The instant he saw her photo in the newspaper, he knew it was time to call.
The ordinary Monday lunchtime found him sitting at a small table with soup and a sandwich. Opening the local sports feature section, he noticed an advertisement for a new karate studio. The ad featured the photo of a very fit young woman in a fighting stance, with a captivating expression that somehow conveyed both satisfaction and determination. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a green halter and shorts that showed off toned and shapely arms and legs and well-defined abs.
The ad had a very clear objective: to use the hope of getting into a class with such an attractive woman to entice people to call that business. Instead, Paul simply pulled out his cell phone to call her home number.
That simple act triggered a familiar torrent of conflicting emotions. His lunch sat neglected as three chapters of his memories unfolded in the usual sequence.
The first set was sharply vivid, with heightened colors and contrast created by the reverence placed upon them: the joy of marrying his beloved, the hopeful determination to overcome their fertility difficulties, and then the crushing shock at the diagnosis of the medical problem that was uncovered.
The second set was dark and almost suppressed, as if under a thick blanket: the prolonged struggle of his wife's illness, the pain of that final night in the hospital, and the numbing despair of living without her. Then came an abrupt punctuation -- the crisis upon realizing that after two years of being consumed by these tasks on a daily basis, he had finally finished settling the medical bills, the family obligations, the donations of her clothing to charity, and the distribution of mementos to her friends -- leaving his life with absolutely no perceivable purpose.
In that moment of desperate need for emotional and physical comfort, he had called an escort service seeking nothing more than an anonymous woman. What arrived instead, however, was Donna. She became Paul's lifeline back to the land of the living and the foundation of the third set of memories, which he finally had begun to accept as a new and enjoyable reality.
It was probably for the best that he had only one vague impression of his first meeting with Donna, since it was of crying on her shoulder after sex. The encounter, however, broke through the wall he had built to insulate his heart, and two weeks later, he called her again.
In contrast, his memories of the second meeting with Donna were electric. After the point when his wife was too frail to enjoy sex, there were so many years of celibacy that this was an experience comparable to the very first time he was with a woman.
The sensations were permanently emblazoned in his soul: the scent of her hair as he kissed her neck, the amazing soft/firmness of her breasts under his fingers, the tight peaks of her nipples as they stiffened between his lips, the silky smoothness of her skin as his kisses traveled past her bellybutton, the tight curls around her pussy that tickled the skin of his groin, and the overwhelmingly warm moistness of her sex as she engulfed him, pulling him inexorably to a climax that seemed to finally reawaken him like a lightning bolt into his veins.
After that, waiting even one week seemed like forever, so two days later he invited her for a three hour session, for what would turn out to be the beginning of a new phase of his life. Their first climax was an explosive roller-coaster thrill and left them in a languorous state of sensuality. Laying on the bed with his arms around her, their bodies touching softly, caressing the curve from her shoulders past her waist to her tush, he finally realized that in addition to being dangerously sexy, she was also deliciously firm and fit.
He asked her what she did for exercise. That led to an hour-long, eyes-locked conversation about their mutual interest in fitness and exercise, ending in another round of even more physical sex with her riding him. This time during her climax, she didn't restrain herself, and Paul could see how the sheer power in her legs and hips as she bucked on top of him might be intimidating to some guys.
After that, they developed a steady relationship as workout partners and sexual partners. The combination was mutually beneficial as they used the full power of sex to motivate and encourage each other's exercise goals, and used working out together as foreplay to get physically aroused and erotically charged before sex.
Their status changed from client-and-provider to lovers, but without formally discussing it, he continued to leave money for her and she continued to take it. It allowed him to revel in the physical celebration without worrying about emotional baggage, it allowed her to take fewer clients and concentrate on her modeling, and together they used it as a framework for a continuing role-play that had power in its illicit nature.
Most of their dates would start as workouts in the home gym in his basement, challenging each other to lift a heavier weight than last week, or persuading one last repetition with the promise of a striptease reward. Their progress in strength and physical appearance was impressive.
At the beginning, Paul had started with decent weights for an average guy. A year later, however, it was Donna who was easily using those weights, while Paul had tripled his strength. Donna's newly toned body had moved her into high demand as a swimsuit, figure, and fitness model, while Paul was now more muscled than when he had played varsity sports.
For spice, though, they often returned to sex-for-hire fantasies, playing the roles of a new escort or a new client with "special interests," or reversing characters so that Paul played a gigolo or a powerful seducer.
Overall, there was no question that after his wife's death, it was Donna who had absolutely saved him. She helped Paul heal his depression, got him healthy, and sparked long-dormant interests to create a new and different life. It would never replace the old one, but could coexist on an equal footing with the precious memories of the past.
Rousing himself from his reminiscences with a smile, he returned his attention to his cell phone and pressed the speed-dial button for Donna's home number.
She clearly had looked at the caller ID, since she answered the phone with a cheery, "Hello, Paul. I've been expecting to hear from you."
"Hi, Donna. I saw the karate ad."
"Did you like it?"
"Absolutely! I'll bet there are hundreds of guys lined up for karate lessons already."
"Flattery will get you nowhere!"
"You can't blame me for trying. I was actually calling to see if you're still free for this Friday night."
"I would really love to, but I just got a call to fly out to Los Angeles for three weeks."
"That's a long trip," he replied with disappointment.
"They hired me to feature in a whole series of exercise videos."
"Very cool! I am so thrilled for you! I will miss you, though. Can we schedule something for when you get back in town?"
"Now, honey, you know you're the first person I want to see when I get back, but I wouldn't want you to have to wait that long. Besides, there's a very special favor I need to ask from you."
"Sure. What's up?"
"I have a friend who wants to get into the escort business. I was hoping you'd be willing to meet with her this weekend."
"I don't know. You know I've never been into one-night stands. I think I should just wait..."
"No, really," she insisted. "I know you're a one-woman guy, and I love you for it, but that's the reason I need you for this favor. I'd like her to have her first job with someone safe and kind. You're the only guy I can completely trust to behave like a gentleman and to treat her like a lady. She is very pretty and sexy, but I'm not sure she's really cut out for all the tough aspects of this business. If you don't like her, of course, I promise to make it up to you next time."
"I'm sure that won't be necessary, and I'm honored that you would entrust her to me."
"There's no one sweeter than you, Paul. You have to pretend to be a real, impartial client though. Don't let on that you know it's her first time. You've got to make sure she thinks that she's being a great escort, even if she's not. She's very vulnerable at the moment and she needs this both as a source of income and as a shot of confidence."
