Chapter 11: More Experienced Clients

"Alex, are you marking your territory now?" teased Cara as she joined me in the sandwich bar line at lunch on Wednesday.

"That reminds me." I fished around in my pocket for a coral necklace. Amy had suggested I bring one 'just in case' Cara happened to be at lunch. "I got one for you as well."

"Really?" she asked, and I saw the telltale gleam of anticipation in her eyes.

"Of course! Though I'll understand if you don't want to wear it."

"What're you talking about? I love it!" she exclaimed. Cara snatched the necklace with one hand while juggling the tray with the other. She searched for a place where she could set down her tray so that she could put it on.

"Here, let me hold that," I offered, taking the tray. Balancing both trays, I admired how the cream colored beads of the necklace accentuated the curve of her neck. The look wasn't nearly as good as pearls, but significantly less formal.

"You look great."

"Thanks," she replied as she took her tray back. "I hoped you had one for me, but wasn't sure how to ask."

"No problem. I've wanted to give it to you ever since I got back, but haven't seen you around campus."

"Yeah, I've been really busy taking Spanish III this block."

As we made our sandwiches, I remembered that I had yet to repay her for helping me out with Brad.

"Want to go check out Vail on Saturday? I heard they got a couple feet of new snow last weekend and it would be a good break if you'd like to get off campus."

I could tell Cara was tempted by my offer, but with a sigh she declined.

"I wish, but I really need to use every moment I can to study."

At my skeptical look, she added, "Have you ever tried learning a foreign language in three and a half weeks?"

"Yes, and you've got my sympathy." I grabbed a glass of root beer and some cookies and we headed out into the dining hall looking for the rest of The Girls.

"Maybe next Block?" Cara suggested as we joined The Girls at one of the far tables. Since we were in block three of the four separate blocks that made up each semester, next block would actually be our last class before the month-long Christmas vacation.

"Sure."

As I looked around the table, I began to suspect that Amy had arranged for both of us to be there. Surrounding us were all of The Girls, including Kelly and Angie.

"Alex, we all want to hear what you can tell us about life as a Docent."

I glanced longingly at my sandwich, pushed it to one side, and began speaking, keeping things general so that Cara could contribute.

"Well, it's not all that different from everyone else. I mean, we went to high school and stuff. It's just that we have one-on-one tutoring sessions most afternoons and teach classes a couple nights a week."

"And there's the Docent Dates and Docent Weekends to look forward to," Cara added with a knowing smile.

"I bet those are fun," Jess tried to tease.

"They are fun, but it's mostly bittersweet," I replied. "They usually only last 18-36 hours, so right when you are starting to know them, you have to say goodbye."

Cara immediately backed me up.

"I can't tell you how hard it was to wait until the client left and I was safely back in my room before crying," she admitted. "Which was almost as hard as forcing myself to move on, knowing that if I dwelled too much on the past I'd never make it as a Docent."

By this point we had The Girls' full attention, and they made a valiant effort to try and understand things from our point of view. On the whole, it wasn't anything I hadn't told either Amy or Sarah in private, but it helped to get everything out in the open. Jackie seemed the most receptive and supportive of The Girls, but I guess she was still trying to compensate for the way she used to tease me.

"What if we go too far? Or tease too much?" Jackie asked after I explained how, after years of experience, they don't have to act all weird around me every time I get back from working with a client.

"I believe we've already discussed how teasing needs to be balanced. Just don't expect me to be the most social person for a day or so after I get back, and know that if I stop laughing, you should stop teasing."

"Sounds fair," Jackie agreed. Her eyes took on a mischievous look. "What's the kinkiest thing you've ever done with a client?"

"Jackie!" I warned, and she immediately backed off. Judging from the look of rapt interest from the other Girls I suspected that my sexual exploits had been a cause for speculation since I'd arrived.

I was feeling restless Thursday afternoon when Sarah called to invite me to go running with her. After studying for my mid-term for the last few hours, I welcomed the chance to get out and stretch my legs.

