A Paying Customer
written by: albe-chan
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction and I do NOT own Harry Potter or any of the characters mentioned that belong to JK Rowling, and any similarities with real life are purely coincidental.
WARNING: This work will contain lots of MATURE THEMES, such as coarse language, mature subject matter (scenes containing drug use, prostitution, graphic sex, nudity, mentions of non-consensual sex and sexual acts, etc.), and violence. THIS MAY BE A TRIGGER IF YOU HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF ASSAULT OF ANY SORT, OR SUFFER(ED) DRUG ABUSE/ADDICTION ISSUES. Please, if you are not over the age of 18, or of majority in your country, DO NOT READ THIS! Seriously, not for the faint of heart, either. You have been warned!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not endorse or necessarily support any of the themes in this story. Yes, there are lots of racial stereotypes, no, I do not prescribe to them. Seriously, this is a work of fiction, people. If this work offends you, I apologize, as that was not my intention.
Also, to 'thereviewer' (I can't reply directly, so I hope you see this) Really? Only 143 fucks? I counted 147. Luckily this chapter I'm pretty sure there's less...but not by much. :)
XXX
Lily got a call from Malfoy early the next morning, which she wasn't conscious to receive, but when she listened to the message on her way back to her apartment from her last job, sore and exhausted but her john satisfied and sleeping, she smirked.
"I'd like to apologize for how our last meeting ended. It's neither my place, nor my job to tell you how to live your life or decide what labels you put on people. For that I'm sorry. If you're still interested, we'd like to set up another interview. Get back to me as soon as possible and let me know." Of course he'd come crawling back. She was obviously in the right and he obviously saw that now. And she did have excellent fucking bone structure and shit. His movie would undoubtedly look like shit without her.
When she got into her apartment, Ty was there, with some ragamuffin little girl, and Taz was weighing out dime bags for sales. "You get paid?" he demanded. She dropped her cash into his lap. "Good. Sit the fuck down." She wanted to go shower, but sat, lighting a cigarette, glaring at the little girl who looked insolently back at her.
"The fuck you looking at?" she snapped after a moment. She was edgy as fuck, and anxious, and irritable to the extreme.
"Relax, Red, she's not your replacement," Ty said slyly. Taz smacked him upside the head.
"Then tell the baby to look at the fucking floor," Lily growled, pulling hard off her smoke. "Unless she wants my fucking foot stomping her face into it first."
The girl rolled dark eyes. She was obviously Latina, all curves and pouting mouth, with her dark hair swirled haphazardly atop her head. "This bitch gonna be your protege," Taz said.
"My what?" she snapped.
"Did I fucking stutter? Your protege, bitch. Your student, your fucking pupil. You gonna teach her how to whore."
"She's the fuckin' Padawan to your Jedi mastery," Ty said, grinning. Lily had no clue what the fuck that meant.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah the fuck right. She's what, fourteen?"
"Fifteen," the girl said. Lily narrowed her eyes.
"Go home, sweetheart. I'm not fucking training no babies. 'Sides, how hard can it be to learn how to fuck?" Taz patted her thigh and she looked at him. His face held the warning look.
"You ain't gotta hold her fuckin' hand. You teach her the tricks of the business, bitch," he said, then grinned. "And we get our cut from her profits." Ty frowned a little.
"Who the fuck's gonna sleep with a baby?" Lily grumbled, even if it seemed like an outrageously easy way to make some money. The girl gave her a dirty look. "Yeah I'm fuckin' talking about you, bitch. Lesson one, baby Lolita, don't fucking give me that sideways fucking look like you some hot shit."
"Calm the fuck down, you gonna scare the bitch," Taz said, patting her thigh again. He held out a dime bag. "You're gonna teach her, and that's that."
"Fine," Lily said, tipping out enough to do a line. "She doesn't touch my shit, she doesn't look sideways at me, and she doesn't talk back." Lily snorted her line, sniffling a little as she sat back pulling off her cigarette. "You got that, bitch? Or you want me to fucking write it down?"
"I got it," the girl said, eyeing up Lily's coke.
"Look at the fucking floor," she snapped.
"You's a fucking psycho, Red," Ty muttered.
"Shut up, little man, or you gonna see the psycho bitch." Taz handed the two dozen dime bags over. "I wanna see a good fucking profit on this, don't be giving no deals. And keep that mini bitch on a tight leash, got it? You advertise, and that's it, until Red's got her good to go."
"Yeah, yeah," Ty mumbled. "C'mon, bitch," he said to the girl, who followed him to the door.
"And tell her put some fucking makeup on," Lily called over. "She looks fucking twelve." Ty flipped her off and the door closed behind them. "I don't wanna train no fucking mini whores," she said to Taz.
"Too fuckin' bad. And you're gonna be glad you did when the cash comes rolling in." Lily's lip curled.
"Fucking gross, she's a fucking baby. I hope you aren't gonna send her out to grown ass men." Taz frowned. "That shit's fucked, Taz, and extra fucking illegal. You'll go to prison until you're an old fucking man for that shit, you get caught."
"She ain't my mini whore, she's Ty's. He likes her, thinks she got potential." Lily rolled her eyes, finishing her cigarette. "He ain't wrong, bitch. Little training and she'll be almost as good as you."
