Chapter 4
THAT EVENING JUST BEFORE dark I pulled up at the exact same place on Sunset Boulevard where I had stopped that morning in response to Joanna's inexpert thumbing. She was again waiting there, but this time not alone.
As she slipped into the seat, scooting over toward me, she said, "Dore, meet Kathy."
"Hi, Kathy," I said to the titian-haired beauty who was following Joanna into the car.
She smiled, a friendly but almost shy smile that flashed a mouthful of beautiful teeth. In a pleasantly soft voice just barely above a whisper she said, "I'm glad to meet you, Dore. I've been hearing wonderful things about you."
She closed the door and I started the Rolls. I asked, "About my interest in advancing the education of certain university coeds?"
"That too," she murmured.
"What else?"
"Your philosophy, what Jo's told me of it, was what interested me most. I think philosophy, I mean the right kind of philosophy about life and things, is so important."
"In exactly what way do you mean?"
"Oh ... well, it's like you can do what really is the right thing, but if you do it for the wrong reason it'll turn out not to really be the right thing at all. Or you may do the wrong thing, but if you do it for a reason that's right, your mistake will usually be forgivable. And your reasons for doing whatever you do are always tied up with and a part of your philosophy. So it's like basic to everything. Right?"
"It sounds likely," I admitted. "It all depends how you flesh those ideas out when you translate them from broad generalities into specifics of everyday experience.'
"Well, like Jo said you told her a woman who doesn't want to feel she's gone beyond simply having been sexually liberated and become a common whore ... should make it part of her philosophy to require each man she bestows her favor upon to put her pleasure ahead of his own ... require him to worry more about pleasing her than he does about pleasing himself. Because she values herself highly, and therefore she requires any man she allows to have anything to do with her to value her highly too. Right?"
"Right," I nodded. "Exactly right. And I'm going to take you and Jo to see a charming lady who is a perfect example, and she's a woman the general public would in their ignorance dismiss disdainfully as a whore, because she does deal in sex for money."
I caught the flash of leaping excitement in their eyes as they exchanged a quick glance. Then Joanna said, "Could you tell us about her?"
"She came to Hollywood like a lot of other girls have been doing for years, hoping to win fame as an actress," I told them. "But as soon as she had been around long enough to become familiar with the old casting director routine which not only casting directors but producers and associate producers and directors all pull on girls-"
"Exactly what is the casting director routine?" Kathy interrupted. "I think I know, but--? "
I explained, "Very simple. The power to give or withhold a part in some lousy picture is used to coerce an attractive girl into consenting to audition on the casting director's couch, instead of by demonstrating her ability to act and read lines."
"That's what I thought," Kathy said. "In other words, they force a girl to let them use her like a whore."
"Exactly," I nodded, "but the crumbs don't even pay her with anything except promises they usually never keep."
"Pretty rotten," Joanna murmured.
"The girls are simply too eager to please. They don't demand enough from such men. They don't value themselves highly enough," Kathy declared quickly. I wondered how long it would take her to fit that idea into place where it would be related to the hitchhiking expedition the two of them were so eager to prepare for. But I resisted the temptation to try helping that process along.
Instead I said, "The young lady I'm taking you to see was an exception. She valued herself too highly to allow creeps to use her that way, even if they were powerful creeps in the picture business. She decided she would turn the tables on them."
"How could she hope to ever do that?" Kathy asked.
"She decided to become a specialist in sexual pleasures, then use a specialist's exclusive mode of operation and charge a specialist's kind of fees. In other words, to force every man who desired her services to come to her on her terms ... force them to compete for a chance to pay her exorbitant fee."
"And she actually has been able to do that?" Kathy asked, apparently intrigued.
"Today she owns a million-dollar property," I told them. "You'll be seeing it. She's trained six other girls in her techniques. They each have an elaborate apartment all their own on her estate. Customers are called guests and they are allowed to come by appointment only."
"You mean they don't go to the men, like call girls?" Joanna cut in quickly.
