Читать книгу For Hire: The Intimate Adventures of a Gigolo - Luke Bradbury - Страница 11

Late April

It was Saturday night and I was out clubbing with my flatmates and a couple of their friends. Carrie and co had decided that I was their ‘project’ and they were determined to pair me up with someone. We were at least agreed on that score, though what I thought of as ‘pairing up’ was, I suspected, rather different to what they meant.

I hadn’t yet told them that I wasn’t on the market, but that for me a nightclub was purely a prime place for pulling one-night stands. Just because I was having plenty of sex for cash didn’t mean I didn’t give it away for free when the opportunity arose. No-strings sex suited me and my lifestyle just fine—though I wasn’t sure that my flatmates would see it like that.

Fly-by-night guys with a different girl coming out of their bedroom each morning could get their own reputation. I imagined seeing disapproving looks between my flatmates as I let the latest conquest out the front door. It’d surely be ten times worse if they knew what I did for a living!

In the nightclub, I hovered by the wall while the others danced in front of me, so I still had a relatively clear view of the rest of the floor—and any available talent.

And then I spotted her through the shifting crowd on the other side of the room. I recognized her but I had to rifle through my mental Rolodex to realize who she was.

Melanie.

I was more used to seeing Melanie dressed in sexy lingerie in her bedroom than anywhere else. But here she was, in the same club as me. A completely different venue. The incongruity shocked me.

Fortunately, Melanie hadn’t yet noticed me as far as I could tell. And I didn’t want to point her out to Carrie in case that drew her attention.

I took a swig from my beer bottle and kept an eye on Melanie as I lent a casual ear to the girls’ talk. They were pointing out hot guys to each other while trying not to be caught gawping. It made me think of how Mark and the gang and me liked to give any babes we spotted marks out of ten.

I’d never thought of Melanie like that. Sure, there were your nines like Sasha and Chloe, the delicious yet intimidating twosome from my early escorting days, or a rare ten like beautiful model, Mae, but the rest of my clients merged into ‘a better than average shag’. But what surprised me about Melanie as I glanced at her through the crowd was that she was one of the last of my clients I’d expect to see on a night out. She was off sick from work because school teaching had taken its toll on her. She’d always struck me more as someone who’d prefer a quiet night in. And at the moment that I was realizing how mistaken I’d been about that, she caught sight of me too.

Our eyes met and we nodded a greeting at each other. Melanie made a step towards me from the other side of the dance floor, but stopped dead when I didn’t make any move myself. I could tell that I’d spooked her a bit; that she wasn’t sure whether to approach me or not.

The problem about escort work was that there was no rule book. I had to make the protocol up as I went along. I’d been fortunate that I’d never yet bumped into a client when I was out with another—I’m not sure quite what I’d do if that happened. Presumably I’d ignore the one I wasn’t with, and pray that they’d do the same for me. But when I was having a night off and I spotted one of my regulars, then things were a little less cut and dried.

From experience I’d worked it out that it was best dealt with if I at least acknowledged them with eye contact and a warm smile, but had also decided that it wasn’t my place to do anything more—as much for my own ‘safety’ or peace of mind as theirs. After all, a client could be shit scared that I might put them in a really awkward position by forcing them to explain themselves to any friends they were with. My reason for not approaching them was simply because I wanted to live my own life apart from the escorting.

I’d been seeing Melanie almost once a fortnight for the past three or four months. And, if I was being honest, I wasn’t altogether sure that I was happy being forced to acknowledge, even to myself, what our relationship was while I was on my own time.

Seeing a client when I was in a different groove of my life muddied the waters too much. The first time it happened shocked me, because I’d imagined London to be such a large place that it simply wouldn’t be possible. God, how wrong I’d been about that! It stood to reason that some day I just would end up hitting the same club or major shopping street at the same time as one of my customers. Coincidence was just the law of chance. But whichever way I looked at it, I had to admit that things were so much easier when we all stuck to our demarcation lines.

If Melanie wanted to touch base with me this evening, then it had to be completely up to her. But even if she didn’t, the very fact that we’d caught sight of each other meant I would have to ensure that some time later in the evening I’d text her just to say ‘hello’ and hint at why I hadn’t gone over.

In my experience, clients seemed to like that. The next time they contacted me, they’d mention it in an understanding way—and then book another session. Which suited me just fine.

I turned back towards the Girls. They’d each made a real effort tonight and it was nice to see them out of their student uniform of jeans and T-shirts. I looked down at my own white shirt, jacket and jeans—smart casual—and trusted that they thought the same of me. I knew standing here with my back to the dance floor was a cop-out, but I wasn’t sure how else to deal with seeing Melanie.

