by Jamie Knight
The night of the reunion, Carina and I first met at my hotel’s bar. She had gotten me a room a few blocks from her school. It was the perfect place.
If anyone saw us together, I could just explain that I was staying there for the reunion. As her fiancé, I was supposedly bi-coastal, flying back and forth for business.
Getting to the bar a few minutes early, I took a seat on a barstool and asked the bartender to bring me over a scotch. While he was working on that, I took a look at myself in the mirror behind the bar. Every hair was in place and my suit looked crisp.
The night was starting off well and by the end of it, I would be fifteen-hundred dollars richer. The thought made me smile. It was easy work.
Movement in the mirror caught my eye. Someone was coming in behind me. A woman with dark brown hair and the perfect hourglass figure walked into the bar. She started looking around.
My breath stopped as I looked over the way her full bust and narrow waist curved. That kind of figure could make a man crazy.
That was when I noticed her face: adorable and sweet, like the perfect girl next door. She had such a kickass body to boot. And she was my client.
I just wanted to bend her over my knee and spank her for feeling insecure about her high school reunion. I’d play with her pussy until she was begging me to fuck her. Maybe she’d let me grab ahold of her juicy ass and pinch her nipples while I thrust my cock into her wet pussy.
I told myself to stop thinking this way. I had a job to do and I didn’t want to be distracted.
I was very rarely turned on by any of my clients. I kept my career life and my personal life very separate and compartmentalized things as part of my job. But with Vicki, I couldn’t help thinking about how much I’d like to be with her for real – not just as her fake high school reunion date.
Carina saw me at that moment and briskly walked my way. The movement of her well-formed legs made that full chest jiggle and her hips sway. It was hard to take my attention off her and the little black dress that I wanted to peel off of her.
“Why didn’t you say something?” she immediately demanded once she got close to me.
It took me a moment to collect my thoughts, but even then, I stared back dumbly. I had no idea what she was talking about. “What? What do you mean?”
“Jim Howell?” she whined while rubbing at her forehead. “You didn’t mention you were friends with Jim Howell.”
She slumped onto the barstool next to me.
“I didn’t know that was an issue,” I replied. “Wait, how do you know him?”
“Vicky, my best friend is married to him!” she said, looking stressed.
I gestured to the bartender to slide me my drink. He did so. Carina grabbed it and slugged it down. I shrugged. Guess she needed it more than me.
“This is a disaster,” she said after the scotch was gone. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“You never mentioned who your friend was married to or that you knew Jim Howell,” I pointed out.
She froze and blinked her big, blue eyes at me. “I didn’t? All the personal info I gave you?”
“You said Vicky was married to Jim, that’s it. You didn’t mention a last name in the email.”
Carina sighed and put her elbows on the bar. She dropped her head into her upraised hands and ran her fingers through her hair.
“But Jim would know you were dating someone, right?”
“No,” I laughed. “We’re not that close. I mean, we’re friends, but — trust me, it’s fine. I met Jim when he came to speak to my class at law school. We’ve kept up a little, mostly through emails, but it’s been all business.”
Carina seemed to relax a little with that information. She sat up and looked me over.
“Sorry,” she said, exhaling in relief. “I’m new to this. I just… I can’t bear to get teased again.”
“That was high school,” I assured her. “These are grown adults. People mature and change. I’m sure they won’t even care.”
“You don’t understand these women,” she assured me, rolling her eyes. “They’re not going to change. If anything, they’re probably worse.”
“Well, I promise I will be absolutely charming,” I smiled. “When they get a load of me, you’ll be in the clear.”
She looked me over again and bit her lip just a little. A slight blush came to her cheeks and part of me wondered if she liked what she saw.
“Okay, fine,” Carina relented. “Let’s get going.”
As we drove over to the high school where the reunion was being held, I suggested to Carina that I abandon the whole “traveling for business” background. She reluctantly agreed, figuring that eventually too many lies might catch up with her via Vicky. I assured her that as a soon-to-be lawyer, I had to do some traveling and we could have met on one of those trips.
At the reunion, we made an entrance together. It was a low-key event just held in the high school’s gym. There were some simple decorations and tables set around a dance floor. Most of the crowd was surrounding the makeshift bar at one end of the basketball court.
I flashed a smile and turned some heads. In the reflection of a window, I caught a glimpse of the two of us. We made a good couple and I could tell some of the ladies were noticing.
I got Carina a drink and we made some small talk. I put my arms around her shoulders to give the impression that we were a couple in love. Carina tensed up for a moment.
“Relax,” I said under my breath. “We’re engaged, remember?”
“Sorry, it’s been a while,” she said nervously.
Shyly, she looked down, as if trying to not meet my eyes.
For a moment, I worried that we wouldn’t be able to pull this off. Carina was obviously not used to having a man touch her. That made me sad, so I pulled her closer to me until our bodies were touching too.
Her curves felt just as good as I imagined they would.
Carina let out a little gasp and I turned to look where she was looking. Jim had just walked in with a red-haired woman who must have been his wife.
