She blushed, turning away to sort depositions. “What glow?”
“Don’t give me that, Gabrielle Turner. I’ve known you too long.”
“Ooh, pulling out the big guns. The given name stings, Cher.”
“Got your attention, didn’t it?”
She rolled her eyes and turned back to her friend. She knew from long experience that Cheryl simply could not let something go. Especially something gossip-worthy.
“Look, it’s nothing. There’s no glow. I just had a good weekend, and today’s my birthday.” She willed the blush away, but she couldn’t do anything about the glow. “Am I not allowed to be in a good mood?”
Rolling her eyes, the thirty-something receptionist leaned over and plucked at the plastic wrap coving the cookie-and-bonbon tray until it opened enough for her to steal a sweet. “It’s eight-thirty on a Monday morning. Ain’t no one allowed to be in a good mood just yet. So give.”
Gabe raised one eyebrow. “Those are for later. And there’s nothing to give.” Relenting a bit under a patented Cher Look, she shrugged. “I just got a birthday present a little early.”
Cheryl’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Wait just one hot minute. The look. The reluctance to talk about it.” She smiled, the expression both astonished and honestly happy. “You had a booty call.”
Instant facial inferno. “Good God, hush! And no, I did not.”
“You did!” Nodding approvingly, her friend looked her over. “So who is it? Have you been seeing him a while? Was it that mouth-breather guy that Vince tried to set you up with? His cousin or whatever?”
If she weren’t so amused, she’d probably want to die. “There’s no one. Especially not the mouth-breather.” She shuddered. “If I wanted a booty call, I’d have called Will’s brother. He’s at least minimally groomed and is evolved enough to breathe through his nose like the rest of us humans.”
“Come on, Gabe. I know you. I don’t even want to think how long it’s been since you got some decent action. And I know action when I see it.” She winked and took a bite of bonbon. “And I’m not the only one who’s noticed it.”
“Shut up. Who?”
“Charlene noticed right off the bat. She said you practically floated in this morning, all smiles and greetings and with a veritable trail of spring bunnies and twittering bluebirds hovering at your shoulder.”
She buried her face in her hands. “Oh, God.”
“So give. Who was it? Damn, these things are good. Why don’t they ever turn out this good when I make them?”
“You gotta sift the powdered sugar.” She slumped with her arms crossed in her lap and lifted what she sincerely hoped was a pitiful look up at her friend. “I tell you this in the strictest confidence. I don’t really care what anyone else thinks, but you’re right. You’ve put up with me too long not to at least know a little. There was a guy, but I can’t tell you who. He’s not from around here, and I very much doubt I’ll ever bump into him again.”
“I knew it.” Cheryl lowered her voice and leaned down again to better whisper. “Was he cute? Was he hot?”
She blushed, her own voice barely audible. “He was…God, Cher, he was absolutely beautiful. Body like a Greek statue.” She shivered, remembering. “And if you swear not to tell anyone else…” Pausing, she shifted to peek around Cheryl’s slim frame to make sure no one was listening at the door. Once sure of secrecy, she met her friend’s intent gaze. “I came three times. The first time.”
Blue eyes that she had quietly envied for five years widened. “Three? Wow! It’s been years since I managed that. The first time?”
Blushing furiously, she nodded and had to bite back a ridiculous giggle. She never giggled. “He woke me up later for two more.”
“Nice!” Sitting back, Cheryl reached for another bonbon. “And he’s not from around here? Pity. Sounds like a handy man to keep around.”
“Oh, no.” Firmly shaking her head, she sat up straight and adjusted her keyboard. “You know my relationship policy, and it wouldn’t work with this guy, anyway. He’s…complicated.”
“I like complicated.” Crossing her arms, her friend shrugged. “You know, one of these days, you’re gonna have to give up this Lone Woman policy. You think you’re happy, but everybody needs somebody.”
She rolled her eyes. “God, you sound like my sister.”
“Your sister’s smart, and my name’s not God.”
A snort escaped her. “I’ll remember that the next time you swear your advice on my love life is sound.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Standing away from the desk, Cheryl turned to leave. “Get to work, ya slacker.”
“Hey!”
But her friend headed for the coffee pot with a laugh, and Gabe turned back to her own work with a smile. She was not glowing. And if she was…well, who wouldn’t be after a birthday present like that?
Her smile turned to a crooked grin, and the morning went on.
Chapter Four
Quarantine
March
He still had her sister’s number. He could just call her up and say something witty like, “Hey, Mike! I really enjoyed your sister. Can I get her number for a repeat performance?”
Somehow, he doubted that would go over well.
He cancelled his last regular’s last appointment. He didn’t want her anymore. Didn’t want any of them. Josephine was too talkative and wore too much make-up. Sara’s breasts could set a world record. They actually intimidated him a little. Lana was too thin. Merry was too fat. Janette was a little too fond of her own ass. And Denise? Just…no.
He needed a new scene.
