My Vocation

“You’re a what??!!” Marie almost shouts as we enjoy our drinks at a private booth over at The Cloudy Hang-Up. It’s one of the few places in the city where we can enjoy alcoholic beverages whilst partaking of our shared need to vape. As both previous smokers, we were both happy to stop the habit albeit replace it with a new one that does not dry up our lungs and give us lung cancer. Now that a nationwide ordinance has been passed prohibiting smoking and vaping in public places, we find ourselves spending more time here with either a beer or a cup of coffee at our fingertips. Either way, we get to vape to our heart’s content and let out some steam at the same time. We could easily spend the entire day here either chatting or reading books in one of the cubicles. The price of drinks are high of course but we don’t mind.

Marie’s been under my employ for two years now at Green Leaf Publishing. She’s one of my best copywriters and editors. She’s 5’4” with a full figure and at 34 years old, she could pass off as a 25 year old. Her hair is as black as the night sky and flows down to her waist. Her eyes are a deep brown and her smile is well worth seeing as it can brighten anyone’s day including mine. I saw her vaping in the office once and due to government policies and all, I had to reprimand her. After which, I invited her to my office where I told her she could vape as much as she wants during her break time as I do almost the entire day. Now I find myself drawn to her like a moth to a flame. We’ve been on several dates but all were Platonic and never led to anything more than a hug and a peck on the cheek goodnight. I haven’t made any moves to show any interests in pursuing a more romantic relationship, at least not until I’ve told her everything.

“I said, I’m a Gigolo.” I say with a straight face.

Marie looks at me with a face that’s about to burst in laughter. “You’re kidding right?”

I look at her intently. “Marie, you know I crack jokes every now and then. But this isn’t one of those times.”

She stares at me wide eyed and aghast. She pulls up her mod and puts 10 drops of her favorite juice, Butterscotch from Pluto Dripz and takes a long drag. The cloud smells nice. It reminds me of pies I buy for my mom from our favorite bakery. She sits back and looks at the ceiling, avoiding my eyes for a full minute. Finally she puts her mod down and asks. “Who else knows?”

“You remember Marty, John, and Steve? My old friends from college you met when you applied for the job and at my birthday?” she nods. “They know. They ask me for tips and advice with their respective wives and girlfriends. Then there’s also Eddie, Mason, and Kyle.”

“Shit! They know!??” Marie yells in amazement.

“Yes, they’ve been with me for 6 years. They’re my very first employees. I let it slip one drunken night about five years ago.”

“Did you tell them you’d fire them if they tell anyone?” Marie asks. “No, of course not. I just asked them nicely.” I smile. “But yeah, I did mention something about unemployment. Haha!!”

Maries laughs with me and takes another drag. I do the same and the clouds hover over us for a while. Finally, she puts her mod down on the table and takes a sip of her beer. “Care to tell me more?”

“It all started in college when I accompanied a friend to a male strip joint where he works part time. He said he needed a ride and I was still using my dad’s old Honda Civic. When we got there he said I could drink for free and so I did. I watched the show and saw some guys strip to their undies while sitting at the bar holding on to a beer. After a while, this woman walks on over and asks if I can have a drink with her. I tell her I don’t work here but she insisted. She was in her forties and looked quite plain. I’m thinking a housewife of some sort. So we talk for like an hour and a half and before she leaves, she hands me 150 dollars. I try to refuse but she puts the money in my pocket anyway. I felt her touch my crotch a bit. She then writes her phone number on a napkin and holds it out to me. Just in case I needed some more money she tells me. A week later, I text her and she asks if I can come on over to her house while her husband is away. I came on over and we talked for hours about her children, her friends, her husband who is always out of the country. She asks me about my studies which as you know is -Bachelor of the Arts Major in Historical Studies-. She seemed fascinated as I told her about the middle ages, the Hundred Year War, and the rise and fall of religions all over the world. We had a good time overall. After the talk, we did it. And for your sake, I’m not gonna expound too much, but by the time we were done, she couldn’t stand up and just lay in bed smiling till the sun came up. I left her house with a thousand dollars that day. Enough for another two months to stay in campus without having to work at the Cheeseburger Factory. I went back to her place 3 more times in the space of 3 months. That was until she left the country to settle in England when her husband who finally decided to take early retirement. We email from time to time and she’s still very happy from the looks of it. Her kids are all married now and living awesome lives in New York and Florida.”

