Post by Robbie Hope on Nov 16, 2021 22:22:05 GMT -6
They stood side-by-side along the brick wall of the Viatnamese establishment, glowing under the overhead spotlights. The thumping of the trap music from inside reverberated, pulsing from the interior, and a few of the ladies of the night swayed with the music to command the attention. The excitement in the air was palpable as the well-dressed American boy Robbie Hope stood on the corner in a tailored Armarni fit. From the designer shoes that sparkled under the moonlight to the creased slacks that hid his heightened excitement to the form-fitting button-down that accentuated his sculpted torso, Robbie commanded the attention from the working girls who prophesied a fat wallet in the back pocket of the American tourist.
Robbie’s senses were heightened by the cocktail of party drugs he’d indulged earlier in the night, knowing that the double-bed in his hotel room invited a guest. He hoped and prayed that his body would cooperate, that the blood flowing through his veins wouldn’t hit the dam and that his anxiety wouldn’t materialize due to the unknown concoction he’d ingested. But he looked down the line, looking into the eyes of any girl who had the courage and the awareness to lock eyes with him.
One by one, they each did something unique to highlight themselves. One adjusted her brassiere, another angled her hips. One literally raised her skirt to reveal that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. The fact that Robbie scoped the entire line without finding a single lady that would make eye-contact suggested that every single one of them was under the influence. intoxicated.
One of them did make eye contact. Her disheveled, stringy colored hair hung below her shoulders. When she moved, the light overhead revealed the two-toned design; a metallic silver crashing against the sunny gold. Her skin was as pale as a ghost, her lips parsed and were a tained red. She was an athlete - he could tell - as the skin on her arms stretched tight over balls of muscle. Her upper body was slim, and toned. She reminded him of her.
“Come with me,” Robbie said, his expression changing. His own intoxication drained from his body as he hooked his arm in her elbow, and he noticed her looking back at the line of working girls with apprehension. But he walked with urgency, pulling her into a darkened corner, placing his hands on her shoulders and staring deep into her eyes. He could see the fear in hers.
“What will it cost?” Robbie said, digging into his back pocket.
“Here?” she asked incredulously, before running her hands down towards his belt buckle.
“No,” Robbie said, grabbing her wrist and pinning it to her small chest. “How much for you to go home for the night?”
“With you?”
“No!” Robbie said forcefully, and she closed her eyes, expecting a strike that never came. “I don’t want you out here. You don’t belong out here.”
“...you don’t know anything about me,” she said quietly.
“I can see it in your eyes,” Robbie said, brushing her golden hair out of her face. “I see her in your eyes.”
“What are you ta--”
“I just want you to go home. Off the streets. Can you do that for me?”
The girl went silent. A single tear formed under her right eye and Robbie rubbed his thumb along to soak it up. He placed his hands around her cheeks.
“I don’t even know you,” she said.
“I don’t care,” Robbie said. He pulled out the bills from his wallet. “Here. Take it all. Promise me you won’t be out here anymore.”
The girl grabbed the money apprehensively before shoving it in her purse.
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“But you’ll still take my money?”
“What, are you going to beat me for it?” she challenged. She removed her purse from her shoulder and shoved it in his chest, before shuttering her eyes, bracing for the impact. “It’s not like I’m not used to it.”
Robbie wrapped his fingers around her skin, her fists pressed against his chest, and he moved them back down to her sides.
“I’m trusting that you’ll make the right decision.”
Robbie turned to walk away, leaving her in the darkened alley.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then the cycle continues,” Robbie said, never turning to face her. He begins to walk off before she stops him again.
“I don’t deserve this,” she said, her voice cracking. “I make everyone’s lives harder than they need to be. Take your fucking money.”
She tossed the wad of bills in the air, watching them flutter to the piss-covered tar.
But Robbie disappeared around the corner.
Robbie’s senses were heightened by the cocktail of party drugs he’d indulged earlier in the night, knowing that the double-bed in his hotel room invited a guest. He hoped and prayed that his body would cooperate, that the blood flowing through his veins wouldn’t hit the dam and that his anxiety wouldn’t materialize due to the unknown concoction he’d ingested. But he looked down the line, looking into the eyes of any girl who had the courage and the awareness to lock eyes with him.
One by one, they each did something unique to highlight themselves. One adjusted her brassiere, another angled her hips. One literally raised her skirt to reveal that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. The fact that Robbie scoped the entire line without finding a single lady that would make eye-contact suggested that every single one of them was under the influence. intoxicated.
One of them did make eye contact. Her disheveled, stringy colored hair hung below her shoulders. When she moved, the light overhead revealed the two-toned design; a metallic silver crashing against the sunny gold. Her skin was as pale as a ghost, her lips parsed and were a tained red. She was an athlete - he could tell - as the skin on her arms stretched tight over balls of muscle. Her upper body was slim, and toned. She reminded him of her.
“Come with me,” Robbie said, his expression changing. His own intoxication drained from his body as he hooked his arm in her elbow, and he noticed her looking back at the line of working girls with apprehension. But he walked with urgency, pulling her into a darkened corner, placing his hands on her shoulders and staring deep into her eyes. He could see the fear in hers.
“What will it cost?” Robbie said, digging into his back pocket.
“Here?” she asked incredulously, before running her hands down towards his belt buckle.
“No,” Robbie said, grabbing her wrist and pinning it to her small chest. “How much for you to go home for the night?”
“With you?”
“No!” Robbie said forcefully, and she closed her eyes, expecting a strike that never came. “I don’t want you out here. You don’t belong out here.”
“...you don’t know anything about me,” she said quietly.
“I can see it in your eyes,” Robbie said, brushing her golden hair out of her face. “I see her in your eyes.”
“What are you ta--”
“I just want you to go home. Off the streets. Can you do that for me?”
The girl went silent. A single tear formed under her right eye and Robbie rubbed his thumb along to soak it up. He placed his hands around her cheeks.
“I don’t even know you,” she said.
“I don’t care,” Robbie said. He pulled out the bills from his wallet. “Here. Take it all. Promise me you won’t be out here anymore.”
The girl grabbed the money apprehensively before shoving it in her purse.
“I don’t know if I can do that.”
“But you’ll still take my money?”
“What, are you going to beat me for it?” she challenged. She removed her purse from her shoulder and shoved it in his chest, before shuttering her eyes, bracing for the impact. “It’s not like I’m not used to it.”
Robbie wrapped his fingers around her skin, her fists pressed against his chest, and he moved them back down to her sides.
“I’m trusting that you’ll make the right decision.”
Robbie turned to walk away, leaving her in the darkened alley.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then the cycle continues,” Robbie said, never turning to face her. He begins to walk off before she stops him again.
“I don’t deserve this,” she said, her voice cracking. “I make everyone’s lives harder than they need to be. Take your fucking money.”
She tossed the wad of bills in the air, watching them flutter to the piss-covered tar.
But Robbie disappeared around the corner.