Mia and I stepped out of the town-car in front of the downtown restaurant. It was the kind of place that never seemed full but would never have a table available. Well, they'd never have a table available for me anyway, I didn't need the kind of discretion it provided the rich and powerful. But Mia didn't seem fazed: she walked in without even glancing at me.
"Ada!" Mia snapped at me. The entryway oozed elegance and I wanted to stop to examine all the gilded paintings, but Mia knew exactly where to go. She swept past the maître d' and down the stairs into the dining area; I tottered along in unfamiliar heels.
I still couldn't believe that she had talked me into this. Mia made some money on the side as a "courtesan", though I would have called it an escort or maybe a sugar baby. Men, and sometimes women, would pay her to accompany them for an evening or dinner. What happened afterwards, she wouldn't tell. Discretion was more important than anything in the business, she told me. But I would look into her closet to see all the dresses, shoes, and jewelry she'd been given and think that it couldn't be that bad.
Mia had tried to convince me to join "the business", and while the plays and dinners sounded fun, we both knew that I couldn't perform the after dinner part of the experience. At 24 I had still never slept with anyone or even gone out with anyone for more than a few dates. I always drifted away or was too focused on school. When I finally graduated with my masters and gotten a great job on the opposite coast, I began to realize that it was only going to become more difficult to find someone.
So Mia, a college roommate and only friend in the new city, had started to take me out with her for these dinners. She explained that I didn't have to do anything, but it'd give me practice to flirt and build my confidence. The people she dined with would laugh at all our jokes then put their hands on our knees only for them to inch up. Eventually, I would excuse myself to leave and Mia would do . . . whatever Mia would do. I was a little uncomfortable, but after some of the dinners that would have been my student loan payment for two months, I decided that it was worth a little bit of my dignity.
Mia had said that there was a new couple she waned me to join her with. They were new clients and she didn't have much experience with two people at once. I was there as backup, we had even come up with signals in case we were out of our depth. She had met the man for dinner the week before, but he wanted to bring his wife into the picture. He had agreed to my being there if it made Mia more comfortable.
She had showed me pictures: they were so gorgeous, I told Mia I was surprised they had to pay for sex. The couple both had dark brown, almost black hair. Hers fell well past her shoulders, his was close cropped and peppered with silver hair. Their bios said they were both 45, but I would have pegged them closer to 30. Each included a swimsuit photo: she was slim, but extremely fit with muscles barely visible under her flat stomach. He was very well toned and muscular but not bulging like a body builder.
They had sent us both clothing to wear to the dinner. It was the first time this had happened for me. I came along as a bonus, so Mia couldn't negotiate for me to get any perks. Two large packages had been couriered to Mia's apartment where we were getting ready. Sitting in our bathrobes on her bed, we unpacked our respective boxes. Inside the box were smaller, tissue wrapped packages: shoes, dress, makeup, perfume, lingerie all from brands I had never heard of or knew I could never afford. Mia seemed as surprised as me at how thorough the contents were, but she just laughed and said that they must know what they like.
We both got dressed and then Mia helped me do my hair and makeup. They had provided a reference for what they wanted: simple, fresh, clean. The lingerie they sent was black lace and so soft you could hardly feel it. The bra lifted my C cup breasts so high I felt a bit like a porn star and the thong underwear certainly helped that fact. The dress was emerald green and hugged my body in a flattering way, showing off my breasts and small waist but hiding the hips that I felt were just a bit too big. The shoes were black, strappy, stiletto shoes with red bottoms, which Mia was very impressed with but I could hardly walk in. At the bottom of the box was a velvet, jewelry box with a necklace and earring set. Mia examined it and declared it peridot in white gold: very nice considering that it was the first time I had met these people.
I felt amazing as we stepped out of Mia's apartment building and into the waiting car. No wonder Mia did this so often, she looked amazing in midnight blue with topaz jewelry. As we drove to the restaurant I looked up the prices of all the stuff we'd be sent on my phone and realized that as great as I felt, I'd probably end up selling most of the stuff to pay for my loans. But tonight I'd make the most of it.
At the restaurant, Mia walked to a semi-circular booth off to the side. The walls of the booth were tall and once we were sitting in it, we couldn't hear any conversation from either side. We were both given a glass of champagne and chatted as we waited for the couple. I was nervous, so Mia talked about boring things to calm me down: the weather, some work gossip, her 401(k). I had almost forgotten why we were there when the couple walked up.
They were just as good looking as their pictures, if not more now that I knew they weren't photo-shopped. They introduced themselves as Peter Grant and Sarah Tabbes, at which point I nearly did a spit-take with my drink. Grant and Tabbes was the financial consulting firm I worked at. I had heard that the children of the naming partners were married. They managed the company, but stayed out of the limelight as much as possible, to the extent that their pictures were nowhere on the website. I glared at Mia, but she just gave me a shrug; she was a professional. She introduced me Ada, a name we had picked for dinners like these.
Before we could get up to shake their hands, the had sat down on either side of us: Sarah with Mia and Me with Peter. More champagne appeared and we began to socialize. Sarah and Peter were great dinner companions: funny, smart, articulate. By the time dessert rolled around, I was almost starting to regret the fact that I wouldn't be joining them for the rest of the evening but Peter was getting a little handsy, so I wasn't too heartbroken. Soon after the champagne, Peter had put his arm around my shoulders which the turned into running his hand up and down my back, resting possessively on the small of my back when it wasn't moving.
Dessert wound down and I was offered another drink before heading out. Sarah started describing the view from the balcony in their apartment above the restaurant. She wanted Mia and I to come up to see it, but it was getting late and I tried to decline. Sarah reminded us that it was only the Friday night of a long weekend and that we'd love the view. I just wanted to go home, but I figured that if I could go up and see the view, they'd let me go after that.
So I found myself in a fancy apartment on the top floor, looking out across the city with "just one more drink" in my hand. As I began the reach the bottom of the cocktail, I realized that this was the first time that Mia had taken me out where I wanted to stay. They were just such beautiful people, the alcohol was flowing through my veins, and I begun to feel flushed.
I watched Peter and Mia though the balcony windows, on the couch. He sat on the couch while Mia had her dress hiked up and straddled him. She was running her hands through his hair while his hands were exploring her body. I began to feel hot and my breathing was getting shallow. I was staring, not thinking about the wife until I heard her step onto the balcony.
"Now Ada, Mia explained that you're only here for dinner." I blushed as she put her arm around my waist, "Are you sure that there's nothing we could do to get you to stay?"
"I don't think so, I need to get going to you guys can . . . have fun." Sarah laughed at the euphemism.
"I think we could 'have fun' with you here as well . . ." she said, trailing off.
"I don't think I'm experienced enough for you all." I said, without thinking. As soon as the words left my mouth, I looked away blushing. I had definitely had too much to drink.
"Oh, well, I think we're pretty good teachers, we've have so much we'd like to share." I continued look away as she propositioned me.
"I don't think I'd be the best student. You'd have to start from the beginning. I've never . . ." the words were out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying. My blush was beginning to turn scarlet and tried to turn away from Sarah, but her grasp was too tight on my waist.
"You've never what? Been with a woman? Been with a couple?" Sarah laughed and I relaxed a little. She grasped my chin and looked me dead in the eye. "Or you've never done anything at all?"