The redhead laughed at that. "Not even fucking close, Taz," she said, setting up another line. "I'm like this fucking pile of blow. Pale as fuck and easy to get hooked on. Expensive and classy. That girl's nasty hash. Might make you feel alright for a bit, but easy to drop and cheap as fuck. Tell Ty to find a classy bitch, not some fuckin' dirty immigrant." She snorted her line with a rolled up twenty and felt back to normal. Euphoric and calm.
Taz laughed, grabbed her hair, and kissed her hard. "We'll see, bitch. Now get the fuck outta here, you stink."
"Fuck you, motherfucker," she replied, but went to go shower anyway.
She called Malfoy after her shower. "Apology accepted, Hollywood. When you wanna chit chat next?"
"Do you have time today?"
"Sure. You all got time now?" she asked, knowing there was always the chance of an afternoon job before Tiny that night.
"We make time. Noon at the park downtown, near the fountain?"
"Works for me." She hung up on him, recalling the time he'd done so to her with a vicious stab of pleasure, then got dressed and padded out to the living room. Taz was dealing for a pair of junkies and Lily rolled her eyes as they huddled and counted out their ones for their score. Taz merely puffed on his blunt.
"Get me something to eat," Taz called, glancing over.
"Like what?" she asked, doubting there was anything edible in the house.
"Like food, bitch, what you think?"
"I gotta go out for food, then, so give me money." She moved to the couch, leaning over the back for a cigarette from the pack on the side table.
"You gonna put some real fucking clothes on?" Taz grumbled, as the junkies handed over their money and Taz gave them their dime bag. He tossed some cash at her.
"Nope." She grabbed the cash and jammed it into her bra, which was clearly visible through her translucent tank top, and kissed Taz's cheek as the junkies hustled out to get high.
"Then you gonna wait 'til them cokehead crackers get the fuck outta here before you go," he said. Lily rolled her eyes, because Taz was fucking paranoid and too overprotective.
"Or you could just pick up the phone and order some fucking pizza and I'll go and meet with Hollywood and his camera guy to make some money," she said, glancing at the time on her cell. It was already quarter after eleven.
"Bitch, if I fucking wanted to do that, I'd have fucking done that," Taz growled. Lily gave him the seductive smile, leaning over the back of the couch still, pushing her tits out.
"I know. But the stupid cracker motherfucker said if I'm late for his stupid shit he's gonna take money off. And I wanna make you lots of money, for your investments and shit." The lie came out easy as pie, because she was keeping the whole fucking check for herself.
"That's 'cause you're not as dumb as you look," Taz said smugly, and although she was tempted to smack him for that, she turned her face into his neck.
"Course not, babe. I wouldn't be with you if I wasn't smart, at least a little." She bit him lightly, because she knew he liked it, and he grunted. She slid a hand down his chest. "So can I have some blow to go?"
"No." She pouted, hand undoing his belt.
"Please?" she purred, and bit his neck again. "I can ask like a good coke whore if you want me to," she murmured, leaning over further. "You know I love sucking that big, tasty black cock."
Taz grunted, then swatted her hand away. "Thought you was gonna be late, bitch?"
"I can be late if you want," she said, undeterred. She stroked his half hard dick through his jeans. "You don't even have to give me anything, I just really wanna suck your cock." He turned his head to look at her and she smiled. "Please?"
"Fucking slut," he rumbled, and pulled her bodily over the couch. "Suck my dick first, bitch, then you can have your fix."
Lily smirked and took his prick out, going to work as he gripped fistfuls of her hair and thrust up into her mouth aggressively. She did two big lines in a row after and headed out, the cash still tucked in her bra. She might be a dumb coke whore, but she wasn't fucking stupid.
She spotted Hollywood easily, even though there were lots of people at the park, because his hair shone whiter than her legs in the sun, and the camera guy, Salts, looked like a total nerd with his equipment. She didn't take off her sunglasses when she drew up to the men, but hooked her thumbs in her pockets eyes covertly roving over Malfoy in his grey t-shirt, a few shades lighter than his eyes, but fitted and decidedly soft looking. Lily smirked a tiny bit, because she bet he'd be better looking without the shirt. "I hope you're not gonna be filming me wandering around the fucking park with people pushing babies and kids and shit."
Malfoy's mouth went up a tiny bit at the corners. "Not today." He pointed to a cluster of trees across a large expanse of grass with a little sitting area. "Just over there I think is far enough away from the impressionable youth."
Her eyes narrowed, because his eyes flicked pointedly to her tank top. "Sure thing, Hollywood." His gaze dropped to her strappy, three-inch stilettos. "And if you're gonna ask if I can walk in these shoes, save it. I'm a fucking professional."
She started ahead of him and Salts, supremely confident, but Malfoy kept pace with her evenly. "Can I ask why you keep calling me Hollywood?" he asked, smirking a little.
"Course. I thought that's what you did? Asked all the questions and shit." She pulled a cigarette from the pack in her purse and lit it up, pushing her hair out of her face. "And I call you Hollywood, 'cause you're making a fucking movie. And you look like you belong there."
"Fair enough," he said easily. Lily sat down on a bench that had been donated to the park as a memorial for some dead person, and put a shoe up. Malfoy sat beside her, pulling out his notebook and Salts pointed a camera at her as she smoked. "So last we talked you were at the part where you relapsed after Christmas."
"This shit again?" she drawled.
"You bet. There's a definite time gap from then to when you met your Taz." She frowned, flicking her ash harder than necessary.
