by Simply BWWM
She walked back through the front of the store, looking at Jerry at his register. She felt ashamed for getting let go again but was still relieved she wouldn’t have to be where Jerry was standing the rest of the day. Sasha didn’t know what she was going to do but working behind a register was the last thing she could do again. She had spent too much of her life working for minimum wage, and it was time for her to find more.
*****
“Hey, girl. So, I might like, need you to help me find a new client,” Sasha said bluntly as she walked into the apartment. Giselle was sitting on the couch, painting her toenails and blasting a reality television episode as background noise.
“Girl, we talked about this last time. You said that you got a problem falling in love with your clients,” Giselle said, putting the cap back on her nail polish. “As a friend, I think I should cut you off.”
“No, sis, please you can’t, I’m not made for the real world,” Sasha cried, feeling a little desperate to get out of that long workday life.
“No one’s made for the real world. What does that even mean? Things got too complicated last time, you know? Frank was a little offended you did his buddy like that, but you know, I can forgive you. Still, this doesn’t seem like the life for you either. Maybe you could try getting a job with the government? Like work for the DMV? Or you could be like a mail lad!” Giselle explained to Sasha.
“Are you joking? Listen, I’ll look for a different kind of guy now. You know, someone that’s not the type of guy that I would have trouble falling for.” Sasha said. This time she wouldn’t let things get so messy. No one would be dropping the “L bomb” around her.
“What are you looking for?” Giselle asked, curious about her friend’s next type. Sasha wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Her first boyfriend ever had been a short black nerd with thick-rimmed glasses. He grew up to be a fitness model on Instagram, and Sasha wished she would have lost her virginity to that guy instead of the awkward nerd that only lasted a couple minutes. Then Ian popped into her head. He was so different than anyone she had ever dated with his large strong hands and sharp green eyes. The way his hair naturally feathered around his face , always keeping Sasha’s attention on those gorgeous eyes.
“Well, no one that has green eyes, red hair, used to play basketball, acted on a kid’s show,” Sasha responded.
“So, you’re still struggling with thoughts about Ian?” Giselle asked Sasha, who stood looking down at her shoes. She started crying.
“I got fired today,” Sasha said, wanting to let Giselle know that for the rest of the day at least, she should be a little bit more sensitive to Sasha’s emotions.
“Oh, honey… Oh I’m so sorry, Sasha, I had no idea! Don’t worry, sis, we’ll find you a new client, the best one in all of Cleveland. You’ll never have to wear those hideous brown shoes again,” Giselle explained.
“These are my shoes. They’re the only thing I liked about my work uniform,” Sasha cried. Giselle squeezed her, pulling her in close, trying to alleviate some of the emotion pouring out of her.
“I have the perfect person for you,” Giselle told her while rubbing her back.
“You do?” Sasha asked through tears, rubbing her makeup smeared face with her gray sweater. She hoped the stains would come out, but that wasn’t something she wanted to think about at the moment.
“Well actually, I have a few men I think would be a good fit for you,” Giselle said, pulling out her phone. “Nicki just dumped this guy because her high school boyfriend asked her to get back together, then this other dude hit me up when Frank was slipping up, you remember that, right? Then Alexa said her guy is looking for some other girls, so you would at least know that he’s already trying to be poly. How does that sound? I can set the dates up tomorrow for you. I’ll make sure they all pay for your time, too,” Giselle said, buzzing away at her phone.
Sasha quickly realized that Giselle would likely be doing this the rest of her life. She was great at being a call girl and even better at coordinating schedules and maintaining connections between everyone. She seemed like she was going in a little deep, and Sasha was starting to feel skeptical about the situation again. Then she remembered that she also didn’t even have a shirt to wear home or enough money to buy her lunch. At the bare minimum, she would get the chance to have a free meal and make some cash for her time.
