4. Jackson
4
JACKSON
R eluctantly, I closed my book and got off the train. I was reading a new friends-to-lovers romance and it was just getting to the good part.
And by the good part , I mean the male main character had just confessed his feelings for his best friend. It could’ve ended in tears, but luckily she’d admitted she felt the same and they were just about to kiss.
I’d only started this novel last night to try and take my mind off the shit show that was my life right now and I was already about halfway through, so it was definitely helping.
I was starting to realise that the fifty per cent mark in romance books was when the characters started to get it on, so as much as I was enjoying it, now was a good time to get off the train. The last thing I needed was to get a boner in public.
These days I was more likely to be reading about sex rather than having it. It’d been over a year and a half since I’d dated anyone, and with everything that was going on with Mum right now and struggling to earn enough to pay for her care, I had zero time or desire for a relationship.
Once I got off the train, I walked to Marcus’s house. He lived in North London, so it wasn’t easy to get to from Shamwick, which was in south-east England. The journey took almost two hours door to door, but I hadn’t seen him for what felt like ages, and after that disastrous escort job two days ago, I needed someone to talk to.
‘Hey,’ Marcus said as he opened the door.
His short, dark brown hair was slicked back and his white skin looked freshly shaven. Marcus was wearing a pair of jeans with a smart shirt, so I was guessing he still hadn’t changed since getting in from work.
‘Hey.’ I stepped inside and gave him an affectionate slap on the back. ‘Good to see you.’
‘Same! It’s been too long. I just made dinner. Come and eat.’ He said.
After I’d taken off my jacket and shoes, I followed him into the kitchen, which looked like a bomb had hit it.
I loved my friend, but he was the kind of guy who never used the same glass twice and used multiple pots to cook when he could just use one or two. So the sink and worktops were covered with dirty dishes and pans.
‘How’s your mum?’ he asked, dishing the stir-fry onto two plates.
‘She’s okay. Has her good days and her bad ones. But it’s hard, man.’
I blew out a breath. Mum had Alzheimer’s and was currently in a residential home. I hated the fact that I couldn’t look after her myself, but I’d tried and eventually realised that staying at the home allowed her to get the kind of expert care she needed .
‘I can imagine.’ Marcus sighed.
‘Seeing her like that, like a shadow of the person she used to be, is tough, and then there’s the bills.’
I’d tried to get support for her care but was told Mum didn’t qualify because she owned a property. So if I wanted Mum to receive the best care, I had to pay for it myself.
‘Shit. But the escorting must be helping, though, right?’
Marcus was the only person who knew what I did. It was actually him who’d suggested it after seeing one of his clients at an event and hearing on the grapevine that the man wasn’t her boyfriend like she’d claimed.
I’d dismissed the idea at first. But when Mum’s care bills started stacking up and I’d realised that to cover them I’d either have to try escorting or go back to working in the pressure-cooker environment that had nearly caused me to have a breakdown, I knew I didn’t have a choice.
‘Yeah. It was helping. Until their best client fucked me over.’
‘What?’ His face creased. ‘What happened?’
As Marcus pushed a stack of dirty plates to the other side of the island, I filled him in on my last job.
‘When I called the agency the next day, they said they didn’t have any more work for me, so she clearly followed through on her promise to make sure I didn’t work again.’
‘Didn’t you tell them about what she did?’
‘Yep. I told them about the groping, touching and that she’d basically blackmailed me to sleep with her, but they brushed it off. Even though they’re supposed to be an agency that doesn’t offer extras and I was clear that I wouldn’t do anything sexual when I signed up with them, she’s one of their best clients, so they turn a blind eye. If it’s a case of choosing between her and me, of course they’re going to choose her.’
‘That’s fucked up.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘Can’t you try another escort agency? There must be loads.’
‘I tried. But they all seem to like to offer their clients the full service…’
‘And you’re not down for that?’
‘I don’t think I could do it. It’s not for me. I couldn’t even stand her touching my arse, so I probably wouldn’t be able to get my dick up.’
‘I know what you mean. The attraction has to be there.’