"Fair enough," she said, reminding herself of the money. Lily thought back. "I ditched the boyfriend in the new year," she said. "He got possessive and didn't like me screwing for money after he found out I'd been fucking people on the side for free, too." She flashed a brief smile, then took a drag off her smoke. "When he found out he flipped his shit."
"Was he abusive?" Malfoy asked softly.
Lily shrugged. "He smacked me around a little, but only when he was drunk. And I probably deserved most of it. Anyway, I was flunking out of my classes, and by the end of the semester, they kicked me out. My parents were mad, 'cause they'd dropped the money for me to go to college in the first place, but I got a job as a waitress, so they weren't too pissed." She smirked. "They thought I was still going through my rebellious phase. And that's how I met the guy I was seeing before I met Taz. He used to come into the restaurant all the time, always sat in my section, tipped amazing. He was older, but not by too much, and he was so sweet, so when he asked me out, I said sure."
"Was he into drugs?"
"No. Not even a little. He didn't even drink. But he didn't mind that I did. Like I said, he was actually a sweetheart."
"Why didn't that work out?"
Lily grinned, flicking her cigarette butt. "He was too nice. I mean, don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing, but he's like, in love with me, and I'm not really looking for what he wants. And his dick's pretty small, to be honest."
"You still keep in contact with him?"
"Uh huh. Anyway, after I met Ian, everything was cool for awhile. I even brought him 'round to meet my parents, and of course they thought I was going to settle down and shit." She pushed a hand through her hair. "But like I said, Ian wants what my parents have. House in the 'burbs, two point five kids, white picket fence, all that lame shit. But I wanted to party still. So I started seeing other people."
"And he was okay with that?"
The redhead snorted, put her foot down and crossed her legs. "He takes what he can get. I don't think he liked it, but I was still staying over at his place and shit sometimes. I wanted to keep him as cover for my parents, 'cause I was still living with them. They thought I was doing better after the Christmas thing, getting my act together."
"And how old were you at this point?"
"Nineteen. So it was all cool for a bit. I did my thing, everyone was chill, and then one night, when my parents made me have Ian over for Sunday dinner not too long after my twentieth birthday, my mom walked into the bathroom and found me snorting lines off the vanity." Her mouth twisted in a bitter smile. "And then all Hell broke loose."
"What happened?"
"My mom and dad kicked me out, my brother James told me he didn't ever want to talk to me again, and my other brother Albus kept trying to talk me into going to rehab, but I didn't wanna do that."
"And Ian?" Malfoy pressed.
"I moved in with him. He was cool about it, took my side. I mean, I was an adult at this point, right?"
"So your family turned their backs on you?"
Lily shrugged, because that sounded awful, but it wasn't untrue. "Sorta. I still talked to my mom and we'd sometimes hang out and shit. And I was still holding down my waitress job. My dad and James turned their backs. Albus I just ignored, 'cause he kept talking about rehab and shit."
"Then what happened?"
"I lost the waitress gig. Too many lates and missed shifts from partying until dawn, getting high and drinking."
"And you still lived with Ian?"
Her mouth quirked. "Kinda. I mean my mail went there, but I wasn't around much. I was passing out on people's couches and shit, but he'd always be there to come pick me up, or loan me money after I lost my job."
"So he's an enabler?"
"With a fuckin' capital E," she agreed, smirking. "But it's 'cause he's in love with me. And I mean, really, who wouldn't be? I'm pretty fucking awesome." She shifted on the bench, resting an elbow along the back. "Then I met a guy who managed a strip joint, so I started stripping. And fuck me, did I ever make a lot of money compared to waitressing. Like on a good weekend night, I'd have six hundred bucks just for shaking my tits at lonely perverts. It was great. So I ditched Ian, and moved in with the strip joint manager."
The blond eyebrow lifted. "Were you still turning tricks?"
"Um, not really." Lily thought back. "I mean sometimes. You know, the odd customer who wanted an extra special lap dance for a bunch of extra cash, but not much more than that. My boss was a really good lay, so I stuck with him for the most part for sex. I was with him for six months, and then he started hooking up with another one of the dancers. I got jealous. She was a nasty bitch, anyway, and I never liked her."
"How did that relationship end?"
"Bad," she said shortly. "He beat the crap outta me after I snapped when I found out he was fucking Claudia, and all I remember is calling my mom, tasting blood, and a really hot paramedic."
"What were you injuries?" he asked, tone flat and mildly apologetic.
"Two broken ribs, broken nose, and a pretty bad concussion." Lily shrugged. "It wasn't as bad as you'd think, I just looked like I got hit by a truck after. But they gave me some decent pain meds." She frowned a little, because the pain meds had been too good. "The only downside was my mom had a mental breakdown. 'Cause I guess she found me all beat up, and at the hospital they told her when they ran tests and shit I was high on coke." She sucked in a breath. "She had to stay in a psych ward or some shit for a few months. My brother Albus stopped talking to me after that. Him and James told me it was all my fault and to stop using drugs 'cause it wasn't just fucking up my life anymore." She frowned at that memory.
"But you didn't."
She lit another smoke. "Obviously. I didn't want to stop using. I don't want to stop using. Being high is fucking great, and coke makes you feel like you can do everything. I ended up moving back in with Ian. And then I met Taz."
"You said before you weren't full time when you first got together with him. How did that change?"
