Holly's First Night Ch. 05

This is the continuing story of my time as an escort, following on from Holly's First Night Ch.04

I met a real Michael the next day, Monday. He was nothing like the Michael of my dream; this Michael, the Reverend Michael, was a TV evangelist. He was a tall, handsome man, somewhere in his mid fifties I guessed. He reminded me in some ways of how I would like to remember my father, quiet, kind-hearted and with a twinkle in his eye. Michael wasn't the brash type of evangelist that you imagine, he was no Billy Graham for instance, but he had a certain intensity of purpose about him. He truly believed.

So why on earth did he want an escort? It turned out that although Michael fiercely believed in the ultimate goodness of God, his God had been intent on testing Michael. About eight years previously he had met and fallen in love with a woman from his 'flock', a convert who he quickly realised he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. She was looking for affirmation of some greater purpose, having just inherited several millions from the recent sudden death of her parents.

Their courtship had been a slow, careful affair. He travelled around the country raising funds and holding services. She would occasionally accompany him, always staying in separate hotels. They would take long walks together, go to the theatre sometimes. I half expected him to tell me she had bluebirds twittering around her in the springtime.

Michael was adamant he did not know of her financial status until a short time before they were married. She had got used to living modestly and going to work, in an art gallery I think. Anyway fast forward to their third wedding anniversary, in October 2003. She found a lump on her breast, they did all the usual stuff through the NHS; radical double mastectomy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy. They even went for private treatments, but God was not going to give them a happy ending. She died just eight weeks later.

His story had me welling up with tears. He wanted an escort to accompany him when he visited her memorial plaque at the crematorium. Each year he would hire a woman to go with him on the anniversary of her cremation. Yes I know, I find it hard to understand too, but I think it was almost like he was trying to show her that despite having access to other women, she was the only one for him.

Of course that only works if you believe in an afterlife. He took me to a very nice tearoom afterwards. I honestly didn't think such things still existed, it was like something from a Mills and Boon romance; thin sandwiches, an impossible choice of different teas, served in a proper pot and the most delicious light sponge cakes. Discreet service, near enough to provide assistance, yet far enough away not to overhear the conversation.

He was the perfect gentleman, a still grieving widower who had not really come to terms with his greatest loss. All I had to do was look good and listen to him. It was quite a privilege.

I shall never forget that Michael.

----------------------------------------------

At my first interview with Alexandra she had been quite blunt about some things, specifically that I needed to have a makeover and do some exercises. She had made appointments for me with Giles and Maria, although I'd had to postpone the first session with Giles because I was meeting Michael.

On Wednesday morning however, I reported to Giles in the same building Alexandra had interviewed me. The whole of the top floor was an open plan gymnasium, divided into three distinct zones. As you entered, to the left was a huge open floor, large mirrors occupied the length of the wall and there were barre set into them, that part of the room was like revisiting the junior ballet class when I was about five years old. My mother spent a long year, and a lot of money finding out that I was just another plump, slightly inelegant little girl then.

To the right, nearest the door were a couple of treadmills and rowing machines, whilst further in there were some weight machines and stacks of dumb-bells.

There was nobody else there apart from Giles.

"Good morning, Holly?"

"Umm, yes." I replied.

"Good, Alexandra has impeccable taste as always."

He was a small, lean man; wearing leggings and a tight vest; it was possible to see the outline of nearly every muscle on his body. Yes, including that one and like the rest I had no doubt it was very well defined.

"Okay lovely, you can get changed through there." He pointed to a small doorway that, unsurprisingly, had a sign on it saying 'Changing Room'.

I entered a well appointed changing room; there were several private changing stalls, full length lockers and private shower cubicles. On one wall were wooden shelves with plenty of thick fluffy white towels. White dominated the room, broken only by the antiqued pine accessories and fittings. There was a doorway at the other end of the room which 'Sauna' written on it.

I entered the first stall, closing the door behind me. I don't really know why as I was the only one in there. The walls of the stall were about five feet high so I could see all around if I wanted to stand on tip-toe. I quickly changed out of my street clothes, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a loose tee-shirt. I'd already put my hair up in a pony-tail, so once I'd finished fastening my trainers I placed my bag in a locker and walked out into the main hall again.

