The next night, everything went to hell.
"What do you want me to call you?" I asked the first guy on the line, as I polished my nails a new shade of purple (a gift from Bridgette—"Just because you're poor, doesn't mean your nails should look it.") "I'm Ash. What's your name, beautiful?"
My hand slipped, spreading nail polish across my fingers and part of my coffee table. This couldn't possibly be the same guy, could it? There had to be more than one Ash in the world.
I swallowed and stuck to my script, hoping this was a cosmically fucked—up coincidence. "Call me Cat."
Chapter Seven
Ashton Benjamin Davenport III
"CAT? LIKE, THE animal? What kind of name is that?" His husky voice had the same cadence as the Ashton Benjamin Davenport the Third I'd met at the library, and he asked me the same question I'd asked him. But people always sounded different on the phone, so it was hard to tell if it was really him. If it was, I hoped he had no idea I was the girl from the library.
"A nickname. But I can be anyone you want me to be, baby." I tried to sound sexy, but my voice caught at the end so I sounded like a frog croaking, which, in case anyone's wondering, is so not sexy.
"To be honest, Cat, I'm not sure who I want you to be. I've never done this before. How does this work? You talk dirty to me until I come?" He sounded so sincere.
"That's the idea. But I'll be honest. I'm new to this, too. Last night was my first night. So really, this can go however you want it to. Within reason." I couldn't believe I was telling him this, but what could it hurt? And it could lead to a longer conversation and more money for me. And honestly, the longer I didn't have to talk about pussies and cocks the better.
"Well, that's interesting. So how does a nice girl like you end up in a job like this?" He asked with the same cocky flirtation he'd had at the library, and right then I knew this was my Ash. No, not my Ash, I corrected myself, but the Ash I'd met.
"How do you know I'm a nice girl?" Nails all but forgotten, I sat back in my chair and twirled the old fashioned cord on my phone.
"I'm a good read of people, even on the phone. I can tell."
"Even good girls have to pay the bills," I said, with more honesty than was prudent under the circumstances.
"And this was your only option?"
"Something like that. But enough about me, what brought you to my line tonight?" I was genuinely curious. I'd just seen him a few days ago, and he didn't seem the type to need a phone sex operator to get off.
"A series of unfortunate events," he said. "My last relationship ended badly, and I haven't really dated since. My brother said I needed to get laid. I told him I wasn't interested in the kind of girl who would just go home with a stranger. He gave me this number and told me to ask for your extension."
I stood and paced my living room, thinking about what he'd said. "That's odd. I've only worked here two days. The number must have belonged to someone I replaced."
I could imagine him shrugging. "Maybe. I figured it was worth a shot. The kind of life I lead, I don't make a lot of real connections. I know this isn't real, that you're paid to play a part, but I figured it would beat a meaningless night hitting on drunk girls in a bar."
"I get that, I guess. I've never found the bar scene entirely appealing, myself." I relaxed back into my chair, my legs tucked under me, and pulled my throw blanket over my lap. "Too much slobber and stupidity. That's just not sexy to me."
"What do you find sexy, Cat?" His voice deepened, sending a shudder through me.
Resisting the urge to describe him, I hedged. "Kindness. Chivalry. A guy who would stop what he's doing to help an old lady across the street or get a kitten down from a tree for a little girl."
He laughed. "Bullshit. I call bullshit on that."
"Really? Because you know me so well?"
"I know women," he said with that same aggravating arrogance. "And you don't want nice. You want strong. You want a guy who will throw you on the bed, rip your clothes off and make you come in ways you've never come before. You want a man who will defend your honor and kick the shit out of anyone who tries to hurt you. You want an alpha male. All women do."
I balled my hand into a fist around the phone cord. "What you're describing sounds like a barbarian. Maybe some girls like that, but not me. I need a man who's smart and kind and good."
"I'll concede you probably also need that, but in addition to what I said, not to the exclusion of it. And if you don't believe me, then you've never had a man treat you properly. Or kiss you properly for that matter." Something clicked on his end, and I heard him drinking.
"I suppose this is where you're going to tell me that I need to be kissed, and often, and by someone who knows how?" I couldn't help but smile.