LISA

It's hard being here, refraining from physical contact while all I can think of is her upcoming booking tomorrow. Jennie is struggling too; I can tell by the way she looks at me like she wants to rip my clothes off. Our morning talks have become somewhat of a comfortable habit, but today, I can almost taste the tension in the air.

We're sitting on the bottom step of the bridge again, both with a coffee in hand. Jennie is wearing yoga clothes; a black strappy crop top, black leggings and sneakers, and her camera is hanging around her neck. At least I've done my job today, so I don't have to feel like I'm taking advantage. With my next appointment not until eleven, I accepted her invitation to come down here with her.

"The light is beautiful this morning," she says, looking out over the ocean.

"It is." I smile and do my best not to stare at her breasts in the tight yoga top. No one gets my libido raging like Jennie does. "How was your weekend in New York?"

"It was really nice, actually," she says. "Just Ella and me. She stayed with me in my hotel room." She hesitates. "We went for a drink in a gay bar."

Her statement almost makes me choke on my coffee, and I turn to her with a frown. "Really? Did you talk to her about—"

"No, of course not. I didn't tell her about you, if that's what you mean," she quickly says. "We just happened to pass this place and I wanted to go in."

"And?"

"And nothing. I felt a little awkward at first, but everyone seemed very nice and…" she pauses. "Well, it was interesting, seeing women together."

"But you grew up in New York. Surely you must have been exposed to lesbian couples on many occasions."

"Yes, but I never really took much notice, if you know what I mean. I never paid much attention to what was going on around me." She shrugs. "I'm just trying to figure out this sudden change in me."

"I think you know what's going on with you."

Jennie wets her lips as she looks at me and, God, I want to kiss her. "Yes," she says. "I think I do." The electricity between us crackles during the long silence that follows and then she says: "My test results came back. I'm clean." She blushes profusely as she holds up her phone, showing me the page.

I'm all too aware that I'm dangerously close to doing something stupid. "That's good," I finally say. "I have tests done on a regular basis, so you won't have to worry about me either." Another silence follows. "So, I'll be seeing you tomorrow… I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah. Me too." Her voice is breathy as she continues to stare at me. Suddenly, as if it's too much, she snaps out of her trance and turns her attention back to the ocean. "How was your weekend?"

"It was very nice. I took Lily to the beach with a friend and her son, and we saw my father," I say, leaving out the awkward situation with Mrs. Ashworth. "I'm starting my own business, so I've also been busy with that."

Jennie's widening eyes tell me she's surprised to hear this. "Oh? What kind of business?"

"I'm starting a prop rental for pool parties. Anything you can think of, I have it. Furniture, lighting, decorations, pool toys…"

"That sounds like fun. And let me guess; is Lily testing all the pool toys?"

"No, the beach is too rough for expensive inflatables, and we don't know anyone with a pool, so I haven't shown her anything yet."

"Oh. Of course." Jennie says this as if she's only just now come to realize that not everyone in the Hamptons has a pool. "You can always bring her here if you want to use my pool or have easy access to the beach. I know how difficult it is to find a parking spot by the beach in summer, and I have a huge drive and there's no one here but me."

"Thank you, that's very sweet, but I don't think it would be a good idea."

"Why not? I have all this space and the perfect facilities, and no one is enjoying it."

I study Jennie and see that she's serious. Of course, Lily would love to come here, but I'm already in over my head and I don't want to draw my daughter into the mess I'm knowingly creating by falling for a client. "I'm afraid it would blur the boundaries," I say carefully. "I can't bring Lily to a client's house."

"I'm sorry, I didn't think about that." Jennie shoots me a regretful look. "You're right. I understand." She looks down at her coffee and frowns. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why do you work for Pool Masters? If you make so much more money with the escort work?"

"Two reasons," I say. "Firstly, I want Lily to see me going to work every morning, doing a normal job like all other parents. I also want my father to know I have a job; he doesn't know about my escort job. And secondly, I simply need the job at Pool Masters for our medical insurance."

"Right. I can see how escort work wouldn't necessarily provide that." Jennie shoots me a knowing smile. Medical insurance is obviously not something she's ever worried about. "It must be strange to live a double life."

"Not really" I shrug. "I see escorting as a performance, an act. And since it's only two or three nights a week, and less if I don't feel like it, it's just something I enjoy doing. With some nights more enjoyable than others," I add, needing her to know that she's special.

"Do you have favorite clients?" she asks. If I'm not mistaken, I'm sensing some jealousy, so I smile and lock my eyes with hers.

"Only one."

Clearly busted but pleased by my answer nevertheless, Jennie blushes profusely, then narrows her eyes as a man approaches. He's barefoot, dressed in khaki shorts and a white T-shirt and he's walking in a brisk pace, until he spots us. He stops, lingers, then turns around and starts walking back.

"Do you know him?" I ask, relieved this is giving me a way out of a difficult conversation.

"Yes, it's Mark, my ex-husband," she says, staring at him pensively. "He was probably on his way here and didn't expect me to have company."

"Oh. Should I go?"

"No. Please don't." She takes my hand when I'm about to get up. "I already know what he wants to talk about anyway. Him and his new girlfriend are having a baby."

"Jesus, Jennie. That must be difficult." I squeeze her hand.

"It's…" She shrugs. "It's okay, actually. I've known for a few weeks, so I'm over the shock, but he doesn't know I know. It must be bothering him; he's not one to go for a walk on a Monday morning. He's a total workaholic."

I nod. "Is his office in the Hamptons?"

"No, he works from home. He used to have an office in New York, but now that he designs for the rich and famous, he only takes on really big jobs and keeps it simple with a team of freelancers who also work from home. He travels a lot, though."

"So he's a big name in his field?" I already know he is; I looked Mark up too but it would freak her out if she knew that. He designed one of the most high-tech office buildings in the world, situated in Dubai and he's won lots of prizes for his work.

"Yeah. He's very talented. And he's always had this drive to prove himself because I was… well… I was wealthy when we met, and he wasn't. Anyway, he soon managed to turn that around."

"Do you still have feelings for him?"

"No. He's the father of my children, so there will always be something there. But it's not like this."

"Like this?"

Jennie shakes her head, heat rising to her cheeks again. "I mean, what I feel for him is not sexual and I don't think it's ever been. That's what I was trying to say," she hastily explains. She watches Mark fade into a white speck in the distance and I'm trying to grasp how anyone could ever leave the beautiful, kind and sexy Jennie. Perhaps he always felt that she was never into him that way but if I had her, if she was really mine, then I'd never, ever let her go.