Page 12 of Paradise & Vodka
"You don't need to be embarrassed by me looking you over. In fact, we need to be comfortable with each other."
She took a sip of her vodka cranberry. "I know. I've just never done this before."
My grin widened. "Lucky for you, I have."
Even though myoriginal plan was to hire Nick because he screamed bad boy and would make Everleigh and Douglas jealous—I hoped—he actually seemed like a good guy. In a perfect world, I would have wanted to meet him and then date him for real. But I didn't live in a perfect world, and I had to hire a male escort so my family wouldn't know I was lonely and single. I hadn't had a serious boyfriend since Douglas, and when I went on dates, it never went beyond a few dinners. I just hadn't met many guys who I've clicked with in my twenty-five years.
Or maybe it was the fact that I was scared of having my heart broken again.
When I said goodbye to Nick, I thought about the entiredate. He made me laugh, blush, and he made me feel giddy. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought it was arealdate because he was attentive and asked all the right questions as though he wanted to get to know me. But I knew that hehadto get to know me, and I had to remember it was all for show.
We went over a backstory about how we met and started dating. It wasn't elaborate, and I hoped it was believable, but I wasn't sure, given how hard dating was. I'd only met guys on dating apps. The story we came up with was that Nick and I bumped into each other in the produce aisle at the grocery store.
"Those are some nice melons,"Nick had said, and the fake scenario made me giggle because thinking about this gorgeous man using a cheesy pickup line made me laugh. Even if he wasn't an escort, I didn't think he would need any pickup lines to get dates, but I liked the story. It reminded me of home because I'd heard of people meeting in the small market in town. Sadly, I had to keep telling myself that none of it was real. I was paying Nick to pretend to like me and be my fake boyfriend for a week. Once we returned home from Fiji, I'd never see him again.
I would also be broke.
As I was packing, I got a text from Adriane:So??? How was it?
Me:Fine.
Adriane:Fine? That's all I'm going to get?
I chuckled and replied back:What do you want me to say? We established some details to get us through the week, and then we went our separate ways.
Adriane:You didn't bang in your car?
Me:What??? Why would we do that?
Adriane:Because he's a gigolo and on the clock.
I didn't really know how it worked, but yeah, I had assumed because of the stigma about escorts that at the end of the date the client got laid. But I honestly hadn’t been thinking about that, and Nick hadn't made any moves. He had been the perfect gentleman.
Maybe he didn't find me attractive.
Me:It wasn't like that.
Adriane:And why not?
I thought for a moment before texting back, not wanting to be a sourpuss:Because technically, the date isn't over.
Adriane:Technically, I would think it meant you would get laid as much as you wanted since you are booking him for 7 days.
My stomach dipped, thinking about sleeping with Nick for an entire week. He was a professional, and I wouldn't mind enjoying a little roll in the sheets with him, but I wasn't going to make the first move. I didn't know how dating an escort actually worked. Plus, he hadn't mentioned sex at all during our meeting and drinks. He’d walked me to my car, and the next time we would see each other would be at the airport.
Me:Well, the 7 days are just beginning.
And two of those days were travel days, but I didn't tell her that part.
Adriane:When you get home, I expect a full report.
I laughed.
Me:Why? Are you thinking of hiring him to bang YOUR brains out?
Adriane:Maybe :P
Me:All right. I'll see what happens.
