My job led me to a lot of interesting places and situations.

I was sitting in my car, looking at one of the most beautiful houses I’d ever seen. After seeing how nice this particular house was, I decided to drive my beat-up Toyota Corolla off the driveway and park it further down the street so my new client wouldn’t see my shitty car.

I was always a bit nervous meeting a client for the first time. There was no telling what kind of person I’d meet that day or what crazy demands they wanted from me. Today was no different. The company who handled my bookings hadn’t told me much besides the name of my client. By company, I meant a man named Peter, who scheduled my appointments from his basement. Anyway, the client I was meeting that day, his name was Gray Everett, and when I looked him up online, I saw that he was some big-name lawyer with a firm in Asia.

Being an escort was only supposed to be temporary until I found a real job after college. When I started in this job half a year ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. But when I realized just how much money I could make, it got harder and harder to leave.

I straightened my collared shirt as I approached the front door holding on to my briefcase. I took a deep breath and knocked. I heard footsteps approach, and then the man opened the door.

“Hi,” I said, looking up at the man who was well over six feet tall. “You must be Gray.”

He furrowed his brows and looked confused. Then he glanced down at my briefcase. “That’s my name...but if you’re trying to sell me something, I’m not interested,” he said.

“Sell you something?” I asked. I took a step back and looked at the house number to make sure I wasn’t at the wrong house. “Didn’t you set up an appointment for 1:00pm?”

“Yes. But...you’re a guy,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“River,” I said. “Were you looking for something else?”

“Yes, I was,” Gray said. “I thought you’d be...a woman.”

This was the second time this week that Peter messed up my bookings.

The man was as confused as I was. “Come on in for a second,” he said.

He stepped aside and let me into his house. I was surprised to see how empty it was.

He took out his phone to look at something. “Oh, shit, I may have called the wrong number,” he said.

“You mean, you weren’t looking for an escort?” I asked, scratching the back of my head.

“I am. But I was looking for a female escort, and it wasn’t for sex. Not that there’s anything wrong with what you do.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “It happens. I guess I should go now.”

“Wait. Do you mind telling me what you do?” he asked.

I hesitated to answer him.

“I’m a BDSM escort for men who want to explore their sexual fantasies.”

From the way he was looking at me, he seemed interested in what I had to say.

“What’s in the briefcase?” he asked.

“Rope, toys, handcuffs. I have more stuff in the car too.”

Gray raised his brows. “Interesting. That’s definitely not my thing. But since I blocked out this time anyway, you might as well stay for a bit, and we can talk. I’ll pay you for coming by since it was my mistake, but we don’t have to do anything.”

Gray led me further into his home, and we went to the kitchen. The only furniture he had were two bar stools, and he pulled one out for me to sit.

“Can I offer you something to drink?” he asked.

“Some water would be nice,” I said.

He poured me a glass from his fridge and slid the glass across the counter.

“So, what exactly are you looking for, if you don’t mind me asking?” I said.

Gray leaned against the counter across from me. He had piercing blue eyes that were so intense I couldn’t look into them for long. He had dark brown hair that looked almost black, with streaks of gray.

“I was looking for an escort. Someone who could accompany me to my brother’s wedding.”

I laughed. “Then I’m definitely not what you’re looking for.”

“You weren’t what I was looking for. But maybe you’re better than what I was looking for,” Gray said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

I tilted my head to the side, trying to understand what this man wanted. Judging by the size of his house, he certainly had the money to pay for anything he wanted.

“Well, my brother who’s getting married is gay. Even though I’m straight, it wouldn’t be that crazy to bring a guy with me to the wedding. Hell, I think I’d be showing my support in a way,” he said.

I shook my head. “Great, but you know that’s not what I do. I don’t really do that kind of escorting. Besides, wouldn’t you rather take a girl if you’re straight?”

“Ideally, yes. But the ones I’ve seen online look too sexy. I need someone who looks like they could actually be my partner...someone who looks like you.”

Me? I was just a regular-looking guy. Blond hair, hazel eyes.

“I’ve come across many weird requests since I started this job, but nothing beats this one,” I said.

“Does that mean you’re interested in coming with me to my brother’s wedding? I will pay you well. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Money talked, and those who said otherwise were lying.

“You’re willing to pay me to just go to your brother’s wedding with you?” I clarified.

