Page 51 of Tequila & Lace
She wrapped her hands around his neck and plastered a kiss to his lips that made me blush. These two were an obvious power couple. The love displayed made me envious, but watching the love exchanged between the two of them caused me to worry. It reminded me that I was in love with Paul, but I hadn’t told himeverything.
Wanting out of my own head, I stood and offered to help. As I walked past Paul to gather a few dishes, he slid his hand from my back to my hip and gave it a little squeeze. He pulled me down and whispered in my ear, “I’m glad you’re here with me tonight, gorgeous.” He kissed my cheek, letting his lips linger for a moment, so I turned and pressed my lips to his, then smiled and made my way to the kitchen.
When I walked in, Autumn was already washing the dishes she had brought in. She looked at me and smiled. “I’ve never seen Paul with a girlfriend before.” She laughed.
Her confession brought a smile to my face. “I don’t think he had a choice. I kinda barged in on him.”
She turned the water off, grabbing a dish towel to dry her hands “Paul’s… How do I put this lightly?” She thought for a moment, looking past me. “Like I said, I’ve never seen him with a girlfriend before. Just don’t hurt him, okay?”
I couldn’t do anything but stare at the floor. I couldn’t defend myself because in the end, when everything came out, I had no doubt he would be hurt… andthatwas what would destroy me.
“He doesn’t think we see it. I mean, we know he was burned badly in the past, but I have a feeling it was worse than the details he gave us.” She walked up and placed her hand on my arm to get my attention. “I’ll save you the details, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my experience, it’s how to recognize someone who has been through so much it almost broke them.”
The conversation started about Paul, but the way she was looking at me made me wonder if she knew aboutmeand what I’d been through—maybe it was about her. “Everybody needs somebody, Andi.” She continued. “Sometimes it takes the right person to make you realize it.” She looked toward the living room where the guys were laughing and smiled. Shaking her head, she grabbed the two pitchers of margaritas. “Come on, let’s go see what the boys are up to.”
I told Paul I was meeting the girls. It was only a half-lie. I was meeting the girls, but he assumed it was Leah and Nina when really it was Martinez’s crew. I still had a job to do, I just hoped I didn’t get my heart broken in the process. If I was right and Martinez was the man in charge of the operation, then Paul would soon find out who I really was and everything would change. But he’d expressed numerous times that he no longer wanted to be an escort, so we could make us work. I knew we could.
When I arrived at PT’s, I scanned the restaurant for Jasmine. She was sitting at a moon shaped booth, sipping a cocktail. She waved me over and I slid in. I expected her to be sitting with a few girls because I wanted to meet with more than just her, but she was alone.
She reached over to give me a hug in greeting and I hugged her back. “Honey, it’s good to see you again.”
“Where are the others?” I asked.
“Oh, they’re coming. You know how chicks are. Always need to make sure they look good before leaving the house.” She laughed and took a sip of her drink.
Was I off base here? Were these girls just regular hookers out to make a buck? I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking for in the sense of trafficking. Jasmine had said I would make three times what I was making at S&R, but what did that really entail?
“I seemed to make it on time.” I laughed.
“You’ve yet to reach this level. Let’s get you a drink and talk.” She flagged down the waitress and I ordered a margarita. “Now let’s get one thing straight.” She took a sip of her vodka and water. “If you choose to go on a date we set up, there’s no turning back. You work for Martinez, you do your job, and there are no problems. He’ll take care of you. Fuck up once? You better hope he can’t find you.”
As Jasmine was talking, I envisioned Martinez as your typical pimp. The kind who would slap you around when you didn’t pay or when you didn’t do yourjobcorrectly. I thought that maybe this would be myin;a way for me to find out more about the trafficking situation. As if right on cue, the group of girls we were meeting walked in and I overheard part of a conversation that peaked my interest.
“…Nelly is gone. That fucker sold her! We made the money we needed too and he still fucking sold her!”
Before I knew what was happening, Jasmine slide from the booth, pulled the girls aside and whispered something that looked like the fear of God in them. I didn’t know what was said, but after what just went down, I was certain Martinez was the guy I was after.
“What was that about?” I asked Jasmine as she slid back into the booth.
“Remember what I said about fucking up?” I nodded. “Her friend fucked up.” She glared at the girl who had talked about Nelly.
This was definitely the crew I needed to get involved with to learn about the trafficking that was going on.
The question was: How deep was I willing to go?
Chapter Sixteen
Paul
When I checked my back office for the week, I nearly had a stroke. A regular from Malibu had booked for Thursday night because she was going to be in town for a bachelorette party and wanted me to meet up with her.
Regular meant sex.
Any other time this would be okay, but now that I was dating Andi, this was horrible. But I couldn’t cancel because I had a long term relationship with this chick, and I at least owed it to her to show up and bring a guy with me for her to fuck. It would be a win-win for her. She would see me and she would still get laid, but she’d only pay for one of us.
I called up my buddy Nick and told him the game plan for Thursday.
“I’ll try to be home early.” I kissed Andi’s lips, savoring the feel. I didn’t want to leave her at home. I wanted to stay with her and watch movies—make her feel safe, comfortable. Ever since she’d told me about how her mom she sold her virginity, it was always in the back of my mind. I only wanted to protect her even if it was seventeen years ago. I just had that instinct now.