Just ignore her and hope she goes away.

In the very next moment, she was at my elbow.

‘Luke?’

I took a deep breath, and in the next second had switched into ‘escort mode’. I swivelled on my heel to look directly at her with my carefully composed smiley face, and she had a huge grin for me. We embraced and kissed in greeting.

‘Fancy seeing you here!’ she gasped, like it had never crossed her mind that I might have any sort of life outside her flat.

‘I didn’t expect that you’d be here either, Melanie. It’s a small world, eh? It’s lovely to see you,’ I beamed in return.

I now had the full attention of my flatmates. I could sense them at my shoulder, checking out the competition, the way girls did. I could only hope that none of them would dig too deep to find out how Melanie and myself really knew each other. ‘We met on the Internet’ was a pretty useful explanation to keep in my back pocket.

Melanie scrubbed up as well as my friends. She had a good figure and was tall, with dark-brown shoulder-length hair, but she was older than them which I suspect reassured them. Early thirties sounded ancient to a young twenty-something. An age away.

Melanie turned to three girls standing behind her who had followed her across the dance floor in clear curiosity. They were around the same age and not bad looking either, and immediately struck me as quite a raucous bunch. They were dressed similarly in high heels and short shift dresses that left little to the imagination and were damn easy to remove. The message was loud and clear: ‘That’s what we’re here for.’

‘Everyone, may I introduce Luke? He’s a friend of mine.’

Friend. The catch-all term. There was a chorus of ‘Hi Lukes’ from the other three.

‘And Luke, these are my other friends: Hanna, Alison, and Jayne. They’re teachers too.’

‘Pleased to meet you,’ I smiled back.

I realized then that I had nothing to worry about. If Melanie was fine about being seen with me, then I was OK about that too.

‘And these are my flatmates, Carrie, Kirstie, and Laura.’

‘Nice to meet you too,’ the girls chorused to each other.

I was amazed how quickly the two parties melded into each other. I could tell it was going to be a good night. As long as Melanie didn’t reveal our secret. That was the one thing that could spoil the whole evening. I pushed it to the back of my mind.

Cross that bridge when you come to it.

Watching Melanie and her mates, it struck me that the very fact that these girls were out tonight showed that they were good enough colleagues to enjoy each other’s company on their nights off. That was the trouble with my work. Being a straight male escort made it something of a ‘lone wolf’ profession. And I was especially aware of that since my mates had left for Aus without me.

Having a close-knit group of friends was certainly something Melanie needed, I knew that. She’d told me she hadn’t been at school since before she’d hired me, which by my calculations meant she’d had months off sick. She’d had depression and it’d taken a while to get back on her feet, but obviously her girlfriends hadn’t forgotten her just because she wasn’t at work either. That said something about both her and them. That they were a nice bunch of people.

‘And what do you teach?’ I said to the nearest of Melanie’s companions. It wasn’t something I was particularly interested in knowing, but I knew it’d set the ball rolling. Though, even as I was saying it, I was very aware that it was also a fucking bland and unimaginative question to ask a teacher.

At least she had the decency to reply. She pointed at each one of her friends in turn, ending with herself. ‘Art, maths, English, English.’ Alison paused: ‘Like you really want to know,’ she joked.

She had me sussed. I liked that.

‘The same way you’re interested in what I do for a living,’ I fired back.

I noticed Melanie taking a sip of her drink like she was trying to disappear in the glass. It seemed like she was willing me to keep her secret. She hadn’t realized that she had nothing to worry about on that score.

‘So, what do you do?’ Alison quizzed, now curious.

‘Oh, y’know, this and that.’ I winked. ‘What most Aussies do when they visit Britain, y’know.’

It was a shame Mark and the others weren’t with me now. They sure would’ve backed me up on that one. I watched Melanie relax, clearly relieved that I hadn’t given any hint of her game.

I had a split-second realization that if I played my cards right I might have a chance of pulling Alison—but not as a client.

I could be in here.

Yet I remained mindful that I had an arrangement with Melanie and I had to be careful not to mix things up. For one thing, it might lose me work. And, frankly, that was the bottom line.

I had been seeing Melanie on a fortnightly, sometimes even a weekly basis for months now at her place in Hendon, round the corner from the police cadet school. Any early awkwardness on her part had been replaced with bouts of friendly, familiar sex that was fluid and fun. I liked having Melanie as a regular because our sessions were uncomplicated—easy money.

Trouble was, I couldn’t help now wondering what sex with Alison might be like. Not that I was about to signpost that. I noted she was watching me closely. She took a step away from Melanie and the others to join me. She was on the same wavelength, then.

