Chapter 2
Daniel woke with crust in his eyes, a slight but irritating headache on the crown of his head, and a mouth drier than a Mormon’s liquor cabinet.
His glamorous and confident work persona had swirled down the shower drain much earlier that morning along with all his hair product and makeup.
The only thing that had followed him into his rickety bed was a tiredness deep in his bones and an ache for long uninterrupted hours of reprieve from his daily worries.
He’d been fortunate enough to get that but still woke up exhausted.
He was always exhausted. So much so that it was getting to be his most defining characteristic.
There’d once been a time when his close friends would describe him as fun or adventurous or the life of the party.
Years had passed since Daniel could have been considered anything close to lively.
Or since he’d had any close friends. But that didn’t matter much to him, not with everything else going on his life.
He preferred it that way, really. He didn’t have the energy that was required to make people like him or to deal with the emotional fallout when they inevitably let him down.
Overall, it was best that Daniel kept to himself, since he was the only person he could count on.
Avoiding all his tight and showy work clothes, he dressed in sweatpants he’d gotten a lifetime ago and a shirt he may have stolen from a previous hookup. Whether he wanted to or not, it was past time to face the day.
“You look like you had a late night,” Brody said as Daniel shuffled into the living room after his pit stop in the bathroom.
“Is there any coffee left?” he asked while pushing a finger against his eye socket, hoping to relieve his headache.
“It’s two in the afternoon, babe. Coffee is long gone.”
Daniel glared at Brody through one squinted eye.
His roommate didn’t have the grace to acknowledge the silent cursing.
Brody’s unflappable and downright cocky smile was in full effect behind his closely cropped beard.
He was the only one in the rented house that grew out their facial hair, and his viewers would be distraught if he ever shaved it off.
Luckily for them, Brody had no interest in removing any of the hair on his body and even played it up when he was in front of the camera.
Right now, he was sprawled out on the large leather couch without a shirt on, looking very much like he might at the beginning of one of his critically acclaimed jerk-off videos.
“There’s some donuts in the kitchen that I got from work if you want one,” Casey said as he settled down next to Brody with a green smoothie. Not a second later, Brody wrapped his thick arm around Casey’s shoulders and pulled him into a cuddle. “What time did you get home last night?”
“Way too late.” Daniel sat on the other side of Brody, not needing prompting to rest his head on his broad shoulder.
“You must have made a killing, then,” Casey said before taking a long and noisy pull of his viscous meal replacement.
“I struck out.”
“What?” Casey popped his head out over Brody’s built pec and studied his face with large brown eyes. “What happened?”
“God,” he breathed out, then chuckled. The whole thing had been ridiculous.
In all the time he’d worked at the Lillian, and he’d worked there for years, he’d never found himself in a situation like that before.
There had been more than a couple of clients that somehow got it in their heads that the hotel would cater to extreme needs—kinks that should only be played out by those with training and experience.
Of course, there were clients that got too invested and thought Daniel felt actual feelings for them.
More than once, he’d had to get his boss involved to kick out someone that deluded themselves into thinking they were in love.
“I got up to this guy’s room before finding out he didn’t know I was a sex worker. ”
“How did he not know? You were in the hotel, right?” Casey asked.
“I don’t buy it,” Brody said and put his cheek on the top of Daniel’s head. “Are you sure he wasn’t just trying to get out of paying?”
The memory of Jensen’s face turning white before flaming red flashed through his head. “No, he honestly didn’t know. After I told him, I went back down to the bar, but all the civvies had already been picked up. I waited around until we closed, hoping someone would show up, but no dice.”
“Why didn’t the first guy book your time once he knew?” Brody’s voice rumbled through Daniel’s head, jostling his headache more.
He sat back against the cushioned armrest and sighed. “I probably could have talked him into it, but he was so embarrassed. It felt wrong.”
Jensen had seemed close to a panic attack once the meaning of Daniel’s words sank in.
At the time, convincing Jensen to pay for Daniel’s services hadn’t felt right.
More than that, it hadn’t even crossed his mind.
