The Sting

by Daniel Guy

Nadia is studying Law at university because she’s ambitious. She is determined to have a good job, money and success.  She’s nineteen, bright and pretty, with long jet-black hair and a beautiful figure.  But she’s in debt and, like many students, she’s thinking about earning extra cash through escorting.  She mentions it to a few friends casually, hoping to find someone who can give her some advice.

Then one day, as she’s standing in the queue in the library, a woman approaches. She’s older, blond, and she’s wearing a tight black latex mini skirt.

‘Hi, are you Nadia?’

‘Yes.’

‘Hi. I’m Lisa. I hear through a friend of mine that you want to get into escort work.  I hope you don’t mind me approaching you like this, but I think I might be able to help. Shall we step outside for a chat?’

Nadia follows Lisa out to a park bench by the lawn where they sit in the spring sunshine. Lisa lights a cigarette and tells her story.

‘I’m studying politics.  I’m in my third year and I’m loving it. But last year was terrible and I almost dropped out because I was in massive debt and I couldn’t stop worrying about it.  So like you, I asked around, and in the end I found someone who could tell me how to pick up blokes, where to take them and what to charge.  I put an ad on a website, picked up a guy and he paid me sixty quid to suck him off.  It was as easy as that. I tell you, it’s good money. I met just three guys last week and made nearly four hundred quid!’

Nadia is keen to find out more.

‘But supposing the university finds out, won’t they throw you out?’

‘They won’t if you’re careful.’

‘And what about your boyfriend? Does he know you’re doing this?’

Lisa laughs.

‘Oh, no. He’d go nuts if he ever found out.’

Nadia wants to know about the dangers and the risks, and Lisa is very relaxed about that. 

‘You can meet them in a bar first and if you like them you go ahead. It’s very safe. I’ve met some pretty amazing guys. Yeah, you get the odd weirdo, but then it’s over in half an hour and you’re a hundred quid better off.’

Nadia admits she had no idea that selling your body could be so easy and so profitable.

‘Oh yes. You can earn as much as you want.  You’ll find plenty of students are doing it here. I know of three. In fact one of them was chatting to me this morning.  She’s called Jane and she’s studying medicine.  She told me she’s paid off all her debt and credit cards and doesn’t need to do it any more. Maybe you can take on some of her regular clients. What I will try to do is to arrange for you two to meet up.’

Nadia nods enthusiastically. She is very happy to meet Jane. Finally it’s time to go home. Lisa stands up and puts on her expensive black leather jacket.

‘Ok, so let’s meet on Thursday night and we can discuss it all in more detail. Meanwhile, think about the kind of stuff you’re prepared to do.  A blow job will pay for a nice dress, but if you don’t mind wearing a bit of leather and buying a few toys, you can pick up the older guys who just want to be slaves. They’re more generous and you don’t have to have sex with them.  It just depends on what your limits are.’

Nadia thinks about this constantly for the next few days but when she meets Lisa again she admits that she still feels very nervous.

Lisa buys her a cocktail at the bar and reassures her as much as she can.  They walk out to a table on a quiet terrace. 

‘It’s always the first time that freaks you out. Once you’ve got the first one over with, it gets much easier. Listen – you know that friend of mine I was telling you about, who was thinking of giving up?’

‘Jane?’

‘Yes. Well I met up with her yesterday and she confessed that she’d met some incredibly rich guy and didn’t need to meet anyone else. She’s been seeing him once a month for two years. He pays her five thousand quid every time they meet, and she’s only with him for half an hour!’

Nadia is speechless for a moment. Then she asks,

‘But what does she have to do?’

Lisa leans in a little and drops her voice.

‘She told me the guy flies in from the Middle East and spends one night at an expensive London hotel and then flies home again.  She goes to the hotel.  The door to his room is open.  She goes in.  He’s sitting on the bed and he always wears a mask.  On the table is a pair of handcuffs, a ball gag, a plastic bag and a thick elastic band.  She has to undress, put on the ball gag, put the plastic bag over her head and seal it round her neck with the elastic. Then she has to cuff her hands behind her back and then kneel down in front of him.  Then he just wanks over her face and then once he comes, which is usually very quickly, he takes off the bag, then leaves the money and the keys to the handcuffs on the table and walks out.’

