Page 87 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming

He laughs softly. “I understand, and I’ll answer everything, I promise. Just one question at a time.”

“Right, sorry.”

“No apologies necessary.”

“Please start from the top,” Suchi requests.

“Okay, I was fresh out of grad school and working a low wage hourly job at a local department store that came with commissions. I worked in the outdoor dining section. We sold grills, smokers, backyard shade tents, that sort of thing. I was one of the best salesmen, thanks to my pop. As you know, he and his brothers are masters of grilling and smoking, so I knew everything when it came to selling them. I was swimming in commissions.”

“Yeah, it’s obvious that your dad and your uncle take barbecue very seriously, and you inherited that.”

“Pretty much.”

“If you were getting so many commissions, was the sex work to supplement your income?”

“It would have been if I hadn’t gotten fired.”

“Wait, what?”

“The general manager of our store only got his job because he was the brother of a senior VP. The senior VP insisted that his brother hire his son, the GM’s nephew. The nephew was a lazy piece of shit who everyone hated. He decided to make me his target. Didn’t like that I sold more merchandise than him.”

“I think I see where this is going.”

“Yep, he accused me of inflating my sales numbers. I was fired, and their sales in that department plummeted.”

“Good.” Suchi eats some more ice cream.

Kofi snickers. “Meanwhile, I went to a bank for a business loan, ready to work for myself. Turns out, banks are not big on giving money to unemployed people.”

Suchi giggles.

Kofi grins at her and continues, “I knew that if I didn’t do something quick, my dream would be deferred. I met up with a friend from work and lamented about my setbacks. He mentioned that my former supervisor Sylvia could help. She owned a house just outside of town, and she was using it as house of ill repute. She rationalized that as long as consenting adults were willing to spend money for sex, why shouldn’t she cash in on that? We split our earnings with her. She got thirty percent, and we kept the rest.”

“Did she set up clients for you?”

“Yeah, and in an interesting twist of fate, one of my first clients was the wife of the guy who got me fired.”

Suchi’s mouth is agape. “Shut up! That didn’t happen.”

“I’m not lying to you, baby.” Kofi smirks. “You want to know what else?”

“Do tell.”

“He was in the room when I fucked her.”

Suchi almost chokes on her ice cream. She laughs so hard her body shakes.

Kofi continues, “You should have seen the look on his face when in walks Zavier—that’s my middle name, and the name I used by the way—and it was me. And it’s not like he could ask for a different dude because his wife specifically chose me, and it’s not like he could tell anyone that he was paying for sex, especially for his wife. Turns out, he cheated, and she only agreed to take him back if she got a freebie.”

This makes Suchi laugh even harder. He joins her in laughter. Soon though, his laughter dies. Suchi looks up at him and sees the tears in his eyes.

“Kofi.” Suchi goes to him and takes his face in her hands, wiping away his tears with the pad of her thumbs.

He takes her wrist in his hands, holding hers in place. “I’m falling in love with you, Suchi. I know it’s too soon to say that,but I am. You told me that no man has ever responded to your intelligence and your mother’s mental health with warmth and kindness. Well, no woman has ever responded to former life like you have. I once had an ex refuse to let me touch her after I told her that I had male clients, too. She said the thought of being intimate with me disgusted her.”

“That’s awful. I’m so sorry you went through that.” She kisses him. He holds her tightly and kisses her back.

“Keep going. Tell me about some of your clients.”