* * * *
The smell of air freshener hung in the air. Jade’s skin was bare under skimpy lingerie. The high heels added to her feeling of looseness.
Jade crossed her legs and, for the first time in an age, appreciated their length and form, though they still shook from nerves and the frightening experience. She could smell the client’s sour sweat moving easily through the sprayed smell of the parlor. The grease from the massage oil lingered on her hands and made them slip off her knee.
Once the unsatisfied client was taken care of, Sasha found Jade in the living room on the couch. “The first time is always scary.”
Jade looked at her and tried to smile, but couldn’t.
“It’s my fault. I should’ve made sure you knew what to do. I’m sorry.”
Jade appreciated Sasha’s attempt to make her feel better but only wanted to stay in her tight parcel of legs and arms, where her voice was also lost, hiding within the pit of her stomach.
“Have you met Jasmine?”
She had briefly, yesterday. Jasmine had come in as Jade was leaving. She was Chinese and very beautiful, with long black silky hair, wide dark eyes and a lovely mouth. She swayed to her own humming as she put on makeup. When her slender figure was covered by a short lace dress, she danced around the room, hardly conscious of the girls watching her. The sitting room became her stage and Jade had stood with her bag on her back, unable to pull her eyes away for what seemed a long time until the doorbell rang and broke her trance.
“She’s coming in early to show you the ropes. She’s on nights all the time, so I thought it best if you got help from someone you don’t work with. It lessens rivalry.”
Jade managed to smile at this. She doubted Jasmine would ever feel threatened by her after what happened today.
* * * *
Jasmine arrived an hour later. On their way to the small massage room upstairs, she told Jade she always showered with the client at the beginning of their session. Jade had to resist the urge to run down the steps and leave. The idea of being in that small space with a man made her chest tighten.
Before Jasmine’s lesson, all Jade knew were the basic facts. After a client picks the girl, he is brought to a room, where he says how long he wants to stay. A half hour is sixty dollars, an hour is a hundred and so on. The girl gets the money and gives it to Sasha. At the end of the night, half of everything each girl earns is given back.
While the client showered, some girls took the chance to have a few puffs of a cigarette or finish a conversation. Jasmine jumped in with her client, and after he came in her hands, she’d shower with him again to make sure he would return. She saw Jade’s surprise and shrugged. “It makes them happy when you make an extra effort.”
“I’m sure it does.” Jade imagined Jasmine’s naked skin against her client as the water ran over them, and doubted she had to worry about her clients returning for seconds.
Once inside the darkened massage room, Jasmine started to show Jade how to touch a man. In her flowered lingerie and high heels, she stood at the side of the table and starting with his imaginary shoulders, she worked her way down his back. She slid her hands to his waist and put them on either side of the table. Jade saw Jasmine caress his sides.
“I spend ages on their asses.” Jasmine rubbed the space where his buttocks would have been then brought her hands together. “They love getting their balls teased.” She kneaded the air. “Their waists usually rise at this point to accommodate their erections.”
A knock on the door made Jasmine stand and turn. When it opened to Sasha, Jade’s stomach lurched. The manageress’s smile let her know something was up. “We’re in luck, girls. Hideki is here. He doesn’t mind Jade watching as long as she’s naked.”
Jasmine smiled. Her eyes twinkled when she looked at Jade. “He’s my oldest regular. The poor man is in love.”
Sasha’s laughed. “That’s for sure. He wants an hour, Jasmine.”
“How did he know I was here?” Jasmine smiled. “You told him?”
“He wanted me to. Couldn’t stand the idea of missing an opportunity. I’ll send him up.” Then Sasha was gone.
When Jasmine looked at Jade again, her laugh was sweet. “Don’t look so worried. All you have to do is sit and watch. I’ll do the rest.”
A middle-aged man with dark, lank hair lying flat on his head came to the door. Jasmine was beside him straight away. He was only a few inches taller than her. She moved just as she had danced the day before, her body like a leaf on a breeze, and entwined her hand in his. The moment a client looked at her, Jasmine seemed to forget everything else. Jade could tell she loved the attention and noticed the way this client—Hideki—stood taller in her grasp. Hideki’s shoulders moved back, and his smile made the brown eyes behind his gray glasses shine. With Jasmine beside him, he seemed much more certain of himself.
When they came back from showering together, Jade stood by the door, waiting for instructions. Hideki had a towel wrapped around his waist. He nodded to Jasmine. Jade tried to hold back her surprise when Jasmine went to her and slid the thin strap off her shoulders. She pulled the fabric down, and Jade held her breath from the closeness of her. She expected to feel Jasmine’s breasts rubbing against her skin. Jasmine’s were small, but the areola and nipples were spectacular in their moist brightness. They took up the surface of her breasts and begged to be touched.
Hideki’s towel dropped to reveal his erection as he watched Jasmine kneel in front of Jade and pull her g-string down. Her breath fell on Jade’s sex, and Jade swallowed a lump in her throat.
Jasmine stood and gently eased Jade into the chair behind her. She glanced back at Hideki, who smiled. Then, like a falling feather, she skimmed Jade’s breast with her hand, which landed on Jade’s knee. With a gentle pressure, she separated Jade’s legs.
Jade was too surprised to resist, but by the time Hideki was lying on the massage table and Jasmine stood to caress his back, she had eased into the posture, reclining slightly on the chair with her legs parted to let in air and Hideki’s gaze.
She watched Jasmine touch his back. She moved her hands down to his buttocks, which he lifted. She caressed it in circles and then moved downward between his legs. Her fingers were a short breadth away from his balls. His body was slick with oil. She teased him. He raised his ass to her again, which made Jade think he would be impatient in bed, moving his penis for himself and not the woman.
She caressed the inside of his legs while she moved down the table. Once by his feet, she rubbed upward. She lifted her knee onto the table and the other one followed, so she kneeled by his toes.
Jade leaned forward in her chair, wondering what Jasmine was doing. As she felt the air move up her legs, Hideki smiled.
With her hands on Hideki’s legs, Jasmine slid upward so she sat between his thighs. One knee was near his balls and she brought her other knee to the edge of the table. She looked like a horse rider, only it was his leg she was resting on. Jasmine’s upper body lowered and arms went on either side of him.
Jasmine moved downward, her neck almost making contact with his buttocks, and rubbed her breasts on his ass. Then those wonderful nipples moved up his back. She angled herself to the right and her breasts caressed him in circles, and then she brought them to his other side. It was like watching a very sexy break dancer, connecting every part of her body with the naked man beneath her. Every now and again, she would bring her crotch back to his leg as she teased his balls. Jade wondered if Jasmine would be wet.
Jasmine couldn’t have seen Jade’s lips part. She seemed to be concentrating on the movement of her body until eventually she sat up. “Turn around, Hideki.” Her voice was silky smooth.
She rose slightly as he turned and then lowered herself on his leg. Her back arched. It was obvious she pressed down on him. She poured oil on his stomach.