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  Junior stared a little too long and a little too hard at the long legs and apple shaped backside of Noi. Several of the dancers got annoyed with the farang looking awestruck at the fully clothed Noi, especially since, they were all wearing their birthday suits and dancing up a sweat.

  A bombshell girl with a red dragon tattoo across her chest took offense and reared her leg back to kick Junior in the head, while he was looking away from her. But she was held back by a couple of her sister dancers, who wanted more of his money.

  The next evening, Junior put on his best suit and took a limousine to the address printed on Abdul's business card. It was fortuitous that he had held onto the card because Club Swish was so exclusive that it didn't have its name splashed in neon above the doorway, as was the custom of more common clubs.

  After the chauffeur opened Junior’s limo door, he walked up to Club Swish's tinted front door, which was blocked by a massive, mountain of a man. The monster looked like he should have been playing the bad guy in a karate death movie. Scowling down at Junior the man didn't speak, he growled.

  "Ummm... OK, I'm that is to say... Abdul invited me to come see his club," Junior spoke in a higher octave than usual. "... See, here's the card he gave me."

  The bouncer snatched the card from Junior's unsteady hand and turned it over to look on the back. Once he saw Prince Abdul's handwriting, he changed his demeanor instantly and opened the door for Junior. The big, forced smile on his massive face made him look even scarier.

  Junior stepped inside the doorway and couldn't see anything until his eyes adjusted to the black lights. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, appeared a tiny, middle-aged, Asian lady wearing a cocktail dress, which glowed.

  "May I see your card, please?" she asked.

  "What?" responded Junior trying to get his bearings then said before she could repeat herself, "oh, yeah, the business card."

  He handed it to the little lady. And she immediately flipped it over and looked on the back.

  "Excellent," she said as she waied to him. "You are to be Mr. Abdul's guest tonight. As his guest, your first evening's entertainment is on the house.

  Please, follow me," she said and started down a long hallway toward an elevator at the other end.

  Junior had to stay right behind her because the only thing he could see clearly was her dress, which seemed to float on its own from time to time as his eyes fought to focus in the ever-present darkness.

  The lady punched in a series of numbers longer than an international phone number to get the elevator doors to open. Once they stepped inside the elevator, she had to type even more numbers in another keypad to start the elevator moving.

  Sensing unease in her guest she said, "we take extreme security measures to ensure the safety of our guests. We have only the most important and influential men visit us. You are in good company."

  "I can see that," said Junior as he really studied the lady standing in front of him for the first time. She was smaller and a little older than who he was used to. But it was worth the trip just to get close to such a pretty, refined woman and smell her perfume. A fragrance, which reminded him of a bottle, he'd bought in Paris for a girlfriend, which set him back three big ones.

  The elevator opened, and he was led to a room that was both spacious and opulent. There was a king sized bed in one corner, and a supple, brown, leather sofa that wrapped around a disco dance floor. The room had its own master bathroom, complete with hot tub and shower, and its walls were made of glass so only an illusion of privacy existed.

  "Let's sit," ordered the tiny lady as she grabbed Junior's hand and led him to the sofa. Junior sat down first and was surprised when the lady sat on his lap.

  "My name is Cookie; I'm the mamasan here. What's your name?"

  "It, it’s Junior."

  "Well, Mister Junior, is this your first time in a KTV?"

  "Ah... yes, yes, it is."

  Cookie ran her fingers through Junior's hair, and let her other hand drift dangerously southward toward his slack's zipper area. She didn't say anything for a few minutes, just played, and it almost drove Junior mad with desire.

  She wrapped her body around his as close as psychically possible, while still being fully dressed, and whispered in Junior's ear, "Do you want to know how this works?"

  Unable to get the word out, Junior just vigorously nodded his head, 'yes'.

  Cookie continued whispering in his ear, "You pay for the room by the hour. You pay for the drinks. You pay for the ice. You pay for the food. You pay for the girls' time by the hour or half hour. Each girl costs money. More girls, more money, understand?"

