"Hello Cleo. Is that you?"
"Yes, I am Cleopatra, what can I do for you?"
The voice was deep, slow and trying to be seductive.
"Cleo, It's me. I rang before, I'm early."
"Oh sorry, Luv. I'm a bit behind. Are you outside the house?"
Now the voice was a lot more down to earth.
"No. You said that I should ring when I got off the train. You said that you'd tell me your house."
"Oh, yes Luv. I remember. Your first time, isn't it."
I mumbled something.
"Well I was tied up in town, and I'm on my way home now. I'm by the station."
Again I mumbled.
"What do you look like luvie?"
"Well I'm... I'm..."
"I'm being daft. Can you see the shops across from the station?"
"Yes."
"You see the baker's?"
"Yes"
"See the old trout in a red coat?"
I could see the red coat. Its contents were not that old and troutish, but she had a shopping bag and a phone to her ear.
"Yes, I think so."
"Give me a wave, darling."
I raised an arm and waved half heartedly. I could see her lips moving, but heard nothing as she was waving back a lot more enthusiastically with her phone still in her hand. There was no going back now.
Her voice became audible again in mid sentence.
"... of course you can't hear me. Can you now?"
"Yes."
"Follow me then."
She walked a few yards to her right and into a narrow alleyway. She stopped, looking back to make sure that I saw where she had gone. I crossed the road quite easily, and when I reached the alley she was about twenty yards ahead. She grinned back at me, and turned a corner.
When I turned the corner she was waiting for me.
"Hello darling. No-one can see us here. Don't worry. I'll be gentle. Just follow me."
Her smile seemed soft and friendly.
"This is a short cut. It only takes a couple of minutes. There was a narrow bridge over a canal, and another alley. She led me through it, across a road, and she let herself into a house. I followed. When I got to the door she opened it and ushered me inside.
She took me through to her kitchen. She looked at the kitchen clock.
"You were the one-o-clock, weren't you."
The clock said that it was twenty to one.
I agreed.
"Well I need a cuppa. Ok if we have one first?"
My mouth was dry with nerves, so I grunted something.
Kettle on. Coat off. Mugs, teapot, tea.
"I do like proper leaf tea. Better than dust in paper bags, don't you think?"
The contents of the shopping bag was put away in cupboards.
"Cleopatra, I have to ask you, you said you were tied up?"
"I said what?"
"You said you were tied up, in town?" I paused. "I don't think that I fancy that sort of thing."
Her laugh was lovely.
"No, silly, I was in the post office, and the queues were terrible." Her voice changed to her deep and seductive one for a moment. "But I am very good with knots..."
Yes, she had a lovely laugh.
"... and less of the Cleopatra. Cleo, perhaps, but my friends call me Liz."
"Friends?"
"I think most of my clients are friends as well?"
Boiling water was poured. Mugs were filled.
"Shall we do the sordid bit here, and then go upstairs to the warm room?
I looked puzzled.
"The money. A hundred I think, wasn't it?"
I took an envelope from my pocket and put it on the table. She took it and slipped it unopened into a drawer.
She stood up, picked up her mug.
"Come on. Upstairs. Let's be friends."
The kitchen had been a bit rough and ready. The furniture was sparse, the flooring was shabby. It was a bit draughty, The upstairs room was the opposite. It was filled with a variety of well padded benches and chairs, and the bed was large and central.
"Now I like to have a shower before it, and most of my customers do too. How about we shower together?
She had by now removed her blouse, and shoes and was in skirt and bra.
"And then, do you want me to wear anything special?"
She saw me hesitating, and started taking my coat off me. I did not resist. My shirt buttons were soon undone, and then my shirt lay beside my coat on a chair.
I slipped off my shoes and started fumbling with my belt. Liz passed me a towelling dressing gown.
"Here luvie, I know some folk are a bit shy to start with."
Under cover of the gown I removed trousers and underpants.
"Socks luvie!" She grinned. "Here, let me help."
She made me sit on the bed, knealt, and she slid them off.
"Do you want to...?"
She lifted one of my feet to her cleavage and wrapped if in her more than ample boobage.
I showed willing and wiggled my toes.
She flinched.
"A bit of a toenail there."
She crossed the room, returned and started at the offending nail with an emery board."
"Save scratches later eh?"
She opened another door, and I could see a largish shower room. She turned the water on.
"Let it warm up a bit."
She sat beside me on the bed. We both sipped our tea.
"So what is it you fancy?" She put an arm around me and pulled us together. She smelled warm and perfumed."
"That's nice," I said.
"What's that?"
"Your perfume."
"Dont worry about it luvie, after a shower you won't smell it, and neither will your wife." She paused.
"You are married aren't you."
I nodded.
"Oh, but it doesn't matter, she knows that I am here."
For the first time she was at a loss for words. She sipped some more tea while she thought about this.
"You see, it was her idea, well sort of. We have been married for, oh, she would tell you how many years."
She smiled.
"And things have been a bit, you know, in bed, a bit..."
"A bit quiet? A bit samey?"
"Yes. We had the idea that someone like you might help us to... to give us some new ideas. Something new."
She looked worried.
"I'm sorry, I should not have rushed you. Are you saying that you just want to talk about it."
She put her hands over her boobs as if she did not want to offend me.
"Oh no, you see, at our age we're both a bit stiff and achey. Its just so that we can find what we can do."
She giggled.
"Well we'll see what we can do then, won't we."
"Please don't take this wrong, but we both thought that if something goes a bit wrong here, now, then it won't matter. If it happened at home, then perhaps we would not want to try it again."
"So I'm your guinea pig then?"
"I've offended you, I'm sorry."
I made as if to get dressed again.
"Sit down, silly. This is going to be fun for me. I do hope it will be for you."
She stripped off her skirt, pants, and stockings.
"Come along."