This is part one of a trilogy. It's Alison's story, narrated by her. I hope you enjoy it!
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"We have to do something, I'm bored silly," and then I added, "It has to be something that is popular."
Then Bianca chipped in with, "And it has to be able to still make money when there's a recession."
That was sensible. We would be putting a lot of money into this project, and so we didn't want it to go down the pan if the economy was struggling.
I looked at Carla, did she have anything to contribute? She was about to speak, so It was a yes.
"Those are two good points, but for me, the most important thing is that we enjoy doing it."
So what businesses tick all those boxes?
We were three close friends. Recent events had changed all our lives, and for the worse. But we were fighting back. We were going to start a business, and we were together in my house, trying to decide what that business would be.
I'm Alison, and I'm forty eight years old. Until a year ago, I was a happily married woman. Now I'm divorced. I was supposed to be Jed's love of his life, but that didn't stop him leaving me for a woman that was half my age, and who had tits twice my size. Because of his midlife crisis, I have lots of money but no purpose in life, other than to support Brad, my young Son. And my two close friends are not exactly living the dream.
Bianca's story is more tragic than mine. Dave didn't leave her, he was killed in a car accident. So at only thirty eight she is a widow.
Carla's story isn't tragic, it's sad. After a long list of unsuitable boyfriends, at the tender age of only twenty eight, she's given up on men. She's single, and determined to stay that way.
I said, "What about a restaurant?"
Carla shook her head, and Bianca screwed her face up. So that was a no. I tried again.
"Selling scented candles?"
Both of them laughed, and not in a nice way. That irritated me. My suggestions might not be good ones, but at least I was trying.
"That car wash near where I live is up for sale."
This time they didn't laugh, instead they burst into song, and I couldn't help myself. I joined in.
"At the car wash. Workin' at the car wash, girl. Ooh. Talkin' 'bout the car wash."
That was funny, but we were no nearer to finding a suitable business.
"I know what we can do."
Good, Bianca was going to suggest something.
"We can open a Massage Parlour," and then, while smiling, she said, "Just for men."
That might be the one for us, but did it satisfy the three key criteria?
Would it be popular? Yes, there is never a shortage of men that want a massage. Is it recession proof? When times are tough, men will stop doing a lot of things, but having a woman touch their naked body is not one of them. Carla had said that the most important thing was that we should enjoy doing it. I wasn't sure that I would. In order to decide, I'd need to get the answer to an important question.
"Would we just be running it, or would we also be providing the massage?"
Bianca told me, but not in the way that I'd expected. Instead of just speaking, she moved her hands as if she was actually massaging somebody, and then she said, to her imaginary client, "Would you like to fuck my sweet pussy with your big cock?"
That made myself and Carla giggle. She'd sold it to me. We'd make money, and while doing it we'd also get laid. So would I enjoy it? Hell yes!
To make it formal I proposed a vote.
"All in favour of opening a Massage Parlour raise your hand."
Everybody did, and Carla, to show her enthusiasm for it, put both her hands up. That made all of us laugh.
For the next hour there was a frenzied discussion on what we needed to do to get our business off the ground. Our meeting ended with me being in charge of finding a suitable property.
A week later, we met again. Our agenda today was simple. To decide if the property that I'd found was suitable, and what name we should call the Massage Parlour.
The first of the two items was agreed in five minutes. Bianca summed it up with a single word.
"Perfect."
However, the name was turning out to be a problem.
"Desperate Women?"
Obviously, Bianca's suggestion was rejected, but it did make us chuckle.
"The Massage Parlour?"
That was better from Carla. But we were looking for something that was distinctive. Then the names got even sillier. Happy Ending, being the most ridiculous one.
I was about to call it a day, when I suddenly had a brainwave. We were Alison, Bianca and Carla.
"I've got it. It has to be ABC Massage!"
A month later, we owned the building. I'd put in the lion's share of the money, but we were equal partners. Now all we needed to do was to equip it. And that took a lot longer than expected, even with my Son doing a lot of the donkey work. It was another four months before we were ready to open.
It was the day of the grand opening. Brad had called me in the morning to wish me luck, and he'd asked if I was nervous. I'd said no, but that wasn't true. However, my Son phoning me had helped, and when I'd left home to go to work I was a lot less nervous.
In thirty minutes time we would have our first client. We were excited, but we were also nervous. Each of us was reacting to this emotional time in a different way. Bianca couldn't stop talking, and Carla's constant giggling was starting to irritate, and as for me, I had a permanent smile.