‘Exactly. But I don’t know how I’ll survive. I think it’s so messed up that she knew that I was desperate and didn’t care. She said if I didn’t come home with her, I’d end up stripping online. It was all a game to her. She got some kind of twisted pleasure from knowing I was going to suffer.’
‘Actually…’ Marcus paused, holding a forkful of noodles mid-air. ‘That might not be a bad idea.’
‘What?’
‘You hate the physical contact with these clients, right? Like you said, you flinched every time she squeezed your arse.’
‘Yeah?’ My eyebrows knitted together.
‘So maybe doing something online could be a better option. You can give these women a chance to fantasise about you and get themselves off, but without having to see them in real life. I was reading an article the other day about a new content subscription website service called Only For U. Basically, people pay to watch sexy videos and the performers get a decent split of the royalties. You could make a shitload of money from it.’
‘So you want me to be an online stripper?’ I said, my eyes bulging.
‘You don’t have to take all your clothes off. You can just do a little show, like a sexy dance or something. Listen, you’re a good-looking guy and I’ve seen the way you can move those hips!’
‘You hitting on me, bro?’ I smiled.
‘Nah, man!’ He laughed. ‘I’m secure enough in my masculinity to appreciate a handsome dude when I see one, and I saw the way you turned heads with the ladies when we used to go out. Even if you did something basic in front of the camera, I’m sure you’d get a ton of subscribers. It’d need to be something a bit different, though, because there’s probably loads of people dancing or stripping on there already. You’d need a USP.’
Marcus worked in marketing, so I was used to his fancy acronyms.
‘Like what?’ I said before sliding a piece of chicken into my mouth. ‘I don’t know what my unique selling point could be.’
‘I’ve got no idea either, but something that fits your personality would be good. Back in a sec.’ He slid off the stool, then left the kitchen.
As my mind drifted, thinking what I could do to earn money quickly, I scanned the dishes piled up around me and winced. I knew Marcus had no intention of cleaning them any time this century and my hands were twitching. I hadn’t been lying in that interview when I’d said I liked cleaning .
Speaking of which, it’d been two days since I’d gone to The Romance Library and I hadn’t heard back from them yet. I reckoned me not being able to work evenings put them off. I wished I hadn’t said anything because now the escorting was off the table, my schedule was wide open again.
If I didn’t hear from Jess or Theo soon, I’d get in touch and let them know evenings wouldn’t be an issue anymore.
Marcus returned to the room clutching his laptop.
‘Thought I could do some research and a bit of job brainstorming,’ he said, sitting back down and putting the laptop on the only clear space on the counter.
‘Whilst you’re doing that, do you mind if I wash up? Seeing all these dirty dishes is giving me palpitations!’ I joked.
Marcus and I had known each other since we’d met at school when we were four years old, so I knew he wouldn’t get offended.
‘Be my guest. Dishwasher’s broken and I haven’t got round to sorting it out yet.’
Even when his dishwasher was working, Marcus rarely used it. That was just the way he was. He hated housework. Lucky for him, I enjoyed it. At least if I tidied up for him, it’d take my mind off my troubles.
‘Got any more washing-up liquid?’ I asked, looking at the almost empty bottle.
‘Ah.’ He scrubbed his jaw. ‘Must remember to put that on my shopping list.’
Looked like I’d just have to make do with what was left in the bottle. After carrying all the dishes to the sink, I started rinsing them off.
Whilst I washed up, Marcus tapped away on his laptop, googling different jobs and filling me in on how things had been going for him at the marketing agency where he was an account director. He worked long hours, so that also explained why housework wasn’t his top priority.
Half an hour later, the washing up was done. Seeing the clean dishes stacked up gave me a real sense of satisfaction, so I decided to continue my clean-up mission. I reached for the duster I’d spotted in the cupboard under the sink, which unsurprisingly looked like it’d never been used.
‘Thanks for that.’ Marcus continued tapping on his laptop. ‘How about this?’ He turned the screen to face me. ‘It’s a website for naked cleaners. Maybe you could try doing that? Looks like it could pay well.’
‘Cleaning someone’s house in the buff?’