Wearing his newly common scowl, he pushed through Briggs’ glass doors for what he hoped was the last time. The sooner he moved on to Cali, the better. He didn’t think a vacation would cut it. After all, what would he be coming back to? The same-old same-old.
Regina’s face lit up as he strode over to her desk. “Blade! I haven’t seen you all week. You have a lot of calls.”
“I imagine.” He leaned on the desk. Slumped, really. “Look, I just came in to tell you I’m moving. No more calls for me. I gotta get outta here.”
Her mouth dropped open. “Moving? You can’t move!”
He shrugged. “People do it every day. Can I get my last check?”
It was a little joke, as all his clients paid in cash, but it failed to amuse. The receptionist looked gut-kicked, and he abruptly wondered if she’d carried something of a torch.
“But why?”
“Why what?”
Her eyebrows drew together. “Why are you moving? I thought you liked it here.”
He shrugged. “City seems smaller than it used to. I’m starting to feel like part of the scenery. Like the last stop on a guided tour.”
Dark blue eyes regarded him steadily. Finally, her expression changed from confusion to speculation.
“You haven’t really been yourself lately.” The speculation fell away, and she seemed to come to some kind of decision. She sat up straight and put on her receptionist face. “You could just call her, you know.”
He grunted. Surely, it wasn’t that obvious. “Call who?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Whoever it was that knocked you off your pedestal.”
Stymied, he could only gape at her.
“She obviously threw you, Blade. Just call her and ask her out. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“But…I…you…”
“People do it every day.” She smiled, softening her cool receptionist demeanor. “You’re not the first escort to develop a thing for a client. I just didn’t expect it from you, of all people.”
“Why me, of all people?”
She shrugged and handed him a thick envelope she’d pulled from a desk drawer. “You’re one of the few who really enjoyed the job. You weren’t just doing it for the money. I didn’t expect you to take the tumble.”
He snatched the envelope out of her hand. “I haven’t taken any tumble.”
“Regina, I’m moving. There’s nothing and no one to keep me here. Hell, I’m already halfway packed.”
She winced, then forced a smile and turned to her keyboard. “Uh-huh. Just call her before you go. You’ll kick yourself later if you don’t.”
He tucked the envelope into his pocket and left, actually considering the advice. Did he want to see Gabe again that much? Was she really the root of his discontent?
And how had Regina, a woman he saw maybe twice a week at most, seen through him so easily? Sure, he considered her more than an acquaintance, but…
Maybe he did have friends here. A friend, at least. Maybe he didn’t have to move just yet. He hadn’t even called the Brad-meister to see if he could crash on the couch a few days until he found his own place.
He could wait a week or two. And maybe he’d call Mike. Just to test the waters, so to speak.
Maybe.
Chapter Five
Is Your Gigolo Right for You?
April
“So, are you seeing anyone yet?”
Mike watched her sister carefully while she poked at the brats on the grill. As expected, Gabe groaned and rolled her eyes.
“Am I ever? And can I never visit without hearing that question?”
“I just thought—”
“What?”
She shrugged. “I dunno. I mean, it’s been almost two months. Don’t you miss having a guy in your bed yet?”
“I knew it.” Gabe leaned back against the porch railing, crossing her arms and looking entirely too smug. “I knew that ‘birthday present’ wasn’t just some innocent whim. You never do anything without an ulterior motive.”
The brat-poking became brat-stabbing.
“You, Mike Parker, are becoming dreadfully predictable in your old age.”
“And you, Miss Thang, ought to respect your elders.” She snorted and closed the grill’s lid. “And you ought to be fretting over your biological clock. Especially after a performance like that.”
But Gabe was still Gabe, and any mention of sex made her blush. “Geez, Mike. I regret ever telling you the gory details. Besides, the ol’ biological clock only matters when you plan on using it.”
“Gaaaaabe…”
“Miiiiiiike…”
Giving up, she turned to go back inside and work on the potato salad. Just as she reached the door, her cell phone rang. One hand on the doorknob, she dug the phone out of her jeans pocket and blinked down at the number. Why did it look familiar?
And then it hit her. Her eyes widened.
“Hey, kiddo, why don’t you go in and check on the rugrats for me? I’m gonna answer this and keep an eye on the brats.”
Gabe shrugged and obligingly went inside. Mike waited until she was safely alone before opening her phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi…Mike?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s Blade. Remember me?”
She leaned back against the nearest railing and crossed one arm under her breasts. “Strangely enough, I do.”
He chuckled, but it sounded nervous. “Look, I know this is weird, but I was wondering if I could get ahold of Gabe.”
Frowning, she thought a moment before answering. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“I know, I know.” He sighed. “It’s stupid, but I can’t stop thinking about her. I had a really good time with her.”
She wasn’t sure if she should be offended on her sister’s behalf or amused as hell. “I’m glad my little sister was a good time for you, Blade, but—”
“That’s not what I meant. I mean…I didn’t…oh, hell.”
She hated being interrupted, but she let it pass this time. She pushed away from the railing and paced across the deck, still frowning. “I think I know what you meant, but I’m still not sure it’s a good idea. Stop me if I’m wrong, but you actually want to, what, date her?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” He sounded relieved. “I want to date her.”
