Chapter Nine
We got some drinks from the bartender and decided to sit down together while we waited for the party to get underway. I looked around at the other women there and tried to get a read on them. Some of them seemed filled with nervous excitement, like we were. Others seemed totally at ease and circulated around, chatting easily with each other. I remembered Claire saying that she and her friends came here regularly and realized that they must do this kind of thing all the time.
Finally, Amy came out and stood in the center of the circle. “Ladies, if you wouldn’t mind, it’s time to take a seat,” she said. “We’re going to get this party started!”
The more experienced women let out whoops and cheers as they found chairs. Once we were all sitting down, music started to play. The bartender came out from behind the bar, opened a set of double doors that led to another room, and dimmed the lights. A spotlight stayed trained on the open area in the middle of the room. I couldn’t help but crane my neck to watch as the bartender led a group of men- four or five of them, I guessed, compared to the twenty or so women waiting- to dance in the stage area.
I wanted to look away- I felt like I should look away- but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Once I’d attended a bachelorette party that had a male stripper, and at first it was like that with dancing men. They were doing a striptease as they removed their clothes. The other women in the room were clapping along with the music, whooping and hollering as they cheered the men on. I clapped along to the beat so I wouldn’t look out of place, too.
I snuck a look at my friends to see what their reactions were. Ashley, as I might have guessed, was cheering loudly and encouraging them to shake it. But Megan and even Becca seemed like they were enjoying themselves, too. The men were definitely nice to look at, I had to admit. Their muscular bodies rippled under smooth, tanned skin. I tried my hardest to keep my eyes up on their faces, but every now and then I couldn’t help but stare at their cocks. Aside from the very occasional porn film, Bradley’s was the only one I had seen before. Next to the men in front of me, his was tiny.
After a song or two had played, Amy stood up and made an announcement. “For the rest of the night, ladies, these men are here to serve you,” she said. “Drinks, food, a massage...anything you want. Don’t be shy. Take some time to mingle, and we’re going to have a little competition starting up in a short while!”
My friends and I turned to each other to touch base. “Well?” asked Becca. “What do you think?”
“This is amazing,” said Ashley. “I’m so glad I made us come. What’s not to like, ladies? Honestly? Naked men serving you drinks and giving massages...I’ll take it! Who wants a drink?” She snapped her fingers and called out for someone to bring her a fresh drink. Not even a minute later, a naked man appeared with a fresh glass of wine.
“For you, madame,” he said, bowing slightly. Ashley gave his buttocks a squeeze and dismissed him.
“I think it’s kind of fun, too,” admitted Megan. “I mean, we’re on vacation, its Paris, everyone knows the French are the sexiest people alive...why not? It’s not like any of us are cheating by looking at some other guys.”
Becca stood up and I almost thought she was going to leave, but she just pointed to one of the men. “That guy is so unbelievably sexy. My feet hurt from dancing all night...I’m going to go make him give me a foot massage.” I watched her walk over to him and had to make a conscious effort to keep my mouth closed from the shock. Becca- sweet, museum-loving Becca- was getting in to the vibe of Amy’s party.
Megan stood up too. “I think I’m going to go dance with that group over there,” she said, pointing to where a cluster of a few women were taking turns pressing up against a naked man and grinding.
“I’ll go with you,” said Ashley, tipping back her glass of wine. “Come on, Jules! It’ll be fun.”
I couldn’t. I shook my head, feeling too embarrassed to even say a word.
Ashley frowned. “Oh, come on,” she said. “It’s just a bit of dancing. You had fun doing that at the club, didn’t you?”
“I- I have to get another drink,” I said. “Maybe later.” Ashley shrugged, and followed Megan over to the group that was dancing.
I was only sitting by myself for a minute or two before Claire, the woman I’d been talking to at the club who had invited us all here in the first place, stopped by. “Julia! Are you having a good time?” she asked. “There’s going to be some great contests we make them do coming up- and there will be a ruler involved,” she promised. “Want to come dance?”
“Um, that’s okay, thanks,” I said. “Actually, where is the restroom, if you don’t mind?”
“Oh, sure, it’s just through there,” said Claire, pointing at the doors that the men had come through at the beginning of the party.