Lisa is fascinated by the story.

‘That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.’

Lisa smiles.

‘Well it maybe, but for five thousand quid, I’d do it in a flash. I mean - who wouldn’t?’

Nadia wonders for a moment if she would, but before she can respond, Lisa adds,

‘Breath play – you know, a lot of guys are getting into it.  I personally don’t get off on it.  But this...!  And he doesn’t even fuck you. He just wanks!’

They carry on chatting for another twenty minutes and then a tall man in a brown suit appears on the terrace and begins to look around sheepishly.  Lisa clocks him and then glances at her watch.

‘Hey, that must be my client. Hmm. Not bad looking.  That’s a bonus. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you tomorrow.’

Lisa leaves. Nadia watches her stride over to the guy. They chat for a moment and he leads her away.

She cannot stop thinking about Lisa’s friend Jane and imagining the scenario that was described. She tries to imagine herself naked, hands cuffed behind her back, and a plastic bag over her head. She wonders if it’s a clear bag or if it’s not, how much worse or better it might be not to be able to see what was going on.

The following evening Lisa calls as promised and begins by telling Nadia what fun she had with the guy in the suit.  

‘It was fun. He was a laugh.  We smoked some weed, and fucked like rabbits and he was hung like a horse.  I walked out an hour later with nearly three hundred quid in my purse and a smile on my face.’

Nadia is full of questions but Lisa says she can’t chat for long and that they should meet the following night, in a bar she knows.

‘Meet me there at eight. I’ve just found that out Jane is going to be here and I want you to meet her. She’s really nice and I’m sure she’ll have some tips for you.’

Nadia arrives at the bar ten minutes early. She is nervous.  She sips a glass of white wine. She doesn’t like being alone in a bar but then she realises that if she starts meeting men for sex, she may have to get used to it.  Lisa appears and this time she’s in another tight mini skirt.

They clink wine glasses and Lisa says,

‘Cheers – here’s to us both paying off our student debts. And to the fact that I’ve just paid for my boyfriend and I to go on holiday to Brazil this Christmas!’

Nadia is deeply envious.  At that moment a couple enter the bar. Lisa looks up and calls out.

‘Jane! Hi. How are you?’

Jane lets her boyfriend go to the bar while she comes over.

‘Hi Lisa. How are you?’

They hug each other like good friends and Lisa introduces Nadia to Jane, who is tall and elegant, with her short dark hair and her long blood-red velvet dress.  After a bit of small talk, Lisa turns to Jane and says,

‘Nadia wants some advice about escorting and I said you were the one to chat to.’

Jane smiles coyly.

‘Well you know more about it than me, Lisa, you filthy little whore.’

They laugh mischievously and then Jane continues.

‘Actually I’m packing it all in. I don’t need to do it any more.  All my debts are paid off and I have a tidy sum in the bank for a deposit on a flat for when I graduate in a couple of months, so I am not complaining.’

‘But what about your millionaire?  Surely you can’t give him up?’ says Lisa. Jane turns to Nadia and smiles.

‘So she’s told you about Jack, has she?’

Lisa jumps in.

‘Jack? Is that his name? I thought you said he was Middle Eastern.’

‘Jack Pot. That’s what I’ve listed him on my phone.  No. I’ve told him I can’t see him anymore. I think I might keep his number, just in case.  Look, I better get back to my boyfriend.  I’m happy to give you ideas, advice, anything you want.  Let’s meet for coffee later in the week.’

‘Sure. Thank you!’ says Nadia.  

They watch as Jane re-joins her partner at the bar.  

‘Fuck,’ says Lisa, ‘if only I could get that number…’

‘What do you mean?’ asks Nadia.