Sarah had also invited Jackie and Jess, so we all headed outside together. As it was in the mid-40's we were all wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts, but even through the extra layers, the cold air was making all of The Girls nipple out.

Jackie noticed my attention. Cupping her breasts she teased, "Do you like?"

"They're quite a pair," I observed, before offering a mock critique, "but you need to work more on your posing."

"Oh? Is this better?" she asked, licking her lips sensuously and toying with a nipple.

Jess groaned and rolled her eyes. "You know, sometimes I miss the old Jackie. At least then someone would keep you in line if you started acting like a pig."

"Oh, like you didn't intend for me to notice!" I protested, turning my gaze to her prominent nipples.

"Of course I didn't!" Jess huffed. Obviously pleased at my attention, she pulled her shoulders back to give me a better view.

Just then Sarah ran up. "What're you guys talking about?"

Before I could reply, Sarah charged right on. "Whatever. You're never going to believe what happened today!"

"Damn." I breathed, annoyed at being cut off from what was a near perfect setup to embarrass Jess.

"Doug finally asked you out?"

"What? How did you know?" Sarah stammered, and she literally had to chase after us as Jackie and I started towards the trail.

Luckily Jess came to her rescue. "That's awesome! When are you guys hooking up?"

"I'm going to make him wait a long time before we hook up!" Sarah announced with an indignant snort. "But since we get tomorrow off for the Veteran's day holiday, we're going to meet up for lunch and then go to a movie or something."

"Or something sounds like fun," Jackie agreed with a wink, and they began to plan out all the different date possibilities.

'Crap!' I thought as the girl talk flowed around me. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach because I knew that there was no way Doug would be able to keep his date. Judging by Sarah's excitement she was likely to be in a very foul mood when she found out.

However, there was nothing I could do now, and I saw no need to not let her enjoy the moment. Instead I kept my misgivings hidden. I made sure to remain positive to ensure that they wouldn't think I was annoyed that Sarah had a date, but I didn't chime in nearly as much as I would have if I believed the date would actually happen.

Before I knew it we were waving goodbye to Sarah and heading back inside the dorm.

"Are you allowed to shower with me now?" I asked Jackie, hoping to change the subject and wanting to keep the mood light.

"Yes, but you'll have to let me finish what we started."

"Maybe another time," I declined, still worried about Sarah's reaction and annoyed that Jackie was the only Girl who still demanded I do things instead of offering to join me.

"Your loss," she quipped as she grabbed hold of Jess's arm and they sauntered off down the hall.

"Wait! Jess, can I speak with you for a minute?"

Jess stuck out her tongue out at a now scowling Jackie and quickly joined me at the entrance to my room.

"Would you like some company?" she asked, lightly tracing the hairs of my arm.

"Actually it's about Sarah," I confessed, and I immediately had her full attention.

"Really, what's wrong?"

"I've got a client tomorrow night, but if something goes wrong with Sarah's date, you're more than welcome to use my room to have another Girl's Night to help cheer her up."

"You don't think Doug would try to take advantage of her, do you?"

"Hardly, if anything I'd worry about the opposite," I scoffed.

"True! Can we have a Girls Night even if things go well?"

"Sure," I agreed, thinking it would look less suspicious to Sarah if The Girls had already planned on staying in. "Just remember that no one can drink in my room if I'm not there."

"Party pooper."

"I am trusting you with my room."

"Don't worry, we'll be good."

"Yeah, I hope," I replied as I turned and headed into my room.

When the door started to close without me inviting her in, Jess called, "Wait, don't you want company?"

"I might tease Jackie, but it wouldn't be fair to say no to one and yes to the other."

"What if we took turns?"

"Maybe," I hedged, "but I already said no to Jackie."

As I eased under the near scalding spray, I mentally kicked myself for not accepting Jackie's or Jess's offer. Unfortunately they weren't the only Girls I'd turned down recently. Every night one of The Girls had offered sex, but few had made any effort to seduce me.

I wanted The Girls to be so frustrated with the current situation that they would be eager to change. I could feel the tension building, yet, aside from Amy, none of The Girls had become bold enough to ask me what I wanted. There was also some residual jealousy and I wasn't convinced that The Girls were ready to take things to the next level.