Lily sucked in some cancer. "I was stripping again. After my face got fixed and shit. Even though they hate me, my parents still paid for me to see a plastic surgeon and get my nose fixed after it was broken. And I was back doing coke on the regular. When I met Taz, it was like the perfect set up. I left Ian again, for Taz, and moved into his place. A couple months or so after we hooked up, we had a shit ton of people over, and this one guy kept asking me for a lapdance and shit, 'cause he knew I stripped. Taz said I should give him one if he was gonna pay for it. And from there it turned into more than just lapdances for cash when I wasn't on stage. But I got fired from the strip joint when I started missing shifts and shit. So I just started hooking full time. I make more money that way anyway."
"Speaking of your work, would you like to share some of the specifics?"
Her brows furrowed. "Like what?"
Malfoy shrugged. "Like anything. The average person doesn't have a clue what being a prostitute is like. Enlighten them."
Lily took a long drag from her smoke. "Oh, it's the best," she said sarcastically. "Seriously, what d'you want me to say?"
"How many customers would you say you average a week?"
"Three regulars, every week, one guy twice a week and then there's some that only come round once or twice a month or so, so sometimes up to six, and like four or five on weekends. Friday and Saturday nights. Those are my outgoing jobs, the weekends. They're set up back to back. The regulars come to me." She finished her smoke. "And there's the odd time I'll hook for straight drugs as opposed to the cash. I mean, like, if Taz needs to re-up, but we're low on funds, I'll trade my services for some blow or whatever." She repressed a shudder, because if it was Murphy, it was barely worth it. He was a nasty motherfucker.
She saw his mouth purse and could practically read his thoughts and dared him to bring it up again. "And how much do you make?" he murmured. She frowned a bit.
"Depends. It's two hundred to fuck. A hundred to suck. If you want more than one go, or have me stay the night, it's four."
"Who decides those prices?"
"I do," she said aggressively, and, although he wasn't looking at her directly, as he took his notes, he smiled a bit.
"And how much does your habit run you?"
She smirked. "Which one?"
"The cocaine."
"Probably a couple hundred bucks a day. When I was younger it was worse. Probably closer to three." She didn't add it would be just as bad if not even worse now if she didn't have Taz holding the bag.
"And your other habits?"
"Mmm, liquor is cheap and I'm less of a lush now. I dunno, maybe a quart or two a week?" She put her foot up again, feeling hot and irritable now, pushing her hair to one side off the back of her neck. "And I guess I smoke weed, but not a lot. That's Taz's thing, not mine."
"Who is Taz to you?"
She frowned, wondering if he was hinting at the pimp thing again. "What d'you mean?"
"What do you call him if you have to refer to him without a name?"
Lily shrugged. "He's my man. I don't fuckin' know." Malfoy opened his mouth to say something else, but then her cell rang. She dug it out of her purse and glanced at the display. "Speak of the devil. Hey," she said as she picked up.
"Where the fuck you at, bitch?" Taz grouched.
"I'm at the fucking park downtown, making Oscar winning shit, what d'you want?"
"Then go walk that skinny white ass to the Broad Street exit, bitch. You got work and I'm on my way."
"Bye," she said and hung up. "Duty calls, Hollywood. I gotta ditch." Lily stood up, put her purse in her elbow and smirked. "Am I s'posed to call you when I have a minute?"
Malfoy shrugged. "If that works for you, sure."
"Cool. Bye." She strode away, power walking as she normally did, and lit another smoke, itching to get into Taz's car to sniff again. Five minutes later she saw him idling down the block and hurried over.
"Sup, Red," said Ty from the backseat and Lily glanced over her shoulder to find him and the mini 'ho.
"The fuck are the children here for?" she asked as Taz pulled into traffic and she dug in her bag for her coke. She measured out a pile on the center console and sniffed it back, then did another one in her other nostril.
"Fuck you, Red," Ty muttered. She smirked.
"You wish, kiddo," she shot back, relaxing into the seat, and put her feet up on the dash.
"The little bitch is coming for a lesson." Lily's lip curled and Taz reached over, holding her face firmly. "And you ain't gonna say a fuckin' word about it."
She cast him a filthy look, then looked at the mini bitch through the rearview mirror when he released her. "The fuck's your name, bitch?"
"Carla."
Lily snorted. "No, that's fucking awful. You can be Baby, 'cause you're a little baby. Got it?"
"Uh huh."
Lily's eyes narrowed and she sucked her teeth, looking at her nails, frowning at the one pinkie where the jewel chipped off. "You do drugs, Baby?" she drawled. Taz flashed the warning look but Lily smirked.
"Sure," the girl said.
"What kind d'you like best?"
"Pain pills."
Lily's brows shot up and she cast Taz a dubious look. "You're gonna wanna pick something to perk you up a little more. You fall asleep, you don't get paid, or worse, you get robbed, Baby."
"Such a good bitch," Taz said smugly, rubbing a hand up her thigh. "Teaching the skills and shit."
"More like common fuckin' sense," Lily said.
"She likes all drugs," Ty said from the backseat. "Right, bitch?"
"Uh huh."
The redhead snorted, pushing a hand through her hair. "Where are we going?" she murmured to Taz, whose hand was still on her thigh.
"Home. Deshawn's coming."
Lily rolled her eyes, sneering. "I hate Deshawn."
Taz smirked. "He likes you." Lily smirked back.
"Who the fuck doesn't?"
"I don't like you, Red," Ty mumbled. She grinned.
"That's 'cause you're a dumb ni-" Before she could say the word, Taz grabbed her chin roughly.
