The manager, while mostly an uncaring prick, let it slide this one time, making it clear he thought he was doing her a huge favor. A great way to start the night, she thought. She was mostly slow and stiff doing her job, but she could do it. The three days she had taken off ended up being a life saver. All of her bruises were gone, and the stitches had already dissolved, leaving a small scar that ran from the edge of her right eyebrow to the middle of her forehead. It wasn’t too noticeable, and in fact she thought it looked kind of cool. She had thrown a little blush on to mask it, but otherwise didn’t think it hurt her appearance whatsoever. She was a little slow serving each of her first customers, but soon she was back into the swing of things, with just a little creak of pain here and there.
At about eight, Mr. Hayes came in with a new young woman on his arm. She showed the two of them to their table, and his date quickly excused herself to go to the bathroom while Tracy went to take the rich man’s wine order.
“Tracy, when I heard what had happened to you, I hoped everything was okay. You look remarkably well healed,” Mr. Hayes said, actual concern in his voice.
“Oh I’m fine, sir. I must be made of steel,” she joked.
“You know, if any of your medical bills are going to be an issue, I have a friend or two at the Chamber of Commerce who might be able to help you out,” he said, very matter of factly.
“Really?” she said, maybe with a little too much hope in her voice.
“Yes, really. Why don’t you come back to my place with us tonight and we can talk it over?” he said. The tone of his voice betrayed exactly what they’d be “talking” about if she went home with him.
Tracy’s hope instantly deflated. It's not that she didn't want to have sex with him, but she knew that if she went home with him tonight, she'd just be used up and thrown away in the morning. He might not even have the connections he claimed to have, but there’s no doubt that he’d pressure her into sleeping with him if she went home with him. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to get home early tonight, doctor’s orders. Maybe another night?” she said, hoping it wouldn’t come to that.
He sounded honestly a little deflated himself by her answer. “Yes, of course. Another time.” He looked down at his menu, then his eyes slowly crept up Tracy’s body, as if taking a panoramic snapshot. Tracy let it happen of course. After all, he was probably going to be her biggest tipper of the night, but it still felt demeaning.
She expected him to stop at her tits, but he kept going, and they locked eyes. Suddenly, Tracy felt a blinding flash from behind her eyes, and nearly lost her balance. She closed her eyes until the sensation went away, and opened them again when she heard the rich man’s voice.
“Are you okay?” he asked, the real concern back in his voice.
“Yeah, just a little headache,” she said, unsure of what had just happened.
“Well, you make sure to take care of yourself, and think over my offer,” he said. His date returned from the bathroom, and the rest of the night went pretty smoothly. The way the young bimbo looked at him, she could tell that she was going to sleep with him that night. Knowing him, he’d probably be dumping her in the morning. Tracy left a little after Mr. Hayes did, feeling too sleepy to close down the restaurant for the night due to the pain medication she had taken, and went straight back home and went to bed.
Her dreams started fitfully, making no real sense. She remembered flying through space, a bunch of plus signs coming out of nowhere, some swirls of light, and then:
All of a sudden her dream became crystal clear. She was in a room, and the lights were dim. She looked down but only saw floor. I guess I’m just a disembodied set of eyes, she thought to herself. She looked around and saw a king-sized bed. Focusing closer on the bed, she saw the Mr. Hayes on it, naked. His details were fuzzier than the rest of the dream world, but she could still see his six-pack abs and huge pectorals.
A woman sauntered out of the bathroom, dressed in black lingerie. Tracy looked closer and saw that the girl was her! Well, maybe not quite, but at least a close representation of her. Her hair was much darker, and her stare was much more intense than anything she could pull off. Other than that, it was her face and body. She came out and walked right to the foot of the bed. His eyes were fixated on her, and other than the bed, the rest of the room lost focus and sort of faded away. Tracy watched with fascination as “she” looked at him up and down.
“You disgust me,” she said, her voice deeper and huskier than Tracy's was in real life.
“But I just want to please you,” he said.