Daniel had sat with him, rubbing his back and softly offering platitudes until his breathing evened out.
He’d probably spent over an hour with the man since he approached him in the bar, meaning he’d lost out on at least one hundred and fifty dollars.
Somehow Daniel wasn’t worked up over the loss in income though.
As he’d gently closed the hotel room door, leaving a pained-looking Jensen behind, he was only concerned with the anxious man’s well-being.
“I gave a guy a blow job earlier in my shift, so I did make some money yesterday,” Daniel said.
That ordeal had lasted less than fifteen minutes, but he got half an hour’s worth of cash for it and left the room without a sore jaw.
All in all, it was a good start to his day, one that had made him hopeful for more easy clients.
Perhaps a bit too hopeful for a Wednesday.
“Do you work today?” Casey asked, once again settled into their roommate’s side.
“I’ve never worked Thursdays.”
“Sweetie, I don’t even remember my own schedule, let alone any of yours.”
“You getting dicked down so good it’s messing with your brain?”
Casey stretched out before slumping. “You know it. One of the cameras had a fucked-up video card yesterday, and we had to reshoot half the footage. I almost feel bad for my scene partner. I bet his dick is as sore as my ass is today.”
Brody ruffled his blond hair. “Only you could enjoy being railed for hours with cameras down your throat and a person yelling directions.”
“Enjoy it enthusiastically. And it’s not much different from your live shows with your viewers begging you to fulfill their fantasies in the chat. At least I don’t have to read with a dick in my hand.”
“Can I request one of you fulfill my fantasy of coffee?” Daniel asked.
“Go make it yourself,” Casey said. He reached his socked foot over Brody’s lap to push Daniel’s leg.
“Didn’t your last tarot reading say you should keep your eyes open for opportunities to help others?”
“Yeah, and I help others shoot fat ropes multiple times a week. How much more could the universe want from me?”
Daniel opened his mouth to respond, but his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it from his pants, he read his boss’s name on the screen and answered immediately. “Hey, Luc.”
“Hey, hon, I know you’re not scheduled today, but I have a man asking after you.”
“Okay?”
Lucinda was a warm woman that could make the worst bastards cower. She took care of all her workers and made sure boundaries were set and respected, even if it cost her brothel money. And she hardly ever called while he was off the clock.
“I offered any of the people that are working today, but he insisted it had to be you. He knows you aren’t in, and I told him it wasn’t going to happen. But I know you were looking for extra hours and thought it’d be best to give you the option.”
Daniel digested that information as much as he could on an empty stomach and with the pain behind his eyes.
He had a few regular clients, ones that had standing appointments about once a month that Daniel could rely on.
But they all knew his workdays and had booked his time already.
And he doubted he’d made that large of an impression on any of the random men he serviced during their short stays at the hotel.
At least not enough that they would want him over all his coworkers. “Who is it?”
“His name is Jensen. Sort of tall bloke with glasses. Brown hair and nice hands. Said you spent some time with him yesterday.”
Scratching his jaw, he frowned. That was unexpected. After the obvious embarrassment yesterday, Daniel half expected Jensen to check out and move to a different hotel. Maybe even apply for citizenship in a different country. He certainly hadn’t expected him to request him. “And he wants to see me?”
“Do you want me to talk to him? If he did something to make you uncomfortable, I could kick him out.”
“No, no,” he rushed to say. Daniel was the one that had made Jensen uncomfortable, not the other way around. Not that it was his fault the man had checked himself into the one hotel in Sevier City that wasn’t exactly a hotel.
“All right, well if you wanted some extra cash, he seemed very eager to see you.”
Daniel breathed out a sigh. “Yeah, I’ll think about it. Thanks, Luc.”
“Anything for you, hon,” she said before hanging up.
He sat back with another sigh. His roommates turned toward him, looking his way with interest.
“The guy from yesterday wants to see me today.”
A slow, sly smile spread across Casey’s face. “Guess he realized his mistake in letting you go.”
Daniel lifted a shoulder. “I guess.”
“What are you going to do?” Brody asked.