Sick

I started this post last week. I was going to delete it and start fresh, but nothing in the details has changed. I have been sick for the past ten days. It started the day after going to the club (see below). Test say it was not Covid, but it has lingered on in my sinuses for days. The doctor gave me some steroids, which helped briefly, but my symptoms continued to remain.

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It has been so long since I posted that I need to remember where I left off. I went to the club last Friday night. I saw Eva, Al, and a few other girls I now know there. Eva and I had been texting frequently the previous week, but she had disappeared. She seemed to be into me. However, she has a lot of personal issues she is dealing with. Eva definitely drinks too much at the club. I am not even disappointed about her disappearance.

I got a booth while I was at the club on Friday. Something I used to do regularly back in the day when I used to hang out at Penthouse. I wanted to avoid Teach. He has stopped talking to me anyway. 

Work has been busy. There are only four work weeks left for me in the year. I have five vacation days I could use in those four weeks. I must drive to the office about fourteen more times this year. This is what I think about during my spare time. 

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I started hearing from Eva on Thursday, but by Monday, when we were supposed to get together, she had disappeared again. I have to assume she was looking for me to return to the club last weekend. I didn't. Had I, it wouldn't have been to see her.

Al Update

 The last time I gave an update on Al, she had given up on getting back together with her baby-daddy. We discussed getting together this week. I reached out to her earlier this week.

Bathwater: Am I going to get to see you this week?

(Silence)

Bathwater: (eyes) Are you disappearing again? (ghost).

Al: Maybe, haha. I started seeing someone.

Al: I would still be able to meet up, but I might not be able to overnight.

Bathwater: Already?

Bathwater: That works for me. We don't have to do overnights.

Al still has a tendency to only reply when she wants. I went to Flight Club Friday night despite Al's appearing to want to get together this week. She has ghosted me again. I am disappointed, but I get where she is coming from. Al is twenty-seven. She is getting too old for the strip club. She has found a new guy who is in that love bombing stage. Hopefully, it works out for her. Many guys are quick to date a stripper. Even one with a child, but fewer are ready to commit to one.

I wouldn't be surprised if I heard from Al again.

Zero

Ella came over Friday night. She arrived about seven-thirty. She forgot to text me when she was heading my way, but she did text a few minutes into the drive. She came in carrying a Yeti cup with a straw in it. Alexis does that when she is driving. Alexis has alcohol in hers. I think Ella does, too.

Almost immediately, we went back out to eat. We ended up in a popular bar in downtown New Baltimore. Our conversation was stiff. Ella seemed a bit distant. I usually have a good time keeping the conversation going. I watched Ella drink two margaritas in an hour without any effect. Remember, Ella is a small girl who weighs less than a hundred pounds.

When we returned to the condo, I suggested we head upstairs and watch TV in the bedroom. After all, Ella was supposed to be staying the night. Despite our discussion on Tuesday, Ella wasn't warming up to the fact that this would be a mutually beneficial arrangement. She kept her distance. 

After a TV episode, I looked at her and asked what we were doing. Ella indicated she was still on her period, one of the excuses she used on Tuesday. If you aren't able to uphold your end of the arrangement, then don't show up, or at least say something.

Ella said, "I thought this was not supposed to be just about sex."

"It's not," I replied, but she had already spent enough time around me to know that. 

Ella took offense and decided to leave... empty-handed. That was fine with me. I didn't put up much of an argument. Enough red flags were already showing through.

I have been waiting to hear back from Al lately, too. So, I am back down to zero for now. 

All Right Now

I spent Saturday cleaning the house and the Jeep. It was a quiet weekend, but we had lovely weather. Sam and I got dinner both nights if I remember correctly. Ella and I have been exchanging texts every day. She seems almost too good to be true. Monday night, she asked if she could get an advance. That was the first red flag. It doesn't look good when someone seems too good to be true and then asks for an advance. 

I told Ella I understand money can be tight at first, and if she wanted to get together sooner, I would be up for that. She said she was free tonight (Tuesday), and I told her that would work for me. So, things are still good with her. We are getting together tonight, and we still have an overnight planned for Friday. Saturday, she is up for visiting the Orchard trail or an apple orchard. I still have high hopes for Ella becoming a long-term arrangement.

In other news, I received a text from Al Sunday night.

Al: I'm back (crying smiley face).

Bathwater: Where have you been?

Al: Lol, I tried to work things out with my baby-daddy, but they didn't.

Bathwater: I am sorry, but at least you tried.

Bathwater: I just think you missed me (wink).

Al: You're probably right (angel smiley face).

I am not surprised things didn't work out with her baby-daddy. I wasn't expecting it to be so soon, though. So now, if Ella doesn't work out, I still have Al in my back pocket. It is good to have options for a change. I will probably get together with Al next week just to get her in bed again and let her know where I stand. 

You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well, you might find
You get what you need
Ah, yeah... You Can't Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones

Flight Club

I saw her today at the reception

A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man... You Can't Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones

I went back to Flight Club Friday night. Tinkerbell and Tech's friend, Teach, sat at the corner of the upstairs bar. He was surrounded by a group of regulars. A petite blond was pressed against him, showing her breast and allowing him to touch her ass.

Al walked up to me while I stood at the railing, looking down at the main stage. "I thought you got kidnapped by the Albanian mob."

"I know, I should have said something," Al replies. "My ex was blowing my phone up that night."

I am not surprised. She got back together with him. Even during our brief time together, I could tell he was pressing her hard. I even said he was going to be a problem. Al probably said something about seeing someone, too.

Al tells me, "I dreamt about you last night."