At the same time, since arriving at Colorado College it seemed like I craved sex less or, at the very least, felt the urge to be more selective. When I'd been working with clients I had sex all the time. Recently it wasn't more than a few nights a week, although in many ways the quality had improved.

I hoped that Steph's presence next week would inspire The Girls. Steph was a naturally flirtatious person and she taught one of the 'How to Seduce a Man' electives at the Institute.

With a shrug I decided to let the situation continue to simmer until Steph arrived.

I was hanging out with The Girls after class on Friday, leisurely packing my overnight bag for my Docent Date with Abigail. My mid-term had gone well, but I was mentally exhausted. It didn't help that I'd become increasingly worried about Sarah the more she gushed about her impending date with Doug.

We were having a very casual conversation until Amy mentioned I'd donated all of my recent commissions to charity.

Jackie looked up with an incredulous expression and asked, "Why not just sponsor individual clients? I mean, the Institute does have a scholarship fund."

Before I could respond, Jess chimed in with, "Yeah, wouldn't sponsoring a client in the local community be a much more noble cause?"

Slightly offended, I explained, "Perhaps it would be more satisfying, but I think donating over a million to the Little Brothers and Sisters College Fund has a much larger impact."

"Well, yeah, but who has a million to donate?" Jackie scoffed.

I was tempted to snap some biting response, but could tell by the annoyed look on Amy's face and the way she was glaring at Jackie that this was not how she intended the conversation to play out.

Hoping to settle the matter before anyone else took a jab, I asked, "What do you think I did with all of last year's commissions?"

"You did ... what?" Jackie gasped, while Amy's face took on a much more appreciative look.

The conversation stopped when Sarah stomped into the room and threw herself down on the couch.

"You're back early," Jess said into the awkward silence, and suddenly every one's attention shifted to Sarah.

"Doug stood me up!" Sarah huffed, angrily folding her arms across her chest.

At her words, indignant shouts from The Girls of "What!" and "That creep!" filled the room.

"Are you sure?" I asked once the commotion died down.

"Of course I'm sure," she snapped. "I followed your advice exactly and waited around for two hours hoping he hadn't gotten nervous and was late to show up."

"Well, have you tried calling him?" I asked, glancing at the other Girls and silently pleading with them to wait for a moment.

"Why should I?"

"Maybe he's sick or something," Amy hedged, finally picking up on my subtle hints.

"Want to try calling him?" I suggested, offering Sarah my room phone.

Sarah snatched the phone out of my hand and angrily dialed Doug's number from memory. What followed was a brief and surprisingly muddled conversation during which the term 'Surprise Docent Weekend' was mentioned repeatedly.

Immediately the tone in the room changed, and, while Sarah still looked pissed, Amy assured her, "Doug being trained by a Docent is a very good thing."

"But I wanted to train him!" Sarah whined. "I'm tired of always being the less experienced person."

"Maybe Doug felt the same way," I replied.

At her dark look, I asked the others, "Tell me Girls, did your Docent teach you everything you needed to know, or have you refined your skills since then?"

"I hope I never stop learning new things," Amy agreed.

Jess smirked. "Could you teach me some new things?"

"And which was better?" I asked. "That awkward first time or the later experimentation?"

When Sarah looked far from convinced, Amy soothed, "Trust me, things will be significantly less awkward if Doug isn't constantly struggling to keep up."

"Plus, we'll have even more time to help you get ready," added Jess with a wink.

"Yeah, I know lots of tricks for breaking him in," Jackie enthused with a mischievous glint in her eye.

At that Sarah finally cracked a smile, yet I didn't want The Girls to take things too far.

"Why do you guys always focus on the sex aspect of Institute training?"

"Because that's the piece you can't get anywhere else?" Amy offered.

"And it's fun," Jess teased.

"Healthy even," Jackie added before turning her back on me. "You know, they say that the hockey players have great stamina," she said to the others.

