Trail of Sin

by Ray Gordon

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked me as I took a pen and paper from my handbag.

  ‘Our accounts,’ I replied. ‘I’m writing down everything we earn, and everything we spend.’

  ‘Even the drinks?’

  ‘Yes, even the drinks. Don’t forget that we have rent to pay. There’s the shopping, toiletries, clothes . . .’

  ‘Tampons,’ she added with a giggle.

  ‘Trust you to think of that.’

  ‘Anal lubricant.’

  ‘Anal . . . you are a naughty girl. That reminds me, we need an internet connection.’

  ‘What for?’

  ‘We both have computers so we might as well be on the internet.’

  ‘We could have our own website,’ Jackie suggested excitedly. ‘Girls in the woods, dot com.’

  ‘Don’t be silly, Jackie. Actually, you might have an idea there. Once we have real money coming in, I’ll give it some thought.’

  ‘I’m not just a pretty face.’

  ‘You’re pretty all over,’ I said softly. ‘Especially between your . . . well, you’re pretty all over.’

  ‘This will be our first night in our new home. Are you coming in my bed or shall I come in yours?’

  ‘As long as we come, I don’t care which bed we’re in,’ I quipped. ‘I have a vibrator in my room. Perhaps we should try it out?’

  ‘Wow, yes. Let’s go home now and –’

  ‘Hang on,’ I cut in as I grabbed my ringing phone from my bag. ‘Hello, Ali speaking.’

  ‘Ali, it’s Jack.’

  ‘Jack? Oh, you’re Simon’s friend.’

  ‘Yes, that’s right. Can you fit me in this evening?’

  ‘Er . . . actually, I’ve finished for the day. I’m free tomorrow evening if –’

  ‘No, I can’t make it tomorrow evening. I suppose I only wanted to meet you, take a look at you and find out what you offer. Is there somewhere I could meet you, just for a few minutes?’

  ‘I’m in the wine bar in the High Street,’ I said, winking at Jackie. ‘You’re welcome to come along and buy my friend and me a drink.’

  ‘Oh, you’re not alone?’

  ‘My girlfriend – we work together.’

  ‘Oh, right. Well, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Er . . . how will I recognise you?’

  ‘Just look for two stunning teenage girls sitting together at a table.’

  ‘Who was that?’ Jackie asked me as I dropped my phone back into my bag.

  ‘His name’s Jack – he’s a potential client. He wants to take a look at us and find out what we offer.’

  ‘That’s great. At this rate we’ll be booked up every day of the week. Perhaps we could wank him off under the table?’

  ‘I’ll wank you off under the table in a minute, you naughty girl.’

  ‘I wish you would, Ali. I’m so wet and . . .’

  ‘Look, we have to be businesslike when he arrives. No giggling or messing about.’

  ‘Yes, boss,’ Jackie said, knocking back her drink.

  ‘There’s ten pounds. Go and buy two more spritzers. And bring me the change.’

  As I watched her walk up to the bar I knew that we were going to work well together. She’d always been the fun-loving type, but she also had her serious side and I was sure that we’d live together in harmony. She was extremely attractive and . . . My stomach somersaulted as I pictured the hairless lips of her young pussy and I wondered again whether I was in love. I couldn’t be in love with another girl, I tried to convince myself. It just wasn’t possible, was it? What the hell would my parents say if they discovered that I was a prostitute living with her lesbian lover?

  ‘Is that him?’ Jackie asked as she returned to our table with the drinks.

  ‘I think so,’ I whispered as a middle-aged man approached.

  ‘Ali?’ he said, looking first at Jackie and then at me.

  ‘I’m Ali,’ I said.

  ‘I’m Jack – pleased to meet you. I see you’ve got drinks.’

  ‘We’ll have two spritzers, please,’ I said. ‘This is Jackie, my friend.’

  ‘Hi, Jackie. Er . . . OK, two spritzers coming up.’

  ‘We’ve already got drinks,’ Jackie whispered as the man went to the bar.

  ‘If he’s buying, we’ll have another one. What do you think of him?’

  Jackie grinned. ‘If he’s got money, then he’s OK.’

  ‘Leave this to me,’ I said. ‘OK, here he comes. Only speak if you’re spoken to.’

  ‘Yes, boss.’

