"How's work been lately?" Achilleus asked without looking up from his papers.

"It's been alright," I muttered and fiddled with an empty candy wrapper, that had been forgotten on his desk.

"You're very popular. I have had to make a waiting list for the out-of-house appointments." He looked up and I felt his gaze on me. I looked up and met it. "Especially Apollo is very smitten with you."

I nodded a bit and looked back down at the candy wrapper. "I guess he'll get tired of me just like he got tired of Nikon."

"Probably. You know how it is with clients." I could hear the smile in his voice. "How long have you done this now?"

"Four years."

"And you're twenty?"

I nodded.

"Right." He sighed very deeply. "Listen, I usually don't hire people as young as you. I like them to be older because this line of work is rough. But I hired you because I knew you needed a break, yeah? Living on the streets and stuff. But Dion, I do need you to perform at a satisfactory level."

"Am I not making you money?" I asked and looked up again.

"You are. And you're very good at what you're doing. I just wanted to remind you that there's no sleeping on the job. Even if you're young."

"I know," I muttered and held his gaze even though I wanted to look away. "You sampled the product I have to offer. You know I'm good."

He snorted and looked back down at his document. "Yeah. I know you're good. Also why I hired you."

"So what is exactly the issue here?" I crossed my arms across my chest.

"You've crossed the three-month mark. It often happens that people either start slacking off now or they quit. So I wanted to be sure, you're still up for this. You signed a year-long contract."

"I haven't quit yet, have I?"

"No, and I don't want you to either. You're very valued here. Arlo speaks very highly of you too, and he has worked here for some years too. I appreciate his opinion."

"Yeah, he's... Good."

"Definitely. Are you still living with him?"

"Yeah. I like his place."

"Good. As long as you guys are making it work, it's all good. Also spares you some time. You can just go directly to an appointment and he won't have to pick you up anywhere. Saves me some fuel. I like that." He snorted and turned the page on whatever document he was reading. "Anyways, all is good? You're healthy? Going to the doctor regularly, like I instructed you to?"

"Yeah, once a month. Going today after this."

"Awesome. Enjoy the doctor, then." He waved at me and I took that as my cue to leave.

I didn't like doctors. I went to different clinics every time to not make them suspicious and judge-y. Arlo made it bearable though. He was just sitting next to me, completely casual, checking something on his phone.

"I was thinking," he said then and met my gaze with a smile. "How about I get tested too?"

"Uh... Sure? You can do that if you want. But why?"

"It's just... We're in a committed relationship and it'd be nice for you to know I'm clean too right? And then we wouldn't need protection."

"Arlo," I said and couldn't help but smile, taking his hand in mine. "We'd still need it. Condoms aren't 100%. I could still catch something and then give it to you."

"Oh." He sighed and nodded. "I didn't even think of that. Which is dumb. Last year we had an STI class, we all had to attend at the club. This health worker came and talked to us all."

"I appreciate the sentiment though. I really do." I leaned in and kissed his cheek. No one had ever wanted to do that with me before. Not like this. Lots of clients wanted to go without because they used the age-old excuse that it'd feel better. But no one wanted to show they were clean too for me.

"I'll get tested anyways. It's not like I'm worried or anything. But then you won't have to do it alone." His smile hadn't died. He was still so positive about this.

"I'd like that. Sweet-face."

He smiled even wider.

"Dion Anagnos?"

"That's me," I said and kissed Arlo's cheek again before following the nurse into an examining room.

"So, Dion. What are we doing today?" he asked and smiled at me.

"The STI package."

"Fabulous, we'll get right on it. Have you had one before?"

"Yep."

"Cool, then you know the procedure. Fill this," he said and whipped out a cup with a blue lid screwed on it. "And then we'll take some blood too. I also have some questions."

I hated the questions.

"How many sexual partners have you had in the last three months."

"I don't know," I muttered. "I work at Euphoria."

The nurse halted and looked up from his clipboard. "Ah, that's okay. We get Euphoria workers here all the time. As long as you guys keep doing these monthly check-ups, you should be in the clear. Not to mention, they're still strict on using contraception, right?"

"Yeah."

"That's what I like to hear," he chirped and wrote something down on the clipboard. "Well, I hope you've had enough to drink. Also, is this your first time with us?"

I nodded.

"Right, we can set up a plan for you. Then you'll get notified by text when it's time for you to come back in. We do this specifically to keep workers like yourself healthy. And we send the bill to Euphoria."

I was kind of staring at him. "Thanks..."

"Not the kind of treatment you're used to?"

"No. I feel like a freak most of the time. I've been clinic jumping for a while."

"Ah, yeah. That's unfortunately pretty common for a lot of our clientele here. Just know we're not here to judge you, we're just here to make sure you're healthy."

I bit down on my lip and nodded, going to the bathroom to provide them with a urine sample. I returned to the examining room and the nice nurse took some blood. And then I was back in the waiting room next to Arlo.

"Ugh, I hate needles," he said and peeled off the ball of cotton from the inside of his elbow.

"Needles is the thing you're afraid of?" I snorted and looked up at him, taking his hand in mine.

"They're creepy and shiny and they hurt."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, you laugh. But how about we go to the corner where one of those board flippers are standing? Flipping those ad boards?"

I cringed. "I'm just scared the pointy corners will hit me in the eye! It's not irrational."

He chuckled and leaned in kissing my cheek.

"Hey guys," the nurse said and stopped in front of us. "You're both completely healthy so you can get out of here. I'll see you, Dion, in a month."

"Fantastic. We should celebrate," Arlo said and rose to his feet. "Thanksfor the check-ups, doc."