My head hurt. I barely got any sleep yesterday. Well, to be fair, I think anyone would have issues going to sleep if they had those images stuck in their minds. Those eyes, perfect skin covering an angelic body in the middle of...
What the hell am I thinking?
I sighed, stood up, and walked mindlessly to the bathroom. It was almost 10:00 am. After a quick shower where I'll be honest, I spent a pretty long time just staring at the wall, I went to the kitchen.
As was the usual for me, I tried to put my day in order.
"Study up a bit," I mumbled, "watch a show or something... And then, maybe..." my eyes glanced briefly at my tablet. "sigh Why do I even bother?"
Still, despite these thoughts, something made me turn it on. I went through some of the art I'd done. All of it was pretty nerdy. Exaggeratedly hot villains and heroes duking it out, stuff like that. I left off on a fantasy character I was making. A knight with a flaming sword, cliche, I know.
I liked to draw, but it wasn't going to get me anywhere in life. The sooner I stopped that habit, the better. Before I could take a look at the clock, I heard a knock on my door. To be honest, I should have expected the person behind it.
When I slowly opened the door, I came face-to-face with the woman responsible for my sleepless night. Bright pink eyes held me in their clutches as she extended a plate of something in my direction.
"Hey!" She started, "I made some omelets, you want some?"
I stared. Why was she being so casual?
"..."
"Well, I thought they looked good, but not good enough to render you speechless." She smiled as I shook my head and stepped to the side.
"Sure, come in."
She walked inside my apartment. Again, she walked. into. my. apartment. That statement alone was enough to make me take a deep breath.
"Make yourself at home," I said, taking the plates from her hands and putting them on my living room table. I turned around and cringed when I saw how messy my place was. In a panic, as Lia walked around I stealthily cleaned up any place she wasn't looking at.
"Don't mind if I do." She replied, sitting down over at my table.
After searching for some cutlery, I gave her a fork and knife and sat down opposite her.
"Holy shit," I said. "This smells delicious!"
She laughed.
"Thanks. I pride myself on my cooking, you know?"
"So, how many dishes do you know how to make?"
"Too many to count." Although she was kind of bragging, she didn't sound like it.
"Damn."
"And you?"
"No... I'm not much of a cook. I order most of what I eat." I shrugged. "Where did you learn how to cook like this?"
"I, well, I dunno. I've always been into it. You know how a lot of people spend time watching reruns of Food Network shows? Well, I'm the girl that said 'huh, maybe I should make that', basically."
And after that, we fell into silence.
Well, here's the hard part. What the hell do I talk to her about? Even without yesterday's whole thing, I was going to have trouble with this. It had been months, maybe years since the last time I talked to someone who wasn't family about anything that wasn't work-related. Add on top of that what happened last night and well...
"You can ask, you know." She smiled kindly at me. "Elephants are cute, but the one in this room is a bit too big."
I gulped.
"So... Do, uh..." Where could I even start? "Are you dating... Them?"
She giggled.
"Not exactly." She leaned back in her chair, taking a bite out of the omelet and swallowing it down before she continued. "I'm a sex worker. I get paid to have sex with people. Yes, the 'p' word. But, I prefer just, 'sex worker'."
You know, I never understood that words could have weight before I heard that sentence. Before today, every word I'd heard generally affected me to the same degree. It was only when I heard this statement coming from the lips of a beautiful girl, that I understood that the right words could make a room change temperature. Suddenly, I felt cold.
"So... Last night..." The words left my mouth slowly and awkwardly.
"Yeah, they were a married couple I met online. They heard about me and after a few weeks of talking, I figured I was comfortable enough with them to offer my services." She kept eating calmly, slowly. There was no noticeable change in her behavior that I could find to indicate that she was at all ashamed or displeased.
"Oh." That was all I could say. My eyes ran up and down her body. She was genuinely one of the most attractive people I'd ever met. "How could..." I stopped myself. Even at that moment, I could tell what I was about to say was super rude.
"How could someone like me do that? Was that what you were going to ask?" She didn't sound angry, but she did put her hand under her chin. She stopped eating, waiting for me to reply.
I nodded.
"Well..." She looked away. "There's something I want to do." She told me. "But I can't do it unless I get enough money. So, here I am." She smiled. "I started around a year ago, just talking to strangers online. Of course, I get tested every week to make sure I'm still safe, and protection is required. Eventually, I made enough money to rent an apartment here. The mission is far from over though."
It was too much for me to take in. I looked down at the half-eaten omelet on my plate like it was going to give me some tips. Some advice as to how to respond to all of this.
"You think I'm disgusting, don't you?" When I heard her, I looked up and found her smile had disappeared. Her expression had changed drastically from one second to the next. It looked like she was about to get up and leave.
"No!" I waved my hands back and forth. "No, no. I just..." I breathed in. "I've..."
"Hm?" She tilted her head.
"I've never met someone like you before," I told her. "I'm... I'm trying to understand what I'm hearing, I guess. Thing is, I can't imagine ever doing that."
"Do you think less of me because of this?" She asked.
Did I? For a second or two, I didn't even know. After another deep breath, I decided on an answer.
Running a hand through my cinnamon-colored hair, I sighed.
"I think you're insanely brave. Or, maybe you're just insane." I shrugged. "Hell if I know. I can't judge you for it, or anything. Not like I think sex is sacred or whatever. If it works... I guess it works."
I tried to see it the same way I was seeing myself going to college. All in all, it was just a means to an end. As long as she wasn't hurting anyone, whatever.
She laughed. At first, it was low, but soon, it bubbled and became almost a cackle. She stood, walked over to where I was, and hugged me. Her chocolate scent engulfed my space as I awkwardly tried to hug her back.
"I had a good feeling about you." She admitted. "I'm glad I wasn't wrong."
I wasn't one to crack jokes, but the tension in the air made me dip my feet in that water.
"Yeah, can't blame you." I blushed a little as I kept talking. "I am super charming after all."
Another cute giggle and she replied:
"That, you are."
After we finished breakfast, we hung out in my bedroom. Lia laid down on my bed like she'd been there a million times before. She asked me about my life before I came to Lowlight City. I told her all about my boring self. How I barely had friends growing up, how I'd never really wanted to do something like it seemed she did.