The Night Off (16 page)

Maybe having Nat in her life could be a good thing, after all.

On the Wednesday after her life-altering weekend with Emily, Nat met her best friend Bridget for their weekly lunch date at their favorite cafe wearing the same shit-eating grin that had been plastered on her face since Sunday night. Bridget took one look at her and popped an eyebrow in surprise. “Who is she? What’s her name?”

Nat dropped into the chair opposite Bridget and enjoyed a long, appreciative sip of the glass of lemonade Bridget had ordered for her. She set it down with a contented sigh. “Why did you come to that conclusion?”

“You’re glowing.” Bridget wrinkled her nose, scrutinizing her carefully. “Like, disgustingly happy. Either you’ve met a girl or you just landed a job at a Michigan-star restaurant. I assume it’s the former.”

“That’s
Michelin
-star,” Nat said lightly. “And her name is Emily.”

“Ha!” Bridget sat up straighter. “Where did you meet her? Who is she?”

Nat had been waiting all week for the opportunity to tell someone about Emily. Bridget was her sole confidante and Nat’s only real friend besides her boss, Janis Copeland. At thirty-five, Bridget had been an escort even longer than Nat. She was a constant source of sage advice about protecting herself and balancing work with the rest of her life. Bridget understood her better than anyone. She respected that Nat aspired to more than selling sex and had been the first one to suggest that she consider turning her love of cooking into a new career. Bridget only wanted the best for her. So why was she suddenly intimidated to tell Bridget just how hard and fast she’d fallen?

“Don’t get shy now.” Bridget nudged her with her foot. “Let’s start with where you met.”

“She was a client—”

“Ooh.” Bridget gave her a knowing look. “Scandalous.”

Nat laughed. “Shut up.”

“Was this one of your fantasy appointments? What did she have you do?”

Nat had always been open with Bridget about her professional and private life and didn’t plan to stop now. Yet she battled a twinge of guilt over the knowledge that sharing such personal information might embarrass Emily, if she and Bridget ever met. Which she desperately hoped they would. “Cone of silence?”

“Of course.” Bridget clapped her hands together, eyes shining with excitement. “Was it something kinky? Or is she more mundane—like she wanted to pretend she was meeting a one-night stand at a bar?”

“I physically abducted her from the parking lot at her workplace. Forced her to drive us to the penthouse, where I dominated her for the evening. Talked nasty to her. Spanked her.” Nat shocked herself by blushing. “You get the idea.”

“
Nice
,” Bridget said, nodding appreciatively. “I know you like the kinky ones.” The waiter chose that moment to approach with their usual sandwiches that Bridget had ordered. The young man’s gaze drifted to Bridget’s ample cleavage as he set a roasted vegetable ciabatta in front of each of them.

Knowing that Bridget would enjoy the praise, Nat smiled when she caught the young man’s eye as he stepped back from the table. “She has beautiful breasts, doesn’t she?”

The waiter’s face went slack and he bolted from the table. Bridget laughed, squeezing Nat’s wrist as she reached for her sandwich. “That poor kid. You’re mean.”

“He could stand to be a little less obvious. Show you some respect.”

“You’re such a gentleman.” Bridget took a bite of her sandwich, shaking her head in obvious amusement. “So spill it. Does Emily feel the same way?”

Nat sighed heavily.

“Uh-oh.”

“No, it’s not that. She likes me. We have chemistry like…well, like nothing I’ve ever felt before. That’s
definitely
mutual.” And, blessedly, it had persisted past the weekend. She and Emily had spoken on the phone every night since—one short conversation on Sunday, then two longer ones. The calls always began with thrilling, soul-stirring conversation, and ended in self-induced mutual orgasms. At this point Nat was confident that Emily considered her a very good friend and an exciting lover. What she still didn’t know was whether Emily would ever want to consider her as a partner. “She’s a little nervous about commitment. Dating, even. Her parents were drug addicts, and they died when her younger sister was eleven and she was seventeen. She’s raised her sister since shortly before she turned nineteen. She…has a lot on her plate.”

“So you’re saying she has issues.”

Nat sighed again. “Yeah.”

Bridget shrugged. “Well, don’t we all?”

“Yeah.” Nat paused, then said, “She’s an accountant.”

Bridget threw her head back and laughed out loud. “Oh, boy. An accountant with commitment issues. She
must
be good in bed.”

