Sordida

by Jason Andrews

  She’s fucking phoned in sick, hasn’t she? He asked himself, all that getting pissed up last night and she’s not going to the supermarket today is she. Fuck?

  Jake took out his mobile phone, looked at the battery icon to discover he had less than two per cent remaining. If she was going to call him, it needed to be soon, or he wouldn’t be able to answer. What the fuck, he thought, what do I fucking do, be reasonable, I need to do something and fast. Tired, frustrated, angered and unsure of his next move to get her attention, he could only think about finding ways to contact her.

  “Shit,” he said aloud, fumbling out of the bushes, “fucking hell.”

  Amercia appeared from the door, looked at the spray-painted SLAG wording and put her hands to her head in sheer disappointment. Jake watched as she seemed upset, he took in every second of her facial expressions, his intention to upset her had worked. Amercia looked confused as she appeared to wander around the corner looking for someone who wasn’t there.

  “It was me, you fool,” Jake whispered as he moved closer to the pavement, “look at you all ready for work and not an ounce of intention of calling me. You bitch.”

  He walked closer towards her; she hadn’t noticed him, his eyes welling up, his hoody now undone to reveal himself, Jake stood directly in front of Amercia.

  “Jake. You fucking scared the shit out of me, what are you doing here you absolute fucking bastard, was this you?”

  “I need to speak to you; we need to talk don’t we. So much we need to resolve, we are not good, are we? Can we go inside please, I don’t really like being in this area? I feel like everyone is looking at me.”

  “I’m just heading off to work, I come outside and see this fucking mess scrawled across the door again, and here you appear. Did you fucking do this? How the fucking hell did you find out where I live?”

  “Calm down; it wasn’t me. I was up all night upset walking around. I was heading across the road when I saw you come out of your door. I had seen a few kids run off in the direction down the road; maybe it was them. Are you ok, you seem a little tense?” Jake pointed to the direction across the street then continued.

  “Why would someone put slag across the door, have you upset the neighbours?”

  “Always fucking upsetting the neighbours I think. I’m not feeling well because I’m still hungover and should have left for work by now already. You don’t look great either, Jake. Why were you walking around all night and you don’t live around these parts, so how did you end up at my door?”

  “Must be a coincidence. I don’t deal with any form of upset very well as you know, I went out for a walk last night and kept thinking about you, us, and how we shouldn’t be in this mess. I was worried I wouldn’t see you again. You look ill, shall we go inside.”

  Amercia stared straight ahead as her neighbours were once more talking about her. She could see them talking to each other, looking in her direction. Not in any mood for a confrontation, she caved in to get away from the potential conflict brewing in the street.

  “We’ll talk about it more inside, come in for a few minutes then you have to leave.” Amercia asked, “have you not had any sleep since last night at all then?”

  Jake moved his hand to conceal the spray paint bulge that Amercia might have seen in his pocket if she had chosen to look close enough. He followed her inside as she led the way, it looked dark and small. The hallway was a mass of doors that each represented a bedsit. Unsure of how she could live around this area, he felt a twinge of guilt, but then remembered why he had targeted her in the first place. In this short moment, he had a quick flashback of when he first followed her home to ensure he could trust her. He wasn’t happy that she had the intentions of meeting other men, but he had always assumed she would fail because she wasn’t trashy enough and end up relying upon his custom time and time again. He knew he didn’t love her, but he struggled with the idea of sharing her.

  “Why don’t you take a sickie day off work?” Jake said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “I’ll help you clean the door if you want. With so many other doors, how do you know that the graffiti was for you, it easily could have been for someone else looking at it here?”

  “I know it’s for me. I’ve had dealings with the people around here, and they’ve made it clear I’m not part of their vile little common clique. Not that I even want to be. Some have their suspicions I’m an escort. Fucking evil bitches.”

  Amercia took a sip from the cold can of diet cola having called work to inform them she is too ill; she turned to face Jake who was sat on the sofa scrutinising her living accommodation.

  “Didn’t sound like my manager was impressed,” Amercia groaned, “I can’t even really be bothered with that job now. I’m hopefully moving on to better things soon.”

  “I must have been meant to bump into you this morning, Amercia. I can’t believe you live here like this; I wouldn’t have expected you anywhere near here. You’re way better than this area because people around here look like criminals. I was going to get a taxi home because I thought I’d get beaten up.”

  “Well, you also look like shit this morning. However, it’s not all that bad here; I keep myself to myself most of the time. I go to work, come home and wish I was somewhere else. Like sunbathing on a fucking hot beach, a million miles from here. I want enough money to start afresh somewhere else. I am desperate to move to a new area, get a new job. You wouldn’t think I was a fucking trained accountant while I’m throwing endless amounts of bread and doughnuts on shelves. Still, I think things are on the up now.”

  Jake tried intensely to bite his tongue, he screwed his face up and watched as she noticed. Now feeling uneasy he couldn’t hide his annoyance.

  “You’ve said that twice now or implied something is about to change I mean.” Jake asked, “What’s going on, has something happened between you and Sordida now. I promise I will not fly off the handle again honestly, I understand now that I’ve seen where you live. I’m sorry for the way I acted in public, you can tell me?”

