NEW TRICKS FOR AN OLD DOG
Rex returned to LA and wondered what to do with his life now. He spent a lot of time just lying around. He thought about getting drunk, and then he knew it probably wouldn’t help. Yeah, he was broken hearted. It happened to him all over again. Dammit, why hadn’t he known better? He understood what Ava had done and why she did it, but it didn’t make it hurt any less.
He knew now how brokenhearted people felt. He had even sat around eating ice-cream and watching sad movies until he thought he might puke. He considered going out and picking up a hooker. Yeah that was a weak moment. He’d never felt this bad before, like he was going to die. He wished he could really just have a good man cry, but it never came. He was still too proud to sink to that level.
He almost hopped in the car yesterday to drive himself over to Rodeo and shop till he dropped, but he couldn’t face being on that street just yet.
There had been so many women he’d done in his life and he knew now that there was only one for him in the whole world. He ended up in a pretty pathetic state by the end of the week, and he noticed a slight pudgy bit of skin at his lower belly, so he started to make himself leave the couch and work out a few times.
He wondered if he could start all over again and build a client list, but he rejected the idea. He realized he was a changed man and old, sexy Rexxy may not appear for a while.
One afternoon, he was feeling really restless and he called an old friend who ran an Escort service, not to work there, but maybe to work in the organization somewhere. Maybe he could train men on how to really please a woman.
Actually, it was more like a standing bet than a real gig. Aggy had said before that her stable had some pretty rebellious smart ass, young studs and they would probably laugh Rex right out of the room.
He had lain around the house and the beach feeling sorry for himself all week. It wasn’t going to change anything and he needed to get out and do something. He would end up making himself sick, if he wasn’t already. He’d heard that people could die of heartbreak and he’d always laughed at the idea. There were nights this week when he’d wished for it to be over. For the pain in his chest to fucking end.
Still, he remembered something an older woman who’d been a steady client had told him once. Time heals all things, except love.
At the time, he had felt puzzled by such a statement. He’d never understood it. Well, he did now.
He set up an appointment to teach a class for Aggy and to show her that her studs could be taught a thing or two. After all, those who can’t, teach right? Cause Rex couldn’t anymore. He was done with the whole Man of the Night gig. He wondered if he could even get it up ever again. Bad boy was out of commission as far as he could tell. The traitor. His heretofore trusty tool was all up when it came to that cruise to heaven that had went straight to hell.
So, here he was at Velour Services and he was about to start the class. Yes, a class on what women really want. If only the woman he’d wanted, had wanted him back. He shook away the angst and concentrated on the lesson he was about to give.
About twenty, various good-looking men sat around the tables in the private conference room at the Sunset Inn. Most had tans that did not end. Some had dazzling white teeth, not a man in this room had less than a six pack, in abs that is. Tall, wide shouldered and buffed out nicely. All of them wore stylish haircuts their hair gleamed under the lights of the room even. Dressed casually they still wore great designer clothes and Rex knew they all believed that they were the shit when it came to females. They all looked up at him as he strode in through the door.
“Hello,” he stated to the all male student body.
They called ‘hello’ back at him in unison.
He took a long slow gaze around at the guys. Yes, they were studs, he could tell by the looks in their eyes. They knew sex, had sex, specialized in sex. Most were younger than he was and some looked bored while others looked curious. Rex decided to just jump right in, “Can anyone tell me what women think about?”
The bored looks disappeared and curious expressions filled almost every handsome face in the room.
“Don’t answer,” he ordered as one or two raised their hands. “Because you would be wrong.”
They lowered their arms.
“You don’t and you won’t and you never fucking will.” He smiled at them. “Think you’ve got one pegged? You figured her out?” He looked around as some shrugged and others nodded. “No! Forget it. Whatever it was, you will guess wrong.”
The entire group laughed.
“Just settle for the fact that you could figure her out in some other way.”
Some of the men sat forward and showed true interest now.
Rex raised his fingers to his eyes. “Rule one?” He looked all around. “Eye contact. Make it with her, keep it with her and watch the emotions flow across her pupils, like a feed to another world.”
The men all murmured.
“Next, watch the way she moves.”
There were various snickers around the room.
Rex chuckled. “Yes, I too, enjoy that particular pastime. But it can be used to gauge her.”
They were all wearing apt expressions now.
“Does she walk with purpose? Or does she allow her hips to roll as she moves?” Rex pictured Ava walking along the deck in her red bikini. He shook his head to clear the sensual image.
More snickering resounded.
“Yes, I was just remembering a walk.” He smirked.
