The Reluctant Santa Belle

"Now, from eleven to one, when you get to work that shift, it's almost one hundred percent men. Women are allowed but don't usually stay till then. During this time, flirt with the men, let those boobs tantalize them a little—it helps the tips. The good money-maker from ten to one is the 'cuddle' sessions."

"The what?" Erika questioned, opening her eyes a little wider.

"'Cuddle' sessions. Oh, and I forgot to mention, you're topless from eleven to one." She smiled at Erika who was now chewing on her lower lip. "It's just a name. It involves sitting on their lap, putting your arm around their neck, letting them lay a hand on your leg. If you want to let them gently touch a breast, that's up to you. Most of us do. It's a one-hundred-dollar charge for a session. We don't use egg-timers since a lot depends on how busy you are. If you have to, you can split it into two sessions

"Got it," Erika nervously replied, nodding and trying to picture herself doing that. One of her early boyfriends had enjoyed watching her boobs jiggle, so that was nothing new. He was a boyfriend — this would be with strangers.

Lori jumped up and got one of the order books they used. "See here, at the top, these four little boxes. Just put an X through the block to indicate a 'cuddle' session. Check two if the guy wants two of them. We've never had to use more than the four." She laughed. "Just put more Xs across the top I guess, if you have to."

Erika was thinking ... and calculating. A hundred bucks for what, five minutes work, or however long the session lasted? Not exactly work but ... At Winegardner's, if there was even a job there, she'd be getting eighty dollars for eight hours work. Despite her reservations, this job was beginning to sound very enticing.

"Plus," Lori continued, "if you look them right in the eye the whole time you're doing some of that stuff, you know, make them the center of attention, you may get five or ten dollars more on the food and drinks tip, depending on the guy."

"That sounds like a lot of money, and I do need money to get me through till summer."

"We work year-round, just changing our costumes with the season," Lori assured her.

Erika was thinking about something that had been said earlier and was curious.

"You said something about eleven to one. What's different about that?"

Lori smiled at her. "First let me say, this is not a sex shop of any kind. No sexual activity takes place here. Zack is strict as hell about that. But, the eleven to one shift is where you can make some real money. Stand up a second and turn around."

Erika was puzzled but did as Lori requested.

"Quite a figure you have there. You'll do well from eleven to one."

Erika was having trouble breathing as she pondered all of what Lori had just said. She was picturing, at least trying to picture, some of the things Lori had described. It was all beyond anything she had imagined or could imagine, although she was working at that.

"Just be honest with the guy at the start. You tell them no, it's no. Zack will back it, too. They give you any trouble and they're out on their ass and they know that. These are doctors and lawyers and businessmen, guys with lots of money to spend, but they don't want any trouble. I've never had a problem."

Lori was watching Erika pondering the near overload she had received in the past five minutes. She let her think, smiling as she knew exactly the thoughts that were racing through her mind.

"Wow," Erika finally said. "Not exactly what I was picturing."

"The money isn't what you were picturing either, is it?"

"Not at all." She paused for a moment, obviously doing some calculating. "So, on a good night, a really good night, working from six to one, you can make ... a thousand dollars?" Erika's eyes were very wide as she said that number.

"Sure can." Lori shrugged. "Not as many people here from eleven to one so there's only three of us working that shift. We trade around so everyone gets a chance."

"And you're open seven days a week?" Erika questioned.

"No, just six days. No Sundays. But Monday is slow and Thursday too for some reason. So, on those days there are only four of us working. Still, you get at least four days a week and that's a lot of money."

Erika was still processing, and Lori watched.

"Ready to start tomorrow?" Lori finally said.

"Oh my gosh. It's hard to say no. That's for sure. But tomorrow?"

"Your first day, you'll just observe. Then you'll be ready to go. Let's go tell Zack that tomorrow is the day." She grabbed Erika's arms and directed her toward the office.

Erika wasn't resisting, so the decision was made. It was all happening so fast, but the decision needed to be made fast. Jiggling her boobs ... hand on her bare belly ... probably playing with her navel. It wasn't a sex thing. She kept telling herself that. Guh. She was going to do it and see what happened.

