Gigolo Murder

by Hadley Knox

  “Stop right there,” I said. “I don’t want to hear any apologies. I’m sick of sorries.”

  “I know,” he said as he tried to reach for me. I pulled away, but his fingertips grazed my arms.

  “Please, just hear me out,” he said.

  “Then don’t start with another apology. Give me answers.”

  “Okay, I’ve been acting like an ass lately, and it’s because this whole thing with Hugh has really hit me hard. I don’t cope well with stress like this, and for some reason, I just turned myself off emotionally when it came to you. I don’t know why I did that, but I think it was just my way of trying to protect you.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” I said. “Now I feel like you’re trying to say anything to make me forget the way you’ve been acting.”

  “I promise you that I’m not,” he said. “I can’t explain the way I’ve been acting, but I can admit that I handle conflict very poorly. Emotionally, I just shut down and shut everyone out. I wish it were different, but that’s how I’ve always been.”

  “That’s not healthy for a relationship.”

  “I know it’s not, but I promise to start working on it.”

  “How do I know that the next time something like this happens, you won’t do the same thing?”

  “You don’t. You just have to trust me.”

  I wanted to laugh, but I knew that would be like pouring salt on a wound. There he was standing in front of me, pouring his heart out, and even if I couldn’t understand why he felt that way, I had to respect that. I knew deep down that he was being sincere with what he said.

  “So tell me what you know about Hugh’s death,” I said.

  “Do we really have to talk about this?” he asked.

  “Of course we do. That was the event that led us to this place.”

  “It’s really hard for me to talk about.”

  “Why? Were the two of you close?”

  Adam looked down and shook his head, as if searching for the words. He reached over, pulled one of the kitchen chairs back from the table, and sat down. I decided to follow suit and took the seat next to him.

  “Look, it’s really tough to explain why, but when these guys come to work for me, I feel responsible for them. I’m older than most of them, and I’m more experienced, and I feel like it’s my job to look after them and make sure they get through this period in their lives. It’s common for male strippers to turn down dark paths in life, often filled with drugs. But the Steel Hammer doesn’t have a big problem with that, and I take credit for much of that.”

  “I didn’t realize that you felt so paternal.”

  “Yeah, I feel a lot like you do about your guys.”

  “Then why couldn’t you understand why I would care so much about what happened to Hugh?”

  “I was being selfish.”

  “Yes, you were.”

  “Now would be the point where I should probably make a genuine apology, right?”

  “I don’t want to hear another apology,” I said.

  “Okay,” Adam nodded. “Is there some way that I can make this up to you?”

  “You’re still avoiding my question,” I said.

  “What question?”

  “Are you kidding me? I asked you to tell me what you knew about Hugh’s death?”

  “There’s not much to tell. He was found dead in his apartment.”

  “Who found him?”

  Adam hesitated, and I knew immediately that I couldn’t believe what he was about to say.

  “Silas,” he said. “He was stopping by Hugh’s place and found his body.”

  “How do you know that Silas didn’t kill him?”

  “Apparently, Silas was with some friends of his so he has an alibi.”

  “What about the cell phone?” I asked.

  “I don’t know who sent that to you,” Adam said.

  “Why couldn’t you just tell me all of this before?”

  “Because I didn’t want to talk about this at all,” Adam said.

  He put his face in his hands, and I knew that he was crying. A big part of me felt like I was still being shoveled a pile of crap, but I wondered if I was just being a bitch to him. Could it have happened just like he said? I couldn’t decide if I were being practical or jaded.

  I put a hand on his arm and rubbed his skin gently in an effort to comfort him. The situation was awful, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was the cause of this somehow. Maybe Hugh’s murder really wasn’t any of my business. He did have a point earlier that when the phone was returned me, it effectively eliminated this whole thing from my list of problems. Was I being too nosy by trying to figure this out? My name wasn’t Nancy Drew.

  Gripping his arm, I pulled him closer. He took his hands away from his face, and I could see that his eyes were red from crying. I was going to pull him in for a hug, but he had different ideas. Our mouths met, and my earlier frustration faded away into electrical sparks up and down my back.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  His right hand slid around the back of my neck as his kiss intensified. I let up long enough to look outside to make sure nobody was watching us. Everyone was still in the pool, splashing, talking, and drinking beer. I saw the back of Greg’s head and was relieved that he wasn’t watching me and Adam.

  Adam’s lips peeled back from mine for just a moment, but his hand stayed right where it was. “Can you take a break from the party?”

  “I’m already taking one.”

  “A longer break?”

  “How much longer?” I asked with a devilish smile.

  He smiled and then pushed his chair back as he stood up. He reached down, grabbed my hand, and guided me to my feet.

  I lead him into the bedroom and dropped my towel at some point along the way. I turned around long enough to see him staring at my butt.

  Once in the bedroom, he picked me up and practically threw me on the bed. He was already taking his shirt off as he set himself down and started crawling towards me.