“Don’t worry,” I whispered to her. “Everything is going to be fine.”
I waved to Jim, who lit up in a big smile and strolled over. He was a man who almost always was in a good mood and that made him a fun guy to be around.
“Leo!” he said, when they came close. “I was not at all expecting to see someone I knew here.”
After shaking my hand, he realized that I was standing with Carina. A brief moment of shock rolled over his features, but he settled into a pleased smile.
“Well, this is a small world, isn’t it. Hello, Carina.”
They shook hands.
“Oh goodness,” the red-headed woman gushed. “You did not tell me that your fiancé was so handsome, bestie.”
She grabbed onto Carina’s hands and shook her slightly as they both giggled.
“Let’s get us a table and the boys can go get drinks.”
Carina shot me an anxious glance, but then Vicky lead her away towards the other corner of the room.
Jim grinned at me.
“Well, we have our orders,” he jokingly sighed.
I grinned and we both turned to walk past the dance floor.
As we waited in line at the bar, Jim and I caught up, but invariably the conversation turned to my career. He had been a mentor to me over the years. Today was no exception.
However, he had no idea that I was working as an escort now, and I didn’t intend on telling him.
Chapter Three
Carina
I was sitting with Vicky at one of the tables in the gym, having a drink, trying to relax. But I couldn’t shake the thought that my entire scheme was going poorly.
Leo was standing around with Jim at the makeshift bar, gabbing away.
He was supposed to be fawning over me! That was what I was paying him for!
I glared at him. His light-blonde hair, which reflected the lighting from the dance floor, was softly tussled
. Part of me wanted to run my fingers through it and down the sharp line of his square jaw.
The escort had broad shoulders. His dark suit was so well tailored that you could tell that he was muscular and cut. I knew it was all pretend, but as I stared daggers in his direction, I was also slowly mentally undressing him.
Fortunately, Vicky didn’t seem to notice my distracted and foul mood. My best friend was swaying to the music and drinking down her fourth margarita. At least, she seemed to be having a good time.
“This Appletini is terrible; can I have another, please?” I said a little aggressively to the waiter who passed by our table.
“Sorry ma’am,” he said, scooping up my glass and heading towards the bar.
“What’s with you?” asked Vicky, as she nodded her head to the beat of the music. “Aren’t you having a good time?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know,” I said, trying to think of the right turn of phrase. “Leo is standing over there with your husband, ignoring me. I went to a lot of trouble to get him here.”
“What do you mean?”
She raised an eyebrow and bit down on the little straw in her margarita glass, which was now almost empty.
Oh fuck!
I couldn’t let her know what was really going on, so I pretended I didn’t hear her.
“Say what now?”
“You said you went to a lot of trouble. What trouble?”
“You know,” I said, trying to think of something that sounded sensible. “I had to book the flights and arrange the hotel room for him. You know men. They’re so unorganized!”
“Oh, yeah,” agreed Vicky, nodding her head so hard her updo started to come out of its bobby pins. “Sure.”
Still dancing in her seat, she turned and glanced around the room.
“But still, it’s nice to see everyone, right? I mean, you’re enjoying that, right?”
“I guess,” I said, still stressed.
I rubbed a hand over my forehead, trying to keep a headache from coming on. This whole plan was so ridiculous. I shouldn’t have even tried it. None of my former classmates were going to believe that Leo was with a girl like me.
He was hot. I was not.
I should have just accepted that I was going to be the joke of the reunion, and the fifteen hundred bucks I paid to be escorted was the price of my stupidity. I would have gotten the same result if I had just thrown that money in the trash.
A flash of golden-blonde hair caught my eye and my stomach dropped.
Grabbing Vicky by the shoulder, I pulled her to look towards the walking nightmare that I was watching.
“Here comes Sabrina and her entourage.”
Sabrina West, my evil nemesis back in high school, had started to strut our way with her huge, red lips pulled into a smirk. Sabrina was the classic cheerleader type: blonde, blue eyes, statuesque.
She was flanked by Kyla and Mora, her lackies, a redhead and brunette respectively. They were like an evil version of Charlie’s Angels.
Back in high school, they were the mean girls that destroyed reputations and broke hearts. They had teased me every day for four years. Judging by the look on Sabrina’s face as she approached, I didn’t think anything had changed.
As soon as she opened her big mouth, she confirmed that fact.
“Oh, hey, Carina,” sneered Sabrina, in her high-pitched voice. “Didn’t expect to see you here. I figured you’d have to stay home with your two dozen cats by now.”
“I don’t own a cat, Sabrina,” I replied calmly, trying to not take the bait.
“Oh, no,” she replied, feigning concern and shifting her long hair from one shoulder to the other. “No man or cat. Your nights must be so lonely.”
She faked a frown.
“Actually, my fiancé is over there,” I said, pointing at Leo.
Sabrina’s eyes went wide when she looked over towards the bar. It wasn’t surprising, Leo really could have been a model. While she stammered and tried to find her lost breath, her minions stepped towards me.