Erika was at Winebrenner's at five-thirty on Saturday, ready to watch and learn. She'd filled out all the papers yesterday so she was committed, despite the reservations that still lingered. She tried to ignore them and was more successful doing that with each passing hour. The dollar amounts that Lori had mentioned were sweeping her doubts away as she was anticipating having no problems surviving the rest of the academic year.

Today, she wouldn't be wearing the uniform she had taken home yesterday and tried on. The material was a little stretchy and, given that, it fit her reasonably well, if a little tighter than she would have liked. She'd stood in front of her mirror and tried jiggling her boobs. Despite the tightness, the material was flimsy enough that she had plenty of "jiggle" going for her. Lots of stomach and belly visible too, which highlighted her cute innie navel. Plenty of legs showing below the bottom of the short pants.

Lori greeted her and briefed her on what would be happening. She found herself anxious to get started and see what would be happening. Saturday was the busiest night, she had learned, so there'd be plenty to see.

At six o'clock, Zack unlocked the front door and took his place behind the small podium where he'd be directing the guests to their respective tables. He smiled at Erika and gave her a thumbs up. She was tingling with anticipation.

Zack had told her to just roam around and watch what was happening and take some mental notes. He'd pressed her about college and how she was doing and she'd had to admit that she had gotten a B during her first semester of college, but all as since. That seemed to reassure him that she'd have no trouble remembering things.

She watched as the first customers came in, men with their wives, as Lori had said, with just a smattering of single males. She watched Lori and the others taking orders, noting that all but one had five tables. She had already gotten a couple of "can't wait for you to start" from the others. That would allow each to have the normal four tables.

She noticed the servers giving big smiles and often laughter, without overdoing it at all. They weren't doing anything that would be offensive to the women.

A lot more activity, none of it discouraging to Erika, and it was the mysterious eleven o'clock. Amidst her nervousness, she was anxious to see what happened here. Despite that anxiety, particularly as she observed several of the 'cuddle' sessions, she saw nothing she wasn't expecting, nothing that Lori hadn't told her, and certainly nothing that would cause her to change her decision. She was ready for Monday.

There was no way to avoid lunch with Alison, and Erika was planning what to tell her about the new job. She had decided to leave out as many of the details as possible. Besides, she had never actually done any of those details. Rationalizing had become a common part of her life in the last couple of days.

"I'm dying to hear. You get the job?"

"I got it," Erika confirmed.

"So, you'll be sitting little kids on Santas lap?"

A very pregnant pause.

"Um, what's up with that?" Alison looked genuinely puzzled along with her grin.

"I misread the application, or at least the name on the application."

"I don't understand."

"It wasn't Winegardner's, it's Winebrenner's." She glanced at Alison who still looked puzzled.

"What's that?"

"It's a ... men's club."

Alison stared at her for long seconds. "What the fu ... hell is going on with that?"

"I'm a Santa Belle at a men's club." Erika shrugged. "Think Playboy Club, only not quite the same."

"Holy shit. Little bunny suit with your boobs hanging out?" Alison looked amazed.

"Kinda."

"So, that's all you're going to say?"

"Not much to say. You can picture it." Erika wasn't going to help improve Alison's picture unless she had to.

"Of course, the big question is, do you make good money doing that?" Alison was smiling, a very coy smile.

"Yeah, it's good." Erika shrugged again, not willing to let Alison in on how much she was making ... or rather, was going to make.

"I'll have to come and see you."

"Bring lots of money if you do. The food there is very expensive. Very expensive," she repeated, hoping to deflect Alison's interest.

"I don't need that. No extra money in my account either.

They spent another thirty minutes talking about school, then devoured their burgers, finally heading to their rooms, Alison to get ahead with her studies and Erika to wonder about Monday.

Despite wanting to sleep in, Erika was awake at seven p.m. and ready, if not anxious, to start the day. She wasn't anxious to start so early, even while being anxious about what the day would be bringing. She fixed a light breakfast, two pop-tarts, and some coffee and tried to look at the first assignments for her January classes. Lori had told her she'd be getting a check for her Saturday work, seven hours at ten dollars an hour. After taxes, about sixty dollars she guessed. Adding that to the seventy she already had would provide her a nice cushion for the coming week until she'd be paid again — the next one considerably larger than sixty dollars she was sure.

