by Hadley Knox
I let out a breath of air. “You scared me for a minute,” I said.
“I’m sorry, it just took me by surprise,” he said. “I’ve been trying to find the courage to tell you now for about a week, and I kept doubting whether you were ready to hear it or not.”
“Of course I would be,” I smiled.
I walked over and slid my arms around his waist. He leaned down and kissed me.
“I really do care about you a lot, Lana,” he said. “I’ve never felt this burning desire to be around someone so much before in my life.”
I could have lied and said, “me neither”, but something held me back. As much as it pained me to think about, I had felt this way about someone before. At the time, I couldn’t admit it, but now that I had some separation from the emotions and opportunities to look back and reflect, I had once felt this way about Greg. Even despite the fact that he was my friend, he was in the past now. Sure, he still worked for me and we had become close friends, looking at Greg in that way was just not appropriate anymore.
So instead of lying, I just went with “good.” He took it playful, which was relieving.
He took my plate and his own and carried them to the smaller breakfast table. I poured us both a glass of sweet tea and followed him.
“So you’re having the weekly pool party still, right?” he asked.
“Same time, same place.”
“Are you okay if I invite the Hammer Guys again?” he asked.
The ‘Hammer Guys’ was what he had used to refer to the strippers from his club. Before we met, Adam had hung out with them a good deal, and they had become somewhat of a family. Now that the two of us were dating, we had unknowingly started bringing our two groups together. The Hammer Guys had come over several times, and the Madam’s Men, as I jokingly referred to them, were becoming something close to friends.
“Of course you can invite them,” I said. “The other guys like them. And you know that Betsy simply loves having all that man meat over here.”
‘Man meat’ was another new expression. Betsy used it as if she were serious about it. In fact, she didn’t even crack a smile when she said those two words. I hated the expression, and at first, refused to use it, but somehow it became a part of my vocabulary, although I liked to think I only used it when joking.
“Good, they’ll be excited.”
“It works out good that there are no shows on Sunday.”
“We had shows on Sunday before,” he explained. “But about a year ago, Lucas changed the schedule. Sunday’s were our slowest night.”
“It must be because of all that great TV,” I said.
“Who knows,” he shrugged. “I’ll let the guys know tonight.”
“You have to work again?”
“Yeah, sorry.”
“It seems like Lucas has you working more and more shifts. What happened to your one night off?”
Until recently, Adam’s schedule had been the same every week. The club was open for shows from Tuesday through Saturday. That meant two definite nights off each week. In addition, each of the guys was given a break from one of the shows that week and another night off. A few of the men didn’t take the night off because they needed the money, but Adam always took advantage of it. The specific day he had off rotated, but in the last few weeks, something changed and he no longer had that extra floating day.
“Lucas said we need to buckle down,” Adam said.
“Buckle down? Is the club not doing well?”
“I don’t get to see all the numbers, but from what I can tell, we’re doing fine.”
“Then why would he take away your night off?”
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’ve become somewhat the main attraction at the Steel Hammer. When I’m not there, it’s obvious and the club is a little less crowded.”
I chuckled. “You just think you’re hot stuff.”
“I’m not?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow.
“Okay, I’ll admit that you’re hot when you strip.”
He had given me a few private shows since we had started dating, and I was being sincere. He was so incredibly hot when he stripped. I was never the biggest fan of strippers and found them to be quite cheesy. The whole performance came across as hoakie and fake to me. But there was something about the way that Adam performed that felt real, raw in a sexual way. Sometimes, I swear I could have had an orgasm just from watching him.
Chapter Three
The next day, Adam couldn’t come over because he had to help Lucas with the books. I took that opportunity to go and have lunch with Greg. The two of us didn’t meet alone very often, because when we were together, we still felt the electrical connection from our previous encounters. I had never been able to figure out why, and I certainly wouldn’t talk about it to Pearl or Betsy for fear that they would think I was a bad person, but every time I saw Greg, I felt tinglies all over my body.
I was faithful to Adam, though, and I would never think of acting on urges I felt when I was with Greg. I was not the type of girl to cheat on someone.
Adam was my boyfriend and an amazing guy. I got tinglies when I was with him, too, but somehow they were different.
As I walked up to the table where Greg was sitting, I was reminded for the one-hundredth time that the two of us could never be together. It was one thing to date a male stripper, but another thing altogether dating a male escort. I just didn’t have it in me to look past the idea that my man would be out there sleeping with dozens of women a week. I don’t know why, but the idea of hundreds of women groping my man as they stuffed bills down his thong, was something that I could get over.
“Hey, beautiful,” Greg said to me as I approached. He stood up, kissed me on the cheek, and then waited until I was sitting before he sat back down.
“Hey,” I said. I refused to use any sort of pet name back to him. At one time, I would have loved that, but not anymore. Adam was my prince now.
“Thanks for meeting me,” he said.
