I was already giddy with endorphins from skydiving when we got back to our hotel room just after six o’clock. The escort was due at seven. I pulled on a special bra-and-panty set I’d brought along for the occasion and then slid into a light blue sundress. It was short enough to show off my legs and looked good against my skin, which was tan from spending the previous day by Mandalay Bay’s huge pool, although I’d barely been able to make myself stretch out on one of the chaise longues, and I’d been far from relaxed. I’d felt giddy and sparkly with anticipation all day—but now my mood was slightly shadowed with nerves. I kept wondering what it would be like when she got there. I suspected the girl in the photo would not be the girl who showed up at the door. I was expecting a stereotypical prostitute, unable to hide how worn out she was, even with her big hair, heavy makeup, and skimpy clothes. I didn’t know if I would even be attracted to her, and if I was, if I’d like how that would feel.
“Are you okay?” Mark asked, looking over at me as he buttoned his dress shirt, which he was wearing with blue jeans. He looked handsome and casual. Nervous or not, this was exactly the kind of adventure I’d been craving. I looked in the mirror and shook out my light brown hair, which hung down loose over my shoulders.
“Yeah, I feel great,” I said, partly as a pep talk. “I’m really excited.”
“Do you want a little vodka to relax?” Mark asked, crossing to the bar.
“Sure,” I said.
We sat and sipped our vodkas together, unable to keep our eyes from drifting from our view of the Strip, where the sun was setting and the lights were pulsing even brighter against the darkening sky, to the clock by the bed. At exactly 7 p.m., not a minute later, there was a knock on our door. My nerves pinched and fluttered as I jumped up to let Pearl in, excited to see what she looked like and to experience whatever would happen next. I opened the door slowly, and there she was.
Pearl strolled in looking happy and relaxed, like she’d known us forever. I was immediately impressed and already a little turned on. She was a beautiful girl, and she had a golden glow about her, as if she had just climbed out of the swimming pool at our hotel, sliding into her cute jean shorts to come up and see us. Her shoulder-length caramel-colored hair was streaked with blond, and although she was wearing makeup, it wasn’t too heavy. She looked fresh-faced and cute, just like she had in her photo on the Internet.
“Feel free to take a seat,” Mark said, gesturing her toward one of the seats in the lounge area of our suite.
She looked at me and smiled, waiting to see where I would sit. When I slid onto the sleek cream-colored couch with its view of the Vegas Strip, she slowly and very deliberately sat down close to me, leaning her body slightly in toward mine.
“Is this your first time in Vegas?” she asked, her tone flirtatiously letting us know there was more to that question.
This is going to be fun, I thought, my high ratcheting up even higher.
“We love Vegas,” I said. “We don’t get out here as much as we’d like to because we live in Wisconsin, but we’ve been here a few times now.”
“And what’s the occasion for this trip?” she asked.
“It’s our twentieth wedding anniversary,” Mark said, approaching us with a drink for Pearl and a fresh drink for me.
“No,” she teased. “It can’t possibly be. You don’t look old enough.”
Mark and I both laughed, but he looked a little nervous beneath his cool demeanor.
“We met in college,” he said.
My nerves evaporated. I felt totally comfortable with what was happening, and after a few more pleasantries, I really liked this woman. She was bright and smart and could carry on a great conversation. If we’d met in our regular lives, we could have been friends.
“Do you love living in Vegas?” I asked.
“It’s the best,” she said. “My other job is as a hostess at one of the big casinos. I get to meet all sorts of people from around the world. It’s pretty amazing. I mean, I get to make people’s fantasies come true. What could be better? I really enjoy it.”
“That does sound amazing,” I said, thinking it sounded like a great life, for sure a lot better than the boring and suffocating existence that I was beginning to see as grinding me down back in Madison.
She looked at me with real warmth and gave me a knowing grin. And then, still holding my gaze with hers, she finished her drink and, slow and sexy, stood up.
“Shall we?” she asked, already walking toward the bedroom.
Mark and I looked at each other and smiled with a look that said, this is it. My nervousness had left me as soon as I saw how nice and normal she was, but I still wondered what was going to happen and if I would like it. Mark still seemed a little nervous, which I wasn’t used to, but I could tell by his forced smile that he wanted me to be happy and enjoy myself and he’d do everything he could to help make that happen.
We both followed her into the bedroom. Without any hesitation, she stripped down to her bra and panties and climbed up onto the bed. Her smooth skin looked very tan against the crisp white bedspread and the oversized quilted headboard, and my gaze was drawn to the sparkly earring in her belly button, just like she’d worn in her photo. She gestured me over to the bed and, kneeling to be at my height, helped me to slide my dress over my head, so in an instant, I was wearing only my bra and panties. We stood close together for a long moment, and then she kissed me, like really kissed me.
I’d fantasized about women for the last twenty years, but I’d never kissed a woman except a peck on the cheek, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. She was gentle and smooth, and she smelled good, and all of her motions were slow and deliberate. I was very aware of the feeling of her tongue in my mouth, and how soft and silky her skin was as it grazed against mine where our limbs were touching as I stood in front of her. And then she pulled me down onto the bed next to her. I’m kissing a woman. But now, I wasn’t daydreaming in a casual, curious way. I was really doing it, really having the adventure I’d been craving. My head spun with the feeling and my body heated up.
I was very turned on and very happy. I’d long wondered what it would be like to be with a woman, and here I was having this incredible experience, and sharing it with Mark, my husband and my best friend. He stood nearby, still fully dressed, watching. As Pearl took off my bra and started to kiss down my neck, he slowly undressed. Eventually, we had Mark join us on the bed. He clearly wanted this to be a great experience for us, and especially for me, and he was very gentle and positive. This was to be all about me.
I couldn’t believe how relaxed I felt, like this was the most normal thing in the world. Why didn’t we try this sooner? Why don’t people do this all the time? As Pearl moved things along, she seemed so sweet and classy, and I genuinely felt myself connecting with her. At the same time, I felt closer to Mark than I had in a long time. As far as I was concerned, this was the perfect anniversary celebration. It felt really good.
And then, at exactly eight o’clock, Pearl got up and went into the bathroom. I could hear the shower go on and smell the soap drifting out toward us on a puff of hot steam. It seemed strange to me that she’d so abruptly finished what for me had been a life-changing experience, and jumped right up to clean herself off. But I figured that must be how it’s done.
I lay on the bed, floating inside my own skin, filled up with the pleasure of what had just happened and with all of the sensations and feelings it had released inside of me.
“Mark, you need to give her a huge tip,” I whispered, rolling over toward him.
He raised an eyebrow at me, knowing we were already paying a thousand dollars for the hour.
“Of course,” he said. “I will.”
As Pearl came out of the bathroom, she was clearly in a hurry to dress and leave, but was professional and polite.
“You guys are such a wonderful couple,” she said. “I hope I’ll see you again.”
Of course you will, I thought as I closed the door behind her.
Excerpted from the book "FAST GIRL: A Life Spent Running From Madness" by Suzy Favor Hamilton with Sarah Tomlinson. Copyright © 2015 by Suzanne Hamilton. Reprinted by permission of Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
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