Laughter erupted.
“The walk will tell you what will please her.”
There were more confused murmurs.
Rex grinned at them, showing his best smile.
They all sat very still.
He pointed at his mouth. “Give your best one of these as you take her hand and keep looking into her eyes all the while.” He gave them his dazzling smile.
One man raised his hand.
Rex nodded at him.
“What about the sex part?”
Several of them chuckled slyly.
“What about it?” Rex asked him. “It will be the least of your worries, if you do not gauge her right.”
“And you do that by how she walks?” Another skeptic cut in.
Rex smiled at him. “You have a job to do and you want to be remembered as the best she ever had. That should be your aim. Not to just halfway satisfy her and earn your dime.”
They all stilled again.
“You need to find out within the first ten minutes…just what she may want.” He looked around at the studs in the room. “To use your dicks is not enough; you’ve got to use your brains first.”
Laughter again broke out among the ranks.
“If she walks with a powerful stride and sits with her legs crossed. What does this tell you?”
They all looked puzzled.
“It tells you she is in charge and she wants you to win that pussy.”
Some gasps echoed through the room.
“You do it by any means you think will work, a soft touch, a good licking or even get down on your knees and let her fuck your face if that’s what it takes.” He again remembered Ava and her catching him unawares as she used him so wonderfully.
There were gasps and chuckles in the background.
“If she’s shy and seems hesitant and insecure…?” he asked and looked around the room.
The skeptic of before raised his hand. “She wants you to overpower her?”
Rex shook his head. “No! You moron.”
Some in the class shifted in their seats while others laughed.
“She wants to be the boss. You will be her slave and beg for that sweet pussy.”
Surprised gasps resounded now.
“Remember, you cannot know what is really inside her mind. You will not know.” He tilted his dark head at them. He learned this firsthand with the woman he wanted. It was a fallacy for men to think they knew what was in a woman’s mind. “Let’s say you guessed and you are ready to proceed?”
They all kept silent.
“Well, use everything you have to get her mindlessly hot first. Fingering and sucking both clit and tit, before you think you’re really a stud and try to cock fuck her.” He walked around the tables and looked at every young face. “Make her want that cock more than life itself, and then when you do give it?” He stopped and went along another row. “Hold your climax.”
There were some guffaws and rolling of eyes.
He flipped around and stared at a small group in the corner of the room. “Fuck her hard and don’t come, never come until after she does. Think about gardening or how many socks you have in your drawer at home. Think of anything until she gets off.”
They all sat in their seats looking stunned.
“When you’re done? Kiss her feet and be grateful.”
Some gasped at his statement.
“Because to be lucky enough to experience one woman or one hundred is more than you bastards deserve!” He laughed at their astonished expressions. “We’re demons and we were put on earth to fuck it over. Women are the angels and they are—our only salvation. Our only way to a real heaven.”
The students had various gaping expressions or their jaws were dropped open.
He walked over to the front again. “Oh, and dress to the fucking nines, like she’s the visiting Queen of England there to knight your sorry ass.”
Astounded expressions covered almost every handsome face as the male escorts all looked at each other and then back up at him. Then one by one, they stood and began to applaud. Soon, the room was booming with their clapping.
Rex gave him them another winning smile and left the conference room.
He paused to smirk at Aggy, who owned the service as she peered into the room full of applause. Her expression looked puzzled as she listened to the rowdy ovation.
“They’re ready.” He got on the elevator and grinned. “Next class on Tuesday?”
Silent, she handed over the thousand they agreed on as she nodded her head at him.
Rex looked at the wad of bills and rolled them up. “Not as fun as fucking but it was interesting.” At her dazed expression, he chuckled and the elevator doors closed.
Rex was at a loss again the next day, and he really contemplated getting good and drunk. Maybe calling up Susi and getting a sympathy massage. For the first time today, he smiled a little. He was going to miss Saturdays for a long while.
He did need something, anything to keep from thinking about Ava or his life or what was left of his life. He knew he’d had it with acting and that also meant he was washed up in the sex biz. Hell, even his bad boy had gone on strike. It was the nights that were the worst. He contemplated taking something to sleep and tossed idea that out too. He knew many actors and studs who’d overdosed and he wasn’t that pathetic yet. Yet? He stilled. What the hell am I gonna do? Mope forever? Sit around and get fucking fat?
Rex shivered. He could just picture himself sitting in a lazy boy, beer in hand with his beer belly below that and an old torn up stained t-shirt.
No. I have to find…Find what? God dammit, I am a mess!
