by L. L. Ash
Sitting down with him, I draw a simple design of a tennis bracelet, something non-suspicious for my married clients, but also pretty enough to wear out.
We studded it with a few small rubies then he took the design back to his workshop.
I wandered around the shop before leaving, just to see if maybe there was something special for Maggie or my grandma when my eyes caught on an amazing locket. It was a larger piece, studded with dark blue sapphires and opals, the circular pendant dropped from a clip crusted with small diamonds.
The tag said it was just under thirty-five hundred dollars.
I had to have it. It reminded me of a necklace Babushka owned, and I knew exactly who would love something like that.
“Add this to my order, will you Mac?” I called out toward the back of the shop.
He came out curiously.
“Sure. Want it now or later with the rest?”
“Now.”
He just nodded and came over, putting his key into the lock on the box before picking up the pretty necklace and handing it over.
“Thanks,” I told him, touching the thing, which weighed more than I thought it would.
It would feel significant to whoever wore it, and I wanted it that way. I wanted her to think of me every time she felt it burn against her skin.
Leaving the shop, I walked home and gripped that locket in my hand the entire way.
“Babushka, I have to go home!” I told my grandma for the third time in the past ten minutes.
She wanted me to stay so I could meet a granddaughter of one of her friends, which I wouldn’t have minded so much if I didn’t need to get home to prepare for a client.
Sunday was my day with my grandma, but sometimes I had to make exceptions. Tatiana had been calling me non-stop for some time with me.
“You should meet the girl!” she told me with a frown.
“Maybe another day Babushka, but I have to go work. Today is not good. But thank you for the lunch. I enjoyed it very much.”
She frowned at me but let me hug her and kiss her goodbye.
“Maybe set up a time instead, ok? Then I can plan for it.”
“Fine. I’ll make it a party,” she told me as I headed for the door, slipping on my white leather and black fur-lined motorcycle jacket.
“Fine,” I agreed and gave her another set of kisses.
“Eat more, boy!” she called after me as I huddled into my coat against the unusually cold fall.
It would be one hell of a winter.
The door closed behind me and I head back to the subway to go home as normal,
Once I arrived back at my apartment, I barely got undressed and through my shower when the doorbell was ringing.
Ok. Greeting her naked it is.
I made sure I was dried off and only a tousle of wet hair remained on my head before opening the door for her to enter.
“Oh wow, happy to see me?” Tatiana asked with a satisfied look on her face.
She didn’t need to know the semi I was sporting belonged to another girl.
“I’ve been counting down the moments,” I lied easily, slipping my mask of conceited asshole on.
She dropped her purse and coat, turning her back to me so I could help strip down her dress.
I did as expected, pulling off the shoulder straps first and leaving some lingering kisses there before dropping the zipper. The entire thing fell off as she turned to face me again, in new lingerie.
“You are so beautiful,” I breathed into her ear, trying to see how fast I could get through this without making her feel jipped.
“You smell so good,” she breathed back.
Yeah, it was one of my two colognes that women seemed to like. Nobody complained, at least.
I drag off the bra and panties she looked so proud of before moving on to stage two. Foreplay.
Her panting and shrieks in my ear were a little annoying for some reason that night. Normally I liked playing around with Tatiana, but I couldn’t get into it. She was one of the youngest, tightest bodies I normally got, but I wasn’t feeling it. I couldn’t get soft, wavy brown hair and dark chocolate eyes out of my mind.
So instead of dragging it out, I played as if I missed her so much I couldn’t stop myself and just went all in, getting her off in record time before grabbing a condom and turning her around, fucking her on her belly so I could pretend she was someone else.
Pumping into her, I grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, hearing I'm my head those purring noises I’d heard only once as I tasted the sweetest thing in the world. In my brain I was pouring myself into the only thing I wanted.
Adele.
Tatiana screamed obnoxiously, but I manage to finish, despite that.
“You’re such an animal sometimes,” she told me with a soft chuckle. “Think you have it in you for round two?”
I looked at the time.
Thank fuck her hour was almost up.
“You got another two and a half grand in that purse of yours?” I asked back and she whined.
“Fine, but you suck.”
“Mhmm,” I hum and settle onto my back on my covers.
“Here’s your cash. Thanks for the dick,” she said with a sneer as she finished pulling her dress back on.
“You’ll always come back, Tat. You know you will. Don’t try to pretend that you’re mad at me because I’ll fuck it out of you. You understand?”
She stuck her bottom lip out like a child then grinned ear to ear.
“I can’t stay mad at you. You’re the most perfect little whore a girl could ask for.”
The words stung more than usual.
“See you in a week,” I told her as she plopped my envelope down on my nightstand.
With another pout, she showed herself out.
I needed to get Adele out of my mind. It’d been more than a week since we’d seen each other and honestly, I wasn’t surprised she never called.
