Stan looked up from his desk and pointed to the chair across from him with his pen. “Sure. Take a seat.”
Once I sat down and started talking, I felt more sure of my decision. I wanted out, and I didn’t care if Stan didn’t like it. It was simply business. I had nothing personal invested in Perfect Ten or the people who worked there with me.
“I’ll get right to the point. I’ve decided to move on from Perfect Ten. While I appreciate everything the company’s done for me, I don’t want to be an escort anymore.”
His shock was immediate. The pen he had been tapping dropped to the desk with a clatter as he let out a bark of forced laughter. “Quit? You want to quit? You’re the number one guy here, you can’t quit.”
“Look, Stan, I’m sorry, but this job just doesn’t fit me anymore. I want more out of my life. Maybe an actual relationship, you know?”
Sitting up in his chair, Stan folded his hands on the desk in front of him, like he was a father speaking to a kid who just said he wanted to be an astronaut. “Sure, kid. I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you take your workload for the weekend, and we’ll talk again on Monday.”
I’d overheard Stan talking to one of the other escorts earlier in the week. He told him that I was acting differently since I’d gone out with Faith. He’s right, I guess. I just don’t think that’s a bad thing, but he seems to think I just need to go on a couple of more dates to get back in the groove. Maybe he’s right, but I don’t think so.
“I’m not saying I’m going to walk out today, Stan. I wouldn’t do that, but I am giving you notice.” That took the condescending smile off his face. He went from shocked to patronizing to angry. It was a swift shift in emotions, but the way his nostrils flared while he actually bared his teeth, left no doubt as to the level of his anger. I’d seen it before, but never directed at me. He’d always run hot and cold.
“What the hell’s gotten into you? It’s that fucking fat chick isn’t it?” He threw his pen across the room, hitting the back of the door with a bang. “Goddammit!”
Yeah. I wasn’t really caring for how our conversation was going. I may not be as explosive as Stan, but he definitely crossed the line. “She’s not fat, for Christ’s sake. Jesus, Stan, your mother should have fucking swallowed you.” Before I did something I’d inevitably regret, I got up, pushed my chair with enough force to ram it into Stan’s fucking pristine mahogany desk, and stormed out of the room.
“Joe—Joe, wait! Come back,” Stan yelled after me. His hard-soled shoes pounded on the hardwood floors as he followed me. He caught up to me at the vending machines, and put his hand on my shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry. You caught me by surprise.”
I’d had a good working relationship with Stan for over six years and didn’t want to end things on such a sour note. “Fine, but I’m still quitting.”
“Are you one hundred percent sure that’s what you want? Think it through, because as good as you are, and as much as I want you to stay, if you go, you don’t ever come back.”
He really was a ballbuster. I knew he meant it, but I suddenly had clarity. Even if I couldn’t have Faith, I was through with this lifestyle. “One hundred percent.”
Stan hung his head and shook it as he let out a resigned breath. “All right. Can you give me some time to rearrange your schedule and look for a replacement?”
“Of course.”
He shook my hand with his brows raised, still in a bit of shock over my leaving. “Thanks.”
Before I went on my date that night, I sent Faith a text. I’d decided to go for it. Maybe if I was persistent and she knew my days as an escort were numbered, she’d give me a shot.
Joe: Hi Faith. It’s Joe Starling. Want to go out with me?
I didn’t send that. Take two.
Joe: Hey, Faith. I really enjoyed our night together. Want to have another go?
How fucking cool am I? Yeah… Take three.
Joe: I miss you. Let me see you again.
Hmm. Is that too pathetic? Too much? Jesus, getting laid is so much easier than trying to get a date. Okay, fourth time’s the charm. I’m really going to send it this time.
Joe: Hey, Faith. I was thinking… I really enjoyed making you scream out my name. Care to repay the favor?
Ha-ha. Calm down, ladies. I’m not going to send that one, but damn, I would if I thought she’d say yes! Here’s the text from my heart. No sarcasm, no smart-ass comments.
