Shambles

The four of us had barely settled into our corner bench when the first guy approached us. He was a regular and only had eyes for one of us. We had known him before we started working for a little extra cash- he went to school with us and it was obvious he had been interested in Holly for years. I was convinced Holly texted him every time we were going out so he would be the only guy she was with. Heck, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they officially started dating when this year started. “Hey you four, just needed to get some before that wretched first day of school tomorrow didn’t you?” His eyes were only on the five-foot three strawberry blonde though, so none of us replied- except her of course. “Obviously you had the same idea in your head, Tom, or you wouldn’t have come out. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and dragged him away to his car without a goodbye. I admittedly envied her- she was practically in a full swing relationship with this guy. The only reason he was ok with her “coming out to the corner” was because sneaking out with the rest of us was her only safe way of getting out; if she was caught she could at least come up with some excuse using us. Holly’s mom was paranoid; no dates until you’re out of school paranoid. This was the only possible way he was able to see her over the summer. I was sure once they got together over the year, they’d have all of school to cope with their issues.

“And why do you look so sad angel?” I jumped, not having noticed a guy walk right into our little gathering while I was too busy staring after Holly. From the pissed off expression on Laura’s face, I could tell she had been interrupted, probably saying something sarcastic like “Thomas and Holly running off together to get married” as she always did. Or maybe this guy had been standing there a few seconds longer than I thought and Laura had been trying to get his attention for herself. I ignored Laura and flashed a smile at the man, drinking him in. He was tall, dark, toned-at least his arms- and handsome. It was as though he just jumped out of a romance book or something. He was wearing a designer suit. I dropped my smile. Rich folk didn’t mingle in this part of town. Not that anywhere in town was a “bad area,” but where we were was notorious as a hangout for seniors and college students. This guy was clearly in his mid-twenties.

“Are you lost buddy?” This earned me a very hard, very quick, unnoticeable kick from Janine and an angry, jealous and surprised expression from Laura, as though I had just ruined her night. He didn’t seem to notice me cringe, and he laughed sincerely. “No, I think I’ve found what I’m looking for. You see, I need an escort-” Laura pounced, all over him in a second. “I’d be happy to, if you’d just lead the way to your car.” He looked at her, puzzled, and was clearly astounded and taken aback by her abrasiveness. Janine and I stood holding back giggles. “Actually,” he pulled his arm out of her iron clutch and looked at me. I flushed and stared right back at him. “I was wondering if you’d like to.” I froze and gazed mouth opened. Most people just gave into Laura, after all, she’s a fair and beautiful redhead. People liked confidence. I was plain with my brunette bun next to Laura and Janine. Janine pushed me forward and whispered to me, “one hundred, text me before and in the morning.” Then she looked back at him and flashed her million dollar model smile. “She’d love to.”

The moments or minutes from the group to his car went by as a bit of a haze. I remember he opened the passenger side door to a Lamborghini and I sort of toppled into it. He laughed that mesmerizing laugh again and somehow we were off. I think we were quiet for a while before I was able to feel myself again. “So what are you looking for tonight hon?” I turned to face him, letting my hand slide across the gears and onto his thigh. He cleared his throat and continued to stare out the window. “Actually, I was only looking for an escort to show me around. I’m sort of new to town.” I laughed nervously and pulled my hand back and faced forward again out of embarrassment, my face burning a fiery red. I thanked all the powers for the fact he couldn’t see me in his dark car. That wasn’t at all what I expected. “Oh… What kind of sights were you looking for?” It was embarrassing for me, but what else was I supposed to do?

We ended up parking the car in a garage so I could just give him a walking tour of the city, starting in the busiest side of town. My heels weren’t exactly comfortable but I sucked it up and kept telling myself things could be very different. “This is basically nightclub central.” I spun around and motioned to all the converted buildings. “It really just depends what you’re looking for. There’s a strip club over there, an oxygen bar in this club…oh and that bar makes the most interesting drinks…” I looked back at my “client,” if I could even call him that at this point. I felt like I was leading around a puppy, his eyes were still on me, not on the buildings. “Which is your favorite?” He asked suddenly. I stopped and looked at him again. “What?” He laughed that light, deep laugh. “Which club do you frequent?” I looked around and grabbed his hand to take him farther down the street. I wasn’t much of a club girl, but Janine had dragged me to a few after we both turned 18 in the beginning of the summer so I could take my pick.We stopped in front of a very dark smaller building without a sign. “It really doesn’t have a name, but we call it The Hall. Hey Rich.” I grinned at Richard the bouncer and motioned back to the man I was escorting. “He’s new to town. I was just showing him the best place to hang out.” He grunted and opened the door, “Might as well hire you as a publicist Angel.” I flashed him a grin. “Gonna give me your paycheck?” This earned me an eye roll, “You already took one of ‘em. Careful or I’ll start charging you to get in.” I grabbed my guy and pulled him through the door into the music.