“She’s mind-blowing.” The memory of exactly how mind-blowing got a little fuzzier every day, which only sharpened her need. She had no idea when she’d see Emily again, but until then, at least the phone sex was fantastic in its own right. “She’s really pretty. Blond, a girl-next-door type.”

“Well, I’m not surprised you’ve got a crush. The innocent-looking ones have always gotten you hard.”

“Yeah, well…” Nat took another bite of her sandwich, chewed, then set the rest down on her plate. “I really like her. And everything I know about her so far.”

“That’s great, Nat. Truly.” Bridget crunched on a piece of ice, folding her arms over her chest. “So how does she feel about your job?”

“It seems to turn her on.” In fact, telling Emily about some of her more memorable female clients had functioned as surprisingly hot verbal foreplay. Emily loved hearing about other people’s kinky fantasies almost as much as she enjoyed playing out her own. “She’s a very dirty girl.”

“Well, she sounds perfect for you. The all-American girl with a naughty streak.” Bridget was beaming. “Have you seen her outside of work yet?”

“We spent the weekend together. Our Friday-night appointment sort of lasted until Sunday evening. But I haven’t seen her again since then. We have been talking on the phone, though.”

“Every night?”

Nat rolled her eyes at Bridget’s teasing tone. “Maybe.”

“So is this a fuck-buddy thing or are you two, like, girlfriends?”

“Not girlfriends. Our exact status is…yet to be determined.” Nat shrugged, trying to act casual. Judging by Bridget’s sympathetic gaze, she was failing miserably. “We’re taking it one day at a time.”

“But you want to date her.”

“Absolutely.”

Bridget laced her fingers with Nat’s. “That’s where those pesky commitment issues come into play, huh?”

“Yeah.” Nat dropped her forehead onto her arm without letting go of Bridget’s hand. “I think I might get my heart broken.”

“You’re my hero for even trying.” Giving her a gentle squeeze, Bridget returned to her sandwich with gusto. “One of these days I’ll decide to get back on that horse, too. Assuming I meet a guy worth half a shit.”

Unlike Nat, Bridget had actually had a few boyfriends over the years. According to her, a potential partner’s attitude about her job was the single make-it-or-break-it factor as far as whether their relationship would last more than a week or two. Nat had never tried to date after falling into sex work. She hadn’t wanted to try to compartmentalize her feelings about what she did for money with a girlfriend in the picture. It seemed too emotionally complicated. She would most likely crave monogamy within a stable relationship, so it hardly seemed fair to ask a girlfriend to be faithful when she couldn’t do the same.

Even though she’d dreamed of a new career for a while, she wasn’t sure she was ready to take that leap. Besides, it was insane to even consider quitting her job when she’d known Emily only a few days. They weren’t even really dating. Yet the thought of continuing to fuck strangers turned her stomach. The past weekend had confirmed something that she had long suspected—sex was
amazing
when real feelings were involved. Knowing that, how could she go back to the way she was before?

“Fuck.” She shouldn’t be having these kinds of thoughts about a woman she’d just met. It was irrational. Crazy. Only one explanation occurred to her. “I’m falling in love.”

Bridget stopped mid-chew. “Whoa. Did Nat Swayne just say
love
?”

Without lifting her head, Nat muttered, “Don’t judge me.”

“I’m not.” Bridget set down her sandwich and pushed her plate aside. “Sweetie, I’m not. I’ve just never heard you talk this way before.”

“Well, I’ve never felt this way before.” Nat straightened with an embarrassed shrug. “I mean, I
really
like her.”

“I guess so.” Grinning, Bridget shook her head. “Falling in love.”

“With an accountant.”

“And just when I think life has finished surprising me.”

Nat laughed. What else could she do? “Trust me, no one is more surprised than I am.”

“I don’t know…I’m guessing Emily was probably shocked when her sexy hired stud suddenly fell head over heels for her.”

“That she was.” The memory of their pleasurable transition from client and escort to lovers warmed Nat, restoring the stupid grin to her face. “Fuck, I’m in trouble.”

“Maybe.” Bridget scooted her chair around the table until she was close enough to wrap her arm around Nat’s shoulders. “Maybe not. Either way, I’m thrilled for you. What’ve you been telling me for forever now? You need a change. Opening yourself to the possibility of love is a great start.”

