The Athletic Aesthetic

by Vanessa Wu

  “I’m in Shanghai on business,” I said. “I’ve had meetings all day.”

  “So now you are ready to relax?”

  “Tomorrow I will be. If you can help me.”

  “I think I can help you.” His hand hadn’t left my jacket. Now it pressed closer to me so that I could feel the warmth from his fingers against my breast.

  Immediately I stepped back. “My cousin knows I am here,” I said.

  “I was only admiring your suit,” he said and his voice was soft and ingratiating.

  I met his eyes without blinking. I was aware of the position I’d put myself in. I wasn’t under any illusions.

  He approached again and this time I stopped him with a gesture. “Come no further,” I said. “Let’s get to the point. The ticket.”

  “I need you to attend an event this evening. I will take you there. Then you will get your ticket.”

  “I have plans for this evening.”

  “You must change them,” he said.

  He took a step towards me. I held up a hand. “No closer!”

  “Your perfume is gorgeous,” he said. “It’s filling the room.”

  “My perfume is not so strong.”

  “Something is making me dizzy,” he insisted.

  “Loosen your collar,” I told him. “You look hot.”

  He loosened his tie and undid the top button of his shirt. His fingers were delicate, like an artist’s. His eyes remained fixed on me all the while.

  “I’m always suspicious of a man who wears a suit and tie on a Saturday,” I said.

  “I have prestigious clients to impress.”

  “And you want me to help you with this?”

  “Beautiful women always help business to run smoothly, especially in Formula One.”

  “How late would I have to stay at this event?” I was feeling torn. The point of getting the ticket was to be with Torsten. I could bear much for the sake of being with him. But how much? If I could go to Mr. Zhang’s event and still see Torsten afterwards, we would all be satisfied.

  “You can leave whenever you wish.”

  “Where is this event?”

  “Jiading District.”

  “Near the motor racing track?”

  “Very near.” While I was thinking about this I must have dropped my guard. In a flash he was behind me and his swift hands were relieving me of my jacket.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You are going to get changed. I have something I want you to wear.”

  I let him pull my arms out the sleeves. He laid the jacket down on the desk. He moved the cardboard box aside as he did so and I realized that what he wanted me to wear must be inside the box. But he didn’t open it. Instead he came back to me and stared at my chest as if his eyes were trying to pop open the buttons.

  I pointed to behind the desk. “You stand on that side of the desk,” I said.

  His complexion had turned very pink. He seemed to be wrestling with some kind of inner tumult.

  “You must get undressed,” he said.

  “Is what you want me to wear inside that box?”

  “It is.”

  “Then move aside. Stand behind the desk and open it.”

  He stood his ground a moment, staring at me. “That perfume,” he murmured.

  “My perfume is very light.”

  He loosened his tie some more and, with a swiftness that surprised me, was suddenly behind the desk and lifting the lid of the box.

  Inside was a Red Army military uniform. He lifted out the jacket to show me. It was vintage, not the latest design. There was a star on each shoulder.

  “What rank is that?”

  “Second lieutenant.”

  “Only second? Can’t I be first?”

  “This is from 1963. Any earlier and you would have no rank at all.”

  The trousers had a wide red stripe down the side. He had even acquired a green peaked cap with a red star on it.

  “Are we going to some sort of military parade?”

  “Western men have this little fantasy,” he said. “They want to be waited on by a cute Chinese girl in military uniform.”

  “So you want me to be a waitress?”

  “Oh, you don’t need to do any work,” he said. “You just need to look beautiful, which you do, I can assure you, without any effort at all.”

  “How did you know my size?”

  “Is it your size?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Put it on,” he urged gently. “Let’s find out.”

  Mr Zhang stayed obediently on his side of the desk while I changed out of my clothes and into the thin cotton uniform. The fit wasn’t perfect but it was close enough. Tightening the belt on the trousers I looked across at him and asked him what he thought.

  He was biting his lower lip.

  “Are you all right?”

  He was leaning forward with his palms flat on the surface of the desk. He appeared to be in pain. “That—look—is—perfect!” he managed to say before suddenly moving back from the edge of the desk and covering his groin with those delicate, artistic hands of his.

  “I need a moment,” he said apologetically. “I must spend a moment in the restroom before we set off.”

  “Take your time.”

  He disappeared down the corridor for a few moments. When he came back he was much more relaxed, and I did not question him. “Ready to go?” he asked me.

  I gathered up the cardboard box, which now contained my own clothes. “May I bring this?”

  “Of course. We can put it in a locker for you until you are ready to leave.”

  “Will there be other women in uniform at this event?”

  “That is the idea.”

  “I’m feeling strangely nervous,” I said.

  “No need to be. There won’t be anyone as beautiful as you.”

  “Your flattery is far too exaggerated. What about the men?”

  “You will find them handsome enough.”

  “Which men are they?”

  “No names,” he said. He wagged his finger expressively. “Strictly, no names.”

  The Jiading International Circuit looks like something dropped from another galaxy. Mr. Zhang took me there in a quiet black Mercedes driven by his personal chauffeur. I held my breath as we entered the road leading into the circuit. The scale and sweep of the architecture overawed me. I felt humbled and dwarfed by it. A hushed, almost holy, feeling came over me. There was an unearthly stillness and silence upon the place. I became conscious of the steady whirr of the car’s climate control for the first time.

