THE ESCORT

Beverly was always running late for her weekly lunches with Maria, Lozindaba and Hannah. Running one of the biggest PR firms in the country did have its disadvantages but despite her busy schedule she made sure she always made it to these lunches. It was impossible for her to hold down any type of relationship with a man, so she was determined not to lose her girlfriends.

Their lunch venues changed each week. That week they were eating at Nando’s East Park Mall because that was what Maria was craving, she had chosen that week and told them all she had some big news. They of course all knew she was going to announce her engagement to James; they had been dating forever and it was just a matter of time. The thought made Beverly sigh, she was twenty-eight years old, and she hadn't had a steady boyfriend in quite some time. She missed the cuddling the most. Late at night, during thunderstorms; she really missed having someone there to hold her.

Beverly made it to the restaurant only fifteen minutes late, and she was quite proud of herself. The other two girls were already sitting down.

"Hello ladies," she smiled as she sat down across from Lozindaba.

"Hey Bev." The girls said almost in unison.

Now that they were all there, they looked over the menu and agreed on what to get, placing the order.

"Well…" Hannah said in an excited voice. "You can't make us wait until the end of lunch that is just cruel!”

Maria smiled and stuck her hand towards the middle of the table. Hannah squealed as soon as she saw the engagement ring on her friend's finger.

"Congrats Maria," Beverly said, trying her best not to dwell on the fact that she herself would probably never have that kind of news to share with her friends.

When the squealing over the ring and James's epic proposal was over Beverly hoped they could move past the subject; she felt like an awful friend to think that way, but it was hard enough going home to a big empty apartment every night.

"Sex will not be the same after you get married." Said Lozindaba.

Great another subject Beverly hated to discuss.

Maria laughed.

"I can't imagine that aspect of our relationship ever being bad," She said with a big smile.

"Ugh, that is my brother, can you not put such pictures in my head?" Hannah said sounding disgusted.

"Sex has just been a little boring lately." Lozi went on

"I definitely don't have that problem." Hannah said sitting back in her chair. "David is anything but boring in bed."

"Bev, you have been pretty quiet. You are the only single lady here…able to test out all the delicious men in town," Maria said with a smirk.

"I can't even remember the last time I had sex." She forced out a laugh before she paused. "Besides with my work I am too busy for relationships right now." She said, hoping that would put an end to the whole conversation; she wasn't one to talk this openly about her sex life…or lack of one.

Their order came and for a little while they ate in silence. Maria grabbed her purse and pulled out a small business card then handed it to Beverly

"Here."

Beverly took the card. All that was printed on it was the name Ruben and a phone number.

"What is this?" I asked with a polite smile.

"A way for you to release some sexual tension."

Beverly shook her head in confusion. "Um…"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of." Maria leaned in closer to the table. "Women have needs too." She whispered. "A co-worker gave me that card months ago, before she knew I had a boyfriend. I threw it in my purse and forgot about it. She said he is amazing."

"I have done something like that before." Lozi confessed. "When I was a little younger."

"I am not sure it is something I could do. It's not really me…"

"Well just take it, you can call it or not call. Just think about it." Maria said with a small smile.

Beverly tossed the card in her purse with no real intention on using it. They went back to gushing over Maria’s ring throughout the lunch until it was over, and they all said goodbye, congratulated Maria one last time, took a picture or two and went off their separate ways.

Beverly didn't get home from the office until 19:00hrs. She wished that she could say that never happened, but it was actually quite normal to get home well after 17:00hrs. She tossed her bag on her kitchen table and filled up her bathtub with hot water and lavender scented bubble bath. Pouring herself a large glass of red wine as she waited for her bath to fill.

Having undressed, she stepped into the hot water and let out a small sigh before taking another sip of wine. She thought about the small card in her purse. It would be nice to…be pleasured again. The last time she had sex was with Timo and he never really worried too much about satisfying her. Beverly had a hard time getting over the fact that she would be paying someone to have sex with her and that made her not want to call. She was a beautiful woman running a very successful firm, she shouldn’t have to pay a man to have sex with her.

The next day at the office was a hectic day for her, She managed to finally get away around 14:00hrs and decided to take a real break, she bought a burger by a small restaurant just on the ground floor of her office building then went to sit in her car. As she ate her burger she noticed a gift bag in her backseat, it was a gift Hannah had given her last month for her birthday. She had been so busy she hadn't even gotten the chance to use it. It was a book, a popular book that everyone at work had read or was reading; 50 Shades of Gray. Beverly decided to use the last half hour of her lunch to start the book. The book was just okay, but she still got sucked in, probably because of the dry spell she was experiencing, maybe living through the characters would make her feel a bit better.

After a long day at the office, she rushed home and picked up where she left off in her book. It was almost 21:00hrs when she began to think of the card in her purse again. The more she read the book the more she wanted to pick up the phone and call Ruben. She wondered if that was his real name, surely, he wouldn’t use his real name in such a business, right? But she liked it… Ruben. She sucked her lips in between her teeth and rolled her eyes.

