They arrived just as Leo excused himself.
"Nancy, this place is incredible in both good and bad senses. We only heard about the Friday night 'sex' show, but the girls here are practically tortured all day Saturday ... Daphne? Were you?...?..."
"Was I... locked in stocks and my butt paddled purple? Or hung from my wrists with my legs spread and whipped everywhere – everywhere? Or hung upside down, with lit candles in both my holes, like a human candelabra? Or shocked all over my body with a cattle prod? Yup. For about sixteen hours, on most Saturdays, for about three and a half years..."
Mrs. Flynn was dumbfounded. "Why did you let them abuse you like that?"
Translation: Don't you have any self-respect at all, you stupid slut?
Daphne read Mrs. Flynn's face and thought for a moment...
She had no trouble reading Nancy; she'd seen the older woman's type before and looked her dead in the eyes. "I know what you're thinking." Her voice was cold. "You think I did it because I am a cheap, stupid whore who hasn't got an ounce of self-respect."
Nancy was starting to get accustomed to Daphne's blunt, direct language. Not to mention the girl reading her mind.
"It's true. I did it for the money. The money that paid off my freshman-year's student loans before I even finished my sophomore year. The money that paid for all my room, board, utilities, food, and tuition – with enough left over to enjoy a little college social life. The money that paid for my independence while I was in school, and allowed me to accumulate a decent grub-stake and a diverse investment portfolio by the time I graduated. So you're right: I'm a whore. But I'm not cheap."
"And I'm not stupid either: Times have changed since you went to school. All of my friends graduated college buried in debt. I was on the same road to decades of debt until I tried this... just once. It was scary and humiliating. Then I took a cold, hard look at my options and it was an easy choice. I decided to let people play with my body for a couple days a week for a few short years and I came out of it a free, independent woman; they finished school worse than flat broke, buried under a mountain of debt and compelled to accept the first gig that was offered at the lowest salary their prospective employers thought they could get away with. There is no negotiation to speak of: Take our table-scraps or get lost and starve. My alums accept these 'generous offers' immediately 'cuz they're afraid that if they don't the next warm body through the door will. They are thoroughly replaceable cogs, compelled to eat whatever shit their irrational egoistical Little Napoleon bosses dish out, fearful of losing their meager salaries, getting tossed-out and dumped on the street like trash – and being replaced before their butts hit the pavement. Their 'respectable' employers actually value them less than 'sleazy' Leo over there values us. Think about how messed-up that is for a minute!
"My former classmates sell their dignity and self-respect for money all day, every day; the poor suckers play the game according to your 'respectable' rules and now have decades of servitude and abuse to look forward to! Ma'am, you may think me a slut, but I paid the price to be a liberated whore, free to choose when, where, with whom, and for what price I sell my services, rather than a slave, forever cowering in fear at the whim of some tyrannical slave-master. You may not respect me because of what I did to purchase my freedom, but you wouldn't respect me anyway since there is no such thing as being a respectable slave."
Daphne caught her breath, and a moment later looked apologetic.
"I'm sorry... to both of you. It's just that this is a real touchy point for me... I didn't necessarily mean your company, sir."
"We do try to be a bit more enlightened, but I'm aware of the general climate and I've heard of managers who take advantage of the situation..."
"Thanks." Daphne smiled, and then addressed Sam: "Anyway, you might think that I did it to prove that the sweet little girl was tougher than they thought she was; that they could make her sweat, but she would make them work to make her scream and harder still to make her beg for mercy; to show them that she was determined to try to beat them at their own game and would never just give up. And you'd be right too."
The whole time, Sam was nodding. Although taken aback a bit at the tongue-lashing Daphne administered to his wife, what she said made perfect sense in its own way. He appreciated that she'd recognized a terrible dilemma and made a difficult strategic choice. A strategy that, although he found it abhorrent, thoughtfully balanced risks and rewards, and, best of all, the strategy succeeded by any measure. He could also wrap his mind around the idea of proving yourself, to yourself and to others, even if this particular test was also quite extreme. He did the mental math: she was probably tortured for at least a thousand hours, yet she came back, each and every time knowing what lay in store for her, and taking it all with pure grit and steely resolve. He'd never met anyone close to being that tough. She paid dearly to be where she is.
He resolved that anyone who tried to smear her would have to deal with him.
Flynn also thought about the position she'd applied for.
It's practically entry-level.
It isn't good enough.
This girl is special.
I need to think of something better...
"But there is another reason" Daphne continued. "For me, personally, it's the most important. It's the real reason I keep coming back here, even now, long after graduating and don't need the money. There is a back-and-forth interaction that I can't really describe, a feeling that I want you to experience, to feel for yourselves – at least to the degree that you can as a mere spectator. That's the reason I brought you here. I hope that when you leave here and have a chance to digest this evening you will understand why I love this place and keep coming back."