If things went like she was anticipating, she'd have to figure a way to tell her mother what she was doing so she could provide her with a little extra money as well. She knew that would be an interesting challenge. She decided, since she had that little bit of extra money, she would wander the mall and see if there was a trinket or two she might like to have.

It was eleven o'clock when she got to the mall, wandering here and there, trying to calm her nerves with the light exercise of walking. She stopped at a cosmetics store, got a couple of things for her hair, some lipstick, and nail polish to match her outfit and, foolishly she thought, two very small sterling silver bracelets, one for her ankle and one for her wrist. She'd heard a couple of guys talking about how cute the ankle bracelets were and she'd decided to try it out.

Back at her room, she wiled away some time, leafing through a school book, not getting much studying done. Finally, she took a shower and carefully shaved her legs, realizing that was going to become a nearly daily regimen. She carefully did her fingernails, marveling at how the color exactly matched her outfit. Lori had suggested she get to the club at five so she could become somewhat familiar with the menu, which wasn't extensive but did change somewhat each night.

She had debated about ironing her outfit but quickly realized the material didn't wrinkle and, at least on the top, was thin enough that her body, i.e., her boobs, would easily smooth out any wrinkles that were there. Finally ready, she dressed, put her two bracelets on, packed the outfit and shoes in a small duffle bag she had, made sure she had her lipstick and headed for Winebrenner's.

She dressed quickly in the room set aside for the servers, deciding she looked pretty good with her bracelets and matching nail polish and lipstick. She went directly to the kitchen where she got a twenty-minute indoctrination on the menu, the food, and how it was prepared. She was usually very good at remembering things — it had gotten her through school thus far, and she would brush up on the details every chance she got.

Zack met her in the dining room, his eyes opening wide when he saw her.

"Um," he said, smiling broadly, "I think you'll do just fine. Quick question, how tall are you?"

"About five-ten," Erika answered, not sure whether to be self-conscious about her height. With the heels she had on, she knew she was over six feet.

"With the dark hair and eyes, and that height, you have an advantage on the others." He smiled again. "Good luck, tonight. But I don't think you'll need luck." He winked and headed toward the front door.

If he was trying to make her feel comfortable on her first night, he was succeeding, at least as much as that was possible.

She saw Lori headed for her at a quick walk.

"We've got a couple of minutes here. Let me show you how to fill out the order. If you have a super memory, you don't need to write anything down, just remember it. We had one server who did that and people were impressed."

Something to consider, Erika thought. She had a good memory and might experiment with it outside the club first. With just two people at a table, it would be easier.

Lori continued with the explanation—nothing too complicated. She took Erika to the computer entry console and showed her how to use that, also not overly complicated as long as you were careful with your entries.

They finished just In time as the door was open and Zack was directing people to their tables, one well-dressed pair to one of Erikas tables.

"Hello," she said, almost before they were completely seated, "and welcome to Winebrenner's."

"Well hello yourself," the man replied, returning Erika's smile. "And, unless I've missed something, you're new."

"I am," she replied. "I'm Erika," she ventured, not having been instructed on whether or not to give out her name.

"I'm Andy Watson and this is my wife, Sandra."

"Hello, Erika," Sandra said, also smiling, then shifting her glance to Andy.

Sensing what was happening, Erika asked, "May I start you out with something to drink?"

Both decided on wine and surprised her by telling her only that it should be red, her choice.

"Are you sure?" Erika asked, glancing from one to the other.

"We do that quite often", Andy assured her, "and we've never been disappointed."

Erika shook her head. "That's a lot of pressure to put on a newcomer," she teased.

"I'm not worried," Andy replied. "You look like you can handle it."

A quick glance at Sandra, who was watching Andy, appraising his gentle teasing of Erika, and then she headed for the bar and some advice as her knowledge of wine was nil.

She returned minutes later with two glasses of red wine.

Both Andy and Sandra took a sip of the wine.

