Claudia had continued her willful misunderstanding of the situation between Ellie and Gavin. Ellie, frankly, was FED UP with it.
Claudia, her friend and boss, had always been able to see Ellie's point of view in the past. That Claudia had started constantly questioning her judgment and nagging her about calling Gavin contributed considerably to Ellie's loneliness.
The two of them had agreed though that it would be good for Ellie to have a couple of weeks off work during her university holidays. A break from work, time off classes and a little less contact with Claudia was exactly what Ellie needed at that moment. Their friendship was extremely important to both of them and they hugged as they parted on Saturday afternoon.
Ellie had another close friend in the city -- Jake. He'd grown up in the commune with Ellie and like her, he had not really fit in... It's hard growing up gay in the country. It was so wonderful to see him thriving in his new environment and her old friend had really hit his stride in the past couple of years. Being away from the confines of the gossiping, small-minded community had really helped him become his own man.
Jake was always great at cheering her up and giving her an alternative (and usually humorous) point of view - especially when it came to man trouble.
"So, girlfriend, you had sex with this guy and that was the start of the problem?"
That was the first thing Jake had said as he handed her a shot of Sambuca with a melodramatic look that gave her a further clue about the nature of the punch-line that was on its way.
"Well, in a way, I guess." She giggled both at the over-simplification and the expression on his face. Everything always boiled down to sex for Jake and she knew he was about to make her laugh more.
He changed his expression to overly serious and shook his finger at her in a mock chastisement as he gave his oh-so-well-thought-out advice.
"Dr. Jake prescribes sex. What you need Ellie is to get all hot and bothered with a stranger. No. Wait... a whole bunch of strangers."
Yep. Funny. She giggled again. What she'd needed was a good laugh and Jake's company was absolutely perfect.
"I go to a sauna in the city all the time. It's great. Good sex... especially group sex with strangers - is extremely diverting and good for what ails you."
Goodness. He was starting to sound serious.
"Oh come on Jake, you know I'm not that kind of girl."
"How do you know what kind of girl you are? You've hardly tried anything! Forget about this guy. Get across the street to that sex club and discover your inner sex goddess Ellie. You're young and should be getting your groove on at every opportunity!"
Ellie had been sipping champagne while they were talking and despite the alcohol and the laughs, the barely dampened misery threatened to bite at her consciousness. She had to ask.
"Across the street? I've never seen a sex club across the street. You mean for straight people? How do you know that?"
"Go and look Ellie. Here my child. May the force be with you." He handed her another shot of Sambuca.
She slammed it back, choked a little as it burned down her throat, and resolved to go and have some fun.
"Do you mind? I mean, we were supposed to go out?"
"Of course not! Do it. Do it now. Do it hard."
She giggled again. "OK. Bye. I'll call you."
As Ellie stepped out the door of Jake's apartment she'd felt a massive surge of excitement in her chest. Then she felt it lower down too. Ooooh. She wondered what it would be like. Not too long to wonder though.... It was just across the street.
The club looked just like a pub at first glance. The downstairs area was mostly taken up by a bar which seemed to serve as a kind of reception counter, but with a spa on the right hand side of the room.
A few people were there and they mostly looked quite like anyone you might see walking around the city, which was encouraging for Ellie. She could hardly believe what she was about to do. She swallowed her anxiety and approached the bar. The bartender was a lovely older woman who explained everything and made it all seem so normal and comfortable.
There were some men dressed just in towels, but the women seemed to be in their underwear, so Ellie took her cue from them and emerged from the locker room in just her knickers with a towel wrapped around her to cover her breasts.
An attractive older couple approached. They appeared to be in their forties and looked very friendly and extremely at ease.