“Thanks,” I said, and slipped away.
I took my time in the bathroom, which was the size of the master bedroom back in my house in Ohio and even more luxurious than the bathroom at our hotel room here in Paris. I reapplied my lipstick, and pulled out my phone to check if I had any new messages. (Two more angry texts from Bradley, who hadn’t been able to find where I had hidden the toilet paper, so he was going to be staying at Nikki’s and he hoped I was satisfied.) Feeling angry all over again, I sat down on one of the chairs in the bathroom for a few minutes playing games on my phone until enough time had passed that I thought the mingling session might be over out in the main room.
I opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out. I was in a bedroom with a king sized four poster bed and, lounging on it, a very attractive man. Unlike the other men out in the main room, he was dressed in linen slacks and a blue shirt. I was so surprised to see him that I did a double take.
“Oh, hello there,” he said nonchalantly, looking up from a tablet. “What are you doing in here? Party’s out there.”
“It’s...not really my thing,” I said. “I came here with friends, and they’re out there having a great time.”
“I see,” he nodded. “Same thing with me. I came with some friends, but you can’t have a clothed man at one of these parties I guess.”
“What made you come?” I asked, taking a step closer despite myself. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to go back to your hotel? I mean, it’s what-“ I looked around the room for a clock and didn’t see one, so I pulled out my phone- “after three AM. Wouldn’t you rather be sleeping?”
“I’m visiting Paris with a few friends,” he said. “Three girls, two guys. We were all going to go out but the other guy, he came down with food poisoning at dinner so it was just the four of us. While we were at a club my friends got invited to come to a party here. Guess the woman who invited them didn’t realize I was with them. Imagine my surprise when I showed up here.” He laughed. “Amy did say I was more than welcome to strip down and join the dancers, but it’s not really my thing either.”
“Oh, no!” My hand went to my mouth to cover up a giggle that was threatening to slip out. “I’d be mortified. I don’t know how they do it.”
“There’s some kind of dick measuring contest going on,” said the guy. “I don’t feel up to subjecting myself to that kind of humiliation right now.”
“I’m Julia,” I introduced myself. “Do you mind if I stay in here and hang out with you while they continue their party out there?”
“Sure. I’m Matthew,” he said. He looked to be around my age and had that wholesome, all-American look to him- blond hair, blue eyes, and a strong jaw. He patted the bed next to him, and as I sat down I couldn’t help wondering what he might have looked like up there in comparison to the other men with no clothes on. “So what are you doing here in Paris?” he asked. “How do you like it?”
“Oh, I’m here on a girl’s trip,” I said. “We just got here the other day so we haven’t really been out to see much. Just a bit of shopping on the Champs-Elysees and a trip up the Eiffel Tower, then out to dinner and clubbing tonight of course. But I love
what I’ve seen. It’s a city that so many people dream of, you know? I never imagined that I would actually be here one day and seeing it all in person. I want to- well, no, it sounds silly.”
“Oh, you can’t leave me hanging like that!” said Matthew. “Nothing’s that silly. What do you want to do here?”
“I just want to find some old, twisty cobblestone streets filled with cute little stores full of hidden treasures, and tiny but delicious cafes,” I admitted. “Just wander around by myself for hours and get lost and enjoy the atmosphere. I usually have a problem with over-planning vacations so I made a promise to the girls that I wouldn’t do that, but I need to have some kind of plan to function- even if getting lost is my plan, you know?”
“I get it,” he said. “You should check out Montmartre. We were there the other day- you start at the bottom and just kind of pick a street and walk up towards the top of the hill. It’s a great way to spend a day doing pretty much nothing.”
“I’ll have to go there,” I said. “How long have you been here? What else do you recommend we do?”
I leaned back against the soft pillows of the bed and relaxed for the first time all night. Matthew and his friends had been here a few days so far, but it wasn’t his first trip to the city. He’d first visited it as a young college kid travelling Europe during the summer, like the backpackers I’d been envious of at the Eiffel Tower earlier today. He talked on for a while, telling me about the Louvre- I couldn’t miss the Louis XIV rooms- and the Rodin Museum couldn’t be missed either, and if the weather was nice some of the parks around the city were great to wander through.