"Not for any amount of money will she allow any of her girls to go to a man," I assured her. "The man must make an appointment, and make it well in advance at that. And he must be on his very best behavior the entire time. No rude or vulgar talk. No disrespect of any kind. Or out he goes, regardless of who he is or how much money he has, and he never is allowed to make another appointment. The whole operation's indescribable."
"And she's actually been able to carry it off?" Joanna asked incredulously.
"To the point that now it has become one of the highest possible status symbols a man can attain in Hollywood or Beverly Hills to be numbered among her regular clients. Even Texas multimillionaires are getting into the act, flying up regularly to buck for a place among her regulars. She's been able to virtually retire, just manage the business. She's turned down as high as ten thousand dollars for just one night of her personal attentions. She belongs to the most exclusive country club in Beverly Hills and plays a round of golf with the club pro three days each week. The other days she has a two-hour game with the club's tennis pro. They think she's some millionaire's daughter."
"Groovy!" Joanna exclaimed.
"Really bitchin'! " Kathy nodded emphatically. "And we're going to get to meet her?"
"More than just meet her," I said. "She's going to be your teacher, with some minor assistance from me."
We'd reached the place where Sunset comes out of the hills and becomes more sedate crossing Beverly Hills. I pulled over to the curb and stopped. Both girls gave me a questioning look.
"She made only one condition on my request that she become your teacher," I told them.
"What was that?" they asked together.
"That you not be allowed to know the exact location of her estate," I explained. "From here on you'll have to wear a double blindfold. Or if you object, we can just forget the whole thing. Whatever you prefer."
"Get the blindfolds on!" Kathy exclaimed eagerly.
"For goodness sakes, yes!" Joanna agreed. "That just makes the whole adventure that much better."
"You're very trusting," I told them. "Did you ever consider that I might be a procurer, that I might be luring you into a white slave operation?"
"Oh, that's ancient history," Kathy protested.
"Don't ever take that for granted," I warned her, "or you're simply taking another way of placing too little value upon yourself. In Europe, attractive girls like you two still disappear quite frequently, the victims of procurers for the harems of oil wealthy sheiks or tribal chiefs in areas where slavery is still practiced. Part of properly valuing yourself ... an important part ... is properly protecting yourself at all times."
"You couldn't do that and hitchhike," Joanna declared. "That's just one of the things you have to give up. Part of the price for the experience."
"Exactly," I nodded. "Just like part of the price for becoming a cheap whore or a doormat wife is giving up all your self-respect in your effort to get a little bit of money or a little bit of security. The question is, do you really think what you hope to get is worth the price you may have to pay?"
"Are you trying to talk us out of it?" Kathy asked quickly. "Hitchhiking around Europe, I mean?"
"Not at all," I told her frankly. "All I'm trying to do is to stimulate you into using your own brains, doing some honest thinking for yourself ... Let's get your blindfolds on."
I opened a compartment below the dash and produced the coverings for their eyes. I held the first one up, ready to tie around the first head volunteered for it.
Kathy said, "As you pointed out, we really know very little about you."
I agreed, "That's correct. On the other hand, you know far more about me than you'll know about anyone you hitch a ride with in Europe. Plus, you aren't thousands of miles from home or anyone who knows you or cares a fig about what becomes of you. Plus, there are quite a number of other people who would contact the police within a reasonably short time while you still might be helped, if you were to disappear tonight. So your risk with me is practically kindergarten stuff compared to what you're getting into training for. But if you want to call it off-"
"Put on the blindfold!" Joanna interrupted me sharply, ducking her face toward the blindfold I held. Impatiently she added, "I think you're actually trying to talk us out of the whole opportunity!" And to steady herself as she leaned toward me, she put a hand down firmly upon one of my thighs very near to my relaxed penis.
