Read the book: «Messy love»

Font:

ISBN 978-5-0064-4195-8

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

PROLOGUE

– Tell me, why did you become a whore? – Harry asked, breathing deeply, leaning back on the sheets as soon as he reached the finish line.

– Does someone need a reason for becoming a whore? – Carla asked, lighting a cigarette.

– Every choice has a reason.

– Well, I don’t know. Is it so important?

– I’m just curious.

– Let’s say, it’s so convenient for me to meet people – Carla answered without thinking too much. – I like to study new people, and sex allows me to get to know a person the best, because it is the closest connection of all.

– But this is not the first time this has happened to us. This means that once is not enough. Or are you just crazy about me?

– Who said? Maybe you are like a riddle to me, covered in mystery, and to get to know you better, I need forty nights.

Portraying a satisfied smile, Harry said, running his finger along Carla’s bare, sweaty thigh:

– No, no. You’re just insatiable, admit it.

– One thing I can say for sure is that a quick shooter like you certainly won’t be able to satisfy a woman.

1. CARLA GERRARDI

The autumn streets of the city did not dry out from the rains for the second week. During business hours the roads seemed empty. On an ordinary weekday morning, her tall, slender legs walked smoothly along the damp sidewalk. On lush lips, a lipstick called «wild cherry» brought out its shine. A short black skirt enveloped her legs at the level of her buttocks, exposing everything else for a stunning effect on every man she met. So this time, a group of teenagers passing by burst out whistling, conveying delight at the beauty and sex appeal of the convex buttocks, for which Carla thanked the boys. She always appreciated such compliments addressed to her, because it was the main indicator that she went to work today absolutely prepared and did not forget anything.

Soon Carla parked her high heels on the sidewalk under the overpass where she met Georgina.

Georgina was thirty years old, two years older than Carla. She wore shoulder-length red hair and a leather coat that was constantly unbuttoned so that she could expose a red blouse with a deep neckline and protruding cans of three liters each. As usual, she was also wearing fishnet tights and over-the-knee boots. But Georgina considered her trademark artfully extended nails, coated with tiger-colored varnish. By this she tried to hint that she scratched the backs of her clients not because she wanted to, but because the tigress cannot behave differently in bed.

– Hello – said Carla.

– Salute – Georgina responded with a smile, delighted to meet her. – Well, how is it?

Without thinking for a long time, Carla answered:

– Yesterday was crap, and today is bullshit. You? How was yesterday?

Georgina took a deep breath. She answered, not without difficulty:

– My whole ass hurts.

– What, did the client spank so hard? – Carla asked sympathetically.

– It would be better if he spanked. This pervert took off his belt and started whipping me.

– Why didn’t you stop him? – Carla was perplexed.

– Because the triple fee stopped me.

– Darling, you make your living from this place. And if your body loses its marketable appearance, customers will stop paying even half the price.

Carla took out a pack of cigarettes and handed it to Georgina. Holding up the lighter, she asked:

– So maybe you shouldn’t have gone out today? Especially if you earned triple the rate yesterday.

– To be honest, I also thought… Oh! You dyed your hair.

Taking a puff of tobacco smoke through the filter, Carla nodded.

Georgina touched Carla’s hair, began fiddling with it and said:

– Interesting color. What is it called?

– «Gothic brunette».

– I like it. Where did you dye?

– In Bruno’s salon.

– Do you think it will suit me?

Blowing smoke through her lush lips, Carla answered, narrowing her eyes slightly:

– To be honest, you dye so often, but every time you choose a shade of red. So, I don’t know… it’s hard for me to imagine you with black hair.

– You’re probably right. I’m a tigress, not a panther.

Carla smiled widely, revealing snow-white, even teeth that made her smile look like a model.

– Okay, I’ll go. If you’re not busy, drop by in the evening, we’ll sit, drink some tea, watch a movie.

– Of course, I’ll drop by. Moreover, my ass is unlikely to endure until the end of the working day.

Carla smiled once again, and then moved on. She was heading to one of those bars that was frequented by locals from all over the block.

As soon as the cigarette was only half smoked, a green Chevrolet pulled up next to Carla, moving level with her. Puerto Rican Benny, a local huckster, appeared from the front passenger window. Benny’s trade items included spent pistols, synthetic drugs and alcohol contraband. His younger brother, Renato, was driving.

– Hello, beauty – Benny exclaimed, sticking his hands out.

– Hey – Carla responded indifferently.

– What’s up?

– No incidents so far.

– Where are you going?

– To the northwest.

Benny was desperately coming up with new questions in an attempt to continue some semblance of a conversation.

– And what’s in the northwest?

Carla reluctantly examined Benny’s face and just as reluctantly answered:

– Civilization.

