I've never seen a prostitute so excited to get people's attention when they weren't even getting paid. Hollem thought as he bit into a piece of bread with a bit of honey soaked into the top.

Amia was sitting across the room from him with a young woman to his left and his gentleman friend to his right. The man had his hand nearly between his legs, but after a few quick glances back at him, he knew that he wouldn't be getting away with going any closer and decided not to push his luck.  

The woman was surprisingly more bold. Hollem hadn't caught what she was doing at first, but when he noticed Amia squirming a little, then glancing over at him, he raised an eyebrow and ran his eyes back over the situation... only to realize that she had her hand behind him and was likely trying to touch him beneath his shirt or pants. 

Hollem uncrossed his leg over his knee and was about to stand up when Amia gave him the faintest shake of his head. Grudgingly, he leaned back in his chair and watched as Amia gingerly reached behind himself and grasped what Hollem could only assume was her wrist, then lifted up slightly before bringing it around to his front. 

She had her hand down his pants...

The thought made his hand fidget where it rested on his arm, having crossed them over his chest as he watched Amia fix the situation. 

"Excuse me, master Hollem?" 

Taking his attention away from Amia, Hollem turned his head to see Miki bashfully sitting beside him. He blinked a few times, surprised to see the young woman in a greeting room. She tended to just book his attention for herself and never dared step foot in one of their group areas besides the main entry room where they had met a few days ago. 

"Good evening, sweetheart." He cooed with a small smile as he tugged her into his lap. 

"You are looking well. How have you been, Miki?" He asked as he brushed her bangs away from her eyes.

She got comfortable, resting her head against his chest, before answering just loud enough for only him to hear. 

"I am quite enjoying my time away from my husband, master Hollem." 

He grinned as he ran a soothing hand along her back. "It seems like your body is, too." He stated, only to feel a light nip on his neck from her teeth. 

This little flirt. If only her husband would actually stop seeing her as something to control and just treat her well. He would see just how lucky he was. 

Glancing toward Amia, he saw the guy look away quickly, turning his attention to his old friend. Hollem's eyes lowered to the table, noting the full drink there. 

Bastard, I was distracted. 

Pursing his lips, he looked down at Miki. She didn't deserve to be ignored, especially since he was sitting in one of the greeting rooms, but... He noticed Amia reaching for the drink while his friend's smile stretched further. 

Dammit all. 

"I'm sorry, Miki, I'm actually here to observe today." He said quickly as he set her on the seat beside him, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

She pouted a little, but nodded after the kiss. 

"Alright. You owe me though, master." She said as she got up and walked out of the room, likely not interested in anyone else, like usual. 

Dork. 

Shaking his head, he turned toward Amia, frowning when the guy was already mostly done with the drink. Did I not just tell him last night that we think his friend might have been behind him being drugged?  Hollem thought frustratingly as he forced himself not to stomp as he walked over and placed himself in the recently vacated spot beside Amia. 

He didn't even bother trying to be courteous as he reached over and took the glass, then downed what was left. He caught Amia's friend's scowl, but he couldn't have cared less. After licking his lips, and tasting the chalky flavor he knew was likely whatever drug the man had used, he set the glass down and turned slightly on the couch. 

"Who is your friend, Amia?" He asked with a forced, curious smile. 

Amia seemed hesitant to answer for a moment, but then shrugged and looked toward his friend, then back to Hollem. "He's... an old client."

Hollem leaned back in the seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Alright." Was all he said in response. 

Amia watched him for another moment before slowly returning his attention to his friend, who had ordered him another drink while Hollem had been distracting him. 

Hollem glanced up as one of their girls, who took turns with clients or as wait staff for the night, came into the room carrying the drink. 

  Lauriette. Why am I not surprised? 

He noticed her fidget when she saw him sitting next to Amia, then glance toward Amia's friend, practically giving them away, before she hurried over and set the drink directly in front of Amia. 

I'll need to tell madam Maria about this... but first. 

Reaching over, he took the new drink and swallowed a few mouthfuls. 