  “I’ve accepted an offer to work for them,” Amercia responded looking at his expressionless face, “Just a few nights to start with, it’s great money. So much better than what I get now anyway, and I can save it all to move away eventually. As an escort I must join in with their fetishes, in short, anything extra then they’ll take twenty per cent, but it’s all self-employed. I can control it; it’s all under my control.”

  Jake looked down at the floor; he knew he shouldn’t give a biased opinion.

  “I wish you hadn’t have made that choice; you should not have bothered. I didn’t expect you to be the one who would be all over it when I first mentioned Sordida’s games to you. You’re better than that, better than them. I’ve told you about my experiences there, and you ignored me. So, what happens now when you do you start?”

  Amercia was feeling the effects of champagne that although she enjoyed, it never agreed with her. Head still pounding, the floor always looks as though it swayed when she walked, she wanted to get rid of Jake. He didn’t look as though he was in any rush to move from the sofa.

  “You’re beautiful by the way,” Jake said, standing up as he moved closer towards her, “I think you’re amazing, but you’ll learn your lesson in the end with Sordida. You’ll probably make a load of money, I’ve missed our discussions and role-play meets. I like it when you play the support worker.”

  “I can handle myself, Jake. I appreciate the compliments; I don’t want there to be any animosity between us because without you I’d have never known of that club. It is my life, and while you do seem concerned, there isn’t anything between us other than a business relationship, so what I do is my business. I tried explaining this to you before you flipped out and got all aggressive the other day. You scared me a little, I have never seen you like that.”

  “That’s why I couldn’t live with myself for not saying sorry, at least you know I have my issues. But if you’re certain of
going down the Sordida path for work, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Also, you’ve been there haven’t you, how can you do it?”

  “You’re getting stroppy, again aren’t you? The money is great, and I want to try it at least. Plus, there was one more condition, and I was going to call you later today anyway about it. I did intend to call you, but I don’t know how to say it to your face.”

  “What’s that?” Jake responded, “To my face, what do you mean?”

  “I assured the owner of Sordida that my escorting would be exclusively for them, and them alone. We can’t see each other again Jake. I’m sorry, I know I’ve been helping with your anxiety, but I am an escort and not a doctor. I can’t see you again after today.”

  Jake stood up from the sofa, put his hand out for her to shake it. Amercia grabbed his hand nervously expecting him to be more aggressive and gave it a quick shake to acknowledge they were still on friendly terms. He nodded his head at her, he winked.

  “Until next time then,” said Jake walking towards the door, “whenever that may be. Good luck, Amercia. You made this choice. I hope it all works out for you in the end.”

  “Thank you, Jake. I’m hopeful that this is a new start for me because it will lead to better things. I hope that you find someone else online to talk to and meet though who can help with your life issues. I will have to close all my connections off on the internet, cancel my meets and drive my attention to all those rich old folks who get their kicks at the club. Plus, it’s safer in the long term for me. I know our meets weren’t meant to be all that sexual initially and I didn’t mean to have led you on.”

  Jake remained silent as she closed the door behind him, it felt so final. He accepted that this was her choice, but certain she had no real idea of her future.

  That was that then, stupid twat, he thought, barely able to keep his eyes open, you silly, silly greedy girl. Taking his mobile out of his pocket, using the one per cent remaining battery he was able to call for a taxi where he waited at the end of the road. Jake thought back about the SLAG he painted across the door. He was no longer sorry, she had made her choices, but there are consequences to most actions.

  Fifteen

  A

  mercia stood nervously inside the doorway to Sordida as previous instructions sent to her by text message from Tim suggested she should wait here until collected for clocking in duties - to officially be shown the ropes on her first full evening. Having cleared the air with Jake yesterday was still playing on her mind, although she hoped he would understand in the long term their distance from each other, her self-needs was of more importance to her despite wishing him well. Money was everything right now; it offered the promise of a positive lifestyle with a future of hope to lose if this gamble didn’t pay off. Having stood in the gleaming white marbled entrance for almost five minutes, she heard a voice coming down the stairs followed by the sound of heels clunking against the flooring.

  “Amercia, hi, my name is Tonya. I’m your manager for this evening.”

  She turned to face Tonya who was a short-haired brunette dressed in nothing but lingerie and patent heels, it caught her by surprise as Amercia herself was entirely covered in something not remotely as sexy, but passable for a night out on the town.

  Tonya looked like a model. The kind of model that draped off the arm of an old, ill and loaded millionaire. Amercia flickered on her fake smile while wishing she had been informed about the lack of dress code this evening. Her inner slut was dying to unleash itself with all the potential cash on offer.

  “Evening, Tonya. I couldn’t come here with less clothing as I had to make my way here in a taxi. Was it lingerie and heels night, I didn’t bring either, but no one informed me?”

