My Gigolo (8 page)

He could wait a week or two. And maybe he’d call Mike. Just to test the waters, so to speak.

Maybe.

April

“So, are you seeing anyone yet?”

Mike watched her sister carefully while she poked at the brats on the grill. As expected, Gabe groaned and rolled her eyes.

“Am I ever? And can I never visit without hearing that question?”

“I just thought—”

“What?”

She shrugged. “I dunno. I mean, it’s been almost two months. Don’t you miss having a guy in your bed yet?”

“I knew it.” Gabe leaned back against the porch railing, crossing her arms and looking entirely too smug. “I knew that ‘birthday present’ wasn’t just some innocent whim. You never do
anything
without an ulterior motive.”

The brat-poking became brat-stabbing.

“You, Mike Parker, are becoming dreadfully predictable in your old age.”

“And you, Miss Thang, ought to respect your elders.” She snorted and closed the grill’s lid. “And you ought to be fretting over your biological clock. Especially after a performance like that.”

But Gabe was still Gabe, and any mention of sex made her blush. “Geez, Mike. I regret ever telling you the gory details. Besides, the ol’ biological clock only matters when you plan on using it.”

“Gaaaaabe…”

“Miiiiiiike…”

Giving up, she turned to go back inside and work on the potato salad. Just as she reached the door, her cell phone rang. One hand on the doorknob, she dug the phone out of her jeans pocket and blinked down at the number. Why did it look familiar?

And then it hit her. Her eyes widened.

“Hey, kiddo, why don’t you go in and check on the rugrats for me? I’m gonna answer this and keep an eye on the brats.”

Gabe shrugged and obligingly went inside. Mike waited until she was safely alone before opening her phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi…Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“It’s Blade. Remember me?”

She leaned back against the nearest railing and crossed one arm under her breasts. “Strangely enough, I do.”

He chuckled, but it sounded nervous. “Look, I know this is weird, but I was wondering if I could get ahold of Gabe.”

Frowning, she thought a moment before answering. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I know, I know.” He sighed. “It’s stupid, but I can’t stop thinking about her. I had a really good time with her.”

She wasn’t sure if she should be offended on her sister’s behalf or amused as hell. “I’m glad my little sister was a good time for you, Blade, but—”

“That’s not what I meant. I mean…I didn’t…oh, hell.”

She hated being interrupted, but she let it pass this time. She pushed away from the railing and paced across the deck, still frowning. “I think I know what you meant, but I’m still not sure it’s a good idea. Stop me if I’m wrong, but you actually want to, what, date her?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” He sounded relieved. “I want to date her.”

“I didn’t think that was allowed.” She paused deliberately, then hardened her voice. “In your profession.”

Silence. She would have felt bad if it weren’t Gabe being discussed. The man she’d hired had seemed nice enough on the phone, but…absolutely not.

“I don’t do that anymore.”

She blinked. “Come again?”

“I don’t do that anymore. I quit a couple of weeks ago. I may not have quit forever, but I wanted to give real life a try for once. I even re-enrolled at the university for the fall semester. Might as well finish my degree while I’ve lost my mind.”

He didn’t sound pleased about this change of heart, which did her heart no good at all.

“I’m happy for you, but how does that make things any better for my sister? And what makes you think she’d date you when she won’t even date regular guys?”

“Hey, look—”

But before he could defend himself, she cut him off. “I’m sorry. That came out worse than it should have.” She shook her head. “But this is my little sister. I can’t just hand her over because you’ve had some epiphany. What future could she have with you?”

He groaned. “Mike, please. I’m begging here. What difference does it make? You said yourself she’ll probably turn me down. If she does, I’d halfway planned to move to another state anyway. No loss on either side. I’ll go on with my life and she’ll go on with hers. But I have to take the chance.”

Oh, this was such a bad idea. This was in a completely different galaxy from
renting
him. This was setting her sister up with a tentatively former male prostitute. It was so wrong.

But he sounded sincere, and he seemed like such a nice guy. And Gabe would probably say no anyway.

“I’m sorry, Blade. I just can’t.”