Despite the extensive workout Marie had given him before I'd finally completed making this evening's arrangements with her, the touch of Joanne's soft little hand so near brought alive instant indications of his inclination to strut and flex his muscles again. I assured her, "Never kid yourself about me trying to talk you out of going ahead with this project. All that's important to me is that the circumstances under which you go ahead are such that you'll never be able to look back later and feel I took advantage of you."
"There's no honest way we could ever do that," Joanna declared. She suddenly seemed to feel the swelling that was beginning to grow inside my pants near her hand; she shifted herself, taking weight off the hand, then ran her fingers lightly up my thigh over the growing protrusion in my trouser leg near the crotch. She let them pause there and quite understandably the swelling increased as she fingered it caressingly. She chuckled, "I've discovered something. I believe maybe you really do find us attractive."
"What're you doing, Jo?" Kathy demanded in a low voice vibrant with suppressed excitement.
"Give me your hand and I'll show you, " Joanna invited. Immediately Kathy leaned over from the other side. As .I finished tying the first of the double blindfolds on Joanna, suddenly another set of gently exploring fingertips were stroking the swelling in my pantsleg. Joanna was asking, "You see? He may sound like he's trying to talk us out of going ahead, but he's really pretty excited about helping us catch up on our education."
Kathy giggled, declaring, "You're awful, Jo! Dore's really being very sweet and considerate." She glanced around Joanna at me, exclaiming, "My, but he feels frightfully big."
"He's a runt," I told her, "compared to some you'll likely have a chance to see before this night's over."
"Really?" they exclaimed in unison.
I held a blindfold toward Kathy, suggesting, "Let's get these on. The sooner we do, the sooner you'll see all the wonders of sex in operation for yourself."
She leaned her head farther toward me to have the blindfold tied into place. With that done, I pulled colorful hoods over their heads, then got the car rolling again.
Half an hour later, after the massive outer gate at Marie's castle of love had closed behind us, I removed the hoods and blindfolds and allowed them to enjoy the sights of the gardens and the colorful fountain as I drove to a parking place before the main house. When I opened the car door for them, they stepped out wide eyed, obviously impressed with just the exterior sights. It was obvious they neither one had actually believed my story about Marie's place until they saw its reality with their own eyes. I chuckled to myself in anticipation to their reactions to other sights they were going to experience before we took our leave.
"Are we the only ones here?" Joanna asked, glancing at the utter vacancy of the rest of the small parking area.
"Only the first," I told her. "No one coming on a business appointment is allowed to arrive before nine P.M., except by special arrangement and advance payment of a considerable additional fee."
"What are the regular fees, incidentally?" Kathy asked in a confidential whisper.
"Even the so-called regular fees are by arrangement, beginning from certain absolute mini-mums," I said. "For example, the absolute minimum is one hundred dollars per hour with a three-hour minimum. It's indescribable!"
The girls exchanged a startled glance, then Kathy-said, "So three hundred dollars actually is the absolute minimum fee per visit?"
"Right."
"And what if a man wanted to stay all night?" Joanna suggested.
"The minimum added fee for midnight to morning is four hundred fifty dollars, which includes a breakfast even wealthy Texans consider fabulous. And overnight guests must be up and on their way by not later than nine A.M."
"And what does she pay the girls who work for her?" Kathy wanted to know.
"All fees are split fifty-fifty."
"So the minimum a girl makes is from one hundred fifty for a three hour quickie to three hundred seventy-five for all night," Joanna calculated quietly. Then she demanded, "Does she have any summertime jobs ... need any vacation time replacements? For that kind of money, Europe can wait!"
"I start getting sick thinking about it!" Kathy declared. "Something we could get that kind of money for, we're supposed to practically give away just for uncomfortable rides in some clunky European imitation of a car across cruddy, dilapidated landscape inhabited by hypocritical savages who've started every major war for centuries yet pretend to being the ultimate in civilized society. We'd be downright stupid to do that if-"
I interrupted quickly, "Hold it, hold it! No one under twenty-one works here." Instantly both girls looked as crestfallen as if I'd slapped them. I led the way toward the front door.