"Ah, it's a zinfandel," Andy quickly remarked, "and a good one too." He looked up at Erika, obviously waiting for more information.

"Yes, it's, and let me see if I can say this correctly, Grgich Hills, 2013." She was proud that she'd remembered the name.

"Well done," Andy said, looking at Sandra.

"Was I being graded?" she asked, laughing.

"Absolutely," Sandra quickly replied. "And I think you passed with flying colors."

"Thank you," Erika smiled. as long as passing equated to tips, she was happy with that.

At about ten-fifteen, she watched a nicely dressed man approach her area and be seated by Zack, who looked at her, gestured to the man with a head nod, and winked. That made her wonder, but she moved quickly to the table.

"Hello," she said, "and welcome to Winebrenner's," her usual greeting.

He lifted his head from the menu to look at her, and a shiver ran up her spine, he was so handsome. Her smile was matched by his even broader smile. He just looked at her for long seconds, until she remembered why she was there.

"May I get you something to drink?" she asked, hoping her voice didn't waver too much.

"Please," he replied, still smiling. "Maybe a glass of chardonnay." He nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.

as she was at the bar getting the glass of wine, Lori sidled up beside her.

"Good luck with that one," she said. "Every one of us had hopes about him. He's so freaking good looking and tips well."

Erika served him the wine and, once again, his eyes never left hers. He asked her a few questions about the night's menu, probing quite a bit, she thought. Finally decided, he ordered. He asked for a refill of the wine a few minutes later and she took care of that. He had finished eating about ten forty-five and he gestured to her. She hurried to the table.

"I'd like to talk to you for a couple of minutes if that's all right."

"Sure, no problem," she said, giving her other tables a quick glance to ensure that everything was in order. This late, only one other of hers was occupied.

He looked up at her, a different look on his face this time. It nearly gave her goosebumps.

"Well, here goes," he began. "I'm just guessing here, but from listening to you talk I'd say you're a college student looking to make a few dollars over Christmas, or a graduate, doing the same thing. Am I way off base?"

"Exactly right on the first count," she said, their eyes meeting again, only much closer now as she had bent over to talk with him. She could smell his cologne, see so very clearly the clear blue of his eyes, the tiny stubble of his beard. She could even feel his breath against her as he spoke.

"I'll tell you that my name is Matt," he said, "on the condition that you tell me yours."

"Since you've already told me yours, you've left me no choice then?"

"True," he replied, chuckling. "I planned that."

"I'm Erika, a college sophomore, trying to get enough money to survive the rest of the school year.

"And what is a sophomore like yourself looking forward to becoming?"

She could hardly keep herself from saying that she was looking forward to becoming a wife to someone like him. This job was bringing out an entirely different side of her.

Instead, she answered, "A nurse. I've wanted to do that for years."

"When you graduate, let me know. I'll hire you."

"What?" she gasped.

"I'm an orthopedic surgeon, and I hire nurses all the time."

"Wow," she exclaimed, a little louder than she'd wanted. "Oops, sorry", she said, shushing herself. "I may hold you to that," she said, a playful grin on her face.

"You won't have to. I'll remember you," he assured her, the look on his face much more serious.

They looked at each other from six inches apart until, once again, that huge smile appeared on Matt's face.

"Put one hundred dollars in your little book or whatever for our conversation here," he said, swallowing her with his smile one more time.

"No, that's too much," she said quickly, and I don't have a book ... plus that should be for after eleven o'clock." She was a little flustered.

"I sort of offered you a choice before, when I asked if we could talk. This time, I'm not offering you a choice."

"You sure?" One-hundred dollars was a lot of money, at least to her it was.

"Yep."

"Thank you," was all she could muster.

"No problem. And, like it or not, you'll be seeing more of me." It was a matter-of-fact statement.

"Not a problem for me," she replied. Not a problem at all she thought. She could get used to a guy like Dr. Matt.

She retrieved his check, he handed her the credit card and she went to Zack to have it taken care of.

"He asked me to talk with him and said he was giving me one hundred dollars for doing that. How do I handle that?" she asked Zack.

"Oh my gosh," was his reply. "I'll take care of it." He smiled at her. "I kind of figured," he added.