We finished hanging up our clothes and then met Everleigh in her kitchen. She had numerous bottles of whiskey, tequila, rum, gin, and vodka.
"What? No champagne?" I teased.
She grinned. "That's for Christmas day."
"Ah." I chuckled. "Well, Douglas likes his whiskey, and I'm good with a vodka cranberry or something like that."
"Perfect." She grabbed all the ingredients, and we each made our drinks before taking them out back to sit around the fire pit.
"When is your next pageant?" Douglas asked Everleigh.
"Next month," she replied.
I yawned, and they looked at me. "Sorry. Just a long day."
They went back to talking about Everleigh’s upcoming pageants. Every time I turned around, she had another pageant. It wasn't a surprise to me since that was how it was when we were growing up.
I yawned again. "Sorry. I think I'm going to head to bed." I started to stand, expecting Douglas to say that he was going to bed too.
Instead, he said, "I think I'm going to have one more drink before calling it a night. Another one, Everleigh?"
I blinked. It seemed Douglas was really getting along with everyone in my family.
"Yeah, I could go for another," she replied.
"Okay. Well, I'll see you in the morning then."
I turned and went back inside, putting my glass in the dishwasher on my way through the house. Needing to wash off the day, I jumped into the shower before crawling into the bed. When I woke in the middle of the night, I reached for Douglas, expecting to find his warm body next to me. Instead, the bed was cold. I got up and walked into the living room, which was dark and empty. Thinking they might still be outside by the fire, I went to the back door, swung it open, and found out they were. Except what I saw wasn't what I was expecting. They were both naked, and Everleigh was in his lap riding him while throwing her head back in pleasure.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
Present Day
* * *
I was at another fucking wedding. This one was for my man Brad and his girl, Cassie. I really didn't understand how any of my friends wanted to be tied down to one woman for the rest of their lives, especially since we were paid to fuck. Yeah, okay, that wasn't technically the job description, but we all knew what went on behind closed doors, and I had no desire to ever be with only one woman again. I had done that when I first started as an escort, and my girlfriend at the time didn't understand that it was just about money and sex. So, after we broke up, I decided never to go down that road again. At the time, I was twenty-one and just wanted to have fun. I was the life of the party, and having an old ball and chain didn't work with my lifestyle.
I had no elaborate backstory like my friends. I wasn't ex-military, or a cop, or an aspiring athlete who got injured. I was just a cocky, sexy, tattooed dude who liked to fuck. I also had no crazy story about how I got hired by Saddles & Racks. I’d known escorts existed, so I’d searched for a service online, found S&R, called up Mark, and got an interview.
That was six years ago, and the rest was history.
"If you're fucking next, I will cut your dick off," Mark whispered next to me as we watched Brad and Cassie say their vows before a Bruno Mars impersonator. When in Vegas …
"Do you really think you need to worry about me?" I chuckled under my breath.
"I didn't think I needed to worry about any of you, and now the fourth guy is about to be a married man."
Brad and Cassie had been engaged for almost a year, and therefore, Brad had been out of the game for a year, working with Gabe and Autumn at their self-defense business. Cassie had recently gone back to work at the jewelry store where she had been employed when Brad had been shot. Gabe and Autumn had a kid and another on the way. Paul and Joss were badass FBI agents, and Vinny, who was still teaching special needs kids, and Tessa, a stay at home mom, had two kids who were their world. Seth—who was never an escort, but worked undercover with Joss on a case—and his wife, Cat, a dentist, were expecting their first child. Needless to say, everyone was having kids or getting married, and that would never be me. Not only did I not want to settle down with one woman, but I also couldn't imagine having a kid.
"You don't need to worry about me," I assured him. "I'm not a sucker like them. No woman is going to tie me down."
"That's what they've all said."
"Yeah, but they've all been in love before. They clearly wanted it again." I hadn't loved my ex. That was why it was so easy for me to pick my career over her.
"Brad had never been in love," Mark stated and then waved his arm to the front. "And now look at him."
"Yeah, but Brad had that hero complex, and he and Cassie went through some shit. I'm just a guy who likes to party and fuck."
"Well, like I said, if you quit on me, I'm cutting your dick off. Finding decent guys to take their places has been challenging."
"I won't be getting tied down," I reiterated. "Plus, you have Galen, and he's good."
"He’s a firefighter, so he has a hero complex too."
"Not all heroes want to get married."
"True, but I'm going to start putting a clause in your contracts that states before you give notice, you have to find me five replacements."
I chortled. I understood where Mark was coming from. All of my friends, who were now out of the game, had regular clients, and regular clients meant money coming in. With the revolving door, it wasn't necessarily a steady income for Mark. I, however, still had my regulars alongside new clients I was working with. Money was good.
"You may now kiss your bride," fake Bruno said.
Everyone stood and started to clap as Brad and Cassie sealed their fate with a kiss.
Yeah, that was never going to be me.
What set me apart from most of the escorts at Saddles & Racks was that I was always willing and able to travel with a client. I didn't mind having a paid vacation where I was most likely to get laid. Okay, I always got laid. If I didn't know better, I'd think that I was keeping Saddles & Racks open with my bookings. Maybe that was why Mark was all on my ass about not settling down.