Yup, definitely taste the difference, though not as strongly with this one. 

It was better mixed and took some focus to taste, but it was definitely drugged, too. He lowered the glass in time to see Lauriette dart from the room. 

Hollem considered going after her right then, but that would leave Amia to his friend's intentions. It wasn't worth it. Besides, where would she go? Even if she left, she'd have to come back eventually, this was her job and where she lived. 

Settling in, he listened to Amia and his friend's conversation until the man decided to leave about thirty minutes later. Thank god. He was beginning to feel that drug at work, and from the looks of it, Amia was also getting a bit weird. 

Without waiting for someone else to take their attention, Hollem got up, pausing a moment once on his feet to wait for the room to stop spinning. He then reached down and pulled Amia up beside him. 

"This is going to be another fun night." He mumbled as he hurried Amia from the room. 

Instead of heading upstairs right away, he found his way to madam Maria's room and knocked twice, then waited a moment, then knocked one more time. 

She appeared a second later, clearly having rushed after that third knock. When she looked them over, her lips turned down into a frown. 

"You both look like crap again." 

Hollem chuckled, the laugh leaving him unintentionally. 

"Yes, and feel like it, too. But I saw Lauriette bringing in a drink ordered by this brat's friend. She practically ran when she saw me drink half of it, and his friend looked pissed, too. So I believe that's who you need to speak with about this situation." Hollem slurred, feeling his body begin to heat uncomfortably. 

Madam Maria nodded, then ushered them to the stairs. "Alright, I'll go check on things and see if I can get some information from Lauriette, or maybe even that new maid the magistrate had assigned to us that helps Lauriette out part time. Up to bed with both of you, though, and be careful not to wear yourselves out, I won't call off your appointments for tomorrow, Hollem." 

He glared at her, but his eyes just couldn't focus enough to make it matter. 

"That won't be an issue." He stated as he hurried sloppily up the stairs, needing to hold the handrail most of the way. 

His palm ran along the wall as he made his way to his room, stopping once to be sure that the building wasn't about to fall over, like it appeared to be to his blurry eyes. 

"You really are messed up. Gotta build up a resistance, old man." Amia said as he walked by, only a little awkward on his feet. 

Hollem couldn't believe that he hadn't been drugged enough to not pass out already with how much he'd drunk. 

The guy disappeared into their room, only to reappear as his head stuck out of the doorway. "By the way, she hadn't let the drug dissolve enough in the drink the first time so I could easily taste it and drink around it since it was mostly solid goo. I left a good part of it in the bottom of the glass... which you drank." 

Hollem blinked, trying to straighten up as his mind processed what Amia was saying. 

"Then that strange lady brought out another one, which you decided to stupidly drink, too." He said as he walked up to him, forcing Hollem to stop or risk stumbling right into the guy. 

"Now look at you. You're about to drop but at the same time, I bet you want to hump everything in this town right now. Why the hell did you drink that? I would have done it so that you could be sure it was one of them, though I still doubt my uncle would have drugged me since he's had me so many times and has offered me a damn good amount of money the first time he came in here to go live with him." 

Not even going to think about that first sentence, but... 

"If he offered you all of that money, then why are you still here? I won't even let you work." Hollem slurred as he unintentionally stumbled forward. 

Amia barely managed to catch his weight and grunted loudly with the effort as he began to help him toward his room. 

"Not sure. Maybe I just like making your life a little less nice?" He said, earning a scowl from Hollem before he was unceremoniously shoved onto the bed. 

He groaned against his blankets, then rolled over after a minute of concentration, trying not to pass out. Amia leaned over him, undoing his shirt before yanking it over his head. Hollem's pants were left, leaving him in a simple pair of undergarments as one of his blankets was yanked out from under him, then thrown on top of him. 

"You call being a whore, nice?" Hollem asked. 

Amia chuckled and surprisingly climbed overtop him, straddling his waist over the blankets before settling down. It was rather uncomfortable considering he was as hard as a rock, but at the same time, the weight felt good and teased him to no end. 