– Um… – Benny began, waving a fan of bills in one hand – I was thinking, maybe…

Carla interrupted him sharply:

– How much do I need to say, I don’t give myself to everyone who wants to dive into me?

In an outrageous tone, Benny asked:

– And what is wrong? I can pay double the price.

– That’s the point. People like you think that everything in this world can be bought and everything has its own price. You do not pay attention to how time changes and live every new day in capitalism.

– And this comes from the one who sells her body several times a night.

– Yes, I am for sale, but not to everyone.

– And who are you selling yourself to then, the prince on a white horse? – Benny said sardonically, glancing at Renato, after which he added at the top of his voice through laughter: – Or to the horse?

– And why not? I like it when it’s deeper and tougher.

– So maybe you can show me the «Mariana Trench» in your womb?

Carla stopped, slowly walked up to the car, leaned her elbows on the window, erotically blew tobacco smoke into Benny’s face and slowly said:

– I’m afraid my crevice will be too big for your dwarf.

A grimace of indignation immediately appeared on Benny’s face. Before leaving, he called Carla a representative of the profession to which she, in fact, belonged.

Literally ten meters later she put out her cigarette and entered the establishment. Above the entrance there was a sign with the inscription «COCA-ALCO-COLA», and just below the advertising slogan «we are drunk as hell 24 hours a day». Carla came to the bar every three or four days. She drank alcohol in small quantities and did not look for clients here. But this particular bar was a place where she could often meet someone among her friends and acquaintances.

It was calm here this morning. As always, at this time there were no more than a dozen visitors here. Inside there were four pool tables, ten tables with soft semicircular sofas and ten with chairs, a bar counter, a TV and two Mexican cabinets as bouncers – Guillermo and Ernesto. The owner of the establishment was named Raul. He was one of two bartenders. Raul usually started his shift at six in the evening and gave way to his partner at six in the morning. Therefore, during the daytime, drinks were poured by a thirty-two-year-old German named Mats. Carla knew the owner of the bar, but she visited the establishment mostly during daylight hours, which is why she saw Mats more often, and besides, in the absence of a large influx of visitors, they often managed to have a calm, friendly conversation. Soon, after several years of acquaintance, Mats stopped perceiving Carla as an ordinary visitor. He was one of those friends that Carla could find here any time from six to six.

– Good morning, Mats.

– Ah – said Mats, spreading his arms. – Carlita. It’s always good with you.

– Even like that? – Carla responded with a smile.

– Even like that. When you’re here, I don’t need any sun outside. With your arrival, everything here is illuminated with light. What can I please you with today? – Mats asked, wiping the bar counter.

– Probably coffee and two sugars.

She immediately reached into her purse for her wallet. Mats stopped her:

– No, no. This is at the expense of the establishment.

– No. What you…

– We received a small bonus from the supplier: one pack of coffee, tea, cocoa and hot chocolate. And since you are not a stranger here, it’s free for you.

«How lucky I have been since the very morning,» Carla said contentedly, and after a couple of seconds she added: «What about the bartender’s services?»

– Is there a bartender around here somewhere?

– OK. I got it – Carla said in a cheerful voice.

– How is it going?

– If I’m healthy, then I don’t need anything else.

– This is what I call unsinkable optimism – Mats said with a smile.

– How is it on your front?

Mats leaned against the counter, took a deep breath and answered with a faded intonation:

– In any case, my mental health is not at all good.

– Why? – Carla asked, puzzled, lowering her eyebrows.

– Raul wants to make a rearrangement and install poles.

With her eyes slightly bulging, Carla didn’t believe what she said:

– Wait. He’s not going to hire strippers, is he?

– Yes. This is exactly what he wants. He has been looking for dancers for two weeks now.

– And how many?

– Four poles.

Carla’s lips curled into a tube. It was difficult for her to imagine a striptease bar in the place of the establishment she knew well.

– Wait a minute. Why are you so upset? Don’t you want to work and look at half-naked women’s bodies? – Carla asked, laughing slightly.

Mats placed a saucer with a cup of coffee on the bar counter. Among other things, having meticulously studied Carla’s habits over the entire time, Mats immediately placed an ashtray in front of her, knowing that she likes to inhale tobacco along with coffee.

Having served his friend, Mats folded his hands, leaned lightly on the edge of the counter and replied:

– Beauty, I’m not a fag. But I also don’t want to have unnecessary problems with excited clients. Now it’s quiet and peaceful here. No fight. Even in the late afternoon, when everyone starts drinking at full speed, it’s relatively civilized here. But a striptease will appear and this place will cease to be calm. The bouncers will have a job, and I will have to listen to clients shouting things like «flash your boobs» or «sit on my face» to the strippers. New clients will come here. This means more profit. Raul is striving for this, but I am not interested in this. I like my job. But with such changes, chaos here is inevitable, and what I earned is what I will earn.

