April slumped against her chair as if she had not sat there the whole time. Her face bore a dazed expression, like she had just heard a fantastic tale that apparently knocked the breath out of her. In this case, yes, it was fantastic and unbelievable . . . well, sort of.
"And that's that," Jenny concluded her tale with self-satisfying aplomb. She looked at April with mild amusement as she slowly regained herself. "You look surprised?"
"I don't know what I am right now," April exhaled. "How long have you been running this sort of . . . sex enterprise? And when did you start?"
"It's been more than a year since," Jenny said. She picked April's empty tea cup along with hers and went and added them into the dish washer. She left the kitchen and April got up and went with her.
"Dave and I were swingers before we married," Jenny said as she went up the stairs towards her bedroom. "It was quite fun back then—meeting kinky people and stuff. That slowly changed as Dave's job started taking too much of his time, and then I got pregnant and then life kinda dried up for us. One night we got to talking about stuff we'd missed out on. That was when he came up with this idea about me becoming a good-time slut for black men. That I should be on call for anyone wanting special sex entertainment and get paid for it."
"Seriously, just black men?"
"Yes, April. Just black men," she emphasized as she ventured past her bedroom door and her friend followed behind.
"That's what I don't get," April settled in a chair while Jenny got busy removing the bed sheets and pillow cases.
"What don't you get?"
"How come you prefer only black men? What's the mystique about them? I mean, I've heard everything you've said about them, but I still don't get what makes them special. Is that part of the fetish stuff you mentioned before?"
Jenny rolled the sheets and pillow cases in a bundle then dropped them on the floor. She went looking in the closet and took out a fresh pair which she then unfurled over the bed.
"You're a good friend, April, and a good mother, too. But really you've never ventured beyond your doorstep to know what's out there."
"Oh, come off that, Jen. Howard and I have a healthy relationship, thank you very much. Our love is strong, and gives me everything I want."
"This has got nothing to do with your love with Howard," Jenny explained while she set about dressing the bed. "This is sex we're talking here. I'm talking hard-pounding sex here, or otherwise dirty rough fucking. Step out of your comfort zone if you can and you'll see there's a difference. What you have with Howard is the same thing I have with Dave. Except Dave knows he can't satisfy me when it comes to sex, and he loves me dearly for me it."
"You mentioned that he sometimes loves to watch?"
"Whenever he can, yeah. What I usually do is sometimes I tape my sessions, depending on if my client allows. Dave edits the videos and uploads them to my web page. I've got an alias for anyone wanting to set up an appointment. Dave handles everything: he checks on the site, updates my social media, and talks with anyone who wants to know more about me. And believe me, there're many out there who do," she stopped to laugh. "You probably won't believe me, but I know plenty of women out there—married wives, too—that want to get involved in stuff like this. Hell, many are doing it already."
"Going out and fucking random black men?"
"It's however they want it, April," Jenny went about dressing the pillows and arranging them on the bed. "Some do it in their home. Doesn't matter where as long as they enjoy it, which they usually do."
April fell silent for a moment, contemplating. "Boy, if you'd never made any of this known to me, I never would have thought you the sort of woman that does this. I still don't know whether to believe everything you've said or not."
Their conversation ended when a mobile phone started ringing—Jenny's phone. He fished it out of her pocket and saw it was Dave calling.
"Excuse me," she said to April before taking the call while turning away from her friend.
"Hi, honey," said Jenny. She listened for a while then broke into a laugh. "That's good to hear. Yeah, sure, I won't mind stepping out today; it's about goddamn time, too. No, just me minding the house. April's here with me though. Yeah, we were talking about stuff—you know, that stuff. I don't know, we'll see. Okay, so you say it's a single? Text me the details then, I'll let you know how things go later. Okay, darling, see you later. Bye."
She ended the call and looked at April.
"That was Dave," she threw her phone on the bed. "Looks like I've got a horny client who needs some sexual healing."
"Sexual healing, you say?" April echoed her words like it was something confounding. "Where?"
"I don't know yet, but Dave's gonna text me the details." She slipped out of her bathrobe then made for the bathroom door. "Gimme a couple of minutes and I'll be out in a wink. Don't go running on me, you hear."
The door slammed shut before April could voice a response.
She sat there looking about the room ruminating on everything Jenny had opened up to her downstairs. She checked the time on her watch. She was supposed to attend a PTA meeting at their son's school around noon. Nothing serious, but when you're a suburban middle-aged housewife you fight boredom however you can. Anything to get herself out of the house for a while would do. Instead here she was being captivated by her friend's secret lifestyle.
Jenny's phone uttered a 'Beep-Beep' noise then went silent. April got up and came from around the bed curious to see what it was about. She spied the bathroom door for a second before picking up the phone to read the text message flashing on the screen.
CLIENTS NAME: JOE JONES
DRESS SEXY
BELTWAY HOTEL ON LENOX AVE
CHECK WITH LOBBY. KISSES XXX.
April dropped the phone and hurriedly returned to her chair and sat waiting. She could hear running shower from behind the bathroom door and again checked the time on her watch, still contemplating what to do once Jenny finished bathing. Either go with her to her client or go to her son's school for another boring PTA meeting.
The bathroom door opened and Jenny came out running a towel over her naked self.
"You got a message," April gestured at her phone. "Sorry I looked. I hope you don't mind."
"No harm done. Probably Dave's text," Jenny picked her phone and read the text message then resumed drying her body.
"Looks like we're on. I just need to get ready first." She plugged her hair dryer then sat at her vanity table and went to work on her hair. She turned to look at April. "You're coming with me, aren't you? Please don't say no," she added.
April opened her mouth while struggling to find an answer. "Ahhhh . . ."