Chapter 11: A Good Doll and a Dirty Bitch
Grace was starting to wonder exactly what Jessica saw in this place. In spite of the elegant design and good upkeep, it barely seemed like a functional massage studio, let alone the top notch facility her friend had raved about. She'd been here once before, and they'd been nothing but professional, but apparently with the new staff she'd run into today, things had gone rapidly downhill.
In fact, something had seemed off from the moment Grace opened the door. The hairs had stood up on her neck at the sight of the new receptionist huddled with the oily man in the leather jacket and the weird pink princess girl, too young for him and made up like some sort of eighties doll, plastic baubles and all.
On top of it all, the sauna wasn't even up to temperature when she got there. She'd showered and put on a two-piece bathing costume and shorts (Grace didn't trust this place nearly enough to go naked), and had to sit in the lukewarm shed for 15 minutes before it was properly heated. Once it got up to temperature, it wasn't bad, but now she only had another 20 minutes or so until her friend would be all done. Hardly enough time for a satisfying session.
She closed her eyes and contemplated calling it off and just getting out now, before she got too sweaty. It was a free session, after all, so Grace hadn't lost anything but time. If she waited until Jessica's massage was done, Jessica would ask how Grace enjoyed the sauna. And of course Grace couldn't lie to her friend about what she'd experienced -- not to cover for such a sub-par studio.
She knew that as soon as Jessica would hear how unprepared Inner Fullness had been, her friend would feel the need to make a complaint on Grace's behalf, and Grace would not be able to talk her out of it. Grace loved Jessica dearly, but a lukewarm sauna would not be worth the undignified confrontation she was quite sure was in store if she stayed here.
Grace picked up her water bottle, and was just about to leave when she felt a cold draft. She was sweatier than she'd realized, the outside air sending a tingle across her damp skin. Standing just inside the sauna was the pink doll girl from earlier, looking every bit as bizarre as the first time Grace had seen her.
Instead of a towel or a swimsuit, she was in white panties covered in little blue and yellow flowers, like something a child would wear. More shockingly, they were almost transparent, and Grace could see several strange bulges on each side through the fabric. God, did that girl have rings through her labia?
It was a horrid suspicion to have of a stranger, but judging by the girl's pierced nipples, hung with little plastic charms, not an unwarranted one. As far as Grace was concerned, the most normal thing about the girl was her little backpack, and even that wasn't normal for an adult woman! It was rainbow colored with patches from a popular cartoon, and looked like something a child might wear. And besides that, it was too small even to hold a bath sheet.
Grace shivered, her urge to warm herself momentarily overruling her desire to leave the girl's presence and this entire bizarre massage studio, if only just.
"Come inside and sit down, before you let all the heat out, hun," she said, making a valiant effort to smile.
"Thanks! That's a great idea!" said the woman, sitting directly next to Grace. She waved unnecessarily, her body uncomfortably close and her manner, far too chipper. "Hi again! I'm Sprinkles!"
"Grace," she said, reluctantly offering her hand.
Grace had assumed that the girl was fresh from the shower, but the scent that wafted in with her made Grace suspicious, and a bit queasy. It would be gauche enough if this "Sprinkles" girl had simply failed to properly dry herself after a shower, but to come in wet with sexual secretions would be downright unsanitary. Grace tried to convince herself she'd imagined it, but the air had definitely taken on an unmistakable hint of female arousal, detectable even over the smell of warm cedar. She pulled back her hand before the girl could touch it. Perhaps a confrontation with the manager was warranted after all!
"Is that, uhh, permanent makeup?" Grace asked, scooting down the bench to put a little distance between herself and the girl.
"Yeah! Do you like it?"
Grace looked at her big-eyed, hopeful expression.
"Well, I'd say it certainly fits you, Sprinkles," Grace replied, dryly.
"Thanks!" the girl chirped. "Daddy Jan picked it out for me."
"Oh, did he?" Grace asked, trying to hide her smirk, already starting to imagine the story she'd tell Jessica.
"You look really pretty, Grace!" Sprinkles responded, biting her lip as she looked at Grace's yellow swimsuit.
Grace smiled indulgently at the girl's gauche earnestness.
"Well, that's nice of you to say, Sprinkles. I do try to take care of myself. Do you, um, have a swimsuit you might like to wear as well?"
"Maybe Daddy Jan could pick some makeup for you, too!" the little princess said, ignoring her question.
"Thank you, but I'd stick to picking my own makeup for now. How long have you known this, uh, Daddy Jan?"
"Oh, just a few months. It feels like way long ago, though. I wasn't even Sprinkles, then!"
"No? Then who were you, exactly?" This was going to be rich.
Sprinkles bit her lip. "I forget her name, but she liked icky goth clothes and punk music, and being super bitchy."
"Did she, now?" Grace wondered what she could mean by that. Did the twit think she'd really been a different person?
"Uh huh! I didn't even like girls back then. Even pretty girls like you, Grace! Isn't that the craziest?" She put a hand down on Grace's knee and squeezed. It felt surprisingly heavy.
Grace took a deep breath. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Sprinkles," she said, brushing the hand off her lap and standing up.
"Please don't go!"
Grace looked back at her. The cheery little slut was sobbing now! Grace glanced through the small window in the door to see if anyone was watching this embarrassing scene.
"Is something wrong, uh, Sprinkles? Surely, there's no need for such a display."
"S-sorry," sprinkles whimpered. "It's just, you're so pretty and nice that I have to give you something. But now you're going away, and I can't!"
Grace took a deep breath. "And what do you want to give me, Sprinkles?"
Sprinkles immediately stopped crying, her face instantly turning to a bright smile like a switch had been flipped. She reached into the bag as Grace unconsciously took a step back, the hair standing up on the back of her neck.
"Here, Sit down for just a minute, and cup your hands. It's something really special!" she said proudly.
Her fingers delicately pinched the top of what looked like a very small, ornate flask, filled with purple-tinted water. Grace examined the flask, her anxiety giving way to curiosity. Whatever the strange artifact was, she couldn't see how it could be dangerous.
"Is that some kind of pitcher, or a vase, perhaps?"
"Did you ever play with dolls when you were little?" Sprinkles asked.
"That's a strange question, but uh, yes, I played with dolls, Sprinkles. Is this from your doll house?"
Sprinkles giggled slyly. "Yeah, I guess it is! Daddy Jan made it for my favorite doll."
"Uh, right," Grace examined the device, hesitating to touch it more out of suspicion of where Sprinkles' hands had been that concern over the device itself. "Is it one of those, uh, hand boiler toys?"