“So that was your first client?” Marie asks.

“Yes.” I reply. “You could say she started me down this path and with her help, I was able to build a better life for myself including this company where you work for now.”

“Do you mean to say, that this was paid for by your ‘gigoloing’?”.

I laugh at the word she uses. “No of course not, but the money does help. I still worked a nine to five job after college as a junior copywriter at another company but things started getting a little more interesting.”

“How so?” Marie asks.

“Well after my first client, who by the way the name of I will not reveal, I started getting texts and calls from a friend of hers who cajoled her to give her my number. I of course accepted and it sort of blew up after that. She told her friend and that friend told another and so on and so forth. You can say I have a very limited client base since I never advertise and is spread through word of mouth only in a semi secretive fashion. I’ve never once told any of the women I’ve been with to keep it a secret though. They are in some ways secretive as you know since hiring a gigolo is still frowned upon these days. It’s still taboo even when compared to prostitution which is as you know dominated by women providing their services for men. I will tell you this though. Women are much more complex than men.”

“Really?” Marie asks. “Why do you say that?”

I smile once again and take a sip from my beer and a drag out of my mod. “To put it delicately, with men, they’re easily satisfied because most of them are only looking for sex. The mere act of ejaculation is enough. Afterwards, they’re pretty content with just lying down on the bed whilst their girlfriends or wives are left behind, unhappy and wishing there was more.”

Marie looks down at the table and fiddles at the buttons of her mod. “You do have a point.” She finally says to me. “It has happened several times with all my exes.” She mentions as she finishes off her beer.

“I’ll get us some more.” I say as I get up and buy two more beers from the bar. I hand her a another beer.

She thanks me and and then asks. “These women you’ve been with, you’ve managed to satisfy each and every one of them?”

I smile again. “I’ve never had any complaints and each time I leave they’ve always had nice things to say like ‘I wish I wasn’t married’ or ‘why can’t I just have you?’. I’ve been with all my clients at least two or three times. One of whom bought me the car I now drive, another owns the building where I set up the company, and one who flew me all the way to Australia for a week long vacation. So, you tell me, would a woman who was unhappy with my companionship go to great lengths if she was unhappy with my services?”

Marie looks at me again wide eyed and shocked. “Wait, that trip to Sydney was three months ago right? You said it was with a client of yours!”

“Yes I did, and I didn’t lie. It was with a client though not from Green Leaf Publishing.” I say with a sly grin.

“Wow!” Marie exclaims. We sit in silence for about two minutes whilst breathing in each other’s clouds. The thick fog smells nice as butterscotch is mixed with peaches and cream above our heads. She breaks the silence and asks. “How do you make your clients happy?”

“I’ve only ever done 2 things for the women I’ve been with. I listen and put their interests first. You should know that it’s not about sex for most of my clients. It’s really companionship they want and the intimacy that comes with sharing experiences through conversations and activities. Physical contact is secondary and the sex is cherry on the icing so to speak. It’s like putting an exclamation point after a rousing speech or a declaration of something wonderful. I daresay that after the first three years of having this vocation, I have become an expert on how to make women happy. I listen to their stories and only give advice if asked. I make it a point to never get in their way or make them feel awkward even if this ‘thing’ between us is inappropriate to the rest of society. I have loved women and I still love them as they are all unique and beautiful. I have learned a lot from being with them and have learned more because of them. I have expanded my horizons and have been exposed to new cultures, habits, ways of life, and most importantly the ability to learn what makes them happy.”

“What are some of the things you learned?” Marie interjects with a puff.

“Besides the fact that you can change a woman’s perceptions by just making them smile? A lot.” I say.

“Like????” Marie insists.

“I’ve learned to ski, snowboard, rock climb, free dive, ride a motorcycle speak German and French, and even archery. I’ve sky dived, bungee jumped, ridden horses, and gone camping. I’ve learned how to appreciate art and I’ve also started reading Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, and Aristotle. In many ways, being with my clients have expanded my horizons further than I could ever do if I had a nine to five job.”

Marie looks at me with amazement once again. I meet her stare and she smiles this time. The smile was a little forced though and unsure. Finally, she asks “Why are you telling me all this?”

I look at her once again taking in her beautiful face and those lovely brown eyes. “I thought I should tell you what my biggest secret was before I ask you out on a proper date.” I look down at the table as I say this. After a few moments, I look at her again but her face is obscured by the clouds of vape she’s puffing.