Love and Emptiness: III - Vice and Vices
Alex remained in the darkness of her car, catching her breath at the very unexpected -and disappointing surprise. Her stomach was in a knot.
She looked up at the windows of Bobby's third floor apartment, illuminated only by the light of the TV that was on in his living room, forcing herself to admit that there were only two possible explanations:
(1) That perhaps Dee-Dee was out of the business --that Bobby had met her at a bar or club and was unaware of her ex- "profession" -that tonight was merely a date; or
(2) That Bobby was fully aware of Dee-Dee's "profession" --making for an altogether different kind of "date."
If it was the former, Alex had the dilemma of deciding whether to tell Bobby that his latest "girlfriend" used to be a high-priced call girl, or just butt out and mind her own business...and If it was the latter... she wasn't ready to face or believe that yet. Both scenarios made her feel ill.
It was now 1:35 a.m. -too late to disturb Bobby. She wouldn't have known what to say or do anyway. She started her car and headed for home, noticing the visible shaking of her hands as she gripped the wheel.
X X X
Alex barely got a wink of sleep Friday night -and the queasiness that remained in her stomach prevented her from even taking a bite of her breakfast on Saturday morning. She decided to shower, dress and head to her parents' house for a visit. She had even considered inviting Bobby along, but decided against it. A part of her wanted to confront him, but another part -the one that wanted to avoid him-won out.
X X X
Alex arrived to work on Monday morning right on time, of the mind set that she'd (try to) act normal around Bobby. It was easier said than done, however, since her heart held a mixture love/hate/anger/jealousy/sympathy towards him.
She was happy when she rounded the corner and spotted him already busy at his desk with, as usual, her coffee and Danish waiting for her on hers.
"Good morning!" she greeted him with a slightly forced smile. "Have a good weekend?"
Bobby looked up from his paperwork and smiled, nodding his head slightly 'yes.' "It was okay," he responded. "The usual -visited my mom yesterday."
"Yeah, well, it's not Sunday I'm curious about," Alex silently thought to herself.
"How about yours?" Bobby asked.
"The usual, too. Visited my parents on Saturday and grubbed a free dinner," she joked.
Bobby chuckled.
"God, he's so cute when he laughs like that."
Then, Alex decided to add: "Oh, I went out on Friday night," she said with emphasis and watched for Bobby's reaction. She noticed that he paused -frozen for a split second. She knew she'd struck a nerve.
"Y-you d-did?" Bobby said.
"Yeah. My sister and a couple of her girlfriends picked me up. We shot some pool, had a couple of drinks - danced." She knew it was juvenile, but she couldn't subdue the feeling of wanting to 'get even' with Bobby somehow. She hoped that he picked up her implied "I was dancing with other men."
Bobby was quiet for a moment, so Alex continued. "What about Friday and Saturday for you? Do anything fun?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.
"Um, uh - no," he shook his head. "I stayed in -did a lot of reading -- nothing special," he answered quickly and pretended to busy himself with the papers on his desk.
"So, he IS keeping it a secret from me," Alex thought. "Reading my ass." Her mood soured even more.
As the morning passed, Bobby glanced up from his desk intermittently.
"Something wrong?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"No, nothing," Alex answered sharply.
Bobby's left index finger wagged towards her. "I-I noticed you haven't touched your breakfast," he said softly. "That's not like you," he tried to joke, adding a little chuckle to tease her.
Alex shrugged. "Guess I just don't have much of an appetite today," she answered with a dismissive bite to her voice, keeping her eyes focused on her own paperwork.
Bobby watched for a few seconds, sure now that something was wrong. He just didn't know what -but there was no mistaking the bad vibes.
X X X
Alex unlocked her door and let out a heavy sigh as she entered her house. "What a day," she groaned out loud to no one but herself.
There had been an uncomfortable tension in the air all day and she dreaded the thought of tomorrow -and the rest of the week - continuing in the same fashion.
Although Bobby sensed that something was wrong, he had no idea that he was Alex's problem.
She grabbed a beer from the fridge and collapsed onto her sofa. There was no escaping the images and thoughts of Bobby and Dee-Dee arm-in-arm as he escorted her to her car -not to mention the other mental images Alex was conjuring up and tormenting herself with.
As she sat and drank, Alex's mind drifted --back to memories of her days in Vice. Six years ago --it felt like ages. She remembered the freezing cold nights, trolling the corners in Greenpointe in her hotpants and halter-but not all her time in Vice was spent slumming. She also frequented the high-end district of the business. High-priced calls girls who catered to a different clientele --the wealthy and traveling businessmen. That's where Alex, in her undercover personna as high-class call girl "Heather Fairchild," had met Dierdre "Dee-Dee" Hastings.
Alex sprung from the sofa. She had an idea.
