Camila's POV
I woke up the following day, knowing it would be different.
My day off had finished, and I'd have to get back to work. That thought put me off in the morning. I gathered the strength to leave the room, to have breakfast downstairs.
-"Camila!"—Samantha caught up with me on the stairs—"How are you?"—She asked me.
-"I feel better, Sam. Ready for another day."—I said, giving her a fake smile.
We ate breakfast along with the other girls.
I didn't talk much during the meal, but that didn't seem to attract the attention of any of them, who were still chatting happily. I spent the rest of my time reading, making a pause only to go to the bathroom a few times and have lunch.
Then I would go back to bed and continue reading, sometimes shaken by my obsession with not being able to concentrate and start thinking about a certain person.
Night came and I got more discouraged than usual. Some girls had already went downstairs, so I started to fix myself. I took a bath, I chose the most discreet clothes that I could, I put some makeup on my wounds, trying to disguising them, and as if I were going to face my death, I went downstairs.
It didn't took long for my first client to choose me. A man on his forties. He seem excited as he conversed with me, trying futilely to make a connection between the two of us.
When we got to the room, his excitement seemed to cool down as he saw my bruises.
Unfortunately it wasn't enough to make him give up on me. Same thing happened with the second, third and fourth client.
They all looked at me hungrily, but when they got to see my state, they were discouraged. As soon as I noticed that my fourth client was already exhausted in bed, I got up and without waiting for him to leave, went to take a bath, to clean myself properly.
I brushed my teeth and rubbed my bruise cream on, as my body was completely scarred not only from the night before, but also from the four clients I'd had that night. I was already exhausted, I wanted to sleep, but it was still midnight, which meant that my work day was just beginning.
I came out of the bathroom and the man was no longer there.
Good.
I put on a yellow blouse with long sleeves, pants and closed toe shoes. Chloe would probably scold at me for the way I dressed, but I didn't really care. I didn't want anyone to see me, for anyone else to notice my presence.
I sat on my bed for a few minutes, staring blankly at the closed door to my room.
I don't want to go downstairs.
I thought.
-"But you need to go down"—I said to myself softly.
But I don't want.
-"And since when what you want matters?"
True...
I stared at the door for a few more seconds. I was sad and depressed. I was tired and my body still ached in almost every place.
-"Come on, Mila."—I said with a half-hearted tone—"Who knows if your prince or princess is waiting for you down there?"
The teasing tone of my words even made me laugh, a bitter laugh. I got out of bed and went downstairs to the hall once more.
As I started going downstairs, I looked at the place. More late, more crowded the atmosphere was. That night was no different.
Then I saw her.
In the middle of the crowd, a charming woman stood out, with beautifully messy black hair. She was leaning against the bar, drinking a dose of something, looking away from me. She seemed to think of many things at the same time, none of them pleasant.
I couldn't explain why, but I found myself admiring that woman, I stopped for a
moment at the staircase.
I was dazzled, not only for her obvious beauty, but for her entire ensemble: Her profile, her charm, the strength that her presence exerted in this place.
I was sure that all the people in here were aware of her presence. I thought about the fact that I hadn't seen her in what it felt to me, a long time.
And seeing her at that moment, a few feet away from me, gave me a sudden joy that I could even smile.
I didn't want to admit it, but the fact was, I was ecstatic to see her. Because that woman was somehow, for some reason, more important than everyone else in this place, even though she only saw me as another girl from The Hills.
I looked around and saw several men alone. Some were already looking at me with interest.
I didn't think twice.
I made my way down the last few steps, going straight to Lauren as fast as I could, without attracting much attention. I reach to the bar, but she was still deep in thought.
I touch her shoulder, shyly. She turned to me and then she look at me as if she were analyzing me.
She analyzed every little detail of me, causing to extend the silence between us. That woman, the only person who seemed to care a bit, was in front of me, watching me silently, with an expression of displeasure and confusion on her face.
The only person whom had treated me a bit well during all these years.
