Chapter 5: Sluts 'R Us?

Damn! Damn, damn, damn!

Remind me about this the next time I tell you I don't need to fear anything.

I've just had my second 'session' with Janice. Not a date, not an outing, a 'session.' Damn!

Janice likes to 'dress up.' And when I first talked to her about it, I thought it would be kind of neat. Boy, was I ever wrong!

I know, I know, I'm rambling and I've haven't really told you anything yet. Just give me a moment, okay? Nurse Janice has just left and I'm still recovering.

No, she's not really a nurse. Dress up, remember?

Where to begin? Well, her name is Janice Richards and she's a big, busty blue-eyed blonde. Not really plump, but a little softer around the edges. Funny how her looks hadn't really registered completely back when she was my escort. Or had she changed her looks - gotten a die job, boob job, nose job, etc.? Man, right now I couldn't tell you for sure if my life depended on it.

Well, I called and left her a message on what was apparently her cellphone. Since I really had no background on her I was starting from scratch. She seemed really nice when she called me back - low, sexy voice and a nice, easy laugh. She didn't tell me a lot about herself, but did say our get togethers would have to be during the middle of the day and could only last a couple of hours due to 'other committments' she had. She didn't offer a reason and I didn't pry.

The first time she arrived at my door looking like the prototypical street hooker. You know, red tube top, short black skirt, fishnet stockings, hair teased, lots of makeup, stilleto heels, inch-long red finger nails and she was chewing and popping her gum.

For a while it seemed like when Kara was playing the baudy wench, but it wasn't long before I realized it wasn't really the same. Kara was into the role, but was 'real.' I mean, it really was her doing this and she was passionate about it.

I wasn't sure about Janice. Oh, she said all the right words and did all the right things and was incredibly talented sexually. But I found myself wondering what was going on behind those baby blues. In fact, the sex made me think of those professional x-rated photo shoots in men's magazines and on the internet.

I found myself waiting for the <flash> of a camera as she prepared to engulf my tool in her mouth. Another <flash> as she prepared to take me in her cunt. <Flash> at the moment when she arched her back (I think she actually paused a second).

Yes, the sex was good. I got off twice, and she appeared to get off several times. I think I saw a blush on her upper chest at least once... maybe. I just don't have enough experience to know for sure and it probably says something that I would even consider that she was faking. And it just wasn't the same as it had been with the others.

As I mentioned before, this time she had come (pun unintended) as a nurse. Again, right out of a porno spread - short white dress that buttoned down the front, white stockings attached to a white garter belt, two inch pumps (also white, but I'm sure you knew that), the typical white nurse's hat with a big red cross on it and a stethoscope around her neck. The dress was carefully unbuttoned down to the tops of her breasts and the lacy push-up bra they were encased in and up to her crotchless white panties from below.

Sexually, she really knew her stuff, but by the end of the second 'session' I was again wondering where the cameras were and thinking I'd been more into it back when I was jerking off.

Damn!

"Okay Mr. Henson, you've let me do what I want, now it's your turn. What do you want me to be tomorrow?"

Janice had called me about an hour after she left. What I wanted was to just bag this whole thing, but after a pause I said, "How about a French Maid?"

"Great!" came the quick response, "I'll be there about 10, okay?"

"Sure thing. See you then."

I hung up the phone, wondering why I had replied with yet another cliche. It was if we were running through the list of regular porno fantasies. What next, a cheerleader? I found myself thinking I might as well be with a real hooker... Oh, shit! Could that be it?

Damn! I started thinking about 'escort services' and what 'everyone' thought they 'really' were and I was getting more and more upset about it.

And then I had a chilling thought. All I had done with this woman was sex! No 'outings, ' no conversations, nothing except sex!

And I had gone along with it! She shows up on my doorstep dressed like a hooker, I invite her in and we get right to it. What had happened to me? This was how I was honoring the memory of Hildie?

Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

"Max, can I meet you somewhere this evening?"

Max paused, then asked, "Does this have to do with what Kara told you the other day?"

"I don't think so." I didn't even know what he was talking about. "I just need to talk to someone and you seemed the logical choice since you have some idea what's going on, as opposed to a bartender at one of the local watering holes."

"Okay then. How about six o'clock at Ray's?"

"That's fine. See you then."

"Max, you know about this promise thing and I know you set up the meeting where all six women met. Is there something I should know about any of the women who had worked for you?"

Max took his time, sipping his drink and looking at his hands. Then he decided something and raised his eyes to mine. "Yes, Janice is not the same woman you took out three years ago."

"What the hell? Is she some sort of high priced hooker?"

"I take it you've met her."

"The last two days she's been to my place dressed as the porno version of a hooker and a nurse and hasn't said anything other than 'Oh baby, ' 'fuck me harder' and the like. What's the deal?" I fumed.

"Would you believe she's trying to impress you?"

"Damn you!" I moved to get out. Max carefully maneuvered so that I was trapped at the bar.

"Please listen before you run off and do something stupid."

"Like take my life in my hands having sex with some whore?"

"No, like mess up something six women have romanticized beyond normal comprehension."

"I don't care what you say, I... What do you mean six? You just told me that wasn't Janice!"

"No, I said she wasn't the same woman, meaning she has changed." He took on a pleading tone. "Please hear me out on this?"

It took awhile, but I eventually became a little more rational about the whole thing. The deciding factor, once again, was that I had to know what the hell was going on. I was beginning to think I was doomed to do stupid things forever because of my curiosity.

"All right. You have the floor. I promise not to try to leave until you have told me everything you want."

"Let's get a booth. This will take a while."

"Dan, my sister is very important to me. After what she's been through, to see her after her night with you and the hope in her eyes when she started talking about this plan..." Max shook his head, slowly, "I had to give her the chance to play it out. And that meant getting the three escorts into it as well. There was just one problem."

"Janice?"

He nodded. "Janice."

"Is she, or is she not a high-priced hooker?"

"WAS is the appropriate term." Max looked up at the ceiling, considering his words carefully. "Dan, can I trust you?"

Can you get whiplash from a double-take? I think I did. "What do you mean, can you trust me? Hell, I'm still trying to figure out if I can trust you."

Max stared at me. "Dan, you can trust me with your life. For what you did for Kara and the others I will do anything, including getting out of your life forever, if you want that. And I'm pretty sure I know your character well enough that what I intend to tell you won't go any further. But I must be absolutely positive. I'll ask it again - Dan, can I trust you?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, resisting the urge to rub them. What the hell had I gotten myself into? But I judged the man to be sincere and could find no reason to deny his request. I slowly nodded my head.

"Aloud, please."

"Yes, you can trust me not to divulge any of what you tell me tonight."

"Good." Another pause. "Janice was a high-priced hooker before she came to my service. She was actually in pretty bad shape. I'm not going to tell you where she came from. Her plastic surgery hopefully is good enough she will not be found by certain people. You with me so far?"

Wide-eyed, I nodded and then added "Yes" aloud. "But she didn't..."

"... have the plastic surgery until after she 'dated' you. Yes, that's true. At the time she joined I only knew she was in trouble, not in what way or how bad." Max gave a little smile. "Sometimes I'm a little too nice for this business. I occasionally take in strays or am willing to continue... " and he dipped his head to me "... to deal with customer requests that end up not being good for business."

"Okay, let's take that point for a moment," I said. "How does my using an escort service strictly as an escort service cause a problem?"

"Because everyone you took out ended up quitting the service because of it."

"Jesus, Max!" I exploded, "I just don't see how that's possible. Nancy said she thought the escort girls were less excited about it than She and Kara were. And how in the world can my taking Janice out have affected her?"

"Well, it did. And thanks to you I may be able to get her to marry me."

