The apartment sits quiet in the late afternoon. The front door bangs open, shattering the stillness. Ethan jolted slightly in his chair, fingers pausing over the keyboard where he'd been half-heartedly tweaking a freelance pitch, a logo for a startup he doubted would even reply. The air conditioner hummed faintly, no match for the heat seeping in. Vegas sun spilled gold across the carpet. He glanced up just as Mia burst inside, her cheeks flushed pink, her hazel eyes sparking with an energy he hadn't seen in months, maybe longer. She kicked off her sneakers with a little hop that sent her red ponytail swinging, her sweater shifting with the motion. The sight of her, vibrant, almost radiant, hit him like a sudden breeze, cutting through the stale tension that had hung over their weekend.
"First day was wild," she said, her voice bubbling over with excitement as she crossed the room in a few quick strides. She dropped onto the couch with a bounce, tucking her legs beneath her. "You wouldn't believe it, Ethan. It's like stepping into a whole other world over there."
He swiveled his chair to face her, nudging his laptop aside onto the cluttered desk. The screen dimmed, casting his sketches into shadow, an abandoned taco logo mocking him from the corner. "Yeah?" he said, keeping his tone light, cautious, though a familiar unease was already twisting low in his gut. "Tell me about it." He forced a small smile, trying to mirror the brightness in her face, even as his mind braced for whatever might come.
Mia grinned, leaning forward, her hands animated. "Okay, so it's chaos, like, organized chaos, you know? There's this guy, Jake, one of the workers. He just struts around naked like it's no big deal. Nothing on."
Ethan's smile stiffened. "Wait, naked?" The word caught in his throat, his fingers tightening around the armrest, the cheap vinyl creaking. "You're telling me there's just, guys walking around with no clothes on?"
"Well, yeah," she said, shrugging as if it were as ordinary as the weather, her ponytail swishing over her shoulder. "It's a brothel, Ethan. They're getting ready for clients or coming off shifts, it's just part of the routine there. Not a big deal."
He nodded, swallowing hard, the unease coiling tighter. "Right. Go on."
She laughed, bright and airy, the sound chasing away the stale air for a moment. "Jake's hilarious, though. Kept flexing his arms, asking if I thought he needed more push-ups, waggling his... self at us girls. Total goofball. And then there's Lola, who's super nice, and Jess, of course. I ended up helping them with wardrobe stuff today, picking outfits, fixing a zipper on Jess's latex suit thing. Oh, and the phones never stop ringing. I swear I made fifty cups of coffee before lunch."
His jaw clenched as he pictured it, her laugh echoing in his head. Once, she'd blushed just asking a waiter for extra napkins, now she was joking with naked coworkers. "Sounds, busy," he managed, his voice even but strained.
She fished her phone out of her pocket, grinning wider as she tapped the screen. "Check this out," she said, scooting closer until her knee brushed his, her warmth stirring him despite the tension. "They record everything for security, we can access it on this app. I snagged a clip from today, just wait." She held the phone out, tilting it so they could both see, and Ethan leaned in, his throat tightening as the video flickered to life.
There she was, his Mia, in a cluttered back room with mismatched furniture and stacks of folded towels. She held a clipboard, her red hair pulled tight, giggling as a tall, tanned guy, Jake, he assumed, strutted past, stark naked, towel slung over one shoulder, skin gleaming under fluorescent lights. He struck a playful pose, grabbing his erection and pointing it at her. Mia's laugh rang out, high and unguarded. "Stop it, you're ridiculous!" she said, swatting at him with the clipboard, her voice teasing in a way Ethan rarely heard. The clip ended with Jake tossing a wink at her, his grin shameless. She pulled the phone back, still beaming. "See? It's crazy, but I'll give you my login so you don't have to worry about me."
Ethan eased back, his jaw aching from clenching. She was giggling with a naked guy like it was a buddy comedy, her innocence so at ease in a place he'd never pictured her fitting. He'd spent the weekend imagining her rattled, overwhelmed, her shy nature bruised. Instead, she was glowing, buzzing like she'd left a party, and it scared him more than he'd expected. "So, it's all just a big joke to you?" he asked, keeping his tone neutral, though a storm churned behind his eyes.
Mia tilted her head, her smile dimming a fraction, confusion flickering across her face. "What? No, it's just, different," she said, softening as she studied him, her hazel eyes catching the light. "I didn't expect it to be so lively, you know? Everyone's nice, they made me feel welcome right away." She nudged his knee with her knuckles, a playful tap that sent a jolt through him.
"You should've seen the clients, too," she went on, oblivious to the heat her closeness sparked. "I didn't realize how many guys work there, or how popular they are."
He blinked, thrown. "Guys? Like, more Jakes?"
"Yeah," she said, brightening again. "Older women came in, all dressed up in heels and lipstick, giggling like teenagers. It's kind of sweet, in a weird way."