Please choose me.
I was pleading on my mind, as if my thoughts could persuade her.
I need someone gentle...Please.
The silence began to bother me, so I said:
-"I'm available..."
I took a step forward and could feel her perfume. A perfume that I didn't smell since two days ago. A perfume that now, I could notice, I had missed.
She continued to look at me, she was looking at my neck a lot. She probably was distracted by some personal problem, but I wanted her to notice me. Wanted her to speak with me.
I wanted her to choose me.
-"I don't have a client right now. I'm free, in case you want to stay with me."—I repeated, in case she didn't hear me.
Please...Choose me, please...
Finally she spoke:
-"Camila, are you afraid that someone in this room will choose you?"
I was. I needed her to choose me before someone else did. But that wasn't the only reason that made me go to Lauren and offer myself as I was doing it.
Something was drawing me to her. A feeling of protection...
Maybe she didn't want to stay with me. Maybe she was already with someone, just waiting to come up and have fun. Maybe she was already entertained. I looked at her again, and noticed some men looking at me. I didn't want to stay with those men. I didn't want to be with anyone...
-"I thought you wanted...Are you on your way out?"
-"Not, I arrived fifteen minutes ago. I was waiting for you, since you were occupied."
She was waiting for me. For me.
-"I'm not right now."—I said.
She stood there, starting into my eyes for a few seconds, without saying anything. Finally, she said:
-"All right. Ten minutes?"
-"Ten minutes."—I nodded.
I went upstairs again, and although I didn't understand what I felt and why, one thing was certain:
For the first time in a long time, I felt in a way, happy.
* * *
Lauren's POV
Without making sure if ten minutes had passed, I took the rest of my whiskey and went upstairs, towards Camila's room. I went in without knocking and found the place darker than the first time. Only a light from a table lamp in the distance, leaning against the wall, timidly illuminated the room, leaving the woman lying on the bed, dressed in a blue robe, practically in the shadows. -
-"It's dark..."- I stated.
-"It's good for your other senses to be sharpened."—She said in a weak voice.
-"It's not. I already said that I want to see you..."
Camila got up and came to me, and in a completely unpredictable act, she hugged me.
-"Please...Let's do it this way, just for today..."—She pleaded.
Then I felt that perfume. A perfume that always made me lose a little of my control.
Almonds.
Almonds and shampoo.
Shit!
That damn intoxicating smell...
I felt her hands now, shyly opening the buttons of my blouse as she gently kissed my breasts under the fabric. I wanted to ask her what had happened, wanted to know what they did to her. But it was obvious that she wouldn't tell me.
Without much ceremony, I pushed the silk fabric covering her shoulders to the sides and lowered my head to the spot, applying soft kisses.
Her perfume was stronger than normal, blending perfectly with the dark and incredibly sensual environment. My hands went to the knot of her robe, opening it slowly. She pulled away a bit, so I could remove it completely.
Then I was surprised to find that she wasn't wearing anything under the robe, that now lay on the floor. And almost immediately, another surprise made me halt my movements.
Although the room was dark, I was able to see her body, almost entirety covered in dark marks and scratches.
I took a step back, scared.
-"What the fuck is that?"
-"It's all in a day's work. Come here..."—She said, trying to shrugged off, as if she was having a tedious conversation, trying to reach my dress pants to open it.
-"What?...Hold on! What the heck happened to you?"—I ask her bewildered.
She snorted, looking impatient.
-"A client happened. And that's none of your business."
-"None of my business? Of course it is! I don't want to have sex with a woman who looks like she's been beaten!"
My harsh and thoughtless words came out at once, and they seemed extremely insensitive and rude on the silence of the room.
Camila looked at me with a mixture of anger and sadness, she seemed to be thinking about what to say before speak out.
-"That's why I put the dim light..."
-"And you thought that I wasn't going to see it? I'm not blind! You look like a patchwork quilt, for heaven's sake!"
