Primal: Part One (6 page)

“Cool.  Save it for when we get home.  For now, I’m gonna find some cheaper hoes.”

“Every girl in this hotel is gonna charge the same,” his brother replied.  “They not stupid.”

“That’s
your
opinion, Jovan.  You coming, or not?”

He shook his head.  “Nah, man.  I’ma chill.”

“Alright,” Luke said before he walked away.  “I’ll catch up with you later.”

CHAPTER SIX

WHEN IN ROME…

Jovan headed for the nearest bar before he went to find Morris and Jesse.  He knew his brother’s extramarital activities were serious, but he never imagined Luke was hooking up with prostitutes back home.

If he was going to cheat, Jovan figured hookers were probably Luke’s safest bet.  Those women were not likely to get emotionally attached, so they wouldn’t create a scandal or decide to kill him one day because they couldn’t stand to live without him.  But hooking up with prostitutes could still be a dangerous game.  Jovan knew of men who followed women to hotel rooms and were ambushed by armed thugs hiding in the closet.

He thought it would be better if Luke never married in the first place, but that wasn’t right.  Cathy was a gem, and their children; Jovan’s nieces and nephew, were wonderful.  What he needed to do was convince Luke to keep his wayward penis at home, but how the hell could he do that – especially since Jovan was getting more ass than a G-string?  In fact, it was probably his exploits that influenced Luke.  Ever since they were little, Luke wanted to be just like his big brother.

Jovan took a seat at the bar and ordered Cognac on the rocks.  He noticed a woman sitting on the barstool next to him, but he didn’t acknowledge her.  He was deep in thought when the bartender served his drink.

He turned slightly and gave the woman a nod and a polite, “Good evening,” before turning away.

But her smile caught his attention.  He turned back to her and realized the smile was definitely focused on him.

“Hi,” she said.  Her eyes were sparkling.

Jovan’s first thought was that he was being propositioned.  If so, this woman had picked the wrong john.  He never paid a woman outright for sex.  He wasn’t one to buy them purses or shoes, either.  Lately, he didn’t even take his girlfriends out to eat.  They had to take him out.  They bought him shoes and paid his bills.

But as he studied the woman, Jovan realized his first impression was wrong.  She was a cute redhead, but her outfit and her age didn’t fit the average hooker profile.  She was only moderately attractive, and the crows’ feet in the corner of her eyes put her age in the mid to late forties.  Her dress was form-fitting, but it wasn’t slutty at all.  She wore pumps rather than heels, and there was no cleavage on display.

Her skin was creamy, with a few freckles on her cheeks and arms.  Her crimson hair was straight, flowing past her shoulders.  She had small breasts and a nice pushup bra.  Her legs were long and slender, which was a turn-on.  But he didn’t think a middle-aged white woman was hitting on him.  Then again, they were in Vegas.  Maybe she went broke at the black jack table and thought she might get lucky elsewhere.

Jovan wore his dreadlocks down that night.  His jeans were black, his shirt baby-blue.  He had his sleeves rolled up to the elbows, exposing powerful forearms and bear-sized hands.  The top three buttons of his shirt were open, and he had no tee-shirt underneath.   She looked from his chest to his brown eyes and back down at his chest.  Jovan wondered if this was what women with big boobs had to endure on a daily basis.  Men were such jerks.  But this cougar didn’t have much shame, either.

“What’s up?” he asked her.

She looked around before meeting his eyes.  “What’s your name?”

“Jovan.”

She grinned at that.  He wondered if she thought it was a nickname.  A lot of people did.

She asked, “You wanna buy me a drink?”

Jovan continued to study her as he shook his head.  “I don’t buy women drinks.”  He would’ve felt bad about saying that if it wasn’t the truth.  He watched as her cheeks reddened.

“Okay.”

He expected her to say something rude, but she didn’t.  He thought that was the end of their encounter when she turned towards the bartender and ordered her own cocktail.  He finished his drink while the barkeep mixed hers.

