The Girlfriend Experience Ch. 24

Jim deserves better than that. I wish he'd find someone who made him happy.

Being in this business wasn't prestigious, and no one back home in Puerto Rico knew anything about it, but Kenzie kept her nose clean - everything she did was legal, nothing under the table - and she lived a frugal lifestyle, investing most of her earnings in stocks and bonds. I want to be comfortable when I'm older and not worry about finances. Her plan was to work hard now and reap the rewards later.

She finished eating and pushed the plate of cookies to the side. Jim leaned in for a creamy, peanut-buttery kiss, a quick one, and she laughed.

"That, Cierra Graciela Vazquez, is one of the many things I adore about you. One of the countless things."

She cast him an inquisitive glance. "Cookie kisses?"

"You're not afraid to laugh when you're kissing. You're not afraid to be yourself, to speak your mind, and I love the friendship, the honesty you and I have together."

"I love it, too, Jimbo." Kenzie flashed that sexy smile of hers, but soon became immersed in her smartphone. She had so many different smiles - innocent, sassy, playful, sarcastic, seductive, and downright hot as sin - and Jim was a sucker for every single one of them.

"Are you swiping left or right?"

Her eyebrows piqued. "Excuse me?"

"Tinder," he said as she hovered a finger over her phone's touchscreen. "Are you swiping left or right?"

"Oh, no, I'm scrolling. This is Instagram, not a dating service." Darkness washed over her. "Seriously, Jim? Really?" She turned the phone around and showed him photographs of two young children covered in white powder. "My friend, Esmeralda, lives in San Juan, and these are her two kiddos, Isabel and Adolfo. Aren't they cute? Ages eleven and eight." Kenzie gave a little whisk of a grin. "Esmeralda says they decided to bake a cake. By themselves. While she was taking a shower. And this was what she came out and found."

A grim expression marred Jim's handsome face. "Kids are always causing trouble."

Kenzie scrolled to another photograph. The boy was putting a strainer on his sister's head. The next showed him chucking a bag of flour over her.

Jim snorted. "What a mess."

"They're a handful, but I love 'em, and I babysit 'em whenever I visit Puerto Rico." She put her phone down. "I'm planning on spending three weeks there in October and November."

"Been a while since you've seen your family, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it has." Her shoulders sagged. "I miss them."

When the doorbell rang, Jim scurried over to the entrance and found a familiar face on the other side. "Justin! Hey, bud. How you been? Long time no see. I heard you've had some struggles as of late?"

Thirty-nine-year-old Justin Asher, a paramedic with the Flagstone Fire Department, was a favorite of Jim and Colt's, though he rarely purchased any parties. Along with two buddies from work (Ryan and Trevor) who often accompanied him here, Justin was more of a window shopper. So were they. While management frowned on that, kicking patrons out if they weren't willing to open their wallets, these three men were an exception. They were civil servants and welcome to drop by, down some beers, and watch sports whenever they wanted.

And window shop.

Justin had been on medical leave the past two months after a knee operation but was on track to return to work in September. A big, burly sort, a neck tattoo peeked out from under Justin's crisp, blue collar, and another tattoo was visible on his right wrist when he shook his hands with Jim.

After reacquainting themselves, Justin took immediate notice as Kenzie approached and flashed her downright hot as sin smile. "Hi baby. You lookin' for a fun time today?"

"Woah." Her tone gave him goosebumps. "Don't get me wrong, you're a beautiful woman, and I appreciate the offer, but I'm here hoping to rock 'n roll with someone else. I don't... I hope that doesn't offend you."

"Not at all, baby. No worries, no hard feelings." A soft smirk of mischief materialized. "My name is Kenzie. Let me know if you change your mind, okay? I'd love to show you a fun time." She squeezed his wrist, spun on a heel, and sashayed her sweet ass back behind the curtain.

"Holy fuck, dude," Justin said to Jim. "It's only been three months, yet I almost forget how hot the women y'all have working here are." He tongued his cheek from the inside. "Hot damn."

"It's a real smoke-show around here all day long. That's for sure. You have someone in mind, you said? You're here today wanting to party?" Jim smacked Justin on the shoulder. "Not bullshit like usual?"

