August walked into town in a sullen mood. Everyone back at Benzini Brothers Circus was celebrating the wedding of Marlena and Jacob, with no thought of his feelings. He heard the beginnings of the toasts and he stormed away, a painful ache in his chest.
He hadn't even bothered to grab his coat from his rooms, which he now regretted, for the night was cold and he had no intention of going back to the circus tonight. He got into town and scowled at the numerous circus posters plastered on the walls of stores and family shops. Using a hand he straightened his hair and the grey vest he wore. His riding boots crunched against gravel and leaves that was spread across the road as he crossed the street, not looking for passing cars as he went.
He walked without purpose, but with long, fast strides and with each step, pain, betrayal and rage set into his bones: A dangerous combination with the most gentle of people, but even more dangerous with him.
He stopped in front of a local bar. He reached into his trousers and pulled out a few pennies. Not enough to get drunk, but enough to start. He opened the door and he was greeted with blank, bored faces. They looked away from him and back at their drinks and he quietly made his way to a bar stool.
Before he could order a young woman, smartly dressed sat down next to him. She was dressed in red, a red skirt that clung to her hips, a red blouse, and a red outer coat, fastened around her small, curvy waist with a red belt. She had white pearl necklaces around her neck and a fashionable red hat on her head. She couldn't have been more than twenty one years old.
"Hey there, honey." She said, crossing her legs and revealing a smooth, creamy calf. "I've never seen you before." August looked over at her and took in the sweet smile that hung on her soft lips.
"I'm not in the mood to deal with a streetwalker right now." He said and looked back to the bartender was cleaning out a glass a few feet away. The smile fell from the girl's lips but a frown did not take its place. Her face was neutral as she watched him.
"I prefer the term Call-girl." She said, the smile back on her face. "You don't have a ring." She observed looking at his finger. His eyes fell to the finger where his wedding ring had been only three days ago. "So what's wrong with a little company for a short while?" She reached over and she placed a hand on his arm. She moved her hand downward, feeling the strong muscles of his forearm and he quietly embraced the feeling. Marlena's touch hadn't felt so comforting in a long time. The young women, seeing the pain in his eyes scooted closer. "Why deny yourself the comfort?" He took his arm away and turned away from her, motioning for the bartender.
"You don't look cheap." He said looking her over. "I only have a few pennies with me."
"You're with the circus right?" Her eyes fell to his boots. "It's been sold out. Get me two tickets and we will call it even."
"A whore working for circus tickets?" He questioned.
"Those tickets will fetch a fine price." She answered. Her hand went to his knee and she leaned closer. "What do you say?" He looked over at her but said nothing, their eyes locked. "Whatever you want, honey. A blow? Hand job, quickie. I'll spend the whole night with you if you wish." She ran her tongue over her lips slowly and he saw Jacob and Marlena's smiling faces flash in his eyes and he felt his anger swell, but along with his rage a slow and painful sadness settled in and he nodded.
She smiled and hopped off her stool. He did the same and threw a few pennies down on the bar. She gripped one of his hands in both of hers and led him outside. The chilly air hit him and he felt goose bumps on his skin.
"I'm just up the way here." She said. "I live in the hotel. I pay the owner twenty dollars a week for my room. Can you believe it? Twenty dollars."
"Why even pay?" August asked looking at her back side sway as they moved.
"You'll see." She said her sweet smile on her face as she looked back at him. They entered the lobby of the hotel and August first saw a fat man sitting behind the desk, sweating profusely even in the cool air. He smiled at her, completely ignoring August. They entered the elevator and she looked up at him. "See. I have some pride." She said and he saw a hardness hiding behind her eyes.
They got off at the top floor and she opened the door to a decent sized hotel room. She entered first and he closed the door behind him looking around. Barbara had made a few offers to "comfort" him after news of Marlena's and Jacob's wedding came out but he declined every time. He was never the type for a prostitute. As much as he liked Barbara, she wasn't nearly as classy or refined as the young lady in front of him.
She removed her hat and placed it on a small table. She had chocolate brown hair, tied neatly behind her head. Her brown eyes twinkled as she lit candles and his eyes moved over the soft curves of her body. She caught his eye and her hands went to the belt wrapped around her waist. She unbuckled it slowly, eyeing him with a sly smile. He watched each of her movements with growing excitement.
She slowly approached him and placed her hands on his chest. She pushed her hands up over his shoulders and pushed herself against him. His hands went to her hips and he held her tightly. Her lips placed soft kissed under his chin and along his jaw line. She felt his hands tighten on her hips to an almost painful level but she ignored it. She had been beaten and brutalized in the past, a tighter than comfortable grip on her hips was fine with her.
His eyes were closed and she felt his body tremble as she kissed him. She felt a tenderness toward him she had never felt toward another client before and brought up a hand to stroke his cheek. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer, smashing her breasts against his chest. He looked down at the cleavage popping form her blouse and his free hand came up. He ran his finger tips gently over the swell of her breasts.