His doorbell rang and he wandered to the door.
Jack Wagner stood there. “Hey ya, Rex!” He grinned and pushed his way in.
“Well, just come the fuck on,” Rex joked as he stepped aside.
“I bet you say that a lot in your work,” Jack teased and made his way to the bar.
Rex shrugged and followed him over while wondering what this little visit was all about.
“Got any beer?” Jack asked as he looked around.
“Yeah, in the fridge under the bar.”
“You sure live good. This is impressive.” Jack knelt down behind the bar.
“Fucking for cash has many perks,” he answered drily.
Jack’s laughter was loud. “Yeah, I’ll just bet!”
“Can I ask what this is all about?”
“Sure.” Jack set his beer on the bar, walked around and sat a second bottle on the bar. “Have a sit.”
Amused, he shook his head at how his friend was just making himself at home. “Why, thank you.” He sat on the stool.
“I see you got a fine tan while on your cruise,” Jack noted.
Rex popped the top off his beer. “Really Jack, you didn’t come over here to admire my tan.”
“Good stuff.” Jack took a healthy swig of the beer and smacked his lips while looking down at the bottle. He glanced over at Rex who was watching him intently. “Well, you dropped that call almost two weeks ago and I was worried.”
Rex shook his head. “It turned out all right. Sorry, I never called you back.”
“You didn’t call me back, but someone else did.”
He took a sip of his beer. “What?”
“Yeah, someone got your cell phone and was calling me.”
Rex slammed the bottle down. “That fucking bitch!” He pictured himself strangling Mimi again. It helped a little but it wasn’t the real thing.
Jack’s brows rose up. “She didn’t sound like a bitch.”
Disgusted, he fumed. “I hope she gets what she deserves in the end.”
“You mean Ava Pavorelli?”
Rex swung his startled gaze over. “No.”
“Well, that was the lady who called me.”
“What?”
“Yep, she said she was worried and wanted to know if I knew you very well.”
“And you said?”
Jack studied the label on the beer bottle. “I said I knew you well enough.”
“So, what did she want?”
“I told her I was a private detective and was working for you.”
Rex sat the bottle down. “Is there a point you’re getting at, Jack?”
“You gained a tan and lost your sense of humor, I see.”
“It’s been hell week.”
“Oh? You didn’t have any onboard romances?”
Rex glared over at him. “What the fuck is this all about?”
“Nothing, really.” He shrugged. “But the phone call did make me want to come over and check on you.”
“I’m fine.” He drank the rest of his beer and was considering drinking the whole case now.
“I was wondering if you would like to do some work for me, actually.”
Rex stared at him. “How could I help? Is there some lonely woman who needs my services?”
Jack laughed outright. “No, no. It’s nothing like that.” He looked up at Rex. “Well, it might be something like that?”
“Which is it then?”
“Well, I have a couple of jobs, where—well…”
“Just tell.” Rex was losing patience.
“Husbands who think their wives may be cheating.”
“And I could help out how?”
Jack grinned. “You’re a good looking guy and you could just sit pretty on a bar stool somewhere.”
“Oh, man! You mean use me as bait?”
“It would be the ultimate test all right. Actually,” he paused. “It wouldn’t be fair in some respects.” He looked thoughtful. “But if they pass you up?” He nodded his head. “They are faithful as fuck!”
Rex just gaped at him. “You’re serious?”
Nodding his head, he finished his beer. “Deadly.”
“I don’t know.”
“What else are you doing?”
“Well, except for fuck lessons on Tuesdays? Nothing at all.”
Jack looked stunned for a second and then burst out with laughter. “It won’t be as fun as whatever the hell that is, and it doesn’t pay as well as your former work.” Jack winked at him. “But it might be interesting for a few jobs.”
“Yeah, I guess and I’m not exactly in high demand at the moment.”
Jack shook his head at him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this before.”
“Seen what?”
“A broken hearted gigolo.”
“Now Jack, what did I tell you—”
His laughing friend smacked him on the back. “Yeah, yeah I know. You’re not a lowly gigolo!” He got off the stool. “So, can you start tomorrow night?”
Rex couldn’t believe he was agreeing to this, but it may get his mind off Ava and prevent him from becoming a slob. “Sure, what do I do?”
“Just come to this address and look pretty.” Jack winked at him.
Rex rolled his eyes and took the card. “How do I know who the woman is?”
The amused detective took out an envelope from his rumpled suit pocket. “Here is her name and description. You don’t have to really come on strong, just sit next to her. We gotta give her a fair chance somehow.” He was chuckling again as he made his way to the door. “Seven sharp, Stud!” He shut the front door behind him.