She surprised him by telling the bartender, “Get him another one, whatever he’s drinking.”

The bartender didn’t react at all, as if a white woman buying a young, black man a drink was the most natural thing in the world.

Jovan continued to watch the woman as the bartender placed the drinks before them.  She had a slender face and body.  He wasn’t a fan of thin lips, but he liked the way she wore her makeup.  Her hips had a nice spread to them.  He didn’t see when she sat down, but he’d guess this woman had a nice, little booty on her.

“So, what’s your name?” he asked.

She said, “Sarah.”

Her anxiety was obvious, and it was another clue that she was not a working girl.

“Where you from?” he asked her.

“Connecticut.”

Jovan chuckled softly.

“What?” she said, smiling.

He was thinking that of course this prim and proper redhead had come from somewhere like
Connecticut
, but he didn’t tell her that.  There was no need to be impolite to someone who bought him a drink.  Even when she built up the courage to ask him out (if that’s what was happening), he’d let her down easy.

But things didn’t go as planned.

“Well, how much do you charge?” she asked.

Jovan nearly choked on his drink, but he was way too cool to reveal his shock.  She thought he was a prostitute.  That was both scandalous and amusing.  Jovan had a decent track record of using women for financial gain, but he never flat-out charged money for sex.  But when in Rome…

Without missing a beat, he said, “Five hundred for an hour, a thousand for the night.”  He wasn’t sure if those prices were acceptable, but if that’s what the high-priced whores in the hotel were charging, he should be able to bring in the same.

Despite his smooth demeanor, his heart was kicking while he waited for her to respond.  She studied his face a while longer and then her eyes rolled down his body.  Jovan felt like a piece of meat on the butcher block.

This feeling increased tenfold when she told him, “Unbutton the rest of your shirt.”

He noticed there was no please at the beginning of that statement or a question mark at the end.  That meant it was an
order
, which Jovan was generally opposed to.  But for a potential thousand or even five hundred bucks, he’d unbutton his shirt – and more.

He did as she requested and pulled the shirt open, so she could see his full torso.  His six-pack looked a little scrunched due to his seated position, so he wasn’t surprised when she asked – rather
told
him to, “Stand up.”

Her voice was soft.  She was very polite, but still demanding.  Jovan stood and held his hands down to his sides.  He thought this was one of the most bizarre encounters he’d ever experienced.  Considering he was 38, there had to be another experience that was stranger than this, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of it at the moment.

A few people were watching their interaction, including the bartender.  No one reacted as if something out of the norm was taking place.

Wow
, Jovan mused. 
This really is the city of sin
.

After examining his chest and stomach and the sexy lines under his love handles, she nodded.

“Okay.  Can you meet me in room 512 – in about twenty minutes?”

He nodded.  “Do you want me for an hour or…?”

She thought for a second.  “Can I decide when you get up there?”

“Sure.”

“Okay.”  Her smile was bright and perky.

She stood, and Jovan checked out her curves as she turned and walked away.  Sarah had an unexpectedly plump ass.  Her legs were well-toned.  He might not have approached her in a crowd, but Jovan predicted he’d have a great time with her.  He downed the rest of his drink and left the bar with a swagger he didn’t have a few minutes ago.

Since he had twenty minutes to spare, he decided to stop by his room to freshen up.  He pulled his phone from his pocket as he headed for the elevators.  He planned to send his friends a text message, to let them know he may be occupied until the morning, but he ran into his brother before he got to the lobby.  Luke was alone, so Jovan knew he hadn’t found a cheaper prostitute yet.

“Hey, bro.  Where you headed?”

“Upstairs,” Jovan told him.  “Gotta stop by the room before I head to
someone else’s
room.  I’m glad I caught you.  Can you tell Morris and Jesse I might be out all night?”

“Really?  What you got going on?”  Luke began to walk with him.

Jovan told him about his encounter with Sarah.  Luke was stunned, but not totally surprised.  When it came to Jovan, picking up girls was never a problem.  Women would throw etiquette to the side and approach him, even at a funeral.