‘Well, who’s for another drink? Would you like to help me carry them, Alison?’ The oldest, most obvious techniques sometimes worked the best.

I took the orders over the sound of the thumping bass. There was laughter from our group.

‘Don’t Aussies tend to hunt in packs?’ asked Alison at my shoulder as we queued at the bar.

I looked down at her and nodded, smiling. ‘True. I did until recently, you know, but my mates went home again.’

‘And left you alone in a nest of English girls, you poor soul!’

I shrugged playfully. ‘Depends which way you look at it.’

‘You’re not missing your mates, then?’

I had to admit I was. They’d have enjoyed tonight’s spectacle, I just knew. Finding themselves surrounded by a bevy of up-for-it girls.

‘Actually, I am,’ I said.

I thought of all the good times I’d had in London with those guys, practically from the time I’d touched down here. They’d been as good for me as I suspected that Melanie’s friends had for her. A gang to catch up with and go out with.

‘That must make a huge difference to you, doesn’t it?’ she sympathized. ‘All on your tod in London.’

‘I’m a pretty sociable kinda guy, I can assure you,’ I winked, though I knew there was some truth in what she was saying.

‘Oh, I’m sure you are, Luke,’ she agreed, placing the palm of her hand against my chest.

I flicked a glance back at our friends. Melanie thankfully had her back to us and seemed to be in deep conversation with Jayne, so I reckoned I had until Alison and I returned with the drinks to make any move I was going to make that night.

I felt the pressure of Alison’s hand and looked directly back at her with a grin across my face. She’d seen me look at Melanie and cocked her head.

‘Is there a thing between you and Melanie that I don’t know about?’ she queried, and let go of me.

‘What, me and Mel? I don’t think so,’ I lied. ‘And, if there was, we’re each going the wrong way about it, aren’t we?’ I chuckled.

I looked towards the bar. Our turn was rapidly approaching so I knew I didn’t have long.

Apart from our greeting, Melanie and I had barely spoken a word to each other. I could see she wasn’t up to giving any hint tonight to her friends that we knew each other too intimately, so she overcompensated for that fear by acting distant, making a point of talking to the girls. But I was suddenly aware too that it wasn’t as if I’d done anything to try to close that forced gap between us. I wondered if it was that reserve between people who were supposed to be friends that Alison had noticed.

‘Oh, we’re friends,’—that word again—‘but that’s as far as it goes. Look, she’s got more to say to my flatmates tonight than to me!’ I laughed and nodded my head in their direction.

Alison pursed her lips. ‘But you and Melanie are good friends. Anyone could see that the way you two said “hello”.’

I winced inside as I stepped up against the bar and ordered the list of drinks. Alison was getting too close to the mark for comfort.

‘Well, y’know, she’s been ill and I’ve made it a bit of my business to try and cheer her up. That’s made us close.’

Hadn’t it just.

I placed my hand on Alison’s wrist, and repeated myself, ‘But that’s as far as it goes.’

Hearing this, Alison smiled slightly to herself.

‘Alison, I tell you what. I bet I can prove how much me and Melanie are just good friends,’ I challenged as the barman poured out our drinks.

Alison licked her lips, then turned her face directly to me. She had pretty features, which were given strength by the assertiveness in her eyes.‘Oh, I’m always open to a gamble. And how might you do that?’

‘Pass me your mobile,’ I said to her as I paid for the drinks.

Alison did so, raising an eyebrow. She duly picked up three of the glasses and watched as I tapped my number into her contacts page. I slipped the phone into her shoulder bag.

‘Call me,’ I mouthed to her. She nodded silently, turned, and made her way through the crowd back to her friends.

I picked up the remaining glasses, and followed her back across the room.

I was sitting at a small table with my eye on the door of the bar, waiting for Alison to arrive. I’d only been here around five minutes and we’d arranged to meet at eight p.m. so she still had another quarter of an hour. I didn’t mind that she wasn’t here yet. It gave me time to collect my thoughts and wonder about what I was doing with her.

And then Alison herself came sweeping through the door and strode straight towards me.

‘Luke!’ she exclaimed.

I rose to greet her as she gave me a warm hug.

There wasn’t an awful lot of romance in that,but then again maybe that was fitting, seeing as we didn’t know each other very well yet. We’d been out a couple of times since we met at the club and I for one was happy to be taking things slowly. It meant our relationship was still casual enough for me to swat away any niggling worries about how it might affect my time spent with Melanie.

‘You had a good day at school?’

‘You don’t really want to know that, do you?’ she laughed.

She was right in one. The trouble was that I wasn’t sure where to turn from there.