I’d basically told her to find another guy. Maybe she thought I was mad. Who knew?
Not that it mattered. I had so many appointments lined up in the next week, I needed to drop the woman out of my mind before she started to overtake me.
Yes, she had a sweet pussy. Yes she was original and interesting. Yes she was honest. But those were the reasons why she didn’t belong with me. Adele deserved a guy who would settle down with her, devote himself to her and give her babies.
I wasn’t that guy and I would probably never be that guy. When I became old, I would probably just hire my own prostitutes because I’ll have more money than I’ll know what to do with.
Hopefully I would manage to slide through the years until then without contracting some kind of disease, but with every year I continued, my chances grow larger, just like the chip on my shoulder.
With Tatiana gone, I got back into the shower to rid myself of the gross feeling that was starting to surround me and suffocate me.
It was just a fuck. Just like every other one.
Just a fuck.
Chapter Ten
Adele
Thanksgiving came and went in a lonely blur. Everyone had fun with their families and had all kinds of dramas to talk about, but me? I just had Chinese takeout and watched reruns at home by myself.
I had acquaintances, sure, but none that would think to ask me to a holiday. Being at the top was lonely business, and now that my only family was gone, I felt more alone than ever.
I clung to my phone throughout the holiday, hoping to maybe hear from Serge, but nothing.
He’d been clear in his meaning when he left me at my office.
I did have issues with his occupation and how he was so blasé about it, but being with him like that was far better than being without him at all.
Serge was the first person in a long time that I felt I could be real with. Our fun didn’t rely on how he felt about me or looked at me. I could say whatever I wanted and he wouldn’t narc on me or make fun of me.
Whether he acted l
ike the real him with me or not, he pulled something out of me that I loved and now, craved.
Two weeks after Thanksgiving, I finally gave in and called his number.
“Hey,” I said quietly after he answered.
“Hey Adele. How’s it going?”
I couldn’t tell what emotions were in his voice. It was almost like he was closed off now, protecting maybe me or him from whatever was trying to develop between us before.
“I want to see you,” I stumbled.
“Ok,” he agreed simply.
“Will you go to dinner with me?”
“Sure, Adele. Tell me when and where.”
“I’ll text you,” I whispered.
“Ok. You know my going rates. Boyfriend experience, if you still want it, is still five grand. Or we can do it by the hour and skip dinner.”
A sharp intake of breath stung my lungs.
Who was this man?
“Y-yeah. I remember.”
“Great. I’ll see you soon, then.”
He hung up the call and I was left staring at my phone, wondering what the hell had happened.
I’d sent him a text of where and when to meet, and he’d agreed. When he showed up at the Italian restaurant looking sharp as ever, my heart pitter-pattered.
“You look stunning,” he told me with a smile, kissing my cheek with a lingering touch.
“Thank you,” I sighed and took his arm.
Once we were sitting at our table, I could see the difference. He used to be so open to me, but now he was the actor, the salesman, giving me what he thought I wanted.
It wasn't that he was rude or even unpleasant. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was a gentleman, our conversation superficial and studded with looks of lust from his side of the table.
So when the night was over and he stood there expectantly for me to decide what I wanted, I made a snap decision and told him to take me home.
He looked surprised for just a moment before giving me a devilish grin.
“Happy to,” he said and hailed a cab, whistling until one stopped in front of us.
“I have a town car,” I told him, but he just shook his head.
“We do this my way, Adele.”
His words all night had been studded most obviously with my name. Not one malishka escaped from his mouth and I missed it.
We arrived at a fancy building, crystal chandeliers dripping from the ceiling with gold leaf and marble lining the floors and walls. We got into the elevator and Serge turned to me, looking me in the eye.
For one moment I could see the real him before the shards of ice in his eyes hid him again.
“I’m excited to see how you like it, Ad.”
There. A nickname. But it was just as detached as my full name coming out of his mouth.
The elevator opened and he unlocked the door to a beautiful apartment, ushering me in while taking my coat in the process.
I could feel his hands undressing me piece by piece, but nothing happened inside me. His touch was mechanical and forced compared to the last time I had him this close.
Did I do this? Did I do this to him?
Can you break a prostitute?
Oh God…
“Wait, stop,” I told him, pushing his hands away before they could unlatch my bra.
I saw his jaw clench for just a moment before he loosened his body, pretending that he was totally ok with me cockteasing him again.
“What’s the matter, Ad?”
The nickname made me wince.
“I just want to lay down. I want to lay down with you. Underwear on.”
He looked confused all over again.
“That’s what I want to do tonight.”
Again with the twitch of his jaw before he agreed, letting an easy smile take over his face.
He was a better actor than I realized. Too bad I knew his nuances.
How did I know his nuances?
“Ok, babe. Whatever you want.”
That name was worse than ‘Ad’.
I climbed into his king size bed and under the covers that smelled fresh like bleach and laundry detergent.