Presently a door opened and a naked woman stepped into view. She wore only a leather hood over her head and leather cuffs on her extremities. Her average frame carried an athletic build, like a well-endowed soccer or a tennis player. Muscular, but still very femininely shapely. There was no hint of hair below her neck. Sam looked over to Daphne. He imagined that they could pass as sisters.
The girl walked over to the inclined table, leaned back and spread her arms under a spotlight. After Leo secured her upper body she lifted her knees to her chest, raised her feet and stretched her legs straight up, exposing her bottom. Then she spread her legs sideways until they almost touched the table near her outstretched hands. Leo secured her ankles and knees. The naked female was helpless. A moment later two shiny metal clips hung from the folds of skin protecting the woman's sex. Leo pulled the strings apart and the woman's shiny pink intimacy stretched wide open. Her clitoris and vagina were on plain display. Her sex yawned open as she relaxed, exposing herself even more. Sam watched her glistening pink insides move rhythmically as she breathed.
"OK, Sam. It's time."
"Time for what?"
"See that line forming? It's time to get in line so we can use a dildo on that vagina and make it orgasm for us."
Nancy: "Why do you want to abuse that poor girl and add to her public shame? Just because someone did it to you? Because you were whipped and abused?"
"Ms. Flynn, in your world, if you impaled her with that attitude, if you sneered at her as a lower life form and masturbated her to a humiliating public climax, then you might add to her humiliation. But did you see the way she walked in here? Proud? Fearless? Ma'am, there's nothing that you or me or Sam can do to humiliate her... at least not with a dildo. You aren't in Kansas anymore – you're here, in Leo's, located over the rainbow, in the Land of Oz. You've passed through the Looking Glass and are in a parallel alternate universe, subtly different from the one you and your husband are from."
She turned to Sam. "Leo told me once that he loves women, that they're the most beautiful of God's creations, and that he considers it an honor and a privilege to help them experience the glorious, incandescent joy that they have trapped within them. Look at her." She paused until both Sam and Nancy were looking at the defenseless female form. "She's helpless. She will experience no humiliation if we don't shame her, nor any glory if we don't rock her world. Let's go... Let's light her fuse and send her into orbit; she needs our help. Watch her strain and shake and shudder as she climaxes in your hands and experiences the cosmic joy that you gave her. Feel her give you a piece of her very being. Sam, Mrs. Flynn, let's go help that girl."
Daphne paused a moment. "But whatever you do, don't hold back. Do the very best you can, try as hard as you can to blow her mind. Don't slack off. If you do she'll know and will be disappointed in you."
The Flynns did as they were asked. Sam was clearly uneasy. He tried and knew that although he made the girl happy, he sensed that he'd just missed sending her over the top. He could tell. He actually apologized to her as he stepped down and saw her smile as if she understood that he was sincere; that he wasn't frustrating her on purpose. His wife fared better. At first she felt like she was doing something sinful, something dirty. Something repulsive... but then she felt the girl turn on. She had the power of someone else's pleasure in her hands. She felt herself, not masturbating the girl, but giving joy to the delighted naked female. She felt the rod shake in her hands again and again and felt an unusual, warm sense of accomplishment. All too soon Leo took the joy stick from Nancy and handed it to the next in line. When she stepped down Nancy privately wished that she could have given this vagina pleasure all night...
By 10PM they had witnessed the girl climax dozens of times, including several that seemed to last forever. The Flynns thoroughly enjoyed their small role in giving the girl hours of pure, undiluted pleasure; they were genuinely happy for her whenever she orgasmed. Daphne saw Terri get up and leave her table, and knew it was almost break time.
"Guys, I need an answer to a question: Sam, do you feel the least bit honored that this girl came here and volunteered to strip naked for you, and then did something tremendously humiliating – performed her most intimate sex act for your entertainment – she even gave you the opportunity to make her orgasm for you! Do you feel honored that she gave you a piece of her very soul, that she did all this, for you?
Sam thought for a moment. "That's a strange way of looking at it, but I felt so happy for her when she was climaxing and I suppose she shared that joy with me. Is that what you meant by 'giving a piece of herself'?"
"Close enough... And you, Ms. Flynn? She climaxed in your hands, more than just once, just for you. You had her being in your hands and she shared a piece of it with you. She gave you something precious that nobody else can, a raw piece of her pure self. A piece of her love. You're a woman. Surely you felt that."
She nodded.
"She's about to go on break for a while. When she starts off stage, applaud her; let her know that you appreciate what she did, and that although others may have humiliated her, you value the precious gift she gave you: a bit of her pure self."
It sounded strange, but everything here was strange – yet the way Daphne explained it, it made sense in an unusual way. They did as Daphne said. The naked woman faced the audience, pressed her hands together and bowed her head. The Flynns felt the energy flowing between them and this girl. The girl finished her bow, walked to the back, and plopped herself down onto a pad there.
