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Tickle Wash Intro by Jen Jones
Jen opened the door slightly in trepidation. Outside was Lila, her best
friend for the past eight years. They'd met in the first week of college,
at an alcohol soaked initiation party for the new students of English
Literature, and had seldom been far beyond each others' company since...
which made Jen's reluctance to open the door quite a strange thing. But she
did. Lila was standing there, a severe look on her face. She tilted her
head to one side and looked at Jen.
"Are you ok, Jenny?" She asked, the slight brogue of her Manchester accent
accentuating the syllables. Jen pursed her lips and her eyes began to
redden of their own accord. Her head began shaking from side to side and,
before she started to cry, she managed just one word.
"No..." The tears flooded down her cheeks and it was all she could do to
stand. Immediately Lila's features softened completely, she hadn't intended
to have such a hard expression on but it was all she could do not to cry
herself. Lila he moved to Jen and held her close as the other woman began
sobbing for all she was worth. The pair of them stood like that for a
moment before Lila guided Jen back into her flat and sat her down on the
sofa in the main room.
Jen bawled like a baby for ten minutes. Lila initially tried to comfort
her friend but eventually settled for crying her own tears... unlike Jen's,
however, these were tears of anger and frustration, rather than the other
girl's mourning. Eventually Jen got herself under control. She looked up
at Lila and her face creased into an awful grimace of a smile contorted by
sadness.
"I'm so sorry, Lila. I didn't know!' Her face creased up again and she
fell into Lila's arms for another cry. This time Lila's expression was
hard, not understanding. She held Jen against her chest and patted the side
of her head, but what she was whispering now was not supposed to be
comforting.
"There, there, Jen. He's not worth all this. Just cry it all away and
then we'll sort you out... we'll sort it all out." Eventually Jen calmed
down a little, again apologising to Lila who accepted nothing of the sort.
"We're going to get you out of this funk, Jen!" She cried. "It's no good
you sitting around here all the time... he's not worth it! We're going to
get you up, showered and dressed in something slim and sexy. Then we're
going to go and get manicures, pedicures and every other type of cure you
need! After that it's time for a girl's night out." Lila stood and dragged
the protesting Jen to her feet, leading her to the bathroom and closing her
in. For a moment Lila considered following her friend inside, but decided
against it. 'No,' she thought, 'Jen's been through too much for me to try
that...'
Inside the bathroom Jen initially protested and finally got on with it.
Truth be told she'd spent enough time being consoled and crying. It was
time to try and rebuild something of her life and her shattered confidence.
She looked herself in the mirror and saw a pretty face made ugly by tears
and sadness. Her hair was a mess and she'd been wearing the same pyjamas
constantly for the best part of a week. The old Jen wouldn't have stood for
any of that, neither would the new one.
"I'll be a while, Lila," she called, "I'm going to wash my hair." Outside
her friend smiled to herself.
"I'll just put the kettle on," Lila replied, happy at a difficult job well
done. Two cups and half a magazine later, Lila looked up and felt her
stomach drop away. The old Jen was back! In fact, it was more like she'd
never gone away. Whereas before she'd looked sad, now Jen had her pale and
perfect skin made up perfectly. Instead of the frumpy pyjamas she now wore
a sleeveless Channel blouse of pure Egyptian cotton. Her DKNY dress stopped
where most began and her heeled Yves Saint Lauren shoes pushed her a good
three inches off the ground. Only in her eyes was there a trace of the
wreck who'd opened the door half an hour before. The old Jen had the
confidence of a con artist. The new one seemed unsure about everything.
"Wow," was all that Lila could say, her heart beating faster than she could
think. It was all she could do not to let a tremor enter her voice... Jen
was looking scorching! Lila made a show of crossing her legs, supposedly to
make herself more comfortable but in reality to hide the shivering that was
filling her body.
"You don't think it's too much?" asked Jen, tentatively. Rallying
magnificently, Lila stood without a trace of her inner turmoil.
"I think it's not only too much, it's practically too little! It's
perfect! You look..." she sought for the right word, "Stunning." Jen
smiled like a little girl being complemented by her cool aunt. At the stage
she was in it was very difficult for her to be anything beyond a little
child so ruinous had Toby's actions been.
"What are we going to do?" asked Jen.
"I've booked us in for a manicure and pedicure at 'Les Mains, Pieds et
Visages' just round the corner. Jen looked shocked.
"Oh no, Lila, I can't go out looking like this!"
"Nonsense, girl! We're going to show that arsehole just what he turned his
back on a week ago!" It was a step too far. Jen felt the tears before she
realised they were even coming. Lila saw the damage her ill judged words
had wrought and went close to her friend. She held Jen and whispered softly
into her ear.
