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Christina
The next day,I attend the hospitality convention. I exude an air of calm professionalism, networking with potential clients at the Copley Hotel booth, and selling a number of event packages—wedding, galas, and even a trade show. But in the back of my mind, I can't shake the events of last night.
Jenna walks into the booth, twirling her Copley Hotel employee lanyard in one hand. She approaches me with an almost imperceptible skip to herstep.
"Guess what? Matt wants us to meet up again tonight!" Jenna shrills. "Isn't that exciting!"
Jenna had always been an especially bubbly person, but today she seemed as if she was charged by a couple hundred Duracell batteries.
"Who's Matt?" Iask.
"Remember? The hot Australian built like an oaktree?"
"Oh, right." I do remember. Perhaps it is best to get out with friends again and try to erase last night's memories from my consciousness—like vacuuming crumbs from a tight crevice. So, I agreed to her request to meet up with my friends again, this time at a poolside nightclub.
That night, without knowing any VIP club hosts working the venue, I pay the $25 entrance fee. I wear a tight, black, off-the-shoulder mini dress, gold earrings, and black pumps. Men eye me from various corners of the venue and I feel a renewed sense of desirability and power.
A DJ spins house music from a large poolside cabana, and young people are in party mode—lively with the possibilities that the night holds. I order a cosmopolitan from the bar, and marvel that I could almost be old enough to be the mother of some of these people, and then order a second drink in quick succession. Looking at the bill, I see I have already spent $25 on just two drinks. With the entrance fee, I am down $50, just likethat.
Money runs through my fingers like nothing, and I’m going to go flat broke on my way back, it seems. It looks like my prostitution stint may finance now but it won’t touch later, and that’s disheartening. That tightening feeling in my chest threatens to take over. I told myself I wouldn’t whore myself out anymore, but now I can’t stop thinking about the loss of income if I don’t.
I think about the man I promised to meet tonight. If I go through with it, I could make another $750 in one hour. I already fucked a guy once, so what the hell is once more? It wasn't bad. It could be a quick in and out. The more I rationalize how easy the money could be, the more I realize it would be ridiculous to pass up this opportunity.
I will go through with it afterall.
But there is one issue. I told the man that I am the best in the business. What if he is left disappointed? I don’t have any security. Being alone with this strange man in his room puts me at risk. I will be vulnerable. If I underperform and he gets upset, he could forcefully take his money back, or worse. And this isn't something I can report to the police.
I decide to leave the poolside club and slip out before my friends arrive. I order an Uber to take me to a nearby lingerie store, Provocative Honey. I need to make a splash with this man tonight.
The Uber driver smiles when I step into the car, drumming his pudgy fingers on the steering wheel to the tune of the radio. When he pulls up to the curb to drop me off he says, "You be safe tonight," as if foreshadowing some unseen predicament.
Those words would make me shiver with fear, if I let them. I determine to not internalize his comment as a foreboding prophecy, and shake it off as I enter the store.
After surveying my options, I invest in lingerie that is both classy and sexy. I think this client will be impressed. And with a new resolve, I head to the man's room at the Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Standing in front of the elevators, I dig the napkin out of my purse to figure out what room number the man wrotedown.
"Shit," I whisper. The number is hard to read. Is that a 3 or an 8? I hold it at a few different angles and decided that the napkin reads ‘814.'
The elevator opens at the 8th floor and I step out. I follow the rooms until I find myself standing in front of room 814. I flip my hair over one shoulder, straightened my mini dress, form my mouth into a sexy smile, and hope I have the right number.
I knock. I stand there for a few minutes, but no one comes to the door. I stare at the napkin again. Am I at the wrong room? I try to knock once more, this time a little louder. Still nothing. I hear nothing beyond thedoor.
Just as I turn to leave, I hear the lock jostle, and the door swings open. Standing there is the man expecting me, in a business suit, smelling of a light cologne that gives off hints of the Mediterranean—citrus trees, a salty ocean, and a faint, deep woodsy smell that reminds me of a camping trip I once took in the Sierras, and it makes my heart leap. His hair is perfectly groomed, and he greets me with a wide, white smile. "Don't you look delicious?”
“I could say the same about you," I reply and I step into hisroom.
"Before we start, put the money on the table," I instruct.
This man cleans up much nicer than I would expect, based on the drunk version of him I met last night, but I can't get too comfortable. If he doesn’t really have the $750, I will leave immediately.
He pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and carefully counts out the money, ensuring that I can see each bill as he places it down. When the full amount is accounted for, I am more comfortable touching him and I wrap my hand around his tie. I stroke his chest and take a step back, strutting seductively across the room, the same way I lured men at the Spearmint Rhino many yearsago.
Without hesitation, I kiss his neck, and bring his fingers to my face, sucking them hard, at first just the tips, and then shoving them deeper into my mouth. He draws his body closer.
Just from my experience the previous night, I am learning fast and feeling increasingly confident on how to perform my new, short-livedjob.
"I have a surprise for you," I purr. I slowly peel off my dress, revealing the black lacy lingerie underneath.
