She and Holly had grown up together in a small town on the East Bay. They’d been best friends back then and had reconnected after college when they’d found out that they both had decided to move to San Francisco. Nothing had been more natural than sharing a flat.

While Sabrina went on to go to law school, Holly had bounced from one job to the next until she’d realized that there was an easier way to make money.

Blonde and blue-eyed, she was quite a beauty. In the right clothes, she was a stunner. So why go out on dates with guys, who’d just buy her dinner and then expected her to sleep with them, when she could actually get paid for what she was going to do anyway?

Of course, there were always clients like the Japanese businessman from the previous week, but according to Holly most of the guys were normal men, mostly businessmen from out of town feeling lonely.

At first, Sabrina had been shocked at Holly’s choice to become an escort, but when she saw that Holly enjoyed her job, at least most of the time, and had remained the same kind of person, who she was before her odd career choice, she’d stopped trying to change her friend.

In any case, Holly’s large income had come in handy when Sabrina hadn’t been able to maintain her part-time waitress job during the last year of law school due to the demands of her studies. Holly had taken over paying the entire rent for the flat and always made sure the fridge was stocked.

Her friend had never let her pay anything back, not even now when Sabrina had gotten a job that paid her well enough to put a few hundred dollars aside every month. What were friends for, Holly had insisted. She was more a sister to her than a friend, and she knew Holly felt the same about her.

Holly was still as pale as Snow White when Sabrina brought her the tea and made her sip some of it. She was propped up on a couple of cushions.

“You can’t possibly work tonight. She’ll have to understand that.”

Holly frowned. “That’s what I told her, but you heard what she said. If I don’t get my ass over there, I’m fired. And this time she means it.”

Holly tried to sit up, but instantly dropped back into the cushions. “Oh, damn. So dizzy.”

“You can’t go. I’ll call her and explain it.” Sabrina got up but felt herself be pulled back by Holly’s hand.

“You’re not my mother, so don’t. There’s no use. She’s about as understanding as Scrooge.”

“Can’t you find anybody to sub for you?” Surely there were other girls, who could take this call for her? There wasn’t any convention in town at the moment, so business should be slow.

“I’m not a teacher, Sabrina, I’m an escort. We don’t have a central system that we call when we need a substitute.”

“There must be some independents out there. Don’t you know anybody?” There was no way she’d let Holly work tonight. She needed her rest to recover from whatever bug she’d picked up. What if she had salmonella poisoning? No, she wouldn’t let Holly exhaust herself today.

“What? You wanna do it?” Holly laughed and then stared at Sabrina’s shocked face.

“Oh, come on, I wouldn’t know what to do,” Sabrina waved her off instantly. She and sex weren’t exactly on speaking terms right now. She’d barely dated in years, and hadn’t … Well, never mind. It wasn’t an option. The closest she’d gotten to sex in the last three years was listening to Holly’s stories about her clients.

“It would be perfect. Just look at it like a date.”

“Out of the question.” Was Holly completely out of her mind? She probably had a fever. Maybe Sabrina should get the thermometer and check. Or better yet, drive her to the hospital to make sure she wasn’t delirious. She put a hand on Holly’s forehead to feel if she was hot.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking if you’re feverish.”

“I’m not. Listen, you might not even have to sleep with him. Some of the guys just want company.”

“Like they pay that kind of money just to talk to somebody, puh-lease!” Sabrina huffed indignantly. Not even she was that naïve. She knew exactly what an escort was expected to do, at least she knew enough from the stories Holly had told her. There was no need to find out first hand.

“And besides, I have enough trouble just fending off Hannigan every day.”

“Well, that guy’s a jerk,” Holly commented. “I don’t know why you haven’t kicked him in the balls yet. I’ll do it for you, if you let me.” Holly’s grin turned truly wicked. Sabrina knew her friend would thoroughly enjoy kicking the crap out of Hannigan. She knew all places where guys hurt the most—intimately. And she’d make full use of her knowledge.