...AND SHE FELL IN LOVE WITH A HOOKER

Chapter 4

Adrian chuckled as if amused by a private joke.

‘’Yeah, your friend is quite the generous lady. You should really buy her a nice dinner and tickets to the movies or something in thanks.’’

Adrian winked at her, but Rose was still struggling to understand what he was talking about, so she repeated the question.

‘’Again,’’ she said imploringly. ‘’Fee?’’

‘’Yes, the fee. She paid us- the agency, I mean- enough to cover the entire night and then some, so I’m yours until lunchtime tomorrow. If you’ll have me, that is?

The amused smile on Rose’s lips turned leering for a moment while he took a step forward, once more closing the distance between them.

Rose instinctively took a step back, and Adrian’s smirk faltered just a fraction. Rose didn’t notice, However, her thoughts spun out of control.

‘’Y-you’re telling me Jenny has hired you from an- an agency to be my date for the night?!’’ she asked incredulously, not bothering to keep her voice down.

She knew it. She f*****g knew it. Jenny was a dead woman.

‘’Of course! I’m not ‘self-employed’, if that’s what you want to call it,’’

Adrian said while making quotation marks in the air before continuing in a much more diminished tone, looking at his feet, ‘’I left the streets many, many years ago.’’ Adrian shuddered minutely as if recalling something unpleasant.

Rose’s eyes widened as it slowly dawned on her what Adrian was saying. It all suddenly began to make sense: Adrian’s confident persona, his relaxed demeanor, his suggestive words, the smirk. Rose gulped and opened her mouth slightly, searching for the right way to voice her concerns.

‘’I’m sorry, but I have to ask; just what kind of….. service does your agency provide excatly?’’

Adrian lifted his head quickly and met Rose’s eyes with a frown. ‘’Wait, your friend didn’t tell you?’’

Rose shook her head violently, dreading Adrian’s answer as he watched the now familiar smirk creep its way back onto his features.

‘’Okay….. Then I’ll word it in a way as to not ruin those pretty, innocent eyes of yours,’’ Adrian began slowly. ‘’ The agency I work for prides itself in providing excellent company for the lonely, be it only for one night. And if that companionship at some point happens to turn….’’ he paused,’’…… carnal, we do offer that service as well,’’ Adrian finished smoothly.

It took a few moments for his words to sink in as Rose blinked at him, but when they did, she released the breath she’d been holding and felt herself blush up to the roots of her hair. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

‘’So you- you’re a prostitute?’’ she stammered, her heart racing at the implications.

Adrian wrinkled his nose and made a grunting noise indicating his displeasure at being called such.

‘’Escort, please,’’ he answered, tone urging, and Rose gasped as he confirmed the worst. ‘’Prostitute’ is the very last thing I am. I am a dream date, a temporary love interest, a fling, a secret lover, a f**k buddy….’’ he trailed off as he stepped closer.

Rose was too mesmerized by Adrian’s little speech to react to his proximity or to realize that her mouth had fallen open slightly.

Stopping when there was only a foot or so left between them, Adrian sucked his bottom lip in between his teeth as his eyes flickered down to her mouth. ‘’I can assure you I am one of the very best temporary companions that my agency supplies. Your friend was in fact very lucky calling upon my services just when I’d received a late cancellation.’’

He reached up and closed Rose's mouth by pressing his hooked index finger under her chin. Rose’s breath hitched, and Adrian quickly lifted her eyes to lock them with his in an intense stare, breathing out his next words.

‘’So, whichever role you want me to play for you tonight, I am positive I can cater to your every need.’’