"Keep your fucking mouth shut, bitch," he growled. Her mouth hardened and she looked out the window until they pulled into their parking spot. Lily stared critically at the little Latina girl as they ascended in the elevator. She was at least wearing makeup this time, and looked as old as she claimed she was, maybe a year older. Definitely still not legal. Lily shook her head, but she wasn't one to judge the girl.
"If you're gonna take this shit serious, you're gonna need to up your game, Baby," Lily said once they got inside the apartment, going to the freezer for her bottle before Deshawn showed up. The girl pursed her mouth a little but didn't comment. Lily smirked and unscrewed the top, swigging from the bottle, then tugged at the girl's little plaid button down over her tiny tank top. "The fuck's this for?" The girl's cheeks went pink and she looked down, mumbling something. "Speak the fuck up, I don't got time for mumbling."
"My mom's Catholic and she won't let me leave the house without my shoulders covered," the girl said, mouth turning down, looking embarrassed.
"Aw, you a mama's girl? Get over it. Is your mama here? No she fuckin' isn't. Ditch that shit." The girl licked her lips and shed the little shirt. Lily took another drink. "When Deshawn gets here, you sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up, or I'll let you do the work. Got it, Baby?"
"Uh huh."
Lily took one last long pull from her bottle, chugging twice and winced against the burn, then put it back. The girl looked sour. "You need to work on curbing that attitude face," she said quietly as Taz and Ty shot at pixels and smoked a blunt. "Or some fucker will curb it for you."
The girl's brows lifted and she said, just as quietly back, "I try."
"Try harder." Lily moved back to the living room, dumped the last of her baggie and snorted it, just as there was a knock at the door. "Fuck," she muttered, and got up quickly, tugging the Latina girl by the hand back to her bedroom as Taz told Ty to get the door. Lily pointed to the corner by the closet. "Sit there, don't make a fucking peep, and pay attention," the redhead said, quickly shucking her tank and bra, stuffing the extra cash into the depths of her purse and stripped down to her tiny, mint green lace panties. She spritzed on perfume as the door opened.
Deshawn, despite being pretty good looking, was one of Lily's least favourite bi-monthly regulars because he was a chauvinistic prick who liked to call her a nasty slut and loved when she disagreed and then pretended to fight back. "Do you even wear clothes?" he drawled, closing the door behind himself.
"What do you think?" she murmured, moving to sit on the end of her bed. She felt the girl's eyes on her and ignored it.
Deshawn chuckled. "What's the point, right, slut?"
She bit her tongue, keeping her gaze down as he undressed and, like an Oscar winning actress, flinched away from him when he moved toward her. Deshawn left an hour later, leaving the money on the night stand, and Lily smoked a cigarette as she got dressed again. "What did you learn?" she asked the girl, finally looking at her.
"That guy's fucked," she murmured. Lily grinned.
"True, but wrong fuckin' answer. One more try."
The girl seemed to think about it and Lily's patience waned. "You gotta give 'em what they like?" the girl finally said.
Lily smirked. "Bingo, Baby. And nine times outta ten, the niggas want some nasty fuckin' shit, but any good whore plays along. They're paying you not just to fuck, but for the experience." The girl nodded. Lily took a drag off her cigarette. "You smoke?" she asked. The girl shrugged so Lily tossed her a cigarette and lighter.
"Thanks," she murmured.
The redhead snorted. "You passed the first test. Hopefully your second test doesn't come tonight." Lily privately thought if she'd seen Tiny before she started turning tricks for real she might've changed her mind about it. "So you like black cock best or what?"
"I don't care what colour it is," the girl said. Lily rolled her eyes. "I like guys who speak Spanish."
"Then why're you hooking up with Ty?"
The girl shrugged again, smoking her cigarette. "He's got connections." The redhead smirked as Taz came in, because maybe Baby had some potential after all.
"He wanted to double up," she said, handing Taz the money. He tossed her a hundred bucks back.
"Then keep the tip, bitch." She got up and put the cash in her purse, following Taz back out to the living room, the girl following wordlessly.
"You learn somethin'?" Ty asked her when she sat down beside him.
"Uh huh."
Taz put his blunt in his lips as Lily took the armchair and helped herself to the blow on the coffee table. "What'd you learn?" Ty asked, getting shot in the game.
"Some guys are fucked." Lily snorted her line and coughed a little.
"Jesus Christ, where'd you get this?" she asked Taz, rubbing her nose. "It's fucking great," she added.
"Don't fucking worry 'bout it," he mumbled. "Go home, little man, and take the mini bitch with you."
After they left, Taz looked at Lily. "What?" she asked.
"How long's this fuckin' movie shit gonna take?" Lily frowned.
"I don't fucking know. I'm just the dumb whore they're paying to talk." Taz threw his controller aside, clearly pissed.
"Then fucking find out," he growled, and reached over and grabbed her hair, pulling her head back. "And find out soon times. I got lots of business opportunities but not enough cash flow and you should fucking know I'm not the most patient, bitch." He threw her back into the chair and got up. "I'm taking a piss, and if your ass isn't gone out to get me something to eat by the time I get back, I'ma give you an eye to match the cock you like best, bitch."
Lily glared but got up, grabbed her purse, and headed out. She got subs from the little deli around the corner and halfway down the block from their building. As she waited, she sent Ian a text in response to the one he'd sent a couple days before, then cleared her outbox. If Taz saw, he'd flip, and Lily wanted to keep him calm until the stupid movie making shit paid out. As she walked back, she thought about possibly leaving Taz once she got her check, but she knew if that happened, not only would she lose a great dick to ride, but a live-in coke dealer and probably the bulk of her johns. Then again, with enough money, she mused, she could start her own, self-managed business. Maybe.