Gently touching Mats’s palm, Carla carefully encouraged:

– Come on. Don’t worry so much. But it will be fun. What’s the point of working in an entertainment establishment without an audience? Well, yes, the perverts will come running. But you shouldn’t stress about it. Let the bouncers get tense. Because order and safety are their concern – Carla concluded, lighting a cigarette.

– I don’t know – Mats said somehow hesitantly. – Maybe it will be so. In any case, until you try, you won’t understand how everything will really turn out.

– Believe me, you will admire the magnificent forms.

Mats went into the storage room, and a few seconds later returned with a box of bottles of various contents. Having placed everything under the counter, he turned to Carla with a very delicate question:

– Listen, Carla. Can I ask you?

– Certainly. I’m listening to.

She finished her coffee and only had a cigarette left.

Overcoming a feeling of embarrassment, Mats nevertheless began:

– In general, I left that hairdresser three months ago. Long story short, I haven’t had a woman since then. I… I wanted to ask if you could…

– Oh… – Carla said, confused. She needed a long pause to collect her thoughts and answer something intelligible. – Listen, Mats. We’ve known each other for so long. Those whom I serve… I’m used to the fact that I am connected with them by banal sex for money. That’s how I perceive them. I mean, all my clients… I treat them with indifference. But you are not indifferent to me. I can’t go to bed with you. Or, let’s say, go on a date with you. You don’t deserve to connect your life with someone who has promiscuous sex. But if you need one night, I’ll talk to my friend. You’ll like her. True, now she is a little recovering from the meeting with the previous client, but tomorrow she will be fully armed.

Her pitiful and somewhat ashamed gaze did not leave Mats’s extinct face for a long time. She soon added, tilting her head to the side and placing her hand on his right wrist:

– Listen, don’t be offended. But I really can’t. I appreciate friends like you. Therefore, I don’t want to spoil a warm relationship with bed. And this is inevitable when you cross such a line.

A visitor in a business suit with a briefcase in his hand entered the bar. He moved towards the bar counter with a very determined and cheerful gait. Having covered ten meters, he joyfully exclaimed:

– Carla!

The visitor turned out to be one of Carla’s regular clients. His name was Harry.

Harry was above average height. He wore short brown curls and almost never wore anything other than business suits, white shirts, ties and highly polished shoes. Harry always had a clean-shaven face. He did not part with his briefcase, which showed him to be an office worker. True, during off-hours there was little left of the office subculture in Harry. He smoked like a locomotive, knew a lot about alcohol brands, was not shy about harsh expressions, adding color to his bright temperament, was a member of a closed orgy club and communicated with representatives of all social strata – from low-ranking politicians to heavy metal adherents.

– Ah, Harry – Carla replied in surprise. – What wind brought you here at this time? What, do your workdays now start at noon?

Harry sat down on the next chair and ordered a cup of tea and a chocolate croissant, after which he turned to Carla:

– I asked the boss for time off. I visited a doctor.

Harry opened the briefcase and began to rummage through the papers. He took out and handed Carla an A5 document with the words:

– Here. As agreed.

Carla had in her hands a certificate from the venereologist, which stated that Harry did not have any diseases.

After reading the contents of the certificate, Carla said with a bit of sarcasm:

– Congratulations, Harry. Now you will part with twice as much money as before.

– But the sensations will be three times stronger. Enough. My barrel is not a firearm that needs put the safety every time.

In response, Carla laughed.

While waiting for his order, Harry asked, nervously rubbing the tip of his nose:

– Listen, since it just so happened that we crossed paths here, maybe, well, you’ll take a fee for an hour?

– Won’t your visit to the doctor take too long? The boss won’t suspect?

– Fuck him. He fucks his secretary in the middle of the working day.

Under the mask of a thoughtful face, Carla said:

– Hmmm. Really. We are all living people. You can’t fight your instincts.

– Oh, yes – Harry suddenly remembered. – My parents are visiting me now. If you don’t mind, we could go to your place?

– No problem.

Harry quickly finished his hot coffee, after which he and Carla headed towards the exit.

Mats’s annoyed gaze followed their retreating figures.

Carla rented an apartment on the second floor. The house was located a block from the metro station. There were tram tracks nearby. At night there was relative calm around. The walls in the corridors and staircases were hidden under an abundance of graffiti, advertisements and obscene inscriptions indicating the addressees.

Carla and Harry stepped over the threshold. Taking off their outer clothes, they walked towards the bedroom. The apartment was noticeably clean. There was at least one flower pot in all rooms. In some places, high-quality fakes of world-famous paintings hung on the walls. In the living room, above the sofa, hung a copy of Claude Monet’s Beach in Pourville. In the bedroom was «The Pilot Jetty at Le Havre», the original author of which was Camille Pissarro. In painting, Carla preferred impressionism, admiring how realistic the objects in the paintings looked, despite the complex technique that the artists used. As for the interior of the apartment, for the sake of comfort, she adhered to minimalism; Moreover, minimalism was manifested both in design and in putting things in order – a minimum of dust on every square centimeter. Minimalism in her apartment was visible twenty-four hours a day. The wallpaper throughout was dark tones with gold, quartz and purple meander patterns. The bathroom was tiled with aquamarine tiles.

