A Client
"Guess we keep trying."
Miguel nods. The two of them continue their walk along the mile-long beach while under the blistering sunlight. The sand below them is so bright and the air so scalding they might as well be walking on the surface of Mercury.
"Maybe the problem isn't your 'magic touch' but your QR code." muses Caro as they march "Maybe people get discouraged from seeing all the times you've had sex."
"Maybe..." the boy says with narrowed eyes, scanning the horizon for tourists "But in my experience it's the older folks who want you to be as virginal as possible. Young people usually expect you to know everything about sex, especially new or obscure techniques." he chuckles "And those two could really use my help! I mean, those were some seriously sloppy kissing!"
The two giggle, but their laughs soon transform into sighs of frustration. Caro looks back and sees they've almost reached the end of the mile-long beach.
Miguel turns to watch her and notices there are droplets of sweat falling off her nose. He gulps.
"I'm... I'm sorry I spent our last bucks printing my QR code… We could have bought some instant noodles with what we had."
Carolina looks at him with a surprised face "Uh? Why are you sorry? Printing the code was a great idea! You know what they say: You got to spend money to make money."
"Yeah, I know, it's just that…" he breathes deep "This whole day hasn't been going as I said it would... I'm sorry."
"Aww, Miguel…" Caro murmurs, mortified. She studies his sullen face trying to think how to best respond when her eyes wander to his penis still contoured under his white shirt and she looks away.
She coughs on her fist "Well, the day is not over yet. I mean… There's still that secret place you wanted to show me after your last house visit, right?" she laughs, then realizes something "That's… still happening… rrrright...?" she asks with growing doubt.
Miguel nods and smiles, slightly more upbeat "Yeah, yeah, that's still happening."
"See? We can't give up yet!" Caro says with a grin, then notices something in the distance and points "Speaking of not giving up, how about them?"
Miguel follows her finger towards a small cluster of umbrellas past the next dune where a young family has made camp. Two parents rest in recliners while their children sleep behind them knocked out by the heat on top of towels laid on the sand.
He hums, unconvinced "I don't know... families are always a tossup. Some parents find my services insulting, while others welcome you with open arms. I have better luck when I approach the children directly, but those seem too young to be interested..."
Caro nods, absorbing Miguel's wisdom. She turns as she walks to search for more potential clients on the horizon, but they seem to be running rapidly out of options. If anything, the beach looks even emptier than when they arrived, the soupy heat of late noon shooing away most of the tourists.
She sighs and glances back at the family and stops dead in her tracks.
Miguel doesn't notice her absence at first and continues walking for a couple more steps before he stops and looks back.
"What? What is it?"
Carolina's face is one of panic. She hurries to put her green hoodie back on despite the insane heat, draping the hood over her head and pulling the drawstrings in to hide her face as much as possible.
Miguel watches her in disbelief, then jolts in surprise when she yanks him by the wrist and forces him to walk behind her as they retrace their steps, walking faster and faster.
"What!? What's the hurry!?" he says almost jogging behind her.
Caro doesn't answer, her eyes fixed on the path ahead, not daring to look back.
"Hey! Booooy!" a woman yells behind them.
Miguel looks over his shoulder and sees one of the parents under the umbrellas waving at them. He immediately smiles and waves back, causing Caro's hand to slip away.
He turns and walks back towards the family, now with the Asian girl forced to give him chase.
"Wait!!! Don't...!" she hisses trying to stop him.
But the boy responds by removing his NASA shirt off and handing it to her, already starting his selling pitch as he closes the distance to the topless, middle-aged white woman on the recliner. She wears sunglasses and holds a book in her hands, apparently in the middle of her lecture when she spotted the kids.
"Good afternoon señorita! How are you today? Pretty sunny, isn't it?" he laughs "Could I perhaps interest you in our one-time offers for today?"
The woman smiles and puts down her book. Next to her, the bearded nude father sleeps on the recliner completely unaware of their conversation. Behind them, their three naked daughters grumble and complain as they start to wake up.
Caro yelps when she sees the petite black girl with a short afro and releases Miguel's wrist. She walks away looking both ways, trying to find a place to hide in the scorched lunar landscape.
"Sure, what you got sweetie?" says the mother touching the rim of her sunglasses and beckoning the boy to get a bit closer to read the QR code on his belly.
Miguel's smile widens "Oh! The full suite señorita! All our services are at a 30% percent discount, satisfaction guaranteed! Handies are $69, orals $119. But if you bundle the two together it's only $169! Additionally, our sperm usually runs at $375 a dose, but given today's discounts —as well as the fact that it's the second one of the day —, we're offering it for just $249!"
He takes a breath and stands with his hip cocked and hands on his waist, tastefully presenting his hardening penis to the suburban mom "So, what do you say señorita? Why not spoil yourself with a much-needed snack?"
The woman smiles polite, looking unimpressed by his selling pitch. She turns on the recliner and taps the knee of her oldest daughter who sits cross-legged looking at Miguel with narrowed, sleepy eyes. Her two six-year old sisters realize the boy isn't selling food or snacks and lay back on their towels to continue sleeping.
"So...?" the mother asks in a tone of voice that suggests this is a continuation of an ongoing issue "Is he cute enough?"
The black girl wrinkles her nose "Aww mooom, do I have to have sex right now? I'm not horny anymore. I'm more of… regular hungry in fact." she says with a shrug.
The middle-aged woman rolls her eyes "You spent MONTHS talking non-stop about how much you wanted to come to this beach to have sex with —and I quote— 'a fuck-ton of cute boys'." she waves at Miguel still posing " Well...! Here they are!"