Once inside Lily frowned, because Eddie was there, and two other guys, buying coke and hanging out. She felt instantly suspicious of the thin, very light skinned guy. He looked around too much for her liking, like he was casing the place. "Put the shit away," Taz said, "and come over here, bitch." Lily pursed her mouth but tossed the food in the fridge and went over. Taz patted his lap, so she sat on it. The light skinned guy looked her over with light blue eyes that had finally come to rest, smirking. "Get undressed." Lily couldn't help her slight blush, but her mouth hardened.
"Why?"
Taz merely unhooked her bra. "'Cause I said so, bitch." Feeling cheap and embarrassed and pissed as all hell, she stood and stripped her clothes, down to her panties, and made to sit back down. "All the way."
Her stomach roiled and she grit her teeth, but slipped her underwear off anyway, knowing what was coming. She didn't bother to try sitting again. "Not bad," the light skinned guy said, eyeing her up.
"'Til she opens her mouth and words come out," Eddie mumbled.
The light skinned guy lifted a brow and she stared him down, trying to resist clenching her fists. "She does everything?" he asked, glancing at Taz.
"'Cept bareback."
The guy looked back at Lily. "Turn around." She grit her teeth and turned around, glaring at Taz now. He flashed her the grin and she wanted to punch him in the fucking face. "White girl ass," he muttered.
"What'd you expect, she's a white bitch." Taz leaned back, perfectly at ease, which irked Lily more than anything.
"Do I get to take a test drive?"
Taz chuckled. "This ain't freebie day, buddy. Tell you what, you take the mouth for now, I'll cut you a real nice deal."
"Turn back around," light skinned guy said, and Lily turned back around. "Huh. How much?"
"Fifty." Lily grit her teeth, unable to help the sharp spike of nausea. "And that's half off."
"A'ight."
The redhead fought the urge to gag preemptively when Taz spanked her ass and said lazily, "Get to work, bitch." She forced her brain to disengage, thinking only of the frosty, half full bottle of vodka in the freezer. How it would feel in her hand as opposed to some stranger's slightly crooked dick. How the sharp burn of ice cold alcohol would shock her mouth and blister her throat instead of the guy's spunk five minutes after she put her mouth on him.
When she was done, she got dressed silently, focusing solely on the vodka in the freezer to banish the unpleasant taste in her mouth and throat, and snatched the dime bag of blow Taz held out. The vodka helped numb her after a couple chugs, and she carried the bottle back to her bedroom to get drunk before she had to deal with Tiny that night.
She called Malfoy late the next morning, after her shower, and they met at the hotel room. She sat in the chair with the good lighting, knowing she looked damn good, feeling buzzed from the fat line she'd done in the car when Taz dropped her off on the way to do some deliveries. "Where's the camera guy?" she asked suspiciously as he closed the door behind her and no one else appeared to be present.
"His wife is having a baby."
Lily's brows shot up. "No shit? Fuck. Let's hope she takes the fucking drugs." Lily crossed her legs and leaned on one elbow, waving her foot up and down absently. "So you got stuck doing his job?"
Malfoy pointed to a tripod and mic stand. "I improvised in his absence."
"So, you got a wife, too? Does she know you're hanging 'round hookers?" she drawled. "I bet you like tall, supermodel blondes, am I right?"
"Unfortunately, it's your job to answer the questions, not ask them." Lily shrugged, drumming her nails on the arm of her chair. "Are you ready?" The redhead smirked.
"You bet, Hollywood."
"I want to ask some hard questions." Lily pursed her mouth a little, looking at him suspiciously. "I'll ask, and you can decide if you'd like to answer."
"Whatever," she muttered. "Go for it."
His dark grey eyes regarded her steadily for a moment, then he pulled out his notebook. "Do you feel guilty for your mother's mental breakdown?"
Lily stared at him, barely believing she'd just heard that. "Next question," she said stiffly.
Malfoy's brow lifted. "Alright. How do you feel about your mother's mental breakdown, then?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "I told you some things would be difficult to talk about from the outset. My goal is to get to the root of what lead you into this life. What are the things that left the scars deep enough you value yourself so little?"
Lily forced herself to remain calm and affected a bored, dismissive tone when she said, "You sound like a fucking counselor or shrink. And I don't generally converse with those types."
"Alright then," he said, with a hint of a sigh. "Do you think you deserve to be loved?"
Lily snorted. "Lots of people love me, so I guess."
"Why don't you want to stay with Ian? You said yourself he's in love with you."
Lily was starting to feel distinctly bothered by his questioning now. She reminded herself of the money and tried to calm herself down. "I also told you he has a small dick."
For the first time since meeting him, Lily saw a flash of either anger or annoyance, or even possibly disgust, flit over Malfoy's face. "Do you love Taz?"
"Sure."
"Has he ever acted abusively toward you?"
"Probably."
Malfoy's dark eyes narrowed. "Are you going to keep giving me one word answers?"
"Are you going to take the fucking hint I don't wanna talk about this kind of shit?" she snarled. "Like fuck, what do you want me to tell you? I'm a fucking coke whore, I don't fucking know what fucking romantic love is supposed to fucking be! Okay? I don't know what that feels like!" She'd stood up, chest heaving, and sat down abruptly, cursing her redheaded temper for getting away from her, mouth running right along with it.