Joe: Hi, Faith. It’s Joe Starling. I can’t seem to stop thinking about you. Could I take you out sometime? Dinner? Drinks? Or even just a walk on the beach? Okay, let me know. Bye.
Maybe it’s not Robert Frost, but I think it’s okay. I could second-guess myself until the jellyfish roll in. Screw it. I hit Send—and then stared at my phone, willing it to beep with an incoming text.
Faith
The text from Joe was certainly unexpected, to say the least. After the way I shot him down the day after Sassy’s wedding, I figured that was that. Maybe I’m a little slow on the uptake or a Doubting Thomas, but I’m getting the feeling that he really is into me.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t know what to do. I mean, hands down, Joe is the hottest person I have ever seen. He makes my girl parts clench just watching him breathe. But my self-esteem is a work in progress. There is no way I could take dating someone whose job is literally dating other women. Could anyone? But let me tell you. It’s damn hard saying no to him.
After the night I spent with Joe, I’m pretty sure I’m ruined for other men. Good Lord, can that man make me feel good. And think about it. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t zonked out (and wasn’t that embarrassing). He was definitely into what he was doing. Sheesh. It was really good. I mean, between us girls? Best sexual experience for me ever. Wow. I’m sure a lot of you find that sad, but remember, I don’t have a ton of experience. Or, maybe he’s just that good.
But dating Joe? I don’t think I could handle it. Now I just need to figure out how to handle his texts. I have a feeling there will be more. He doesn’t seem like the type to give up easily.
I was right. A couple of days after I got the first text from him, I got another. He deserved a reply. Heck, I should have responded to his first one.
Joe: Hey, Faith. I just wanted to make sure you got my text the other day? I’d like to see you. Please think about it.
Faith: Hi, Joe. I was kind of surprised to hear from you. Sorry I didn’t get back to you, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to see each other.
Hit Send, hit Send! I didn’t want to hit Send. I wanted to see him again. I know, I know, I’m an idiot. I hit Send.
The next day, I received a huge bunch of sunflowers. They came to the office just after lunch and whipped up a maelstrom of chatter. It was a simple arrangement. The stems were kept long to fit in a tall glass vase. Intermixed with the dark yellow and brown of the flowers were taller bits of grass, and that was it. It was a very simple arrangement, and I loved them.
“Wait right there, girlfriend. Don’t you take those flowers back in that office of yours without doin’ some explainin’!” Shonda was the office busybody. She was harmless, but once she got a hint of any kind of interesting tidbit, it was all over the office in a matter of minutes, being embellished upon as she saw fit. Her high-heeled boots slammed down on the floor with a resounding thud as she got closer and closer to me. I had no choice but to stop in my tracks.
“They’re just a thank-you. It’s not a big deal.” I hadn’t even read the card yet, but I was pretty sure I knew who they were from.
Only about four inches away from me, way too far into my personal space, she wagged her finger at me. “Uh-uh. Oh no, hun. They’re not a ‘thank-you.’ They’re a ‘be my baby tonight.’ So, who is he?” A small crowd had gathered around us, and I looked over my shoulder to see if the boss was around. I wasn’t comfortable being the center of attention, as you could probably guess, and I sure didn’t want to be r
eprimanded by my holy terror of a boss for taking so many people away from their work.
“Come on, Shonda. You’re drawing a crowd. I haven’t even read the card yet, but I think they’re from my date I took to Sassy’s wedding.” Before she could say any more, I turned and dashed into my office, closing the door as quickly as I could once I got inside.
My office was small, but it was all mine. I had an Andrew Wyeth print of Christina’s World on the wall directly in front of my desk. It’s always spoken to me. I see Christina looking with such longing at the house up the hill, and I can feel her yearning. For what, I’m not sure. It could be a multitude of things. That’s what I love about it. Sometimes it makes me sad, and sometimes it makes me want to conquer whatever is bothering me at the time.
To the left of my desk, I have a credenza with my in and out bins on it, along with a few other boring accounting things. I moved a couple of binders and set the flowers off to the left. They were very eye-catching. Then it was time to read the card.