'This is ridiculous.' She said to herself. She grabbed her phone off her nightstand and took the business card out of her purse, tapped in the numbers then stared for a moment at the screen. She took a breath in and hit the call button. The phone rang twice before it was answered.

"Hello." She hung up the moment she heard the incredibly sexy voice. Smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand and closing her eyes tight. 'Why am I being so childish?' She thought to herself.

A moment later her phone started to ring. Beverly froze as she saw Ruben's number blinking on her screen. She shut her eyes and answered the phone.

"Hello." She spoke trying to hide the embarrassment in her tone.

"I believe you just called me." He said in a husky masculine voice.

"Yea, I dialled by mistake." She said trying to cover up her foolishness.

Ruben laughed. "I doubt that Sweetheart."

"OK, fine. I'm sorry. I am just a little…nervous." She said, her voice getting softer as her sentence went on.

"No need to be nervous. I actually have an opening tomorrow night, if you are free."

"OK…sure." Beverly said after a minute.

"I just need your name, sweetheart."

"My name?" She asked, the nerves getting worse, was she really doing this? What if word got out and everyone found out?

"Yes, you don't need to give me your real name if you…"

"No, of course I can give you my real name." She said with a nervous laugh. "It's Beverly."

"Alright. Do you know the restaurant Herbert's?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Good. Is 19:00hrs alright with you?"

"Sure." She agreed,

"Just use my name at the reservation counter. I will see you then, Sweetheart."

.

.

The next morning Beverly was looking through her closet and it seemed like she had absolutely nothing to wear, she didn't even want to attempt to go through her underwear drawer…she certainly had nothing that she wanted anyone to see in there. She decided she would take a much-needed sick day and take a trip to the mall to pick out some new clothes. Surely her team wouldn’t mess anything up if she wasn’t there for a day, yes, they managed social media accounts of some of the top people in the country, but she believed in her team, they wouldn’t screw up.

She sent an email informing them that she wouldn’t be coming in but if there was something urgent to be dealt with, they should call her directly on her personal line, then took a shower and got ready for her shopping trip. She wanted to look good tonight; Beverly hadn't been out with someone of the opposite sex in a very long time, so she had no clue on what to wear.

After trying on many dresses she came across three that she really loved. One was a black lace, the second red and the other blue. She decided to buy all three. After purchasing the clothes, she made her way to a lingerie boutique to look at bras and panties, picking out several bras including a black lace push up bra and matching panties for each bra.

After leaving the mall Beverly decided to make it a full day of pampering and preparing for her…whatever with Ruben. She went to the salon and got a wax along with having her eyebrows shaped then decided to finish up with a pedicure.

Upon getting home from her shopping and afternoon of pampering, she decided to curl up in bed with her book until it was time for her to get ready to leave.

It was 17:00hrs so she decided to start getting ready. She took a shower and tried to let the hot water calm her nerves about the upcoming evening of events. It didn't work but honestly, she hadn’t expected it to. She grabbed her new black lace bra and matching black lace thong; looking in the full-length mirror for a few seconds to make sure she was happy with her recent purchases. Beverly chose to wear the black lace dress. It was simple, not overly dressy, but still nice. After doing her hair and makeup and throwing on a pair of silver heels she was ready to leave. Her breathing was starting to get a bit uneven, and she could feel her heart rate increase. She hadn't even left the house yet and she was already starting to freak out. She took a few deep breaths before grabbing her purse and keys and heading to the restaurant.

.

She arrived at the restaurant right at 19:00hrs; and was actually pretty proud of herself for being on time for something. Beverly walked up to the hostess and gave Ruben's name. the hostess immediately walked her to Ruben's usual table in the back of the restaurant where he was already seated. As soon as she approached, he stood and smiled at her.

The hostess left them alone and Beverly sat down.

"Hello." Ruben spoke. She found him incredibly sexy, wearing dark jeans, a grey shirt and a black jacket over it. He had light brown eyes which almost looked golden and thick shiny curly dark hair. Beverly couldn't help but stare.

"Hi." She said quietly. Her nervousness was of course flooding back to her. She had no idea what she was supposed to talk about with him; it wasn't like they were on a real date.

"I went ahead and ordered some wine." He said as he gestured to the bottle. "Is red alright with you?"

"Yes." She said with a smile. "My favourite actually."

Ruben smiled and poured her a generous glass.

"Please relax; this should be fun for you." He said softly with a slight smirk.

She laughed.

"Is it that obvious that I am nervous?" She asked looking down at her hands.

"Reading people is a talent of mine." He responded with a shrug.

The waitress came over and took their orders then disappeared behind the kitchen doors.

"So, I suppose we should go over the…guidelines." He said quietly even though there was no one around them.

"Sure…absolutely." She agreed before taking a sip of the wine.

"Well k500 is the initial cost. If you want me to stay overnight, I do require a bit extra. Are you married?"

"What? No, I am not." Beverly said, a bit offended by the question.