"I'm sorry Jen. I shouldn't have said it like that." Jen held in the
tears as best she could. A few rolled down her face, smudging her mascara
slightly, but it wasn't the full waterworks of before. Lila wiped the tears
away and lent Jen back slightly.
"But we really do have to get you out of here! This was meant to be your
honeymoon, not a prison sentence. Let's just go and try to have some fun."
Jen laughed through her tears and nodded. She dried her eyes and deftly
altered the make up that had smeared across her cheeks before grabbing her
Gucci bag and joining her friend at the door. She looked back at her
apartment briefly before putting a confident look on her face.
"This is a new Jen stepping through this door," she said. Lila laughed.
"Just as long as she's as much fun as the old one!" They laughed together
and walked out little knowing that it would be a very different Jen who
would next return to her apartment.
'Les Mains, Pieds et Visages' was an extraordinarily expensive beauty salon
found near the King's road in London. It had been founded by Christian Du
Pont, the famed Parisian designer, who had an outlet for his unique
creations next door. However, he didn't like the idea that the women who
crossed his threshold might dare be anything other than perfect, so he
created the salon to make them so. Jen and Lila entered the shop and were
greeted by a stunningly attractive Asian woman who was made up in a
wonderful Chinese style dress.
"May I help you?" The voice reeked of class and education, just as the
expression was somewhat withdrawn and resigned... like the woman didn't
understand what two girls like these could be doing in such a place. Lila
was taken aback. Her Mancunian roots were pretty evident to anyone who
spoke to her and she was seldom described as the most subtle of people. The
prospect of the salon suddenly terrified her. Jen, on the other hand, was a
born and bred west Londoner so knew the etiquette right down to pat.
"Lila Jones and Jennifer Taylor-Moore here for our ten o'clock
appointment." Her voice was as classy as a duchess' while also managing to
combine that class with both anger and arrogance. It always amazed Lila how
such a nice person as Jen could just turn on such an arrogant bitch as
Jennifer! However, in times, and shops, like this one it tended to get the
results and five minutes later they were seated in luxurious leather chairs
each having their hands expertly massaged by two other Asian women dressed
like the hostess, though not quite as well.
"This is the life, eh Jen?" Lila looked at her friend who seemed to have
sunken a good foot into her chair. Jen smiled.
"It certainly is." She sat up slightly. "I tell you what, Lila, how's
about we try on some of the dresses next door afterwards?" Lila sat bolt
upright.
"Jen, no! The cheapest one's worth almost a month's pay!" Jen leaned
across.
"They don't need to know we won't buy them!" she whispered, "Besides, I've
got a bit of money because of..." her voice choked slightly but she
recovered, "Because of the holiday refund." Lila looked at Jen and smiled
softly.
"Ok, Jen, why not?" The women massaging their hands continued to their
feet and then onto the women's faces before finally announcing that their
work was done. Both Jen and Lila felt refreshed, energised and beautiful.
They looked at each other.
"You...!"
"You...!" They squealed in delight, like school girls trying make up for
the first time. The two Asian masseurs smiled and bowed, preparing to take
their leave. Jen and Lila thanked them excessively and tried to tip them
but the other women held up their hands and wouldn't accept a thing.
Finally, just as the two of them were about to go, Lila nudged Jen with an
encouraging look on her face.
"Err, excuse me?" asked Jen before realising that that was no way to get
things done in a place like 'Les Mains, Pieds et Visages.' She started
again in her most imperious voice.
"Could you please inform the manageress that Ms Jones and I would like to
try on some of the dresses next door." The two Asians bowed again and
walked out. Lila looked at Jen in some trepidation but Jen simply smiled
and indicated that the Mancunian should calm down, though she herself did
not fell calm at all! The manageress strolled in, everything about her
radiating Oriental exoticness subtly mixed with English aristocracy.
"May I help you?" she asked again. Jen, in a small voice, asked whether
she and her friend could try on some of Du Pont's dresses next door. The
Asian woman looked at the two of them, as if reading their minds. 'She's
not going to go for it! She's not going to go for it!' was all Lila could
think. But contrary to her expectations the manageress, her face opening
into a radiant smile, invited them next door. They followed her, each weak
with relief at their success.
The clothes were beyond beautiful. Everything about them exuded class.
They were classic, but original... revealing but reserved... soft yet
firm... everything that clothes were meant. Jen and Lila were in heaven.
They'd been led to a changing room at the rear where they'd each taken off
their own most expensive clothes. A single bra from the shop they were in
would've covered the cost of everything they had on. Once stripped down to
their bras and panties they were invited to put on a dressing robe and
peruse the catalogue.
