Chapter 1: An Acquired Taste
A vibration on the balcony floor lifts me out of a light sleep. The droning of rush-hour traffic drifts up from the streets below. I grope for the phone underneath my recliner, taking care not to knock over the half-empty bottle of chardonnay I left there in the shade. Shielding the screen from the late afternoon sun, I read the message."Hi Dani. Got time for an old friend tonight? I can bring molly. 8pm?"
Mike? That's a surprise. It's been over a year. He was a regular client from back in my Modesto days when I still set up my dates through Craigslist and worked a regular day-job. Mike was a nice guy with very specific tastes, and we were always a good fit. He said he would be in touch, but they all say that. After I relocated to San Francisco and doubled my rates I kind of figured that was that.
So, do I make time for Mike this evening?
I sit up and yawn and knead some life into my aching thighs. I spent the morning mountain-biking in the hills and my plan for the rest of the day was to have a few drinks and read a book, maybe get an early night. I have a Silicon Valley event tomorrow that will probably turn into an all-nighter. Money's good right now and I don't really need the work. But I guess it could be fun to catch up. Plus the promise of some good molly has me intrigued, I must admit.
"See you at 8. Molly is more than welcome." I thumb the phone and let it fall in my lap.
On slightly unsteady legs, I ease up out of the recliner and head inside the apartment, put the wine back in the fridge, and drink deeply from a cold bottle of mineral water. I wheel my mountain bike out of the kitchen and onto the balcony, and clear the place up a little bit. I'm all sticky and moist from napping in the humid air, and I feel the urge to shower. But many of my clients prefer it when I don't, and Mike happens to be one of those clients.
My style is what you might call "raw." So long as the client is trustworthy, I have few boundaries in the things I will do and allow to be done to me, and I find that a relaxed attitude to personal grooming suits the more bestial tastes I cater to. I prefer not to shave the parts of my body that other girls might. Nor do I preen and exfoliate, wear makeup, or douse my body with perfume. I am happy to sweat, to go unwashed, even to stink if it is required. Not many girls are comfortable in this niche, but I have gradually made it my own.
In the air-conditioned bedroom, I step out of my jogging pants and remove my t-shirt and sports bra. I put on plain white cotton panties and a thin tank-top that stretches tight across my breasts. I roll out a yoga mat in front of the mirror and move through a series of demanding poses, relishing the tension and release as I stretch my long, athletic limbs to their limits.
My ass and legs are strong from long hours on the bike, my arms and shoulders tightly muscled due to the climbing and weights I do. I arch my back into a bridge, admiring the way my large nipples stand up under the tight top, and the indecent manner in which my unkempt pubic hair and full labia show clearly through my underwear. After twenty minutes or so of stretching I feel lithe and energized. I pull on a white tennis skirt, tie my long black hair up into a loose bun, light a cigarette, and read my book in the fading light.
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It's past nine when the intercom finally beeps. I had started back on the wine half an hour ago and now I'm mildly buzzed and irritated at Mike's lateness. I check the camera to make sure it's him. "You're late." I buzz him in without waiting for his reply. Rapid footsteps echo in the stairwell and then come two sharp knocks at the door, which I open after a deliberate pause.
"I'm so sorry, Dani. I lost a bunch of time trying to track down some molly and there is literally nowhere to park in this city." Mike is out of breath and looking slightly worried, but he can't help glancing me up and down even as I glare at him. He must be in his mid-forties, maybe twenty years older than I am, but he keeps himself in good shape. He works in forestry, or something outdoorsy like that, I don't remember exactly. Greying at the temples in a way that suits him, an almost handsome face marred with deep acne-scars from what he tells me was a particularly unhappy adolescence.
"You let your beard grow in."
"Oh, yeah." He runs a hand through wild stubble and gives an awkward little smile that amuses me for some reason and already I feel like I can forgive his lateness. If a new client showed up an hour late I wouldn't even answer the door. But seeing Mike in my apartment makes me suddenly aware that he is the only person from my old life to visit me here, and it gives me an oddly warm feeling. Sure, he's here to pay me to fuck him, but somehow it still counts.
"Come in you late piece of shit." I kiss him on the cheek and pull him inside.
"This is a great place." Mike puts a bottle of bourbon and a leather messenger bag on the kitchen counter and looks around. "I hate to ask you this, now that you're all simmering with rage and everything. But do you mind if I stay tonight? I thought we could get a little fucked up and I don't want to drive all that way again. If you don't have anything else on, of course."
"If you're flush enough to pay for the whole night, be my guest. But I have a thing tomorrow, so I need you gone early."