Page 84 of Purchase Power
“I have never been married,” Noah flatly said. “Why do you ask that?”
Lucy almost said something. Instead, she shoved more food into her face.
“Why? Have you been married?” A sudden thought occurred to Noah. “Areyou married?” He didn’t know why he hadn’t considered this before. For one thing, it was hardly unusual for escorts to be married. It was possible she had a husband she either lied to or was somewhat understanding of their financial situation.Am I sleeping with another man’s wife?Something sour stirred in Noah’s throat.
“Would it matter?” Lucy asked.
Noah nearly balked. “Of course it would matter. For one thing, I don’t get any pleasure out of sleeping with a married woman.”
“Pleasure. Yes. That’s really what this is all about, isn’t it?” Lucy put down her dessert. “You bought the time and know-how of a professional sex worker, didn’t you? Whether or not I’m married shouldn’t matter.”
“Of course,” Noah reiterated. “Of course it fucking matters.”
“Since when do you care about the ethics of our arrangements?”
“It’s not about ethics.” That wasn’t how he should appeal to her, regardless of how he truly felt. “It’s how I might feel about you in the middle of all of this. Isn’t that why you’re asking me if I’ve been married? To see if our feelings matter?”
“What feelings?” Lucy chortled. “Are you saying that you have feelings for me, Noah?”
“I…” He didn’t know how it was coming out like this. All he had done was say he wanted to talk aboutthem.Shouldn’t she be excited by that? Weren’t women in the business of getting men to talk about their feelings, whether they wanted to or not?I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Am I not doing everything right?What was right? What was wrong? He thought relationships never went one certain way. Everything was upside down. He should be kissing her right now. Celebrating the fact they were falling in love. Even if she lied to him and only wanted him for his money, he could revel in his foolishness. For once in his life, he could pretend to be in love, and everything was good. “I wanted to discuss about the possibility of continuing to see one another after the contract is complete. Of course, we would have to hash out some details…”
“I’m not sure you could afford me, Mr. Gabriel.” Lucy folded her hands in her lap. “My price has gone up since you first met me.”
“Your… price…”
“Have you forgotten? You pay to fuck me whenever you want. Any emotions you may think are between us are part of the dog and pony show. I’m sorry if I’ve somehow led you on, Mr. Gabriel.” She stood, marching toward her clothes left on the floor. “Excuse me. I’ll put my dress back on since I lack any proper pajamas. Do you want me to stay here with you tonight? Or should I go back home?”
“I… I was hoping we might spend the weekend together before going back to my house on Sunday.”
“I’ll have to stop by my place tomorrow to repack, anyway.”
“That’s… fine.”
They spared a simple look for one another. It was in that moment Noah realized that not only was she so far from in love with him that he could hardly reach her, but that it was probably for the best that she not come back with him on Sunday.
This was it, wasn’t it? The end of a long, fanciful dream.
