The Loverboy

by Miel Vermeulen

  wasn"t until nine that evening that she saw Jake pull up. He

  looked somber as he approached the door. He came in and she

  flung herself at him hugging him tight.

  “You are a sight for sore eyes” he said with a forced

  smile.

  They kissed and stood there for a long while kissing and

  hugging.

  He finally broke away and said “We need to talk.”

  She looked at him in fearful surprise and they sat down. He

  picked up the empty bag and asked if it was all gone. She nodded

  sheepishly.

  “Sorry” she said like a kid caught with her hand in the

  cookie jar.

  She was starting to hurt by now her body demanding more but

  this didn"t seem like a good time to bring that up. His

  expression grew more somber. He sighed and finally spoke.

  “I got the drugs from a friend” he explained, “One of the

  guys they had met in the club when they went out.” She remembered the guy, he had been tall, dark, handsome

  and very friendly and she had really liked him.

  “It was actually a business deal” he continued, “I was

  going to sell it for him and we would split the profit. He wants

  his money. We were going to get about six thousand for it. The

  cost had been three thousand so he would get four and a half and

  I would get one and a half thousand.”

  He picked up the bag and dropped it again.

  “I need to pay him four and a half thousand by next week

  and I am broke. If I had a bit more time I could come up with

  it. I"ve got an angle on something and could fix it but that

  will take more than a week” he explained.

  Fearful of the answer Kim asked “What if you don"t have

  it?”

  “If I"m lucky he has his guys break some bones. Or he could

  set an example and have me killed” Jake responded.

  Kim shuddered “Isn"t he your friend?” she asked, “Surely he

  wouldn"t hurt you?”

  “It"s not personal, it"s business. If he lets me get away

  with this than everybody thinks they can push him around. He"s

  protecting his business” Jake said. “Can"t you sell the car?” Kim asked.

  Jake shook his head “no, I owe more on it than it"s worth.

  If only I had a little more time” Jake paused, “He even offered

  me a deal” he said with a snicker of disbelief.

  “What deal?” she asked hopeful.

  “Nothing” he said, “it"s not an option.”

  “What?” She demanded.

  Jake sighed paused for a second, then he said “He had

  remembered you...And really liked you. He said that he would

  give me an extra month and would only make me pay the three

  thousand in cost instead of the four and a half if you would

  have sex with him.”

  Kim"s eyes widened “What?!?” she said in disbelief.

  “I told you it"s not an option” Jake said.

  Kim was shocked. She felt guilty for having used the drugs

  but she wasn"t going to have sex with this stranger. She wasn"t

  a prostitute. She sat in silence shocked at what Jake had told

  her.

  “I"ll figure something out” Jake said, “Don"t worry about

  it. It"s not your problem.” She was relieved that he tried to protect her but it was

  her problem. Jake was in trouble because what happened to her

  and he had protected her and made her feel better with the drugs

  and now he was in serious danger. She shuddered at the thought

  but if it would save Jake would it really be that bad? It would

  just be sex. Nothing else and they could move on. She couldn"t

  think about it.

  “He"d even offered to get me some more for you if you slept

  with him” Jake added.

  “I can do without” Kim said bravely as her body ached for

  more.

  “Let"s go to bed” she suggested, “tomorrow we will figure

  it out.”

  He nodded and she pulled him of the couch and led him into

  the bedroom. They just laid there in each other"s arms without

  speaking. Kim was hurting bad by now and really needed a hit but

  she wasn"t going to let him know. He had worried enough about

  her. He had other things on his mind and she needed to support

  him and not be more of a burden. He fell asleep shortly and she

  laid there next to him until he was fast asleep. She got up and

  found the pill bottle in his coat and took two pills. The pain

  was getting worse and if she couldn"t have another line then maybe she could sleep through it. She took the pills and lay

  back down. Not long after she too dozed off.

  The next morning he was in a better mood. He was going out

  and follow-up on some leads he had and he would fix it.

  Something would pay off. His good mood was contagious and it put

  her in a better mood too. She kissed him and he grabbed her.

  “I"ll fix this and then we can start working on our future

  together” he promised with a smile.

  She smiled back and kissed him passionately.

  “Can"t you stay for a little bit longer?” she begged with a

  seductive smile.

  He looked at her and nodded.

  “Sure, but just a little bit” he said and kissed her again

  as he started to undress her.

  They made love and laid in each other"s arms for a while

  when he jerked up and said “Ok, enough. I have to get going if I

  want to get anything done today” with a smile.