Faith,
Still thinking of you.
Joe
Four words. That’s it. Still thinking of you. I have to admit, he’s determined. Dare I? My body and heart want to, but my brain is still winning. This guy could easily break my heart if I let him. He’s so considerate and tenacious where I’m concerned. But the thought simply won’t leave my head that he can have his pick of women. For the life of me, I can’t see him being content in the long run with a plain, husky, Jane like me, but maybe I’m not being fair to Joe.
“Hey, Gracie.” I needed an emergency get-together with the girls, and one call to Gracie would set that up. “Are you up for a happy hour after work? I already texted Chloe and Susie.”
“Yeah. Sounds good to me. I don’t have any plans. I think Chloe’s got Madison’s dance recital tonight, though.”
“I think you’re right. Well, I’ll see if Susie wants to go. Want to meet at Diamond Dave’s? I’m in a wings and dive bar kind of mood.” That would tip her off. I avoided wings at all costs because I love them so much. But I felt the need for some comfort food.
“Wings, huh? Hmm, so what’s up, Faith? Is everything okay?”
Gracie knew me better than I knew myself sometimes. “Everything’s fine. Sort of. I just need my girls tonight, and I feel like slumming at a dive bar and eating some wings.” Even though I swore that I’d never drink again, you had to have some beers with wings. “So, six o’clock?”
“I’ll be there.”
After we hung up, I sat there and allowed myself to think about having Joe around. He sure was sumptuous. Might be nice to find out if he’s as good on the inside as he is on the out.
Diamond Dave’s was relatively crowded for a Wednesday night, but we were able to get a high table along the wall by the bar.
“What can I get you ladies?” Our waitress, named Barbie, stood with her pen at the ready.
I ordered for all of us. There were only two things we ever got a Diamond Dave’s. “A pitcher of Molson Canadian and two orders of wings, please. Extra blue cheese and celery.”
“Sure thing, hon. Be right back with the beer.” Barbie sauntered off, her ass cheeks hanging out below the line of her cut-off shorts. You didn’t go to Diamond Dave’s for the ambience. It was a beer and wings kind of place. The best in town.
“So?” Chloe was in a rush, as usual. Her ex had their kids for the afternoon, and she needed to meet them at the dance studio in time for her daughter’s recital.
I definitely had their undivided attention. “Well, you remember Joe, right?” Gracie poured us each a beer from the pitcher the waitress dropped off. I had just raised my glass to my lips when Chloe slapped the table, making me jump and spill beer down the front of my shirt. “Shit, Chloe! What the hell?”
“Sorry.” Chloe waved her hand around, obviously not sorry at all. “Joe ‘oh my god, he’s so hot’ Starling? Yeah. I think we remember him. Of course, I never got to see him.”
That was an area of contention with her. She was still a little mad that I let Gracie come over when Joe picked me up and not her. But there was a reason for that, as she also knew. Gracie is mouthy, to be sure, but Chloe would probably have measured his biceps.
“I know, Chloe. Susie didn’t either. Anyway, he’s been texting me, and today he sent me flowers.”
“What kind of flowers?” Gracie asked with a grin. She always wanted the details.
“Sunflowers. He had to know they were my favorite. I guess you put that in my file.” I wasn’t really sure what I wanted from the girls. They’d always encouraged me to go after anyone I was interested in and called them assholes when it didn’t work out. I don’t know what I’d do without them.
Our wings were delivered, and Chloe dove in with abandon. She was one of those creatures who could eat anything she wanted and not gain an ounce. One day it would catch up with her. “So, what did his texts say? What was on the card with the flowers? What did you say to him?” The hot sauce around Chloe’s mouth did me in, and I grabbed two wings for myself.
Susie was still sipping her beer and listening to the conversation. She was our quiet one. Always listening, always getting all the information before offering her opinion.
“Basically, he says he wants to see me again,” I told them around a mouthful of spicy heaven.
“That’s great, Faith!” Leave it to Gracie to think only of the immediate bliss of the moment.
“Yeah, okay, but here’s the thing.”
