'You really knocked me out-you've got a great body. Plus, well, Anna and I have lately started to get involved in some, well, let's just say ‘very swinging' sex scenes.'
This surprised Tami, since she couldn't imagine Leo's lover Anna being interested in such things. The girl had seen her once in the supermarket and she seemed to be surrounded by an air of mysterious dignity-not at all the characteristics of a wild swinger.
'So,' he continued, 'What I mean to say is that I've gotten a lot more tolerant of all sorts of things.'
Tami wished he would stop, excuse the expression, beating around the bush.
'Well, the other slay, it struck me that you would be just what they need.'
He nodded in the direction of the green door behind the bar.
'I know that you know the score.'
He smiled knowingly.
'The way you moved around the other day, there was no doubt in my mind that you're an experienced chick.'
Tami smiled at this compliment. It seemed that the friendly sexual joking between them had suddenly become much more than that.
'So, what did you have in mind..?' she asked softly.
Tam, a few of our customers have remarked to me that they thought you were an exceptionally fine girl.'
He emphasized ‘fine' to mean a lot more than just polite.
'They were men, of course,' he added, a trace of nervousness creeping into his voice.
'Would you like another drink?'
She agreed, partly to make Leo feel a little more comfortable. She was actually getting excited about knowing the rest of his plan. Leo cleared his throat.
'So, I thought that it would be a clever idea to set you up in business at the supermarket… '
'What d'ya mean?'
'Well, I wouldn't let the word out-only to a few guys that I know aren't freaks or anything… '
He knew that she was aware of just what he meant.
'And-only if you're willing, of course, we could arranged for them to come to your checkout to let you know if they're interested…
Tami began to laugh uncontrollably. This upset Leo, who wasn't quite sure how she would take the idea.
'Tami, what's the matter?'
'That's funny… I can just picture some guy buying a popsicle to indicate he wants a blow job and a couple of doughnuts to show that he wants to fuck!'
'A great idea!'
It relieved Leo immensely to see that Tami thought the idea was at least possible. Before telling her, he had had a moment of serious doubt, thinking even that she might regard him as perverted or sick.
But the scene in the employee's lounge floated back to him, and he knew she would never react in such a fashion. She was as hip as he had always thought she was.
Tami thought about this proposition as she took a long drink. Being a hooker-or whatever the equivalent was in this situation- struck her as being pretty exciting.
Sheryl told her that she had sometimes turned a few tricks, that it was really satisfying if you were sure the guy would treat you well …
She remembered stories Sheryl had told about the nice gifts men would give her, the nice restaurants they would go to… But what about Joe? What would he think if he ever found out?
Another sip and she had decided. He didn't have to find out, unless she felt she wanted to tell him.
Leo was silent, apparently to give her a chance to think things over.
He turned expectantly towards her.
'I think it's a great idea.'
He sighed with relief.
'Wonderful.'
Buying her another drink, he explained.
'Tami, I hope you realize that this will probably save my job. With the extra business we'll get, the district manager'll have nothing to complain about.'
Suddenly Tami remembered work.
'Leo! I'm twenty-five minutes late from lunch! I'll be… '
'Forget it, Tam. From now on, you're on a special schedule. I explained, I mean I will explain, to everyone else that you're in training for some kind of upcoming position in another aspect of the business. That'll be vague enough to please ‘em.'
Leo thought of everything.
Returning to her job, Tami spent the remainder of the day doing her usual duties so as not to attract attention.
'Tami, I'd like you to stay a little later today, so we can discuss the details of your position.'
'Of course.'
She returned to help a little boy who was crying because his penny was stuck in a gumball machine.
As the store closed for the evening, Leo finished various office chores and then led her to the lounge.
'You, of course, keep any and all money that you make from your new… position.'
Tami daydreamed about the trip to Trinidad she had always wanted to take. Her head was full of visions of white beaches and cool sea breezes as he sat her down.
'I've made arrangements with some of the interested clients. Now, I will be announcing that this room will be no longer used as a lounge…'
'But, Leo, that's not fair. There's no other place for everybody to go. I refuse to make them suffer just because I'm doing something crazy like this.'
'You're right.'
He pondered for a moment.
'I've got it. The meat locker we no longer use anymore. It's next to the little staff room where we're supposed to meet with the higher-ups when they come to inspect. Not that they bother anymore, though. They just send their assistants.'
'That sounds like a strange place to…'
'No, it'll be perfect. It's down at the end of the corridor-so it's isolated. Yet anyone seen there has a valid reason to be there-the file cabinets are in that room, and some of the electrical generators are just past the door, so it would look like a guy would be interested in either checking the files or the machinery.'
He clapped his hands in satisfaction.
'Plus, for your added security, the door can be locked from the inside only.'
'Hmmmmmmmm. That is helpful.'
Leo went off to find some pieces of furniture that might have been cast off from the employee's lounge. He dragged an extra vinyl sofa into the locker.
'This'll be O.K., after we put a nice soft shag cover on it. Maybe black, to offset the color of your skin…'
He suddenly looked at Tami, his eyes following every curve in her young body.
To get his mind off her, he changed the subject.
'Ya know, I even suggested this to Anna, to see how she felt about the idea of you doing this.'
'Really, what did she say?'
'Oh, she thought it was a very good idea. She remarked that you looked like you'd do very well, with a body like yours.'
This puzzled Tami, for she had only seen Anna once or maybe twice.
'Anna's very aware of that sort of thing. Ya know, it's just been recently that we both became close enough- and honest enough- to admit that we get off on all sorts of different kinds of sex… '
He fell silent, thinking about his lover.
'It's a lot freer now, that we openly groove on the kinds of things that maybe we once just fantasized