She continued to stare at me for two more seconds, then took her robe from the ground and put it on.
-"If you aren't going to fuck me, I ask you to leave my room so I can look for another client."
-"I'm not leaving! You're not getting any more shitty clients tonight! I'm going to talk to Chloe about this..."
-"Who do you think you are to give me orders?"Her voice was rough and high—"This is none of your business!"
-"I'm not giving you orders, you idiot! I'm trying to help you!"
I imagined that she would think try to come out with something to shut me up.
When she opened her mouth to speak, she caught herself and closed it again, still glaring at me. Even though, her attitude was still hostile, her expression grew softer and softer.
She looked around the room, as if something might give her some idea what to say. She crossed her arms over her chest, defensively.
-"Lauren..."
I felt my hair on the back of my neck stand up to the sound of my name in her voice.
It was strange...it was good, but I ignored the feeling.
-"What did they do to you?"—I insisted.
-"It was just another work night. Just one more night."
She was looking down, avoiding to looking at me.
-"That's a lie! I was with you two nights ago, and I never saw you like this!"
-"I already told you that my skin gets easily bruised..."—She tried to said.
-"I'm not stupid! That's not normal!"
-"Lauren..."
She said my name again, with her eyes closed as if she was determined to put an end to that matter.
-"I need to work. If you don't mind..."
-"It's about the money?"—I asked her, already losing my patience. I didn't even I knew why I insisted so much on protecting her. I reached into my back pocket, grabbing my wallet and opening it. Not knowing for sure how many bills I took, I pulled them out and threw them at her.
Camila made no sign of moving to prevent the bills from falling. She let them hit the ground, watching them fall.
-"My thirty minutes are paid! Now, don't you dare kick me out of this fucking room one more time!"
Despite seeing the money on the floor, she tightened the knot of her robe and nonchalantly walked to the bed, lying on her side. I stared at her for some time, watching the slow slip of the fine tissue on her left thigh, exposing her fully to my gaze.
I sat down next to her. Closer to the lamp, on that angle I could see better her bruises.
Camila was lying in front of me, her arms crossed in front of her body, but she wasn't looking at me. I touched her thigh with the tip of my finger, where a bruise was most evident.
Although her bruises drew a lot from her beauty and softness, her skin was incredibly smooth. It seemed overly sensitive to my touch, almost breakable. I couldn't help myself from circling the length of her leg, first with the tips of my fingers, then with an open hand.
I was afraid of causing her pain, so I tried to touch her as gently as possible. After some minutes passed, I said:
-"I don't like your skin to look like this."
-"Me neither."—She dryly answered me, looking at the wall.
-"Aren't you going to tell me what happened?"
-"You aren't my psychologist."
-"I'm your friend."
She looked at me surprised.
I knew why. I wasn't her really friend, I didn't even knew her full name. I didn't knew anything about her, but I was trying desperately to link my protective instinct to some noble, pure feeling.
Was it a friendship?
It could only be friendship. But it sounded strange. It sounded bad, in a way.
-"You're not my friend."—She replied.
-"I worry about you. I just want you to be fine, don't want you to get hurt."
I pronounced each word with a strange mixture of relief, 'cause I was speaking truthfully and confusion over my own words and my feelings that didn't even make sense to me.
-"I can help, if you tell me what happened..."
-"You can't help me."
She moved a bit still looking at me, which made her robe slide a little off her shoulder. My eyes flew to the spot mechanically.
-"You could open up with me..."- I started, but I wasn't even pay attention to my own words anymore.
My feelings faded when I saw her exposed shoulder. I didn't know what my hand was doing on her legs, but I had a notion that I was still touching Camila.
I was struck again unexpectedly by her perfume.
Almonds ...
-"I'm fine. It's my job. There is nothing you can do to change it."—She stated.
-"Your job..."—I stammered, still staring at her shoulder. Even with my gaze fixed on her shoulder, I could tell that she was looking at me.
