Flowers. I stand, looking at the florist display trying to decide what’s appropriate. Are flowers even something I should be bringing? I have no bloody idea. My mate, Jez, has booked me a date for the night through an escort service. He’s having a little get together at his place and as I’m at a loose end right now, he thought he should arrange a date for me. I have no idea why I said yes. I suppose it’s better than a blind date because I won’t feel obliged afterwards, but what the hell. I’m just trying to roll with it.
I’m meeting her at a pub near Victoria Station. I just got into London about 10 minutes ago. I don’t even know what she looks like. Jez said it would be a surprise. Bloody hell. I don’t even know why I’m nervous. I really need to pull myself together. I don’t know what she’ll expect, so I’m just going to try to treat it like any other date and see how it goes.
I get to the pub. Being in the West End, it’s busy, but not so busy that it’s not easy to spot a very beautiful woman sitting at the bar on her own. I scan the rest of the pub just in case this isn’t her because, quite honestly, she so classy and pretty I can’t imagine she’d be an escort. She must have sensed me looking at her because she turned around and my knees nearly buckled when she smiled. Relieved and now excited and intrigued, I walked over to her. She stood up, gave me a hug and whispered in my ear in some sort of sultry exotic accent that I couldn’t put my finger on ‘Lovely to meet you Nick’. She smelled delicious and expensive. I clumsily handed over the flowers and she thanked me sincerely.
I’ve always had no problem with the ladies. I’m a good looking and friendly chap and I’d like to think I’m fairly good company. I was brought up well and I know how to behave like a gentleman. My girlfriends have always been pretty and smart girls. Now, here I am sitting next to a woman in a completely different league. I’m not sure what that means, exactly, but I feel a little bit out classed. As we chat, it turns out that she’s got a Master’s degree in music and came to London from Eastern Europe to pursue a career as a pianist. I don’t know much about that field of work, but from what she’s saying, it’s quite competitive and she’s had to find a way to support herself in the meantime.
She’s in her early 20’s and she carries herself incredibly well. It’s funny. I was worried that if I turned up at Jez’s party with the escort as my date, everyone would know because she wouldn’t fit in. Now I’m worried that they’ll wonder what she’s doing with me as she probably could do so much better. I sort of feel like I’m punching above my weight. So, I quickly work with her on a back story. We’ve kept it simple. We met at a bar and have only been on a few dates.
We hopped into a black cab and headed for the party. Jez has a modern flat overlooking the Thames. It’s a fantastic venue for a party and he makes the most of it. I’ve known Jez since we went to boarding school together and we’ve been like brothers since then. As we entered the party, Jez slapped me on the back and, almost too loudly announced us by saying ‘Hi Nick and to you too darling Marina’ and made a big show of kissing her on both cheeks and taking our coats. Marina asked if he could put the flowers in water and he laid them on the bar and promised he would take care of it.
He motioned for us to follow him as I’m staying over at his place after the party. He showed us to my room and whispered to Marina that she was more than welcome to stay the night and that all her ‘expenses’ had been covered. She smiled graciously and then we all joined the party. As always, Jez was the perfect host and loads of our old school mates were there. They were insanely curious about Marina and, it seemed, a bit envious. That felt good. She was very entertaining company and I pretty much forgot that she was an escort and just enjoyed the experience.
As the night went on, some of Jez’s guests headed home or off to clubs. Marina and I had found an intimate little corner and started to get to know each other a little bit better. Jez caught my eye and comically motioned towards the bedroom. I was quite merry and relaxed from all of the cocktails, so the transition from the few people left at the party to the bedroom seemed totally natural.
As Marina and I were already comfortable with each other and getting on famously, the rest of the night ended up being fun, satisfying and extremely enjoyable for both of us. In the morning, Jez presented Marina with the flowers I’d bought her yesterday, which still looked as fresh as yesterday and handed her an envelope, kissed her on the cheek and saw her to the door.
When he returned, he said ‘You look like you had a bloody fabulous time last night mate. I’m sure she’ll feel appreciated when she looks in the envelope. I knew I’d chosen well. Consider that a birthday and Christmas pressie rolled into one for this year.’ We both chuckled and headed out to the pub for hair of the dog and a roast dinner. All I can wonder is how I’m going to match him this year for his birthday and Christmas. Maybe I’ll just have to call Cleopatra Escorts like he did. Perhaps Marina might want to go on a double date.