The Escort (7 page)

He wanted
Julie. He hardly knew her, and two days ago he’d had no desire to
be in any kind of relationship – thanks to Janine – but there was
something about her that called to him. He decided it was a
combination of her sweetness and her fragility that appealed to
him. He had never met anyone like her before, and he was a little
alarmed by the feelings of protectiveness she brought out in
him.

“Earth to
Court? Hey? Did you convince her?” Cal nudged him with his foot and
Court gave him a dirty look.

“None of your
business, Cal.”

Cal arched his
eyebrow and took a large bit of the sandwich. “None of my
business?” He mumbled around the bread. “Interesting.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?”

Cal shrugged.
“Only that it’s easy to tell when you actually like a woman because
you refuse to talk about it. You’ve gone on one date with this
chick and technically, she paid you to do it. I mean, I’m getting
the money but still…”

He dropped his
sandwich on the plate sitting on his lap and fished out his cell
phone. “That reminds me.” He checked the time and sent off a quick
text.

“What are you
doing?” Court asked.

“Letting
Vanessa know what time the date finished. You went longer than the
four hours, little brother.”

Court rolled
his eyes. “I was born two minutes after you, Cal. Give the little
brother thing a rest, would you?”

Cal laughed and
pinched his cheek. “You’ll always be my baby brother.”

“Knock it off!”
Court punched him in the arm and Cal winced before picking up his
sandwich again.

“So, you
obviously like this woman. Can I assume that you took care of the
poor woman’s virginity problem?”

Court didn’t
answer and Cal sighed. “Just let me know if I should be expecting
another date with her or not.”

“Yes. One
more.” Court replied.

“Just one?”

“Yes.” He said
shortly.

Cal studied him
for a moment. “All kidding aside, Court, I think you should take a
step back. Nothing’s going to happen between you and this woman,
you know that right? I mean, she’s paying you – me – to take her
virginity. She obviously doesn’t want a relationship with a man. If
she did, she’d be out there hitting the bars like a normal
woman.”

“She’s
perfectly normal!” Court snapped. “She’s just shy and embarrassed
that she’s a virgin at thirty.”

“Thirty!” Cal
whistled. “Jesus, she really is an old maid.”

“Shut up, Cal.”
Court said warningly.

“Well, why the
hell is she still a virgin? She’s not ugly. In fact, she’s pretty
cute. Did you ask her why she hasn’t bumped uglies with
someone?”

Court sighed.
“She alluded to her dad being pretty controlling and it sounds like
he did a pretty good number on her self-esteem. She thinks she’s
ugly.”

Court took
another bite of his sandwich and chewed noisily before swallowing.
“You do know that you can’t have a relationship with her, right?
Even if you convinced her to date you outside of the escort agency,
she thinks you’re me. What do you think she’ll do when she finds
out you’ve been lying to her?”

“I know, Cal!”
Court replied grumpily. “I don’t want a relationship with her. I
just want to stop her from doing something she’ll regret.”

“Which is why
you’re going on a second date with her?”

“Yes.”

“So you’ll
convince her to save herself for marriage or her one true love or
whatever, and then you’ll never see her again. Is that right?”

“Yes.” He
repeated firmly.

Cal laughed.
“You let me know how that works out for you, baby brother.”

* * *

“Oh, Julie.”
Mary breathed quietly. “You look gorgeous.”

Julie gave her
an earnest look. “Do you really think so?”

Mary stood up
from Julie’s bed and turned her around so she was facing the full
length mirror.

“Are you
kidding me, Jules? You’re a goddamn knockout. He’s not going to
know what hit him.”

Julie stared at
herself. She was wearing a dark blue dress that hugged her full
figure. The skirt was above her knees and she pulled a little
self-consciously at it before studying her cleavage. The neckline
was very low and, thanks to the push-up bra she was wearing, a
ridiculous amount of her breasts was showing. She had never worn
something so revealing before and she tried to tug the neckline of
the dress up with one hand while pulling at the bottom of the dress
with the other.

Mary slapped at
her hands and tugged the neckline back to its proper spot. “Leave
it, Jules.”

“It’s too low,
Mare. My nipples are almost showing.” She protested.