  On all fours, he hovered over me, leaning down and taking my mouth in his own. We kissed again, but that was not enough to appease our hunger for each other’s bodies.

  I reached down, started undoing his belt buckle, and unbuttoned his pants. Apparently, I wasn’t fast enough because he swatted my hands away and took care of it himself. I grabbed the sides of his pants and shirked them down his thighs. He smiled and continued kissing me.

  He ran both hands up and down my bare torso, and his fingers fumbled with the sides of my bathing suit top. I didn’t want him to rip it like he had done with a few of my undergarments before. That particular bathing suit had taken me a while to find.

  I shoved his underwear down, exposing the last bit of his flesh that had been hidden under clothes. His erection pressed against my bathing suit bottoms, and the intensity of his kiss had increased to a point I knew that he was ready.

  He lifted me off the bed with one hand and his other hand travelled behind my back to undo the tie that held my top on. He set me back down and slipped the fabric back to expose my breasts. His mouth left mine and travelled down to my chests. As his mouth worked its magic there, he slid down my bathing suit bottom and tossed it to the ground.

  When his face was level with mine again, I could feel him pull my body closer to his. A soft moan seeped from his lips as he entered me. I clutched at the sheets with both hands and bared my teeth. That contact of our flesh brought a tidal wave of pleasure.

  Our lovemaking didn’t last as long that time. I was okay with that, because for most women, when sex didn’t last that long, it’s because the man had finished and the woman’s orgasm wasn’t that much of a concern. But not with Adam. I actually climaxed before he did.

  We lay on the bed for a bit and talked. I could hear the guys outside and knew the party wasn’t winding down any time soon.

  “That was great,” Adam said as he held me against him.

  “It was,” I agreed.

  “So
you and I are okay?” he asked.

  “Relationships aren’t just a hot or cold thing,” I said. “Just because you make me mad doesn’t mean that I don’t want to be with you. It may sound cliché, but I see a relationship as more like a journey. We have to work these things out.”

  “You’re right.”

  “But I will definitely get upset if you do that again,” I said.

  “Duly noted,” he smiled.

  “We should probably go outside,” I said.

  “Is everyone mad at me?”

  “Why would they be mad at you?”

  “Um, because they’re just as protective of you as you are of them,” he said. “I’m sure they know we had some problems.”

  “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that,” I said. “Although I do have something to tell you.”

  “Oh no,” he said as his shoulders deflated.

  “Jed and Braden joined the Madam today,” I said.

  “I saw their cars out front and then when they were back there swimming, I assumed that might be the case. I hoped that they had just been invited for fun.”

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “I don’t have much choice.”

  “How do you feel about it?”

  “I wish it could be different, because I know that they are just putting their toe in the water. They’ll make a lot more money with you, and within a week or two, I’m sure they’ll leave the Hammer even if they haven’t already planned to.”

  “I think they do plan to leave the show,” I said.

  “I figured. It sucks for those of us who are left because those two are big shoes to fill. And I mean that literally for Braden. But I wish them the best, and hope that they do well with you.”

  “I’m sure they will,” I nodded. “But you’re not mad at me?”

  “Of course not,” he said as he nuzzled me closer. “How could I be mad at you? This is a great financial opportunity for them. Sure the risk is greater, but I have faith that you’ll keep a close eye on them.”

  “Yeah, I’m getting ready to sit down with all of the guys,” I said as I rolled out of the bed and picked up my bathing suit bottom. “I want everyone to get a plan together about either getting out of this business or how they’re going to manage without me.”

  “Really?” Adam asked, his interest suddenly peeked. He sat up and started scooting towards the edge of the bed to where his underwear was. “You thinking about getting out now?”

  “Not any time soon,” I said. “But I would feel better about all of this if I could get a plan in place. Plus, I’d feel even better if the guys had a plan too.”

  He smiled. “You really do care about them don’t you?”

  “Definitely,” I nodded as I tied my bathing suit top and adjusted it. “They’ve come through for me in a few tight spots.”

  “Good,” he said as he slid his underwear on. He walked over to the closet and retrieved one of his bathing suits. Since we had started dating, more than a few of his garments had found their way to my closet and he had built up a shelf’s worth of space in there. I didn’t mind.

  He took my hand, and then together we walked back outside to join the others.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The last thing I wanted to do Monday morning was go back to the office. What made it even worse was that Adam and I were okay again, and he had stayed overnight, which was not a frequent activity lately. When the alarm clock went off, I groggily reached up and slapped the snooze button. Adam nudged my arm and told me that I should get up.

  He stayed in bed while I started getting ready. I could hear one of the kids upstairs in the shower. By the time I got out of the shower, Adam had roused himself from bed, dressed, and was in the kitchen making breakfast for the kids and me.

  We didn’t have much time to spend together before we exchanged kisses, and he was out the door and off to his day. I corralled the kids into the SUV, and a few minutes later, dropped them off at the school.

