“It was a date!”
“You’re reading too much into this,” Vanessa protested.
“And you drew her?!” Daisy continued, ignoring her objections. “You big softie! I didn’t know you were capable of being that cliché.”
“I still can’t believe you took her to that dingy restaurant,” Oliver said. “You’ve been obsessed with Angel for months. I thought you’d at least take her somewhere nice.”
“I have not been obsessed!” Vanessa snapped. “You know, I didn’t exactly plan this out! She’s the one that asked me to dinner, it was all very casual and last minute.”
“She what!?” Daisy shrieked. “You didn’t tell us she was the one that asked you out!”
“Honestly, I regret telling you people anything at all,” Vanessa lamented, pressing her palms over her eyes. “You’re just going to get my hopes up.” She already knew it was already too late for her hopes. They were sky high. Passed the sky actually, they had shot up into the stars and were cruising by the Andromeda galaxy.
It sounds like you already know, had been echoing in Vanessa’s head ever since the words left AJ’s mouth. She was in just as deep as Vanessa; she’d fallen just as hard. Vanessa had never believed in the idea of soulmates, how could she? She’d never been in a healthy relationship in her life. But being with AJ… it was like she’d found a piece of herself that she never knew was missing. She finally felt whole. She finally felt happy.
That sexy, intelligent, kind blonde woman wanted a future with her. Whenever Vanessa closed her eyes, she couldn’t help but picture a cozy cottage with a sprawling garden, and AJ baking sweets in their kitchen. Heaven. The idea was absolute heaven.
Vanessa had brought the drawing back to her apartment and took the time to painstakingly add colors and extra details. She had also purchased a frame and velvet bow to make it look more like a proper gift. AJ had been stunned speechless by it before, she couldn’t wait to see her reaction a second time.
Friday finally came. She decided to pack her art bag again, just in case. Last week they hadn’t participated in their usual activities due to their impromptu dinner date. AJ might want to spend the entire session making up for lost time, which was completely fine with Vanessa. Still, she needed to be prepared if her angel wanted to be drawn again.
This would be the last time AJ would pay for an evening with her. Vanessa had meant to have that conversation a week ago, but AJ had left the restaurant so abruptly it slipped her mind. She didn’t want their rendezvous to be in a brothel anymore. From now on they were going to have proper dates. AJ deserved to be wined and dined. Vanessa was going to court her properly.
Vanessa was jittering with excitement with 7pm rolled around. She was going to ask AJ out for the following evening. No slinking around Soho, she was ready to take her somewhere nice.
She stood in front of her vanity mirror practicing what she would say. Dearest AJ, you look beautiful tonight, not that you normally don’t. Always a stunner, you. Want to be a stunner out on the town with me? Never fear, I still promise to eat you out, we’d just eat dinner together first, ha ha ha. Holy hell that sounded pathetic.
Vanessa became anxious at 7:20pm. AJ was usually punctual, but it was possible something benign was holding her up. It could be traffic, or maybe some sort of appointment that ran over. Vanessa didn’t lose total hope until 8:45.
It’s nothing, Vanessa told herself. AJ had a life outside the brothel. It made sense she’d be busy sometimes. They’d catch up next week.
It wasn’t until AJ had missed their appointment for the third Friday in a row that Vanessa flew into a full blown panic. AJ was so proper and courteous, she would have at least sent her a note at this point, right? What if something horrible had happened to her? She could be sick, or in hospital and Vanessa would have no way of knowing. Shit shit shit.
Debra handled the payments and bookkeeping for the brothel. She was Vanessa’s best bet at getting help. “You have to give me her last name.”
“Ha!” Debra barked. “Do you think we really take down detailed contact info for customers? Anonymity is the whole point of this place.”
Vanessa dug her nails into her palms, feeling frantic. “I have to know that she’s alright!”
“No you don’t,” Debra countered. “You can’t go around harassing customers, so drop it. Boss will fire you if they hear you talking like this.”
“I’m not trying to harass her! She’s been coming here faithfully for almost three months, it wouldn’t make sense for her to drop off the face of the Earth!”
Debra shrugged. “Maybe she ran out of money. I’m sure you’re ready to reach retirement with how much she was paying you. I bet she’s skint by now.”
Ice formed in Vanessa’s gut. Noooooo, she thought. AJ would have to realize by now that it wasn’t about the money, right? But AJ was irrationally insecure.... What if she really thought Vanessa was only interested in her cash? Her heart shriveled at the idea. Vanessa had to find her. She had to straighten out any misconceptions AJ might have. She wasn’t going to risk losing the woman she loved over something so trivial, especially when she hadn’t even said ‘I love you’ yet!
Unfortunately, she didn’t even have a last name to go off of. That meant the phone book was out. What did she know about AJ that could help track her down?
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