  She smiled back making no effort to get up. He got up, took

  a shower and then got dressed. She kissed him goodbye and he

  left. She felt good about it all again. They would find a way to

  pay off the debt and move on. She took a shower and as the water ran over her body she started to feel her body demand the drugs

  again. She got out of the shower and got dressed. In the living

  room she found the empty bag and ran her finger around in it to

  pick up and residue and rubbed it on her gums. It took the edge

  off but no more than that. She picked up and soon heard the

  outside door open and shut. It was nice outside and Anisha was

  out there early. Kim quickly went outside to join her needing to

  confide in someone. She told her about what Jake had told her.

  “Hell, I"ll do him for fifteen hundred bucks” she had

  responded and laughed.

  Kim shrugged.

  “I hope your guy figures something out though. It"s a

  slippery slope” Anisha added as she pulled out a cigarette and

  lit it.

  Kim immediately smelled the pot and looked at it eagerly.

  Anisha looked at her and asked if she wanted one too. Kim

  eagerly accepted and lit one up too. She coughed a little but

  settled down quickly, another way to take the edge off. The high

  wasn"t anything like the coke but it kept her body from

  protesting too much. They sat for a few hours chatting away

  until Anisha announced she had to get ready. They both went

  inside and into their respective apartment. Kim watched TV, this was nice she thought. On the coke she hadn"t been able to settle

  down and sit. With the pot she felt relaxed. Night fell and Jake

  again didn"t get home until late, it was after ten this time. He

  was in a mood like yesterday. Things clearly had
n"t worked out.

  The next few days went similar but every night Jake came home

  later and more stressed and every morning he was less positive

  about the day ahead.

  After a few days she had stayed up waiting for him until

  four am and he still wasn"t home. She had tried to call him but

  no answer. She was getting really worried and wanted to call the

  police but that didn"t seem like a good idea. Calling her mom

  had crossed her mind but that didn"t seem like much better of an

  idea. She finally had dozed off on the couch at four thirty. He

  walked in at nine am and she startled awake. He was more

  dejected than ever. He had two more days to pay up and nothing

  was working out. He had one angle left but that one would take

  at least two weeks and he had only two days and he seemed

  depressed and afraid. In two days they would come looking for

  him and it wasn"t going to be good. She shook off the grogginess

  and put an arm around him. She couldn"t see him this way and she

  couldn"t bear the thought of losing him after all he had done

  for her. “I"ll do it” she whispered in his ear almost surprised at

  herself for saying it.

  He looked at her in shock.

  “No” he said, “I can"t let you.”

  “I don"t want to lose you” she said, “And it"s because of

  me you are in this mess. I can help fix it.”

  She gave him a look of determination.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Ok, I don"t know what else to do” he said, “I"ll set it

  up.”

  He grabbed his phone and stepped outside so not to upset

  her. She looked out the window and she saw him on the phone

  pacing nervously. He hung up and came back in.

  “Tomorrow at noon” he said his head hanging low in guilt,

  “I"ll drop you off at his place then pick you up an hour later.”

  She lifted his head and kissed him.

  “You start working on getting it straightened out and I"ll

  take care of this. Don"t worry about me” she said bravely. They spend the day together as if one of them was going

  away for a long time. The mood was somber and not much was said.

  She was with him though and in a weird way she felt good that

  she could finally do something for him. They went to bed early

  and slept in each other"s arms. The next morning she took a

  shower and got dressed in a button up shirt and a pair of casual

  jeans.

  “Are you sure?” he asked again.

  She nodded and they left. They drove to Milwaukee and were

  quiet most of the way there. When they got to Milwaukee she slid

  lower into the passenger side seat. She didn"t want to be seen

  by anyone she knew. The city was big and the chance of being

  seen was slim but she was nervous just the same. They stopped by

  a high rise apartment building in the center of the city much

  like the place Jake had taken her to when they had gone out.

  He opened her door and said “Apartment 816, I"ll wait down

  here.”

  She was about to get out as he stopped her. He kissed her

  and told her he loved her. She smiled nervously. Then he reached

  into his pocket and pulled out a little baggy with a white

  powder. It was cocaine.

  “This will make it easier” he said. Her body immediately demanded she take it. It had been a

  few days since she last had it and she wanted it, especially

  now. Anisha"s pot had helped but this was the real deal. She

  looked at the powder longingly and shook her head.

  “No, thanks” she said, “That"s what got us into this mess.”