“No problem,” I replied as I pushed my menu away. I knew exactly what I wanted to order already.
“So first things first,” he said, sliding a thick envelope in my direction.
“Thank you.” I picked up the envelope and took a peek inside. It contained the biggest stack of twenties I had ever seen.
“You can count it,” he said. “It’s $2,340.”
“Wow,” I said. “You’ve been busy.”
“I’ve gotten most of my regulars to call you, but there’s still a few hold outs.”
“No problem.”
“So are you doing okay money wise?”
“It’s getting a lot better,” I said. “I thought I’d be in trouble trying to take care of Pearl’s pay, but luckily you guys have started picking up the pace. Her salary is covered and last month I was actually able to put quite a chunk back in savings.”
“That’s great.”
“I’m hoping that with Hugh added to the list, it’ll start being more money going into my savings.”
“Have you thought about your future?”
“With Adam?”
He forced a smile. “No, not necessarily with Adam. I mean with the business.”
“Not really. Why?”
“I just didn’t know if you considered how long you would want to do this.”
“No, I haven’t put much thought into it. Do you think I should quit?”
“Definitely not,” he said. “But I always figured this was temporary for all parties involved.”
“I guess it is, but I don’t really have a good handle on what the end looks like,” I said. “Even if I miraculously came into a lot of money and didn’t have to worry about it anymore, I would still feel obligated to keep going if some of the other guys still needed the money.”
“Maybe it’s something everyone should talk about.”
“Why are you so worried about that all of a sudden? Are you considering quitting?”
“No, not any tim
e soon. The money is too good.”
“Are you saving up, too?”
“I’ve got a little nest egg saved up. My mentor told me long ago that you have to save up because you’ll expire before you know it.”
“You had a mentor? You never told me that.”
“Yeah,” he nodded. I detected a note of sadness in his eyes and tone. We were bordering on a topic of conversation that he apparently didn’t like to discuss. “His name was Rick. We all called him Big Rick for obvious reasons.”
“You said was. Is he dead?”
“Oh yeah, I did say ‘was’. No, he’s not dead. I just think of him as gone now. It’s a long story.”
I wanted to pry and ask more questions. This might be the perfect conversation to learn more about Greg’s past. From the tidbits I had gleaned from his offhand references and the little that Adam knew about him, Greg had moved to Miami after graduating high school. I assumed that was where he got his start in the escorting business. There were just so many unknowns, and it seemed an impossible task to try and put any sort of biographical history to Greg’s life.
“I’m guessing that I’ll continue to do this until my kids are out of high school,” I said. “Then I won’t have to worry about keeping this expensive house and can just get a smaller, cheaper place for just me.”
“And Adam.”
“We haven’t talked about moving in together yet.”
“Really?” he asked, suddenly interested.
“I’m sure the subject will come up at some point, but for now, we’re just enjoying ourselves and taking it slow.”
“Good,” Greg nodded.
“You’re right though,” I said. “We really do need to have a conversation as a group to decide how everyone is doing and whether this will be temporary or not. I know for a fact that Ben doesn’t want to do this forever. The last I heard, he wants to do this until he gets through college.”
“But you know that the money can change people’s minds,” Greg said. “Sometimes, people get into this line of work with the idea that it’s temporary, but then the money and sex becomes so addicting that they can’t stop until something forces them out. It’s rarely ever a positive outcome.”
“So you’re saying everyone needs an exit strategy?”
“Yes. I know you, and I know that you care for all of the guys. If I were you, I would sit down with each one and start working out a plan with them. Have them come up with goals and plans.”
“That’s a great idea,” I said.
“I’m impressed with the way you’ve handled all of this,” Greg said. “I still remember that first morning when you woke up and realized that I was an escort.”
I laughed and shook my head. “That seems like years ago. I can’t believe I was so naïve.”
“I should have been clearer about what it was. Sometimes I think back to that night, and part of me knew that you didn’t know what I was. I think that subconsciously, I wanted to be with you and knew that wouldn’t be possible as a prostitute.”
“So you tricked me?”
“No, I wouldn’t go that far. But I may have been a little more vague than I would have with a typical customer.”
“You jerk,” I said with a smile.
“But just think. If you and I hadn’t met that night, you would never have gotten into this line of work.”
“Well then, I don’t know if I should thank you or hurt you.”
“Do you regret it?” he asked.
“In the grand scheme of things, no.”
“So you’re okay with what we do?”
I considered the question. I had asked that question myself many times. “You know, I’m honestly not completely comfortable with what you all do, but that is just me. I’ve had a hard time wrapping my mind around this whole idea of women using escorts. Initially, I thought it was completely immoral and such a horrible thing for a woman to do, but my mind has changed some about that.”
“What’s changed your mind?”
