When my back was turned, Lou had stood up, moved to the kitchenette. She put a cool hand on the back of my neck. I flinched—I could feel his slobbering lips moving from my hairline to my spine—but she only reached around and tipped a little of the uncapped bourbon into my glass. Pressed it to my lips like medicine. Her hand on the back of my neck sent tingles up to my scalp and down to my toes, unbearable sparks that fizzled out before they had a chance to catch fire. Trapped between her hand and mine, the imprint of the mark’s gluey kisses on my skin.

I slurped at the drink, the sharp sting of the booze the only taste in my mouth now. I finished the watery bourbon and turned to face her. Her green eyes had little flecks of gold in them. She was standing so close to me, I could feel heat radiating from her. She moved her hand from my neck to the side of my face, tucked a dark strand of hair behind my ear.

“Give that to me,” I said, and grabbed the bottle from her. I poured a large splash of brown into the glass, topping it with the barest spritz of water, reversing the percentages. Lou’s smile grew big, and then it grew wolfish.

“That’s my girl,” she said. “I’ll take one of those.”

It was the first time she stayed the night with me. We stayed up for hours talking, drinking—I told her every gory detail, all the meanest things. The zits on his ass. The way he’d let out a series of high-pitched whimpers, like an incontinent dog, between lizard-flick licks. That made Lou laugh so hard she’d fallen backward and knocked her head against my sofa.

“That’s a new one,” she said, giggling, as she sat upright, massaging her head. “That’s perfect. He won’t want anyone to know about that.”

“What was your first time like?” I asked, trying to think up more things to make her laugh. “When you started working here.” Lou crawled to the bourbon bottle that sat upright between us, like the deity we were worshipping, and took a swig.

“Oh, that,” Lou said. “My first time fucking for money had nothing to do with working here.”

It made complete sense as soon as she’d said it; dominoes that had been lined up in my brain finally fell. After that, Lou pushed another drink on me and laid out the plan for how it would all work, how many weeks I’d spend with the mark, how it would end. He did want to see me again, right?