Inside the club wasn’t crowded. There were people on the couches and at tables relaxing on the sides, and a decent number of people on the dance floor-but not so many that you had to push your way around. The lights were dimmed and there were strobes going off every few seconds around the room. “It’s calmer than most places, but they hire the best DJs. They have some live bands during the weekdays.” I dragged him over to the bar. “Steve! Get something for me and…” My voice trailed off as I looked at my guest, just now realizing we had never done proper introductions. It wasn’t usually in the job description to take names. Steve didn’t really seem to care, so he didn’t wait for a proper introduction when he walked away to fetch two beers. My guy was so close I could feel his chest rumble with laughter, but couldn’t hear it over the music. “Ian, my name’s Ian.” He yelled at me over the music, and I smiled. “Ok Ian, you probably guessed my name from Richard outside.” “Your name is not Angel…I had just been joking when I first came up to you and called you that.” I shrugged. “Lucky guess. You could have called me a lot of things- most of them not even close to Angel.” I winked and he smiled, I noticed a dimple on his right cheek “But what’s your real name?” I shook my head, way too far ahead of him. “You don’t get that.” I pulled my fake ID out for Steve and left it on the counter, watching Ian peek over at the name. The thing about fake IDs…it doesn’t have to be your name. I personally didn’t think I looked like a Maureen, but it was very far off from Angelina. “How’d you come up with Angel?” I laughed and acted offended and snatched up the ID, knowing what he was referring to. “My friends said I had that ‘innocent’ vibe, so it stuck after my friends didn’t think I’d win anyone over when I got my first job. Turns out I’m not that innocent.” There was a moment of silence as he took giant gulps of the beer and looked me up and down. “I wouldn’t peg you for a heartbreaker.” I sipped my beer and shrugged. “I’m too messed up not to be.”

We left the club and wandered the streets for another hour. I pointed out the nice and not-so-nice parts of towns along with restaurants and shopping. He was charming and polite to everyone I introduced him to and I laughed more with him then I had in months, maybe years. We found ourselves walking along the trail in the park. “This is the best place to come at night,” “Alone? Do they call you Crouching Tiger too?” I laughed and hit his arm. “I can take care of myself. Besides, do you see anyone around? Why is a rapist going to hang out in a park that’s under construction and no one ever goes to?” I led him towards the swings, sat down, and took my heels off. I leaned back in the seat and looked up at the sky. “It’s the only place in this whole city you can see the stars. It’s just beautiful…and peaceful, you know?” There were a few moments of silence before I looked over at Ian and caught him staring again. Once I again I was grateful it was dark and he couldn’t see that my cheeks burning red. “What?” I asked, sitting up again and twisting around to face him. He tilted his head to the side. “How did you get involved in… what you do?” I shook my head and grabbed my shoes. “I told you, I’m messed up. Don’t try to figure it out.” I got up and started heading in the direction we came from. “Come on, we should go get your-” I felt a grip on my wrist and before I knew it I was being whirled around. I found myself encircled by his arms and as I looked up at his face, his lips found mine. I hated kissing clients-it was way too personal-but I didn’t want to pull away from him. Instead, I dropped my shoes, wrapped my arms around his neck and parted my lips, pressing deeper into the kiss. I felt his tongue against my lips, then against my own tongue. It felt different than any kiss with my past boyfriends- I felt comfortable, but sparks were flying. Each time our lips broke apart, we would return to each other with more urgency. This is a mistake. I told myself reasonably, but my body wasn’t responding to reason, and it wouldn’t let me push him away. I knew he was just a man paying for me-I shouldn’t be letting him take advantage of me. This was all for a game. After what felt like ten minutes, better judgment finally got the better of me and I broke away, looking down at the ground between us. I reached up and put my hands on his chest to keep some distance between us, but his hands came to rest on my arms. He’s a client. Just a client. He doesn’t care. When I felt composed I slowly pulled my hands away from his gentle touch, picked up my shoes and started once again toward the exit. “We better get a move on, the ATMs a bit out of the way.” He didn’t say a word to me.

