Gabe woke late the next morning, and was annoyed to discover his alarm clock had been turned off.
Checking the time, he saw it was almost midday.
Jumping out of bed, Gabe dressed quickly, fully expecting to find his siblings lounging around the house, taking advantage of his lie-in.
To his surprise, when he entered the kitchen he found a note from Jordan, telling him the twins had been taken to school early, and that he and Phoebe would be staying late after school to play football.
Gabe frowned at the note for a moment, before he fetched his coat and headed out to the Roadside Cafe.
"What're you doing here?" Daisy asked him as he walked into the café.
Gabe shrugged.
"Nothing else to do. Jordan managed everything this morning."
He slid onto a stool at the bar, wincing slightly as his lower back ached painfully, and looked over the menu.
"I'll just have... the BBQ chicken baguette, with mayonnaise, a side of chips and... a coffee, please."
Daisy bustled to fulfil his order, and placed it in front of him a few minutes later.
"£4.25, please, Gabe," Daisy said. "When you have it."
"I've got it now." Gabe fished in his pocket for change, when a low voice behind him interrupted.
"I'll pay for that."
A crisp ten-pound note was placed on the counter at Gabe's elbow.
He looked over his shoulder and saw a young woman, a couple of years older than his own nineteen years, stood behind him. She shot him a dazzling white smile and tossed her long, wavy black hair back over her shoulder.
"Hi. I'm Angela Lee." She held out her hand for Gabe to shake.
Gabe stared at it for a moment, before he turned towards Daisy.
"I'll pay for my own food, thank you," he said coolly.
Daisy moved a hand up to her mouth to cover her smirk, and left to serve another customer.
"Well, if I sleep with you and pay you for it, would you accept my money then?" The woman asked.
Gabe swivelled round to face her again, fighting to keep a polite smile on his face.
"You're not my type," he said coldly, letting his eyes roam slowly over her body.
The woman squirmed slightly under his penetrative gaze.
Gabe handed Daisy a five-pound note and proceeded to ignore the woman as he ate.
After he finished the meal, he chatted to Daisy for a while, before he bade her goodbye and left to go and pick the twins up from school.
The woman, Angela, followed him as he walked back into the town.
Gabe kept his eye on her as he passed parked cars, glancing in their wing mirrors to see where she was. She was keeping her distance, but following him determinedly.
When he reached the council estate, Gabe ducked down one of the alleys he used regularly. He ran to the end, turned down the next alley, and the next, twisting and winding through the small back-streets until he re-emerged on the high street, close to the twin's primary school.
He'd lost the woman.
*
Gabe and Jordan were washing up after dinner that evening, when they heard the doorbell ring loudly.
"Gabe! There's a woman at the door for you!" Phoebe called him through to the hall.
"Can you finish the washing up for me, please?" Gabe kissed her head, went through to the hallway, and stopped dead. "What're you doing here?" He hissed.
He grabbed the woman's arm and dragged her outside, shutting the front door firmly behind them.
"You didn't let me finish earlier." The woman smiled at him. "I've got a... proposition for you."
Gabe scowled at her.
"Listen. I don't know who you are, and I don't care. But whatever you're offering, I'm not interested," he said firmly.
"You will be when I tell you what kind of money I'm offering," Angela said coyly.
Gabe rolled his eyes.
"My family doesn't know what I do to put food on the table. I'd like to keep it that way. And to do that, you need to leave," Gabriel said firmly. "And don't come back."
He turned to open the door, when the woman shouted after him.
"I can offer you money. More than you earn now."
Gabe paused, before he turned back to her.
"I work for a company. An escort company."
"Not interested." Gabe turned to go back inside, but the woman caught hold of his wrist.
"It's good money. We pay up to two hundred pounds per night, if the client is wealthy."
Gabe smiled humourlessly.
"I can earn more than that in a night."
"Every night?"
Gabe hesitated.