"That's somewhere to start," he said softly, not having even flinched at her outburst.
"Or it's somewhere to end," she said. "I don't talk about personal shit or feelings or any of that crap. I ain't got time for that bull."
"Is that part of the reason you're a prostitute?" he asked baldly. "Because you don't know what love is supposed to be like?"
She laughed, but it was dark and humourless. "Maybe. I never thought of it like that before. I just figured it was 'cause I fucking love coke and I don't give a fuck what I have to do to get it."
"And why don't you? Give a fuck, that is."
"'Cause old habits die hard." She dug in her bag for her cigarettes, hands shaking a little. "I need a fucking cigarette, fuckin' arrest me for breaking some fucking by-law if you have to." She flicked her lighter three times before the flame caught and inhaled the nicotine gratefully. "I'm not fucking doing this if I have to fucking talk about my personal life shit, shit nobody has any business knowing or hearing about."
Malfoy stared at her for a long time, pensive, his dark grey eyes intense as ever. "How old were you when it happened?"
Lily pulled hard off her smoke. "When what happened?" she said blandly.
"When someone took something that didn't belong to them."
Lily closed her eyes, trying to hold in the tears and the pain and guilt and shame and humiliation, pressing a fist to her mouth. "I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about," she said as evenly as possible, although her voice wavered a little.
"The statistics alone make it a likelihood," Malfoy said softly. "And you know it's not your f-"
"Don't fucking say that to me." She puffed furiously at her cigarette, hazel eyes bright. "I might be a dumb fucking coke whore, but I'm not fucking stupid. How the fuck would you know if anything is my fucking fault?" Lily hated that tears pricked behind her eyes. "This isn't happening. I'm fucking dead serious, I'm not talking about this shit, and you can't fucking make me, and if you try I'm just gonna fucking walk out."
"Alright," the blond man said easily and shifted in his chair. "Have you ever had children?"
Lily snorted, still on edge but glad he'd stopped pushing. "No."
"Have you ever been pregnant?"
Her mouth quirked. "No. And I plan to stay that way. I got an IUD when I was twenty, and I can count on one finger the number of dicks I've ridden bareback." Malfoy continued with his note making.
"Since you started prostituting, have you been sexually assaulted by a client?"
"No. My johns are nice fellows mostly. Disgusting sometimes, but harmless."
"Have you ever been physically assaulted by a client?"
"I had some guy put a knife to my throat and rob me blind, but that's it." Her mouth turned down.
"Have you ever done things you didn't want to do for your clients?"
The redhead almost laughed. "What do you think? You tell me if you wanna put your mouth on any part of some guy who hasn't showered in at least a week." She couldn't repress the shudder that time and smoked her cigarette. "Most of this profession is doing things to and for people you don't want to. It's like flipping burgers for a living. You don't want to, but you do it anyway, 'cause they pay you."
"Do you like any of your customers?"
Lily shrugged, pulling hard off her smoke. "I don't mind you."
"I'm not really a customer," he said, looking amused.
She grinned. "Are you not paying me? If you wanna go that route, trying to stiff me, you're not gonna like me much."
"And the others? Do you like any of them?"
Lily uncrossed and recrossed her legs the other way. "There's some I don't mind. It's not good to let your guard down, though." She glanced around for an ashtray and finally stood and leaned over, using a decorative bowl on the table crammed into a corner of the room. "The world is a mean, fucking dog eat dog place and you let your guard down, it'll chew you up and spit you the fuck back out."
"Has that been your experience?"
"Obviously." She rolled her eyes, sitting back down and frowned at her nails, then ran a hand through her hair.
"Let's talk about Taz." She narrowed her eyes, pulling off her cigarette roughly, wondering why Hollywood was like a dog with a fucking bone, going back to the same stupid shit she didn't want to talk about.
"What about him?"
"You mentioned he has a drug problem."
Lily snorted a laugh. "Okay, if you say so. Taz smokes weed, I don't think that counts as having a drug problem."
"Does he use cocaine?"
"Sometimes," she said, outing her smoke in the little bowl. "Not a lot. He doesn't wanna get hooked and end up snorting all his profits." She rolled her eyes, because Taz said it was bad enough she tried to.
"And you trade sex for drugs for him?"
"Sometimes. Taz doesn't usually like that shit, though. He gets mad when I do favours for straight blow, especially if he finds out after the fact." She thought about the night she'd fucked Dave for a half ounce. And then how furious Taz had been when he found out she'd been paid in drugs and snorted most of them before, during, and after her night with Dave.
"Why?" Malfoy asked softly.
"Because it usually winds up being me trading sex for drugs for myself." Lily fidgeted, hoping he wouldn't detour down the pimp road again, because she felt a niggling sensation in the pit of her stomach whenever he got close to that subject.
"Does Taz control your habit?"
Her mouth tightened. "Well, he's my dealer, so I guess."
"Do you sleep with Taz?"
The redhead laughed. "Obviously. His dick is amazing, too. Just for the record."
Malfoy didn't comment on that, nor did his thoughtful expression change. "And you enjoy sex with Taz?"
"Again, obviously. He's my man, and he's hung, and he knows what I like."
"How often do you have sex with Taz?"
Lily's brows went up. "That's some personal shit, Hollywood."
Malfoy smirked. "Just covering all the bases." Lily had no idea what that meant.
"I guess, like...I dunno. A few times a week? It depends how busy I am, obviously," Lily murmured, brows pulling together. "And other shit."