  “So where we are going is actually in the circuit?” I asked Mr. Zhang.

  “Yes. I promised you, didn’t I?”

  “You promised me a ticket for the race.”

  “You will get your ticket,” he insisted.

  The car pulled up in a parking lot ringed with security fences. From there, we were taken by an electric buggy to a huge glass and steel structure overlooking the race track.

  “Over there are the pits,” said Mr. Zhang, pointing to a row of garages to our right. “This is a high security area. Wear this.” He gave me a VIP pass on a lanyard. “Put it over your head,” he said.

  I followed him into the towering building. I saw it was one of a pair. Then we were in an elevator going up.

  We got out on the top floor where there were several women in the reception area. They were all Chinese, slightly taller than me, with long legs and almond-shaped faces. They were dressed like me in army green with red facings to their uniforms. Two of them wore knee-high leather boots in the same shade as their wide leather belts. They were sitting or standing by the reception desk and were obviously escorts. One of them carried a whip.

  Mr. Zhang spoke to the
m as if he knew them. They looked at me more than him, appraising me from head to toe just as Mr. Zhang had done earlier. Then one of them pointed to a door and told him the key code.

  “You can take off your VIP pass,” he said. “But keep it safe. You will need it for the race tomorrow. Leave your things here. The girls will put them in a locker for you. Collect them when you leave.”

  I did as he said then followed him to an opaque chrome door. He punched in the numbers and we went into a large room furnished in luxurious style. Some old Chinese pop songs were playing softly in the background. There were about thirty people in the room. If I’d known then what I know now about Formula One, I expect I would have recognized some of them. But of course I still couldn’t have given you names. I have been sworn to secrecy. All I can tell you is that the people smelled of money.

  “I will leave you now,” he said. “Do your best to blend in.” My heart began beating frenetically. He gave me a last look, up and down. His soft brown eyes seemed sad and affectionate. He leaned over and gently unfastened the top two buttons of my tunic. I swear he must have felt my heart leaping up against his fingers. Then his lips brushed my cheek and he was gone.

  If I hadn’t wanted that ticket so badly I might have turned and followed him. I felt very nervous. But before my fear could dominate me a man grasped my hand and led me into the room. He babbled away about something and I answered his questions without paying much attention to what I said. The room was partly in shadow. He led me further into the room and towards a door at the far end where the shadows were deepest.

  “Let’s find some privacy,” he said.

  We went through the door into a small room furnished with a plush red sofa and lit by flickering candles.

  A woman was seated on the sofa. “Hi!” she said. “I’m Lulu.”

  She had the almond-shaped face of a classical Chinese beauty. Her hair was tied back and away from her face so that it could be seen in all its perfection. Even though she was seated, I could tell that her legs were long. She shifted them to the side graciously, as though inviting me to sit down beside her.

  I introduced myself.

  “You seem nervous, Vanessa. Are you scared of me or what?”

  “Perhaps she is scared of me.” A man had approached at that moment and introduced himself as Jay. His accent was foreign but I couldn’t place it. I didn’t reply because I was wondering if he meant “Jay” the name or “J” the initial.

  “Cat got your tongue?” he said.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I—”

  Lulu’s army tunic was fastened loosely with her leather belt. She shifted her position and I suddenly noticed that she was naked underneath.

  “Sit down,” she said in a soft, tremolo voice. “I don’t bite.”

  “What were you expecting?” asked Jay. He was standing close behind me and his arm snaked out and touched me lightly across my back. I twisted to look at him. He was astonishingly good looking. He had clear blue eyes that studied my face intelligently.

  “Not this,” I said.

  “Did you think you were coming to an orgy or something?” he asked.

  “Yes. Or something.”

  “But surely, this is much nicer, isn’t it?”

  He put his hands on my shoulders and pressed me down gently onto the sofa. Then he sat between us. His hand had somehow found its way to my thigh and he was caressing it.

  “So, are you a sergeant, a sergeant major or a lieutenant?” he asked me.

  “I’m whatever you want me to be,” I said.

  “I knew from the moment I saw that you were already exactly what I wanted. You are very beautiful,” he said, studying my eyes.

  “Thank you.”

  “Is your body as lovely as your face?”

  “I think it is not as lovely as Lulu’s.”

  Jay looked at each of us in turn. “Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “Perhaps only the most thorough and scrupulous analysis can tell. Lulu is certainly one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.”

  “Ha-ha. You are both audacious flatterers,” said Lulu, showing her beautiful open mouth. Her lips were so sensual I couldn’t help staring at them.

  “I am not flattering,” Jay said. “It’s the truth. You aren’t going to punish me for speaking the truth, are you?”

  “All men should be punished,” said Lulu in that seductive, little-girl voice of hers.

  “Oh, no,” I said. “Or, at least, if they are punished, it should only be for the benefit of women.”

  Jay laughed. He really had the most seductive blue eyes, with a playful gleam in them. “How can a man’s punishment benefit you?” he asked me.