"What does that have to do with..." at their incredulous looks I realized I'd never be able to keep up with girl talk and, after nosily sighing, I quickly finished my packing.

"Aw Alex, are we making you uncomfortable?"

"No, you're trying to corrupt a former client."

"Too late," Sarah chimed in as she was joined by most of the other Girls on the couch.

Normally I would have been relieved at how well Sarah had taken the news about Doug, but after my mid-term and Jackie's comments about donating my commission, I felt ready to snap.

As if sensing my annoyance, Amy wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned in closer.

"You do realize that Sarah's not fuming anymore and that we haven't offered any real suggestions for how to actually take advantage of poor Doug?"

When I relaxed she continued, "Don't worry, we'll take care of her, and I really wasn't expecting Jackie to suddenly start being bitchy again."

Seeing the scowl on Amy's face, I knew that she would be talking with Jackie privately and hopefully explain things to the rest of The Girls as well.

"Maybe next time people will believe me when I say it's never about the money."

"Maybe." She glanced meaningfully at Sarah. "It seems like something else was worrying you recently and that you could use a break."

"You can say that again."

"Just try to make sure she has fun as well."

"Oh, I don't think she has anything to worry about," I hinted with a smile. I reached into my closet to grab the box of supplies I'd requested from Kael.

"In that case," Amy replied, squeezing me tightly before raising her voice, "good luck!"

At her words, I noticed Sarah cringe slightly. She recovered quickly when Jess assured me, "Don't worry, we'll take good care of your room while you're gone."

I nodded and smiled when I noticed they'd already begun planning a Girls Night In before the door fully closed.

I used the short commute over to Abigail's house to help gather my thoughts. It had been a long week: finally getting through then saying goodbye to Emily, going to Sarah's soccer game, accepting Amy's proposal, studying for my mid-term ... Yet on the whole, things seemed to be going well. I was confident The Girls would be able to take care of Sarah, and I was looking forward to spoiling Abigail as much as possible.

It had been a while since I last worked with a more experienced client. Of course, I'd started off as a Docent offering group classes, one-on-one tutoring sessions, and the occasional overnight Docent Date. Since becoming an Elite, I had worked almost exclusively with virginal clients on Docent Weekends.

The contrast between Abigail and most of my recent clients was apparent as soon as I pulled into her driveway. Abigail lived with her mom in a small one-story house in the poorer section of town a few miles east of campus. While her profile indicated that she was best friends with Sidney, the de facto leader of the Ladies, it also mentioned she didn't have many other friends. Abigail was very self conscious of her weight, absolutely refused to allow anyone to call her Abby, and was rather shy around new people.

From her profile I knew that people teased her for being overweight, 'Flabby Abby' being the name of choice. Yet her smile could light up a room, and once she got over her initial shyness Abigail was one of the nicest people I'd ever met.

What really won me over was her genuine enthusiasm for the time we'd be spending together. As we posed for the standard before-pictures, I found that Abigail was open to going just about anywhere for dinner, but didn't want anything too fancy. After a brief debate over where to get 'the best noodle bowls in town, ' we eventually decided to try the vermicelli at the Saigon Café.

As we drove downtown it was clear Abigail had done her homework. It was comical the way she would finish my sentences when I tried to offer advice. I soon learned that if I allowed Abigail to guide the conversation, she already had a detailed list of topics she wanted to discuss. I really started looking forward to our night together when, instead of being vague about what she enjoyed, Abigail began describing specific things and positions she'd like to try. It was relaxing to have a spirited discussion about some of the techniques most people took for granted.

Dinner at the Saigon Café was excellent, but we were both eager to check out the hotel. I'd offered to get us a room at the Broadmoor, but again Abigail insisted on "nothing fancy," so we ended up at one of the smaller hotels just north of campus on Fillmore Street instead.

When we finally made it to the room, there wasn't any of the animalistic passion or virginal fear I'd come to expect from my clients. Instead we shared a more intimate coupling usually reserved for older and more experienced lovers. As the night progressed, I came to appreciate Abigail's soft curves and the way she was constantly aware of not only what felt good for her, but what I enjoyed as well.

