You had had a... Rough life. Parents that weren't around, weren't worth being around. And that led to you being on your own when you turned 18. You couldn't find a job, had no money for an education... So you turned to selling your body. You hadn't been doing it long when you met him. Him. Nick.

Nick turned the darkness into light. He never treated you like some hooker, seemed just as nervous as you were deep down that first time. It endeared you to him immediately. And when he asked if he could book you again, If he could pay for another hour just to hold you... That's when you got hooked.

Things grew from there. You granted him certain privileges other clients simply wouldn't get no matter how much they paid just for free. Specifically kissing on the lips. You only ever let Nick do that. Because it felt like so much more.

From there, seeing each other twice a week turned into every night. He'd book you every night, pay for whole weekends where we could go out of town, somewhere where no one knew either of you and you could just... Be. Act like you were any other couple. And sure you got a few odd looks, but that was because of the age gap, and honestly it was more like they were impressed how Nick had scored you.

Weeks turned to months and then suddenly it had been over a year. 18 months. 18 months of hotel suites, of whispers against skin, of a love that was growing that had nothing to do with money, a lie you were both desperately clinging to, thinking you were doing it for the other.

It wasn't an easy decision, when you decided to leave. But when you realized how deeply you loved Nick... How bad you wanted to be his, not just behind a hotel door... Not just because he was paying for it... You couldn't make it work in your mind? How could he ever choose you, some barely legal escort. You knew he had a son a couple years older than you. And how would that look? How would he ever ask you to be his, truly his for life, the way you had started to want?

You never came up with an answer. So you left. He paid for his last session, kissed him goodbye like you always did. But you left, took the money you earned and went to a college in a town just half an hour away. No call. No note. You wrote a note but you couldn't leave it. Something just wouldn't let you.

Three years had past since you last saw Nick. And now you were happy again, truly happy, with Marcus.

It was an unusually warm day in October, almost certainly the last of its kind before the chill of Autumn fully set. You'd been with Marcus for almost a year now, a genuine kind of love that blossomed naturally. You had never met his dad as he always seemed swamped at work and you and Marcus were just focused on being in love. Marcus proposed last week and he wanted to tell his Dad in person and introduce you to him and how could you ever say no to Marcus?