“Oh.” She didn't know what to say. When she thought about it, she was a little disappointed. She wanted to ask him if he didn't find her attractive or if she'd done something wrong. Why had he suddenly decided to tell her she didn't have to be his girlfriend? “I'd prefer to carry on as we agreed,” she said.
“Well, I'm really sorry, but I've changed my mind. I'll write you a check when we get to Sandpoint. I'm so sorry to have messed around with you. I won't do it again.”
He handed her an ice cream, which she didn't want now. He'd rejected her just as she was warming to him. Didn't he know it sometimes took a girl a while to develop feelings?
They walked farther along the street. Tonya's mind was working overtime. Why had he stopped? Was she so bad? Was she falling for him? Then she heard herself say something that shocked her to the core.
“Sex for all the money.”
He stopped. “What?”
“I will fuck you if you pay off all the debt.”
She was a clever minx, he thought. She'd fallen for his withdrawal technique, but she had, at least, put her own conditions to it.
“Okay. When?”
“Tonight.”
“No. I want to fly home. I want you in your own bed, in your house.”
“Marcus, that's impossible—my mom.”
“We'll find a way. But I want you in your bed, not in some seedy hotel bed.”
“What about your place?”
“No. Your bed.”
Another twist, she thought. Why did he want her in her bed? Was it some kind of weird fetish, or did he think she would be more comfortable at home?
*****
Marcus had told Tonya to tell him when her mother went to the hospital. Hospital appointments were usually lengthy affairs, and it would give them more time together.
All Tonya could think about was eighty thousand dollars. She'd invent some story or other for her mother when she found out they weren't poor anymore.
“She's got an appointment next week, Wednesday. She'll be out all day,” Tonya whispered as Marcus was leaving the reception area.
“Another week? It's driving me wild,” he said.
“You'll just have to wait.”
Tonya knew she'd reversed all her principles. Now she was going to be the best-paid hooker in the world, but just for one day. And it wasn't really prostitution. It was a friend giving her a present in exchange for a favor. Tonya didn't manage to convince herself, though.
Wednesday came, and Tonya waved her mom off in the taxi. She went upstairs and changed into her best lingerie. She put on a gown and went downstairs to wait for Marcus.
Funnily enough, she wasn't nervous. The more she'd thought about it, the more she'd wanted to do it. He was handsome, and he was going to pay her a vast amount.
As she expected, he wasn't late. When she heard his car pull up, she got up and watched him walk toward the door. Before he had time to knock, she opened the door. What he saw took his breath away. She was perfectly made up, and the gown she had on was open, showing him all the treats she had waiting for him.
“Wow. You look fantastic,” he said.
“Come in. Let's do it,” she said enthusiastically.
As she led him upstairs, he watched her behind sway to and fro. At the door, she turned around and pulled him to her.
“When we are finished, please respect me. Don't go telling anyone at work.”
“I have a confession to make,” he said. “I haven't been fair with you.” Tonya was listening intently. “All this has been a game to me. This isn’t the first time I've done this, I'm ashamed to say. I have paid debts off for other women in the past in return for sexual pleasure.” He looked at Tonya for a reaction, but there was none. “But I didn't reckon on falling for you. Tonya, I'm really not playing around now. Here's a check for the money. I'm going to go.” He handed her a check for eighty thousand dollars.
She watched him turn around and take the stairs. When he was halfway down, she shouted after him, “And what about me? What about my feelings?”
“You've got the money,” he replied.
“What if I have fallen for you as well? I was looking forward to today, and not only because of the money.”
He looked back up at her. She let the gown slip to the floor and took the pose of a model in a lingerie shoot. He smiled and began to climb the stairs again.
“Then we're on the same wavelength at last,” he said.
“Yes. It has taken me a while—and I still don't like your blackmail tricks.”
“I'm sorry. It’s a bachelors’ game for rich men. But I want you Tonya, and I won't fool around anymore.”
“Then here is my bedroom,” she said, opening the door.
He looked inside and smiled. “Cute. So girly.”
There was a double bed with a pink duvet and several bears on the dressing table. On the walls were pictures of boys that he guessed had been there for a few years.