  “Men are so quick to pounce on women,” I said. “Look at the way you grabbed me as I came into the room. But what I would like to see is a man who is made to stick at his task until a woman is satisfied.”

  “You would like to see that, would you?” he asked me. His tone suggested I was nothing but a dirty voyeur.

  “I’ve no objection,” purred Lulu.

  “You too?” he asked her. “The two of you would punish me by keeping me in heaven?”

  “You are all talk,” said Lulu.

  He took the cue, opened his mouth a little and moved in on Lulu for a lingering kiss.

  I have said that I’m irritated by the cult of beauty in Formula One. It is a ridiculously superficial world. Yet, as those two exquisitely beautiful people entwined together in erotic harmony, I could see the value in superficiality. Their faces were bewitching. Their skin was pure. Their bodies were luscious. But it was their eyes that turned me on. Lust gleamed darkly there, vivid and uncompromising. I was mesmerized by it.

  Jay’s hand slipped inside Lulu’s tunic with an ease of movement that went almost unnoticed until I noticed that he had bared her breast, squeezing and tweaking the perky, mauve nipple until it puckered up beneath his touch. Its responsiveness made him cry out with joy and desire, his tongue touched his top lip and he twitched as if surprised by an electric shock.

  She was beautiful!

  The plump, velvety softness of her breast contrasted gorgeously with the manly roughness of his face as he bent forward for a closer look and planted a full-lipped kiss inside her clothes. He ripped open her tunic and her breasts bounced, taut and inviting, as her nipples stood up bold and clear beside his whiskers. His lips fastened upon one proud little nub and he sucked ferociously. Again, I watched her eyes. How can I describe the expression of pleasure and anticipation in them? She was in the fulfillment of a dream. She was ready to do anything, in thrall and liberated at the same time, on the brink of ecstasy.

  Jay’s strong, sure hands slid over her hips and found her bottom. He caressed it with obvious pleasure. The smooth curve of it beneath her tight army trousers was simply magnificent and Jay’s hand swept along the contours with masterful authority. He squeezed and stroked. He was in control and she submitted joyfully.

  I could see his tongue anticipating the next phase. His eyes smoldered with lust. In a flash he had turned her over so that she was kneeling on the sofa and he had unfastened those tight military trousers to bare her gorgeous flesh.

  Her skin was flawless. Yes. There was not a single blemish. And I saw everything. Everything.

  She was wearing a pale silk thong. It was almost transparent and was so light and flimsy that it was hardly there at all. Jay pressed his whiskered cheeks right up against the soft arc of her bottom and slurped with his eager tongue at the wispy fabric. Her body responded. She was his.

  It was the strangest voyeuristic experience I have ever had. Her rear end was raised up towards me and I could see his stubbled chin nestled between her legs. He pressed his tongue flat against her flesh, not on her pussy but next to it, right between her legs. His fingers clutched at her buttocks and created white, colorless streaks in the creamy flesh. I
think I will never see such a spotless behind so close again. When he let go of her and his fine, skillful hands rested casually on her hips, her buttocks reverted to a shape of sublime and sensual beauty.

  The thong came away. I don’t know how. It disappeared before my eyes. Her bottom was raised up towards the ceiling and her long legs were tucked in so that Jay was leaning over her upturned rear end. He parted her flesh and probed with his long, broad tongue. Lulu’s face turned pink. She bit her bottom lip and moaned. Such a moan! And Jay’s tongue wasn’t done yet. He licked with utter lust and probed further until his tongue entered her, moving with phenomenal speed and strength.

  Lulu was so near to orgasm, but Jay wasn’t yet ready to let her.

  He turned her over again and presented me with another view of the planes, slopes and angles of her naked body. Then he took off his shirt. He had the taut, muscular beauty of a professional athlete, slim and small but very strong. His skin, like hers, had a freshness to it that was close to miraculous. Here and there it was covered in soft, beautiful hair that glowed in the candlelight.

  They rearranged themselves on the sofa once again. Lulu wanted to get at his underwear. She pulled down his trousers to reveal tight cotton bulging with manly promise. Her rear end was towards my face again, and I peered round her bottom to watch as she peeled back Jay’s briefs. His cock sprang out, erect and ready, and her mouth closed over it. His lower body disappeared under a veil of shiny black hair. Then I noticed the wetness seeping from Lulu’s pussy. She was very aroused. She raised and lowered her hips as her head worked on his cock, and I noticed the dark protrusion of her inner lips slick with her juices. I was surprised by the transparency of the liquid and I stared for a moment or two, wanting almost to touch it but unsure if my touch would be welcome. Desire rose within me as my own fingers, so deprived of sensation, began to touch myself.

  But I wasn’t given the chance to be a passive spectator for long. Once again they shifted position. Now Lulu was on her back with her head in my lap, her glossy hair spread out like a fan. I looked down the length of her body at Jay, who was positioning himself for entry. Heaving her calves up onto his shoulders, he lunged forward and his fine, fiery cock was swallowed up inside her. I could feel her body tightening and tensing as she drew him in and gripped him. Her exhalations of pleasure were very loud in the small room. Their two bodies moved as one.