*****
“Hi, I’m here to meet Mr. Parker,” Sasha told the host at Dante. He was a cute brown-haired boy named Bryan. Bryan led Sasha around the corner to her table, where she saw her date sitting in a tan suit, looking at his face in the spoon. He was the oldest man she had ever seen, and Sasha instantly felt sick thinking about what it would be like to be with him.
He was looking for a new call girl after his last one ran back to her high school boyfriend. Sasha quickly realized why it was so easy to leave this man, even though he was allegedly one of the wealthiest men in Ohio. Sasha was wearing a long-sleeved purple velvet dress that hugged her curves and stopped just above her knees with bright pink heels, a bold look that only someone with her chocolate skin could pull off. She had finished the outfit off with a simple diamond stud and rosy natural makeup. She had died her hair back to the natural black color, after realizing that being blonde was way too much work, and tonight she had managed to straighten and smooth it in a deep side part, pushing some behind one ear.
Anyone in the restaurant would have been lucky to have Sasha as their date, but part of her was a little bummed that Mr. Parker was going to be the one taking her time that night.
“Hi,” she said as she approached the table, giving him a hug and pulling out her chair. He had tinted glasses and ice white hair only in patches above his ears and on the back of his head. He wasn’t in the greatest shape, which was never an issue for Sasha—only it helped age him a decade further, even though he already had visible age spots. Sasha wanted to walk out of the door right away. Still, she knew she wouldn’t be doing anything wrong and decided to stay.
“Sasha, hello, so nice to meet you,” he said. Sasha gulped and sat down, deciding to order as much food as possible so her mouth would always be filled with food instead of having to talk to him.
The date went by quickly, and Sasha was stuffed after trying a few different things on Chef Dante’s tasting menu. Their conversation was pretty normal and flowed professionally like a conversation you would have with a conservative Grandpa. He revealed that he lost his wife and never had kids of his own, so it was nice to have someone to talk to. For an old man like him, unfortunately, he had to pay to find someone willing to sit and listen to him talk.
She didn’t mind listening to his rambling if it meant that she got to snack on perfectly cooked fish and sip perfectly paired wine. He started to get a little sleepy toward the end, and Sasha just enjoyed the soft music and cozy atmosphere while finishing her final bites. She understood that the date was so early likely because of his age. He walked her out of the restaurant and handed her a card, normal protocol for that kind of relationship.
“I think I might have another card at home if you’d like to join me,” he said as they reached the front of the restaurant.
“No, I’m definitely good,” Sasha said, walking away as fast as possible and grabbing a cab as soon as she saw one. There weren’t many cabs that drove around that part of Cleveland, but she was lucky enough to have found one right away to get her far away from that guy. She thought he was sweet and considered going on a date with him again just to keep him company, but him inviting her back kind of creeped her out.
She took the cab all the way to Margaritaville, meeting another daddy for dinner. This one was Giselle’s alternate at one point, so she knew that he might be a little bit like Frank.
She walked into Margaritaville, the spot of her next date. She quickly looked around, not seeing anybody who looked to be alone. It wasn’t the fanciest restaurant that Sasha could think of, but she was seriously craving the nachos and knew that s
he had to get there quick to order some.
The waiter sat her at a table, and she let him know that she was going to be meeting her date. Since she had come straight from the last one, she was early. It normally didn’t look the greatest to be the first to arrive to a sugary daddy/baby date, but Sasha wasn’t too concerned with her image, as she wasn’t feeling very hopeful about actually ending up with one of her dates that night. She was already uninterested in the last guy, knowing she would likely never talk to him again. She still needed to be sexually attracted to her client, even if she wasn’t going to pursue a legitimate relationship with him. She hoped that the next one would turn out at least a little bit better.
“Sasha? It’s Greg,” a man said as he approached the table.
“Oh hi, so nice to meet you,” she responded, standing up to give him a hug.
He was actually pretty cute, so Sasha quickly tried to turn around her mood, so she would actually be some fun company. She smoothed out her dress, suddenly forgetting about the bad date that she had just come from.
