It had been a good night. Three guys at three fifty a piece plus tips made a nice take home, even discounting the forty percent I had to pay the cabbies. The Place Pigalle must have been hopping. The cabbies called it "Pig Alley." I'd spent my time picking up Johns there for the better part of a year, but I could afford a nice place now, an apartment just off the Venetian causeway.
It was a lot safer working out of an apartment than picking up guys in bars. Too many cops in bars. Two cabbies checked out the Johns for me as they left Place Pigalle, horny from watching the strippers -- who left nothing to the imagination. Ray was the best but Sonny got me lots of business too. Usually I went to the John's hotel room. Sometimes the cabbie brought them to my place.
I was twenty-three and I'd been a hooker for a year and a half -- since that worthless bastard I'd been living with decided he didn't want to marry me. I still get chills up my spine every time I remember how close I came to making that big mistake. I'd been working as a cocktail waitress at the Deauville and he took what little I earned to buy beer. When he left me, I figured to hell with men -- three losers in a row -- that was enough! I was gonna rent my pussy by the hour. It paid well. A lot of guys with money came to the conventions at Miami Beach and most of them got horny away from the dull little wife.
It was a good living, but some nights I couldn't avoid thinking about where I was going with my life, even when it got me all depressed and teary eyed. I'd picked up a lot of college credits at Broward College and I was just about a year away from a degree. I'd be the first one in my family with a college degree.
I had enough in the bank and my safe box to support me for over a year while I finished college, but shit! The job I'd qualify for with that degree didn't pay a third of what I could make as a hooker! On the other hand, the older my pussy got the less the Johns were gonna pay to fuck it. They liked 'em young! Every time I got to this point in planning my life, I started to think about how all alone I was, and then I always ended up having another drink, and going to bed, crying, lonely, no way out!
I woke up Thursday mid-morning with a smile. Thursday was my day off. I put on my best sporty outfit, an expensive one, and headed for South Beach. A little shopping -- lunch at a nice place -- then afternoon in the shade next to the beach, engaging in my favorite sport - people watching. I would dine early and alone at an expensive place -- it was my Thursday ritual. I morphed from cheap hooker to rich tourist -- clothes, make-up, and all -- and tried to forget what I was.
By late afternoon I was relaxed and happy, trying to decide which of my favorite restaurants to spoil myself in. There was a real good-looking guy who had sat at a table near me and glanced at me from time to time and finally he picked up his drink and came over to my table.
"Would you like some company?" He asked in a very nice way.
I was not working tonight -- no way was I gonna proposition this guy! And the last thing I needed was some horny bastard trying to get a free piece of ass. But I didn't want to spoil my afternoon by being rude and he had such a nice smile. I usually didn't do this but maybe some company would be fun for a change. Lonely was a bad way to be.
"Sure. Pull up a chair. I'm a people watcher. What about you?"
"I enjoy trying to guess what they do when they're back home," he said. "My name is Gordon Ritch."
"Hi! I'm Geri Norman. Are you a tourist?"
He joined me at the table and extended his left hand. I shook it and noticed no wedding band but that meant nothing.
"Not really. I do taxes and it takes a lot of updating the way the laws and regs keep changing. If I'm gonna pay some guy to lecture me I'd rather be in Miami than Cleveland. And you?"
What does a hooker do? She tells lies to guys who pay to be lied to. "I'm a cocktail waitress working my way through Broward College."
"What's your major?" He asked with a pleasant smile.
I looked more closely. He was good looking and had that really great smile. Then I warned myself --"Get control of yourself you stupid bitch. He just wants to fuck you. Like every other bastard out there."
"I'm a business major -- just thirty credit hours away from my BA."
He asked about my courses. I told the truth. He asked about my job. I lied. He asked about my family. I told the truth. He was twenty-seven and a partner in a firm in Knoxville. He was fun to talk to, and before I figured out what was happening we were on our way to a nice little Italian place that was a favorite of mine. I wasn't horny but I needed to be with a man -- there's an important difference. Sometimes you just need a man. But, I kept telling myself that the only thing he wanted was a free piece of ass.
Then, after dinner, he offered to take me home. I had made an all-men-are-bastards bet with myself. So I told another lie, figuring my car would be okay in the parking garage overnight, and said I would be very grateful for a ride. He drove me to my place in his rental car, me pointing directions all the way. He pulled up at my place with the headlights aimed at the apartment house entrance, left the motor running, and came around and opened the door for me.
"Thank you very much for your company," he said. "I enjoyed talking to you a lot."
He led me nearly to my door. He paused and waited till I got my key out and opened it. Then he smiled and waved a friendly good night. I went in and closed the door. Then I stopped and stood frozen in the hall. Shit! He didn't try to screw me! I lost my bet. I went to bed thinking that maybe Gordon was just about the nicest guy that I had ever met.
It was almost two months later that my phone rang. Hooker's hearts don't skip beats. But mine did exactly that when I heard his voice. He was back in town and wanted to have dinner. I called Ray and told him I was taking the night off and the next as well. I can't remember how long it had been since I took so much trouble trying to look good. Trying to get rid of that cheap look that the Johns liked. The same cheap look that all the guys I had ever dated liked. I wanted to look like a really nice girl for Gordon.
Hookers don't get gaga when some guy knocks on their door, but that was the way I was when he picked me up. I had an absolutely wonderful evening -- dinner and dancing in the moonlight and soft music. On the way home my mind started to race. What do "normal" people do on the second date? Do they fuck? What should I do if he wants to come in? Do I invite him in if he doesn't ask? What the fuck should I do?
My worry was for nothing. Same drill as before. Motor running, lights aimed at the door, waved good night when I opened the door. I was hooked! This guy was gonna get all the user friendly pussy he could handle. Then I reminded myself that this guy wasn't like the rest of those horny bastards I was with night after night. This was a very special guy.