"I know mom! But...!" the girl moves her hands trying to explain "I was talking about a specific kind of beach sex. More of a… golden hour kind of thing. When the sun is low and the light is orange and soft, sparkling in the ocean." she motions at the roasted landscape around them "These shadows are too harsh! The contrast is terrible! I can't take good photos like this!"
The woman sighs and turns back to Miguel, ashamed of her daughter's behavior "I think now is not the right time sweetheart. But are you available for later? We'll be leaving for lunch in a couple of hours, but we'll be back after sunset."
Miguel's smile wavers, he struggles to maintain his upbeat attitude "Um, sure thing señoritas! I just… I just need to check my schedule with my business partner." he points behind him towards Carolina. The mother and daughter follow his finger and throw him questioning looks. He turns and is surprised to realize the Asian girl is nowhere to be seen. He forces a smile "I-I'll be right back! Just one second!"
The nude boy sprints away, throwing little clouds of sand as he rushes to find the missing Caro.
The topless mother sighs. She looks back at her naked daughter and shrugs, compelling her to make a final decision before the boy returns.
The girl takes a deep breath and looks like she's about to say no when she notices Miguel in the distance arguing with someone half-buried in the sand. She smiles wide and starts nodding.
"Oh!? Okay, finally!" says her mother praising the heavens. She turns and lifts her purse.
Miguel runs back with Caro's phone in his hands "Thank you for your patience señoritas! I consulted with my business partner and I'm afraid to inform you that we'll be out of town by that hour. But I'll give you her username so you can…"
"Oh, it's fine sweetie, we will be needing your services after all." says the woman as she rummages inside her purse, searching for her wallet.
"You do!? Great!" the boy says with a-bit-too-much enthusiasm "W-which of our services you fancy the most? Should I list our offers once again?"
The black girl bites her lip and doesn't listens as as Miguel repeats his whole pitch in a single, breathless sentence, her narrowed eyes trying to distinguish something in the distance.
"Uh? What?" she murmurs when he finishes.
Her mother groans "Seriously Becks? Just tell him which service you want."
"Um... I don't know." the girl shrugs "All of them?"
The mother's eyebrows raise together, Miguel hurries to to speak before she can react.
"F-for our complete services, and just for you fine señoritas, that will be... $399!"
The woman's eyebrows crumple, surprised by the lower-than-expected number. She looks at her twelve-year-old daughter who watches her with growing excitement and sighs in resignation. She handles the boy her wallet which is a plain business card with a QR Code.
"T-thank you señorita!" says Miguel pressing his palms together. He takes the card and scans it with the phone.
The girl squeaks and claps "Yay! Thank you, mommy!" she stands up and grabs the adult-sized baby blue shirt to put it on.
"Yeah, yeah, just don't go too far away honey…" sighs the mother reopening her book "Take one of the umbrellas and enough lube. Oh! And rinse yourself before and after! Beach sex is all about keeping the sand away."
The girl hums affirmatively, scrambling around the family's camp collecting the items she'll need from the many bags and containers spread around.
At some point in her scramble, her knee stumbles with her father on the recliner, waking him up.
"Hey melon lemon..." he grumbles "Where you going...?"
"Oh! Sorry to wake you up daddy! No, it's nothing. We finally found a clean boy and we'll go have some sex before lunch."
"Oh! Okay, finally..." he says with relief, readjusting to get back to sleep "Don't go too far away."
"Okey dokey...!"
One of the younger daughters scrubs her eyes and sits up, perked up by what little she heard from. "Can I go have sex too?"
"NO! This is for grownups only! Go back to sleep." the black girl hisses back.
The mother chuckles to herself while reading her book. The pre-schooler pouts but doesn't argues back. She walks towards her father's recliner and accommodates herself next to him to continue sleeping. He puts a hand on her head and rustles her short hair.
"A couple more years honey, don't worry…" he murmurs with eyes closed.
Miguel hands the wallet back to the mother who taps the rim of her sunglasses to inspect the transaction. She frowns and glances at him.
"A 50% escrow?"
"Oh! Yes señorita, it's for the orgasm guarantee. Half the money is held in the blockchain until her cum is confirmed by the bots."
The woman nods and taps her glasses, accepting the terms of the contract "Yeah, yeah, I know how an escrow works. It's just that I don't think it's required in Beck's case."
The father chuckles to himself, still following their conversation.
"As you'll discover soon enough…" he murmurs.
Caro's phone buzzes with the confirmation of a signed contract. Miguel breathes in relief and joins his hands in appreciation once again.
"Thank you señorita."
The black girl finally approaches them ready to leave. On top her baby blue shirt, she's now wearing a straw hat, sunglasses, a pink towel over her arm, a satchel with a water bottle and lube, a vintage camera hanging from her neck, and a big umbrella over her shoulder.
She leans with difficulty to kiss her mother on the cheek "Thanks again mommy! I'll be right over there." she says pointing with her nose to the next dune.
"You're welcome honey. Have fun..." says the middle-aged woman without stopping her lecture.
The girl hums and walks towards Miguel who helps her carry her numerous belongings.
"So, shall we...?" he says with a relieved smile.
The girl nods and the two walk away. When they reach the top of the dune and deposit the items on the scorching sand the girl turns and searches the near-empty beach with narrowed eyes.
"By the way, is your 'business partner' joining us?"
Miguel is fixing the umbrella on the sand and is caught off guard by her question. He looks around looking for signs of Caro and hesitates before asnwering.
"I'm… Not sure señorita… Why do you ask?"
The black girl watches the glowing landscape biting her lower lip.
"No reason…"
***