“Giselle told me a little bit about you,” Greg told Sasha.
“Oh, I hope only good things!” Sasha teased, trying to be a bit flirty.
“Mhm,” Greg said, looking down at the menu.
“Hi guys, I’m Becky I’ll be your—”the waitress told the couple as she approached the table, only to be quickly cut off by Greg.
“I’ll have a Strip Steak, just give me whatever sides normally come with it. I’d like it done medium rare, and if it’s overcooked, I will be sending it back. I’ll also take whatever porter you have on tap,” Greg said, closing his menu and handing it to the waitress. She seemed a little stunned that he was so rude about ordering and Sasha was as well.
“And for you?” Becky said, noticeably a bit thrown off by Greg’s behavior.
“I’ll have the nachos and seafood mac and cheese,” Sasha told her, giving a sympathetic smile to let Becky know she wasn’t at all like Greg.
“What are you, ten-years-old?” Greg asked rudely.
Sasha just rolled her eyes and took a drink of water, knowing that the date wasn’t going to end up as fun as she had thought. Greg pulled out his phone and started scrolling through it, not really caring at all about having a conversation with Sasha.
“So, Giselle said you’re in construction?” Sasha asked nicely, trying to start at least a little conversation.
“Look, you don’t have to talk to me. I just want someone that looks nice to sit with me. If I want to talk, I’ll start the conversation,” he said, not even looking up from his phone.
Sasha sat there uncomfortably, not sure exactly what to do. She wanted to get up and walk away right then, but she was pretty excited about the food she had just ordered and didn’t want to pass up the free second dinner.
Sasha sat there for about ten minutes, just picking at her nails and looking around the restaurant.
“Where are we again? Rainforest Café?” Greg asked, finally setting down his phone. “Did you pick this place or did Giselle?”
“I thought you did,” Sasha responded, knowing perfectly well that she had been the one to pick it but wanting to hopefully agitate him a little.
Sasha couldn’t believe how incredibly rude and boring Greg was. Did he ever have fun in his life? Who did he actually have conversations with? Was there just a robot trapped inside his body? Becky finally brought the food out, and Sasha knew right away that there was no way she could eat it all, still full from the first date.
“Are you seriously going to eat that all?” he said giving her a dirty look.
“Mhm,” she said, scooping a spoonful of mac and cheese right into her mouth, not caring that she got some sauce on her face.
“God, I knew they would get it wrong,” he said, snapping his fingers in the air. “Waitress, waitress!” he shouted as Becky walked over.
“Yes, how can I help you sir?” she asked a bit condescendingly.
“Did I not ask you to cook this medium rare?” He said as rudely as possible. “Does this look medium rare to you?”
“I’m sorry sir, I’m not a chef. I’ll be happy to have him cook you another one if you’d like,” she said sweetly, though Sasha knew that she wouldn’t actually be happy to do any of that for this rude man.
“You know what, can I also get some boxes? I know I won’t be able to finish this all,” Sasha said nicely.
“Forget about it, I’ll just eat it. I don’t feel like waiting around just so this Burger King reject can mess up my steak again,” Greg said, pushing his plate away.
“I’ll be right back with your boxes,” Becky said, kindly walking away.
“You know you don’t have to be so rude. She’s just doing her job,” Sasha told him.
“Rude? She’s the one who needs to learn some manners,” Greg said. Sasha realized he had no idea how he was treating other people and that tonight didn’t really seem like the time to try and give him a lesson on being nice.
“All right, I have to get out of here,” Greg said, throwing down some twenties on the table to pay for dinner. “You don’t mind, right?”
“Not at all,” Sasha said.
“Here’s this too,” Greg told her, handing her a card that had Sasha’s payment for the day inside. “See ya later.”
Just as he left, Becky returned with the boxes. “I’m so sorry about the way he acted,” Sasha told Becky.
