“He was nice enough. Poor thing is about to get married and thought as long as we didn’t seal the deal he wasn’t actually cheating.” I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and plopped back down.

“They all do, honey,” Brandy assured me.

“So he decides he’s going to go down on me and I’m like, okay, I can get behind that, but he had no skills whatsoever. It was like… like…” I struggled for a way to describe how epically bad he was.

“Like a St. Bernard licking you in all the wrong places while simultaneously drooling on you?” Candy supplied, and I spit my water out at the visual.

“Something like that,” was all I said when I finally stopped laughing. “Needless to say it was an epic fail.”

“Most are,” Candy said, and Brandy nodded her head in agreement.

“Seriously?” I asked in exasperation.

“What did you think? They were all going to be really great lovers? Not quite, honey. We’re lucky if we get off,” she continued.

“Speak for yourself,” Kitty said as she entered the room in nothing but a G-string, her tits looking like headlights leading the way. “It’s our job to show these fools how to fuck a woman. If one of my clients has no clue what the hell he’s doing, I take control and show him what to do. And if he still doesn’t catch on, I take care of myself. A little rubbing on my clit and I’m good to go.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Brandy murmured. “I usually just close my eyes and pretend I’m with Henry Cavill.”

“Imagination is an excellent way to get some natural lube going,” Kitty added with a wink before sauntering out of the room.

When the door shut behind her, I looked at the other two girls incredulously. “Did that just happen?”

They both started laughing and I quickly joined in.

“Natural lube!” I cried out in between laughs. “That’s so gross!”

“I know!” Candy wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “She has a good point, though. All you need to do is close your eyes and pretend. No one expects us to enjoy being with every guy.”

“Or girl,” Brandy added.

“Or girl,” Candy repeated. “The only thing that matters is that you’re safe and the client gets their money’s worth. Maybe next time you can instruct him and at least get to enjoy yourself a little. If not, there’s always lube. That’s why God invented it.”

“Do we get a lot of girls?” I asked, honing in on that part of what she said.

Candy shrugged. “Not really, but every now and then one comes through who wants her carpet munched.”

“Ewww.” I screwed up my nose at her choice of words and the visual they created.

“Don’t knock it till you try it,” Brandy told me. “Men might not know what they’re doing half the time, but women usually do. Even as newbies they tend to hit the mark faster than a man.”

“Have you ever fucked a woman?” Candy asked me.

“Can’t say as I have.”

“It’s not for everyone, but it’s something you have to at least try once. I’d totally pop that cherry for you if you’re ever interested,” Brandy said.

“I’ll think about it,” I told her honestly. If I was going to be in this life, I should probably immerse myself in all aspects of it. And if I ever got a female client I was going to need to be prepared.

I sat back on the couch, while they discussed the merits of genital piercings, and thought about everything they’d said. I’d have to put some of their advice into practice next time.

Maybe my frame of reference was tainted because Marx had been my first client. I didn’t need to fantasize at all when it came to getting turned on for him. He had been very attentive and quite skilled when it came down to it.

In the dating world, you had to kiss a lot of frogs until you found your prince. Maybe in the high-end world of prostitution, it was the same logic.

Unless, of course, I was lucky enough to get another Marx.

The sun shining through the window had me cracking my eyes open and stretching wide. My mind slowly cleared the cobwebs of sleep away and a slow grin spread across my face. It was my day off.

My smile turned to a frown as a flash of the dream I was having right before I woke up came back to me. It involved Xavier and lube. Lots and lots of lube. I never thought there could be so many uses for it. A shiver ran up my spine as I remembered the way he dominated my body so thoroughly. It was something from a steamy, naughty romance novel, full of dirty words, unspoken promises and hot, sweaty, make-your-toes-curl sex.

I blamed my erotic dream on my talk with Candy and Brandy the night before. It could be the only reason why I would have manifested all the sinfully dirty things he and I had done to one another in dreamland.

Needing to stop the repeat of stimulating images flashing in my mind, I decided to focus on all the things I had to do that day. After mentally compiling a list that included grocery shopping, cleaning the house and finding new shoes for Sophie, I got out of bed and padded into the bathroom. Bladder empty, hair brushed and teeth clean, I went out into the kitchen to brew some coffee.

The pot was almost full when little feet came thundering into the room. Sophie skidded across the floor in her socks, only stopping when she slammed into my legs.

“Hey, sweetie.” I bent down and greeted her with a loud smacking kiss on the lips that made her giggle. “You hungry?”

“Yes,” she said enthusiastically.

“How about Fruity Pebbles today? Mommy bought some special for you.” I tried not to give her overly sugary cereals, but every now and then it was nice to get a special treat. Besides, I loved the hell out of them too, so it was a treat for me as well.

We tucked into our bowls as Sophie regaled me details about her time with the new babysitter since she was sleeping when I got home the night before. I had found Carla through a website Candy uses for her babysitters. She was only five years older than me and seemed like a sweet woman. Her references were impeccable and my fingers were crossed that she’d end up working out. Thankfully, Sophie seemed to adore her.

“Beauty and the Beast, huh?” I asked after she told me what movies they watched together.

“Yes. And Miss Carla says we can play dress-up tomorrow.” Her smile was infectious even with cereal mashed in her teeth and milk leaking out the corner of her mouth.

Dress-up was Sophie’s favorite thing. Good call, Carla.

“That’s awesome,” I told her. Picking up my bowl, I brought it to the sink to wash it. “Mommy has to go out and run errands today. Do you want to go with me or play with Mikey?”

Ruth was understandably sad that she wasn’t going to be watching Sophie anymore, but I promised her that she would still spend time over there.

“With you,” she chirped right before lifting her bowl to her mouth and slurping her milk.

“Let’s go get you dressed then.”

An hour later, we were both presentable and on our way to the store when my cell phone chirped.

Ignoring it until we were stopped, I looked in the rearview at Sophie as she sang along to the radio. God, I loved that girl so much it hurt. I never knew that kind of love existed until she was placed in my arms after ten hours of hard labor. I might have only been twenty years old at the time, but I knew right then that there was something more important than Kevin and me, something bigger than the love we felt for each other.

“How about we go for lunch today?” The tip Timmy had left wasn’t much, but it was enough to get my girl a burger and some ice cream at her favorite restaurant.

“Yay!” She shouted and pumped her arms in the air.

Busting my ass wearing next to nothing the last week was all worth it knowing how happy she was. And her happiness ensured mine, which meant I was smiling and singing along with Sophie when we pulled into the parking lot and I checked my phone.