After a few seconds, Camila moved slowly, sitting up on the bed and coming closer to me.
She gently brought her mouth to my ear and spoke in a whisper:
-"It's my job to give pleasure..."
Shit! That perfume!
She bite my ear and my neck.
For some reason, her perfume it seemed to had intensified, and I couldn't feel anything beyond that smell dominating my senses and breaking, inch by inch, my wall of resistance.
The truth was, I didn't want to resist. It was out of the question to demand something from Camila with her in that state, whatever had happened.
In fact, it would be out of the question if she showed resistance.
Oddly, unlike the first night when I met her, she wasn't upset about having sex with me, and I was wondering why.
Maybe she wanted more money for a good performance. Perhaps she wanted to hold on to me for half an hour more, guaranteeing the payment of another thirty minutes, since some clients could reject her when they get see her true state underneath the clothes that hid her body, and she would end up alone for the rest of the night.
It was understandable for them to reject her since the marks on her skin weren't pretty at all.
However, it didn't exactly have that effect on me. The other clients were probably oblivious to her delicious perfume.
I wasn't.
That smell did strange things to me.
-"Lauren?"
-"Yes..."- I gasped, while she was doing light bites between my ear and my neck, in an extremely sensitive point of my body.
-"I'm not getting any more shitty clients tonight, right?"
She was teasing me. Again.
-"I...right..."- I replied, closing my eyes tightly.
-"So why is your hand on my groin?"
-"I don't know.."— I could feel my self-control trickling down the drain, little by little.
-"Well, I know."—She said, and without any warning, she tightly grabbed my cock above my pants and began to massage it.
The surprise made me jump slightly on the mattress.
-"It looks like you need something."-She teased.
She was killing me.
I couldn't say anything, because nothing came to my mind.
I wanted to equal her game and tease her too, but I couldn't even formulate a sentence, something that didn't sound pathetic or show my obvious lack of control.
-"Camila...Stop teasing me..."
-"You love being provoked. You're the kind of woman who loves that, right?"—She asked in a flirtatious tone.
Yes. I was exactly that kind of woman. And she was proving to be the perfect type for me:
Provocative and sexy, without necessarily being vulgar.
I didn't hold back, my lips moved to her shoulder, licking and kissing. Slowly with my left hand I tugged at the robe that covered her other shoulder, giving me a privileged view of her skin. I needed to control myself, but it was being difficult.
-"Your fragrance..."
-"I don't use perfume."
-"It's very strong..."
-"You don't like it?"—She asked me.
I sighed. There was no way that I could have another answer to that question.
-"I love it..."
-"Lauren?"—She spoke again softly on my ear.
-"Yes?"
-"Your time is up."
-"What?"—I spoke surprised.
She did one last bite on me ear and walked away.
-"Your thirty minutes are up."
It took me a little while to focus and come back to reality.
-"My time..."—I said out loud, confused, trying to organize my thoughts.
-"Yes, your time. It's over. Your thirty minutes."
She got up from the bed, covering her exposed shoulders as she pushed away my hand that rested on her groin.
Walking a bit unsteady, she reached for the cabinet on the wall to the right, leaning on it while keeping her eyes closed tightly, as if she wanted to push away some thoughts.
-"I..."—I start saying, I didn't really knew what to say.
She opened her eyes and looked at me.
A different look. A strong, intense look.
I returned her gaze, also looking at her for some time, without say anything.
Silence crept over the dark room, caught in the mysterious air of the moment. I had the impression that she didn't know what to say either, but just like me, she didn't want to say goodbye.
Finally, I got out of bed, took my wallet out of my back pocket and opened it, taking out all the bills that were inside it. I folded them and then gave them to Camila.
She hesitated, but finally, she took the amount that I offered her. I wasn't sure how much money I had given her, and to my surprise, she didn't verify it either, leaving the roll of bills forgotten on the cabinet, behind her.
-"You're mine for the rest of the night."—I said quietly.
* * * * * *
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