Lila emerged thanking God that she was wearing her best bra and panties, a
matching set of black lace that supported and revealed, though weren't
sluttish, in equal measure. Her 36DD breasts were still nice and firm at
the age of twenty six and there was scarcely a trace of cellulite anywhere
on her trim body. She shaved regularly, especially around her pubic mound,
and used many expensive moisturisers on her quite dark skin. It often
surprised people to find out she was from Manchester. They always thought
she had to have Mediterranean origins.
Jen, on the other hand, was very much a part of the English aristocracy.
Like Lila she was twenty six but that was where most of the similarities
ended. She'd been educated at boarding school where she'd learnt how to be
as tough as nails mentally, while discovering how to the most of
unflattering school uniforms and bans on make up. She was only a little
taller than Lila, five nine to the latter's five seven, but seemed much
higher due to her very slim figure and achingly long legs. Her skin was
white and pure as driven snow, her straight blonde hair creeping down beyond
her shoulders. Her breasts were smaller than Lila's, at a 34C, but sat high
and proud on her chest. There was nothing too her, really, which always
annoyed Lila. Jen ate like a horse yet didn't put on a pound. Lila
believed she merely had to look at food to feel her ass sag and hips grow.
In short, both women were very attractive. They were about to accentuate
that natural beauty with Du Pont's clothes.
Dress after dress arrived, was tried on and was examined, in the mirror,
minutely. The manageress produced a digital camera and took pictures of the
two of them from dozens of angles so that they could see how they looked
naturally, as a pose to straining their necks to look in the various mirrors
of the room. Eventually, after three hours since entering the shop, Lila
and Jen picked what they each liked the most and Jen paid for them. Each
had an evening dress that, Mai Ling promised, would never be replicated by
Du Pont again, as well as some skirts, tops and trousers. Mai Ling also
threw in some exquisite lingerie for both of them free of charge... after
all: Jen had just paid her a five figure sum!
Just as they were leaving for lunch, still on the high of having had so
much fun without the bitter reality of just how much they'd spent crashing
down, Mai Ling asked to see Jen for a moment. The two girls looked at each
other in horror. What had gone wrong? Had the card not worked? Had the
bank called? Had it all been an obscure trick? Were they actually
dreaming? Jen asked Lila to wait near the front with their bags while she
went to the back to talk to the manageress. She returned five minutes
later.
"What was wrong?" asked Lila eagerly, desperately curious but terrified of
what the answer might be.
"Nothing," replied Jen with a frown, "She just wanted to give me this
card." She showed it to Lila. It was a business card for a doctor, a
general practitioner who worked nearby called Dr. Tress. She specialised in
women's problems, so the card stated.
"What does she mean women's problems?" asked Lila indignantly, once they'd
left the shop.
"I asked that too," replied Jen thoughtfully. "I thought she must've
thought I was ill or something but she simply said that she knew what I'd
been through over the last week and that this doctor had helped her through
it... that she would've probably killed herself without Dr. Tress' help..."
Lila looked at her friend with a worried look.
"You're not... err... planning on anything like that are you, Jen?" Jen
looked at her, confused for a moment. She realised what Lila was
suggesting.
"Oh no, no," she replied hastily, before continuing in the same thoughtful
voice of before, "It's just she said that, after Dr. Tress helped her, she
never felt hurt by a man again." She turned the card over and over in her
hand.
"How did she know about you and... err... Toby?" asked Lila.
"She must've heard us talk about it, or maybe the people doing our hands
did," responded Jen, "She said that she'd actually been married for a month
when her husband left her for her sister!"
"How awful!"
"Exactly... at least I didn't get hitched to the silly bastard..." Jen
looked down at the card, her whole face puckering as the tears, which were
never far, threatened to engulf her. Lila quickly broke her out of her
reverie.
"Well, let's get lunch, I'm starving!" Jen laughed with her friend and
they went to get some food. Jen had to go home after lunch but Jen assured
her that not only was she alright but Lila didn't have to worry about the
clothes either.
"You've done more to get me back on my feet than any amount of consoling or
crying could do. Thank you." She leant forwards and gave her friend a kiss
on the cheek and a hug. Lila let herself melt into the intimate gesture and
held Jen close before finally breaking off and turning away. She walked off
and looked at her friend for a moment, imagining all the ways she'd like to
comfort her... but she didn't. Instead she took the tube home and it was
only when she arrived that she realised that she'd left Jen to pay for lunch
too!
Jen, for her part, still felt the deep hole in her soul created by her
fiancée Toby, who simply hadn't turned up for the wedding... along with his
ex-girlfriend who'd appeared three days before. Jen couldn't bring herself
to hate him but his treachery was too huge a wound and if felt like it would
never heal. She turned over the card Mai Ling had given her and remembered
the look in the Asian beauty's face: she'd been close to suicide but Dr.
Tress had helped her through... it was only five minutes walk away... Jen
decided she'd go after lunch.
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