Dark Sand

2 - No additional services...

BEFORE HIM

"I can't believe you are actually doing this," Nikki said, reading over my shoulder the profile I had set up. Non-sexual escorting service. Companionship only. £250 per hour.

"I thought I'd give it a go. It's good money and I think I'd be great at it," I said, checking my grammar before making my profile live.

"Yeah, but still, it's a bit drastic. Like, I'd only do it if I really had no other option."

"I'm not having sex with them," I protested. I hated the way she always judged people. We were sort of friends, but the kind of friends that only have to be because of circumstances. After University in Lincoln, I struggled to find a flatshare with any of my friends since I was planning on moving back down south to Chichester where there was more work. Nikki was in my group for a few assignments so I knew her well enough to move in with her and her friends Sophia and Charlotte.

I often regretted that decision. Nikki just had to stick her nose into everyone else's business. But at least I didn't have to move back in with my parents who were impossibly more judgemental. They lived in Wickham, which was close enough to Chichester to visit often but not so close that I'd have my mother coming around every other day. They were born in the wrong era they were so old fashioned and I'm sure they wanted me married off with kids to a husband who could look after me. They definitely wouldn't understand the escorting thing.

"Still, how are you going to stop them?" Nikki continued. "What if they think the 'no-sex' line is just a cover from the police?"

"I'll reiterate from the start and if they try anything, I'll just leave," I said, wishing I hadn't left my laptop open a few weeks ago when I had begun my research into doing it.

"What if they don't let you leave? What if they force themselves on you?"

What if the moon falls down and the apocalypse starts? I thought but didn't say it.

"I could be raped by walking down the street, Nik, at least I'd be paid this way," I tried to make a joke but her hands were on her hips and she had that expression on her face.

I closed my laptop, deciding to finish it off later when she wasn't around.

"I just don't get it," Nikki said as I pushed myself away from our small kitchen table. Sophia had her girlfriend round this evening and I was trying to be polite by giving them the living room to use. Nikki didn't seem to care, though we were all expected to vacate the shared spaces when her boyfriend was round, even the kitchen.

"Then don't get involved," I mumbled as I went to my room, too quiet for her to hear. It was the smallest one right at the top of the house in the converted attic, which made it boiling hot year-round. At least I had my own bathroom and the best part for me was the view. On one side of the house was Chichester city with its dirty buildings and noisy traffic but outside my little window alcove was the woodlands. It was only a small public park but if I didn't look down, it seemed as though I was locked in a tower in the middle of a haunted woods and I loved it. I did also have a skylight, but it was only good for watching the rain. I hardly saw any stars from all the light pollution.

I sat on my window seat, my short legs stretched out and opened my laptop again.

I wasn't stupid. I'd done all the research I could on becoming an escort. It had all started when I read a news report about a naked cleaning job which paid almost thirty pounds per hour. I was tempted by the idea, having never been embarrassed about my body and soon fell into the rabbit hole of the internet. I was under no illusions that it would be the glamorous Pretty Woman romance or that I would meet an attractive billionaire willing to offer me millions for one night with him. My main clients were more likely to be older men, typically Asian or Middle Eastern. They had the most money and being short and blonde with blue eyes put me in that market.

They would want someone knowledgeable and attractive to show them around and go to events with to show off and keep them company. No one liked to eat alone and I loved talking to new people. I also loved pretending to be someone else. I would have been an actor if I was slimmer and lived in America, but it was too competitive and my heart wasn't entirely in it. What I really wanted to do was team building and leadership courses for big businesses. It was something I always felt was missing from the big corporations and they were invaluable. I just needed more experience and earn more money. No one was going to take leadership classes from a line worker in a factory with a psychology degree.

I wasn't completely without money. I put a little into savings but I kept feeling as though I was in a slump. I needed excitement and couldn't afford to travel like other people I knew who had left University with a degree that was suddenly useless in the real world. Everyone wanted experience over hard study. I wasn't desperate, but I wanted something else. Once I had started to look into the escorting, I just couldn't leave it alone. It would be a good way to network with business-minded people, even if I was only there to keep them company, I was sure to pick up some good contacts at parties.

Setting myself up with an agency was easy. It cost me a little for the profile and then the upkeep but they managed everything else from the exchange of money to vetting dangerous clients - even my tax.

They gave me a full pack when I signed up which explained how to start, what to expect, even the best thing to wear. They were also very clear on the dangers and how to avoid being attacked. I planned to start self-defence of some sort once I had the money coming in. I had a tracker on my pay as you go phone and I even bought an ankle bracelet which I attached a small disguised tracker to. I was fully prepped and determined. I just had to make my profile live.

The picture of me was modest and pretty, though I wore a mask to keep a semblance of privacy, for me and the clients who maybe wouldn't want people knowing they had hired their date. I wore a pink dress and my blonde curls made me look like a sophisticated doll. Innocent with a twinkle of mischief. It wasn't quite my real personality but was the easiest persona to sell and play. At least to start off with. I was honest about being a healthy size 14 and 23 years of age. I did, however, lie about my name.

Amelia Ascot. It was cute and fancy and reasonably English.

I checked everything over and considered one final time if I was sure. To be honest, the only thing that made me hesitate was what everyone else thought. I thought about what Nikki had said and it just made me angry enough to click the button and take the plunge.

The confirmation screen appeared, telling me my profile had been submitted for approval and I felt slightly disappointed that I would have to wait.

I turned my computer off and decided to go to bed. It was late and I had work the next day. Luckily it was Friday which meant I only had to work a half-day. I worked in a factory making air conditioning units on a production line. It was boring and tedious but the people made it fun and they didn't pay too badly, considering it was skilled labour in my section where we wired the control panels. Plus, it gave me plenty of time to daydream about the business I planned to set up one day when I had the money.

I laid in bed and stared at the black skylight. I saw a plane pass by and wondered how long it would be before I had my first client. Maybe I wouldn't get any and this venture was a total waste. Maybe I had made a very big mistake.

* Evening all.

Just a short chapter as an introduction to how Faye's journey began. The inspiration was from my own experience when I researched into non-sex escorting. Though I chickened out doing it, I always wondered what would have happened and this story was seeded in my imagination.

Though, it does get much darker than I'm sure my experience would have taken me...