Page 16
The funny thing is that he thinks I’m the prey, when the opposite is true.
I finish my set, and after freshening up in the back, I slink back out and head to his table. His face lights up slightly, and I take him in. Receding, thinning hair, ruddy complexion, slightly overweight but with an interesting strength about him—the kind of muscles you get from labor and not the gym.
I know he used to be in construction, but he’s an insurance rep now. He’s married with four kids who are adults in college and beyond now. He turned sixty-two a few months ago. His wife is from Vietnam and keeps herself busy volunteering at various senior homes around the city.
He also likes to rape sex workers in his free time.
He doesn’t kill them, but that’s probably where he’s headed next. With all my work with the public, I could practically have a degree in profiling at this point. I knew something was off about him the minute he stepped into Segreto, and I was right. I’m always right.
“Hey, Charles.” I slide into the seat across from him. “How ya feeling tonight?”
“You were great up there, Blush. Really great.”
“Thank you. I’m very thirsty.”
“Oh, right.” He waves his hand and a server pops over quickly.
“Hi, Blush,” Cinnamon says. “The usual?”
“Please.”
Cinnamon bounces off and I lean in a little closer to Charles.
“How’s life?”
“Fine.” His shifty eyes dart around the room for a second. “Do you do dates?”
“Dates?”
He nods. “Yeah. Like, with customers.”
“I’m not an escort, Charles.”
“No.” He swallows hard enough that I notice it. I think there might even be some sweat beading on his brow. “A real date?”
“You’re asking me out, Charles?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“What about your wife?”
He blinks rapidly. “She doesn’t mind.”
“Hmm. And if you took me out, what would we do?”
“Dinner first.”
“First. And then?”
He keeps blinking, and his nostrils flare. “I’d fuck you.”
I almost laugh in his face. He thinks I’d let a guy like him fuck me? Wow. I give him credit for his audacity.
“I don’t fuck on first dates, Charles. I’m a lady.”
A slight smile tugs at his lips. “Maybe you’d change your mind for me.”
Leaning back in my chair, I cross one leg over the other. Charles watches every move I make.