“So you just ran with it?” Luke asked.

“Hell yeah.  What was I supposed to do?  She’s offering money for sex.  Who wouldn’t jump on that?”

“What she look like?”

Jovan described her.

“She’s a cougar?” his brother asked.

Jovan nodded.  “Yeah, I guess so.  I think she got ten years on me.”

“You lucky motherfucker,” Luke muttered.  “Can I go?”

Jovan knew his jealousy was kicking in.  “No.  Why would you ask me that?”

“She might want
two
dudes,” Luke ventured.

“If she did, she would’ve said so.  Plus I’m not finna help you cheat on Cathy.  You need to get off that shit.”

“Alright, man.  I was just asking.  Have fun with your hoeing.”

“Oh, I’m
hoeing
now?”

“You’ve always been hoeing,” Luke told him.  “But this takes it to a whole ‘nother level.  After tonight, you’ll be a full-fledged hoe.”

“Say, watch your mouth, before I dot that eye,” Jovan threatened.  “Don’t be hating on me, just because nobody approached you.”

“I’m just messing with you.”  Luke didn’t think his brother would really hit him – not in the middle of the hotel at least – but Jovan had kicked his ass before.  Some memories always stick with you.

“If she wants me all night, I’ll send you a message,” Jovan said as he stepped onto the elevator.

“Alright.  Good luck, bro.  And don’t nut quick!”

Jovan laughed at that, but when the elevator doors closed he gave his brother’s warning some thought.  As a prostitute, or
male escort
, he would be expected to perform for as long as his client wanted.  He wondered if he should rub one out before he got to Sarah’s room.

He chuckled at the thought as the elevator propelled him towards his destiny.

This shit’s gonna be interesting…

● ● ● ● ● ●

Monica leaned with both elbows on the table, partially because Jovan wasn’t speaking very loudly, but also because she was completely enthralled in his story.  They’d been at the I HOP restaurant for over an hour.  Their waitress had taken their empty plates, leaving only drinks on the table.  It was very late in what had been a long day for Monica, but she wasn’t sleepy at all.  She watched Jovan’s eyes and mouth as he spoke.  She was not happy when he stopped.

“So,” he said with a shrug, “I went up there and…”  He grinned.  “Things were not what I expected.  There was a lot Sarah didn’t tell me.  But we got past it.  I did my thing and got paid.”

Monica almost reached across the table to throttle him.

“What do you mean
you did your thing and got paid
?  How you gonna tell that whole story and breeze over the best part?”  Her look of discontent was real.

Jovan chuckled.  He folded his strong arms over his stomach and sat back in his seat.  “I didn’t think you wanted to hear the dirty details.”

Monica felt like a perv for admitting she did indeed want those details, but she wasn’t going to lie and say she didn’t.  “You said you wanted to tell me about your first client.  If you’re gonna tell it, tell it.”

“Alright.  If you wanna hear about
explicit sex
, I don’t mind…”

Monica’s face and chest flushed with heat.  She felt like he was teasing her.  “It’s part of the business, right?”

“It is if you decide to manage me.  Have you decided?”

“I don’t know.”  She smirked.  “Finish your story first.”

Jovan sensed her decision wouldn’t have anything to do with the actual story.  If he didn’t know any better, he’d say her reason for wanting to hear the rest of his sultry tale was gratuitous.  Did his old girlfriend grow up and become a freak?  He would find her a lot more interesting if that was the case.  But she had a boyfriend, and he wanted her to be his manager.  Those were two very good reasons not to test the waters with her.

Again he wondered why they never had sex in high school.  He cursed himself for being such a wuss back then.  Did he not notice Monica’s hips and thighs when they were younger?  Didn’t he ever imagine her lips wrapped around his erection?  Surely he had, or he never would’ve gone out with her.

“Alright,” he said.  “But I can’t tell that story in here.  We might get kicked out and banned from coming back.”