She was nervous. She was a little bit scared. She was excited. Yes, above all else, she was enjoying the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins at that very moment. She took in a deep cleansing breath, closed her eyes, and then exhaled slowly until all the air in her lungs was expelled. Once her eyes opened up again, a new sense of self washed over her.
"I can do this," she muttered to herself, feeding into her budding confidence. In fact, she had done this before. Not once, not twice, but three times already. This was certainly not her first rodeo. So why was she so on edge? Rey shook her head as if to shake off all her uneasiness.
A cool autumn breeze brushed past, causing Rey to fold her arms over herself. The chilly air encouraged her to walk through the entrance of the hotel. She had heard that it was a nice hotel, but she had no idea it was this luxurious. A doorman dressed in a pristine white uniform greeted her on the other side.
"Welcome to The Peninsula, ma'am," he greeted. A warm smile appeared on the older man's face that made Rey feel at ease despite being in such a sumptuous setting. She gave him a friendly smile in return.
"Thank you."
Rey took a look around the lobby, amazed at the sight. She admired the polished sheen of the marble floor, which had an intricate black and white design reminiscent of an optical illusion pattern. There were tall white walls that were accented with golden lamps and gold-framed mirrors. The towering white ceiling had a gold covered dome where an oblong crystal chandelier hung from the center. The whole room displayed a sense of sophisticated neutrality.
"Is there anything I can help you with, miss?"
Rey's attention snapped back to the doorman. She hadn't realized she had been gawking.
"I'm sorry! I - I didn't mean to stare," she said as her cheeks flushed red. "It's just so nice!" Her hands gestured over the lobby, as though she were showing it to him for the first time. The doorman chuckled and gave a cordial nod.
"I'm uh, visiting someone that's staying here."
"Please check in with the front desk straight ahead, miss." He pointed towards the other end of the room. Rey thanked him and made her way over to the lady behind the counter.
"Good evening, miss. How may I be of assistance?" A young, pretty blonde woman asked once Rey had approached the desk. Rey glanced at the ID badge displayed over the woman's chest. It read SASHA.
"Hello, Sasha," Rey fidgeted with her fingers and scratched her nose. She always did that when she was nervous. "I'm here to visit..." Blast! She forgot his name! "Oh, God! Um, oh wait! I think I have it somewhere here."
She dug into the pockets of her trench coat. When she found nothing in them, she reached into her purse and rummaged through the mess she had in there. She was certain she had written it down on that napkin... A-ha! She pulled it out and opened it. Her face scrunched as she read the name aloud, "Kylo Ren."
Sasha typed the name into her computer. "Yes, I do see here that he is expecting someone. Your name, please?"
Rey was about to give her real name, but she caught herself before she could. She cleared her throat and replied, "Kira. My name is Kira."
Sasha looked down at her computer screen. She did not ask for a last name. Instead, she grabbed a small envelope and handed it to Rey.
"Mr. Ren is staying in the Peninsula suite. It's on the eighteenth floor, room number 18F. Take the elevator behind me up there. The room is all the way down the hall to the right. Mr. Ren left a key for you to let yourself in."
Rey looked down at the envelope, then back up to Sasha's face. "Let myself in? Is he not in the room?"
"I'm not sure, miss," she shrugged. "Those were the instructions he left for us."
Rey took the envelope from Sasha's outstretched hand. "Alright, well, thank you."
"You're welcome," Sasha replied. Rey looked back at her and she could've sworn there was a condemnatory tone to her voice. "Enjoy your evening."
Rey gave her a curt nod, then walked towards the elevator. She pressed the button and waited.
Enjoy your evening? What an interesting choice of words.
The elevator announced its arrival with a ding. Rey was thankful to find that it was empty. She hopped in and hit the button marked "18."
Rey was left alone to her thoughts as the elevator slowly ascended. She couldn't believe that it had already been a month since she first got roped into the world of high end escorting. She chuckled at that word. That's what Jessika Pava called it. Rey had jokingly asked her one day how she could have possibly afford so many nice things whilst being a college student. Rey thought she was going to say that her parents were rich or something like that. Never in a million years would she have guessed the truth.
"You really want to know?" Jessika asked, raising one eyebrow. The way she had said that piqued Rey's interest.
"You're not doing anything... illegal, are you?" Rey's eyes went wide with horror at the thought.
"Well, it depends on which way you look at it," Jessika smirked. "Technically, I don't think it is."
This made Rey even more curious. She leaned in closer to her friend and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"
Jessika moved in so close into Rey that their faces were mere inches from one another. She glanced at Rey's lips, then stared into her eyes and replied in barely a whisper, "I'm an escort."