"Think about it," Angela said. "Here's my business card. It has the company's web address on it. Have a look, and see what you think."
"What would I have to do?" Gabe asked, taking the card she offered.
"Nothing sexual, unless you expressly tell us before each date that you are willing to... perform. We obviously don't advertise our sexual contact policy-"
"Because it's illegal?" Gabe smirked.
"Mostly, it's just accompanying people to dinners, or the theatre," Angela ploughed on. "Events for which our clients require a date."
Gabe stared at the card for a long moment.
"Surely you can't want to keep putting on performances like you did last night," Angela said quietly.
"What?" Gabe felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment. "You... saw last night?"
"I've been keeping an eye on you for the past couple of weeks. I think you could do well with my company. I wanted to make sure you weren't involved in any... illicit activities before I approached you."
"You don't judge prostitution to be an illicit activity?" Gabe asked dryly.
Angela smiled.
"Many of our escorts come from similar backgrounds. Others are from more wealthy families, and become escorts for the easy money, or because they like the social aspects that our dates provide. We don't ask anyone who has had prior involvement with drugs or excessive alcohol usage to become an escort. From what I've seen of you, I don't think drugs or alcohol are an issue for you."
Gabe shook his head.
"My mother died," he said stiffly. "A heroin overdose when I was fifteen. I don't touch drugs."
Angela nodded.
"Have a look at the website," she urged him. "Think about my offer. Everyone considering joining our company has five dates arranged. We listen to feedback from the clients, and if the person is no good, we don't sign them. If they are good, and like the work, then we ask them to sign a contract with us."
"What sort of contract?"
"It basically states your agreement that the company will take twenty per cent of each fee, and that you belong to my company for the next year. The contract can be renewed each year, or you can choose to leave at the end of the year if you wish. We put no pressure on our escorts to remain with the company once their contract has expired, if they have no wish to."
"Really?" Gabe asked sceptically. "You just left them leave?"
"If they want to, yes. If our escorts are unhappy, they won't perform as well on their dates. That has an effect upon our clients' satisfaction, and we like to keep the customers pleased."
Gabe heaved a sigh, before nodding slowly.
"I'll have a look at the website, and call you if I..."
Angela nodded, and held her hand out to him.
"What's your name?" She asked. "The woman who answered the door called you Gabe."
"It's Gabriel. But either one is fine."
Gabe shook her hand, pocketed the card, and turned back to the house. Phoebe and Jordan were watching curiously from the living room window, and Gabe sighed at their grins.
"So, that's your mystery girl." Jordan grinned when Gabriel went back into the house.
Gabe rolled his eyes.
"What's it to you?"
"How did you get a girl like that?" Jordan asked.
Gabe growled at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked indignantly.
"Well... look at you." Jordan grinned cheekily. "You're not... me."
Gabe lunged out at Jordan, who dodged back with a chuckle.
"Shut up, Jordan," Phoebe said, coming out of a living room and preventing a scrap breaking out. "She's pretty, Gabe. What's her name?"
"Angela."
"How long have you been going out?"
"A little while... I don't think it's serious," Gabe added quickly, heading off any questions about when they would get to meet her properly.
*
Later that night, after everyone else had gone to bed, Gabriel booted up the ancient computer perched on a rickety table in the corner of the living room, and found the website for Angela's company.
He flicked through photographs of the company's male and female escorts for a moment, before reading some of the client testimonials, and the company's regulations regarding dates.
He was drawn to the idea of simply being a companion for someone for the evening, rather than having to spend the early hours of the morning with his trousers around his ankles, but he couldn't see how he could earn enough to keep his family together.
He did a little more research, and tried to work out what he would earn with an average of three appointments per week.
With sinking realisation, Gabriel realised he couldn't afford to rely entirely upon Angela's company to give him a high enough wage to support the family.
Sliding the business card back into his pocket and switching the computer off, Gabe trudged up to his bedroom, contemplating Angela's proposition.