“It’s fine, I see guys like him all the time. Just look out for yourself,” Becky told her, handing her the check as well. Sasha realized that Greg had only left enough to pay for the meal but not to tip. She looked in the card he gave Sasha, seeing only two twenties. She sighed and pulled one out, sacrificing her own payment for the tip. She didn’t mind; Becky certainly deserved it.
Sasha boxed up the rest of her leftovers as well as Greg’s steak. She didn’t want anything to do with him, but he didn’t even take a bite, so Sasha figured he’d be fine with her eating it. She put her takeout boxes in a brown paper bag and headed out the door, crossing the street to go to her next date at Alley Cat Oyster Bar.
Sasha was going to be a little early as her date with Greg was cut short. Still, she figured she could have time alone for a glass of wine, not sure she would be able to eat any more. It was going to be her third meal in less than three hours. Although eating was one of her favorite activities, even Sasha wouldn’t be able to stomach all of that food.
She walked into the restaurant and looked around, realizing it was getting a bit crowded now that it was later. “Hi, I’m supposed to be meeting someone here in thirty minutes but was wondering if I could just sit at the bar until then?”
“Sasha!” She heard her name being called across the restaurant. She looked over and saw a tiny man with patchy brown hair waving her down.
“Never mind actually, that might just be him right there,” Sasha said to the server walking over to Paul’s table.
“Sorry, I was a little nervous, so I thought I’d get here early and enjoy a drink,” he explained.
“That’s perfectly fine! I was just having a drink with a friend and they had to leave early so I have some extra time too,” Sasha said sweetly.
“Guess that means we have more time together,” he said with a creepy smile.
“Guess so,” Sasha said back, wanting to be as polite as possible.
“My name’s Paul,” he said through his crooked yellow teeth. “But you can call me daddy,” he said in a whispered tone.
“Paul is good,” Sasha said, uncomfortably grabbing the drink menu. She watched a plate of hot seafood get carried by her, realizing that she should probably order some food here too. If this tiny mouse of a man was going to be paying, why not get some extra food out of it? “Um, so how did you know it was me?”
“I have to admit I follow you on Instagram. I was so excited to know that you wanted to go out with me,” Paul told her.
Uh oh. Sasha was starting to feel a little strange on this date now, knowin
g that he was one of her followers. It made her feel stalked and hunted like prey. A lot of dating was like that. She was always getting messages from creepy guys that she usually ended up blocking. Hopefully that meant he wasn’t ever one of the guys who sent her a creepy message.
“What’s in the bag?” he asked with a smile. “Did you bring me something?”
“No, just some, um, old things, my friend gave me when we met up,” Sasha lied. Even though she clearly wasn’t going to be interested in this man, she still didn’t want him to know that she had already been on two other client dates that day.
She would have loved nothing more than to just go home and chill out in her pajamas, watching movies and eating leftovers with Giselle. After seeing that she had only made twenty dollars from Greg’s date, however, she knew that she should probably stick it through the third one to make that money.
Paul was making her a bit uncomfortable, however, so she wasn’t sure how long she’d last. The waitress came, and she ordered some shrimp and a salad, Paul only ordering a dozen oysters.
“Oysters are an aphrodisiac you know,” he told her over the top of his thin wire glasses.
“Oh wow, that’s so interesting,” she said sipping from her water glass.
“I love feeling… sexual,” Paul said in a crazy whisper, freaking Sasha out a little. “What about you Sasha?”
“I’m not really a sexual person,” she said, lying a bit and not wanting to talk about that with Paul.
“Oh no, you’re not? Are you just a wittle baby?” Paul asked.
“No, I’m a grown woman. Thank you,” Sasha said, grabbing a drink menu certain she’d need some wine to get her through the rest of the date.
“Oh yeah, you’re a big girl huh?” he said laughing evilly. “Is the big girl going to tell me what to do?”
“Yeah, I am. Give me your drink,” Sasha said, not wanting to wait until the server got back to have to order a drink.