"Like?"
"Like lots of shit," Lily said vaguely. For some reason the redhead found she didn't want to admit half the time she and Taz fucked it was so she could get high. And the other half was when he said so. Not that she didn't enjoy it still, but being the instigator was always preferable to Lily. "Obviously if he's in the middle of doing deals and shit it's not a good time for fucking."
"Is Taz the only person with whom you enjoy sex?"
Lily frowned. "The fuck's that s'posed to mean?"
"I mean is sex pleasurable with your clients, or do the two remain separate, business and pleasure?"
Her mouth curved up seductively and she tossed her hair, leaning forward, knowing her boobs would look great, and uncrossed her legs and braced one hand between them, leaning forward more. "That depends," she purred. "Are you offering to mix the two?"
"No."
Lily sat back, grinning. "Then it still depends. Have I gotten off with a john? Sure. Is that a regular everyday kinda thing? Fuck no."
"Why do you think that is?"
"Because fucking for money isn't about me and whatever the fuck I want. It's about whoever's paying me." She flicked her hair to one side, swirling the wavy mass absently as she repeated the words she'd told the mini 'ho. "They're not paying just to fuck, that's what cheap nasty hookers who prowl the streets and shit do. They pay for the experience, and nine times outta ten, the experience ain't something I find pleasurable. But you play along."
She was debating taking a bathroom break to snort some more blow, but refrained. Despite him being kind of pushy and sort of a total asshole at times, she felt distinctly at ease around Malfoy. Almost too much. "How do you feel about other workers in your industry?"
Lily frowned. "How d'you mean?"
He smirked. "Do you interact with other prostitutes?" The redhead felt a stab of guilt, thinking about the mini 'ho, but she wasn't really a prostitute. At least, not yet.
"Not really. We don't have group meetings or anything, and a lot of bitches who look like they might be hooking aren't. And a lot who look like they aren't hooking probably be doing it. Have I met other 'workers in my industry'? Yeah. Didn't like 'em."
"Why is that?"
"I don't like hungry bitches looking at my man like he's the hand feeding them at the fucking soup kitchen. They think he's gonna bend over backward for them and shit or fuck them so they can score, and it's not fucking happening."
"To your knowledge, has Taz ever slept around?"
"With hookers? I fucking hope not. I'd cut his big, sexy cock right the fuck off and put it in his mouth for him if he did. I'm not risking getting some nasty other slut's diseases and shit. And why would Taz bone other bitches and pay them? He has his own, for free."
"I'm assuming he's the only one you've had unprotected sex with?"
"Yup." She reached for another cigarette, and smirked a tiny bit. The second time she'd been with Taz, he'd asked if she was on the pill and she'd told him about the IUD. He'd grinned, said, 'thank fuck', and from then on, hadn't bothered to wrap it. And she hadn't forced the issue because half the time she was too high to remember and the other half, Taz was too impatient. Lily pushed a hand through her hair and thought again about the last of the blow in her purse, drumming her fingernails on the chair, feeling a little edgy.
"How often do you snort?"
"What?" she asked, taken off guard.
"You're fidgety and you keep looking at the bathroom. Your pupils were also twice the size they are now when you first came in, which I'm assuming means the high is wearing off."
Lily shrugged. "I snort as often as possible. I don't have a fucking schedule or nothing. Why, how long we fucking been here?"
"Almost an hour and a half."
"Shit." Lily ran a hand through her hair again. "Well I gotta go to the bathroom, so-"
"Please don't be so offensive as to lie to me outright."
The redhead narrowed her eyes. "Did I say I gotta go take a piss? No I fucking didn't. You wanna call me a liar, make sure I am, first, Hollywood. I'm done for today, anyway. I'm gonna lose my voice if I chit chat all fucking day and then how the fuck am I supposed to make any money? You'd be surprised how many black motherfuckers wanna be talked dirty to."
Lily stood up and grabbed her purse, even as Malfoy flicked the camera off, the little red record light blinking out. "That's fine. Just out of curiosity and off the record, was I right?"
"'Bout what?" she asked, digging for her coke. If he wanted to call her out on shit, she'd snort it right off the goddamn table.
"About you being molested."
Lily froze for a second that answered the question for her, then kept rummaging. "Dunno what you're talking about," she said bitterly, and at last put hands upon her dime bag. She tapped out every last crumb of off white powder onto the table and took her section of Slurpee straw out, dividing the pile in half. Each smaller pile got its own nostril. "Fucking right," she breathed, sniffling a bit.
"You know that shit will kill you, right?" Malfoy murmured as she packed up, putting a cigarette in her lips.
"We all gotta die of something, Hollywood."
His face was very serious as she passed through the door he'd opened for her. "One last question, off the record, Lily," he said, and she turned back, because when he said her name, she felt something flutter in her chest, a giddy rush she attributed to the excellent coke almost choking her.
"What, Hollywood?" she asked, plucking the smoke from her lips and turning as she crossed the threshold.
"What do you think your mother will die of if the cocaine or prostitution kills you?" Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him blankly, because he sounded pissed, really pissed, and he wasn't smiling or looking thoughtful. "I'll let you think about that one until next time," he said easily, and closed the door in her face. When she called Taz to come pick her up she realized she hadn't asked Malfoy how long he expected this deal would be.
When Taz asked in the car, she replied with a muttered, "Didn't get a straight answer."
Taz glared. "Then fucking try harder, bitch."
XXX
