She made it sound so final. Which I suppose it was. Life had been hard.
‘But you’ve nothing to worry about, Jenny. You’re a lovely lady.’
I wasn’t lying this time. True, she needed more experience and a whole boost to her confidence, but she didn’t seem to have any edge to her. She was genuinely nice.
When Jenny spoke again, it was as if her mind was on another track and she sounded like she was somewhere else in her life.
‘And after him I fell ill, and by the time I was back on my feet, all my hours were taken up making ends meet. Still are. I haven’t had the time for anyone since.’
I sat up, my legs stretched out across the carpet.
‘So, it was quite something to call me and Rob out, then. You could have put the money towards a new bed.’
I regretted it as soon as I’d said it. Jenny looked at me, pained, and I wanted to swallow the words right back. Shit. It was none of my business. I’d stepped horribly out of line. But Jenny, to her credit, collected herself admirably.
‘I saw your advert, Luke,’ she said, stroking my arm with boldness, ‘and it reminded me of all I’d been missing. Not just the sex, but someone else’s touch and the tenderness. You’ve given me that this evening. It’s been lovely.’
‘My pleasure,’ I replied. And meant it. She hadn’t been what I’d been hoping for, but in a small way I felt proud. I’d helped out someone who obviously needed it.
We slipped off the duvet and got to our feet. I hugged her, and as I did I checked my watch. She had ten minutes left and I still had to get dressed.
‘I’m going to have to be leaving shortly,’ I said as I picked up my clothes.
‘I’d like to see you again, Luke. But not for sex or anything.’
I didn’t get it. Hadn’t she just told me that it was the tenderness she craved?
‘I’d like just to meet you for tea, and for us to talk, that’s all. Like I did with Rob? I’d pay you for your time. Isn’t that what escorting is about?’
‘Yes, but…’
Jenny held up her hand to stop me—‘Wait a minute’—quickly pulled her clothes back on and left the room. I got dressed. She returned a few minutes later with a wad of notes as I was buttoning up my shirt. She counted out the £150 onto a box lid and I scooped it up and folded it into my wallet. The easiest money I’d ever made.
I thought of how Rob had felt he’d won the jackpot. Which he had, for a mere chat over a coffee. Wasn’t what Jenny was now offering me the simplest part of this job? But it didn’t seem right.
‘I’d just like to see you for half an hour, before I go to work?’
‘Look, Jenny, I can’t have you pay for just that.’
‘But you’re not going to meet me for nothing, are you?’
She had a point. I was running a business, wasn’t I?
‘Well, no… But even so.’
Jenny took my wrist in her hand, and spoke without looking in my eyes.
‘I won’t hear another word, Luke. I’ll give you fifty pounds. How’s that?’
And then I got the message. She needed to pay something. She might have been hard-up but she had no need of my pity.
‘It’s a deal.’ And just like that I had my first repeat customer.
‘So, she was a right little goer, was she?’ leered Mark when I met him later in the local. He had just returned from the bar with our two pints. He set mine down in front of me and grabbed a chair, and I looked down into the mouth of the glass and the deep liquid. I lifted the beer to my lips and took a gulp. I didn’t know what to say. Because Jenny was outside what either of us had imagined, that was for sure.
‘Well?’
Mark wasn’t going to let up. He was facing me across the table, and this felt like an interview.
I set down my glass and flashed a ‘don’t go there’ glare.
‘Oh, come on, Luke. We’re in this together, aren’t we? You can tell me.’
I cradled my jaw in one hand, the other wrapped around my pint.
‘Look, the thing is, you weren’t there with me in the room, were you?’
‘Oh, if that was what she wanted, she only had to ask!’ he grinned, before knocking back more of his beer.
I shook my head at him and chuckled. For a second.
‘God, Mark. Be serious. It wasn’t like that. She wasn’t like that, y’know.’
There was a glint of anger in his eye.
‘What, suddenly you’re Mr Professional Escort all of a sudden? After one paid lay. Don’t make me laugh.’
‘No, listen. I didn’t mean that,’ I pleaded. ‘It was just… Jenny, she…’
‘Jenny,’ he sneered.
I ignored him. ‘Jenny is just someone who needed a bit of TLC.’
I spoke into my glass and heard my own voice grow quieter. I looked up at Mark and I could see he was listening.
‘And don’t we all,’ I sighed.
Jenny was hovering outside the Starbucks in Piccadilly. She hadn’t yet seen me approach. Her feet were turned slightly inward, and she was focused on the paving stones in front of them. One hand gripped the other against her thigh.
‘Jenny, it’s lovely to see you.’ I touched her shoulder and she turned towards me, a huge smile lighting up her face. I hugged her and felt her body relax against mine.
I ushered her into the café and went and ordered coffees for the two of us. She said nothing as I placed them on the table in front of us and sat myself down, but there was an expectant warmth across her face.
‘So, I didn’t put you off ever seeing me again, then?’ I smiled.
‘Oh, no, Luke.’
A tinge of pale pink washed across her face.
I flicked a look around the coffee shop and to the milling crowds in the street outside. We couldn’t have been more anonymous. I might even be mistaken for Jenny’s son.
‘So, do you have family in London?’ I asked.
She fiddled with the handle of her cup, and shook her head.
‘I’ve got a sister but I’ve lost touch with her. I’ve been trying to track her down.’
She changed the subject. ‘And you? That’s not an English accent.’
‘No.’
‘Well, it’s not as if you’ll ever be alone in the Big City. There are plenty of Australians here.’
‘Yeah,’ I grinned back.
God, had I found that out. When I was out with Mark and our mates it was sometimes hard to remember that we were anywhere else but back home.
I switched the focus back to her. I was on her time after all.
‘You said when we last met that you’d be off to work after this.’
She nodded. ‘Yes, just round the corner. I’m a cleaner at a number of the clubs round here,’ she explained. ‘I spruce them up before they open, and afterwards when everyone’s