little frown pulled her eyebrows into a V shape and it was so cute that it made me laugh.
“I was a teenager. I liked electronics,” I explained. “Still do. It’s not so nerdy to want to have surround sound and a big TV in my view.”
Carina shrugged.
“I guess not, but I felt kind of nerdy in the club,” she said. “I mean, I wore glasses, got good grades and won a spelling bee.”
I hated how sad she looked. Not thinking, I reached over and put my hands on her waist. Carina quickly looked up into my eyes.
“Being a nerd or not is just about attitude. You can be a nerd football player or a badass AV club member,” I explained. “It’s all in how you carry yourself.”
She opened her mouth to retort but then closed it quickly. As we kept staring into each other’s eyes, the moment started to feel a little heated.
“You’re not what I expected at all, Leo,” she whispered.
“How so?”
“I don’t know. When I hired you as an escort, I just expected someone… kind of sleazy, I guess. You seem so normal and down-to-Earth.”
Her words made me grin.
“I try. Truth be told, I don’t want to do this forever,” I admitted. “In fact, I want to get out of this as soon as possible. As soon as I’m a lawyer, I am so done.”
She turned so that I had to release my grip on her waist.
“That seems sensible,” Carina noted. “You have a plan. I wish I had planned my life better.”
I leaned against the wall next to her not wanting to be too far away. Part of me wished I could hold her.
“What’s so wrong with it? You’re a teacher in New York. Seems like a solid job.”
“It’s okay and I enjoy teaching the kids but, I don’t know, I feel a little unfulfilled. Like there’s more to life and I’m missing it, ya know?”
“Yeah, I think we all feel that way sometimes,” I agreed. “But we’re here now and we can have some fun.” I grinned at her trying to make her smile.
“I hired you. It’s not the same,” she said, looking away embarrassed.
“No, but I like you,” I admitted. “Believe me, I don’t say that to every woman I’ve been hired to work for. I mean, none of them really. You’re very attractive. Most of the women that hire me are old and not physically attractive at all.”
“Do you have… sex with them?”
“Oh, no-no-no,” I laughed. “That is not on the menu with me. That’s not what they want anyway. Most of them just want companionship, someone to listen to them and hold their hand. Someone to take them out dancing or to dinner.”
“Oh. Good,” she said, relieved.
Coyly, she bit her lip and glanced up at me. Her look made the desire in my veins come to a boil. I couldn’t resist this girl.
“Don’t take this the wrong way,” I began, not even sure of what I was saying. “But I would make an exception for you.”
She laughed and blushed.
“Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“No-no, believe me. I find you very attractive. If we had met under different circumstances, I am sure I would’ve been right there to ask you out,” I explained.
I leaned closer. The light was perfect across her face. I could see her smooth skin, her eyelashes and her deep blue eyes. There was a strand of hair going across her face and I moved it gently aside.
“You really mean that?” she asked with desperation in her voice.
“I do,” I said leaning in.
I kissed her and in that moment something had changed. Carina had gone from a client to something else. And I knew, as we kissed, I had to try and make this work. Even if it was just for one night, I had to have her.
It was now or never. Carina was far too self-conscious. If she had time to over think the situation, she’d turn away. She’d be too embarrassed.
For a second, she pushed away.
“I’m not sure…”
“Carina, please, don’t push me away,” I whispered. “Let me in. Don’t close off your heart to something you can feel is real.”
She leaned back in and we started kissing again. This time, her kisses were hungrier and more sensual. Carina pushed me against the lockers and started unbuttoning my shirt.