‘Pretty much. I think you can wear an apron, though. Apparently sometimes the clients get naked too.’
‘That’s just asking for trouble. I want to stop clients touching my butt, not do stuff that’ll encourage them! Anyway, I thought you were researching online options?’
‘You’re right. Sorry. I got sidetracked.’
‘No worries.’
Marcus turned his attention back to the screen as I dusted the cupboard tops, then started cleaning the stove.
‘I’ve got it!’ he shrieked. ‘That’s it! You love cleaning, right?’
‘Yeah…’ I said cautiously.
‘So that could be your USP!’
‘I don’t follow.’ I frowned.
‘You could dance on camera in your underwear whilst you clean! Or dance with cleaning products. Yes! You wouldn’t have to show your face or strip. Just wear tight underwear that shows the outline of your junk.’
‘That’s nuts.’
‘ Exactly! ’ he sniggered. ‘If your pants show the outline of your nuts too, I reckon that’d be even better! Think about it. This would solve all your problems. You’d get paid a load of money for customers to ogle you without touching you. So you could get the cash to pay for your mum’s care and you could still fit it in around your work at the library. It’s genius!’
‘I haven’t heard back from the library, so I probably blew it.’
‘No way, man. They’d be crazy not to give it to you. And I’m sure your sweetheart put in a good word for you!’ He smirked.
As I realised who Marcus was talking about, my insides lit up and a small smile touched my lips.
Jane.
I wondered if she’d thought or talked about me to Jess and Theo since I’d come in? Nah. Like me, I was sure she had more important things to think about.
When I saw the mischievous grin on Marcus’s face, my smile instantly dropped. Shit. I shouldn’t have told him that I’d seen Jane.
After I’d left that nightmare job on Monday night, I’d seen that he’d replied to my text with a load of kissing emojis, which I’d obviously ignored because I was worried about the fact that I’d just fucked up my only source of income.
‘Up until two days ago, I hadn’t spoken to Jane in years, so she’s not going to vouch for me,’ I said, hoping that would shut the direction of that conversation down .
‘Course she would! You two were inseparable. And you didn’t tell me, how’d she look?’
‘That’s irrelevant,’ I said quickly.
‘Was she hot? Does she still wear those glasses and tie her hair up in a bun?’
‘Yeah,’ I said.
‘I knew it!’ He grinned. ‘I knew she’d be hot.’
‘I didn’t say that!’ I protested. ‘When I said yeah , I meant, yeah, she does still wear glasses and have her hair up in bun.’
‘So she’s not hot?’
‘She looks really pretty, but?—’
‘You totally fancy the hot librarian!’ he teased.
‘How old are you?’ I rolled my eyes. ‘I’m trying to have a serious conversation about getting out of my shitty situation and you’re talking about whether or not a woman is hot ? Seriously, man.’ I shook my head like a disappointed parent.
‘Sorry.’ He cleared his throat. ‘So, like I was saying, the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced you should definitely try the dancing side hustle. The earning potential could be astronomical. Maybe down the line you could get sponsorship deals from cleaning product companies too.’
I paused as I thought about the idea.
‘Nah. Maybe I should think about going back into finance.’
‘Are you joking? You’ve only just crawled out of the hole that job left you in. There’s no way you could go back to that.’
He was right. Just the thought of being in a high-pressured environment again made my chest tighten .
‘There must be something else I can do that doesn’t involve me taking my clothes off or fucking manipulative rich women.’
‘Yeah, there is. You could always rob a bank!’ Marcus laughed.
‘Not funny.’
‘I know. I couldn’t resist! But seriously, I think the whole dirty dancing thing could work. It’s easy money. God gave you that body for a reason. And seeing as you’ve sworn off dating or screwing right now, it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.’
‘I work out to stay healthy, not to flaunt my abs on the internet.’
‘Nothing to stop you from doing both…’ He raised an eyebrow.
My phone pinged. I pulled it out of my pocket, and when I saw who it was from, my eyes widened.
‘What’s up?’ Marcus asked. ‘Who is it?’
‘It’s Jess from the library. She’s asked me to call tomorrow morning.’
Here’s hoping it’s good news…