“I think it was talking to all the women that call,” I explained. “So many of them just don’t know how to date or find a good guy. The average male has no issues being open about what he wants sexually, but women perceive themselves differently. Female prostitution has been around for centuries, and men by the thousands are using them on a constant basis. Why should it be any different for women? Why is it more acceptable for men, but not women?”
Greg nodded. “Yeah, I’ve thought about that, too. The women that contact me all need something that they can’t get anywhere else. Most of them just want the companionship of having a guy there that won’t judge them. When they hire me, they are my only focus for whatever time they’ve set, and women don’t usually get that in relationships.”
“So it’s a fantasy?”
“Really, that’s what it is,” Greg said. “But I don’t necessarily see the problem in women getting to fulfill their fantasies.”
I smiled wickedly. “Yeah, fantasy fulfilment is very nice.”
“So there’s something else I wanted to ask you about. Well, I guess it’s more tell you about than ask.”
“What’s that?”
He paused a moment before continuing. “We have that party this Sunday. I was wondering if it would be okay to bring a date.”
“A date? You’re dating someone?”
“Yeah, we’ve been dating now for about six weeks.”
“What? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t want it to be weird.”
“Why would it be weird?” I asked.
“Because I know how it felt seeing you with Adam. I didn’t want to put you through that.”
So many thoughts ran through my head. The first thought was that this dreaded moment had finally arrived. I knew that it was inevitable that he started dating someone, but I was very surprised that he had found someone so quickly who was okay with the fact that he was a gigolo. I figured he would be single until he finally quit the profession.
My other thought, and one that was far more disturbing, was that Greg assumed that I would be distraught in some way by this news. Truth be told, I was a little unnerved, but why would Greg just assume that I would be? Did he think that I still had feelings for him? Was that egotistical of him to just assume that or had I given off some sort of vibe that told him that I did still harbor those feelings?
“It’s fine, Greg,” I said quickly. I didn’t want to think too long or that might make him wonder if it really was a problem.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure. There’s no weirdness between us, at least not on my part.”
“Okay, I just wanted to make sure.”
“What’s her name?”
“Chloe.”
“That’s a pretty name. So tell me about her. How did you two meet?”
“She was actually a client. We met one night for a two-hour session and ended up not having sex at all. At first, she said she contacted the Madam for a quick lay, but then as we started talking, she realized that she just needed someone to talk to. She asked me to meet her again out of the context of client-escort, so we did.”
“That’s nice,” I said because I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“At first I thought that was against some rule, but then after thinking a few nights about it, I called her back. We met and within a week, we were seeing each other on a regular basis. It’s hard to find the time since I spend most of my evenings with clients, but we make it work.”
“And she’s okay with your profession?”
“She said she is. I’m going into it cautiously, because I’ve heard horror stories of girlfriends saying they are okay with it, and a few months in, they suddenly have a problem.”
“Yeah, definitely be cautious. I don’t want to lose you.”
“In what way?” he asked coyly.
I frowned. “As a friend.”
“Nothing else?”
“And definitely as an empl
oyee. You bring in too much money for me.”
He chuckled.
After we ate, I paid for both of our meals, despite his protest. As I walked back to my vehicle by myself, I thought about the lunch I had with Greg. He was an amazing guy, and Chloe was a lucky girl. She was also a strong girl to be able to look past the fact that her boyfriend was having sex with other women on a continual basis.
Was there something wrong with me that I couldn’t look past the fact that he was an escort? On many occasions, I tried to consider the possibility that I just wasn’t strong enough emotionally to handle it, and that maybe I was deficient in some way.
Still, I didn’t think it was that. How could any normal woman be in a relationship with a gigolo?
Chapter Four
The regular Sunday night party arrived before I even knew it. As the men arrived, I had no way of knowing that for one of them, it would be the last time I saw them alive.
As always, Pearl and Betsy arrived early to help me set up. Mike and Greg always got there right after, and the six of us, with Adam, set up the grill and iced down the beer. The only person who didn’t partake in the beer was Betsy, who insisted on expensive wine only.
Adam and I went into my room to change into our bathing suits. I enjoyed undressing him out of his shirt and shorts so that he could put on his bathing suit. Every time I did, he was always hard by the time I finished. Even after three months together, the sexual energy that we shared still hadn’t abated one bit.
As I stared at him standing there in my room naked, I wished more than anything that everyone else wasn’t at the house. I considered taking a break from the social activities and spending a few minutes alone with my boyfriend, but that would have been rude and childish, I thought.
We changed into our bathing suits, and I slipped a sheer cover over myself before we re-joined the others. By the time I made it back to the kitchen, Derrick, Ben, and Hung were already there and swimming in the pool with Jake and Mallory. I couldn’t blame them. The temperature outside was sweltering, and the pool water provided a nice relief.
Dixie Tittle arrived next. She had started coming to more and more of the parties and by then, all of the guys enjoyed her presence. As always, she was the life of the party, with her box of wine in tow, and once she had consumed half of it, she tended to get a little crazy.