Mary laughed
and slapped her lightly on the ass. “No, they’re not. Now, come sit
down and let me finish your make-up.”

She led Julie
to the attached bathroom and pulled a pack of eye shadow from the
bag sitting on the counter. She closed the toilet lid and motioned
for Julie to sit down. Julie perched carefully on the toilet before
giving Mary a look of horror. “The dress is too short! The top of
my stockings are showing.”

Mary laughed.
“They’ll be hidden under the table. Don’t worry about it. Just, for
God’s sake, if you drop something remember to squat not bend to
pick it up.”

She carefully
brushed the shadow on to Julie’s eyelids. “So,” she said casually,
“you never really gave me the details of your first date with Cal.
How did it go?”

“Good. He took
me to the fair and won me the cutest stuffed elephant. We walked
around and he took me on the Ferris wheel. I’ve never been on one
before.”

“I know you
haven’t.” Mary said gently. She used a larger brush to apply blush
to Julie’s cheeks. “What else did you do?”

“We climbed to
the top of this hill – oh god, Mare, I was panting so loudly it was
embarrassing – and then we talked for a bit. Court said – “

“Court?” Mary
interrupted.

“Oh, uh…” Julie
gave her a nervous look. “The agency asks them not use their real
names but Court told me his real name.”

“Did he?” Mary
said in a neutral voice.

“Uh-huh. I
promised I wouldn’t tell anyone though so don’t let it slip when he
gets here tonight, okay? Anyway, we watched the fireworks from the
top of the hill and then he took me home.” Julie replied.

“That was it?”
Mary asked.

“Yes.” Julie
lied.

Mary gave her a
scrutinizing look. “Did you know that when you’re lying, your left
eye twitches?”

“It does not!”
Julie protested.

“Yes, it does.
It’s why I can always tell when you’re lying. Even when we were
kids, Jules.”

Julie blushed
and licked her lips as Mary arched her eyebrows at her. “Did you
have sex with him?”

“No.” Julie
replied.

“What did you
do?” Mary prompted gently.

“We – we kissed
and made out a little during the fireworks.” Julie replied. She
loved Mary but she wasn’t going to give her the exact details of
what had happened. She wanted to keep that memory to herself. It
was too sweet and special to share.”

“Did you enjoy
it?”

“Yes, very
much.” Julie couldn’t stop the grin from crossing her face.

“So why didn’t
you sleep with him?” Mary asked.

“Court asked me
to give him two dates. He wants to make sure this is, you know,
what I really want to do.”

Mary frowned.
“Sounds like an easy way to make some extra money. String you along
by pretending he’s concerned about you.”

Julie shook her
head. “No, it’s not like that. He said he would take my virginity
on the second date if that was what I wanted.”

“And is
it?”

“Yes. The way
Court makes me feel, I’ve never felt anything like it before.” She
blushed and gave Mary a nervous look. “I want him so badly,
Mare.”

Mary was giving
her an odd look and she set the make-up brush down before crouching
and taking Julie’s hands. “Jules, you’re not falling for this guy,
are you?”

“What?” Julie
shook her head quickly. “No, of course not.”

“That’s good
because, honey, you know he doesn’t care for you, right? I mean, it
doesn’t sound like he’s cold-hearted and he’s obviously got morals,
but you haven’t forgotten he’s being paid for this, have you?”

“No, I haven’t,
Mary.” Julie said a bit crossly and pulled her hands free. “I might
be naïve and a bit clueless but I’m not stupid. I know Court is
only being nice to me because I’m paying him to.”

“That isn’t
what I meant.” Mary said soothingly. “I just meant that it’s not a
good idea to get too attached to this guy.”

“This was your
idea. Remember, Mary? Get my stupid v-card out of the way so I
could find someone to have a relationship with. Are you telling me
that I shouldn’t go through with it now because Court is a nice
guy?”

“No, not at
all.” Mary replied. “But,” she took Julie’s hands again and held
them tightly, “don’t get attached to him, alright? Just keep a
level head and remember that you’re going to sleep with this guy so
that you can find someone to have a real relationship with. You
don’t want to go thinking that you can have a relationship with an
escort. That isn’t going to happen, honey.”