Checking my schedule on my phone, I saw that a regular had booked a weekend away to Lake Tahoe. Natasha and her extended family took a trip each year during the summer, and like me, she never wanted to get married. She had a good job at an advertising firm, got to travel the world, and liked to fuck. She hired me each year to keep up the ruse after the first year she took me on her trip. I was so good that Natasha didn't even live in Vegas and still booked me a few times a year—and not only for her family vacation.
Me: I see we're going to Tahoe this weekend. Did you book us the room with the Jacuzzi?
A few minutes later, Natasha texted back: Of course I did.
I smiled as I texted back, remembering everything we'd done in said Jacuzzi: And you packed your toy?
Natasha: Stop. You're making me turn beet red.
Me: So? What's wrong with that?
Natasha: I'm in a meeting.
Me: What are you wearing?
Natasha: You're going to get me fired.
I grinned and texted: No, I'm going to get you wet.
Natasha: Already done.
Yeah, I was that good. She didn't even need to see my face to get turned on.
Me: Go to your office and take your panties off, boo.
Natasha: Who said I was wearing any?
I groaned. Now she was turning me on.
Me: Facetime me and let me see your pussy for proof.
Natasha: I would, but I'm stuck in this meeting.
Me: Go to the bathroom.
Natasha: Nick …
Me: Fine. I'll see you in Reno tomorrow.
Each time Natasha booked me a flight to Reno, and then we would drive to Lake Tahoe together as though we were a real couple.
Natasha: Can't wait.
For the past three months, I had been torturing myself every time I opened my refrigerator. I was doing it on purpose bec
ause I wanted the wedding invitation on the fridge to steer me away from any bad foods.
You’re invited to the wedding of
Everleigh Marie James
and
Douglas Marcus Alexander
Since the night I had caught them fucking in Everleigh's back yard four years ago, I hadn't spoken to either of them, and I hadn't gone home to spend any holidays with my family in fear I would run into her, so my parents would switch between coming to Las Vegas to visit me and going to New York to see the lovebirds for Christmases and Thanksgivings.
After I graduated from Columbia, I got a job as a medical technologist in Las Vegas, and I had been living in Vegas ever since. My life was good despite the lack of love in it—and the wedding invitation staring me in my face.
The wedding that was fast approaching.
The wedding that was in Fiji.
The wedding I really didn't want to go to.
The wedding I had to go to.
"Fuck my life." I slammed the fridge.
When I received the wedding invitation, I was dumbfounded. I knew from my parents that Everleigh and Douglas were still dating, but I never imagined I would be invited to their wedding. And in Fiji of all places. If anything, it would be a tropical vacation because, let's be honest, it was still a trip to Fiji for a week.
I wasn't going to go, but when my parents came to visit me over Christmas, they convinced me that I should because Everleigh was my one and only sister, and I would regret it if I didn’t attend. I wasn't happy for either of them, but I had to be the bigger person. It didn't mean that I was going to speak to them, though. I hadn't picked up the phone or even sent an email to my sister. I did, however, RSVP, and my dumbass said I was bringing a guest, but I had no guest to bring. I had dated a few guys here and there, but I wasn't currently dating anyone.
My fridge torture was working, except it wasn't helping me find a date even though I had lost ten pounds since receiving the invitation. "We just met, but I have this wedding to go to all the way in Fiji, so want to be my date?" I could never ask that because none of the men I had gone on dates with were up to par. I needed someone who would make the perfect Douglas Alexander look like a scrub.
Yes, perfect. That was what my parents thought of both him and my sister. They were the perfect couple in their eyes, and it didn't matter that they had both broken my heart. My mother even had the nerve to tell me that Everleigh and Douglas were a better match. How and why she thought that was beyond me. I was educated like Douglas, but Everleigh was good-looking like him, and having a trophy wife was better in all of their eyes than having a smart, educated one. It was no wonder I felt like the outcast.
I was.
My cell phone buzzed with a text.
Adriane: Lunch?
My best friend was reading my mind.
Me: Yes!
I didn't want kale or carrots or any of the healthy crap I had in the fridge. I wanted a giant cheeseburger to give me the comfort I needed to feel better about myself. It would also make me gain five pounds, but what was the point? Everleigh and Douglas were getting married no matter what, and I was the one not good enough.
"So, I guess I'm going to the wedding alone," I stated around a mouthful of what I swore was the best cheeseburger I'd ever had. It wasn't, but since I had been dieting, it tasted like heaven on a bun.
"Just hook up with one of the groomsmen," Adriane replied around her own bite.
I choked slightly. "I'm not sleeping with any of Douglas's friends."
"Why not? He banged your sister, and now look."
I didn't know which of Douglas's friends would be groomsmen, but none of the friends I knew him to have were my type. "I don't know. That's not me."
"It's not like you'd see any of them again. Just have one—or more—of them screw your brains out."
I stuck a fry into my mouth and thought about the last time I’d had sex. It had been a while, but I wasn't sure any of Douglas's uppity friends could bang my brains out. "Yeah, I don't think any of them can do that. I'd break them."
