Monica first appeared momentarily in
Entertaining at Large Chapter XV
and then had a starring role in the next one. That's how this all started. Be worth reading if you want to be fully in the picture, but I hope this story and those which follow, will stand alone. I also set myself the test of trying to make these tales shorter than the
Entertaining at Large
marathons. I'd be interested to know what readers think as well as any other comments. Suggestions and support are always appreciated. For any
Entertaining at Large
fans, don't worry, there are several more chapters to come, I just can seem to shake Susan off.
*****
Prostitution. I looked it up in the dictionary. It said, "the act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money".
'It's the posh word for knocking blokes off for cash.'
That's what my friend Susan said when I spoke to her about it. I was fretting, that's why I spoke to her. When I got one of those card machine things so my clients could pay me more easily, I couldn't really pretend any more.
Up until then I was sort of telling myself that I was doing what I was doing because it was the easiest way for me to satisfy my needs without any complications. When I accepted that I was a prostitute and what I was doing was, indeed, prostitution, it all became a lot easier.
The English student in me would cavil at the definition. It's the "sexual intercourse" bit that I think is too narrow. Money, the exchange thereof, is for me the defining characteristic, not the particular act. Once that exchange is completed I have masturbated men, performed fellatio on them, hit their bottoms with my hand, hairbrushes or other suitable weapons, inserted objects into their anuses - up to and including a mobile phone set to vibrate, tied them up, urinated on them and sometimes just had a conversation. And when you are fucked up the bum, is that really sexual intercourse? I think buggery would be the more accurate term.
Susan lets me talk like this when I'm a little bit tight. But she's not really interested in intellectualising what I do.
'Go to college and find a lecturer who gives a shit about definitions, you'll make their year. My philosophy is just say yes, and see what happens.'
I laughed at the time, yet here I am now submitting my application. They didn't even have creative writing courses when I was young.
It was with Susan - she uses the name Suzette when she's working - that I had my first experience of sex for money. I had virtually dragged her into a hotel bar and poured out my frustrations with my marriage to her. I barely knew her at that point; she had tutored my youngest son and some of his friends, we had met in the course of making the arrangements. There was something about her, however, that I liked very much and eventually I picked up the courage to ring her. She listened to me sympathetically and was then honest, straightforward and eminently practical about it. Since getting to know her better I can confirm that she always is.
I was moaning that I hadn't had sex with my husband, or anyone else for that matter, for a decade. Any of my other women friends would have expressed shock and sympathy and then rushed away to tell everyone they knew. Susan, on the other hand, arranged a dinner appointment for us both with two charming German businessmen. When she dropped me off at my home at the end of the evening I was drunk, sore, slightly sticky in some unusual places, and seven hundred pounds better off.
I'm not going to say that it was a eureka moment, that a light went off in my head and I realised that having sex for money was the most efficient way for me to get laid regularly. I came to that conclusion much later. Nor was the money particularly important. I know that sounds arrogant when we're living in a time when austerity policies force a lot of women to do what I do just to get by, but it's true. My husband has always been more than generous in his provision both for our home and lifestyle as well as my personal needs; materially I want for nothing.
What that evening with Susan did do was make me determined that now I had got back on the horse, so to speak, after my ten-year hiatus, I needed to do it again soon to avoid any risk of slipping back into celibacy.
In my defence, I made a promise to try, in my own way, to persuade my husband Howard to resume conjugal relations. I told myself it was the preferred option. I was fond of him, he was not unattractive, we have raised two children together and, I had to admit to myself, I was scared of jeopardising the respectability that came with my position as his wife. But with all my wiles: my sexiest outfits; greater physical proximity and the liberal application of alcohol; he remained the same as ever. "Chummy" is the word I would use to describe us. We were good friends still but his strategies for steering away from physical intimacy were well-honed and unbreakable.
A few fruitless days after my escapade I went out shopping. I bought the sexiest underwear I have ever owned along with suspender belts and a variety of stockings from the
Nighty Nook
. It was fun being fitted for the first time and my new bras felt as though my breasts were being held gently in warm palms; I loved them. Until now my 35DDs had either been squeezed into a size too small, or felt slightly loose in a size too big; I would always end up with red marks on them where fabric had rubbed. I also splashed out on a couple of dresses which were shorter than my usual style and cut a shade lower at the front; my boobs looked as if they were on the point of tumbling out when I wore them.
I'd borrowed a suspender-set from Suzette on the night of my debut and after that I never wore anything else. Until then I had never had any complaints about tights. They were comfortable and convenient and the styles I chose always made my legs look good; friends, both men and women, would tell me so. But stockings were so liberating. I felt naughty wearing them, to be honest I
was