Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“My wife and son were enjoying the lifestyle working eighty hours a week provided them, so they tolerated it at first. But eventually, my absence became an issue, and my marriage ended with a lot of anger and hurt feelings. Now I’ve been divorced for a year.
“And for the first time in my life, I’m on my own. My mother died two years ago, and my son wants nothing to do with me, so I’ve been coping by doing what I’ve always done—throwing myself into my job. The long hours aren’t necessary anymore. I’ve made a fortune, and I have a competent staff to pick up the slack, but this is just who I am now. My assistant says I’m married to my job, and I guess that’s pretty apt.”
He paused before saying, “Given the way my marriage fell apart, and how much pain it caused when it ended, I’m not looking for another relationship. I can’t go through that again. At the same time, though…” He took a breath before telling me, “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to be with a man.”
I could tell this was a big moment for him. It was entirely possible he’d never actually admitted that to anyone. He paused again before continuing, “Growing up, I was told that was wrong by people whose opinions mattered to me—my parents, my grandparents, my priest—so I pushed down those desires. Since I was also attracted to women, I tried to tell myself that was enough.
“But those feelings never went away. And now, at forty-four years old, I’ve learned to value my own beliefs over what I was taught. I know there’s nothing wrong with being bisexual, or whatever I am, and I don’t want to go my whole life without ever experiencing what it’s like to be with a man.
“I was with only two other women before I met my wife. Since the divorce, I haven’t been with anyone. Like I said, I’m done with relationships, and I don’t want to date and go through all of that. I also hate the idea of anonymous sex with strangers I meet in a bar, or on an app. I need to be with someone I like and trust. And even though I’m inexperienced with men, I need to be the one who’s completely in control. That’s extremely important to me.”
Aleksei glanced at me, then quickly looked away again. “So, I got to thinking. Given all my restrictions and requirements, what options am I left with? There was only one thing I could think of, one type of arrangement that made sense to me.” He took a breath and blurted, “I want to hire you as an escort.”
“Oh!” Well, I certainly hadn’t seen that coming.
“If you decide to punch me in the face for even suggesting it, I understand. But you’re perfect. I like you, and I also believe I can trust you, which is huge. I know you’re not a sex worker. I fully understand that, but the thought of going to an actual professional leaves me cold.
“And this could be mutually beneficial, since you’ve mentioned wanting to travel and needing money to do that. I’ll pay you a thousand dollars an hour, and I anticipate meeting twice a week, maybe two hours at a time, for the next few weeks. We can work out the details later, if you think this is something you might be interested in.”
I muttered, “Wow. Um, I don’t know what to say.”
“I know it’s a lot to process, so you don’t have to say anything now.” Aleksei produced a business card and handed it to me. “My cell number is on the back. Take some time and think about it—unless you just want to punch me and cuss me out, but you don’t seem angry.”
“I’m not.”
He looked relieved. “That’s good. The last thing I wanted to do was offend you, Timothy. So, please let me know what you decide, one way or another.”
“Okay.” We’d arrived at our destination—possibly some time ago, but I just noticed. I stuffed the card in my pocket and mumbled, “Thanks for the ride.”
My head was spinning as I climbed out of the car and went inside. Some of my housemates were playing Pictionary in the living room, and I waved to them absently before going upstairs.
After I changed into a T-shirt and sweats, I flopped onto my bed. Then, as I stared at the pale blue ceiling, I replayed every bit of that conversation.
I’d just gone from knowing next to nothing about Aleksei to learning a hell of a lot, all at once. He’d been married, and he had a kid! His son must be, what, twenty-four now? That was wild. The part about being married to his job wasn’t news to me, though.
Even though it was overwhelming, I was glad he’d told me all of that. If he’d sprung his proposition on me out of the blue without any context, I would have shut him down immediately. But given what I knew about him now, I could see how he’d arrived at that idea, and why it kind of made sense.