"Okay Holly, do you do any regular exercise?"

I considered carefully the gym membership that came with being at the university. I had actually gone once or twice after the initial induction session the October before last. Now it was December, more than twelve months since stepping foot inside a temple to the body.

"Umm, no." I said, shaking my head at Giles.

"Right, okay then. Just walk around the ballet school for me then, please." he stood in the centre, watching me carefully as I walked, self consciously around the ballet area, conscious of my reflection following me around. It made me think of one of those dressage sessions with horses you see on television. In a way I suppose, that's precisely what it was.

"Okay, thank you Holly, now, what I'd like you to do next is just stand still in the middle of the room and close your eyes for me."

That seemed weird but I did as I was asked. Actually it was very strange. My feet were comfortably planted on the floor as I closed my eyes. I had the disconcerting sensation that I was swaying slightly, the feeling grew more and more until Giles said

"Thank you Holly, you may open your eyes now." As I did so everything became steady again.

"Okay Holly, erm... let's try this, I want you to stand next to the barre, you may hold onto it for balance if you wish. You are right handed yes? Good, so what I want is for you to raise your left foot off the ground, then when you're ready, let go of the barre."

It seemed simple enough, as I walked over to the nearest barre I could sense Giles watching my every step. I stood next to the smooth wooden bar, loosely holding it in my right hand as I lifted my left foot off the ground. Giles was fiddling with his wristwatch, pressing a button as I let go of the bar.

"Look straight ahead Holly."

This was actually quite difficult: as I began to lose my balance I could feel my thigh muscles starting to shake. I grabbed hold of the barre again, steadying myself.

"Right then Holly, that will do for the moment, I just want to check your flexibility. In a minute I want you to lie on the massage table over there and then I'm going to move your legs. All I ask is that you don't resist unless I ask you to, okay?"

I nodded, feeling somehow that I'd failed a test. This feeling got a whole lot worse as he made me lie on my back on the table, then gently he lifted each leg in turn, holding it at the calf and bending me at the hip he brought each leg closer and closer to my chest until I thought he was going to snap me in half. That was uncomfortable. I think I was coming to the same conclusion Giles had. I was unfit and inflexible.

"Well then Holly, I think we've got some work ahead of us. Your core is very weak and you're quite stiff. Not the worst I've seen by any means, but you do need to look after yourself, it'll make things much easier in the long run. Anyway, what I'm going to do is give you several sets of exercises, and I'll take you through each one in a minute. We'll meet here again in one week, same time, same place and then we can see what else needs doing."

He spent the next hour and a half first demonstrating, then coaching me in the exercises he wanted me to do before printing them off on a couple of A4 sheets of paper.

"Remember, make sure you warm up before you start, a little pain and muscle aches are to be expected, if you get a sharp pain stop and contact me. You are going to be stretching your muscles and joints, it will hurt. When you come over next week bring a leotard, leggings and a pair of heeled shoes, two and a half to three inch stilettos should be fine, I need to see how your muscles are moving if we are to make rapid progress, is that understood? Make a special place in your schedule to do this properly, concentrate on getting the shapes right first, the rest will follow."

I nodded, honestly feeling too exhausted to speak.

"Good, you know where the showers are, I'll see you next week." and with that I was dismissed.

When I got back to the flat I shared with Zoe I realised my mobile phone battery had given up the ghost again. I rummaged around in the kitchen until I found the charger, plugged it in then made a cup of tea. As I sat sipping the tea the message service on the phone trilled, indicating someone had left a voicemail message.

"Holly, this is Alexandra. I have an appointment for you, call me."

The number she'd called from hadn't been recorded by my phone, so even though it was after office hours I tried her office as it was the only number I had for her. It rang three times, then it was picked up.

"Hello?" It was Alexandra's voice, cool and seductive. I hesitated for a few long seconds. Was I being too eager? What if she wanted me to do something I didn't like? Would I do it? Yes, probably, said my traitorous inner voice.