  My drive to work was better since Adam had spent the night with me. In the short time we had been dating, I had become so accustomed to having him there at the house, that it was painful when he wasn’t.

  The best part about having Adam there was that it seemed like my life was calming back down ever since Hugh’s murder. I still didn’t have any more answers about who killed him, but I felt a little better about my boyfriend’s potential involvement in the whole affair. I still had doubts though, but they were less significant in my mind than they had been before he finally started talking to me about the tragedy.

  Ben was already there and hard at work by the time I arrived at my desk. I wished him a good morning and sat down at my computer. I spent the first half hour going through e-mails that had come in over the weekend and preparing myself for what I had to do that day. I had two manuscripts sitting in front of me and another four sitting on the edge of my desk that I would have to get through this week. Usually my workload wouldn’t be so heavy, but I had made the mistake of procrastinating by concerning myself with my male hookers more than my mainstream job.

  I had just settled in when I saw my boss, Reginald Leighton, pass by my cubicle and make some strange guttural noise in his throat. I had to fight the urge to throw something heavy at his head as he passed.

  “Don’t let him get to you,” Ben said over the wall.

  “What a jerk,” I said.

  Before I could say anything else, Mr. Leighton appeared at the entrance to my cube.

  “So nice of you to grace us with your presence,” he said to me.

  I maintained a stony expression. “Can I help you with something?”

  “Just stopping by and checking in.”

  “Checking in for what?”

  “I’m not going to get into another argument with you, Lana.”

  “Great,” I said, before I spun my chair back around and resumed editing.

  He made another one of those annoying throat noises and then disappeared. I heard a shuffling sound in the cube next to me, and then saw Ben wheeling his chair around the divide and into my cube.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “With Adam?”

  Ben nodded.

  “Yeah, we’re okay,” I said. “There’s still a little tension, but we’ll get through it.”

  “Good. I didn’t mean to be nosy, but I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

  “I’m good,” I smiled. Suddenly I had a thought. “You want to go to the break room and get some coffee?”

  “Sure,” he said. He stood up from his chair and then pushed it back into his cube.

  When we reached the break room, neither of us bothered reaching for the coffee. We both knew that was just a ruse in case any of our nosy co-workers overheard us talking.

  “So what’s up?” he asked.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” I said. “Do you have a plan on how to get out of this business?”

  “Oh no. Are you firing me?”

  “No.”

  “Are you quitting?”

  “No – well, not yet anyway. It’s just an informal discussion I want to have with all the guys. I’m not in this business for the long haul. My best guess right now is that I want to keep doing this until my kids graduate. I might even try to save enough to pay for their entire college so that they don’t have a bunch of loans when they get out.”

  “So at least four more years.”

  “At least.”

  “I doubt I’ll be doing this that long, but who can say. The money is great, and I can still do most of the other important stuff that I need to be doing. The biggest hit on my life that escorting has done is that I don’t get to play as many video games anymore. But I still maintain my studies, and that’s the important thing.”

  “Good. So what are your goals?”

  “Goals?”

  “With the money you’re making.”

  “I’ve started paying on m
y student loans even though the payments don’t start until after I graduate. My plan is to make it through college with zero debt. I also want to save enough to put a sizable down payment on a house once I get a real job after graduation.”

  “That’s smart. How long do you think that will take?”

  “My loans are fairly hefty,” he said. “If I continue making what I’ve been making, I’ll need to do this at least two more years.”

  “Good. Just keep paying on those loans. I don’t want to quit the business if some of you still need my help.”

  Leighton seemed to appear in the doorway to the break room. He made his guttural throat-clearing noise again, but other than that, he was silent.

  “Can I help you with something?” I asked.

  “Is there a reason you two are in the break room just chit chatting? Those manuscripts aren’t going to edit themselves.”

  I wanted to run over and slap him in the face. The man standing in front of me was a married man with two children, yet I knew his little secret. He liked to hire young men on the side, almost certainly without his wife knowing. I decided to keep that information close to my chest, but now that he was tormenting me at the office, I wasn’t sure I could contain it.

  “We were just catching up,” I said.

  “That wouldn’t be necessary if you came into the office more regularly.”

  “I thought we talked about this issue before,” I said.

  “I can always reassess prior policies that I set forth.”

  “So my attendance has reached ‘policy’ status now? I didn’t realize that it was that serious.”

  “Don’t take that tone with me.”

  “You’re not my parents, Leighton. This is a professional work environment, and I would appreciate you giving me the respect that I deserve.”

  Leighton chuckled and leered at me. “It’s funny to hear you talk about wanting respect. You first need to give respect before you can get it.”

  “Bingo,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Two way street.”

  “Your position at this company barely commands enough respect to look you in the eye,” he snapped. Beads of sweat appeared on his pasty forehead. “Be lucky I don’t terminate you. Now go back to your manuscripts before I have you cleaning the bathrooms.”