Gray nodded. “Is that something you’re interested in?”

I took a sip of water. “I mean, sure. I’ve just never been asked to do something like this before, so I don’t know what to expect.”

“I’m not asking for much. Just be there on the day of the wedding and keep me company.”

“And we’re not going to...do anything in the bedroom?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “I’m not into guys.”

I brushed the hair out of my eyes. “I’m up for it, I guess.”

“Great,” Gray said. “We’re going to have to spend some time before the wedding to know each other. People at the wedding are going to have questions, so it’s better that we prepare for them so that we don’t come across any awkward conversations.”

“So, we’re going to pretend like we’re dating?” I asked. “What if someone asks me what I do?”

“You’re going to have to lie about it,” Gray said. “My mom definitely can’t know you’re a sex worker.”

“I can do that. I lie about what I do all the time. What do you want me to be?” I asked.

Gray ran his hand along the stubble of his rugged jawline. “You look like you’d be in the creative field. An architect? No, too serious. An artist? You are definitely an artist.”

I liked role-playing, but it usually happened in the bedroom. This just seemed a bit weird, pretending to be someone’s boyfriend. But I was the type of person to be open to new experiences.

“Sure, I can be an artist. And how did we meet?” I asked.

“We met...when I was in Asia. I was going to a gallery opening that you were featured in,” he said.

“Wait, I thought I’d be more like a struggling artist.”

“You have to be successful if you’re going to be my fake boyfriend. I don’t want to introduce you to my family if you aren’t the biggest artist in Asia.”

“Oh god,” I said.

Maybe taking this on was much more complicated than what I’d intended.

This appointment was starting to feel like a first date. It wasn’t usual to be having any type of conversation with a client. Most of the time, it was straight from the front door to the bedroom.

“So, what do you do?” I asked, like I hadn’t already searched him online.

“Me? I am a lawyer. I opened a law firm in Asia that I sold recently. I decided to come back to this city to start something new.”

“I graduated from law school recently,” I said, as I ran my finger on the condensation on the glass of water. “As you can see, I’m really using my law degree.”

Gray’s eyes widened. “How did you get into...this kind of business?”

“When I graduated, I couldn’t find a firm that wanted to hire me. Without work experience, I couldn’t write my BAR exam. I had to pay the rent somehow, so I decided to look for something to pay the bills. I found an opportunity to do this kind of work. And when I realized that I could make a lot of money doing this, I started reconsidering if I wanted to get a job at a law firm.”

Gray eyed me up and down. “You just don’t look like someone who does sex work,” he said. “I hope I don’t sound too ignorant when I say that.”

I smiled. “Not at all. I get that a lot. In college, people told me I looked too innocent to be a lawyer.”

“Interesting,” Gray said, looking at his watch. “I have to make a phone call in a bit. But it was really nice talking to you, and I’d be very interested in hiring you to escort me to my brother’s wedding.”

I got off the stool. “Sounds good, I can give you my personal phone number so you can reach me.”

Gray took out his phone and saved my number in his phone. He walked me to the front door.

“Didn’t you bring a jacket?” he asked. “It’s freezing out.”

“I didn’t park too far from here,” I said. “I’ll be fine. It was great meeting you, Mr. Everett.”

“Please, you can just call me Gray,” he said, before reaching into his closet. “Here. Take this sweater. You can give it to me the next time I see you.”

I smiled and put on his sweater and left his house. There was a weird feeling in my stomach when I stepped outside. I still had so many questions in my head that were left unanswered. Like why was his house so empty? And what exactly we were going to agree on.

But the weird feeling in my stomach also had to do with how handsome I thought Gray was. I was good about keeping clients as clients. But the lines were going to be blurred since Gray wanted me to pretty much be his fake boyfriend.

I held my briefcase over my chest to block the cool breeze as I walked over to my car. Seeing my car parked next to all these luxury cars made me wonder if I’d made a mistake by not pursuing my dream to become a lawyer. Thinking about how successful Gray was only made it hurt more.

Maybe being around this mysterious man would give me a glimpse into the life I’ve always wanted. I sat in the car and put my nose in his sweater, which smelled of pine and a hint of cologne.

As I drove back to my apartment, I wondered why Gray, a straight guy, would want me at his brother’s wedding? There were people he could find who were much more suitable for what he was looking for.