On a normal day at the mall, there were two kinds of people who smiled at Nik and Raheem. First were old people and conservative types. To the old-fashioned folks, Nik and Raheem seemed like wholesome young folks. Nik's long skirt and Raheem's buttoned-down affect seemed reassuring to average businessman-types and grandmas.
The key to this undercover appeal is that they never looked like they were in costume. It would have been different if Nik's dress was covered in cherries and had a plunging neckline or if Raheem had parted his hair and brylcreamed it to his scalp. But they conservative and older types didn't feel mocked by Nik and Raheem. They were wrong, but they didn't know they were wrong, so they smiled.
Of course, there weren't many conservative types at the mall during the adults-only hours. There were tons of people with elaborate colourful tattoos, a few in fetish wear, but few who looked like Nik and Raheem. Most people gave them odd glances, as if they were far too tucked-in and buttoned-down to be at the adults-only mall.
But some people could see it immediately; this is the second group who smiled at them, the people who caught on to that indefinable thing that Rahmeem called the "balance beam." True, Nik and Raheem weren't in an elaborate costume, but they also weren't entirely sincere. They were
very slightly too put together
for them to be entirely believable.
The Hitch stand was a curtained-off portion of the walkway with a folding table in front that served as a desk with a bored-looking clerk behind it. Everything about it made it seem temporary and slightly cheap. The clerk was a short, skinny, dark-haired post-goth type with exciting brightly coloured makeup and a bubbly personality. She seemed to be the type to understand Raheem's balance beam, and she grinned broadly at the two of them when they approached. "Oh wow, you guys are fantastic. Are you both here to sign up, or just one of you?"
"Just me, please." Raheem said.
She handed him an iPad. "Okay, let me get you to fill out this questionnaire. Then we can have you behind the curtain to get assessed."
The goth-pixie clerk turned to Nik while Raheem was filling out the legal waivers. "Are you sure you don't want to sign up? We have some pretty great incentives for anyone who wants a brand new card." She giggled at this.
"What kind of incentives?"
"A pair of guys who are trying to raise their assessments are kneeling right behind this curtain. If you sign up right now, you can get one of them to eat you out." She grinned broadly. "One is my boyfriend David."
Nic raised an eyebrow.
The clerk was nearly bouncing up and down with excitement over this news. "I guarantee you'll like him; he is so good at eating pussy! But promise you'll give him five stars, all right? That way his dollar value on the card will go up."
"How long has David been back there, eating out every girl who signs up?"
"Almost all day this past Thursday, and again most of the day today. I got him in because I work here. Most of the other guys who want to get their assessments up will only get a slot for a few hours at a time."
"And you're not jealous of him eating all that pussy all day?"
The counter clerk giggled again. "I actually think it's super hot. And he's not just eating pussy; he sucks a lot of dick back there as well." She got a conspiratorial look and stage-whispered "If there's no one at the counter, I usually go and watch."
Nik was a bit unsettled by the way the world was changing. In her experience as a dominatrix, someone who wanted to kneel for hours and then beg to eat pussy would normally pay hundreds of dollars for the privilege. Here was a guy getting it for free. If these cards caught on, she wondered if she would be out of business. "A tempting offer, but I still think I'll pass," she said.
Because Nik and Raheem had done the research in advance, Raheem knew what to choose on the electronic questionnaire and was behind the curtain with the assessor within ten minutes.
It was a roomy space, larger than it seemed from the outside. Apparently, sometimes people needed to wait to be seen by the assessor, or so it seemed given the half-dozen folding chairs in two rows. There was also a camera on a tripod, a striking woman with a short all-grey hairstyle holding an iPad, and two well-built naked men on their knees. These two, off to the side, were positioned under a sign taped to the wall that read "Oral only."
The older woman, presumably the assessor, greeted Raheem cheerfully. "Raheem, right? I have your file right here. No need to wait, it's been a pretty slow day."
"My girlfriend is outside," he said. "Can she be here for this? I was thinking I'd add that condition where she needs to be present to make sure no one breaks any of my conditions."
The woman nodded. "I understand. A lot of people are signing up for that condition these days. She would need to have her own card for that, though."
Raheem poked his head out of the curtain. "Nik, looks like you need to get a card after all," he said.
"Oh goody!" The clerk said clapping. "David's the one with the long hair. Don't forget: five stars!"
Within minutes, Nik and Raheem were both behind the curtain, having completed the initial questionnaire.
The assessor handed them both Hitch-branded cards with no embossing. "These are temporary; you'll get the personalized one in the mail within five to ten business days. Just so you know, if you leave before you're assessed, your card is set with the minimum dollar value which is $1 equals I hour, with a 50% chance that you will have to pay with your body."
"Oh wow. That's really bad." Raheem said.
"I'm sure that your dollar value will be better after you're assessed, but everyone starts at 1:1:50." She looked them both over with a calm and evaluating glance. "Why don't I start with Nik. Raheem, you can sit in one of the chairs, or if you want your cock sucked, please go ahead."
"I think I will," Raheem said.
As the assessor positioned Nik before the camera, she maintained her breezy casual tone. "Positive star ratings will improve your value once you start using the card. Please remember which of these two you picked, so that you can rate him when you're done with him."
Raheem looked at the two men on their knees. Both were blindfolded, which was nice, it allowed him to stare at them without feeling like he had to set them at their ease. One, presumably David, was a skinny twenty-something with long brown hair in bun and a scruffy half-beard. The other was much more muscular, and his head and whole body were shaved smooth. He seemed older and had a hint of a sneer in the corner of his mouth.
Raheem decided that the David wasn't what he was looking for. There was something compelling about the more rugged of the two, a sort of action-movie leading-man vibe.
Raheem ran a hand over the man's rough cheek to get his attention.
"Tongue out, please."
The man opened his mouth wide and extended his tongue without moving any other part of his body. Raheem unzipped his pants and gently placed his smooth-shaved balls onto the man's tongue. "Now lick, slowly."
Meanwhile, Nik was having her picture taken by the assessor. "Fully dressed first, please," the grey-haired woman said, which was a surprise. The pictures were taken mug-shot style, one from the front and another each from the left and right profile.
"You'll be wrapped up quite quickly," the assessor said. "My name is Bronwyn, by the way. I hope you don't feel under-served here, it's just that assessing women is much easier than assessing men. Next three shots will be nude, if you don't mind."
As Raheem's dick began to harden from having his balls lightly stimulated, he glanced at the temporary slut card he had just been handed. It looked more or less like a credit card, with the Hitch logo and a microchip on it. The chip was new, he thought. Previous versions had only had a magnetic stripe. The card had the same insipid white-on-white scheme as the Hitch store and the Daryl Pines' office. It really did seem like Pines had walked into an Apple store ten years ago and decided to just copy their entire aesthetic.
By now, Raheem's cock was fully erect. The buff and shaved cocksucker was very obedient, continuing to gently tongue-bathe Raheem's scrotum while his fat cock hardened. His throbbing rod was now squeezed between the cocksucker's face and Raheem's pelvis.
Raheem reflected that most people would have at least started licking up his shaft by now, but this guy was determined to follow instructions.
Interesting. "Now slowly up to the tip," he said gently. "I don't want you to use your hands, and I want you to try to paint every square inch of my dick with your tongue. Understand?"
Instead of nodding, the cocksucker went to work. He was very determined to get that five-star rating.