"I'm sorry, Sweetheart." He said with a smile. "I just have to check; if you were I charge more and won't go to your home." Beverly nodded in response; she understood why he would ask. "Dinner tonight is on me, but any other dinners or functions you wish me to attend I will assume you will be paying." He paused. "I get tested every month, I have never had any kind of STD and I always wear a condom." He said quietly.

"OK."

She loved his voice; his accent was a huge turn on. She never expected to be this attracted to him, but every time he would slightly lick his lips with his tongue it drove her insane.

"This is supposed to be enjoyable for you, and I am willing to do mostly anything to achieve that." He went on with a smirk.

Beverly blushed and looked down at the table.

"I'm just having trouble getting used to the fact that I am paying for this…so if we could try not to bring that up too often…" She paused and looked back up into his amazing eyes. "I may be able to enjoy myself a little more.

"Of course." He smiled and nodded "So tell me a bit about yourself."

"Well, I am twenty-eight; I run a PR firm" She paused. "My last boyfriend was quite some time ago, and he wasn't too into…my feelings" she decided to go with the word feelings instead of needs or some other word to describe how it was mostly about him "I don't have the ideal work schedule so relationships are hard….”

.

.

After their dinner, Ruben paid the bill and they headed back to Beverly's apartment. Her nerves were taking over again; she was never the type to have a one-night stand so this was incredibly weird for her.

"This is a nice apartment." She heard him say as he glanced around.

"Thank you." She walked over to her cabinets. "Would you like some wine?" she asked and he responded with a nod.

Beverly filled two wine glasses with the red liquid and handed one to him, hoping that more wine would help loosen her up a bit.

"I'm really nervous." She confessed. there was no point in trying to hide it; she had always been horrible at hiding her emotions.

"It's ok." He said quietly and took a couple steps towards her, placed his finger under her chin and slowly brought her face up to look at him. He leaned in and kissed her lips slowly then pulled away but kept his lips close to hers. "Perhaps you should…lead the way to the…bedroom?" Beverly could feel his lips move over hers as he spoke. She swallowed and tried her best to remember to breath.

He followed her to the bedroom. Beverly kicked off her high heels and Ruben attacked her lips with his own. His hands went around to her back and slowly unzipped her dress; he pushed the dress straps off her shoulders and let the dress fall to the floor. slidding his jacket off and tossing it on the floor along with her dress. He broke their intense kiss for a moment; long enough so he could get his shirt up over his head. His lips were on hers again seconds later. He gently pushed her back towards the bed and then crawled on top of her.

"Is there anything specific you would like me to do to you, Sweetheart?" He asked. His voice was just so damn alluring she couldn't take it. Beverly shook her head because one she had no idea what to say and two even if she did she wasn't in the position to form words right now.

Ruben kissed down her jaw line then to her neck. He reached around her back and unhooked her bra tossing it on the floor with the rest of their discarded clothes. She turned her head to the side and couldn't help the shade of pink that her cheeks turned. He moved her head back so he could look in her eyes and gave her a reassuring look. The next thing she knew they were both completely naked and he was putting on a condom. She felt incredibly self-conscious laying there in front of him; naked. He crawled back on top of her as he kissed her. Starting at her thighs; he drew small circles on her inner thigh with his tongue; giving her goose bumps.

He moved up to her belly and placed feather light kisses against her skin. She loved the feeling of his remarkable lips against her skin as he continued his journey further north and landed at her breasts; he took one in his hand and attacked the other with his tongue, taking his time to give each his full attention before finally making his way up to her mouth. He slowly slid his tongue between her lips and a soft moan escaped her mouth. Part of her was still a bit uncomfortable but she was so attracted to him and he was certainly good at this that she couldn't help but enjoy every second of it. She felt him smile against her lips. pushing himself into her and making her let out a loud moan in pleasure.

.

.

Maria's co-worker greatly understated when she said Ruben was amazing…amazing didn't begin to describe the pleasure Beverly received from him. After he pushed her over the edge for the third time and finished himself, he pulled himself out of her and laid beside her for a moment as they both caught their breath.

"Wow." Was the only word she could utter as she turned her head to look at him.

"I take it you enjoyed yourself sweetheart?” he asked with a small smile

Beverly turned away and blushed. "Yes." She whispered. She suddenly felt very self conscious about laying there completely naked, so she grabbed the small blanket that was folded at the end of her bed and wrapped it around her. Ruben stood up and gathered up his clothes and got dressed as she went in the kitchen and pulled out an envelope from her purse. She heard Ruben approach from behind her; she turned and gave him the envelope.

"Thanks." She said quietly not looking into his eyes.

Ruben took the envelope from her, his fingers softly grazing hers.

"Call me soon, sweetheart.” He said before turning to leave but she grabbed his arm to stop him. "When is your next…when are you available next?" She asked.

Ruben smiled.

"I am booked until Thursday." He told her.

Beverly was a little disappointed, the day was Friday so that was almost a week away.

"OK well I guess the same time on Thursday then? I will text you with the details."

"Alright." He nodded then headed to the door and left.