"Tell me what you want, sweetie." She said in a hushed tone and kissed his lips. They stood still for a few minutes and she felt his whole body shudder. She took the hand that was hovering over her breasts and pressed it against her more firmly. "You strike me as a soft love making sort of guy." She said but didn't see the changes occurring in his eyes. He squeezed her breasts, gently at first but soon his grip tightened. She looked up at him and saw a disconnected fury covering his face. The child like vulnerability from before was gone and she felt fear grip her. He continued to fondle her but she saw only twisted rage in his eyes.
"Honey?" She said and he looked up at her. The fury still covered his face but he looked at her like he had no idea who she was. His hand went to her buttons and she assumed he would undress her slowly and gently, his previous actions saying he would, but he ripped through the buttons and she frowned. She opened her mouth to yell at him, and order him to buy her a new shirt but the look in his eyes kept her from speaking.
She slipped the blouse off over her shoulders and he licked his lips. She slipped her skirt off over her hips and slowly removed her bra. The rage had died down but an animalistic need shown in his eyes and she found herself oddly aroused. She had had plenty of men since her family lost everything in 29 and she was sent to the streets, but none of them ever looked at her like THAT.
The rage slowly subsided and his gentleness returned. He encircled her in his arms and cradled her naked body against is. She disliked the softness of his touches. It felt to intimate. She was remarkably good at making men believe they had her undivided attention and attraction, when in reality she was completely blocked off. The man in her room at the current time was doing a wonderful job at keeping her attention. He touched her with such reverence that she felt like she was some secret treasure he found. Such emotional attachments were dangerous in her job.
She stopped his soft ministrations by gripping his hand and leading him over to the bed. She laid down and pulled him down on top of her. "You're young." He observed running his finger tips over her lips.
"You're not to old yourself." She replied, opening her lips and taking one of his fingers into her mouth and sucking gently.
He slowly drew back his finger and lowered his mouth to hers. Her hands caressed his back, chest and face as he kissed her and he let out a contented sigh. She was again uncomfortable with what was occurring. Laying in bed, lazily caressing each other and kissing was again to intimate.
She had approached him before her usual clients because he was handsome, well dressed and clean. Sleeping with him would not have been as much of an effort as it was with some of her other clients. She hoped he would have been like the others though. In and out, maybe a little extra, maybe some strange request. She got a lot of strange requests, but they had never bothered her has much as his sweet demeanor and gentle touches. She'd much rather have a mean, crude or brutal man. It made hating them so much easier.
In the middle of her musings she began to unbutton his grey vest and she pushed it over his shoulders. She began to work on his shirt and when she pushed the fabric from his skin a self satisfied smile crossed her face. Too gentle or not, she had chosen a good man. His stomach was tight and his chest broad and smooth.
She trailed her hands over the hot skin and moved down to his pants. He kicked off his boots and threw off his shorts, settling back on top of her with his throbbing erection in his hand. She bit her lip in anticipation.
Was she actually getting aroused?
He used a hand and pushed her legs open. He placed himself at her entrance and she moaned. "Come on, handsome." She encouraged him and he pushed inside of her. She was the first women he had been with since meeting Marlena. He may have been many things, but he wasn't unfaithful. That was more than Marlena could say, he thought bitterly.
He rocked his hips against her gently, closing his eyes and imagining them back in his car, in his bed and he wasn't paying for her time. He held himself up with his elbows, placed on either side of her head. He kept his eyes closed, giving into the sublime pleasure of her warm body and he soft smooth caressing she was bestowing on him. He rested his forehead on hers and their panting breaths mixed together. She tilted her face upward and kissed him slowly. She didn't know what happened to him, but whatever it was it had affected him greatly.
A slow pressure built up inside of her and she let a moan break from her throat. She was actually enjoying herself. She thought back and tried to remember the last time she had had an orgasm. The more she thought about it the more she began to doubt if she had ever even had an orgasm. She was twenty years old, and had been on the streets for nearly a year and a half.
She had been a virgin when she first left home to work. Her mother had turned into a useless drunk and their father left to "look for work". He never came back.
She had always been a romantic girl. She wanted to fall in love with some exotic man, be swept off her feet and made love to on her wedding night. She, the only one of her friends who had kept her virginity, was the one to become a street walker. It was ironic really.
She felt a buzzing in her head as he moved against her and she moved her hips to match his. He grunted softly as he approached his peak and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him close to her body. She felt him release inside of her and he moaned loudly in genuine pleasure. He stayed on top of her as he regained his breathing.
"Wow." She breathed, brushing a strand of sweaty hair from his forehead. "That was amazing." She expected gratitude to spread over his face. Something that would match his gentle nature, but instead she saw an angry scowl and felt his muscles tighten as he rolled off of her.
"Don't patronize me." He snapped.
"I-what? I wasn't!" She argued sitting up. "Someone can't take a compliment it seems."
"Do you demean and belittle all your clients?" He asked harshly and he face flushed.
"I did no such thing! I said you were amazing." She insisted.
"You enjoy this don't you? You bring back men, fuck them, laugh at them and tear them down and take your payment don't you?" He snarled. A vein was pulsing in his forehead and his face was beating red and she felt a small twinge of fear.