"Alexandra, it's Holly. You wanted to talk to me?"

"Holly, thank you for getting back to me so quickly, how did your appointment with Giles go?"

"Umm, well not too bad, I think. He's given me some things to practice and we'll see each other again next week."

"Oh, that's good Holly. You've some very exciting talents that could take you a long way. Anyway, I have a very special, regular client here who has made an interesting request, and I immediately thought of you."

"Okay?" I wasn't too sure, but I suddenly thought my inner voice didn't sound so confident now about 'doing anything'.

"Yes, why don't you pop in tomorrow and I'll take you through the whole thing."

"Okay I guess".

"Fine, see you at eight thirty sharp then." she said brusquely, and put the phone down.

Oh shit, I thought to myself, what the fuck am I doing? I went into the kitchen. There was a bottle of cheap white wine in the fridge which I intended to make friends with.

Next morning, after running the gauntlet of London's disgusting, lecherous commuters on the tube, I made my way up the steps outside Alexandra's office. It was a cold damp, dull morning, and last nights bottle had morphed into a low-grade hangover. I knocked on her door and waited for permission to enter. To my surprise she opened the door herself.

"Holly, do come in, take a seat." she said as she air-kissed my cheeks. She looked at me more closely.

"Are you alright, your eyes are a little red, you don't have a cold coming on do you?"

"Umm, no, I just didn't sleep too well last night." I lied, making a mental note about being careful not to drink so much again before an appointment.

"Well, if you're sure." she paused a second, "we have a number of regular, very wealthy clients who are very generous in return for the services we offer."

I nodded, as if in agreement, trying to maintain a professional serious air about me, whilst wondering just what she had in mind for me. She picked up a brown file folder and handed it to me.

"This is a file on one of our most generous clients. His name is Aaron, the lady beside him is his wife Tanya."

They were immaculately dressed, him lean and handsome, her heart-shaped face perfectly made up and wearing very expensive looking, designer quality clothes, jewellery and shoes. I looked up at Alexandra quizzically.

"Aaron and Tanya live in California, he's made his fortune in electronics apparently. They are a very open couple, she knows he uses our services when in London. Recommended him in fact." she paused to take a sip of the coffee she hadn't offered to me. Subtle but it established our relationship at this point in time.

"Up until a few years ago they were well known on the swinging scene, Tanya it seems, had a rapacious appetite for men, lots of men. Anyway, they decided to have children and she withdrew from the scene, whilst still allowing, and probably encouraging, him to continue having fun. Which he did." She smiled wistfully and I wondered whether she had ever...?

"Anyway, Tanya has decided their children are old enough to be left with a nanny so she can come over to England with Aaron to, erm, 're-enter' the lifestyle."

"Umm, okay I guess. Er-mm, how do I fit in?"

"It seems Tanya has a fantasy about being seduced by a woman. Seemingly, despite their many parties she rarely had sex with a woman. She wants Aaron to watch, but not join in. Psychologically that could just be about catching up with him I suppose."

I looked at her pictures in the folder again, wondering how it would feel to kiss her plump lips, suckle on her nipples, and have her writhing beneath my fingers.

"And Aaron will be in the room?" I wondered whether he'd be masturbating as he watched me undress his wife, watched her pleasure me. A nod from Alexandra. All of a sudden I wanted to do this.

"Okay, I'm in."

"You haven't mentioned the money Holly, do I take it you don't want paying?"

She was right, at the point I had made the decision and agreed, to me it was all about the sex, not the money, was I becoming addicted? I quickly back-pedalled

"I made the assumption the normal fee for two people would apply Alexandra. If that's not true then I probably won't be able to help."

"That's a good girl," she smiled, "remember, first and foremost this is a business, one that is very profitable and a lot of fun, but one where the client always gets what they want."

"Now then they are flying in in six weeks. Obviously they want to meet you, I suggested dinner in a small bistro I know not far from their London home. If you hit it off you'll get the usual fees from me and any client gratuities are obviously between you and them. If it doesn't work out at the restaurant you'll get four thousand pounds. I believe Aaron will pay for the meal and your taxi."