“Well, let’s hope so.”

The waiter returned, doing everything possible not to look in their direction. Bridget snuggled closer to her and offered him a friendly smile, which he accepted with a tentative nod. “Can I get you two anything else?”

“I think just our bill.” Nat pulled Bridget tight against her side. “Or did you want something else, darling?”

“The bill sounds perfect, poodle.”

Nat pinched Bridget’s hip after the waiter scurried away. “Really? Poodle?”

“It’s endearing. Like you.” Bridget kissed her cheek, then scooted back to her side of the table.

Cuddling with Bridget only intensified her need for Emily. The gnawing ache in her chest led her right back into her earlier thought pattern. Was now the time to change careers, whether or not Emily was on board for more than casual sex? She sighed. “What if I can’t cut it in the culinary world?”

“You can. Your food is delicious and you know that. I’ve gained at least ten pounds since you started cooking for me.”

Nat raised her eyebrow and leered at Bridget’s cleavage. “In all the right places.”

“Oh, sure. So you can ogle them, but our poor waiter can’t.”

“That’s right.”

Bridget rolled her eyes, but gave her a fond look. “I have no doubt you’ll succeed in your culinary career. But you know what? If it doesn’t work out, I’m sure Janis would hire you back. You know you’re one of her top earners. And a client favorite.”

Bridget was right. Janis would probably hate to lose her. Currently she was the only butch escort at the agency, which meant she was always in demand. And she had more regular clients than anyone. If cooking didn’t work out, she could go back to escorting. That safety net made her feel marginally better about the thought of putting herself out there. Now if only she could overcome her fear of failure.

“Are you worrying about this right now because of Emily?”

“Kind of.” Nat hated to admit that she would make a life-changing decision because of a woman she’d just met, even if that was sort of what was happening. “You know I’ve been thinking about changing careers for a while. If there’s a chance Emily wants to date me—that we could actually have a relationship—I don’t want to keep fucking other people. It’s not even that I think she couldn’t handle that. It’s that I can’t.”

“Just give it a little time. See where things go with her over the next few weeks, and see how you feel about escorting. This
just
happened, Nat. These feelings are intense and brand-new and not something you’re used to, but you don’t have to make any decisions today.
She’s
not making any decisions today.”

Heat crept up Nat’s face. “I know. You’re right. I’m being silly.” Her phone rang before Bridget could reply, and even though Emily had never called at noon before, Nat scrambled to check the front display. Face on fire at the way her heart raced at the sight of Emily’s name, she ignored Bridget’s laughter and answered her phone.

“Hey, sweet girl.” She half-turned away from Bridget, too self-conscious to watch her reaction to their conversation.

“Hey, yourself.”

Emily’s obvious joy instantly restored her good mood. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Dirty things, I hope.”

Nat lowered her voice. “You have no idea.”

“Oh, I think I might.” Emily spoke in a bare whisper, leading Nat to believe she might very well be in her office at work. With the door closed, no doubt, but still. “I’ve been thinking about you, too.
Extremely
dirty things.”

She didn’t care that Bridget could hear. When she spoke to Emily, her libido always took over. “Is your pussy wet?” She looked up at Bridget’s giggle to find their nervous waiter staring at her, bill in hand. Nat took it with a sheepish nod, silent as she awaited Emily’s answer.

“Constantly, these days.” Exhaling, Emily said, “Colleen just texted me that she’s spending the night at her friend Kaysi’s house. I was wondering if you wanted to maybe see each other this evening. If you don’t have to work.”

No longer concerned about her audience, Nat sat up straighter in her chair. She’d never been so happy to have an empty work schedule. “Absolutely. May I buy you dinner?”

“That would be really nice.” Emily paused. “And then maybe we could go back to your place?”

Nat warmed at Emily’s palpable desire. The thought of being with her again in only a few hours was overwhelming. Though she wanted to take Emily on a proper date, it would be a challenge to keep her hands to herself during dinner. She wasn’t sure she would even try. “I think that part goes without saying, don’t you?”

“I hoped so.” She could hear the smile in Emily’s voice. “How about I pick you up at seven?”

“Sounds great.” Nat glanced around, relieved that the waiter had disappeared again. Bridget sat gazing at her fondly. Ignoring her indulgent grin, Nat turned away again and murmured, “Do me a favor, darling?”