X X X
It was 9:00 p.m. Dressed in a little, sexy black dress, black heels and tasteful gold jewelry, Alex/Heather strolled confidently through the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton hotel and headed for the cocktail lounge. The location had been one of Dee-Dee's favorites back in the day and Alex, knowing that a leopard can't change its spots, figured it was the best place to start.
It was going on 10 p.m. and Alex began to have second thoughts. "Maybe trying to find Dee-Dee and confront her wasn't the wisest choice," she thought to herself as she sipped what remained in her wine glass.
She took a twenty from her wallet and was about to call it a night when she heard the old familiar voice:
"Heather? Heather Fairchild!" What are you doing here?"
Alex's heart raced and panic gripped her stomach. She turned to face the stunning brunette who was approaching the barstool next to hers.
She feigned a look of happy surprise. "Dee Dee! Oh my gosh, it's be ages!"
Dee Dee set her purse on the bar and leaned in to Alex/Heather for a kiss and hug 'hello.'
"So what are you doing here? Dee-Dee repeated. "Are you back in town for good? Meeting a client?"
Alex smiled and chuckled, shaking her head 'no.' "I'm just back in town for a visit. I'm um...I'm not 'working' any more."
"Good for you, honey! You always said you'd make your money and get outta this business," Dee-Dee said cheerily. "So, how come you're here?" she persisted.
"I'm here for a business seminar with some people from my company," Alex lied. "We go back to Chicago Friday night," she said.
She watched as Dee-Dee surveyed the bar. "So, where are they all? Any cute ones?"
Alex laughed and shook her head. "Nobody your type," she joked. "All old, fat and bald," she laughed.
"You should know me better than that, Heather! As long as the wallet is fat too, I don't mind about the other stuff," she laughed, tossing her head back.
Alex tried to quell the anger twisting her gut. "I wonder how much she's overcharging my poor Bobby," she couldn't help thinking.
Dee-Dee spied Alex's twenty and said, "You're not leaving yet, girlfriend. Put that away and lemme get you another --we have a lot of catching up to do."
Alex/Heather tucked the money back in her wallet and smiled, acquiescing to Dee-Dee's instructions. "So," Alex began, "I guess you're still in the business."
"Yeah. It's been too many years now of easy money. I don't think I could hold a regular job --I'm too spoiled," Dee-Dee laughed.
"So, what do you do now?" Dee-Dee asked.
"Computer software," Alex answered vaguely.
"Ahh," Dee-Dee nodded, unimpressed. "You could always come back," she winked. You look great --and there's plenty of money to be made. Prices are alot higher than they were years ago."
Alex/Heather laughed. "Yeah, but the guys are just as creepy."
"Oh, not all of them," Dee-Dee said. "As a matter of fact, I've got a new 'regular' who's an absolute doll."
Alex's ears perked up. That definitely got her interest.
Dee-Dee continued. "Yeah, tall, dark and handsome."
"Oh my God --I wonder if she is talking about Bobby."
Dee-Dee sipped her martini and nodded, smiling. "And a gentleman, too. I wish they all could be like him."
"How much of a 'gentleman' could he be?" Alex/Heather asked. "Probably cheatin' on his wife or has some weird fetish," Alex teased, trying to goad Dee-Dee into disclosing more details.
"Oh, most of 'em are, I know," Dee-Dee agreed, "But not this one. As a matter of fact, he's single --and so cute I'd do him for free," she winked, then added "Almost."
The two women laughed.
"Okay, so he's cute...and a gentleman. That just leaves the fetish," Alex said.
"I'm telling ya, Heather, he's not like the rest. Our first two nights, we had dinner, danced and he just wanted to talk and cuddle on the couch."
"Danced? Bobby loves to dance. She has to be talking about him."
"First two?" Alex/Heather asked. "I guess it was all downhill from there, huh?" she tried to joke.
"Ha!" Dee-Dee laughed, again throwing her head back, causing her silky brown hair to cascade around her shoulders and down her back. "To tell ya the truth, we um, we just 'got down to business' for the first time last Friday night. He was great."
A pang of jealousy stabbed at Alex's heart and stomach, but she needed to hear more. She reminded herself to act nonchalant --she wasn't supposed to give a damn about some 'John'."
"Except for the diaper and spanking," Alex/Heather taunted, forcing a laugh. She downed the rest of her drink, hoping it would numb her emotions against what she was about to hear.
Dee-Dee waved her hand, "Get outta' here," she said. "It wasn't anything like that. He only had one 'special request' --well, two, actually."
"I knew there had to be a catch," Alex teased.
"I have to wear this reddish-blond wig," Dee-Dee said, not even noticing the similarity of Alex/Heather's hairdo, "And, um," she wiggled her eyebrows, "When he's cumming, I have to let him tell me he loves me, over and over again --while he calls me Alex."
End Part III