AVA'S P.O.V
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"Andy, you should have seen him," I groaned as water cascaded down my back, unwinding muscles I hadn't even noticed were sore.
Lathering more soap on my loofah, I scrubbed harder like it would erase the grimy old man from existence.
"He was....you know what, let me put it this way. We both had to put some effort into separating his rolls."
"Eww!" She snorted.
I could make out her thin fingers picking at her week-old green nail polish through the pale curtain. "Did 45 make up for it? "
"He sure did," I chuckled as my thoughts drifted to the dark-haired client.
I'd entered the luxury room, fresh from a shower with new lingerie in place, and found him facing the king-sized bed, his hands shoved into his pockets.
I noticed the slight inclination of his head the second I stepped in.
It was pretty creepy how he realised I had entered given his back was to me. Sultry music blaring from the four corners of the room was pretty loud and I was barefoot.
Never had I met someone so…guarded. And alert.
But for whatever reason, he didn't turn around to address me, so I cleared my throat, not wanting to have him find me staring like a creep.
He already knew I was here anyway.
When he'd lazily pivoted on his heel, his clear eyes fastening on mine, my brows rose.
He didn't look it from the back but he was young. Pretty young.
I was sure he had a year or two on me.
His dark hair was carefully styled and his slightly plump lips stood out against his deep olive skin.
He boasted a slightly crooked nose, a deep gutter over his cupid's bow, thick brows, and a square jawline.
His grey shirt was quite large but it barely concealed his muscled biceps and broad shoulders that tapered down to a smaller but thick waist.
I met his eyes again and started as if I hadn't seen them earlier.
That whiskey gaze was quiet and unperturbed, like the calm before the storm.
All six foot three of him in a grey suit was a lot to take in at once.
He was too attractive. I didn't like it. People like him were usually the worst of the bunch. Even so, I couldn't look away.
As rich and as handsome as he appeared to be, he felt…familiar.
Relatable.
Miserable.
For what felt like a whole minute, we'd just stared. Something about him felt larger than life but I couldn't quite tell if it was his unnegotiated confidence or the demand for the respect he silently demanded.
Then as if it was expected, he'd made the first move, slipping a hand out of his pocket and gesturing to me to take a seat on the bed.
A gentleman, huh.
I'd wobbled over, heat rushing to my chest as it felt like it took five years before I finally sank into the soft duvet.
Sheesh, finally.
He'd followed, aware I was openly watching him lower his hunky figure next to me.
I'd awkwardly shuffled to put some space between us and played it off by brushing a non-existent piece of lint from under my thigh to the carpeted floor.
Wait, carpeted floor? I did a double-take and scanned the room.
It had been completely refurbished.
Everything was different.
From the ceiling to the wall paint, it had all been changed.
I peered at him again. Something like this was rarely done.
Who was this guy?
Why would they change the room for him?
I watched as he moved with such controlled precision and I gritted my teeth.
The introductory dialogue I was to initiate and my ten-second rule of reciting my mantra to ground me dissipated from my head.
The craziest part?
We'd stayed in that room for three hours (the longest I'd ever stayed with a customer) and he'd never opened his mouth.
Not.
A single.
Word.
His entire demeanor was not normal in my world.
He didn't so much as erase an inch of the gap between us and just tapped away on his phone like I wasn't even in the room.
I wasn't insulted by his aloofness; I'd actually appreciated the peace.
It had been too long since I'd had so much time to myself anyway.
It was unheard of, really, that a man would treat a woman -excuse me- slut here with anything other than arrogance or impertinence.
The men who frequented this place held high positions in society so they could easily pay for the time and prices that came with each female.
If they wanted to practice whatever sadistic act on any of the girls, they had to pay a higher price for it but unfortunately for us, they had the means. All the means.
They couldn't make anyone bleed though; that was against the rules.
I blinked my thoughts away and reached for my towel. "He-"
"No, thank you, spare me the horrifying details," Andia said.
A chortle shook my shoulders. "Your call."
"Whatever, just hurry will you? Today we're learning something new. Jennifer said it has to do with bamboo."
"Oh yeah, that. We had that lesson a few months ago," I pushed the curtain aside to step out and towel myself dry, "it's pretty detailed and you won't believe how fast it ca-"
She suddenly shoved me out and turned the lock. I snickered, bending over to pat my legs dry.
"I wish we never took that trip," she grumbled behind the door.
Sighing, I tossed the towel on her white rack and saw myself out.
Self-pity was one cavity I wasn't ready to decay in.
A couple of customers walking out of various rooms stopped at the sight of me, their hungry eyes lighting up in recognition and running up and down my naked frame.
Before any of them could make a move, I skipped up the stairs, finding my way to my room.
Reaching my floor, I glanced down the other five doors on my side.
The Tower had seven floors.
There was the ground floor was where auctions took place each year. It was also where new arrivals were brought in each year, educated on what they were here for and where to put them. It was also where the dirtiest deeds and parties happened.
The first floor was divided in two. Half of it belonged to Section A and the other half was where we had our lessons.
The second and third floor was where all the action took place.
In total, there were fifty rooms on both floors combined, numbering from one on the second to fifty on the third, twenty-five rooms each. They were specially reserved for all our customers but the third floor was for those who wanted to pay better. Had more prestige and such.
The fourth floor belonged to Section B, the fifth floor belonged to my Section, Section Z, and the sixth floor belonged to the Section heads and supervisors.
The seventh floor consisted of the health room and a punishment chamber called 'The Tally.' I'd only been to the former but I knew that those who visited the latter never came back.
Section A was filled with the freshmen as well as those who had to repeat a section. It was the toughest Section of all.
It was where virginities were lost, forcefully, might I add, and where hopes and dreams were readily squashed.
It was the Section where you let go of all traces of hope because no one was going to find you.
It was literally a do-or-die situation.
Which one would you choose?