I downed the shot, the liquid scorching my throat, and I squeezed my eyes shut, swallowing again and again as I tried to get rid of the taste my mouth. I didn’t think she’d brought lemons, unfortunately.
God, I was a girl.
Blowing out a breath and getting over the pungent taste, I set the glass down, seeing her refill them.
“So I have to ask,” I started, still forcing down the taste in my mouth. “What’s with the ‘I see lots of men’ line?”
The corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk, and she turned around handing me the shot glass, now full again.
“And I know Will took you upstairs before, and it was Michael the other night?” I went on, giving her a playful look.
She shrugged, looking guilty. “I know lots of men. As in, I get paid to know lots of men.”
Paid? She got paid to know men and spend time with them?
And then my eyes widened, realization hitting. “Ohhh. Right.”
She smiled, blushing as she took her shot.
She was an escort. A prostitute. Wow.
I followed her lead, taking the shot and trying anything to help me wrap my head around that one. Michael had been with her that night. He’d hired her?
“You can’t tell anyone, though.” She pointed at me, her voice thick with the burn of the alcohol. “My clients are mostly wealthy and well-known.”
I set the glass down, stepping out a few inches away from the edge and brushing the surface of the water with my hands.
She had sex with men—and women, now remembering what she said in the elevator—and she got paid for it. And she lived in my building.
I wasn’t sure if that was better than when I thought she was Michael’s girlfriend.
I’d always been a little jealous when Michael had girls around growing up. Even when I was little. I wanted him.
But over time, Michael’s routine was something that never faltered. He took, he enjoyed, and at times, he dated. But no one ever became permanent.
But knowing she was just sex kind of pissed me off, too. She was only floors away at any given time, and he could call her up when whenever he felt the need.
“Don’t worry. I haven’t slept with Michael,” she spoke up as if reading my mind.
I pressed my lips together, shrugging. “Why would I care?”
She snorted. “By the way you were all tongue-tied with him the other night in your pajamas, I gathered you did.”
I dropped my eyes, feeling the water pass between my fingers.
I could ask her why she hadn’t been with him, when I’d seen her go up to his apartment, but I didn’t want to care. It felt weird with her in the building and so close, but Michael wasn’t mine, so it wasn’t my business.
“And I haven’t slept with Kai, either,” she added, tipping back another shot.
“So Will and Damon then?” I broached. “No offense, but I’ve never known them to have to pay for sex.”
“Men who hire escorts aren’t paying for the sex,” she corrected. “They’re paying us to leave when it’s done.”
Nice. I looked away, feeling bad for her.
“Some people aren’t interested in forming attachments or having obligations, Rika,” she explained. “I’m just a professional who’ll show you a good time and then not expect anything afterward.”
I nodded, not really believing her. You may be the good time, but you’re also the dirty secret they hide.
She must’ve seen the judgment in my eyes, because she rushed to explain.
“It pays for school and pays for my apartment, and—no—I don’t want to do this for any longer than I have to, but I made my choice. I wish I didn’t always have to do it, but I don’t regret it. And sometimes,” she flashed me a playful smile, “it’s fun.”
I understood what she was saying, and I hadn’t meant to look like I was judging her. She made her choices, and she owned them. In a way, I envied her confidence.
But I suddenly realized how happy I was to be born a Fane with all the securities that entailed.
Over the next twenty minutes, she took another shot while I finished my drink, and I noticed everyone slowly relaxing as their alcohol took effect. Suit jackets came off, more people got into the pool, and Alex and I were lost in the music and laughing.
The tequila had coursed through my body, warming my stomach and chest, and it felt so good to smile and lose control a little. My skin hummed as my head began to float, and she and I moved our hips to Pray to God, barely noticing the couple making out next to us.
“I’m going to hit the bathroom,” she yelled over the loud music, shoving the bottle of tequila in my hand. “Drink more. I’ll be back in a minute.”