Page 14 of His Turn

“How about a date?” I ask.

“No,” she says. “I don’t have time for dates.”

“Well, then let’s just stop this now. What we do with the players—Jordan and I—is definitely dating.”

“I’m not a loyal partner, Elias,” she says. Her choice to use my first name has the effect she was going for. It sets me back a second.

“Perfect. You have two of us to choose from.”

“I mean,” she says, stressing her words, “I won’t be faithful to you so dating is out of the question.”

I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at it. “What?”

“I’m playing several games right now, Mr. Bricman. Yours is not the only one. So I won’t be giving those up.”

“Sexual games?” I ask, thoroughly intrigued at this point.

“Yes.”

“But you’re new in town.”

“So? I have connections. When I got this offer to dance at Mountain Ballet I called them up and set up a few… interactions.”

“So you are a whore?”

“If by that you mean I like to have a lot of sex, then yes. I’m a dirty fucking whore.”

Hmmm.

“Does that bother you?” she asks. Her filthy words from her sweet mouth are killing me right now.

“No,” I say. “It actually turns me on.”

“What?” she asks.

Do I read confusion? Is this bitch playing me?

“How do you manage the health check Jordan requires?” I ask.

“I don’t fuck them, Elias. I do… other things.”

“Such as?”

“Hoods, and chains, and sucking cocks,” she says.

“Are you fucking with me right now?” I ask.

“I’m just being honest, Elias. If I was fucking with you, believe me, you’d know it.”

I… I actually laugh. For real.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Nadia says. “You’re thinking… Why’s she doing this? Why’s she playing a game with Jordan? Why’s she submitting? But the question you should really be asking, Elias, is what am I getting out of this?”

“Well?” I ask. “What are you getting out of this?”

“Satisfaction.”

Yeah. This one is batshit crazy. I mean, all these girls we play with have a certain degree of crazy in them. Even Chella, though it was a lot more benign than this one’s brand of psychosis. And Rochelle too, though I never really figured her out.