Page 1 of Lonesome Man
Chapter One
Libby
“This is not the job for you,” my roommate said into her phone. “He likes the girl-next-door look, and the full girlfriend experience. That’s not you, Fantasia.” Jessica listened a few moments more. “I said no.” Then she hung up.
“What was that about?” I asked, my gaze sliding to her and away from the new invoice from Clarence Medical that had just landed in my inbox.
Jessica scowled at her laptop, then sat back with a sigh. “Every year this guy…he lives in the mountains, like so remote you can only reach it by plane. Anyway, he has one of our girls go stay with him, sometimes up to a month.”
I screwed up my face. Jess worked for a super-exclusive escort service, and it was her job to match the clients with women.
She chuckled. “Come on, he’s a country bumpkin like you. You’re gonna judge this guy, really? You used to live in the middle of nowhere. Surely you can sympathize?”
I shrugged. “Okay, yes, it can get lonely. I mean, I wouldn’t hire someone to come and scratch my, um…itch, but no, I’m not going to judge this guy.”
Jessica smirked. “He’s young, hot, and by the end of their stay, whoever I send out there comes back brokenhearted and totally in love with the guy. He’s sweet and funny and attentive, fucks like a champ and enjoys getting his woman off. They fight over who gets to go every year. This time, it’s for only two weeks though, and honestly, I’ve contemplated doing it myself.”
“You’re serious?”
She nodded. “Hell yes. A two-week vacation away from the city, where you’re treated like a queen and experience multiple orgasms? What’s not to like? He’s had a girl flown in every year for the last four years. So we know he’s safe, fun, and you earn a shitload of money.”
A weird hot feeling moved through me. Was I blushing? It felt like I was blushing. “How much money?”
“After our cut…enough for a deposit on a really fucking nice house,” Jessica said with a grin.
“What kind of women does he like?”
“Soft. Bigger girls. Curves, lots of them. No gym bodies.”
“What about me?” I blurted before I knew I was going to say it. I was exactly what she described, though, and I needed money, a lot of it—and fast. I could cover Dad’s medical bills for another month, then Mom would be left to look after him and pay for it on her own. She couldn’t do that. My mom suffered from severe anxiety, and where they lived, she couldn’t go out and get a job, even if she were capable of doing it. If I didn’t make some cash, and fast, they were going to be in serious trouble. I was already working two jobs while trying to fit in auditions.
Jessica’s eyes widened. “What?”
“How hard can it be?”
“You want to stay with this guy, have sex with him…for money? You, Libby Brantford?” Jessica said in disbelief.
“You just said you’d thought about doing it. Why not me? I need the money, Jess, you know I do, and I’ve had a one-night stand before. How is this any different?”
“Your father doesn’t deserve shit from you, Libs. Yes, sex work is good honest work. Shit, I’ve taken the occasional job myself, but that’s because I don’t get all hung up on that stuff. You’re built differently. And you sure as hell shouldn’t have to pimp yourself out for your asshole father.”
She was right, but I wasn’t doing this for him. I was doing it for my mom. “What choice do I have? Mom can’t do it alone.”
“You’d be with this guy, one-on-one for two weeks. You can’t get up the next morning and leave, not without a plane.”
“I’m an actress. It would be just another role, and you said yourself he’s a nice guy, that he’s safe.” I was beginning to like the idea more and more. I was positive I could get some of the girls at the bar to cover my shifts—I did it for them all the time—and what I’d earn doing this job would more than cover any income I’d lose.
“Libs, come on, you can’t be serious?”
“I’m telling you I can do this.”
“No way.”
“Will he expect me to do a bunch of, you know, sex moves? A striptease or some freaky stuff in bed?” I really hoped not. “I mean, I could still do it, if I had to. I’ll just research like I would for any other role.”
Jessica chewed her lip, her head tilted to the side. “No, actually, he doesn’t usually like anything over-the-top. Like I said on the phone, he wants the girlfriend experience. He likes the girls to relax and be themselves, have fun with him. Which is probably why they all fall for the guy. He gets under their skin, makes them feel seen, cared for, but ultimately, he always sends them back. We’ve lost two girls that way. They quit as soon as they got home, wanting to find the one.”
“That alone is reason enough not to send any of your girls, right? And I’m literally the girl-next-door type. I can do this, Jess. I can go there, have some fun, come home and forget it happened. All my financial worries will be over, and I got a vacation with a sexy guy to boot.”