Because there was so much we couldn’t talk about when it came to seeing Alison. It was difficult to even mention Melanie because of the discomfort I felt about being out meeting Alison instead. But it was also because I had to conceal so much about how I had come to know Melanie in the first place.

‘You due for another night out clubbing with the girls any time soon?’

She nodded: ‘Hope so. But you know how it is. Teaching takes up so much time. You’re at school during the day, then after that you’re at home marking books until the early hours. We’re certainly due a break.’

‘I like it that you go out as a gang,’ I admitted. ‘Teachers on the prowl!’

I chose not to mention Melanie by name, as I suspected Alison was trying to avoid doing too. I knew I felt that asking Alison out betrayed my friendship with Melanie, and I wondered if Alison might somehow feel she was cheating on her friend? But then again, why should she?

I was getting paranoid. I’d made it quite clear to Alison and in my own head that Melanie and I had nothing going on, so the three of us were each free to date whoever we chose. Yet somehow Melanie was still getting in on the act, demanding to be noticed. It made me shiver.

‘“Out on the prowl”? I like how you put it,’ smiled Alison. ‘But sometimes I think I’d like to break out of that mould. I love the clubbing, but being surrounded mostly by teachers can feel a bit claustrophobic at times. I guess like you Aussies!’ she teased.

That got my attention. I thought back to me and the lads out on the pull.

‘Used to be,’ I reminded her. ‘My mates are back home. I’ll be returning too pretty soon.’

Alison sucked in her lips and I realized I might have said the wrong thing. I’d just signalled that if anything was going to happen between her and me, it wasn’t going to be anything long term. Not that that bothered me. But I could see it might not be what she wanted.

To be honest, due to my guilt about Melanie, I couldn’t see whatever I had going with Alison lasting very long at all anyhow. Even as I was trying to concentrate on the girl in front of me, I was mentally arguing with Melanie to shut the fuck up.

I haven’t let you down, for God’s sake. You’re only my fucking client, Melanie. I owe you NOTHING. Except to turn up on time and give you what you want for the duration. The rest of my life is entirely my business.

But the trouble was that there was a quieter voice at the shoulder of my inner Angry Person, reasoning with me that, even so, I was still sitting here, wasn’t I, and having a drink and a date with a good friend of Mel’s. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that I was betraying her.

The truth was that I wasn’t quite sure how to play my evenings spent with Alison. With Melanie and any of my clients I was ‘Escort Luke’, a friendly, happy-go-lucky bloke with a perpetual smile on his face. They could never see me having an off-day.

When not working, I was able to be more myself, though even with my flatmates I could never tell the whole truth. But because of who she knew, Alison fell between the cracks. Which meant that I needed to come up with a third persona to fill that gap. Just finding something to talk about over a drink while not letting on too much was proving exhausting.

Alison picked up her glass of wine and drank from it, watching me as she did so, as though she was mulling something over in her head.

And then she spoke. ‘Luke, how and where did you and Melanie meet? I’m curious.’

Aren’t you just?

I played for time. ‘You really want to know?’

She nodded, and there was a quizzical look across her face.

‘It’s just I can’t make out how or where a teacher like her would meet an Aussie working shifts.’

I had nothing to fear after all. She’d tossed me a damn easy ball. ‘It’s not that difficult!’ I laughed. ‘I was a barman and she wanted a drink. Simple as that. We just hit it off. That’s all.’

I stressed that the subject was effectively closed with that final ‘all’. Alison took the hint.

‘That makes sense. And it doesn’t surprise me. Anyone could hit it off with you, Luke,’ she teased, and reached out to squeeze my wrist.

I couldn’t help wondering if she realized what she was actually saying. That as regards my sex life, I could indeed hit it off with anyone. That’s what made me a damn fine escort, wasn’t it? And I couldn’t help wondering too if she was hinting that she had continued suspicions about my real relationship with Melanie. She presumably hadn’t guessed about any money changing hands between us. But when she referred to us ‘hitting it off’, she seemed to be saying that me and Melanie were still somehow linked up.

She’d hit the nail on the head there. To be honest, try as I might to get Melanie out of my mind as no more than just another one of my clients, I couldn’t. Perhaps because of her illness, I was very aware that I was betraying our professional relationship by getting close to a friend of hers. It shouldn’t have mattered, but somehow it did. I enjoyed having Melanie as a client. I didn’t want to chance losing that.

I finished off the dregs of my pint and observed Alison through the glass. Yes, I’d ask her out on another date, but I could still guess where we were heading. Nowhere fast.

Like the Princess said, there were three people in this relationship.