"What were we doing?" I ask in hopes of hearing something good.

"Just talking," she tells me.

Al told me she is getting back with her ex. Judging from their history, it will only last for a while. Al is 27. She has been in love with her boyfriend since she was 11 and he was 9. Although, judging from what she has told me, they have not been together consistently the whole time. They seem to be trauma-bonded.

I told her we could still get together on Tuesday nights, but she wasn't biting. Apparently, she is not allowed to see customers outside the club. It defeats his plausible deniability. He needs to do a lot of denying with Al. She pays all the bills, which probably helps with that.

Went to the private booth with Al. We were close in the way two people who have been intimate can be. I plan on keeping in touch with Al for now, primarily for lack of anyone else. I will probably start working on a few other girls. I just wish the damn club wasn't so far away.

So It Goes

 Al messaged me last Wednesday. It was several days after my last text. She said it had been a rough couple of days.  When I asked if everything was okay, she said, "Just been emotional, should have said something." I'm not sure what the heck that means. 

We made plans for her to come over after work at the strip club on Friday night. Friday afternoon, she said her baby-daddy was sick and couldn't watch her daughter, so Friday night was off, but she could do Saturday. 

Sam and I went to Arts, Beats, and Eats on Saturday. When I got home, I texted Al. It was around ten. "Hey, am I going to see you tonight?"

Al: "Yes."

Bathwater: "I can wait. Text me when you are on your way."

Al replied with a heart. 2:20 a.m. rolled around, and I had not received a text from Al. She should have been on her way. I sent her a text.

Bathwater: Did you leave yet?

I received no reply.

I think there will be one more Al update. I plan on going to the club this Friday. Not so much to see Al, but to check out a few of the girls I overlooked when talking with Al. I am curious if she has any thing to say, but I will not be investing any money in her at the club.

Friday

 After Al got off work Friday night, she came to the condo. She came in wearing a booty-short style one-piece body suit. The body suit was a  nude color beige. It left little to the imagination. My friend Jay once said, "You can take the stripper out of the club, but you can't always take the club out of the stripper." Al appears to be the latter. Unlike Tink or Billie, Al just looks like a stripper outside the club. 

It was a little after 3:00 a.m. when Al arrived. We didn't waste time with small talk and headed upstairs. Al is fun in bed. I was satisfied. She seemed to enjoy herself, but at this point, it is hard to tell. Al spent the night. We didn't get much sleep. The cat decided to wake us up early. 

We went for smoothies in the morning and came back to the condo to hang out for a while. Al seemed fine during the visit. We have a good flow of conversation, but I have a suspicion she has changed her mind. I am not sure of the reason. We planned on getting together again on Tuesday, but I sent her a text on Sunday and again today, and I haven't heard back. In the past, she was good at responding. I am going to stop reaching out at this point.

Al was fun, but I won't be disappointed if she chooses to ghost me. I would have preferred someone older and without a child anyway. I got to hook up with Al twice. That will tide me over for awhile. I am not read to make an effort to find someone else if she does disappear.

Al

 As promised, Al came over Tuesday afternoon. I took a half-day just to get things rolling. She wore high-waisted yoga pants and a beige long-sleeved knit sweater that revealed her mis-riff. She was dolled up for our first meet. Hopefully, she will be more natural as things progress.

I gave her a condo tour and asked if she wanted to get something to eat. Al agreed to get something to eat, so I took her to nearby downtown New Baltimore, where we sat outside and shared a pizza. We continued to talk the whole time. I shared stories from my colorful past and asked questions about her.

Al has been a stripper off and on since she was twenty-one. She would quit whenever she was in a relationship with a boyfriend. It sounds like she has spent more time NOT being a stripper. Al has a two-year-old daughter. Her daughter usually spends time with her ex and his mother on weekends. 

The day was cooler, but the sunshine made it enjoyable. After lunch, we walked out to the end of the pier. New Baltimore has a small beach that overlooks Lake St. Claire. Lake St. Claire is between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. It is not considered to be a Great Lake. After, we came back to the condo and sat on the couch.

I pulled Al closer, and she sat on my lap stripper style, with her legs folded on either side of my hips. We kissed, and I fondled her butt and traced my hands along the ribs beneath her shirt. Al unzipped the front of her shirt to expose her breasts. "You okay?" I ask.

"You're touching them anyway," she replied with a smile. 

I asked her if she wanted to go upstairs. Al nodded yes, and we headed to the bedroom. Al laid on the bed and took off her shirt and pants. I took off my clothes and got on top of her. We kissed, and I kissed her on her neck and down her torso. Al has a tiny waist and curvy hips. 

Al was responding to my attention nicely. She was breathing heavily, so I didn't hesitate to continue kissing her thighs and between her legs. She got really wet, and we had sex in several positions on the bed. Toward the end, she said, "That's what I needed."

So did I. I haven't been with anyone since February. 

After, we sat downstairs, watched TV, and discussed the future. I suggested she come over on Friday nights after work. I told her it would save on her driving. She lives forty minutes from me and forty from the club. "You can come over after work and just sleep if you want. I'm not going to paw at you. Then we can spend Saturday together, and you can head back to work from here."

Al agreed. She seems very interested in proceeding with the arrangement. We even talked about sneaking in a quick trip before the end of the season. She is interested in just having some fun.

I told my buddy, Jay, this morning. "I wasn't looking to pick anyone up at the club, especially a twenty-seven-year-old. She literally fell into my lap."

During our lunch, Al indicated she wasn't expecting to find an arrangement at the club. Most guys are not interested in the cost. For now, I am going to roll with it and see where this takes us.