  ‘I’m looking for some fun once a week,’ Jack said as he placed our drinks on the table and took a seat.

  ‘Aren’t you drinking?’ I asked him.

  ‘No, I’m not staying. I’d like to see what’s on offer before we talk money. I’d like to see what you have between your legs.’

  ‘And I like to see cash before I show you what I’ve got,’ I returned. ‘Look, we’re both eighteen years old so what we’ve got is pretty obvious.’

  ‘Just a glimpse?’ Jack persisted.

  I glanced around the bar to make sure that no one was looking. ‘Jackie, show him,’ I ordered her.

  ‘What?’ she gasped, glancing around the bar herself. ‘You mean, show him my –’

  ‘Just do it, Jackie.’

  Jackie eased her miniskirt up and pulled the front of her knickers down to display her hairless sex slit to Jack. He nodded approvingly, mumbling something about shaved pussies as he adjusted the bulge in his trousers. Making sure again that no one was watching, Jackie lifted her T-shirt and yanked her bra clear of her firm breasts. Jack nodded approvingly once more and then asked me to show him what I’d got.

  ‘I’ve got the same as Jackie,’ I said. ‘So, do you approve?’

  ‘Very much,’ he said quietly, grinning at me.

  ‘One hundred pounds for half an hour,’ I enlightened him.

  ‘That’s for full sex?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That’s not a bad price for two girls.’

  ‘That’s for one girl. If you want both of us, it’s one hundred and fifty.’

  He frowned, his stare darting between Jackie and me. ‘Will that include everything? I mean, oral and . . .’

  ‘Everything, but not anal.’

  ‘Anal is my fetish,’ he said, raising his eyebrows. ‘I must have anal.’

  ‘Two hundred.’

  ‘I’ll have to think about it,’ Jack said as he left the table. ‘It’s a hell of a lot of money for half an hour.’

  ‘And, between us, we’re a hell of a lot of girl,’ I countered. ‘Ring me, OK?’

  ‘OK, I’ll think about it. I really don’t think I can pay that much, but I’ll think about it.’

  Jackie waited until he’d left the bar before grimacing at me. ‘You’ve just lost us a client,’ she said. ‘Two hundred quid for half an hour? You must be crazy. No one would pay that for –’

  ‘We’re not cheap sluts, Jackie. We’re sluts, but we’re not cheap.’

  ‘I know, but . . .’

  ‘I’m the boss, so trust me.’

  ‘OK, if you say so. At least I got a drink for showing him my tits and pussy. Why didn’t you show him yours?’

  ‘I don’t pull my knickers down in seedy bars,’ I said, giggling as she frowned at me again. ‘I’m a refined young lady.’

  ‘So what does that make me?’

  ‘My employee.’

  ‘I’m not sure that I like this,’ Jackie murmured.

  ‘Have a lager, then,’ I quipped.

  ‘No, I mean . . .’

  ‘I know what you meant, Jackie.’

  ‘Anyway, this isn’t a seedy bar.’

  ‘It is now that you’ve flashed your body in public. Seriously, Jackie, leave the business side of things to me.’

  ‘I don’t want to be your employee.’

  ‘You’re not, you silly girl. We’re working together, OK? We’re equal, except that you’ll do as I tell you. If I tell you to pull you
r knickers down in a bar and show your pussy to a man, then you’ll do it.’

  ‘You’re the boss.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘I still say that you’ve lost us a client.’

  ‘Shut up, or I’ll spank your bare bottom.’

  ‘Promise?’ Jackie said, giggling as she left the table. ‘I need the loo – I’ll be back in a minute.’

  We were getting on well, I thought as I downed my drink. She was fun to be with, and she had a perfect body. I wasn’t going to say anything to her, but I reckoned that she was right about Jack. I’d probably just lost us a client. But I didn’t want to become a cheap prostitute. Giving a man a blow job in the woods for forty pounds wasn’t the way a high-class pro would behave, but we had to start somewhere. And I didn’t intend to carry on the way we’d started.

  Turning my thoughts to Simon as I sipped my drink, I wondered whether his friend Jack would tell him that he’d met Jackie and me in the pub. I couldn’t allow Simon to meet Jackie because he’d recognise her as my friend, so I had to be careful. The best thing to do would be to meet Simon in the woods whenever he needed me. He was bound to hear that Ali the prude had left home, so there’d be no more dangerous episodes at the end of the garden.