On the other side of the bedroom doors, I could hear the music start up again. I found myself hoping that none of the girls came looking for me to drag me back out to watch the erection measuring competition. I was enjoying talking to Matthew much more than I’d enjoyed watching the spectacle out in the other room.
“You want a drink?” he asked, getting up from the bed and walking to the door. He peeked out through the crack. “I doubt anybody would notice if we snuck out there and grabbed a bottle of something.”
I followed suit. “Let me go grab something,” I said. “You’d stick out too much, being a man wearing clothes and all.”
Matthew laughed and stepped back. “Okay, go grab us some drinks,” he said. He opened the door and I slipped through the crack.
I scurried along the wall to the bar in the corner and ducked down behind it. I grabbed a couple glasses and looked for a bottle of wine. For such a small bar it was well stocked, but I didn’t want to be grabbing ingredients for lots of different drinks. I held a bottle of wine and a glass in each hand, and tucked a third bottle of wine- opened, but not much gone- under my arm. I peeked up over the bar to make sure nobody was looking.
I had nothing to be afraid of, since a line of naked men were getting their erections measured. Five different women were standing up there too, holding measuring tapes. I recognized Ashley as one of them. I gave my head a little shake and hurried back to the door that Matthew had left open a crack. My friends didn’t seem to be missing my presence at all. Well, too bad, because hanging out with Matthew and drinking some wine was more my style anyway.
Nobody noticed me as I dashed back in to the back bedroom with my loot. “Well done!” Matthew exclaimed, once the door was closed behind me. “Wow, I’m impressed. Three bottles of wine? That takes skill to carry all that back in here!”
“Thanks,” I said, feeling strangely proud of myself. He accepted the glass I held out to him, and took one of the bottles of wine as well.
He poured both glasses full and took a sip. “So did anybody see you?” he asked.
“No, they were all pretty preoccupied,” I replied. “I don’t think my friends even noticed I was gone.” I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my voice.
“Maybe they thought you left and went home,” Matthew suggested. “If they knew you weren’t having a good time, that is.”
“Maybe,” I agreed. I took a sip of wine. “God, I haven’t done anything like this in years. I was never a very wild kid in high school and in college, I had a- a steady boyfriend I spent most of my time with. I never went out to wild parties, that kind of thing.”
“Sounds like a game of, never have I ever gone to a wild party,” said Matthew, taking another sip of wine.
“Huh?”
“You’ve never played that game? Oh good, I’m so glad I met you tonight. It’s a game, a drinking game…typically it’s played at those wild teenage parties. One person says something they’ve never done, and if you’ve done that thing, you’ve got to take a drink. Let’s play. Okay?”
“Sure,” I said, feeling reckless. I took a sip of wine too. “As of tonight, I have gone to a wild party. Your turn.”
“Hmm,” he said. “I’ll start easy. Let’s see- never have I ever skipped school.”
“You never did senior skip day?” I asked. I took a sip of wine…two, actually. I couldn’t help but remember Bradley and I sometimes skipping class to make out behind the gym. Then I remembered the day he’d pressured me to skip class to be with him when I’d had an essay due, and I ended up handing it in late. I’d given things up for him. I’d made sacrifices. And this was how he’d repaid me.
“Nope,” said Matthew. “Your turn.”
“Never have I ever...lied on my resume.”
“I’m not evil,” said Matthew. “I’ve never done that. Never have I ever gone skinny dipping.”
That summer during college when Bradley and I had gone camping and enjoyed a moonlit swim. I took a drink. “Never have I ever cheated on someone.”
I waited, but Matthew didn’t drink. “You’re supposed to get me drunk,” he said. “Stuff you haven’t done, but everyone else probably has.”
“You never know,” I said. “Okay, fine. Never have I ever passed out after drinking.”
Matthew took a big gulp of wine. “Never have I ever had a pet.”
I sipped my wine, remembering the cat we’d had to give away when it was apparent he didn’t like toddler Henry. “Never have I ever had a fake ID.”
“If I’d grown up in France, I wouldn’t have needed it,” Matthew said as he finished off his glass of wine. He poured himself another, then topped mine up. “Never have I ever kissed a stranger.”