I remember those feelings nearly a decade later. The nervous anticipation I felt as I walked across the hotel lobby and stood waiting for the elevator. I was wearing a little black dress, heels, and new lingerie. Everything about the outfit was out of character for me.
I was nineteen years old and fit from years spent playing sports. Nobody would ever confuse me for a model, but I’m not unattractive. I had a job working at a hotel.
It the kind of place where the CEO of your company stays. We didn’t have a uniform, but were required to dress professionally. That was typically a blouse and skirt for me.
The clientele often liked to get flirty with the help. It was our job to go the extra mile. We flirted back. We smiled. We laughed at every unoriginal bad joke. Not just the women. The guys too.
That kind of thing could lead to unwanted advances. Men often wanted to buy me a drink. The more confident ones would suggest more, like having a drink in their room. But I always declined.
At least until the day I didn’t.
He was a regular client. I don’t know what he did, but he was at the hotel every other month. He always booked a suite. The starting price, back then, was $1200 a night.
That night he got in around 10 pm. He was obviously stressed and complained about his day of travel. I was alone at the front desk. He mentioned he would use some company to help him relax. I politely declined. Then he offered me $500.
The money was tempting. But $500 wasn’t going to make me sleep with a stranger. I told him there were clubs nearby where that offer would work.
“I’m not looking for professionals, I don’t like dirty women” he told me.
I declined again. He opened his wallet and started counting out bills. He had over $600 and he offered it all.
I turned him down a third time. He persisted. “I can’t sell my virginity for $600,” I finally blurted out. I was sure he’d stop after that and be a little more respectful.
But the opposite happened. He offered me $2500. Then $3000. Then 5k for a full night. I was overwhelmed. I told him I needed to think about it. But I also just wanted him to go away.
I was on the desk again the next night. When he came by I accepted his offer. He must have expected it. He slipped me an envelope with the original $600 in bills and told me to dress well and buy new lingerie.
I kept most of the money. He got a room in a different hotel.. I’d told him it was against the rules to socialize with guests at work.
Every nerve tingled as I walked in. I’d never felt like I might be sick. He sat by the window after he let me in.
“Undress,” he commanded. There were no niceties or ice breakers. I knelt to take off my heels. “Not like that,” he said. “Stand. Take your time.”
I’d been a tomboy most of my life. I felt awkward. I didn’t want to blow it. I took off the dress. He admired the lingerie and told me to spin around for him. I did what he said.
“There is nothing like deflowering a woman, it’s special to be a woman’s first.”
He kept talking for what seemed like an eternity. I don’t know if he wanted to savor the moment or he was just full of himself and thought he was impressing me. I just wanted to get it over with.
The actual act wasn’t very sensual. He was slow and methodical. He knew what he was doing, though. He wasn’t bad or selfish or hurried.
He kept telling me how I would remember that night for the rest of my life. Obviously, he wasn’t wrong. At least not so far.
He slept soundly after. I tossed and turned most of the night. In the morning he ordered room service, but I didn’t have an appetite. Dining with him wasn’t part of the agreement.
The money didn’t last long, of course. At that age it seemed like a lot, but I had so many expenses. In retrospect, $5K doesn’t seem like enough money to sell your virginity to a man who obviously got off on corrupting people with his wealth. But I wasn’t really a virgin anyway.
I’d only said it because I thought he’d leave me alone. Who knew it would only lead to him upping the offer?