An escort? But wasn't that just another word for prostitute? Rey thought. She sat up straight and looked around the room to make sure no one was nearby. Jessika did the same. They were, in fact, alone.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I quite understand what you're saying," Rey gave Jessika a confused look. "So you're saying you- you're a - I mean that you- you get paid to -" she found herself fumbling over her words, not quite wanting to say out loud her thoughts. Thankfully, Jessika understood what she was trying to say.
"I get paid to offer clients my time and companionship," she stated matter- of-factly. Rey narrowed her eyes at that.
"Your time and companionship?"
"Yeah," Jessika's lips quirked up into a flirty smile. "The sex, well, that comes free."
"What?!" Rey yelped in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing! Her friend was a prostitute! Jessika had sex with complete strangers for money. And she was just sitting here, as cool as a cucumber, as if nothing was wrong.
"Oh, come on Rey! Get off that high horse of yours! It's not that different to what we normally do anyway."
"What do you mean?" Rey was confused. "I know I've never had sex for money!"
"Yes, that's true. But those weekend nights when we go out, get drunk and have one-night stands with random guys. I mean, that's pretty risky behavior, don't you think?" Jessika retorted.
Rey pondered at that, and deep down she agreed with her friend. They had made it almost a routine of it lately. Both knew they were headed down a dangerous path if they continued that way. Yet neither acknowledged it until this very moment. Prostitution, though, seemed a much more darker road to tread upon.
Rey shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I just don't see how selling yourself is any less riskier. In fact, it seems more dangerous to me."
"It isn't! I swear, it's really not, Rey," Jessika reached out and grabbed her hand. "I think you'd think differently if you were to learn more about it."
Rey tightened her fingers over Jessika's hand, holding her firmly, but gently. She was so worried for her. When did Jessika start thinking that all this was ok? Did she really need money that bad? What made her cross over into this dark world?
"I seriously doubt I would ever change my mind about this," she declared.
Rey let out a small laugh at that memory. Boy, had she come a long way. Here she was about to meet with her fourth client already. Looking back now, she completely understood what Jessika had been practically raving about. She found that she quite thoroughly enjoyed being an escort.
There was a certain thrill to it - a sense of adventure, mystery, and pleasure all at once. If she had to equate to another experience, it'd be most like riding a roller coaster. At first, there is a sense of dread and panic at the anticipation. The butterflies seem to be fluttering about crazily in your stomach, your throat gets dry and your palms get sweaty as you wait in line for your turn. All this tension building up inside of you as the line slowly moves you forward until finally, finally, it's go time. Suddenly, you are no longer afraid, but excited and confident. You eagerly take your seat, buckle down and enjoy the ride. And man, what a ride it is! Then it's over. You had so much fun and are pumped with adrenaline that you want to do it all over again. That's what escorting was like. It was so delightful that you found yourself craving it, wanting it and asking for it again and again. It was downright addicting.
The elevator doors opened up on the 18th floor. Rey stepped out and took a right down the hall. It was a long hallway so she took her time getting to the room. With each step she found herself growing bolder and less skittish. It was at that moment that Rey started to wonder how her client would be like.
The three clients she had so far were the "typical client," according to Unkar Plutt, her madam. Rey cringed at that word. She never liked calling that god- awful woman that. Rey had never truly liked her, even back when Jessika first introduced them to one another.
"This is my friend, Rey," Jessika announced once they arrived at the table. A middle-aged, pudgy squat woman was sitting across from where they stood. Her navy blue blouse complemented her short, curly mouse brown hair. Rey
didn't know what to make of her, only that she did not look anything like what she had pictured a madam would. Rey thought she oddly resembled a large toad.
"Hello, Rey. It is nice to finally meet you. Jessika has told me so much about you. She failed to tell me how beautiful you are, though. I am Unkar," she said in a thick Eastern European accent. She stayed seated as she held out her hand for Rey to take. Her hand was just as chubby as the rest of her body.
Rey hesitated for a moment, then remembered herself and shook Unkar's hand. It was moist with sweat.
"Hello," she greeted as she withdrew her hand to wipe it on her pants ever so not discreetly. Unkar gave Rey a fake smile.
"Please, have a seat Rey," Unkar pointed to the empty chair across her. Rey glanced back at Jessika before taking her seat.
"Well, I'll let the two of you get more acquainted. I'll talk to you later, Rey," Jessika said, wrapping her scarf around her neck. Rey quickly grabbed her friend's hand and yanked it back.
"You're not staying?" Rey blurted out much more harshly than she had intended. She gave Jessika's hand a tight squeeze in an attempt to communicate to her nonverbally that she didn't want her to leave. Please don't leave me alone with her, Rey thought.
"No," Jessika shook her head as she let go of Rey's hand. "I've got somewhere to be, actually." She looked back at Unkar who seemed to know exactly where she needed to be.
Rey suddenly felt queasy. Jessika took notice and gave Rey a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"You'll be fine," she said as she bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll call you tonight." And with that she was off. Rey couldn't help but stare at her friend's back until she disappeared through the revolving doors of the restaurant. Rey could feel Unkar's eyes on her so she slowly turned back to face the large woman. She still had that fake smile plastered on her face.