  Things were working out well, I thought happily, except I was still concerned about the winter months. Where would we meet our clients? I didn’t want to have to use our flat as a brothel, but I couldn’t see that we were going to have a choice. I also had my parents to worry about. When they discovered that I’d left university they’d go mad. As it was, I’d lied to them about my job as a secretary. They were bound to want to see the flat once I’d settled in and . . . It was early days, I reflected. I had several bridges to cross, but not for a while.

  ‘Ali speaking,’ I said, answering my phone as it rang suddenly.

  ‘I don’t know what your game is,’ the slut said. ‘But I don’t like it.’

  ‘And I don’t like your game,’ I countered.

  ‘I’m not playing games. Why the hell are you pretending to be me?’

  ‘I’m not pretending to be anyone, Ali. To be honest, I’ve had enough of people mixing us up.’

  ‘From what I’ve heard, you’re making out that you’re me.’

  ‘Why would I do that? Look, I don’t even know you. We’ve never met or –’

  ‘What’s your real name?’ she cut in.

  ‘Ali, which is short for Alison. What’s your real name?’

  ‘Ali, which is short for Alice,’ she enlightened me. ‘And we are not sisters.’

  ‘In that case, we must be each other’s doubles. Why don’t we meet somewhere for a chat?’

  ‘No, I . . . I don’t want to,’ she muttered.

  ‘Come on, Alice. If we really are identical in looks, it would be fascinating to meet.’

  As she hung up, I reckoned that she would agree to meet me at some stage. Maybe the notion frightened her? Meeting someone who looked identical would be quite daunting. But I was sure that she was faltering and the time would come when intrigue got the better of her. I’d keep this to myself, I decided as Jackie neared the table. There was no need to involve her.

  ‘I’ve had an idea,’ she said as she retook her seat opposite me.

  ‘Oh, dear,’ I murmured, grinning at her. ‘Go on.’

  ‘I’ve been thinking about the flat and taking clients back.’

  ‘Great minds think alike.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Nothing. Go on.’

  ‘We can’t take them home, right? So how about renting a bedsit somewhere?’

  ‘A bedsit?’ I echoed, frowning at her.

  ‘Just a single room with a bed where we can meet our clients.’

  ‘That’s not a bad idea, Jackie. You’re not just a pretty face, are you? OK, your job is to find a place. It needs to be close to our flat, and cheap. Don’t go signing anything until I’ve seen the place, OK?’

  ‘Who’s that girl over there?’ Jackie asked me, looking at the bar.

  ‘I have no idea,’ I replied, glancing at an attractive teenager who had long blonde hair. ‘Why do you ask?’

  ‘She’s been looking at you for ages. I just wondered whether you knew her.’

  ‘No, I don’t. There’s one way to find out,’ I said, grabbing our empty glasses. ‘Same again?’

  ‘Mmm, please.’

  I said nothing as I stood by the girl and ordered the drinks, but I could feel her staring at me. Was this something to do with Ali the slut? I wondered, taking my purse from my bag. If she’d thought that I was the slut, she’d have said something. But she just looked at me, scrutinised me. As I paid for the drinks and slipped my purse into my bag, I turned and faced her.

  ‘How are you?’ she asked me.

  ‘I’m fine,’ I replied. ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve met before.’

  ‘You’re Ali, aren’t you?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right. And you are?’

  ‘I’m Amy.’

  My stomach sank. I knew that she was the slut’s lesbian friend. ‘Do I know you?’ I asked, frowning at her.

  ‘I’m Ali’s friend. The other Ali, I mean.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ Unsure what to say, I took the drinks from the bar. ‘I have to get back to my friend,’ I murmured.

  ‘Wait, don’t go yet. The likeness is incredible. I’ve been watching you for a while and . . . It’s amazing.’

  ‘It also causes problems,’ I said, forcing a smile. ‘People mix us up and . . . well, it causes problems.’

  ‘Yes, Ali’s told me about it. Do you think that she’s your sister?’