  “That’s fine, Amercia. I’ve been reliably informed from Mr X, that this is your first official night with us since you last attended the draw evening. Our members here have given great feedback on you; they loved you in fact. I am the clubs Escort Manageress, you haven’t met me before, but I deal with your room bookings for the evenings you are required here. Tim, as you know is Mr X here, is my manager and will cover me if I’m not able to make it or stuck out Elmton doing a shift at the hotel. Your face is adorable; you look beautiful tonight. Thank you for ditching the wigs too, I’ve heard about them. It’s not lingerie and heels night though; I’m dressed for my booking as per the client’s requirements because I still have to earn my way here.”

  Amercia felt self-conscious as she walked up the stairs behind Tonya who looked like she was having a break from filming a vintage style French porn movie. She noticed her pert arse cheeks gently pressed against each other as she delicately walked up to each step.

  “I’m expecting you to do a minimum of six hours tonight. However, once the drinks have sunken in with the members, the starter event is a gangbang roulette game, that is always a hit for a couple of hours. It passes the time, little work for escorts but you have to look engaged and very, very horny.”

  “That will not be a problem at all, Tonya. I had a great time here last time, even in the erotic dark room. I had a briefing from Tim the other night; I know this is where all the action for my escorting role begins now. I want them to want me really; I’ll show anything they want me to. It’s a minimum of five-hundred quid tonight isn’t it by invoice?”

  “Oh, they’ll want you alright, yeah it’s five-hundred by cash, but make sure you get that card reader handy, there’s one in the corner of every room. Anything unusual, make sure you see what bonuses they’ll offer you. Tease them and tempt them until they part with their wallets. Most members know the ropes, but some will take advantage when they know you’re new here. I wouldn’t even let them touch my clit for less than fifty. Filthy rich bastards walk these corridors naked so make sure you never forget it as eighty per cent of everything you can get is yours. I’ve presumed you’ve been told that every member pays a yearly fee for club maintenance, but each night has a minimum entry cost to cover the running and the escorts base fees. It works out at just over a thousand pounds per head, but they can’t get their sordid kicks out anywhere else in the country as they can here. It’s very secluded, close-knit and reputation is everything. Especially here, you would have passed vetting checks extensively.”

  “What do you mean? Vetted in what way?”

  “Tim has his sources, and no one crosses the entrance without him first needing to trust you. I’m not aware of all his methods, as he keeps his card close to his chest, but he somehow manages to know everything he needs to know without dirtying his own hands. You’re in a safe place where you’ll soon feel at home. I now have four to five holidays a year thanks to my work for Sordida; it’s going to get you places, you’ll never look back. You’re one of the lucky ones now, but you probably don’t even know it yet.”

  Amercia grinned, it was precisely the reassurance she wanted to hear. They both reached the bar area on the first floor, the lights were dim, but she couldn’t see any pole dancers on this visit. The dance floor was empty, but the club was playing Spanish themed music with porn video’s playing on flat screens in various locations. She didn’t even consider it great porn; it was coupled men and women fucking on white bedding, with white walls, both completely clean shaven, rolling around all over the place appearing as if their whole bodies are dipped in a concealer – way too clinical in the setting for her liking. As Tonya led her to a door at the far end of the room, Amercia’s confidence was slowly withering away due to the realisation that she now was committed to fulfilling this role tonight.

  Suddenly in the flash of a few seconds, a hint of regret had wormed its way into her mind with stacking shelves daily suddenly feeling the safest option. It’s the risk I wanted; she thought to herself as she walked into the changing room, play the game, I’ll save the money and then get the fuck out of this city. With every ounce of regret and nervousness that she felt, she quickly reassured herself why she had pursued this club in the first instance. Everybody was a p
otential wallet in situ.

  “There’s an innocence about you isn’t there?” Tonya asked Amercia, having watched her undress, “You’ve not been around the block enough like some us old timers who started out on the streets?”

  Amercia held out her hand to grab the red dress that she was advised to change into for the benefit of the members she’ll be meeting later, having already removed her phone and had a brush down for the member's safety. She was not aware of who she was meeting tonight, nor even what activities she’ll be expected to perform.

  “You were on the streets?” Amercia replied, looking surprised because her stereotypical view of street prostitutes were women who had little teeth, bad skin through substance addiction and a ton of mental health issues, Tonya seemed the exact opposite, “I have little experience, a few meetups from the internet, but, fuck it, shit.”

  “What?” Tonya asked, sensing some concern, “what’s up?”

  “I forgot to cancel a meet I had arranged for tonight, a guy called Roy I was meant to be giving a girlfriend experience. I am fucking livid, I can’t believe I forgot that. I was so obsessed with focussing my attention on here for tonight that I forgot about him. I had a few things going on getting rid of a regular client; he didn’t pay very well, but he was quite regular all the same.”

  “Don’t worry about it love; he’ll soon move on. Those internet creeps stand most of us up anyway. I’ve been there and done it, fuck it. Forget about Roy and straighten that dress up for me will you.”

  She stood there with the red dress clinging tightly to her body. Tonya had just finished explaining that all the clothes in the changing rooms are new before any enhancements take shape. While about to question how such improvements are made and by whom, Tonya took a pair of scissors from a small cabinet drawer.