‘Jack. If she isn’t going to see him again, then I don’t see why I should take her place.’

Two weeks later Nadia is in her studio flat, listening intently to Lisa, who sits on her bed with a bottle of beer in one hand and her phone in the other.  She waves the phone and grins miscievously.  

‘Well I got that guy’s number. Jackpot!  Last week I managed to sit next to Jane at a concert and I took her phone, nipped to the toilet and then came back and slipped it back in her bag without her noticing.’

Nadia is in awe of Liza’s fearlessness.

‘You’re crazy,’ she says.

‘I’m greedy, Nadia. That’s all. I want to make some big money.  Nothing wrong with that.  What do you think - shall I text him now?’

Nadia is bristling with curiosity and she cannot help but nod enthusiastically.

Hi. My name is Lisa and I am a friend of Jane.  She’s passed on your number to me.  I’m happy to do what she did for four thousand and I promise you’ll find me just as attractive, maybe more.

A few moments pass before the phone beeps a reply to the text.  

OK. Hilton Hotel. Tower Bridge. Saturday. 6pm. Room 301. If I don’t like you, I don’t pay.

Lisa squeals with delight and then punches the air.

‘Yesss!’

Sunday comes and Nadia calls Lisa, anxious to know how the previous night went.  

‘Easy. Fucking brilliant.’

‘Did he pay you the four thousand?’

‘He paid me five, Nadia. I still can’t believe it. Meet me tonight.

I’ll take you out for dinner and tell you all about it.’

That night, in a backstreet Chinese restaurant, Lisa sits opposite Nadia at a table, and as they tuck into spring rolls, Lisa describes her meeting with the millionaire.

‘I walked in and there he was, sitting on the bed, in a very expensive suit and wearing dark sunglasses.  On the table was a large clear plastic bag and the handcuffs and the elastic band, just like Jane said.

I got undressed and tied the ball-gag and then the bag over my head and cuffed my wrists behind my back.  Then I went over to him and knelt down and waited.’

He unzipped his fly. I just knelt there, pretending to struggle and simpering and he started wanking.  About ten seconds later he shot his load over my face. Then he pulled off the bag, walked out of the hotel room and closed the door behind him. On the table was a white envelope with five thousand quid in it and beside it was the key to the handcuffs. I managed to get the cuffs off. Then I had a shower and got dressed and left. I was there probably half an hour, max. It was as simple as that.’

‘But what about having a plastic bag tied over your head? I mean that’s really dangerous.  Weren’t you afraid you would suffocate?’

‘No, Nadia. Not at all. The bag was quite big and it was only over my head for about a minute.  It fact it felt quite nice.’

‘What?’

‘And it meant I didn’t have any of his spunk on my face. I hate it when it gets in your eyes.’

For the next few days, Nadia is deep in thought and can hardly concentrate on her studies. He finds herself dreaming of the enormous luxury flat she could be living in, in the most glamorous part of the city, and the clothes she could buy, and holidays she could have.

She even thinks about her dad, who wants his hip operation done privately, but can’t afford it.  She could chip in some money. And she knows too that the poor man would have a heart attack if he ever found out how much credit card debt she had. 

She keeps promising herself she will put some ads on a couple of websites that Lisa has recommended, but she never quite does. Now she can’t stop thinking about all that risk of meeting a complete stranger, just for a hundred pounds, while Lisa is gets ten times that for doing almost nothing.  And then a week later Lisa calls.

‘Lisa – how are you?’

‘I’m pissed off frankly. Jack had booked me for Saturday night but now I can’t do it because my mum is ill and I have to go home this weekend to look after her.  It’s a real bummer because he says he won’t be back in London for six months after that.  Another five thousand would have been very nice. Buy hey-ho. You only have one mum.’

Nadia’s heart jumps. She’s paralysed for a few moments.

‘Nadia?’

‘Yes. Erm…’

Nadia sits frozen for another few seconds before she blurts out,

‘I’ll do it.’

‘What?’

‘Tell this Jack guy that I’ll go. I’ll do it.’

