Drew felt uncomfortable in his black suit. He rocked a suit to perfection. He knew that from all the heads that turned to look at him and all the women trying to hold back their drool. He just didn't like wearing a suit. He was more of a jeans and t-shirt man. Casual looking. Staying in on the couch, cuddling with a woman. Although these days he only cuddled with a pillow.

"Champagne?" A waitress asked.

He shook his head no. He wasn't gonna drink when he needed to be able to drive home. He didn't like events like this but sometimes it was called for in his line of work. If Vince demanded them to attend an event, they couldn't say no. That was why he was here at an afterparty after an award show, wearing this godawful suit that he couldn't wait to get out of.

He walked down to the corner where a bar had been set up. He ordered a glass of orange soda. He was handed the drink a few seconds later. He brought it to his lips and took a sip while slowly turning towards the party again. He almost choked when his eyes landed on Chanterelle.

He hadn't seen her in three months but she was still as beautiful as he remembered. Her hair had been curled in big, soft curls. The front of her hair was pulled back with a hair clip while the curls hang down her back that was on full display in that eggplant colored dress. A long dress with thin straps, a low back, a waterfall neckline and a thin gold chain around the waist that he couldn't tell if it was part of the dress or some sort of weird belt she had chosen to put with the dress. Either way, she looked beautiful.

She was smiling as she accepted a glass of champagne from the waitress. Clearly she wasn't driving. She never was. Her clients would always drive her around. He knew that first hand. She took a sip and looked around. Her eyes landed on him and her smile fell. It felt like a hand reached through his chest and squeezed his heart tight when he saw that. He was the reason she stopped smiling in that moment.

He placed his glass of orange soda back on the counter and walked towards her. He knew he shouldn't. If she was there at a fancy party, she was there with a client. He had no right to interfere with her work but he couldn't stop himself. He had sworn to stay away from her, but how could he when she walked right back into his life?

"Chanterelle," he said.
"Hi, Drew," she said.
"You look absolutely beautiful tonight," he said.
"Thank you," she said.
"Who are you here with?" He asked.

He knew he had no right to ask that but he needed to know. He needed to know it wasn't someone from his work. As far as he knew, only Jinder used the agency, and Jinder wasn't here tonight. In the end it didn't really matter who she was with. It would hurt either way.

"Jey," she answered.
"Jey? Jey who?" He asked.

She let out a sigh and her eyes turned sad. He knew the answer before she told him.

"Jey Uso," she answered.

He wanted to explode in a mix of rage and pain. Not on her but on Jey and every other man out there who had ever had her. Instead he managed to keep it all within.

"I didn't know you started seeing him," he said.
"It's the first time," she said. "He said someone from work recommended the agency."
"It sure as hell wasn't me!" He growled.
"I know. It was Jinder. Jey told me. You know I like honesty with my clients," she said.

She drummed her index finger on her glass of champagne. Clearly she was waiting for him to say something but he didn't know what.

"Honesty, Drew," she said. "Do you think you could be honest with me tonight? Last time I saw you, you lied to me."
"I did what I had to do," he said.

She nodded, emptied her glass of champagne, and put the empty glass on a table.

"Goodbye, Drew," she said.
"No, wait," he said.
"You did what you had to do for whatever reasons that you might have had. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta do what I have to do. And I have a client to attend to," she said.

He stood there in the middle of the room, watching her cross the floor in that beautiful eggplant colored dress. She walked to the door and disappeared outside. The second she was gone, he sprinted after her. He couldn't let her go. Not again. Not one day had gone by where he hadn't thought about her. He ran outside and was happy to see no one else was around. He ran to her and grabbed her.

"Look, what I did," he said.
"You lied to me!" She snarled. "I know I'm nothing but a fucking whore to most of you guys but I thought you were different. You always treated me with respect. Like I fucking mattered! And all this time I was nothing but a hole for you to fill up whenever you couldn't be bothered finding a real woman. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?"

Her words cut deeply. Not because of her accusations, but because she called herself a whore. He never saw her like that. Even though he put down money to be with her, he saw her as so much more. Her arm slid out of his hand, and she started walking again. She didn't take many steps before he grabbed her again and spun her back around to face him.

"No, listen!" He said determined. "I had to let you go because it was the right thing to do. Because I broke the rules."
"You didn't break the rules," she said.
"I fell in love with you," he said. "I wasn't gonna tell you. I thought I could stay in this fantasy world with you where I could pretend you were my girlfriend. And then you told me you hated this line of work. That you hated men like me paying for you. And I couldn't do it anymore. I just couldn't fucking do it. Because I was part of the problem, and you were never gonna love me back."
"But I did," she said. "I do."

Those words he had craved to hear but never thought would come out of her mouth. He didn't know how to react. This couldn't be real. He had to be dreaming or be hearing things. His silence made her continue.