“The name’s Jack, by the way. Blade sounds kind of stupid now.”

Jack. Such a normal name. It made him seem less…professional. Darn it.

“You do know she’ll probably say no, right?”

“Probably.”

“You swear you’ve given up the…you know?”

“Stack of Bibles.”

She bit her lip. Paced another circuit of the deck. Checked the brats. Prayed for forgiveness. What if Gabe said yes? Did that possibility even exist? And if she said yes to a gigolo, even just once, wouldn’t she be more likely to say yes to someone more suitable?

“Look, you can’t tell her I gave you her number. That’ll kill your chances before you even get started.” She snorted. “As if you have a chance in the first place.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“And I won’t help you in any way. If you break her heart, I will rip yours out and feed it to my children.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He sounded both amused and wary.

“If you make me regret this, Bla—Jack…”

“I won’t. I swear. Oh, and one more thing?”

“Yeah?”

He cleared his throat. “Could you…not tell her? About me quitting the business?”

She blinked. “Um…”

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Save me a place in line.”

Gabe checked her reflection as she hung up on Doug, one of her long-time guy friends. She really should have left twenty minutes ago, but she could never think of anything to do with her hair. As usual, she eventually just left it down to blow whichever way it wanted to.

She simply couldn’t make it behave. Besides, it was just a movie with the guys. Nothing special. Phil might encourage her to shave it like he’d recently done to his ’fro, and Doug would probably shake his own blond, boy-next-door locks in mock disappointment, but they’d live with it. They’d done so for going on eight years now, so she guessed they weren’t too ashamed to be in her presence.

She hit the door running, snatching up her keys and forgetting to drop her cell phone onto the charger. Thus, when it buzzed to life, spouting
Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting
while she fidgeted in line with her two best friends and Doug’s girlfriend, she very nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Nice.” Phil rolled his eyes. “Are you the only person in the world who still likes that song?”

Doug snorted. “No one ever liked that song.”

She ignored them and checked the number. It didn’t look familiar. Shrugging, she hit receive and put it to her ear.

“Hello?”

“Hiya, Gabe.”

Her eyebrows drew together. That voice sounded familiar.

“It’s Jack.”

“Um…”

“Surely you remember Blade Savage, at your service?”

Her eyes widened. “
Jack?
Oh, my God!”

“Ah, so you do remember me. Glad to know I’m not quite as forgettable as I was starting to believe.”

She felt a blush stain her cheeks, so she hastily turned away from her friends. They would tease her mercilessly if they saw it.

“How could I forget?” She groped for words. How on earth had he gotten her number? Had he had it this whole time? “How…are you?”

Phil edged into view and raised an eyebrow. Blushing, she waved him away, handed him a ten dollar bill and stepped out of line.

“Am I interrupting something?” Jack sounded hesitant. “I can call back another time.”

“No, no.” Still somewhat at a loss, she shrugged. “I’m just waiting in line for movie tickets. Phil can get me one. The trick is getting him to save me a seat.”

“Phil?” His tone sharpened.

“One of my friends. What can I do for you?”

Only supreme willpower kept her from smacking her own forehead. But why on earth had he called? She hadn’t even thought of him since—

“Actually, I was hoping…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I kinda wanted to, you know, get away from the city. Maybe for the weekend.”

“…Oh?”

“Maybe come see you?”

She blinked. “You want to come see me?”

“If you’re not doing anything else.”

Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t think of a thing to say. She couldn’t be hearing him right. And here she thought she’d mastered his pidgin language.

“Gabe? Still there?”

“Y-yeah…I’m just…for free?” This time, she did facepalm. What on earth was wrong with her?

But he laughed, seemingly unoffended. “Yes, for free. I don’t want to bother you. I just thought…you know. I kind of need some space. And someone who isn’t paying for me.”

A light came on in the fog. It wasn’t terribly bright, but she followed it anyway.
Get away from the city. For free
. He wanted to come spend the weekend with
her
, of all people, to be with someone without being paid for it. He didn’t want to get away from the city. He wanted away from his job for a while.

Relief and comprehension flowed through her. He probably just wanted someone not terribly demanding. Someone not paying for his services. Someone low-maintenance. Someone
normal
. She could understand that.