  And she got out of the car closing the door behind her, she

  paused looking at the building and took in a big breath, then

  she walked towards the building. Jake looked on as she

  disappeared into the building. She was greeted by the doorman as

  he opened the door for her. This place was expensive. She walked

  to the elevator and pushed the up button. One of the elevators

  opened with a ping immediately. She got inside and pushed the

  button for the 8th floor and the elevator carried her up with

  efficient speed. When she left the elevator she stepped into an

  elegant hallway with marble floors covered by expensive looking

  rugs. To he left she saw a door with the number 816 on it and

  she stood in front of the door. She paused and took another deep breath. Then she knocked on the door.

  Chapter 13:

  She stood there waiting nervously thinking about running.

  But she just stood there. Moments later the door opened and

  before her stood Antoine. He was at least six foot four inches

  and wore designer jeans and a white shirt that was completely

  unbuttoned showing off his muscular frame. He looked like guys

  she saw in magazines. He was well built and attractive.

  “This guy can have anyone he wants. Why does he want me?”

  She thought.

  He invited her in and she cautiously walked in. The

  apartment was big and luxurious. The marble floors from the

  hallway extended into the apartment and the furniture was a

  mixture of modern and antique. It was a very classy design and

  the old and new complemented each other perfectly. He offered

  her a drink and she asked for vodka with orange juice. Not her

  favorite drink but she needed something strong. They sat down

  and he introduced himself and complemented her on her

  appearance. He was friendly and charming, which was good. They chatted for a few minutes about nothing in particular and both

  avoided the deal that had been struck in the conversation.

  After a few minute she was not sure how to proceed. Should

  she take the initiative or was he supposed to? He wasn"t making

  a move so she decided she would. After all she was ready to have

  this over with as soon as possible. She chugged her drink for

  more courage and put the glass down. Then she started to

  unbutton her shirt. He put his own glass down and stopped her

  without saying a word as he got up and led her into the bedroom.

  There was a king size bed with satin sheets. He took off the

  unbuttoned shirt and lay down on the bed. She stood there unsure

  how to proceed and he motioned her to continue.

  She figured he meant with unbuttoning and she did. She took

  her shirt and bra off. Then she took her jeans off and stood

  there in her panties. He motioned for her to approach and she

  got on the bed with him. He kissed her gently over her whole

  body but avoided her lips. He was gentle and seemed to do

  everything right but it all felt so wrong. She started taking

  his pants off eager to get things over with and he assisted.

  They had sex and he had made it as pleasant for her as it could

  be. He hadn"t even objected when she demanded he"d wear a

  condom. After they got done she quickly gathered her clothes and

  took them into the bathroom with her. She cleaned up and got

  dressed as quickly as possible eager to get out of there. When

  she got out of the bathroom Antoine had gotten dressed again as

  well and he thanked her gallantly. This was so weird to her.

  Nothing of it made sense. He had dema
nded to have sex with her

  but it had seemed like he had put forth more effort into making

  her comfortable, which was not possible, than she had put into

  making him more comfortable. She quickly said goodbye and

  hurried out of the apartment and to the elevator.

  She rode the elevator down and blew past the doorman

  completely ignoring him. She just wanted to curl into a ball and

  cry. She got into the car with Jake and told him to go and let"s

  get home as soon as possible. For a moment she considered asking

  for the coke but decided against it. She didn"t want to talk at

  all even to ask for the drugs. Jake tried to ask her how it had

  gone and if she was ok but she ignored him while staring out of

  the passenger side window at the city going by; staring away

  from Jake. She needed to process it all. They rode in silence

  all the way home and when they got back to Chicago she walked

  into the apartment and directly into the bedroom and shut the

  door in front of him before he could enter. She wasn"t mad at him. After all she had offered to do it. She just needed to be

  alone.

  Feelings of the rape came floating up and she lay down on

  the bed and sobbed. She lay there for several hours until it was

  getting dark and soon after she cried herself to sleep. How

  could things that had felt so right have gone so wrong so fast?

  The next morning she woke up to the smell of fresh coffee.

  Jake was standing by the bed with coffee and fresh muffins. He

  had slept on the couch in the living room to give her space and

  now he was trying to make her feel better. Still disturbed about

  it all she graciously accepted the peace offering. She took a

  sip and looked at him.

  “I"m so sorry” he said looking very guilty, “I shouldn"t

  have let you do it.”

  “It"s done” she responded coldly, “nothing we can do now

  but move on.”

  He nodded “I"m working on something to get the money. It

  shouldn"t take more than two weeks” he said.

  “Ok” she responded.

  They sat in bed and had breakfast. He said he would stay

  with her but she told him he should spend his time better. He shrugged, grabbed his coat and left. She sat in bed for a long

  while sipping the coffee and nibbling on the muffins.

  Later that day she went outside and found Anisha in their

  usual spot. It was funny how they never seemed to visit each