“I didn’t think that was allowed.” She paused deliberately, then hardened her voice. “In your profession.”
Silence. She would have felt bad if it weren’t Gabe being discussed. The man she’d hired had seemed nice enough on the phone, but…absolutely not.
“I don’t do that anymore.”
She blinked. “Come again?”
“I don’t do that anymore. I quit a couple of weeks ago. I may not have quit forever, but I wanted to give real life a try for once. I even re-enrolled at the university for the fall semester. Might as well finish my degree while I’ve lost my mind.”
He didn’t sound pleased about this change of heart, which did her heart no good at all.
“I’m happy for you, but how does that make things any better for my sister? And what makes you think she’d date you when she won’t even date regular guys?”
“Hey, look—”
But before he could defend himself, she cut him off. “I’m sorry. That came out worse than it should have.” She shook her head. “But this is my little sister. I can’t just hand her over because you’ve had some epiphany. What future could she have with you?”
He groaned. “Mike, please. I’m begging here. What difference does it make? You said yourself she’ll probably turn me down. If she does, I’d halfway planned to move to another state anyway. No loss on either side. I’ll go on with my life and she’ll go on with hers. But I have to take the chance.”
Oh, this was such a bad idea. This was in a completely different galaxy from renting him. This was setting her sister up with a tentatively former male prostitute. It was so wrong.
But he sounded sincere, and he seemed like such a nice guy. And Gabe would probably say no anyway.
“I’m sorry, Blade. I just can’t.”
“The name’s Jack, by the way. Blade sounds kind of stupid now.”
Jack. Such a normal name. It made him seem less…professional. Darn it.
“You do know she’ll probably say no, right?”
“Probably.”
“You swear you’ve given up the…you know?”
“Stack of Bibles.”
She bit her lip. Paced another circuit of the deck. Checked the brats. Prayed for forgiveness. What if Gabe said yes? Did that possibility even exist? And if she said yes to a gigolo, even just once, wouldn’t she be more likely to say yes to someone more suitable?
“Look, you can’t tell her I gave you her number. That’ll kill your chances before you even get started.” She snorted. “As if you have a chance in the first place.”
“My lips are sealed.”
“And I won’t help you in any way. If you break her heart, I will rip yours out and feed it to my children.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He sounded both amused and wary.
“If you make me regret this, Bla—Jack…”
“I won’t. I swear. Oh, and one more thing?”
“Yeah?”
He cleared his throat. “Could you…not tell her? About me quitting the business?”
She blinked. “Um…”
“I’ll be there in five minutes. Save me a place in line.”
Gabe checked her reflection as she hung up on Doug, one of her long-time guy friends. She really should have left twenty minutes ago, but she could never think of anything to do with her hair. As usual, she eventually just left it down to blow whichever way it wanted to.
She simply couldn’t make it behave. Besides, it was just a movie with the guys. Nothing special. Phil might encourage her to shave it like he’d recently done to his ’fro, and Doug would probably shake his own blond, boy-next-door locks in mock disappointment, but they’d live with it. They’d done so for going on eight years no
w, so she guessed they weren’t too ashamed to be in her presence.
She hit the door running, snatching up her keys and forgetting to drop her cell phone onto the charger. Thus, when it buzzed to life, spouting Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting while she fidgeted in line with her two best friends and Doug’s girlfriend, she very nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Nice.” Phil rolled his eyes. “Are you the only person in the world who still likes that song?”
Doug snorted. “No one ever liked that song.”
She ignored them and checked the number. It didn’t look familiar. Shrugging, she hit receive and put it to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Hiya, Gabe.”
Her eyebrows drew together. That voice sounded familiar.
“It’s Jack.”
“Um…”
“Surely you remember Blade Savage, at your service?”
Her eyes widened. “Jack? Oh, my God!”
“Ah, so you do remember me. Glad to know I’m not quite as forgettable as I was starting to believe.”
She felt a blush stain her cheeks, so she hastily turned away from her friends. They would tease her mercilessly if they saw it.
“How could I forget?” She groped for words. How on earth had he gotten her number? Had he had it this whole time? “How…are you?”
Phil edged into view and raised an eyebrow. Blushing, she waved him away, handed him a ten dollar bill and stepped out of line.
“Am I interrupting something?” Jack sounded hesitant. “I can call back another time.”
“No, no.” Still somewhat at a loss, she shrugged. “I’m just waiting in line for movie tickets. Phil can get me one. The trick is getting him to save me a seat.”
“Phil?” His tone sharpened.
“One of my friends. What can I do for you?”
Only supreme willpower kept her from smacking her own forehead. But why on earth had he called? She hadn’t even thought of him since—
“Actually, I was hoping…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I kinda wanted to, you know, get away from the city. Maybe for the weekend.”
“…Oh?”
“Maybe come see you?”
My Gigolo: The Care and Feeding of a Male Prostitute Page 6