Adriane tilted her head slightly and narrowed her eyes at me. "Oh, shut up."
"I'm serious."
"Well, then they would have a story to pass along to Douglas about how you were so good in bed that you broke their fucking dick off."
The waiter took that moment to check on us. "Um, how's everything tasting?"
"Good, thank you," I replied.
"Great. Just let me know if I can get you anything else."
"Are you single?" Adriane asked.
My dark brown eyes widened.
He chuckled. "Actually, I'm not."
"Ah, that's too bad. You could have gone to Fiji."
"A!" I scolded.
"What?" She grinned. "I'm trying to solve your problem."
The waiter didn't say anything further and walked away.
"I'm not taking a stranger to the wedding."
"Well, I would go with you if I could get the time off of work."
"I know." Adriane had just started a job as a dental assistant and wouldn't have vacation time for several months.
"You know"—she took a sip of her strawberry milkshake—"I heard some of the girls talking in the office, and apparently, Dr. McKenna's husband is friends with some male escorts at Saddles & Racks."
"Huh?" I asked, confused.
"You know what an escort is, right?"
"Of course, I do."
She lifted a shoulder. "Maybe you should hire one."
"Have you lost your mind?" I snorted.
"Maybe." She laughed. "But they'd probably play the part of your loving boyfriend, while you get your brains screwed out of your head. I also don't think you'd break a professional's dick off."
That night, I kept replaying my lunch with Adriane, and before I knew it, I had the Saddles & Racks website up on my computer. I didn't know if any of them went out of town on dates, how much it would cost, or if they would want to go all the way to Fiji, but to my surprise, my research showed that hiring an escort to go with you out of town was a thing. As I read each guy's profile and found out only one guy at Saddles & Racks would travel, I smiled. Nick had multiple tattoos and looked like a bad boy, whereas Douglas would never mark up his body. He was the complete opposite of the soon-to-be Dr. Douglas Marcus Alexander.
Nick was perfect.
I wasn't sure who I wanted to shock more, my ex or my family that didn't care about my feelings. Nick would do both, and therefore, I sent an inquiry to the agency to see if I could book him for the trip. I couldn't believe I was considering hiring a male escort, but it was my last resort, even if I spent my entire savings doing it.
It didn't take long for my phone to ring with a local number after sending the email. "Hello?"
"Yes, is Ashleigh available?"
"This is she," I responded.
"This is Mark from Saddles & Racks. I received your online inquiry about hiring Nick for a destination wedding."
"Yes," I confirmed.
"Do you have a few moments to go over details so I can book that for you?"
"Yes, I do." I took a sip of the cranberry and vodka cocktail I'd made myself to calm my nerves.
"Great. I just have a few questions."
He went through the basics about when and where, and made sure I would be paying for everything. He also told me the price for the boyfriend experience, and set up a date for me to meet Nick.
How had I let Adriane talk me into this?
I was going to Fiji.
In all my time traveling with clients, it would be the first time I would go to a tropical paradise other than Hawaii. I'd never been international, and I was excited. This is why I never want to stop escorting. I couldn't wait to tell the guys and rub it in their faces that while most of them were home with screaming kids, I was going to be lying on the beach sipping a cocktail and getting paid to do it.
Strolling into Oak & Ivy, I had a huge grin on my face.
"Oh God,"
Vinny groaned.
"What?" I questioned, slipping into a seat at the table. The bartender looked over at me, and I nodded that I wanted my usual salty dog, which I preferred with vodka, not gin.
"You're up to something," he replied.
"What makes you say that?"
They guys shared a look, and Gabe answered, "You never have a grin on your face."
"Sure, I do," I argued. I was a happy dude, and I felt as though I was always smiling. My only worry in life was when my friends got mixed up in scary shit like going undercover to take down a pimp or getting shot in a jewelry robbery.
"No." Brad shook his head. "You're the prick in the group."
"Gee, thanks." I rolled my blue eyes.
"It's true," Paul confirmed. "But, I have seen you smile."
"And when was that?" Vinny asked. These fuckers knew that I smiled.
"When it’s about getting laid. Like when I needed him to take my date at a club once. Even saw him dance," Paul clarified.
"So, what gives?" Gabe questioned.
I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer. "Your boy is going to Fiji!"
"For a date?" Galen inquired.
I nodded. "For a full fucking week too."
"Why you?" Galen continued to question.
"Because I can go on a whim, unlike you, fireman." The bartender brought over my drink, and I gave him a nod of thanks.
"When do you leave?" Paul asked.
"I'm meeting the client tonight, and then we leave Monday." I took a sip of the salty-sour yet sweet goodness of vodka and grapefruit juice.
"Should we bet?" Brad questioned.
"Bet on what?" I furrowed my brow.
"If you'll join The Fallen," he clarified.
"You think he's next?" Vinny inquired.
"Wait." I held up my hands. "You think I'm going to fall in love with this chick because she's taking me to Fiji?"
"Take it from me," Brad said. "The more time you spend with a woman, the more likely it is you'll develop feelings."
"What was it that Paul said before Brad fell for Cassie?" Galen questioned.
Paradise & Vodka (Saddles & Racks Book 6) Page 2