‘Nadia, are you sure?’ asks Lisa.

‘Yes. I’ll do it.’

‘OK. Well if you’re really sure, I’ll text him now. See what he says.’

Saturday afternoon Nadia soaks for an hour in her bath. She cannot stop thinking about what she has agreed to do in a few hours time.  She’s nervous. She puts on a short green dress and spends a long time on her hair and make up.  But just as she is about to leave her flat she gets a text from Lisa.

Jack has just texted. Change of hotel. It’s the E-Hotel in Conman Street.  Same time. Room number 5.  have fun! x L

Nadia treats herself to a taxi all the way. She arrives half an hour early. The E-Hotel is small and modern, with no reception, just electronic doors and entry codes and instructions on how to use a machine to check in and out.  She waits outside. It’s cold. She wishes she had brought a coat.

She looks at her watch. She thinks about going home. She thinks about the five thousand pounds. She walks around the block.

She finds her way into the hotel reception area. The building is unfriendly, sterile and empty.  She takes the lift up to the first floor and walks along a corridor till she finds room number five. The door is slightly ajar. She opens it slowly and steps inside, closing the door behind her.  The room is small. The curtains are closed. One bedside light is on.  A tall man in an expensive dark suit sits on the bed. He’s wearing a black stocking over his head. He says nothing. He doesn’t even look up. He just looks ahead and waits. In front of him is a small table.  On it are all the things she knew would be there - handcuffs, key, a ball gag, a long piece of thick elastic and a plastic bag.  The bag is smaller than she imagined, and it’s not clear plastic but shiny black. Next to it is a white envelope, filled with what she hopes is her fee.  She says nothing. She stands in front of him and slowly undresses. Already she feels shame and humiliation but she wipes all that from her head and focuses on the money.  She picks up the ball-gag and straps it into her mouth, then slips the bag over her head and ties it with the elastic. She cuffs her wrists behind her back, turns to face him and then drops slowly to her knees.  

She cannot see anything through the bag.  She can’t hear much over the crackling of the plastic, as it expands and contracts with her breathing, and the ball-gag prevents her from making any audible protest.  She feels a finger caressing her breast.  The bag sticks to her face as she sucks in the air and she shakes her head to try to free it. She’s trying not to panic, but then she feels his hands gripping her and then lifting her up and onto the bed.  She feels his hands running down her thighs. She’s breathing heavily and the air inside the bag is already growing thin. She feels his fingers caressing her inner thighs, and she knows what’s coming next.

She passes out as he fucks her and when she regains consciousness, she’s in a heavy daze and has no idea where she is. The bedside light is still on. The room is empty.  The plastic bag and elastic have gone. She starts to remember what was happening before she passed out. She feels a wet patch on the sheets.

‘Oh fuck’ she mumbles.

She clambers off the bed. She manages to pick up the key and after a while she unlocks the cuffs from her wrists. She picks up the white envelope immediately and tears it open.  There’s just a wad of tissue paper inside. She’s gutted. She unfastens the ball-gag and lets it drop to the floor. She sits on the bed. She checks her bag for her phone and purse. Nothing is missing. She sits there and thinks.

She tries to call Lisa but she gets a message to say that the number is no longer recognised.  She thinks of calling the police but then she realises that the police would assume she was offering sex for money and then what if her parents found out?  She decides she better not call the police. She takes a shower, dresses and leaves, and as she sits on the bus all the way back to her flat, she bites her lip and curses her naivety. 

A few miles away, the tall man in the expensive dark suit is waiting on a street corner for Lisa and Jane to turn up. He feels in his pocket for cigarettes and pulls out the black stocking. He smiles and tosses it into the bin beside him.

Lisa and Jane are late.  He smokes a cigarette.

When they arrive, they’re both smiling.  

‘So?’

He grins. He takes them both in his arms and cuddles them.

‘Thank you, thank you – lovely ladies. It was the horniest thing I’ve done in years. Come on, let’s get out of here.’

Daniel Guy