Vincent
I took Lacey to a concert that the town has around this time of year. It was of local musicians showcasing their talents. When I have the time, I enjoyed a show from time to time.
Besides music, they have food and refreshments along with other activists. It was a festival of sorts.
We changed into something summery to enjoy the pleasant evening. Once we were ready, we got into the car, and I pulled out of the garage, driving to the festival. I pulled up to the VIP and handed my keys to the valet.
"Good evening, Mr. Powers," he greeted me.
"Evening Rob," I greeted him back. He got into the car and pulled it around to the VIP parking area. Lacey looked at me. "What?" I asked her.
"How did you know his name?" She questioned me.
"I make a point of knowing people's names who drive my vehicles, or I may have to deal with. They are as important if not more than I am," I reminded her as she looked at me and smiled.
I motioned her with my hand as she walked towards the entrance first as I followed her. Men need to treat women with respect and courtesy unless they did nothing to deserve it. Only then do I handle them.
We walked into the area and looked around. Before we found a spot, we stopped by the refreshment area, ordering food and beverages. While we waited, we heard a voice behind us. "Lacey?"
We turned to see a man and a woman standing behind us.
"Rafe?" She looked at him, surprised.
"I can't believe you're here. When we hadn't heard from you, we figured something happened to you," Rafe commented as I stood there.
"No, I've been with Vincent. Rafe, this is Vincent Powers. Vincent, this is Rafe Montaga," she introduced us. He held out his hand, and I took it, giving him a firm handshake. We let go as she asked, "Who's this?"
"Lacey, I would like you to meet Sharlene, my girlfriend." He introduced the woman to Lacey as I stood there and watched her expression change, which wasn't right.
Lacey
The minute Rafe introduced the woman with him as his girlfriend, I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me. I did what I do well; I smiled.
"We found a spot. When you get a chance, we need to talk," he suggested to me.
"Yeah, sure," I answered, trying to maintain my composure. The man and woman turned and walked away. I stood there as I felt a double whammy. First, the beauty salon and now finding out Rafe is with someone.
"Lacey?" I heard Vincent say as I stood there.
"I'm fine," I replied as I walked away. I needed a moment alone.
I walked until I found a secluded spot and stood there. Rafe was the one who recruited me to this business. He was the one who taught me how to read better and perform sexual acts on clients. Rafe suggested I agree to the meeting with Vincent then turned me away when I needed him. He was the first person I ever fell in love with within my life. Now I'm alone again.
Keep your mouth shut, bury your emotions, and smile, I reminded myself. It's a job. That's all it is. Don't break rule number two because you're not good enough for rule number two. That's what Carter repeated over and over to me. Now I understood what she meant.
"This Rafe was the man you fell in love with whom you told me about, isn't he?" I heard someone asked me.
I turned around to see Vincent standing there.
"It doesn't matter since I never told him and never will," I said as a matter of fact.
He walked towards me. "No, please don't do that," I ordered him as he continued to walk towards me, but he didn't stop until he reached me. He wrapped his arms around me as I buried my head into his chest.
"It's okay to have feelings for someone even if they don't know," he reasoned.
"It doesn't matter," I sighed as I kept my head buried into his chest.
"Look at me," he said to me as he lifted my chin with his thumb and forefinger, cradling it. "When you meet the right person, all the others won't matter."
"You sound so sure of this," I commented to him as he looked at me.
"If it's anything I know, it's when you meet someone you feel a powerful connection to; you can't deny it. No matter how hard you try to convince yourself," Vincent explained as I looked at him. Somehow I felt he's talking about himself. I let it go while nodding.
"Let's go get some refreshments, then find a spot," he suggested as I nodded while we went to get food and a beverage.
Vincent
Standing there, while Rafe spoke to Lacey that I wanted to knock off his smugness. I knew men like that. They didn't act casual about situations or with someone; they knew what they were doing. Rafe knew how Lacey felt about him but responded with her feelings. That pissed me off.
Finding her alone after their encounter, pretending she's fine, proved she's anything but okay. She didn't deserve people to dismiss her. She deserves better than that.
We carried our food and drinks to a spot and took a seat while we ate. It wasn't the food I would eat, but it would suffice for the time being. I prefer the steak fajitas Lacey prepared. They were much better.
As we ate, I glanced at her. I noticed she had a dot of ketchup on the corner of her mouth and chuckled.
"What?" She questioned me with a suspicious look.
"You have ketchup right there," I gestured at the corner of her mouth.
"What?" She asked with a mouth full of food.
"Here," I replied as I reached over and removed it with my thumb as she stared at me. I captured it all and wiped it on a napkin.
She swallowed hard. "Thanks."
"Sure," I answered as I looked at her. She went back to eating as I finished my hot dog. Then the first band emerged and played. We sat there and watched each band play until they announced the last group.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Cedar Springs is proud to announce a special musical guest star. Please welcome Meghan Trainor," they announced. I watched Lacey's face contort in surprise. A smile grew upon my face.
She greeted the crowd as she started singing. Lacey looked at me. "Oh my god, I love her music." I smiled at her. Then she gave me a look. "Did you have anything to do with this?"
"I don't understand what you mean." I shrugged as she gave me a look that said, you're a liar. I chuckled as we listened to music.
Then she started playing All The Ways. I stood up and held out my hand to her. She looked at me as I looked back at her. She placed her hand into mine as I helped her to her feet. I pulled her to me as we started dancing to the song.
People watched us as we danced, but I didn't care. We both needed this moment. I twirled her around and pulled her back to me. We danced as the song played. While we danced, Meghan walked towards us. We turned to face her as she sang a few bars, then turned to walk back to the stage.
I twirled her around, then pulled her back to me. I leaned her back as her head flopped backward while she laughed. Then brought her up as she came face to face with me.
At that moment, I fell in love with Lacey.
Later that night, I leaned down and kissed her lips as she ran her hands up my back. I crept in and out of her while I made love to her. I caressed her face with the back of my hands as I took my time enjoying every inch of her.
My hand moved from her face as I moved my palm along her body. I reached down, gripping her thigh with it as I continued to make love to her. It was slow and sensual.
When we finished, she lay on top of my chest as I stroked her arm with my hand while I had my other arm around her. She slept. I laid there awake, thinking.
Would it be an awful thing to change things? We could end the contract, making this more of a permanent situation. I know it would be unorthodox, but falling in love with her was unorthodox.
I would present her with a recent proposal at the end of the month and see if she agrees. Until then, I would enjoy her. I hope by then; she says yes.