“Looks like he’s more interested in Vicky’s man than you,” noted Kyla, with a quick nod of her chin. “Is your husband a switch hitter, Vicky?”
The three mean girls erupted into a mess of grins and giggles.
“Kyla,” said Vicky, standing up and wobbling slightly in her tall heels. “I’m not sure who you think I was back in high school, but I can tell you who I am now.”
“Who’s that?” asked Kyla, fake concern on her face.
“I’m not your bitch,” said Vicky, vaguely threateningly. She pointed her empty glass towards each of them. “But I’ll take you outside and make you mine. So shut your talk hole before I shut it for you.”
My best friend slammed her glass onto the table and crossed her arms over her chest. She kept her eyebrows up in a threatening manner.
“You talk big,” noted Sabrina, putting her hands on her hips and flipping her hair again. “But you’re all talk.”
“Try me,” offered Vicky, bobbing her head and waving a finger at them. “All three of you. Girls’ bathroom. Just like old times, if you want.”
Sabrina laughed, amused. Her two followers quickly joined in.
“Some people just never grow up,” she chuckled, gesturing for her entourage to follow. “We have more important things to do that play with you nerds. Better get back to your men before they leave you two for each other.”
Vicky took a step forward, but I caught her before anything could go further. I think she genuinely wanted to beat the crap out of Sabrina, but I held her back with my hand and shook my head.
As the mean girls walked away, I started to think that Sabrina was right and began to tear up. I would never have a man or a family of my own. I was just kidding myself.
“Oh, honey, don’t let that bitch get to you,” my friend cooed.
“I wasn’t that,” I said, dropping back down into my chair. “I just… I can’t… You and Jim are so happy. I just want that happiness and I don’t have it. Why can’t I have it?”
Vicky stepped back a little, her face blank.
“What are you talking about? You have Leo,” she said. “Are you not happy with him? Talk to me.”
She tried to kneel next to my chair, but her balance was off, and she wobbled until I held her by the shoulders.
“Let me go to the bathroom first,” I said, putting her off and directing her back towards her own chair. “I just need to pull myself together.”
Rushing to the bathroom down the hall, I blissfully found it empty. I splashed water onto my face and looked in the graffiti covered mirror.
Is this what my life had become? Hiring escorts to pretend to be my boyfriend? God! What was I thinking?
All I ever wanted was a serious relationship and now look at the lengths I’m going to just to pretend to have one. Why is this so hard? Why can’t I find the right guy?
And even when I hired a guy to like me, he ended up ignoring me at the very event I needed him at!
Nothing has changed in my life. Nothing will ever change. Sabrina and girls like her continue to win, while I continue to lose. I should just go back to my room at Vicky’s and forget this stupid reunion.
Leaning against the sink, I stared into my own tear stained eyes.
All that money and time wasted! Why did I fly out here? I could’ve come out here at any time to visit Vicky, but no, I got my hopes all up for this reunion. I was going to prove to everyone how cool I was. What a joke. So stupid!
The moment I walked into this building it was like turning right back into that same scared high schooler.
I should just stay in New York. People there think I’m smart, at least. Spending my life teaching other people’s children isn’t so bad. At least I’m doing something nice for people. At least I’ll be remembered by my students.
I composed myself and fixed my makeup. I decided on a plan to just to ditch Leo and head back to Vicky’s alone.
I’d text Leo from the car. He’d
get his money and disappear from my life and I could go back to New York without much of a fuss.
The reality was, I had romanticized this trip just like I romanticized everything about relationships. Love wasn’t real. It was just a word used to sell greeting cards.
Pretty girls get the guys and that’s that. People like me, with muffin tops and junk in my trunk, just subsist in the shadows. Maybe if I was lucky, some guy someday would throw himself at me out of pity.
If that didn’t happen, I could do what Sabrina said.
I could get myself some cats to keep me company.
Why not be a cat lady?
So many women do it; it must be at least mildly satisfying.
Chapter Four
Carina
Walking out of the bathroom, I nearly plowed into Vicky coming in to check on me. She immediately sensed that I was getting ready to bail. Looking over my face, she grabbed my hand.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” she surmised, as we stood in the school’s hallway together. A frown pulled at her lips. “Don’t leave, Carina. Those girls are in your past. Let’s just have a good time. We haven’t even gotten on the dance floor yet.”
“I can’t,” I said, looking away and fighting my tears again. “This whole trip was a bad idea. I should’ve just come out here last summer and visited you and the family. I almost did that. I’m so stupid. Instead I come home, expecting the reunion to be different somehow. To show that I’m different.”
“You can’t let that bitch, Sabrina, rattle you,” Vicky insisted, letting go of my arm and leaning against the nearby lockers with her arms crossed over her chest. “Let me stomp her face a few times. You’ll feel better.”
“No, I won’t.”
“I will. Let me do it at least. This night has been kind of boring so far.”
She rolled her eyes.
A fight was the last thing I needed right now. It would just draw more attention my way, and with each passing moment, I felt like my plan with Leo was more and more vulnerable. Something would slip and I would be the laughingstock of the school again.