Chapter 7 : Gossip

Dante’s lips on mine felt exactly as I thought they would. They were strong, yet soft. He tasted like vanilla and it became my favorite flavor as soon as he opened his mouth and his tongue touched mine.

I lost myself in the kiss as I climbed on top of him and straddled his lap. We continued to kiss and I pressed myself against him, loving the feeling of his hard erection against my core. I grabbed his hair and pulled, earning a grunt from Dante.

God, who knew making out could feel this good?

Dante’s lips traveled to my throat and I moaned at the feeling. While he kissed my neck, his hand traveled to my breast and I wanted nothing more than for him to take off my clothes and touch me all over my body.

What the hell had come over me?

It was hard to remember the reasons Dante and I shouldn’t have a physical relationship while he was tasting my body. It was hard to even remember my own name when I was kissing the most attractive person I’d ever seen. Dante groaned as I pulled on his hair again, then…

I woke up.

Oh, shit. It was disorienting to have such a vivid dream and then wake up in a quiet room. Everything about that had felt so real. Especially because I’d kissed Dante before. I knew what his lips felt like. I knew what his mouth tasted like.

I looked around my room. Charlotte and Alice were still asleep. The alarm clock said it was only six in the morning. With embarrassment, I realized that my underwear was wet from arousal. Damn, how could Dante do that to me from only a dream?

Since I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep now, I tiptoed to the bathroom, making sure to be quiet so I wouldn’t wake up my roommates. I took a shower and got ready for the day. As I was washing my hair, I scolded myself. I couldn’t allow my attraction to Dante to distract me from my mission. After last night's confession from him, I knew that taking down the Golden Hive was just as important to him as it was to me, maybe even more so.

I brushed my hair and left it down to dry because I didn’t want to wake the others using a blow dryer. I wasn’t looking forward to today. I had three classes with Valerie on proper escort etiquette. I would rather spend my time trying to find out more information, but I still had to play along, and Valerie’s stupid classes were a part of it.

I dressed in jeans and a green t-shirt. At least Valerie didn’t care about what we wore unless there were going to be men around to impress.

I waited around for an hour and a half for Charlotte and Alice to wake up. They didn’t have escorts yet, so they would spend the day doing chores around the house. Just another thing that made me sick. Valerie treated women who didn’t have escorts like they were lesser than the girls who did.

Once my roommates were ready, the three of us went down the stairs for breakfast. I was shocked when I smelled bacon, pancakes, and hashbrowns. Valerie would never allow us to eat something so fattening. I walked into the kitchen and my mouth was watering.

The mood in the kitchen was more relaxed than I had ever seen it. Some of the escorts were cooking, talking, and laughing. Even the girls who always looked nervous were smiling slightly, even though they weren’t joining in on the conversation.

“Miss Valerie canceled all of her lessons for the day. She had to go into town for an appointment. We have the whole day free,” one of the girls explained to us.

Charlotte, Alice, and I went over to help them cook. I was delighted that Valerie would be gone all day and not just because the woman annoyed the hell out of me. I was curious about what this appointment of hers could be about, but there was no way for me to find out. So, I hoped that her being gone would relax the other girls and make them tell me things they normally wouldn’t.

When we were finished, the table was loaded with a feast: bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, and toast. Most of the other women in the house joined us, and even though there wasn’t enough room at the dining table, we managed to squeeze in, some girls sitting or standing at the kitchen counter.

“I’ve been hoping to ask you guys who have been here for a while for some tips and tricks on what you’ve learned throughout the years,” Charlotte said, taking a bite of a waffle.

One of the other escorts brightened at her question, sitting up straight in her seat. She had beautiful dark skin and looked to be in her late thirties. Her name was Sophia.

“Well, my biggest piece of advice is to never get comfortable with a sponsor, even if you have him for a long time. I had a guy who supported me for five years, then he just dropped me like that,” Sophia noted, smacking her hand against the table.

Another escort, Luna, who was in her late twenties, who I’d heard had been her for a long time, nodded in agreement.

“Yes! Make sure that you are mingling and flirting when the men come to visit or at the parties. Just because you have a sponsor today, doesn’t mean that you will tomorrow,” Luna added somberly.

Charlotte was listening with rapt attention. She even jumped up and grabbed a paper and pen to take notes. Luna and Sophia continued to tell the group about lessons they had learned throughout the years, and other escorts chimed in occasionally as well.

It would have been a nice breakfast, but the topic set my nerves on edge. It was obvious that most of the women here were brainwashed into thinking and acting a certain way. They thought that this way of life was normal because they had been living it for so long.

When the girls started mentioning names, my ears perked up.

“When I saw that the mayor was a member here, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Sophia said to the table.

“The mayor? What about Governor DeSimone? I couldn’t believe it when I saw him here!” Luna replied enthusiastically.

Holy shit. I hadn’t seen the Governor at the party the other night, but I knew that he was just re-elected. Most of the men they were talking about were well connected and rich, with lives outside of the escorts, yet they were coming to see the women. Most of them had wives and children also, like Leonel and the Governor himself, and if they were involved in politics, most of their campaign slogans and ads were centered around their family.

Thinking about them living a double life made me lose my appetite. By day, they were respected members of society, and by night, they were paying loads of money sleeping with women who were brainwashed into thinking this was their only way to live, to survive. It was crazy to me that the men didn’t have to give up anything to be part of the Golden Hive, but the escorts had to give up their whole lives. It wasn’t fair.

“Did you sleep with the Governor too?” Sophia asked Luna, giggling.

“No, I turned him down because he wouldn’t buy me the Chanel bag I wanted,” Luna told the group.

I noticed Charlotte’s eyes glazing over, probably imagining one day owning an expensive bag too.

“What happens if an escort gets pregnant?” Alice suddenly asked from beside me.

I noticed that she wasn’t eating either. Alice didn’t look like most of the women. She seemed sort of disturbed by the way things were done around here. She was also new here and I wondered how she ended up in this situation.

Luna was the one to answer Alice’s question.

“Oh, pregnancies don’t happen that often. The men are usually very careful and that’s the reason we are all on birth control. They are very rare. When they do, it’s usually taken care of,” Luna explained. She waved her hand over like this wasn’t a big deal.

I fought the urge to puke up everything I ate.

Did she mean that some escorts were forced to get abortions? Just when I thought this place couldn’t get any sicker. Also, the way Luna answered the question bothered me. It sounded rehearsed.

“Ah, but there are a few lucky girls who get pregnant and marry their sponsor and live the rest of their lives with them. How amazing would that be? You just have to find a man who isn’t married already,” Sophia said matter-of-factly.

This made me think about Dante’s mom. What happened to her wasn’t some fairy tale like the girls thought it was. It made me so sad to think about how controlled these girls were. They had been made to think that this was their only option to live. The Golden Hive had made them think that they wanted this.

“I hope that I’m one of those lucky girls,” Charlotte noted, sighing.

I wanted to jump up and shake her—to tell her that she was so young and had so much to live for, and that she should be in college or striving to work for her dream job. Not being stuck here, taking notes on how to win some asshole's attention.

I wanted to say this to all the escorts. I wished I could just organize an escape and get these girls out of this awful place.

But of course, I couldn’t. I couldn’t blow my cover. I had to play the long game. I had to bide my time and collect information to take these motherfuckers down. I had to show these women that they didn’t have to live like this.

To do this, I needed Dante.

Thinking about him automatically made me think about my dream this morning. That could not happen. I had to focus on my mission. For these women sitting around me, for Dante’s mom, for Sara, and for the future women that The Golden Hive wanted to prey on.