Mrs. Flynn: "Daphne, I noticed that only about a third of the people applauded. What does it mean if you don't applaud?"
"Hold on. I think something's up..."
The girl stood up again and started back toward the front of the stage.
"What's happening?" the couple asked in unison.
The girl shaded her eyes with one hand and started looking into the crowd; she pointed to the Flynns. Mr. Flynn nearly fell out of his chair.
Daphne, smiling: "Oh. Wow. Put on your seat-belts, folks!"
"Why? What's going on?"
"Just watch and feel... This is from her to you, and you alone."
They watched her gently float down to her knees, put her hands together and bow, and then she bent forward and touched her forehead to the floor of the stage. They were awed. Nancy: "Oh, my God!"
Daphne, whispering to them: "Stand up and bow to her, just like she did a minute ago. Hands together and bow... Don't think – just DO IT!"
They complied and soon Daphne said "OK." They looked up. The girl still had her hands together, but now she was kneeling, sitting on her heels. She stood up, smiled, and walked serenely to the back of the stage. The Flynns sat back down. Sam was dumbfounded; Nancy was on the verge of tears.
"What just happened?"
"She thanked everyone for honoring her, then thanked you two in particular."
"That was more than just a 'Thank You,' wasn't it?"
"Let's just say that it was deeply heartfelt. Mrs. Flynn, I know what you thought of me before. What do you think now?"
The older woman, still trembling, looked at Daphne. "I don't know. This is a strange and wondrous place. Perhaps the ladies who strip here and share themselves are strange and wondrous too."
Daphne: "Thanks. Are we friends?"
"I'm not sure. Not yet. I need to think about... things... but call me Nancy anyway."
Sam: "What if we hadn't applauded?"
Daphne: "What do you think that would have meant?"
"That ... we didn't appreciate her?"
"For starters. Nancy, what do you think not applauding means?"
Nancy was silent for a moment, then tears welled in her eyes. "Oh, my God! Sam! It would have meant that you completely rejected her; she'd stripped naked and gave us her soul and we didn't care. It would have been a cruel insult!"
"I've never heard it expressed better. I'm going to borrow that if you don't mind."
Sam was lost in thought. Daphne was right. From a different point of view, what happens to the girls here, the public humiliation and everything else, it's simply not as it appears at first blush; it's actually a subtle celebration of gifts lovingly given and respectfully received.
Sam: "So, hypothetically, if I have a dildo and slide it into her, I can give her a piece of myself by helping her achieve the orgasm she cannot achieve alone. So in a real sense I'm not really using her, taking from her, humiliating her – I'm helping her. And when she orgasms in my hands, it's like we're partners in her orgasm, we share it, and the applause is an acknowledgment to her that we got her gift, that we respectfully thank her for sharing such a valuable piece of her self with us..."
Daphne brightened up. "Very good!"
"That's really beautiful, you know, in an upside-down, alternate universe sort of way. You're right, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore. I don't think I would have really understood if you tried to explain it to me back in the office. You really do have to experience this place."
"This place is sensual, not cerebral. You have to feel it. That's why I wanted you to come here and I'm glad both of you are beginning to understand why I love this place and keep coming back. Lots of folks come here and they never understand – especially the college boys. They just like getting their hands on a naked girl and masturbating her until she goes off. Most of them clap afterward, but they just do it because a few others are and they're just trying not to be conspicuous. For most of them it's just a weird, incomprehensible ritual.
"There are always folks out here that are here on 'business' – they're shopping for toys and want to see them work. To them we're just a prop, a mannequin, something to poke, prod, or jolt, and who cares about a mannequin's feelings? They never applaud and we get used to that. But the worst is when you've been up there being abused for hours, and nobody..." Daphne wiped a tear. "You feel so alone..." her voice quivered.
"What really amazes me is how you can be strung up, grit your teeth, and endure being whipped for hours at a time, but talking about this for just a few minutes unhinges you."
"You have to understand that the support we get up there from folks like you out here makes the humiliation, the pain, and everything else bearable. You're being abused, but someone out there is on your side. I've had fifty men watch the snot literally get whipped out of me, I had so many welts that I looked like a tiger – red and black stripes everywhere – including in places where tigers don't have stripes, if you get my meaning – and just one set of hands clapped for me. My heart soared. Someone cared! I was so happy I wept behind my mask. I'll tell you one thing. After a while it's not hard for some of us to imagine what it feels like to be a captured soldier, getting the crap beaten out of you in a dark room surrounded by cruel people who don't care..."
Sam and Nancy nodded silently.
The naked girl got up and soon was immobilized again.
The Flynns began 'evaluating' the vibrators during the second set and vigorously applauded the naked lady who generously gave them so much of herself. As Sam operated the vibrator, the young vulva began to convulse in joy. He thought of his dear Nancy. He hadn't had this much fun with his wife since... well, he couldn't remember exactly. What happened? He felt sad.