Love Paradise
Prologue
‘I’ve never met anyone like you.’
‘You’re the best I’ve ever had.’
’10/10 woman. 5 stars.’
Valerie Summers is trying to fight the smirk making its way onto her lips. She loves receiving this kind of messages – the best form of an ego boost. She tries hard not to chuckle at reading the last one – ‘10/10 woman. 5 stars.’ It makes her sound like a commodity, or a service.
Right, she is one. She tells herself.
It’s very early in the morning, a couple hours past midnight, and Valerie, or Valentina rather, has just gotten home. She’s sleepy and weary and is looking forward to crashing on her bed for a good night’s rest, but she has to take care of a few things. Valerie Summers has all her lesson plans ready for the coming school day, but Valentina Summers has to iron out some things. A middle school teacher by day, everyone knows her as Valerie. Only a select few know her as Valentina – the high-end escort who can make anyone’s intimate fantasies a reality.
When she started escorting, Valerie’s clients were only a handful. Seven years later, she’s now one of the most in-demand escorts in the city, so in-demand that she has her own website.
‘Your Fantasies by Valentina’
She reads the top- and center-most part of the homepage. She has a number of notifications and messages waiting for her, and she can’t help but heave a sigh. More business is always better anyway even if it wears her down. She’s only twenty-eight; she can worry about the physical toll later on. She then browses through the messages and opens the ones with new feedback and comments.
‘Valentina really makes all your dreams come true.’
‘Never knew there were so many different ways to suck a d***. She is lovely. Her mouth is crazy.’
‘She’s everyone’s dream fuck buddy.’
Valerie rolls her eyes and types quick ‘thank you’ replies before she deletes the overtly promiscuous messages. She opts for the earlier, less sexual feedback to put up on her website’s homepage. Those will land her more clients – being a tease. She plays the innocent virgin part quite well. The men are always surprised with the magic in her hands, mouth, and the rest of her body. Valerie scrolls through more of the messages. There are inquiries on her services and schedule. That she can come back to tomorrow.
As a middle school teacher, Valerie has a lot of downtime when her students are answering worksheets and taking tests. She can reply to the inquiries then. With a heavy breath, she shuts down her laptop and walks towards the bed a few meters away from her desk.
“Goodnight, my darling,” she says, bending down to kiss Trent’s forehead before she walks around the bed and lies down on the opposite side of him. She turns off the lamp and winds an arm around his waist. She feels him snuggle closer against her in his sleep.
Valerie closes her eyes, breathes in for a moment, and then breathes out again. She feels Trent’s light blond hair tickling her chin. Suddenly, there’s a heavy weight on her chest. The weight’s always there every time she thinks of Trent and his condition. He’s always been a sickly child, born with a low immune system and prone to illnesses. Next week, he’s scheduled to undergo a kidney transplant. Her young ten-year old boy going through that – Valerie doesn’t know what to feel – wounded, fearful, sad, and even both hopeless and hopeful.
Trent always tells her he’s alright, that there’s no need for her to be scared, but Valerie can’t control her emotions, not when it comes to her son. She can control her feelings when it comes to escorting though; she’s mastered the art of separating business and pleasure in the bedroom. She’s learned to view sex as a mere tool to create money, but with Trent, he has the power to make her feel anything and everything.
That’s why she’s doing this – leading a double life – she’ll do anything for her son, anything to keep him healthy and alive. She loves being a teacher, but that isn’t going to pay for Trent’s transplant and his medicines.