“I know it
isn’t.” Julie said firmly. “Now, hurry up and finish. Court will be
here any minute.”

* * *

Court
straightened his tie before ringing the doorbell. Julie had called
the day after the fair and set up an appointment for tonight. Cal
had asked what he wanted to do and Court had directed him to tell
Julie he would be taking her out for a formal dinner.

The door opened
and he stared in surprise at the slim redhead standing in front of
him. “Oh, hi. I was looking for Julie?”

“Come on in.
You’re Cal, right?” The woman replied.

“Yes.” He stood
in the hallway as the woman looked him up and down.

“My name is
Mary. I’m Julie’s best friend.”

“It’s nice to
meet you.” He shook her hand and she led him down the hallway and
into the living room.

“It’s nice to
meet you too. Julie will be right down.”

“Thanks.”

“You bet. Can I
get you a drink?” Mary asked.

He shook his
head. “No, thank you. I – “

He stopped, his
eyes widening as he looked behind Mary’s shoulder.

Mary grinned
and turned to see Julie standing in the doorway. “Hello, doll.”

“Hi, Mary. Hi
Cal.”

“Hello, Julie.”
He didn’t recognize his own voice. It was hoarse with need and
desire and he cleared his throat as Mary gave him a knowing
grin.

Julie, dressed
in a form-fitting blue dress and heels, looked like a goddess. He
licked his lips and tried not to stare at the gorgeous amount of
cleavage on display as Mary grinned again and picked up her
purse.

“Well, I’m
going to head out. Have fun, Jules.” She kissed Julie on the cheek
and winked at her before nodding to Court and leaving. They heard
the front door close and Julie gave Court a nervous smile.

“How are
you?”

“Speechless.”

“Is that good
or bad?” She asked.

“Good. Very,
very good. You look amazing, Julie.” He walked toward her and had
to stop himself from tracing his fingers over her exposed
cleavage.

“Thank you,
Court.” She flushed prettily at the dark look of desire he was
giving her.

He took a deep
breath and looked away from her, desperate for a distraction that
would stop him from pushing her to the couch and taking her right
there. Her dark hair was sleek and shiny and her lips were painted
a soft red, and he couldn’t stop taking quick peeks at her
cleavage. He took another deep breath and stuck his hands into his
pockets.

“You have a
really nice home.”

“Thank you.”
She hesitated. “Would you like a tour before we leave?”

“Sure.” He
checked his watch. “We’ve got plenty of time before our
reservation.”

“Alright. Well,
this is the living room.”

He took a quick
look around the room before following her down the hallway to the
kitchen.

“This is the
kitchen – obviously.” She gave a nervous laugh.

“It’s very…
shiny.”

She laughed and
inspected the gleaming white cupboards and the stainless steel
appliances. “Yes, it is.”

He followed her
from room to room, admiring each of them, until they reached a
doorway at the end of the hallway.

“This was my
father’s study.” She opened the door but didn’t go in and he stuck
his head in and peered around. It was a large room, dominated by a
mahogany desk in the middle of the room. He peered at the painting
above the fireplace. It was of a man and a little girl and they
wore identical looks of solemnity. It was easy to see that the
little girl was Julie, and he studied her carefully before his gaze
switched to the man.

“Holy shit.” He
said suddenly. “Your father is Peter Winslow?”

She nodded and
he gave her a look of surprise. “Peter Winslow, the artist?”

“Yes. You know
his work?”

“I do. I’m a
big admirer of it, actually.” As a child he had always been
fascinated by art and had taken a few art classes throughout the
years.

He glanced at
her. “I thought I recognized the paintings in the hallway.”

“They were all
painted by my father.”

He stared
thoughtfully at her for a moment. “Your father was very
well-known.”

“He was.” She
acknowledged. “He did very well for himself.”

“Very well for
himself?” He grinned a little. “Your father was a goddamn
millionaire.”

“Yes.” She
hesitated. “Now you know why I don’t work.”

“I guess you
don’t need a job when you’re the daughter of a millionaire.”

“I didn’t.” She
said simply. “But I wanted to work.” She was suddenly afraid that
he would think her lazy. “After I finished high school I wanted to
become an architect.”