"Why do you think I told you you were my favorite? Or why I kept giving you discounts. I took away my share for that weekend because I wanted to be with you. What you paid went to the agency," she said.
"They take 10 grand while you only get 5? That's not fair," he said.
"It's still 5 grand. It's a lot of money. And they pay for transport and items when I need it for a client," she said.
"That's not fucking fair!" He gritted his teeth. "You're doing all the work. You should get the biggest share. You should..."

He grabbed her face and kissed her. Even if she pushed him away, he had to. Just one more time. He had missed her lips. He had missed everything about her.

"You shouldn't be out there doing this work. Not when you hate it. You should be with me," he said.
"I knocked on the wrong door," she said.

His mind wandered back to that conversation they had the last night together. About beautiful people having doors open to them, and how they sometimes knocked on the wrong door.

"So close it," he said.
"I was young and stupid. I needed money. She made it sound so easy. Be with a rich man and get rich yourself. Try it one time. Just for an evening. If you don't like it, you can always leave. But it's a lie. You get sucked in. Soon years have passed and you have nothing to put on a job application. Who's gonna hire you if you write you've been a whore for the last 10, 5 or just 2 years? So you keep going, and the years keep getting more and more. You put money aside for the day where you're no longer beautiful enough to be booked by anyone," she said.

He stroked her cheek and smiled at her.

"You'll always be beautiful to me," he said.
"Women like me don't get men like you. This isn't a remake of Pretty Woman," she said.
"I knocked on your door, and you let me in. I know I walked out on my own but let me back in. Let me stay for good. Let me be the final man you're ever gonna be with," he said.
"Really? You wanna be with a prostitute?" She asked.
"I wanna be with the most beautiful woman in the world," he smirked. "And I'm looking right at her."

She smiled at him. That beautiful smile he had missed so much.

"But Jey," she started.

She didn't get a chance to finish that sentence. The sound of someone puking reached them. They walked around the house and found Jey of all people throwing up in a bush.

"Drew? Chanterelle?" Jey looked confused. "I can still go. I can still..."

Jey fell into Drew's arms and started snoring. He was out like a light.

"You can still go home," Drew chuckled. "Do you know where he lives?"
"We met at his hotel," Chanterelle said.
"Okay, let me see," he said.

He went through Jey's pockets and found a key card.

"Let's get him back to his hotel," he said.

Jey slept through it all. Drew drove to the hotel and carried Jey all the way to his room. He got the drunk man down on the bed and then looked at Chanterelle.

"How long did he book you for?" He asked.
"Just for tonight. I wasn't supposed to stay the night," she said.
"Good, then he can't complain. You were here. You did your job. He chose to get drunk and pass out. No refunds. He knew the rules," he said.

They left the hotel and went back to his car. He drove to his home that she already knew. She had been there many times. She had even been inside and spent a lot of evenings and nights in there. This time it was different. She was either gonna walk inside with him and stay for good, or she was gonna walk down the driveway and out of his life. Never to return.

"Where do we go from here?" She asked.
"I don't know," he answered. "Where do you wanna go?"
"I'm 33 years old and all I've done since I was 19 is to play roles and spread my legs for people," she said.
"Did you ever play a role with me?" He asked.
"I was going to," she sighed. "I was gonna be whatever you wanted when I left my apartment that day. And then I met you. I couldn't play a role with you. With everyone around us when we were out together, yes, I played the role of your business partner. But what you saw was always me. And my name is Chanterelle. I know you've been wondering. Everyone always does. It's a weird name, I know."

He smiled at her through the darkness inside his car. She smiled right back at him. A warm smile. Her eyes lit up as always. So much life and love inside them. It was in that moment he realized that no one ever saw her eyes sparkle like that. No one but him.

"Walk to my door with me. Walk inside my house with me," he said.
"And then what?" She asked.
"And then stay. As my girlfriend. Leave your job. Find something else. Go back to school. Whatever you want, I'll support you until you find what you want to do," he said.

She leaned over and kissed him. He knew that was a yes. She didn't need to say the word.

"The shelter is looking for someone," she said.
"Apply for it," he said.
"What if they say no?" She asked.
"Say no to you? Who in their right mind would do that?" He smirked. "And if they do, I'll buy the god damn shelter and hire you myself."

She let out a laugh. The beautiful sound of her laughter only made him smile even more.

"You do know that if I get that job, one day you'll come home from the road and realize you suddenly have 7 dogs," she joked.
"Then I'll have 7 dogs," he pecked her lips. "And you. I'll have you. You're all I want."
"Guess I'm knocking on your door then," she chuckled.
"I'm gonna lock that thing behind you so that you'll never leave again," he said. "Okay, that sounded creepy. I didn't mean it like that."

She kissed him to shut him up. Without another word, they got out of his car. They met in front of the car. He took her hand and they both stared up at his house. She squeezed his hand to tell him she was ready. As they were walking towards his front door, he knew he finally had her. She was finally his for real.

His fantasy. His dream. His woman. His beautiful Chanterelle.