  "Ye, ye, yes," Junior managed to whisper in her ear.

  "Good," she purred. "Just like drugs, the first time here is free, but just like drugs, this experience is addictive... and expensive.

  At the end of the evening, I'm going to give you an itemized list of how much everything will cost on your next visit, so you will know how much money to bring. Or if you prefer, I can set up an account, and you can owe us the money and pay whenever is convenient for you."

  "Whoa!" Junior said with such a start that he almost tossed Cookie off of his lap. "I don't ever borrow money. If I can't afford it, I do without. No borrowing, EVER!"

  "OK, okay," she said in a voice like one would use to calm a skittish horse. "I'll make a note and put it in your file so that no credit is ever offered to you. Will that make you more relaxed?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Great, consider it done. If the truth be told, I wish I'd have never gotten into debt. Maybe, I would be a school teacher instead of... well, you know."

  "Yes, but then I'd probably never have gotten the pleasure of meeting you. So, it definitely worked out for me," Junior said as he playfully bounced her up and down.

  "Oh, no! I've got to watch you. You are a honeybee. If you keep talking sweet to me, then I'll keep you for myself. Just think of all the beautiful, young women, you'll miss out on."

  "That's fine by me. I could just sit here with you on my lap, forever."

  "I'm going to call you, Honey, because you're so sweet, Mr. Junior. Now, let me bring in the ladies for you to look over."

  And with that, she was up and gone, giving Junior time to look around and assess the situation. He noticed flat screen TVs hanging on every wall. "Who would want to watch TV here?" he thought, and then the answer became crystal clear as he spotted some video cameras on tripods near the bed.

  "I've got to make sure they take those out," said Junior aloud in the empty room. "I don't plan on becoming a porn star, especially when I'm the one paying for everything."

  The whole room was a sensory overload experience. Before he had time to take in half of the room, Cookie returned. She walked in and a dozen of the hottest women that Junior had ever seen followed her and lined up on the translucent, color changing, disco dance floor.

  "OK, Honey, time for you to decide, which girls you want to party with. And, NO! You cannot choose me.... At least, not this time." teased Cookie.

  Junior's mouth involuntarily dropped open as he slowly scanned each lovely lady from left to right. He was down to the last one when he recognized her. It was Noi. "Wow!" he exclaimed.

  "Oh, wait a minute, Honey," said Cookie. "You haven't seen anything yet.... Ladies, its too hot in here for all those clothes."

  All the women giggled or playfully hid their faces behind their hands, then started to slowly, sensually disrobe. They stopped when they reached their G-string panties, but the rest of their glory was on full display.

  For the first time in his adult life, Junior was happy that women weren't getting fully naked. The room, the lighting, the top shelf perfume, it all was getting too much for his senses, so much so, that he had to take a quick break and look away from the girls, up at the ceiling. Unfortunately, the ceiling was mirrored so that didn't help matters at all.

  Being the first class hostess that she was, Cookie took charge of the situation. She gently grabbed Junior's
chin and moved his face where he was looking directly into her eyes. "Easy, Honey, take a few deep breaths. Breathe in... and out.… Breathe in... and out.... We don't want you to pass out.

  "Oh, now I get it," Cookie laughed. "You want to pass out, so I have to give you CPR. You naughty boy."

  It crossed his mind that he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. Too much anticipation and excitement had upset his stomach.

  "I'm sorry," Junior said. "I don't know what's gotten into me."

  Sitting back down on Junior's lap, Cookie said, "Honey, its not what's getting into you; its about who, you are going to get into.... Do you like any of the girls?"

  "... I like all of the girls, but isn't that Abdul's girlfriend?"

  "Which one, Honey?"

  "Noi, the one furthest right, she was with Abdul the other day when we met."

  "He-he," giggled Cookie. "No, silly. Mister Abdul would never date one of us. He is... what's the word?... Picky? Mister Abdul has VERY high standards."