– Nice apartment – said Harry, looking around him. – How much do you rent?

– Five hundred.

– Not bad at all. Did you furnish it yourself?

– Yes.

– Sorry for being annoying, but how? I mean, for example, I need a year’s salary to have these things in my apartment.

– Let’s just say that I have seven clients who regularly bring a certificate from a venereologist.

They approached the bed. Harry lowered the briefcase to the floor near the wall. Carla began to unbutton her blouse. Watching Carla’s voluminous and firm breasts become increasingly exposed in her black lace bra, Harry waited a moment before saying:

– Wait.

Carla froze with some bewilderment:

– Something is wrong?

– No. It’s just that I can do it in twenty minutes, and for the remaining forty we could talk about something? One question haunts me, but I keep forgetting to ask you.

A little surprised by this request, Carla still agreed:

– Yes. Of course.

Shifting his attention from the breasts to the girl’s large brown pupils, Harry added:

– Just let’s get this done BEFORE we get down to business.

– Then maybe tea or coffee?

– Coffee. Yes. Thank you – Harry continued to say in a concerned tone. Some nervousness began to appear in his movements.

Without buttoning her blouse, Carla left the room, inviting Harry to follow her into the kitchen.

While Carla was putting the coffee on to brew, she asked:

– So what do you want to chat about?

Rubbing his lips and staring at the floor, Harry struggled to begin the conversation.

– I’m still tormented by one question. My ex always reproaches me for cheating on her like a dog. You’re a smart girl. I forgot what your profession is?

– Sociologist.

– YES! Exactly. So, can you explain to me where the line is between cheating and fidelity?

Rubbing his lips and staring at the floor, Harry struggled to begin the conversation.

– I’m still tormented by one question. My ex always reproaches me for cheating on her like a dog. You’re a smart girl. I forgot what your profession is?

– Sociologist.

– YES! Exactly. So, can you explain to me where the line is between cheating and fidelity?

Carla sat down at the kitchen table opposite Harry. She offered him a cigarette, but he refused, asking her to put the pack away. He insisted that they smoke from his pack.

After the first puff, Carla asked:

– What answer would you like, scientific language or simpler?

– Well, I’m kind of like an insurance agent. I think I can understand scientific language.

For a moment, Carla stared at the ceiling, rummaging through her memory, and soon began to expound:

– Well, listen and remember. Classification of sex. There are three types of sex: illegal, informal and marital. Illegal is when at least one of the two partners is married. That is, the wife sleeps with her lover or the husband with his mistress. In this case, a person violates marriage ethics by refusing intimate relations with legal spouse. In this case, a relationship with someone else can be clearly defined as cheating. The second type of sex is informal. If, say, an unmarried woman sleeps with a bachelor neighbor. None of them are married, and due to this fact, they owe nothing to anyone. But they are nothing to each other either. Therefore, if in this case there is betrayal, then it is, rather, a betrayal of one’s own moral principles, and nothing more. The last type of sex is marital. It can be formal and legal. Formal means that during sex, either husband or wife does not receive any pleasure, but do it because it should be so or so that a spouse does not suspect anything. For example, in cheating or lack of sexual desire. And finally, legal sex. This is the exact opposite of formal. Typically, legal sex occurs in the first years of married life. In other words, this is when spouses fuck like rabbits, and at the same time both husband and wife are incredibly happy from sex, after which they will not experience a feeling of deep shame, because no matter how you look at it, this sex is absolutely legal. But first of all, of course, it is legal from a moral point of view. – After a short pause, Carla said: – Questions?

– What questions? – Harry asked, rubbing his hands between his knees.

Carla immediately added, flicking her cigarette over the ashtray:

– But this is speaking superficially. I could tell you in more detail, but it would take several hours to describe the full picture.

– No. Thank you. I can’t pay that much for a simple conversation. I even pay my lawyer four times less for an hour of his time than you.

– Forget it – said Carla, waving her hand. – Now I’m not working, but helping in a friendly way. We’ll just go to the bar sometime, you treat me a cup of something, we’ll sit and have a heart-to-heart chat. You can ask about anything that interests you. I will help with all I can.

– That is…

Carla interrupted sharply:

– No. This conversation is included in the hour you paid for. I mean, if you want to talk about it one of these days, I don’t mind. I mean, we’ll talk as friends, not as a trader and a client. Comprendo?

– Quite – said Harry humbly.