  ‘I have no idea. It is possible but . . . She won’t agree to meet me, so I doubt that I’ll ever find out. She rang me this evening but –’

  ‘She’s worried,’ Amy cut in. ‘Her family history is a mess. Her mother was a whore – is a whore, I should say – and she never knew her father. She thinks that, if you are her sister, she’ll discover things that she’d rather not know.’

  ‘So her mother might be my mother?’

  ‘Yes, that’s right.’

  ‘Where does she live, Amy? I need to talk to her.’

  ‘I can’t tell you that. She asked me to find you so I’ve been going around the bars and pubs looking for you.’

  ‘And now that you’ve found me?’

  ‘She wanted me to meet you and find out what sort of person you are, what you’re like.’

  ‘What will you tell her, then?’

  ‘That you seem nice enough.’

  ‘So, where to from here?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Amy sighed. ‘I didn’t want to get caught up in all this. I’ve told her to meet you but she won’t. Hadn’t you better get back to your friend?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose so. Look, can we meet again?’

  ‘Is she more than a friend? The girl you’re with, I mean.’

  ‘No . . . I mean, yes, she is. I know about you and Ali. I mean, I know that you’re a . . .’

  ‘A lesbian? It’s all right – it’s not a secret.’

  ‘Right, well . . . I’d better get back.’

  ‘I’d like to talk to you, when you’re alone and you have more time. What are you doing later this evening?’

  ‘Well, I . . . nothing, I suppose.’

  ‘Can you come back here later?’

  ‘Er . . . I’ll try.’

  ‘OK, I’ll be here until they close.’

  ‘Yes, well . . . I’ll see what I can do.’

  As I walked back to the table I felt my stomach somersault. Although Jackie and I had a lesbian relationship, I’d never met a self-admitted lesbian before. I found Amy extremely attractive, sensual and . . . She had full red lips and dark, sparkling eyes. God, I thought as I sat opposite Jackie. What the hell was I thinking? Jackie frowned and asked me who the girl was, so I had to explain. She listened intently, sipping her drink now and then without taking her eyes off me. When I came to the end of my revelation, Jacki
e suggested that she should go home, giving me time to talk to Amy.

  ‘I’ll wait for you at the flat,’ she said. ‘You’ve got to sort this thing out with the other Ali, so give me the key and I’ll see you later.’

  ‘OK,’ I murmured, gazing across the bar at Amy. ‘You’re right, I have got to sort this out.’

  ‘I don’t know whether it’s a good idea to leave you alone with an attractive young girl,’ Jackie said, giggling as I slid the key across the table. ‘You might run off with her and have sex.’

  ‘Don’t be silly,’ I retorted. ‘It’s you I want, and you know it.’

  ‘She might become a client,’ Jackie said, her dark eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘We could have lesbian clients as well as men.’

  ‘Well, yes – I suppose we could. I hadn’t thought of that.’

  She knocked back what was left of her drink and stood up. ‘Don’t be too long,’ she said, smiling at me. ‘I’ll be waiting for you.’

  ‘I won’t be long, I promise.’

  As Jackie left the bar, I felt my hands trembling and my heart racing. Amy was so incredibly attractive and young and slim and . . . I reminded myself that I was supposed to be finding out about the other Ali as I watched Amy order two drinks. She was going to join me, I knew as she turned and smiled at me. She was wearing a turquoise miniskirt and a white blouse, and she looked stunning. Her small breasts were clearly outlined by the thin material of her blouse and I found myself wondering whether she’d shaved her young pussy.

  ‘OK to talk?’ she asked, placing the drinks on the table.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ I replied. ‘Thanks for the drink.’

  ‘You got rid of her, then? Your friend, I mean.’

  ‘She’s gone back to . . . She has things to do.’

  Sitting next to me, Amy gazed into my eyes. ‘You’re sweet,’ she murmured huskily. ‘You’re just like Ali, but . . . I can tell the difference.’

  ‘I’m glad someone can,’ I said, with a chuckle. ‘Other people I’ve met . . . well, there’s been one mix-up after another.’

  ‘There is a subtle difference. Your lips are slightly fuller than Ali’s. And your eyes are wider.’

  ‘Right, well . . . Tell me all about Ali.’

  ‘She has beautiful round tits and her pussy is divine.’

  ‘No, I mean . . . what’s she like as a person? Where did you meet her and how long have you known her?’