Chapter Text
ONE. the beginning
Michael Robinavitch really had no idea how he had ended up in this situation, sat in that little cafe miles away from his normal stomping grounds. There was the obvious — getting on the subway and physically walking into the building, but the events that led him there nearly made him stand and walk back out.
It had started with a patient he’d had several weeks prior; a man not much older than himself, who had no family, and money to burn. The pretty woman who had come to visit was out of his league, painfully so, but she had sat diligently by his bedside and comforted him while the residents ran all the necessary tests. When she had slipped out of the room to make a phone call, the man had boasted.
His once complicated relationship with Heather Collins aside, Dr. Robby usually found such age gaps problematic and messy; a man looking to take advantage of such a gap or a woman looking to gain monetarily, or both. In his experience, it was rarely pure intentions — but what the man had gone on to explain after a confused look of one of the residents, was they weren’t in a relationship. They weren’t even having sex. He was simply paying for a beautiful woman’s companionship. No complex relationship, no true illegal activity or prostitution; just a busy man and an uncomplicated solace.
“Not really even a sugar daddy,” he had explained to Dr. Robby and Perlah, doped up on pain meds, “though it’s a fine comparison.”
What two grown adults got up to in their free time was their own business, the patient’s voice rang in Robby’s head, and if a man likes to spoil his lover or his friend, then that’s not illegal.
His heart thumped anxiously in his chest. This was only going to be a distraction, one completely unconnected to Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center and that would be a breath of fresh air. Besides, if this turned out to be a complete disaster, he could just go on with his life. No changes.
Victoria O’Brien took the long way to the cafe, anxiety eating at her insides. Why had she allowed Erin to convince her this was a good idea? It had seemed harmless at the start — laughing and joking with Erin while she downloaded the app, talking to a handful of guys looking to spoil her. Eventually settling on one reserved man after a few days (which she found mildly endearing) and securing a “first date”. It had been thrilling. It had even been fun.
At least while it was all over the phone. Now it was real and Victoria had such an urge to turn around and run for the hills.
University was expensive, and between long hours at her office job and still staying on track with her classes, she still found that rent was hard to keep up with. Erin had found her in a state of distress over a bowl of cheap ramen, explaining quite plainly what she did to supplement her income. It seemed like it would be too easy. Erin told her she didn’t start out with sexual favors, mostly just spending time with lonely older men and keeping them company.
It turns sexual only if you want it to, but the pay can be better, was the only relief that echoed in her head. The control lies with you, and never let that change.
It only calmed her slightly — that, and the fact that if this date went terribly, or in a way that she became uncomfortable, she could call it all off. He didn’t have her number, or any personal information, only her first name. No arrangements had been made or agreed to, and she found comfort in it. Victoria thought to go in and just get it over with, return back to her apartment and tell Erin: “It’s just not for me.”
Maybe she could pick up DoorDashing instead.
Before opening the door to the cafe, Victoria quickly sent her location to Erin and sent a text to Marsi about coming by to study in a few hours.
She was instantly hit with the calming aroma of coffee once inside, though she felt too jittery to order any. She settled on chamomile tea before turning to the tables on the far side of the cafe. She wondered if he was on time, or if she would instead pick a table for them. Maybe he won’t show.
Victoria caught sight of him almost immediately and it made her heart jump with a renewed sense of anxiety. He was here. He was here.
He was here.
His eyes were on his own cup, though she knew they were brown from his picture. His hairline was only slightly receding, with some of his brown hair thinning atop his head, plenty of laugh lines adorning his face and a thick beard that held several grey hairs. His features seemed scrunched up in thought, dark brows pulled together. Victoria would be lying if she said he wasn’t attractive - part of the reason she had accepted his request in the first place. If she was going to do this, it wasn’t going to be with someone she could barely look at. She could fake a lot of things, but genuine interest was not one of them.
“Michael?” she asked softly, hand on the back of the chair opposite him.
He looked up and gave a stiff smile, “Victoria, I take it?”
She smiled back at him, nodding. She pulled the seat back and sat with slow, calculated movements. Feeling his eyes on her made her swallow thickly, nerves running a rampage through her insides.
