Blog Tour+Review: Whore by Willow Aster
Whore by Willow AsterTropes
I take a sudden deep breath and my breasts brush against his chest. The contact surprises us both. I do it again, intentionally this time, trying to gain control in the only way I know how. His neck flushes and he takes a step back. I enjoy the rush it gives me, knowing that I affect him too.
“Hey, would you like to come around the corner with me to—”
I swallow my surprise and shake my head, holding my hand up before he says anything else.
“Please,” he says louder.
“What’s your name?”
“I am Sotirios … Soti.”
“Soti, what makes you think you know anything about me?”
He tries to make eye contact, but I focus on a spot just past his left ear.
“I just want to help you…” His words trail off.
The wind blows my hair forward, a sheet of black coming between us until I smooth the long strands down on either side. I gaze down the street and see a blurry little girl with black hair down to her waist in middle school, standing shy and hopeful in front of a group of girls.
“We know what you are,” they said. They hurled spit and names on her and she stood there, taking it, until the teacher came and helped her.
Help only got me so far.
“You listen to me, okay?” I say so softly he leans in to hear me. “I was born for this.”
When my eyes finally land on his again, I know his face will haunt me forever. He looks as bleak as I feel.
I clear my throat. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.”
With that, I loop my hand through the arm of my next income source, calculating how I can get the most money out of him for the least amount of time. It takes every ounce of willpower I own to not look Soti’s way one more time. Once we round the corner and I know he’s out of sight, all the adrenaline leaves my body, and I’m actually glad to have someone to hold onto.
I avoid my reflection as we walk back to the house. I don’t want to know what the rest of the world sees when they look at me.