  "Then his loss is my gain, I'd very much like to spend some time with Noi."

  In a loud voice, Cookie called, "Noi". Noi bowed deeply with her hands placed palm to palm.

  "She is a good girl," whispered Cookie in Junior's ear. "Which others do you want?"

  "Just Noi will be fine," he answered.

  "No, no," whispered Cookie. "That will make the other girls jealous. Pick two more.... Do it for me, OK?"

  "Why don't you pick them for me?"

  "Oh, you are so bad, Honey," said Cookie then she spoke something to Noi, loudly in the Thai language, which Junior didn't understand. He had picked up lots of Thai words, which bargirls commonly used, but the nuances of the language still confused him.

  Then to his dismay, all the ladies started putting their clothes back on.

  Cookie caught the look on his face and laughed again. "Don't worry, Honey. You'll get to see more, later. But the best part of a present is unwrapping it; don't you think so?"

  "I really don't know what to think, right now."

  After they had finished dressing, each lady walked up to Junior, did a little bow, said 'goodbye', and left the room until only Noi and two other girls remained. Noi took the hand of each remaining woman and walked her over to where Junior was sitting.

  "I think Noi can handle things from here on out, Honey," Cookie said. "I'll check back from time to time to make sure things are going 'super great' for you." And with that, she waied and left the room closing the door behind her.

  If Junior had to list the best days of his life, the first time he visited Club Swish would rank in the top ten. However, the very best days in his mind were reserved for those rare occasions when his mother had spent quality time with him and wasn't drunk or high on something.

  As promised, Cookie gave him a printout of the pricelist of what he theoretically spent and prices of other services, which he didn't partake of that night. Actually, it was closer to mid morning than night when he left the club after having exhausted his every last ounce of energy.

  Scanning over the receipt through blood-shot eyes in the back of his limousine, Junior found the complimentary total to be a little over fourteen thousand dollars. It seemed like a great deal because less than a year earlier, he had paid a high end escort agency in New York City around that amount for just a few hours worth of passion with only one woman.

  Closing his eyes, he mentally went through how much thirty days, multiplied by fourteen thousand dollars amounted to. Then he added in his monthly hotel bill and miscellaneous spending, plus a certain amount of money, which he had started depositing into a savings account every month. Yes, he could swing coming back every night, if only, just barely. Of course, that much partying would kill him, so he would have to do it in moderation.

  'Moderation', the secret to life, he thought as the limo made its way through the tangled streets of Bangkok in busy morning traffic. He was through letting his every penny vanish like morning dew in the noonday sun. It was becoming evident to him; the effort of blowing so much money so fast was too much like work. And it wasn't as fun as it used to be.

  Chapter 3

  Arriving back at the hotel, Junior had to run the gauntlet of employees wishing him good morning and such. Everyone wanted to make sure their highest paying, most steady customer was happy. If the truth were told, he would prefer that they just left him alone.

  Finally in his penthouse suite, Junior pressed a button on the remote control, which drew the shades, and he collapsed on his king-sized bed. As he drifted off to sleep, thoughts of Noi flooded his dreams.

  It wasn't so much that Noi was the prettiest woman in the world. Every woman at Club Swish was physical perfection. Sure, Noi was extremely intelligent, but all the girls there could speak at least three languages. What made Noi irresistible was the positive energy, which she radiated. It attracted everyone, even other women. You just felt more alive in her presence. Dictators had it; cult leaders had it; and a beautiful woman at Club Swish named Noi had it.

  When Junior woke up, the first thing he wanted to do was call Cookie at Club Swish and book another session with Noi and her friends. Somehow, his self-restraint kicked in, and he stayed in his room all day watching whatever was on television.

  The next day, Junior went to the bank and withdrew a pile of cash that he later deposited with Cookie to cover seven more KTV sessions. He planned on keeping a credit balance at Club Swish. The KTV lifestyle was addictive, but the thought of losing his trust fund from partying with high priced hostesses was just plain terrifying.