Perhaps she was nervous or still feeling self-conscious, but while Abigail obviously enjoyed the sex, I wasn't able to make her cum. I knew better than to try and force the issue, instead vocalizing my approval of how good she felt and allowing myself to cum alone. Of course Abigail already knew that many clients had trouble cumming during sex, but I still went out of my way to reassure her while cuddling afterwards.

Not wanting to leave Abigail horny yet not fully satisfied, I used my fingers to deftly keep her on the edge.

"Want to check out some of the toys I brought for you?"

"Toys?" she asked, trapping my hand between her thighs as she twisted to face me.

"Well, your profile mentioned that you'd like to try some of the fancier vibrators. I wasn't sure which one you would like so I got you a couple of the more popular models."

"That's awesome!" Abigail called out as I fetched the Patchy Paul "worm" and Layaspot vibrators Kael had sent me earlier that week. I'd considered getting her a couple of the more expensive Lelo vibes, but the Fun Factory toys were just as durable and had much better battery life, even if they weren't rechargeable.

"Cool," she gushed, taking the toys from my hands.

What followed was like an interactive version of the Girl's masturbation DVD. Abigail anticipated some of my suggestions, probably because she had seen the Girl's DVD in one of her classes, yet seemed eager to perfect all of the different stroke combinations.

Between the sex and my teasing fingers, I could tell that Abigail was close, and this time there wouldn't be anything stopping her from cumming.

Soon her breathing came in short gasps. It was endearing the way her eyes locked onto mine, as if asking me for permission to cum. Gently caressing a nipple, I whispered, "You're so beautiful," and watched as her eyes scrunched up. She squeezed her thighs together and a low moan escaped her lips as she came.

Abigail nestled in my arms and slowly recovered. We ended up talking about random things and eventually settled on strong memories from growing up. Abigail briefly described her home life and I learned just enough to know her parents had gone through a messy divorce before she deftly turned the conversation to my childhood.

Normally I like to keep my past private, but there was something about Abigail that made me want to open up to her. Maybe it was the experiences we'd just shared or the way she'd been such a good listener, but it felt natural to talk about my own experiences being trained by the Institute.

The only time Abigail interrupted my story was when I started to lament not having a close relationship with my parents.

"At least your parents are still together."

"Maybe, but it's not like we ever had much in common. We really grew apart long before I became an Elite and started traveling or working with clients all weekend."

"You expected to have something in common with your parents as a teenager?"

"Well, they could have been more supportive when I tried to talk about work."

Even as I replied, I knew I'd offered a very weak excuse. In a reversal of roles, Abigail suddenly sounded at least ten years older as she started offering advice.

"When was the last time you tried talking to them about it? Maybe they just missed you and blamed the Institute for taking you away."

"It's been a long time," I embarrassingly admitted. With a start, I realized it had been at least two years since we last talked.

"Maybe you should go visit them."

"Maybe," I agreed, trying to figure out how I ended up having a client offer me advice.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd opened up this much to a client before, but it felt really good, and I could feel the bond we shared growing exponentially.

"I don't know what makes you so easy to talk to, but one day you're going to find a very lucky guy," I whispered.

"Thanks," she replied, turning towards me and reading my eyes as if to be sure I wasn't lying. "But look at me, what guy would want to talk to me?

"I would for one," I replied. Hoping to be helpful without sounding clichéd, I added, "Your classmates, on the other hand, may take a bit more work."

"My classmates can..." she started to snap, but I cut her off.

"You classmates are young and just as insecure as you are," I interrupted. When she seemed about to continue berating her school friends I offered, "Though I know a few who may be able to help."

"If you're referring to the Ladies, Sidney won't even talk to me during school anymore."

"For starters, you now have something very special in common with the Ladies."

Abigail still looked decidedly unconvinced.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. All of the Ladies were curious about toys, but you were the only one who had the guts to bring it up and actually get some quality advice on their proper use."

"Hmm."

I could see the gears turning as she contemplated how she could use that information to her advantage.