"Ryan and Trevor said a little blonde I had my eye on last year - Kayleigh - is back in town, working again."

Jim scratched his chin. "Kayleigh? I do recall you ogling her."

Justin bit his lip as anticipation pinwheeled across his face. "Yeah, yeah, when I was here that afternoon with Ryan and Trevor last summer, and Kayleigh was sitting at the end of the bar with that other hot blonde - the MILF, the customer - I couldn't take my eyes off of her." The memory itself drove him mad. "In fact, I remember Kayleigh and the MILF going off to party with that raven-hair, the girl who was out here a second ago."

"Kenzie."

"Jesus Christ. All me, Ryan, and Trevor did for the rest of the week was talk about what those three chicks must've done to each other."

"Kayleigh has indeed returned to work, bud, and she's going to be a regular from now on. But hate to burst your bubble - she's on break and won't be back 'til Tuesday. Is off visiting her family in San Francisco."

"Goddammit!" Justin balled his hands into fists. "I've wanted to hook up with Kayleigh ever since I first saw her. Fuck! And my wife is out of town too." Why did he always have such terrible luck? "Today was the perfect opportunity!"

"So sorry, my friend, but Kayleigh will be here on Tuesday, remember. She should have her medical labs back and be ready to go by ten o'clock."

"Yeah, yeah, that's cool, I suppose. Better than nothing. I'll figure out a way to make it happen next week, then. I mean, that chick was the finest little piece of pussy I've ever seen. I'd like to book multiple hours with her."

"You want to set up an appointment?"

"Nah, not yet. I'll have to figure things out since my wife will be lurkin' around town next week. But trust me, I will. I'll call or drop by on Monday or Tuesday and schedule a time if that's all right."

"Whatever works best for you, bud. Though I should say, just so you know, Kayleigh may not be the same as you remember her from a year ago. I don't want there to be any unnecessary surprises."

"What do you mean?"

"She's a little more... mature now." Jim's lips squirmed to one side. "A year older, obviously, and she's gotten breast implants since you last saw her. And a few tattoos."

"Oh, man." Excitement swathed him like a blanket. "Implants? Tattoos? That's ten times better! Answer me this." His eyes heated and a cocky smile creased his lips. "Is she a natural blonde?"

"Of course, bud. Of course, she is."

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The tombstone was engraved with a simple block font:

Evelyn Klarissa Bancroft

December 2, 1999 - December 18, 2018

Beneath it, the epitaph read:

Her life a beautiful memory, her absence a silent grief

"Oh my God! I cannot believe Evie's grave is covered in all this dust and grime!" Lindsay fumbled for cleaning supplies in the mop bucket once she lowered to her knees and started scrubbing like a woman possessed. "Oh, this makes me so angry. Mom always said this cemetery is horrible with its upkeep."

A bag of bird seed in hand, Pamela motioned toward the metal birdhouse dangling from a shepherd's hook no more than five feet from the marker. "You want me to fill it, honey? Or would you rather do it yourself?"

Lindsay glanced back at Pamela, a tear trickling down her cheek. "You can." She resumed cleaning and whined out, which caused Pamela to shoot Colt a look of concern, but she filled the birdhouse regardless.

Before their three-day excursion to California came to fruition, and since it would be in Palm Springs, Lindsay told Pamela and Colt that she wanted to go to her old stomping grounds to pay proper respects to her best friend. Citronelle was a mere thirty minutes away.

But I swore many times over I'd never come back here.

After Evie committed suicide last year and Lindsay returned home and word got out of the secret lives they'd led as prostitutes, the shit hit the proverbial fan, and Lindsay became the focal point of a media firestorm of her own. She was disgraced in Citronelle; no one, including her family, wanted anything to do with her. Friends Lindsay grew up with and used to invite over for slumber parties vanished, blocking her on social media. She was shunned by local businesses and flat-out asked to leave the corner market. The high school stripped any mention of her name and likeness from their award center and digital yearbooks. Alison, the youngest of the Anastacio clan, said she was ashamed to have Lindsay as a sister, and hated her guts. "Don't ever come to me again for anything! You're nothing but a heathenness slut. You've ruined my life at school!"