Rex opened the envelope and read the scribbled notes by Jack. Man, he couldn’t write worth shit. He sat the paper on the bar and went to get another bottle. I guess he started something. I may just get good and drunk today.
It was one of the warehouse district bars; out of the way and dimly lit outside and inside. Rex strode through the small lounge and looked around. He wondered if the woman was already here or should he wait and just look for her? Dammit, why did he agree to this shit? He was the man some of these women went to in his previous work, now here he was trying to expose one of them. He just changed his mind about this entire thing as he turned and bumped into someone.
“Oh!” A woman groaned and stumbled back.
He reached out and caught her arms to steady her.
Blonde and pretty, she stared at him.
Rex knew right away that this was Stephanie, the woman Jack was set to trap. “I’m so sorry, I almost ran you over!”
She stepped back and looked around. “That’s okay. I was supposed to meet a friend here.”
Rex didn’t know what he was supposed to do next, he wanted to laugh aloud though. He wasn’t the kind who picked women up. It had always been the other way around. “Can I buy you a drink?’ Always fall back on the original pickup line. He gave her his best smile.
The woman stared at him for a full minute and she looked nervous. “Um—okay?” She stepped over to the bar and sat on a stool.
Rex sat next to her. “What will you have?”
She didn’t look directly at him. “Just a white wine.”
He nodded and told the bartender to make it two. He peeked over and saw that she was avoiding his gaze. So, now what? Polite conversation, pick up lines? What’s a woman like you doing in a—?
“Do I know you?” She glanced over at him.
Rex felt an anxious flutter in his stomach, as he flipped through his extensive memory of tricks. Oh man, it would be a huge streak of bad luck if this were one of his old clients. “No, I don’t think so.”
“I think I…” she paused. “…I saw a photo of you once.”
Her voice was so light that he barely caught it. He looked closely at her while his stomach clenched. She was familiar and he couldn’t seem to place her, but he knew he’d seen her somewhere. “I don’t…I think I know you, but—?”
“Oh!” She suddenly paled and stepped from the stool. “What is this?” She looked upset.
Rex knew somehow that this jig was up, but he just couldn’t figure out how he had fucked it up.
“She calls and wants to meet me here?” She stepped further away. “Then you show up?”
Confused, Rex just shook his head. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stepped off the stool and remembered in just that instant. The tape! This was the other woman in the video that Mimi had, where Ava confessed to having fallen in love with him. “Oh, fuck!” He looked around and didn’t see Ava anywhere. He spotted another blonde woman with a similar build sitting at the bar. Oh man, he bumped into this one and he would bet his fucking life’s savings that the woman sipping at a Daiquiri was none other than the real Stephanie.
The frightened woman turned away and ran through the bar.
“Wait!” he shouted, but of course, she didn’t stop as she disappeared through the doorway. Rex wanted to know what she meant by, ‘she calls and wants to meet me here.’ Was Ava here somewhere? He rushed out after her.
A green car spun out of the lot and went up over the curb as it flipped out onto the street. Rex knew it was useless but he went out to the corner to see if he could maybe see her license plate, and he could get Jack to—
A horn honked and he gazed all around. He didn’t see anyone in the parking lot. How strange was this? Jack must be somewhere in the background, watching all of this. Maybe he had even seen her or Ava.
Jack finally showed up. “What the hell, Rex?”
Distracted, Rex was still searching the lot and the street. “Did you see her?”
“Yeah, and she’s back inside.”
“No, I mean…” Rex leaned out over the street and saw a red Mazzarati peeling out of the next parking garage. It sped out and disappeared into the next street. “Dammit!”
Jack looked amused. “I set you up with one woman and you always have to overachieve!”
Rex was confused and frustrated. “It can’t be a coincidence. Did you know about this, Jack?”
The detective shrugged his wide shoulders. “I don’t even know why you’re out here, instead of at the bar with the blonde.”
Rex sighed. “I would try to explain but it wouldn’t help.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I’m too rattled right now to do this job, sorry.”
“What’s going on with you, Rex?”
He shook his head. “I’m going crazy, I think?”
Jack laughed. “That’s nothing new!”
He ignored the taunting. “I do have a question though.” Rex knew somehow that Jack was the key to this whole mystery.
His friend looked curious.
“When Ava called you, what exactly did she say?”
“Well, you sort of cut me off yesterday when I was trying to tell you about it.”