"I'm sure you have some questions for me," she stated as she placed her napkin across her lap. Rey did the same. "I hope you do not mind, but I took the liberty of ordering for you already." Rey decided that she hated this woman.
"I guess I am rather curious about the whole thing," Rey told her. She took a sip of water.
"Just curious?" Unkar asked, giving Rey a once over. She could practically see the dollar signs form in Unkar's eyes. "When a girl takes the time to meet with me, it usually means that they are ready to book."
"I don't think I'm quite there yet," Rey lied. The truth was that she was ready for this. Jessika had talked her ear off about it nonstop ever since she confessed it to Rey.
"You basically get paid to go out on dates," Jessika had told her. "I like getting wined and dined. I love meeting new people. I like having sex. And the money, my God, the money is good."
Rey couldn't think of anything bad to say to that. She liked doing those things, too. And she knew she could use the money. Fuck, she could definitely use the money. College was in no way, shape or form affordable. Tuition was costing her an arm and a leg as it is, not to mention all the other expenses there were, like books, supplies, and of course, food. And those were just the basic necessities. Rey couldn't even remember the last time she bought something for herself that wasn't essential. She had accepted that luxuries just weren't going to happen for her right now. That made her angry. Why should she just live on scraps? Why should she be scavenging to just survive, scraping to just barely get by? All her life she had to do that. Was she doomed to go through the rest of her life that way? No. She had had enough of that.
"I do not like people wasting my time, Rey," Unkar said, disrupting Rey's train of thought. The fake smile had been replaced with a tight-lipped one. "What is it you want?"
Everything, Rey thought. I want it all.
"I want to know that I can trust you. If this is to work, I need to know that," she answered. "Jessika already told me about the basics. What I don't understand is why I need you."
Unkar was taken aback with Rey's response. "Well, you are a smart girl, no?" The smirk she gave Rey made her flinch. Unkar did not seem to have noticed. "Good. I like my girls to be intelligent. I have many men who would enjoy that very much."
It was then that the waiter had arrived with their entrees. Unkar had ordered salads for the both of them. Rey hated salads. She picked at it, eating only the chicken and leaving the greens. It wasn't until Unkar had been halfway done with her salad that she spoke up again.
"You need me like I need you, Rey," she told her. "I can not do what you can. You cannot do what I can. It is an equal exchange. Your skills and mine complement one another."
"I think I would be able to find my own clients," Rey disagreed.
"No, you cannot," Unkar replied. "You do not have the connections that I do. You do not have the reputation that I have spent years to build. I can vet for all my clients. I have screened every single one to make sure they are legitimate. When clients hear my name, they know what I offer: a high quality product. Do not take what I do for granted, Rey. I work very hard to keep my clients and employees happy. That is what keeps the business going. I deserve to be compensated."
"Hmm," was all Rey could think to say to that.
"Think of it this way, Rey," Unkar's tone was friendly. "If you were to do this by yourself, you would be spending a lot of time doing my work. Time that could be spent making money instead."
Rey thought about that. It made sense. She knew Unkar was right. She just did not want to admit that to her yet.
"I know you find it hard to trust me, Rey. Trust is earned. It will come with time," Unkar took a sip of her drink. Her trademark smile appeared on her face once more. "You do not work for me. You work with me. You only do
whatever you are comfortable with, yes? And, of course, how much you want to get paid. The bottom line is this – if you are unhappy, you leave. There is no contract."
That had made Rey feel so much better about this whole thing. There were no strings attached. If she didn't like it, she could just quit and that would be that. Rey could not find a reason to not at least give it a try. She didn't have to like Unkar to be able to work with her.
"Tell me more about the clients," Rey said. Unkar's eyes lit up.
"Most of our clients are middle-aged, white, and married. Most of them are looking for companionship without the drama and hassle of having a mistress. I make sure to match you properly so that you are not only comfortable, but that you also enjoy the experience. If you find it enjoyable, then they will enjoy it more, too," Unkar explained.
Rey hadn't believed it much back then, but Unkar was right. She did find it enjoyable. She liked meeting these older men, holding intelligent conversations with them, drinking expensive wine and eating fancy meals in upscale restaurants together. She relished at the care and attention these men gave her. It made her feel wanted and desired. The feeling of empowerment each encounter provided was exquisite. She had not found that anywhere else.
That is what had brought her to the moment at present. She stood in front of the door of suite 18F with her key card in hand. Rey surmised that the client she was about to meet would be much like her previous ones. Probably a few things about him would be a bit different, but in the end, they always turned out to be pretty much similar. Rey was eager to meet this new person. Biting her lip, she inserted her key into the slot and opened the door as the thrill of the unknown beckoned to her.