"Khell? Khell's my partner?" I asked, trying not to sound as though I'd just run a marathon, as though I was taking full breaths for the first time in three weeks, as though my entire nervous system had just lit up in excitement, my limbs tingling like they were waking up from a deep sleep.

"He sure is," Astraeya chuckled. "He's looking forward to seeing you again."

I blushed but dismissed the words. "Thank you. I'll be there."

Astraeya said a few more things, and I was fairly certain I answered her questions without sounding insane, but later I wouldn't recall another word of the conversation. I hung up at last, tasting the air in my lungs—sharp with the scent of the nail spa's chemicals, suddenly my new favorite smell.

Natalie and I were both beaming as I turned around and floated back to the massage chair.

"Sorry," I said gently to the young girl waiting on me.

"Forgive her," Natalie said with a nod. "You know how it is when you gotta book the good dick in advance."

I snorted out a giggle, and my pedicurist huffed and hid her smile, ducking her head and returning to her work.

* * *

"Is there anything specific you're hoping for with this session?" Astraeya asked as I sat in the same desk chair across from her.

I bit my lip and tried to keep from jiggling my heel, watching the clock. It wasn't even three-thirty yet. I wasn't getting to the cottage any sooner by watching the clock.

"Umm…" Touching Khell. Kissing him. Being pressed to the bed under his weight. Riding his lap as he told me I was his.

I didn't care if he chained me, chased me, or just fucked me nonstop for the sixteen hours we were together. All of the above, please.

"It's totally reasonable to say ‘partner's choice,’" Astraeya said, smiling at me. "He knows your preferences and your dislikes."

I sighed and nodded, smiling. "Partner's choice."

Astraeya grinned back at me, glancing down at her tablet briefly and pressing her lips together. "You know…" she said slowly, before hesitating and glancing up at me. "Well, Khell is really looking forward to working with you again."

Maybe it was true, but the words made my smile fade a bit. It just sounded like something a business would say to keep a customer returning.

"He…retired from MSA recently," Astraeya added, watching my face.

The news struck me hard, turning off the pitiful and familiar spiral of a moment ago and wiping my expression clean and blank. "What?"

"He's no longer one of our available partners. I brought him in for you as a freelancer."

"A freelancer," I repeated.

Khell had retired? From MSA or from sex work? Was he working elsewhere, privately with clients, or had he moved on?

"I'm sure he didn't want you to have to partner with anyone else," Astraeya said, leaning forward.