Eric, too, thought it would be a waste not to drink. “Oh, yeah? Then pour me a full one, and I’ll stop when I’m near death!”
The corner of Jackson’s lips curled. Despite being surrounded by women doing their best, his eyes reflected a sober mind. “Hey, no dying, please. Don’t make me lug your corpse around.”
Eric drank in one finish and placed it down with a look of one not yet satisfied. “I haven’t had alcohol for so long; Lord knows how good it feels! Don’t fret, Jackson, I won’t fall dead. I ate something on my way here, so it’s gotta help mitigate some of this beer. What’s more interesting is you, though! Suddenly struck by the mood to go out and play, are we? And here I thought you were content to be a good boy who doesn’t swing around now.”
Jackson said nothing, but the smile on his lips faded.
A voluptuous woman with a face that might have undergone a fair bit too much plastic surgery suddenly rose with her phone in hand. “Mr. West, I’ve brought one of my friends for the night! She’s very new to the scene — no, I should say she’s practically untouched. She’s just arrived and is now asking if she could come in and say hi. Curious?”
Jackson gave her a side-eye and nodded.
The implicit meaning was not lost on him. The women surrounding him were, in the day, either minor celebrities less bankable than D-listers or glamor models. The only thing that drove them was money. It was not all surprising that these women would tout a new girl to him, and neither did he have any reason to say no.
A few moments later, the woman brought her little friend back to the room. Just as the woman described, she was an innocent young bird who could not possibly have frequented such an establishment. Her movement was a little rough and forced, while the jitteriness in her eyes clashed strongly against the striking makeup painted on her face. Despite all that, Jackson could see that she was naturally curvaceous and rather beautiful.
The woman shoved the girl to the space beside Jackson. “This is Sasha. Girl just turned sweet eighteen! And she’s still in college.”
Sasha tugged on her dress nervously. “P-Pleased to meet you, Sir…”
Jackson chuckled. “C’mon, this ain’t college, and I’m not your lecturer. Relax with the greeting, will you?”
“Call it off? You’re f**king telling me you wanna call it off?!” The woman raised her voice, a little vexed. “Then why the f**k did you beg? Look, Mr. West doesn’t bite, and all you have to do is to have him put on that tiny little sh*t I gave you. You can’t turn back no more, little girl; we’re all slaves to money and we’re not getting out of this system. Now go back out there and give him a good time!”
Sasha closed her grip around her pocket, where a tiny pack of condom hid. Even now, she could not believe that she would one day find herself in a place like this, with something like that in her hand.
The group only partied till eleven. Eric had gone straight back home, while Jackson brought Sasha to the hotel above the bar.
After a few drinks, Sasha had lost much of her initial sheepishness. Mustering enough courage, she helped Jackson out of his clothes just as Desdemona had taught her.
Jackson had gotten a little tipsy from the night, but he was far from completely losing his senses. While he considered the stranger working her way up his body, he found himself perfectly unaroused. “So, you’re here for the money, too?”
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