Worst of all, everyone in town seemed to have the notion that Lindsay should be the one held responsible for Evie's death.

Anastacio Forced Bancroft into Prostitution

The headline from The Citronelle Courier, dated December 22, 2018, ripped Lindsay's heart out and stomped on it when she first saw it. The ensuing article alleged that she strong-armed Evie into working at Happy Ending Ranch, even threatened her, and got her mixed up in a world of booze and hardcore drugs. I hadn't seen Evie in five months! All we did was talk on the phone.

While Evie did have marijuana in her system at the time of death, Lindsay had no idea where she got it from. It certainly wasn't from Colt or Pamela. He won't even allow me to smoke weed in the backyard.

How could anyone accuse her of such a horrible thing? Evie was my best friend and I loved her! While Lindsay was the first to admit she had prodded Evie about taking a job at the house for months, she didn't force her into anything. I told Evie she could quit at any time and that Pamela would take care of her the same way she took care of me when I started.

... I thought it was the proper move for her so she could get out of this fucking dump like I did.

"Hey, E. How are 'ya?" Lindsay choked back horrible sobs as she placed her hands on either side of the tombstone and closed her eyes. "I... I've missed you."

Anastacio Skips Funeral and Returns to Seedy Life in Nevada - h/t The Citronelle Courier, December 24, 2018. Those liars! I didn't go back to Nevada!

Lindsay's biggest regret, and this trumped getting mixed up with Sammy, was the decision to escape the media circus and no-show Evie's memorial service in favor of returning to Salt Lake City. I'm so sorry for doing that. It had haunted her every day since. If the roles were reversed, Evie would've been at my funeral no matter what. How could Lindsay have done that? I'm a horrible friend! The worst ever! Yet she was a wreck at the time, her world shattered, and she couldn't stand any more of the ridicule and relentless hate. Zack had everyone calling me Lindsay Suckadickio on Facebook.

"Hey, I brought some friends along." Tears blinded her eyes and she found it damn near impossible to speak. "Evie, you remember Colt and Pam? Pamela? Don't you? They're... they're my friends, and they've he-helped... m-m-me." She swallowed and cleared her throat. "They've helped me... so much."

Lindsay knew this trip would be the ideal opportunity to right some wrongs from her past. The funeral may have been ancient history, but there was nothing stopping her from visiting Evie's gravesite and spending quality time with her. We've known each other since kindergarten.

No matter the finality, and despite whatever issues Evie faced that brought her to such an unspeakable demise, she would always be Lindsay's best friend. Evie was her hero, her idol, and her memory would forever be sacred. I was so jealous of Evie when we were growing up - her home life, her clothes, her phone, how beautiful she was. How could Evie be dead? Was it all just a nightmare? Would Lindsay wake up to a ringing phone soon, in the middle of the night, with Evie on the other end going on and on about all her boyfriend drama with Clancy?

Please, let it be a nightmare!

"I'm back at the house, the one in... Flagstone." Lindsay's features were wrenched in agony. "Things with Mike, they... they didn't... they didn't work out. I'm with Pamela now and we... we have... a thing going. I... I... I'm with Pamela and... and... and..." Lindsay again glanced over her shoulder, but this time at Colt as her entrails tied in knots, then refocused on Evie. "I'm with Pamela." She bowed her head. "Yeah, Pamela."

When it appeared that Pamela was ready to cocoon Lindsay into an embrace and never let go, Colt latched on to his wife's hand instead and motioned for her to follow him.

Opting to allow Lindsay some much-needed privacy, he made a complaining Pamela explore other parts of the cemetery with him. Spiked black fences surrounded the ominous, yet peaceful graveyard almost as if were a ghostly prison. The smell of old stone filled the dry, desert air, errant tumbleweeds littering the landscape.

On the far side there were several tombstones, some toppled, some crumbling from age. People were buried here - entire families, too - dating back to the mid-1800s. It was disheartening for Colt and Pamela to bear witness to dozens of memorials of children who didn't make it past their first or second birthday. It offered a renewed appreciation for modern-day science and medicine. The mere thought of losing a child at such an early stage of infancy made Colt's stomach churn. He wouldn't be able to handle it.