Erin had coached her, explained good questions to ask to suss out the bad ones, plus her own advice as to what she looked for and what was a red flag. All the advice seemed to flow right out of her head.
“How are you?” Victoria asked, thumb tracing over the lid of her tea.
He huffed a small laugh, “I’m…fine.” A pause. “Look, I’ve never done this and I don’t—”
Relief pooled through her insides, though the nerves held strong. “Well, at least that makes two of us.”
His brown eyes met hers, seemingly surprised. He swallowed.
Maybe he was looking for direction.
Her eyes flickered to her tea and back again. “So, can I ask what made you sign up in the first place?”
He leaned back in his chair and cleared his throat. “Yeah, yeah,” his expression suddenly turned uncomfortable, his left cheek scrunched up almost in a wince. “I’m just looking for some…companionship.”
Perhaps he was embarrassed.
Victoria nodded, taking a slow sip of her hot tea. “Anything specific?”
His eyes flickered up to meet her gaze and he blinked. His eyebrows rose, “Nothing sexual,” he said, voice dropping into a whisper at the last word. “Just someone to listen, call and talk to, I suppose.”
Her heart stopped racing. “No interest in a girlfriend?”
“I’m too busy for that.” Though it seemed more like a deflection.
She watched him curiously, raising a brow, “Alright. Something like a friend, then?”
He considered it. “Someone unconnected to my life.”
He said unconnected, but he meant not worried about my wellbeing. He dealt with too many people asking how he was, too concerned with the past. He needed someone that let him breathe, someone he could reach out to on his own terms with no strings attached. Someone who wouldn’t pry, someone who would not be offended by his long silences and his avoidance of talking about his emotions. Someone who doesn’t know I’m damaged goods.
“More like a companion.” He explained, elaborating, “I need someone who can give me more space than a friend would, who’s okay if we don’t talk for days at a time. Something easy and uncomplicated.”
“Ah, I understand.”
At least he didn’t sound insane. He had a few friends, but he frequently felt like he was putting on an “I’m okay” mask whenever he was around them. He didn’t want to wear that mask with just one person.
“Yeah,” he bit the inside of his cheek, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “What is it you’re looking for?”
She smiled, adding to the warmth of her face. She was beautiful, with pretty dark green eyes and auburn hair pulled up into a neat bun, two strands framing her face. Far too out of his league, and young. Her profile said twenty-seven, putting them at nearly eighteen years apart. But, a corner of his mind whispered, it’ll be nice to have a beautiful woman’s attention.
“A bit of a distraction myself,” she told him, pursing her lips. “I’ve been quite stressed with school and it’ll be nice to not think about all that from time-to-time.” Then she smiled. “And maybe get some help paying my utility bill.”
He chuckled, soft and quiet, matching the grin on her face. “What do you go to school for?”
“Accounting,” she answered after a beat. “I’m working on my masters. What do you do for work?”
“I’m a doctor.” He said, careful to not elaborate much more. He was proud of his position, but he wanted whatever this was going to be to be completely separate from his professional life.
Victoria seemed to understand, not asking any follow up questions that most people might have asked.
After only a handful more questions, she seemed satisfied. He asked about allowance, and her expectations, and found they would be a fine fit for each other. He felt a strange calmness overcome him as their conversation melded into small talk.
When she excused herself to leave, she explained she wanted a day or two to sit on it. She expressed it wasn’t him, but the situation at hand that she wanted to think about. It brought comfort to him, knowing they were both a fish out of water in this situation.
Michael left the cafe feeling lighter than when he had entered, taking a long walk back home — silently deliberating. She was easy to talk to and seemed to understand right away when to ask questions and when not to pry. She wasn’t asking for anything outlandish in return, or even looking to make a living this way, only needing some help to finish school. He understood that, Pittsburgh wasn’t the most expensive city someone could live in, but add in student loans and he could see why she turned to supplemental income, as she put it.
By nightfall, he’d received a message though the app hidden in a locked folder on his phone.
It was her number.