  On average, Junior went to Club Swish three times per week. Some weeks he managed to keep himself out of the club for all but two days, but then other weeks he went four times. The weeks he went four times outnumbered the twice a week occasions by far. Ironically, spending insane amounts of money three times a week ended up saving him money because he wasn't burning through money seven days a week.

  Junior's life revolved around his visits to Club Swish and seeing Noi. Sometimes, Noi was on her day off when he visited. Other times, Noi was occupied with other guests, mainly Internet billionaires and old money billionaires. Then there were the days of the month when she got her period and wasn't allowed to work at the club.

  Even when Noi wasn't available, Junior still spent money on the other ladies at Club Swish. One time when Noi was occupied with another customer, Cookie, good to her word, joined a couple of the younger ladies and rocked Junior's world. But there was something missing whenever Noi wasn't there. And when he knew that Noi was with other men, it got under his skin.

  One morning, when Junior was recuperating from a long night of partying, he decided to eat in the hotel's five star restaurant instead of having it sent up by room service. Looking around the dining hall, as a waiter was refilling his glass of orange juice, he spotted Yume, a hostess from Club Swish. She was having breakfast with a Middle Eastern man, who had to be one of her customers.

  Yume saw Junior recognize her and quickly looked the other way, afraid that he might cause a scene. She had nothing to fear. There was no way, Junior was going to crash another man's party and spoil the illusion of the moment. Besides, now Junior knew that 'take out' was on the menu. He couldn't have been more pleased.

  When Junior confronted Cookie about having seen a hostess out on a date with a client, she had to admit that some important business men preferred having a girl stay with them at their hotel rather than partying at Club Swish. In her employer's defense, she pointed out that it was still a better value for the money to party with three girls at the club, than with only one girl in your hotel room.

  "I guess you want Noi to come to your room?" asked Cookie even though she already knew the answer.

  "Probably," answered Junior. "How much is that going to cost?"

  "Well... Noi is one of our top earners. It might be cheaper to get two of the other girls."

  "No, how much for Noi to spend a day with me?"

  "Let me look at our recor
ds," Cookie said as she walked over to a filing cabinet. She took her time studying some spreadsheets, and Junior studied her compact dynamite body, remembering the time she joined in on his manajatwa.

  "If you give me a week's notice, I can let her go for five thousand a day. If you want her right now, it'll run you seventy-five hundred dollars. Of course, if she is busy with another client, then she cannot be bought.

  What is it about her that you and other men like so much, if I may ask?"

  "Believe it or not, I've given it a lot of thought," said Junior. "I've been with tons of women, but none of them had her magnetism, her force of will."

  "Yeah, but if you take me, I'll ride you hard and put you away wet," teased Cookie.

  "OK, one day when Noi is unavailable, I'll do just that."

  "Oh ho," laughed Cookie. "You are going to be in some kind of big trouble then. You had better take your vitamins."

  Not wanting to seem like he was too eager, Junior booked Noi for a private session, two consecutive days, one week away. Later, while enjoying the best of what Club Swish had to offer, Noi got him alone for a few minutes and thanked him for choosing her to stay with him for a couple of days. She told him some rather sweet things she wanted to do to him, which made him feel more like a boyfriend than a customer.

  Although he knew Noi had little choice in the matter, still, Junior felt as nervous as a virgin on prom night. He told the hotel staff to include Noi's favorite flower, the lily, in all flower arrangements that they put in his suite. He visited one of the most expensive jewelry stores in Bangkok and bought a beautiful, diamond encrusted necklace for Noi. Everything had to be perfect for his time with the perfect lady.

  Junior dressed in his best suit and headed down to the hotel's lobby for Noi on the appointed day, a little before the agreed upon time. Luckily for Junior, he arrived a little early because Noi's car pulled up to the valet just as his elevator doors opened. He saw that she was driving a brand new, red BMW convertible. The thought crossed his mind that he had probably paid for that car by buying so much of her time at Club Swish, but he didn't care. He was happy to do it.