"What do you think she is saying?" Pamela regarded Lindsay thirty minutes later, some one hundred feet away, standing with Colt and watching her lips move. They saw Lindsay laughing.

"I think they're reminiscing about all the wonderful times they had together." Colt's shoulder flinched and he twirled his head about. "That's what I do every time I go and visit my dad, you know." He locked gazes with Pamela and said, "I talk to him."

"Oh, Colt." Pamela couldn't combat the sudden fog in her brain as she slid both arms around him and buried her weeping face in his chest. "Oh, Colt. I know you miss William terribly. I know."

"He wasn't the greatest father. But he was my father." Remorse stirred deep inside. "And I loved him. I still do."

Fifteen additional minutes elapsed until Pamela couldn't take it anymore. She dragged Colt back to the grave.

"You okay, honey?" She fell to her knees, wrapped Lindsay up from the side, and kissed her cheek.

"Evie likes you both," Lindsay said with a faint smile, her eyes watery, as she shifted her focus back and forth between Pamela and Colt. "She likes you and approves of us, all three of us. She told me so."

Pamela swiped a tear from her cheek. "You've been talking with Evie, baby?"

"Yeah, I have. About a lot of things."

"All good things, I hope?"

Lindsay sniffled. "All good." She glanced at the quiet earth beneath them for a few seconds, then tilted her head Pamela's way. "Evie says meeting you and Colt will be the best thing that'll ever happen to me. She says she can see into the future and it's gonna be a wild, fun ride."

Colt drew in a lungful of oxygen.

"Listen, baby. I promise to take care of you." Her tone uneven and insides clamoring, Pamela placed both hands across Lindsay's shoulders and shook her ever so gently. "Listen, okay? I don't know why people have hurt you so much over the past seven or eight months. I really don't. I don't know why your family, why they... they..." Pamela's chin tremored. "You're such a sweetheart; you're kind, you're gentle, you're giving, you put others ahead of yourself. I don't know how anyone could ever hurt you."

She glanced away. "Neither do I."

"I promise to protect you, to love you." Pamela brought Lindsay's face back in line. "You deserve to be happy, baby, to be loved, cared for, to be cherished. You deserve that. You know that, right? If anyone deserves it, it's you." Lindsay again swallowed over the sudden lump in her throat as Pamela touched her forehead to hers. "My God, you're such a good person. You're better than good. You're amazing."

Pamela's arms snared Lindsay so tight that she could barely breathe. Evie was right, wasn't she? Lindsay needed to feel Pamela's protective, loving arms, her heart beating fast and pure, warmth and compassion transferring and filling every empty crevice it could claim with the promise of the happy future they were destined to have.

Together.

"I'm so sorry about Evie, baby. I know you miss her. I can't bring her back, but I'm here - I'll always be here - and I love you so, so much."

"I love you, too, Pamela. I've loved you since day one."

Lindsay felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned, but her mind failed to process because she couldn't believe what she saw. There was Colt, arms extended and inviting, asking for her to come to him. Lindsay sensed Pamela's grip ease, hands slide from her back, and as she rose to her feet and stepped into Colt's warm embrace as if she was on autopilot, a myriad of emotions threatened to overcome her.

Evie.

Mike.

Mom. Dad. Jennifer. Gina. Alison. Grandma.

Zack.

Pamela.

... Colt.

"It's okay, little angel. It's okay. Let those tears fall. Let it all out. I'm here too." Lindsay recognized a mass of sweet feminine charm press against her from behind. She again heard Pamela crying, and then two arms squeezed between her and Colt as he continued speaking with tender undertones, "Yes, yes, it's okay. Let it all out. Pamela loves you, Lindsay... I love you. That's right, I love you too. We both love you." Colt gathered Lindsay deeper in his brawny arms. "And I swear to you, just like she did - everything will be all right." A summer breeze blew by as he said, "You're family now."

Somewhere, Evie had to be smiling....

(End of Chapter Twenty-Four - to be continued)