At least he kept things clean.
Serge undressed slowly, watching me as he did.
It was the first time I’d seen any of him, and with each strip of skin he revealed, I felt my heart rate notching higher and higher.
His chest was wide and defined with so many ridges of muscles, and they dipped down to chiseled abs and a V cut so deep into his hips it almost looked fake.
His eyes watched me as my gaze lowered with each article he pulled off, finally ending on the adorable pattern on his designer boxer briefs. Those amazing, long, strong fingers slipped into the elastic band, but I stopped him before he could pull those off, too.
I’d never be able to keep to myself if he came to bed naked. And right now, we needed to keep things to ourselves.
“You sure?” he asked once and I nodded before he climbed into bed after me.
His hot skin pressed into mine, chest to my back as we moved into a natural curl, his arm around me and leg pressed between mine before his head dug into my hair.
It’d been so many years since I felt a man curled around me, protecting and claiming me as I slept. The feeling was heady and I wanted more and more of it.
I heard his breathing even out and he was asleep before me, which comforted me.
Funny how just listening to someone breathe could be so relaxing. I needed his strength and vibrance in my soul and I’d pay to have it.
Come morning, I woke up to an empty bed. Serge was busy in the kitchen, still in his underwear, as he put together breakfast.
“Morning,” I called to him and his head jerked up with a smile.
“Morning, beautiful. Hungry? I’ve got coffee ready.”
Really? Was this all part of the boyfriend experience?
“Just coffee. I need to get home to shower and change before going to work.”
He stopped fussing with the eggs he’d been working on and moved his pan off the heat before grabbing me a mug and filling it with coffee.
“Cream or sugar?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He dropped a little of both into my coffee and stirred it with a dainty spoon before bringing it over to me.
“Busy girl today, huh?” he asked with a smile.
“Always,” I nodded, wiping under my eyes self-consciously to get any flaked mascara off.
“Well, enjoy your coffee,” he said, kissing my head before dropping back onto the bed.
I sipped my mug, feeling weird that we were practically naked together and nothing had happened. He probably hated me by now, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t ready to go to that next step, so instead I hurried through my coffee and got my dress and shoes back on.
“You can leave the envelope on the table there. And I need you to sign that before you go.” Serge told me, standing as I waited there awkwardly, not sure how to say goodbye.
Oh, right.
I dug through my bag and found the stuffed yellow envelope I’d bought special just for him and placed it on the table beside me before digging out a pen and signing the NDA he’d never actually brought out before now.
We were truly nothing besides a escort and buyer now, I supposed.
“Thanks, babe,” he whispered into my ear as I opened the door.
“Talk to you later,” is all I could get out of my mouth before closing it behind me.
Serge
The moment the door closed behind her, I made fists with my hands to keep myself from exploding with rage while she was still within earshot.
My breathing picked up as I slowly let myself finally feel my anger.
Who the fuck did I think I was?
What right did I have to be angry?
She was a paying customer and I was just the hired help. So what if she just wanted to cuddle? That was part of the job, and I happily provided it.
But I was sick of being jerked around by th
is woman.
There’s something to be said about women versus girls. Girls knew how to annoy a man, but women? Women knew how to pull the fucking beast out.
Which was what Adele was doing.
I was so good all night. I didn’t bring up the dickwad Ryan, or if she should date the guy. I didn’t bring up dating or us and our...whatever the hell we were doing before. We were strictly under agreement now that I had her signature.
But why did that chafe so much?
She was long gone by now. She had to be.
I picked up my envelope of cash that I absolutely felt like I didn’t earn, and flung it toward the wall with a primal scream.
The gym. I needed to work this off right the fuck now.
Adele was not my girl. Never would be. I needed to wrap my head around that ASAP. No matter what we played at with our little dates, this was always a working relationship and it would continue to be. Until she found a good guy that will give her everything I could, and more.
Sometimes I hated my stupid youth and willing heart. But it wouldn’t be too long before it was blackened enough so that I wouldn’t feel the pain of knowing that I’d never have a woman like her. I didn’t deserve one.
I went to my closet and rooted around until I found a pair of workout shorts before getting on the elevator and going down to the gym.
If I couldn’t fuck it out of my system, I’d work it out.
Chapter Eleven
Serge
“Will you meet me at central park today?” Adele asked over the phone.
It was almost noon on a Saturday and I was sitting, doing nothing with a cigarette in my hand.
“What time?” I asked back.
I had a date with another client for dinner.
“I-um. I made a picnic. I was hoping we could do lunch...”
“Sure thing, babe,” I stopped her from her adorable mumbling. “But I have an appointment at dinner time. It can only be for lunch.”
“Fine, then I’ll pay by the hour.”
The words were like a fucking shiv in my side.
“Sure. Just my twenty-five hundred rate,” I managed to grind out through my suddenly swollen throat.