“Here we go, Grace. We knew it was coming,” Chloe said with her own mouth stuffed with wings.
“Well, really. You tell me what you would do. He’s an escort. Think about that. Really think about it. Would any of you want to date a man who made his living dating two or three women a week?” Answer that, girls!
They looked at each other and grimaced. “Huh. I guess we didn’t think about that. You actually do have a valid point. So, what are you going to do?”
“I already sent him a text telling him it wouldn’t work, but I’m torn. I know how stupid it would be to say yes to him.”
“But? I hear a ‘but.’” Gracie finally gave in and grabbed some celery with a ton of blue cheese dripping from it.
“But, he seems different to me. Maybe I need to give him a chance, you know?”
“At the very least, you have to sleep with him. He’s too yummy to pass up.”
“Well …”
It was quiet Susie this time who hit the table. “What?” Her beer sloshed precariously before she grabbed the glass and steadied it. “You slept with him? How did you keep that to yourself? I can’t believe you didn’t tell us!”
“Not exactly.” Why, oh why did I open my big, fat mouth? Now what do I say? He just went down on me? I passed out as soon as I, err, screamed out his name? It was the best orgasm I’ve ever had? Anything I say will sound as pathetic as I feel about the whole thing.
They were not going to let me get away with such a half-assed answer.
Once again, Chloe had a mouthful, so Gracie was the one to grill me with questions, as Susie had refilled her beer and was silent again. “Not exactly? You can’t ‘not exactly’ have sex. Either you do or you don’t. I know it’s been a while, but if the man puts his penis in your cooter, it’s sex. No penetration? No sex. So…details, if you please.”
“Okay, listen.” I bent down low and motioned them closer. My head was just about hitting the table. I wasn’t like them. I was not comfortable talking about my sexcapades in public. “He—oh geez. Forget it.”
“I’ll take care of this,” Chloe told Gracie. “Stop me when I have it.” She cleared her throat before rattling stuff off at typical Chloe speed. “You jerked him off. He finger fucked you. You blew him. He sucked you until you screamed. You—”
I put my hand up. “Um, that one, and a little of the second one. And I think I really did scream.” In total mortification, I covered my face with my hands as my insides tingled at the memory. My face was flushed red. I c
ould feel it. Even my heart beat erratically. “And then… Ugh, I can’t even finish.”
“Yes, you can. Then what?” The wings were now forgotten. Everything was forgotten except my stupid, pathetic sex life. “What, Faith?”
My hands still covering my face, I took a fortifying breath and rushed out, “Ifellasleep.”
Chloe started laughing so hard, she was snorting. Gracie joined in, and I wanted to kill them both. Susie, bless her heart, refrained but was grinning from ear to ear. A couple of seconds later, I was laughing as hard as they were. And that’s when Joe walked in, and I laughed even harder. I think I was close to hysteria at that point. God help me.
Chapter 15
Joe
Not in a million years did I think I’d find Faith in Diamond Dave’s. The place had incredible wings, but that was about it. Dave’s was a dive bar. Tired-looking, hardworking men filled every barstool, drinking beer before having to go home to their women. Heavy metal blared out of the old juke box in the corner, making it hard to be heard, and the waitresses were barely dressed. It was definitely an acquired taste. I just wanted some beer.
Shawn ran straight into my back as I slammed on the brakes the second I saw Faith. Carrie quickly followed suit.
“What’s wrong, Joe?” She placed her hand on my arm and gave me a gentle squeeze. Carrie was a mother hen to everyone around her. It was one of the things I liked best about her. She reminded me of my own mother.
“It’s her. Faith is sitting over there with her girlfriends. Just took me by surprise, that’s all. Let’s go say hi.”
Before Shawn could talk me out of it—because he thought I needed to give it up—I walked up to their table, smiling at the laughter that was so freely flowing. “Hi, Faith. How are you?”
“Hi, Joe.” She continued to laugh until I was worried she would fall off her chair. So I did what anyone would have who was concerned for her safety. I put my arm around her. Smooth, right? Yeah, I thought so too.
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