Page 53 of Sapphire Storm

“I’m quite fond of this place, actually.”

Hands clasped on the table in front of him, Roman gave him acondescending grin. “’Cause you’re the hottest one here.”

“Most of the queers in this bar marched for rights you takefor granted and buried a friend a week during the eighties. They don’t need towin your Instagram underwear contest, BeachBoy24. They’ve earned their place.Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

Roman opened his mouth, either to protest or ask a question,it wasn’t clear. Ethan didn’t care.

“I gave you a clear direction on how to dress for thismeeting, and you didn’t take it. Because dolling yourself up like a pretty boyand being sassy to an older man is your fantasy. That’s fine. But let me tellyou something right now. This gig you’re signing up for isn’t about yourfantasy. It’s about Scott’s, and your number one job is to find out what thatis and fast.”

Roman smiled and bit his lower lip. “Oh my God, you have alittle Southern accent when you’re angry. It’s cute.”

“I assume you’re not going to take any notes?”

Roman tapped on the side of his head as if to imply his memorywas unassailable.

“Fine,” Ethan said. “There are two types of clients. Theones who want the boyfriend experience—I call them BEs for short—and the ones Icall Right Nows. The Right Nows want something very specific. And they usuallywant it quick. Typically, they’re also the least respectful, the least likelyto look you in the eye. But that’s beside the point. The point is, they make iteasy for you. They usually open things up with a very detailed set ofinstructions, which is good. The problem is, they’re not as consistent overtime, so they weren’t the high-value clients for me.”

Ethan tapped a finger straight down on the table and held itthere for emphasis. “Boyfriend experience, that’s where the money was. And fora very simple reason. Pretending to be someone’s boyfriend takes time, andtime, as I’m sure you know, is money. You’ve got dinners, movies, charityevents, sometimes even an overnight. That’s serious bank, and it adds up. Playthose clients right and suddenly they’re flying you to Paris and buying yououtfits that cost as much as your rent.

“But here’s the problem. BEs, which is the category Scottwill most likely fall into, don’t really want you to be their boyfriend. Theboyfriend they want is a version of you they made up the minute they laid eyeson you. And so you have to listen for what that is. Constantly. They don’t wantto hear you rattle on about your life story just because you’re young and havea hot body. The trick is this. Every time you’re talking about yourself, you’rereally talking about them.”

Roman furrowed his brow, but at least he was listening.“How’s that work?”

“Simple. Whatever they do for a living, you’ve considereddoing it too. Or you have a cousin who did and he washed out and you’re wonderingwhere he went wrong. Do they have an oil painting in their house you can’tmiss? You want to know more about art. You were even thinking of takingclasses. Because your priority is to become a vessel for what they want, whilemaking themthinkit’s really you. And once they’re comfortable thatthe real you isn’t going to get in the way of their fantasy, that’s when theystart talking about the real stuff.”

“Real stuff? Like what they want to do in bed?”

“Deeper. What they want to do in bed’s part of it, but it’sjust another piece of information. If you want to turn them into a high-value,repeat client, someone who will movetheirschedule around to meetwith you instead of the other way around, you’re after one thing. I call it themillion-dollar answer.”

It was actually Zach Loudon, his old friend, mentor, andone-time fuck buddy, who’d called it that, but nobody had heard from Zach inyears, so it wasn’t like he was going to bust the door down asking for credit.

“What’s that?” Roman muttered.

Enunciating slowly and clearly, Ethan said, “It’s how theywant to be seen by you. It’s how they want you to look at them when you’re atdinner and when they’re trying to fuck your brains out. Because it’s the samelook, and if you get it right, you’ve got them on the hook for as long as youwant them.” He gave Roman a moment to swallow that. “Don’t get me wrong.Finding out their kinks is important. But don’t be fooled by the surface of akink.”

Roman grunted. “Thesurfaceof a kink. What doesthat mean?”

“Kinks can be deceiving. You’ve got to look closer to findout what the kink reallymeans. The guy who wants to be called Daddyisn’t into incest. He wants to be trusted. He wants you to look at him like youbelieve he’ll protect you from anything. The guy who wants to be tied up andblindfolded doesn’t want to be treated like trash. He wants to be told he’s sodamn irresistible you can’t bear to let him get away. And the guy who wants youto hurt him, to slap him and spank him right up until you hear the safe word,he wants to control you from the bottom. He wants to turn you into a robot athis command. He might be on all fours, but what he wants is to look into youreyes and see powerful obedience. You can act out a client’s kinks, but if youdo it grudgingly or like you’re distracted, they’re not coming back more thantwice, maybe three times.”

“Well, Scott’s not a…traditional client.”

“That’s correct. He’s far worse.”

“’Cause he’s a douche.”

“Because he can go right down the hall and complain to Dianaabout the service. The fact of the matter, Roman, is you’re going to have todeal with something I never did.”

“What?”

“A pimp.” He let that sit. It looked like it did. Hard.“Because, Roman, what you’re about to do isn’t what I did. You’re beingmanipulated and controlled by someone who’s trying to hold you hostage, andthat’s the opposite of what I was when I was out there on my own. I was alone,but I was free. Do this and you’re neither.”

When a server arrived to take his drink order, Roman wasstill gazing vacantly at a spot just above Ethan’s right shoulder, nostrilsflaring with strained breaths. He looked to Ethan’s club soda, mutteredsomething about a Diet Coke, and swallowed. For a while, neither man spoke.Roman’s cocky swagger was gone, and Ethan felt a strange blend of satisfactionand regret.

“So what was my dad’s million-dollar answer?” Roman finallyasked.

“No dad talk. That’s a different conversation for adifferent night.”

“You don’t think it’s relevant to—”

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