“So, we met in Vegas,” Yvonne continued. “And since then, we’ve been casually seeing each other. You became something of a lover. I got into the habit of flying you out to meet me for company whenever I traveled.”
“That’s believable too? That you’d fly a lover to wherever you were, just to see them?”
“It’s believable to anyone who knows me. When it comes to women, I’m quite picky. If I find someone I’m compatible with, I like to keep her on hand. If that means flying her across the country when I need her, I won’t hesitate to do that.”
“Someone you’re compatible with?”
“Let’s just say, my tastes are very… specific.”
It was obvious that Yvonne wasn’t referring to her tastes in appearance or personality. In Ruby’s line of work, she’d seen it all, from the tamest to the most scandalous kinks.
Ruby sucked her lip. What was it that Yvonne was into?
“Back to the matter at hand,” Yvonne said. “After a year or so of casually seeing each other, we both began to feel like what was between us was more than just physical.” She paused. “However, we were afraid to confess our true feelings.”
Yvonne spoke as if she were discussing a business deal. Ruby wondered if Yvonne had spoken to her friends about their marriage the same way. She didn’t sound convincing at all.
“So, when we met up in Vegas over the weekend, we got blind drunk, drunk enough to finally talk about how we felt, and ended up having a quickie marriage. After we sobered up, we discussed the situation and we decided we wanted to stay married, so I brought you here to live with me. Again, there’s that element of truth.” Yvonne folded her hands in her lap. “So that’s what I’ve told my friends. We’ll need to build upon the story, add some details. But that’s the foundation of our back story.”
“That works for me,” Ruby said. “So, we should probably tell each other about ourselves. Our backgrounds and so on. We should know the details of each other’s lives, being married and all.” And if Ruby was lucky, talking about themselves would get Yvonne to loosen up a little.
“Good idea,” Yvonne said. “Why don’t you start?”
“Okay. I’m twenty-five, although I usually don’t admit that to my clients. I grew up in a town a few hours from Vegas, moved to Vegas when I turned eighteen, and I’ve been there ever since. Not sure what else there is to say. I should mention, my real name’s Ruth.”
“I know. It’s on the marriage certificate. Is Ruby just a name you use for work?”
“Kind of,” Ruby said. “I started using it because the name Ruth isn’t very glamorous, and it stuck. Nobody calls me Ruth anymore.”
“Ruby it is,” Yvonne said. “Do you have any family?”
“Mom, Dad, and four older brothers. Things were rowdy growing up. What about you?”
“My father died ten years ago. My mother passed when I was young.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago.” Yvonne’s voice remained flat. “I have other family. A half-brother and a stepmother.” The way she stressed ‘half’ and ‘step’ suggested she wasn’t exactly close to them. “As for everything else, I’m thirty-four, and I grew up here in the city. I went to college here too.”
Ruby nodded. “Well, I already know what you do for work, but what about me? If people ask about my job, what should we tell them?”
“What do you want to tell them? I have no issues with being married to an escort. You don’t have to hide it if you don’t want to.”
Ruby frowned. So Yvonne had no qualms about Ruby’s occupation. And Ruby had already surmised that Yvonne wasn’t the type to let emotions or vague, old-fashioned notions of morality get in the way of something as simple and physical as sex.
So why was she so insistent that she didn’t want anything physical with Ruby?
Ruby returned to the conversation at hand. “We should come up with something else. Not everyone is as open-minded as you are about my job. Plus, my being an escort will just make people less likely to believe our marriage is real.”
“You’re right,” Yvonne said. “Do you have any suggestions?”
“I sometimes tell people I’m a waitress. I actually was a waitress for a while recently. I took a break from the escort thing after, well…” Ruby pushed down the unease suddenly bubbling up inside her. “It’s not important. Anyway, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say I was a waitress.” She gave Yvonne a cheeky smile. “Obviously, I retired once I found myself a wealthy wife.”
“All right. You’re a waitress.” Yvonne paused. “How did you end up in your line of work? Escorting, that is.”
Ruby shrugged. “I moved to Vegas after high school to take a job as a waitress. I was working at one of the restaurants on the strip and I became friends with a regular who was an escort. We’d talk about her job, and it sounded like something I could do, so I gave it a try, and here I am.”
“That’s it?”
“Do I need a better reason?” Ruby raised an eyebrow. “Or is it because you think only someone desperate or troubled could end up as an escort?”
Yvonne tensed. “That’s not what I’m saying. I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s an unusual profession, that’s all.”
“I’m just messing with you. But for the record, I don’t come from a ‘troubled’ background. My childhood was great. And my waitressing job, it was well paying with all the tips, but escorting paid even better, and it’s far less demanding. There’s no desperation involved. And it’s a fun job. I get to meet all kinds of interesting people.”
“Your clients,” Yvonne said. “Are most of them men?”
Ruby nodded. “Women who are interested in hiring female escorts are few and far between. Half of them are just bored rich ladies wanting a taste of the sapphic side. But the female clients who are actually
