CHAPTER FOUR
MARNIE
THE NEXT DAY, I’M IN my house, pacing back and forth, with my arms crossed over my chest, and my fingers playing with the fabric of my tank top. Curiosity has gotten the best of me, and I can’t stop thinking about this Meat Market. The card Tina gave me sits in my purse, beckoning me to it. All I have to do is reach in and grab it. The stories Tina told Melissa and me both intrigued and repulsed me. How can the idea of a man selling his body for money make me so hot? Maybe it wasn’t the fact of him selling himself, but more what the man did to Tina and for other women…how he satisfied them and met their needs. I’ve never been sexually adventurous; Tyler had, on occasion, called me frigid. I’ve just never been comfortable enough to explore what I truly want in bed. My arms drop to my sides in frustration. I glance to the laundry that’s sitting on my living room floor. Maybe a mundane activity will clear my head.
Into my second basket, a knock on my door, followed by the door opening with shuffling feet, has me jogging into the kitchen. Ashley breezes through with a wave while J.J. toddles behind her. “To what do I owe this visit?” I ask her with an eyebrow raised, but I’m really happy for the intrusion.
She opens my fridge and grabs the whole milk. After twisting J.J.’s bottle open, she fills it. With her hip, she shuts the door and hands my adorable nephew his bottle. “We were in the area and wanted to say hi and see how you are settling.” She smiles at me and walks around the downstairs. “I like what you did with the place, definitely needs more pics of me and J.J.” She scans over my sparse pictures on the mantle. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of that.”
I snicker at her as I grab a bin filled with baby toys for J.J. to play with. “I love your concern for lack of pics of you and him.”
Ash settles down on the floor, allowing J.J. to climb over her. “But really Marn, how are you? How was your first week at the firm?”
I sit down next to her, take J.J. in my arms, and inhale his sweet baby scent. “It’s going. The house is feeling more like home, but needs some more personal touches. And as for the job…well…it’s different. Going from working at a magazine to an accounting firm is an adjustment, but advertising is advertising no matter where.”
She nods. “How are your coworkers? They nice, or do I need to come there and whoop some ass?”
I guffaw at her over-protectiveness of me. “Stop it, they are nice.” I toss around the idea of telling her about the card that’s burning a hole in my purse. “Well, they did tell me about a local business I should look into.”
I glance to her green eyes, then back to J.J.; uneasiness settles when I hear her question. “What about this business? What’s wrong? You seem upset about something.”
I inhale long and spew out, “There was girl at work who told me about The Meat Market, but it’s not just a meat market, it’s a male escort service that offers anything you want. She gave me a card with a Jason’s number and told me to call and ask for Pork. Tina, the girl who gave it to me, told me a story of this pork guy and what he did to her and…and…” I can’t finish the sentence, because I feel my body ignite with embarrassment and heat. I’m so confused.
Her wide eyes stare back at me. “Okay, wow, so you just call and set up like a date and have sex with a guy?”
“Um…yeah, I guess.”
Ashley takes a minute, staring off with a pensive look on her face. When she returns her attention to me, she asks, “Well, you gonna call?”
“What!” I squawk, scaring J.J., who had fallen asleep in my arms. He begins to wail and squirm.
“Hold that thought while I grab some baby food for him.” Ashley gets up and heads to the kitchen. A few minutes later, she brings the car seat and a small tub of baby food.
I stare at it. The label reads “beef stew.”
“Eww, he likes that stuff?” I holler over J.J.’s hungry screams.
“It’s not his favorite, but he’ll eat it.” I gently place him in his car seat and tuck the burp cloth under his chin. Ash opens the food and an odorous smell of pureed beef assaults me.
“Oh, buddy, I’m sorry.” I gag.
“Okay, back to the problem at hand. Are you gonna call them?” she asks while feeding J.J. the offending meal.
I sputter my answer, “I…I…didn’t think about it. No…no, I don’t think I will.”
“Why not.”
“They’re male escorts, paid to have sex with women, Ash.” Again, my cheeks heat and a sheen of moisture covers my palms.
Ashley sizes me up and down, still feeding a now quiet J.J. “The way I see it is that you’ve been single for several months now and not one male has come sniffing around your flower garden. So, it’s either they have and you turned them down, or you haven’t been out enough.”
My mouth gapes open, then closes, then opens again. Ashley starts to giggle and so does J.J. Ash turns to him and says in baby talk, “Somebody needs to get into Aunt Marnie’s flower garden, don’t they? Yes, they do!”
“Oh, God, please stop talking about my lack of sex life with my nephew…and in baby talk.” I shake my head in my hands.
Ashley chuckles even more as she wipes up J.J. “Call them, see what they can offer. Maybe it’s a night on the town or just companionship. What’s the worst that could happen? You have a nice night out. Or, the best thing can happen and your cobwebs are cleaned out.”
I snap my head up and screech, “What the HELL!” I snarl at Ashley while she’s rolling on the floor with a laughing J.J.
“I think you have over-stayed your welcome, my dear sister. Out you go!” I grab her car seat and walk into the kitchen to gather the rest of her supplies and purse. Ashley meets me in the kitchen and fastens J.J. in his seat.
“Will you just think about it, for me?” she asks, and I roll my eyes at her.
She leaves with a smirk on her face, and I find myself walking over to my purse and grabbing the card out of it. I stare at it for what seems like forever. “What’s the worse that can happen?” I echo her words as I pick up my cell phone and dial.