In a weird way, it was kind of a compliment. For a minute there, she’d thought—

“I don’t suppose I’m doing anything this weekend. I’d planned to just kick back and read a book, but I’m sure I can squeeze you in.”

A world of relief filled his chuckle, and she smiled a little. Jack. Getting away from professional sex by coming to see her. Who’d have thunk? Would he still want to have sex with her?

“You managed pretty well before, if I remember correctly.”

Definitely sex. That she could do, though she blushed to think of it.

“What time should I expect you?”

“What time do you get off work Friday? I can come down any time.”

For the whole weekend, even. She headed back to her place in line, grinning crookedly. “Five, usually. But if I’m having company, I’ll need to stop by the store. All I have is hamburger and Coke.”

“Hey, I’ve never turned down a good hamburger.” He sounded genuinely glad that she’d agreed. “I’ll try to be there around six. Or is seven better?”

“Seven sounds good.”

“I’ll be there. Thanks, Gabe.”

“No problem.” She put her phone away and stepped in behind Phil, bemused and still grinning.

“Who was that?”

Blinking, she shook off her silly, confused thoughts and wiped the telltale grin off her face. They would
so
tease her for this one.

“No one. Did I miss anything?”

“No one, huh?” Doug eyed her with ill-disguised speculation. “Doesn’t look like no one. In fact, I’d almost swear you’re blushing.”

She blushed harder. “Am not.”

“It was a guy.” Karen, Doug’s girlfriend, smiled coolly. “I can always tell.”

Her blush faded. She didn’t know Karen very well. The girl had been dating Doug only for a month or so, but for some reason, Gabe didn’t like her much. Far be it from her to comment on a friend’s taste, but she didn’t see a carefree guy like Doug being happy with someone so…high maintenance. The woman had little daisies painted on her fingernails, for God’s sake.

“Ooooh…Gabe’s talking to a guy.” Doug snickered and elbowed her, almost knocking her over. “Are you seeing someone and just too shy to admit it?”

“No.” Trying not to crack jokes like she always did when she was nervous, she scowled and socked him in the shoulder. “It was no one. And even if it was someone, it’s none of your business.”

“Ha! It
was
a guy!”

Grumbling, she blushed and avoided meeting anyone’s eyes. Luckily, her friends knew when to quit, whether they acted on that knowledge or not, and they left her alone with her thoughts for the rest of the wait in line.

Jack. She really hadn’t thought of him since her birthday. Well, Mike had circuitously mentioned him just a week or so ago, but not to actually talk about him.

She wondered if he was really so bored with gigolo-ing that he wanted to spend time with her. The way he’d said it made her think so, but…why her? Would he come all the way to Joplin just to have sex with someone who wasn’t paying for it? Surely there was someone closer to home that would tumble a good-looking guy like him for free.

The thought made her feel a little bad for him. She’d never considered it before, but being a prostitute must be some strange kind of lonely. It wasn’t like he could allow himself connect with any of his clients.

But he had connected to her, it seemed. It was kind of nice to be…picked. Not because someone had paid him to want her. She grinned again at the thought, then quickly hid it before her friends…before
Karen
could see. Doug and Phil, she didn’t mind so much, but she really didn’t know the only other girl in their little group well enough to take that kind of ribbing from her.

She bought her ticket, still trying to hide her smile. Jack. And for the whole weekend, it seemed. She tingled with anticipation, surprising herself. Maybe Mike was right. Maybe she did miss having a man in her bed. And if she had to have one, what could be better than a guy who would expect no attachment?

Her grin turned a little naughty. Maybe she should buy some new underwear. Something in lace…

He sat in his Envoy, his fingers clenching the steering wheel. Was he doing the right thing? Should he have been more up front with her? Should he have asked her out on a date instead of just shacking up with her for the weekend?

Staring at her house, he reluctantly admitted that she probably would have said no if she thought he wanted any of the trappings of a relationship. She’d made her position on that quite clear, both by herself and through her sister. He wouldn’t have even met her if she didn’t have a problem with commitment.