"I trust you not to use that little tidbit to try and embarrass them."

Abigail just rolled her eyes, not dignifying my comment with a response, and we continued to talk about inconsequential things. By the time our conversation wore down, I was confident that she would have plenty to discuss with the Ladies at school on Monday.

It wasn't until Abigail stifled a yawn that I realized just how late it was.

"You are one of the best listeners I've ever met, but we should probably get at least a little sleep tonight."

"Thanks," she purred while snuggling closer.

Abigail soon fell asleep leaving me alone to contemplate my thoughts. She had been totally different from the client I expected. Even though we'd known each other for less than a day, I felt a real connection for her and was looking forward to accepting similar clients in the future.

Abigail may not have been beautiful in the classic sense of the word, but she was truly an amazing person. I worried that her peers wouldn't take the time to actually get to know her, and her natural shyness certainly didn't help the situation. Hoping to make a difference beyond just sponsoring her Docent Date, I silently vowed to work to ensure that at least Sarah and the rest of the Ladies accepted her as a friend.

It was a good while before I finally drifted off to sleep, holding Abigail close as thoughts of how to help battled it out with thoughts of visiting home.

Although we both woke with the sun, neither of us seemed to be in any hurry to get out of bed. It was nice not wasting time constantly going over the basics and instead focusing on refining her techniques. Eventually though, our growling stomachs let us know that it was time to head out. We stopped for an amazing breakfast just up the street at the Omelette Parlor.

On the whole it was a great date, and I still managed to get back to campus with plenty of time on Saturday to get ahead on my reading. Even though we'd just had a mid-term, we still had a couple chapters to read over the weekend in preparation for Monday's class.

I was feeling remarkably refreshed, yet couldn't stop thinking about Abigail's suggestion that I go home. I kept reading a page and then gazing off into space and wondering just why I had been avoiding my parents. I really couldn't think of a good excuse not to go, but I figured I'd wait until after tomorrow's BBQ to get a second opinion before calling Kael to arrange for a visit.

As such I was more than a little distracted when I finally noticed that the room had grown silent and that everyone was staring at me.

"Sorry, what?" I asked, blushing at being caught day dreaming.

"Could we host a real party in your room tonight?" Amy asked in a sugary voice.

"Didn't you have a real party last night?"

While most of The Girls seemed to be eagerly awaiting my consent, I noticed that Jackie was scowling at me. I'd become used to the new Jackie and her sudden reversal in attitude hurt. However, she was careful to relax her expression when I looked towards her. I hoped it was just a passing thing that she'd either explain or soon get over it.

"No, last night we cheered Sarah up," Jess explained. "Real parties have alcohol."

"Will you be good?" I asked, knowing I would be responsible for anyone who got drunk in my room. My studying really hadn't been all that productive, so partying with The Girls sounded like a good idea.

"Actually we were thinking about keeping things rather mellow," Jess continued. "It would be nice to get to know the guys in your wing better, since they rarely hang out with us when you aren't around."

I was still glowing from helping Abigail out, and wondered if I could do the same for The Girls.

"Why don't I order us a bunch of pizzas and go rent a movie?" I offered. "I mean, we can always turn some music on if people want to hang out afterwards."

"That's an awesome idea!" Amy enthused.

When I placed the delivery order, I was surprised just how cheap pizzas were with the CC discount, only five dollars each. At that price I was determined to have another movie night in the near future.

After giving the pizza money to Amy, Jess volunteered to go with me and 'help pick out the movie.' We actually had a lot of fun arguing over which new release to rent before I finally compromised and allowed her to get a chick flick. But she had to promise that I'd get to make the final pick the next time we watched a movie.

We'd gone to the Blockbuster movie rental place up on Fillmore, so it was easy to stop by a liquor store on the way back. Although it didn't sound like we would be doing a lot of drinking, I wasn't sure how many people would show up and decided to get a liter of Malibu and a liter of Grey Goose just in case. When we checked out, I understood why this particular store seemed to be preferred by most underage CC students as the clerk examined my Institute ID from a full arms length away and barely glanced at my Iugum.