I intended to do some fairly serious drinking, so I called a cab. This was all pre-Uber, Lyft, or any of the other ride-sharing programs.
"I've been away for a decade," I told the cab driver, "is
Taylor's
still in business?" I was asking about the only true "Supper Club" I knew in town. You know, one of those with a real restaurant and bar but a real band and dance floor too. A place where adults, not college students, gathered and the volume was low enough to allow conversation.
It was also, I happened to know, the place where conventioneers went for their transactional companions.
In other words, this would be the place where, if anyone thought Margie was for rent, she'd be asked.
The high heels, I noted as we walked to the entrance from the cab, did good things for her walk. That big ass was moving like the proverbial two little pigs fighting it out in a gunny sack, and the calves below the swaying skirt were tensed dramatically with the angle of her feet in the heels supporting her weight on the balls of her feet just behind her toes.
She looked, in other words, terrific and expensive.
Taylor's
looks, inside, like something out of one of those B-movies from the 60s. Round, four-top tables were scattered around in a way that looked chaotic but was carefully designed to make it easy for wait staff to maneuver without spilling drinks, soup, or prime rib on the customers. The tables were arranged around a semi-circular dance floor in front of a large raised stage. You would not be surprised to see Cab Calloway or Louis Prima conducting the band.
Tonight, the entertainment was a simple five-piece band, more rock and roll than Big Band. The frontman played a decent rhythm guitar, the drummer had a good bass voice on harmonies and a fair hand on the kit, the base player looked like Charlie Chan or maybe Dr. Fu Manchu, the lead guitarist might have stepped straight out of the surf, and the guy at the keyboards was really good during the interludes as well as providing a truly good high harmony. It was, all in all, a good house band, playing at a volume to allow conversation, that featured a mix of fast and slow music. Dancing was encouraged and at any time there would be anywhere from a six or seven to a couple of dozen couples dancing.
Margie ordered a screwdriver and I ordered a beer. When the band settled into something slow,
Blue Velvet
by Bobby Vinton, I stood, offered my hand, and we danced. We danced well together, and I enjoyed having her in my arms. As we danced I let my hands roam freely and patted her ass, showing the world my claim.
Dinner was prime rib for me and the filet mignon for her, the full-size filet, not the petit. We ate and made small talk, discussing what was on the news right then. I was happy with Nixon's election, maybe his "secret plan" to end the war in Vietnam would finally bring that bit of insanity to an end. I told of my lust for a Plymouth Road Runner and she laughed at my stories of the tiny cars we had driven in Japan.
Dinner done, including a couple of screwdrivers for her and a couple of beers for me, we went back to dancing. I spun her away into a pretty good jive, making the fringe on her skirt snap with her movements. We did two more pretty fast dances,
La Bamba
and
Twist and Shout
, the same C Am F G7 chord progression carrying through and making a cute little medley.
As I walked her back to the table, a guy at the bar caught my eye and gave me a little two-finger salute.
At the table, I didn't seat her. Instead, I leaned close and said, "I think you have your first taker. Why don't you go into the ladies' room and when you come back give me your panties."
Her eyes got big but then a smile spread across her face, and suddenly I could smell her excitement.
She headed for the facilities and I sat. As I sipped my beer, waiting, the guy at the bar looked at me quizzically. I raised on finger in the universal "just a minute" gesture and he nodded.
Margie came back and I stood, like some character out of an old movie. She smiled at that little courtesy. I didn't miss the way she was blushing as she reached across the table and put her panties in my hand. I couldn't help but notice they were damp.
"Okay," I said, "Let's see if I can get you a date."
She was blushing and smiling, visibly nervous with her bouncing knee and slightly trembling fingers, and said, "David, don't hate me because I find this so exciting."
"Not a chance, Beautiful," I said, stood, and walked to the bar.
"Is your girl available?" he asked and, looking at him I thought he would probably be exactly the kind of man Margie would have as a client if she was to turn pro. He was, I guessed, low 40s, with a sprinkle of grey in his dark, well-barbered hair. He was good-looking in that blow-dried hair kind of way that guys like me always laughed at, even as we knew with no doubt at all that he would make more money than we could even dream of. His suit was distinctly NOT off the rack. I guessed it at a thousand dollars easy, and possibly more. His shoes were equally high end and his watch, while not a Rolex, was an Omega with three dials and three buttons that I guessed at something over $5,000. I expected that his business card would read "Vice-President of Seven Boring Things" for a Fortune 500 company. He was that kind of a guy.
"She is," I said, trying to flash a conspirational smile although it felt silly on my face.
"What's the price?" he asked, looking past me to find Margie at the table, sitting straight and looking prim. As I watched she let a slow smile cross her face and I wondered if she practiced that look in a mirror.
"Five thousand for the night," I said, "and that's unlimited vaginal and oral sex. All bareback. Extras are, well," and I forced a little chuckle, "extra."
He kept looking at her and I thought,
" Oh, fuck, he's going to say yes."
I took the panties out of my pocket and laid them, casually on the bar. That amazing womanscent hit me right in the groin. He looked down at the panties and then up at me.
"Extras?" he asked.
I tried for the grin again. "Oh, you know. If you want her ass, that's another grand. Want to spank that big beautiful ass? A thousand bucks. If you want to leave bruises, another twenty-five hundred." I was pretty much winging it now.
He sighed, dramatically.
"Damn," he said, "Those boobs have milk?"
"Sorry," I said, "We're working on it, but not so far."
He sighed again and said, "Damn. Sorry man, but that's outside of my budget."
"Hey," I said, "We'll write you a receipt. Our invoice reads 'Morgan and Morgan, LLC, Professional Marketing Consultants.' Some of her clients can get it covered on their expense accounts."
He laughed at that.
"Excellent," he said, "But, well, sorry. I'm going to have to pass."