She'd known, or at least guessed I would take the job! She handed me a small card.

"I'll contact you with the final details in good time. I suggest a nice cocktail dress would be suitable."

There was that feeling of dismissal once again as I stood to leave the room. Alexandra accompanied me to the street door, gave me a hug and said

"Holly, I think you're going to be one of the best hostesses I've ever had, but you should try and stay away from alcohol and drugs, coming here with a hangover wasn't the best idea was it? Now, go and have some fun in the shops, and work hard on whatever exercises Giles has given you."

I didn't really know where to go to hide my tears, Alexandra was right and I felt so judged and ashamed. I wandered off down the street, eventually coming out near Oxford Street. The warmth of a cafe drew me in and, as I sat nursing a cappuccino and a couple of biscotti I started working through what needed doing.

Clothes obviously, lingerie? Probably. Shoes definitely. Hair? That kind of depended upon who I was going to be in fulfilling Tanya's fantasy in front of her husband. She must be fifteen years older than I was. Alexandra had said I had to seduce her. I don't think I'd ever seduced anybody, not, you know... in that way, and my experience with women was limited to Zoe, and the few lesbian porn films I'd watched recently. My mind wandered... there had been one film with a scene where an allegedly 'straight' woman had fallen for the charms of her babysitter. Maybe I should go and do some more research.

Looking at my watch I realised it was nearly lunch time. I had to get something done today. Decision made I started out, heading for Knightsbridge. It was only twenty minutes later that I walked into Harvey Nic's. From there I went to Harrod's and finally, clutching a handful of bags whose contents were worth over two thousand pounds, I got back on the tube to go home.

I spread the bags on my bed, the classic dark green and gold writing of the Harrod's bags contrasted with the pale ivory and black of the Harvey Nichols' bags. It seemed ridiculous and obscene that I had, in the last few hours, blown away two grand on clothes for one night; a Haider-Ackermann black off the shoulder dress, knee length, but with a promise of naughtiness was matched to the most beautiful Aquazurra pumps with three inch heels and a plain, understated Givenchy black leather clutch bag with a gold chain. I thought that should work to produce the look I wanted for Tanya.

That night, sipping a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio, I surfed the net seeking further inspiration for my scene with Tanya, and had a little fun with myself, just to make sure everything was working properly.

Which it very definitely was.

I woke early the next morning, thought about getting up, decided against it, rolled over wrapping myself in the quilt and drifted off, dozing until the time was rather more civilised. Well actually until I had to get up to go to the loo. Then I was hungry, it was lunchtime after all. Reviewing yesterdays purchases I realised I was lacking some suitable jewellery. Back to Harrod's then. Honestly, the things a girl has to do.

I returned with a small green bag the contents of which were worth over eight thousand pounds. A Bulgari bracelet in white gold, its fan-shaped detail set with iridescent mother-of-pearl and frosted with shimmering pavé diamonds, a matching pair of ear rings and a 3 string pearl choker. As I surveyed my outfit I couldn't believe how much I had spent, nor how much I enjoyed having these beautiful things. I looked around and promised myself I would find somewhere better to live.

I tried to return to my studies before it was too late to recover what little progress I'd made this semester, but to be honest my heart wasn't really into it. Otherwise my life seemed to be taken up with exercise, deportment, yoga, stretching, Zoe of course. We had a lot of fun together. She seemed to be getting quite a bit of business through Alexandra; I tried not to get jealous of her for that

Oh yes, and research, lots of research. I had no idea just what a massive variety of pornography there was out there; things I'd never have dreamed of, and some things I had. I was surprised at what turned me on and when Zoe wasn't about I would sometimes indulge myself with toys I could buy on-line, no embarrassment about going into one of those stores, just an anonymous box left in our lobby.

Alexandra was good in her promise, she called, several weeks later and gave me the details of my appointment, unhelpfully that evening, which gave me less than eight hours to get ready and all seductive. She also mentioned that Giles was very pleased with my progress, which made me feel pretty good. I'd stayed away from alcohol mostly, and drugs totally, and I knew Giles programme had made me fitter and leaner and more flexible.