We got the car first and the only thing he said to me before he went to the ATM was to ask how much I charged. When I told him a hundred an hour, he didn’t flinch, he didn’t try to negotiate, he just got out of the car and upon returning, handed me four hundred dollars. We sat there quietly for a while, until he decided first to speak. “Do you want me to drop you off somewhere? Do you have a car?” I shook my head, and then realized he probably couldn’t see me. “No, just go wherever you’re going and I’ll call for a ride. Or I’ll walk if it’s close to home.” He didn’t seem convinced. “It won’t be a problem for me, really.” I smiled but knew I couldn’t let him drop me off at my house- I couldn’t very well have visitors at all hours. All four of us had promised that if we got with a guy, we wouldn’t bring them home even if we could (that was specifically for Janine since she lived independently). “Honestly? I can’t, not without my sisters having a heart attack. Besides, Laura would probably try to jump you.” He smiled and I perked up, not having seen him smile since we were at the park. “I fended her off before, didn’t I?” “But now you’d be on her turf. She’d probably rig the place so you couldn’t escape.” He looked worried, and now it was my turn to laugh. “No, she’s not that crazy, but you still can’t take me home.” We pulled into a parking lot next to a hotel. “The apartment I purchased is still getting cleaned out by the previous owner- I’m just here for two nights.” He answered before I could even open my mouth to speak. “So yes, I’m new to town and yes, I actually do live in town.” He got out of the car, opened the door for me and held out a hand which I accepted. “Do you want to come up or do you just want to call your ride from down here?” I looked from the hotel to the road. It must have been somewhere between two and three since he had paid me for four hours. I could stay; maybe he actually did want me to stay and was too polite to ask. This, after all, is my job. I looked at him and smiled. “Why don’t you show me around now?”

His “room” was the penthouse. “How cliché.” I murmured as he took my coat and hung it on the back of a chair along with his. He smirked. “The company is paying for this. They wanted me to start on time, so I figured I might as well go all out.” I walked through the hall and came into a living room/kitchen area. “Well, they must have really wanted you.” I went over to the window that looked out over the city and the larger houses heading uptown. One of them was mine. I pulled my phone out of my purse and sent a quick text to Janine saying I was alive and that I’d talk to her in the morning. “Naw, they just didn’t want to pay someone to take my place for a few days.” I dropped the bag and nearly jumped when he came up behind me, his hand on my arm. His touch sent sparks across my skin that I embraced, taking his hand in both of mine and bringing it to my lips and kissing his knuckles softly. I closed my eyes and his hand brushed my cheek, making its way behind my neck and then down my back as I took in a breath. Looking up at his face I could see the conflicting emotions that I wanted to eradicate from his mind. I pressed my lips to his, and it wasn’t long before he was giving in, parting his lips too. Ian’s hands explored every bit of my body and my own hands traced lines and circles up and down his back under his shirt, each time making him arch. “I thought you were going to call for a ride.” He finally breathed into my ear between kisses. I bit my lip and shook my head, giving him a provocative smile and raise of eyebrows. “They’re not going to miss me since I haven’t called yet.” He smiled dangerously back at me and came in for another kiss that I dodged, this time I could feel him completely getting comfortable. I worked on unbuttoning his shirt clumsily, until finally I got frustrated and managed to rip off the last few buttons. He fell back onto the couch as I straddled him, legs on either side of him. “Whoops.” I leaned forward and kissed his neck, then gently placed a trail of kisses down his front. “It’s all right,” He panted, catching my hair and pulling my head up to take a break from what I was doing, “those things are always a pain in the ass to fasten anyways.” I laughed and unfastened his belt, then pushed his pants and boxers down to around his knees. With that I stopped, leaning on an elbow to the side of him and gently stroking him with the other hand teasingly. “I think…” my hand worked its way up, away from his member as I spoke, “I’ll just go find the bedroom and wait to play there.” I leaned over and kissed him roughly, nipping his lower lip before I pulled away and sighed. I crawled over him and got up, walking backwards in the direction of the bedrooms. He looked up at me and rolled over onto his side, and I paused in the middle of the room to push my black panties down to around my ankles. I stepped one leg out of them and lifted the other with the lacy lingerie around it, and I took it in one hand, twirling them around my finger as I used my other hand to pull the hem of my dress up my thigh a bit. “Hopefully I won’t be kept waiting too long.” He started to get up and run in my direction, and I flung the panties at him and took off toward the bedroom.