“Okay, okay! Just tell me!”
“She asked about you…” Jack looked thoughtful.
“Yes, I know that and what else?”
“Well, come to think of it, she did say something.”
“Yeah?”
“She told me to tell you that she hoped with all her heart that you would enjoy yourself?”
“What?”
“Yeah, something like that, only she used some old fashioned expression…”
Rex moved closer. “Like what?”
Jack seemed to try to remember.
“I mean it Jack, come on!”
Jack looked like it dawned on him. “Oh, I remember now, she said she hoped that you would have…” he paused again, while he scratched his head.
Rex grabbed his jacket lapels and nearly lifted him from the ground. “What?”
Jack scowled at him and stared down at Rex’s grip. “A grand time.” He looked up at Rex. “Yeah! That was it. She said she hoped you would have—”
“Shit!” Rex felt his chest tighten. “She’s at the Grande?”
Jack shook his head at him. “No, that wasn’t what she—”
Rex sprinted away and rushed over to his Jag.
He sped across town and showed up in the lobby of his old haunt, the Grande Hotel.
“Mister Harris!” the desk clerk cheered. “We are so glad to see you!”
Rex smiled at the clerk and at the young woman next to her who was batting her eyes at him. “Yes Laurie, um…Is my suite available?”
Laurie smiled and stared at her computer screen as she typed. “Yes, it is.”
Disappointment filled him. That was their suite, but maybe Ava didn’t reserve it—
“Um, there is a note on here,” Laurie informed him as.
He looked up expectantly. “Yes?”
“It’s says there is a message at your mail box.”
Rex looked around. “Oh, you mean the mail boxes in the outer lobby?”
Laurie nodded as the other girl stared avidly and she elbowed her assistant. “Put your tongue back into your head, Stacey!”
Stacey looked surprised, and then she straightened her shoulders. “I can’t.” She giggled. “I mean just look at him!”
Rex turned away, rushing to the far part of the lobby and pulled his keys from his pocket. “Dammit!” His hands shook as he popped the key in and turned it.
Stepping back a little, he was almost afraid of what might be in there. Just an apology and a farewell, probably. He reached in and took the envelope out. Rex was scrawled across the front. He took a deep breath and opened it.
Dear Rex,
I came to Los Angeles looking for you, after I sent you that message about where to meet me. I waited three days. I figured you hadn’t forgiven me and I can’t blame you for that.
Tino said you had given up too easily and asked if I was sure that you really loved me. I know that you do. I know that you were just being honorable. I guess he still has qualities to learn about.
You see, he isn’t dying, he went into remission and he let me go. He even handed me the divorce papers. He said it was the only thing he could do to make all of it up to me.
I guess it was a lot for me to expect that you would still want me. You had a glorious life going and why would you settle for chubby ole me?
I will always love you,
Ava
He had missed her? Rex was panicked. How the hell could this have happened? How could he find her? Maybe Jack could track her down. Rex was lost now, as he wandered through the lobby and down the front steps. He stood rereading the letter.
A taxi honked from the line of cars at the entrance as valets came and went.
He paid no real attention because he didn’t care about anything at that moment. His glorious life? Without her? He sighed.
The honking repeated and he glanced up to see a car he remembered too well.
The red Mazzarati drove up to where he stood at the curb. Ava was behind the wheel.
He knew he must have looked shocked, as he stood frozen.
The door flipped open.
Rex leaned down to look at her.
“Do you wanna make some cash?” she asked and gave him a huge wink.
He almost felt like he couldn’t speak and in fact, it took him a full minute to do so, “That depends.” He hopped in and the door shut.
“It would be just for me and for the rest of my life,” she whispered shyly.
“I don’t know—that sounds a little too kinky to me.” He grinned at her.
Ava’s laughter rang through the interior. “Do you want me to just drive into the parking garage?” she asked.
Rex peered up at the Grande sign above them. “No, I think my offices will stay closed now.” He looked over at her. “Do you like the beach?”
“I would go anywhere with you, Sexy Rexxy,” she whispered with laughter in her voice.
He straightened his shoulders while his heart wouldn’t stop beating furiously. “Fine, but this time…?”
Ava looked concerned as she stared over at him.
“…I’m the one paying.”
She looked surprised, and then laughed loudly.
Her laughter always gave him goose bumps and he actually rubbed his arms. “And I expect no less than three climaxes a night!” he stated in a mock severe tone.
Ava giggled and put the sports scar into gear. “You have my satisfaction guarantee!” She made her car swerving rush while burning rubber on the way out to the street.