"I don't mind it. It's good pay if you're at the right place or doing it by yourself... or allowed to work. Sometimes I get free food or clothing out of the deal, too." Amia said as he scooted forward a bit, moving to sit on Hollem's lower torso before tugging his own shirt up and over his head. 

Hollem didn't bother to try holding back his eyes from taking in the guy's body. It was damn nice, and he was horny as hell from those stupid drugs. 

"You're looking at me like you want to eat me, Hollem." Amia said with a leer of his own as he leaned forward, placing both of his hands on Hollem's chest. 

His breathing sped up at the touch, but Hollem didn't tell him to move his hands, even though he knew he should have. "Do you want to do things to me?" Amia asked with a smirk as he leaned down to press his lips against his throat. 

Hollem tilted his head back automatically, giving Amia more room. "Yes..." He slurred as he sloppily reached his hands up to grab Amia's waist. Oh the things he wanted to do to him. 

"You know what would work just as well, Hollem?" Amia asked as he leaned back again, making Hollem move his head forward to stare at his blurry figure above him. 

"What?" He asked in a breathy tone. 

Amia looked downright naughty on top of him and for once, he fully intended to just give the guy a chance to show his skills. So, when Amia lifted his left hand, then his right, then looked at both with a raised eyebrow, Hollem squinted in confusion. 

"You can always date your left hand if your right one gets boring... or that young woman you had sitting on your lap earlier. I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping you out. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll actually go to bed early." Amia said before dropping onto the side of the bed closest to the wall and tugging the blanket over himself. 

Hollem laid there staring at the ceiling for what felt like an hour before he slowly turned his head toward Amia. He was facing away, so he couldn't tell if he was asleep or not yet, but that didn't stop him from speaking. 

"Are you jealous of her?" He asked. 

The comments about using his hands was kind of deserved, but it felt like they were just slipped in to try and hide the last thing he'd said. 

"You are jealous." He stated as he reached forward, running his fingers along the blanket until he found Amia's waist beneath it. 

Since he didn't hear any protests, though he could feel that the guy's breathing hadn't quite evened out with sleep yet, he gently wrapped his arm around him and tugged him up against his chest. 

They remained that way for several minutes before Hollem decided to speak again. "Your breathing is speeding up, Amia... not slowing down." He mused as he tugged him just a little bit closer. 

When he didn't get a response, Hollem leaned forward and began pressing soft kisses to the back of his neck as his left hand slid up along his chest. It came to a rest just over his rapidly beating heart, making Hollem's lips tilt up into a tired smile. 

He waited a minute before moving Amia onto his back and crawling over him. Even in the dark room, he could see the young man's wide eyes and easily heard his quiet panting. 

"Tell me no, Amia." Hollom warned as he leaned down again, running his lips along Amia's collar bone. 

He could feel the quick rise and fall of the young man's chest against his own in response to his actions, spurring him on. When several minutes had passed and he heard no word to halt, Hollem leaned his head back up and met Amia's shadowed eyes. 

"I want to have sex with you because of the amount of drugs I've consumed..." He stated, not wanting to lie and give him any other reason. Although, it felt a little untrue, but he couldn't put his finger on why it might. 

Amia looked away for a moment, then stared back up at him with a smile that didn't seem all that joyful. 

"I suppose that I've taken in more than I could handle, as well..." 

When Amia didn't reply again, Hollem hesitantly leaned down and covered his mouth with his own, tasting the lingering flavor of the cheap alcohol. He had planned to pull away and get down to business quickly, as to not wear either of them out for the following day, but when Amia's arms tightly wrapped around his neck, holding him close, Hollem decided to let him take a small portion of the control. 

He'd tried to hasten things along several times during that evening in order to find some sleep, but Amia was much more of a lover than just a sex worker. He was relentless, and while he allowed Hollem to rest after they'd finished a round, he was right back on him once he'd recovered enough to be of use. 

He almost felt used, but even as the night wore on and he was awoken time and again into the morning, his body was more than eager, for once, to enjoy the warmth of the frustrating minx. He just knew that he'd come to regret it when it was time to finally wake for work...