Her wavy blond locks fluttered in the cold autumn winds. She pulled her coat closer and quickened her pace as she made her way to the meeting place. The sounds of heels and soles clicking and tapping the street made for a harmonious melody coupled with the unintelligible mix of voices, sirens and purrs of engines from the plethora of passing vehicles.

Her client made a rather unusual request that day.

“Now that we both know how we look like, I want you to greet me with a big hug and a peck on the cheek - like we’re lovers long separated.”

It’s not as though she has never dealt with client requests and fetishes, but an act like that was the first time. Thinking that she should toss the awkwardness aside and play along with it, she pushed the cafe doors open and scanned the area for a moderately plump man in his late 20’s.

“Ellen! Over here!” came a voice from a corner, and she spotted a man with a 38″ waistline. He was dressed neatly, and looked like any other decent, well-to-do average guy. It didn’t quite match the image of a sexually frustrated chump that her client claimed himself to be. Remembering her role, she broke into a wide smile and happily exclaimed and she skipped to the window-side corner of the cafe. “Ron!”

True to his request, she gave him a peck on the cheek and gave his broad chest a brief hug. Just moments before she was about to let go, a pair of warm hands enveloped her and Ron’s head planted itself firmly into her left shoulder, drawing her own chest deeper into his embrace. He grazed his nose on her cheek and took a deep breath, devouring the scent of her flowing hair before quietly breathing a whisper into her left ear,

“Lovely. Is that Lavender?”

Still in his arms, she leaned back a bit and gave him a slight nod. She rested her arms over his shoulders and looked upon him. Her head dropped a little bit and she broke out into a little chuckle. She had only spoken to this man through emails and messengers, but at that moment of embrace, she felt as though she has indeed known him for a long time.

He gently took her hand and led her to the table where he continued to pull a chair, take off her coat and make sure she was seated comfortably. She was bedazzled by his gestures, and still couldn’t believe what was happening. He took a seat and placed his own hands upon hers and looked at her. Again, thinking it was all an act, she returned the gaze and looked into his eyes. He began to form a subtle and gentle smile, and his unblinking gaze pierced right through her face, and instantly sent her heart pacing. She couldn’t take it and had to avert her eyes from the deep set of hazel-coloured eyes.

“Whoa, what the hell was that!” she thought to herself.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“No, nothing. Um,…I…”

“You’re doing a great job, so far.” he said, with a gentle smile and reassuring tone. As though he was encouraging her.

“Oh,…uh…really? I,..uh…”

“Shhh… it’s alright. This is my first time, actually.”

“What?”

“I’ve never actually done any of that with a woman before. Let alone anything beyond.”

“I don’t get it. You did that like it was all so,… natural.”

“It’s one of the things I WANT to do when I have a special woman in my life. Thing is, that never happened.”

“Hmm…”

“I wonder if it’s because of this personality, this desperation I have for a woman’s warmth.”

“Well, Ron. You see, I’m a professional and I don’t mean to…”

“Shh, shh… I know, I know. I respect that whole ‘this is a business’ thing. I don’t actually have those kind of intentions. It’s just that, it’s something I wanna do at least once in my life - just so I know what it feels like.”

“Pfft…What, sex?”

“No. The embrace.”

“Oh.”

“I mean, I know you’re a callgirl and all that. But you know, just once I wanna treat a woman for what she is - a woman. And nothing else. I don’t really feel like treating you like ‘Okay, let’s fuck and here’s your cash’, but rather, I feel this desperate desire to… make myself special to a woman. I don’t know how to describe it, really.”

She was stunned. She was speechless. Her fingers let go of his, and they began to shiver uncontrollably. Her head lowered slowly and she stared down at her own palms. He was taken aback, and offered apologies and awkwardly tried to resolve the situation.

“Oh, I’m…. I’m sorry. I, I…I shouldn’t have said all that. I’m,… uh…”

“No, no… it’s okay. I, uh…uhhuhm.” She cleared her throat to pause her quiet sobs.

“So,…Ellen. It’s Ellen, right? You uh,… wanna take a walk get some fresh air?”

“Oh…uhm, yeah. Yeah, why not?”

As they left the cafe, they walked down the street, side-by-side. Before she knew it, her hands found its way into his palms.

“Oh, that’s right. I did ask you to act like we’re lovers.”

“Oh. Uh. Yeah.”

She completely forgot about the acting part. He made a stupid remark about pigeon droppings on a taxi, and quickly realised that his joke lacked any kind of humor. They looked at each other with flabbergasted looks through accusing pairs of eyes. It was a blunder worth laughing out loud about, and laughed out loud they did. They walked back to his apartment, her arms locked in his, merrily talking, laughing, occasionally slipping on the wet tiles. They decided to take the stairs up three floors instead of getting into a lift, just so they could talk longer.

It was an entirely new experience for her. Ron wasn’t even an attractive man. He was of average height, has a bit of a belly, isn’t stylish, and he doesn’t even own a car. He was just a common salary man working his way through life in the concrete jungle that was Manhattan. But there stood this man, humble, unfunny, even boring yet her heart has never felt so free.

As the door locked behind them, she leaned into him and peeled off his brown leather coat as she smothered him in a deep passionate kiss. Her tongue darted and slashed around his, like an Olympic fencing champion delivering touche after touche. Slowly, but surely, she dragged him to the bed, undoing all his buttons and belt without unlocking her lips and her heart raced wildly as though it was the monstrous torrents of water gushing out of a collapsing Hoover Dam.

It was a dark, musky-aired night where her sensual energies took over her soul as she ravaged him over and over, her insatiable appetite for lust only rivaled by the moans and squeals and hard gasps for air. Their bodies rocked in a rhythm of immeasurable heat and the cool autumn air drifting through the gaps of the windows only drove them crazier.

As though a wild current of electricity ripped through her spine she arched her back and let out a long, sultry moan, marking the end of her chain of orgasmic explosions throughout her physique that shattered the last remnants of her consciousness, and she fell into a deep slumber.

She woke up to find herself in a pale blue bathrobe, under a thick warm blanket. She was alone, and he was nowhere to be seen. The sun sent a gentle greeting through the clouds as her eyes met the subtle luminescence that leaked through the thin satin curtains. She looked around and saw a Post-It note stuck to a mirror. With a smile, she peeled it off and read it quietly to herself.

She quickly put on her clothes, and pasted the note back onto the mirror. For the first time in her so-called ‘career’, she left a client’s place without her pay. She took quick little steps, and her steps paced into a brisk walk and as soon as her foot stepped out of the apartment building, she broke into a run, lowering her head to hide her face from public sight.

The cool autumn wind sent the thin curtains into a slow dance, and it casted pale translucent shadows over the droplets of tears that stained several 100-dollar bills on the coffee table.

It was her last time ever since. The note that was half crumpled barely dangled from the mirror.

Hope you had a good rest.
The cash is under the coffee
mug, and I put in a little extra
for the wonderful service.

Thanks to you, I now have the
confidence to ask this woman
I’ve had my eyes on for a date.
You changed me.

The door locks itself when you leave.
Thanks, and take care.