"No. I-. Sweetie pie I didn't mean-" He was back on top of her in seconds and his hand was tight around her throat but not tight enough to break off oxygen.
"You want amazing?" He asked and she trembled slightly. She watched him grab his hardening erection and he thrust back inside of her. She cried out at the abruptness of it but there was no pain.
His hands gripped her hips with enough force to bruise and she took a deep breath and braced herself on her elbows. His thrusts were hard and forceful and after her initial fear came down she felt an extreme arousal swell up side of her.
This was what she was used to, but even then it wasn't as good. She hung her head back and let herself moan without caring about her neighbors down the hall.
"Say my name." He ordered breathlessly.
"I don't know it." She answered and wrapped her legs around his waist.
"August." He said. "My name is August."
"August." She said and he groaned. "Fuck, August." He came inside of her again and pulled out of her. He rolled over to lie on his back breathing hard. She rolled over onto her side to look at him and placed a hand on his sweaty chest.
"Now, THAT, was amazing." She said with a smile and he opened her eyes to look at her. She was relieved to see no rage in his eyes but instead a soft smile on his face. She saw his eyes growing heavy and she ran a hand over his forehead. "Go to sleep, honey." She said breaking one of her own rules. She never just slept with her clients. He looked at her with smiling eyes and she felt good about her decision. Finally, he closed his lids, and fell asleep.
()()
It was almost sunrise when he woke up. A small, warm body was pressed up against him and he looked down to see the young prostitute's face resting on his chest. He slowly slipped from under her and found his clothing. He reached into his pockets, wanting to leave something extra for her, but found only pennies. He decided against leaving them, not wanting to insult the girl. Buttoning his vest he looked down at her. He didn't want to go back to the circus.
Every day he would be forced to see Marlena and Jacob in bliss and everyone support them while he was left to suffer alone. A part of him wanted to crawl back into bed and stay with the young lady sleeping but it was an absurd thought. He knew nothing of her. She knew nothing of him. Not to mention, if he were to stay, he could not afford to keep her at all, let alone to himself, with no job. From the appearance of her clothes, her rooms and her possessions, she must charge twenty dollars a night.
He straightened out her hair and leaned over, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. Without a glance back he left and made his way back to the circus.
()()
Alice woke up and looked around the room, no trace of her last client left. She first felt a deep annoyance and the beginning of anger. She had no guarantee he would get her those tickets. And what was she going to do, go to the police. She was angry at herself. She should have gotten the tickets first, gotten his word, something. But it didn't matter anymore. He was gone.
When she thought back about him however, she felt less annoyance. She had enjoyed her time with him, with a small exception. He hadn't hurt her, which was more than she could say for many other men in the past. He had only given her a small fright after getting irrationally angry with her. She thought of the look in his eyes when he first looked at her naked.
She smiled softly.
()()
Alice came out of the hotel at noon. The streets were relatively busy for the town. Everyone was moving around getting ready for the circus and she even saw a few workers running around and buying food or supplies.
She placed her hat on her head and began walking down the street. She was stopped by a young kid running down the street after her.
"ma'am! Ma'am!" He called and she stopped and frowned. He reached out and handed her a small envelope. "I got a message for you"
"I'm hardly a ma'am. I'm only twenty." She said taking the envelope from his hands. The moment she had the envelope in her possession the boy turned on his heal and ran toward the edge of town, and toward the circus. She stayed where she was on the sidewalk and opened the message.
A soft smile came to her face as she pulled out three tickets to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. A long with the tickets was a small piece of paper scribbled on with pencil.
"Thank you-August." She said out loud and bit her lip.
()()
August was getting ready to go out on stage when he heard Jacob and Marlena enter the tent.
"You look beautiful."He heard Jacob say, a smile lacing his words. "Absolutely beautiful."
"I love you, Jacob." She said and just as Jacob leaned down to place his lips to hers August dropped the elephant hook on the ground creating a loud crash.
"Whoops." He said with a big smile. "Ready for the show, lovelies?" He asked striding by. "I have a feeling tonight is going to be a great show!" He exited the tent and felt the smile fall from his face. He just wanted the night to be over so he could go to his car, get drunk and pass out.
As he stood on stage, trying to look happy and energetic he and Marlena went through their usual act. Towards the very end of the night, he stood on his pedestal, watching Marlena balance on top of the stupid beast of an animal's head, laughing as it tickled her with its trunk.
He looked around, his face flushed with the energy, heat and excitement of being on stage. He looked through the drab, but happy and smiling crowd, silently wondering which three of these people came with the tickets he had sent his lady.
His eyes finally landed on the end of the room. On the bleachers he saw a young women standing out from the crowed. She wore a graceful, but casual dress and a classy hat resting on her head. Their eyes locked and a smile spread over her pink lips. She raised a hand to her mouth and slowly blew him a kiss, winking at him subtly. Sitting among the cheering crowd, sitting calmly, her eyes on him, and him alone was the women from the night before. His lady in red. For the first time in months he felt that everything would alright.