That was too much for me. I slugged down the rest of my drink, stood up too quickly and got dizzy. Then things went black...

A half hour later I was resting comfortably on a couch in the manager's office and Max was explaining the facts of life to me.

Basically, it was the same with the escorts as it had been with Linda, Nancy and Kara. The love I showed for Hildie touched something in each of them, and made them want a little more out of life. Their reservations apparently had more to do with who and what they were than how they felt about me.

In Janice' case, having already quit hooking it became an effort to change her life completely. Finding a simpathetic ear in Max, she told him her entire story, even though Max apparently could have made a lot of money by returning her to her previous 'owner.' He set up and funded the plastic surgery. In return, she made him promise to let her earn it back, got a business degree in a year and a half and was now running the business side of the escort service.

"When I told her about Kara's plan and asked if she could be a part of it she worried about it. You see, she wondered if you would accept her because she looked like a different woman. I'm betting one reason she decided to go with the sex was to keep you from thinking about the differences from when you had taken her out before."

"Well, if that's what she was trying to do it certainly worked. I had no idea which end was up during our sessions."

"She decided she had to try because she thought you might be able to help her close the book on her previous life. I think that means she might actually take my proposals of marriage seriously. So you see, not only have you helped my sister, I'm hoping you'll be able to help Janice... and me... as well."

"Proposals of marriage? Jesus, Max, I wish I had known you were serious about this woman. I wouldn't have..."

"Dan, don't worry about it."

"But Max... "

"I mean it. You are doing me a favor by spending time with Janice."

"In bed?" I was incredulous!

"Exactly."

It took him a while, but he convinced me it was the truth. I felt like I had entered the Twilight Zone.

"Max?"

"Yes, Dan?"

"Just what were you worried about me talking about? You ought to know I would never say anything about Janice or her past."

"That's not what I need from you."

"Oh?"

"I don't want her to know I talked with you about this. She didn't want you to know about her. She felt it might... prevent you from spending time with her."

"Oh." I thought a moment. "But, I haven't really enjoyed my time with her. I mean, it's as if it was a classic porn performance in front of cameras. Who is she playing to?"

"You, of course. It's how she thought she needed to be in order to impress you and make you like her."

"But it didn't work."

"It would have for almost anyone else. Any other man would have been completely taken in." He slugged down the rest of his drink and went to the office door and waved the waitress over.

I still didn't get it. "What do you mean, any other man?"

He shook his head slowly. "Dan, you mentioned cameras. That means you realized that she was putting on the kind of performance that most men go gaga over. I'm sure her performance in bed was exceptional."

I nodded my head. "She's easily the most experienced sex partner I've ever had."

"So why are you complaining?"

"Because she's, she's... " Not real?, I thought to myself, not passionate?. "She's not really there, emotionally. She's just performing."

"What if you had paid for it?"

"Huh?"

"I said, what if you had paid for it? Would you have gotten your money's worth?"

I sat back aghast. "Pay for it? Why would I pay for it?"

Max was patient. "Dan, just for a moment, could you please stop thinking about this in connection with your life and personal experiences and try to think about it as if you were someone else?"

I shook my head slowly. Was I stupid? Why was I struggling with this? "Max, I'm sorry. I just don't seem to be able to think philosophically about this and I'm not sure why."

"I am. There are two reasons. One is that your wife - Hildie? - seems to have immunized you to 'performances' like Janice'. The other is that you have been very lucky in that your return to an active sexual life has been deeply satisfying to you both sexually and spiritually."

I blinked. "Huh?"

Max laughed. "Dan, Kara told me everything you two had talked about, and she added things Nancy and Linda had told her. Don't worry, it was nothing bad!"

"But, but... "

"Easy, big fella," his eyes twinkling as he glanced down, "All three of them were so proud of you and the time they spent with you they had to tell someone. So far it's just the three of them and me, and Lord knows I'm not telling anyone else. I'd have a stampede out of my escort service!"