Madame B - Ecstasy

After a particularly grueling day of meetings, I left the office at seven p.m.-early for me in those days. I stepped into the lamplit darkness of early evening to find that it was raining. Unable to face the wet walk to the subway, less still a crowded and steaming commute, I decided to hail a taxi. Cabs are always scarce in grim weather, and spying one on the opposite side of the road, I made a dash for it. I opened the right-hand door just as another woman climbed in the left. We glared at each other for a second, neither of us willing to relinquish the taxi. The cabbie came to our rescue.

"If you're both going the same way, why don't you share?"

The woman's destination was only one street away from my own, so we decided to share and settled into a companionable silence. I looked at the other woman. She was like me: late twenties, dressed in the corporate uniform of slinky black pantsuit and sharp shoes, with the same blow-dry and highlights that every other young female professional in the city had adopted. But, unlike me, her face was a picture of serenity, and she smelled exotic-of musky spices, cinnamon, ginger-as if she were a loaf of freshly baked bread from the oven. And I was aware of how rigid I was next to her. She stretched out like a cat, her movements fluid and her body limber within her tailored clothes. Grumpily, I attempted to flex my own body and release some tension. My knuckles cracked and my knees creaked as I did so.

"Ooh," said the woman. "That doesn't sound good." I began to tell her how sore my neck and shoulders were and how I'd give anything to get rid of the discomfort.

"What you need is a good massage," she said, smiling, and for one awkward minute I thought she was about to offer me one. I mean, I'm as adventurous as the next girl, but an impromptu massage from a strange female in the back of a cab? Hey, I wasn't that stiff and knotted up that I'd have a lesbian rubdown from a stranger. "I used to feel like you," she continued, "but I know this amazing specialist spa, a sort of Turkish hammam-type place. It's a steam bath. You come out, and you feel like you've just melted. Bliss. In fact, I've just come from there."

I racked my brains. The block my office was on boasted a few sandwich bars, a couple of hairstylists, and one very exclusive gym, but I certainly couldn't recall any Turkish baths in my district.

The woman leaned in close, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "They don't take just anyone, I'm afraid," she said, confidentially. "They only take recommendations from current clients. You can't just walk in off the street."

"Oh, please," I begged her. "You said yourself I needed a massage."

"But can I trust you to be discreet?"

I couldn't be bothered to play these games. "It's only a damn massage parlor," I snapped. "Do you know what, I'll find it myself."

"Sorry," she said. "I just need to check that you're the kind of person they want. You're feisty, and you seem pretty open-minded." She smiled. "I mean, you have to take all your clothes off in there. Would you have a problem with that?"

"Honey," I told her, "I've had plenty of Brazilian waxes before, and if I can sit through that with a straight face, a little steam-bath nudity is the least of my worries." The ice broken, she pulled out a little red leather-bound diary from her bag, scribbled something down on a page, tore it out, and handed it to me. "That's Adi's number," she said. "Tell him Cassie sent you." She thought for a minute and then added, "If he offers you anything extra, do say yes, and… Oh!" Cassie interrupted herself, and I wondered what she had been going to say. "This is me." She handed me enough money to cover her share of the fare and leaped into the rainy street and was gone.

Once I got back to my apartment, I ran a long, hot bath and poured myself a glass of wine. The combination of the alcohol and the steamy hot bath went some way to relaxing my rigid shoulders. This only served to make me realize how tense I'd been. I decided to call the number Cassie had given me.

"Hello?" The voice that answered was smooth, with a trace of a foreign accent I couldn't quite place.

"Is that Adi?" I said, suddenly shy. "Um, my name's Helen. I'm a friend of Cassie's. She recommended your services to me. I wonder if I could make an appointment with you. Tomorrow? Great." I jotted down the address he gave me. It was in the same area as my workplace yet it was a street I'd never heard of.

The next lunchtime, I made my way down a small, cobbled lane I'd never noticed before. When I reached the address, there was only a dull and unpromising metal security door. Wondering if this really was the place, I rang the bell, informing whoever was at the other end that I had an appointment with Adi. A buzzer sounded, the latch released, and I stepped out of the grimy day into another world.

The vast space was dominated by a gilded marble staircase. Mosaic fountains played, petals floating in their pools. The scent of exotic spices and oils floated on the air. I lifted my nose and inhaled the warm, comforting aroma of saffron, cinnamon, and rose oil. Behind a huge marble desk sat the most beautiful young man I'd ever seen. He was dressed in simple white robes that flattered his warm olive complexion. Soft black curls framed his youthful face, and when he saw my awe-struck face, he broke into a wide grin, pink lips parting to reveal even, white teeth.

"Helen?" He extended a smooth and perfectly manicured hand out to me. "We've been expecting you. It's your first time, isn't it? Let me tell you how we do things here. We take payment first, if that's okay with you." I hadn't asked about money on the phone but now meekly handed over my credit card. I was taken aback when he charged me three hundred dollars for a treatment yet to come, but I let it go. I was a savvy businesswoman, used to complaining when things didn't go my way. If it wasn't worth it I could always get my money back later. And I believe you have to pay a premium for top-quality service. I just kept thinking of how serene Cassie had looked. If, an hour later, I emerged with half her radiance, it would be money well spent.

The young man took me through a huge pair of gold, leather-studded doors to a changing area paneled with dark wood. "Inside your cubicle, change into your robe," he said. "There's a locker key for your bag and clothes. Take a shower and then when you're ready, make your way into the steam room. Have you ever had a hammam treatment before?" he asked, and when I shook my head, he smiled that devastating smile again. "Oh, your first time is always the best. You'll be scrubbed to within an inch of your life, but afterward you come out feeling as soft as a kitten. Even I have it done," and he extended an arm for me to feel. Underneath the curly dark hairs, the skin on his forearm was soft as a baby's. I pictured the down all over his body and wondered whether there was any on his chest and what it was like lower down, but I snapped myself out of that reverie before it got out of control.

The man left me on my own. I took a shower. The gold showerhead directly above delivered a fine soothing spray of water infused with essence of bergamot and sandalwood. There was a rich body wash in a dispenser beside me, and I massaged it into my skin, working the milk and honey ingredients into a lather over my breasts. I soaped between each of my toes, under my arms, and between my legs, closing my eyes and pretending that my hand was that of the young man who'd just shown me around the spa. Relishing the fantasy, I let the water wash me clean. Finally I turned the shower off and stood naked for a few seconds, letting the last few remaining bubbles on my breasts and ass dissolve.

I felt better already. Wrapping the white towel around me, I pushed through a door marked STEAM. I found myself in a dense haze. After a minute, my eyes adjusted to the white cloud, and I could make out the contours of a marble steam room, huge, high ceilinged, and filled with women, mostly naked, many of whom had abandoned their towels and lay on marble slabs, eyes closed, blissfully relaxed. One or two of them even splayed their legs. The combination of the heat and the sweat and the light smell of all these bodies made my heartbeat quicken. I felt that familiar twinge between my legs that I hadn't felt for months, and I thought that it was such a shame there were no men here to take advantage of me. Ah, well. I was already more relaxed than I had been for a long, long time. De-stress first, and I could think about sex later. I spread my towel on a hot marble bench and lay down, feeling the vapor turn to condensation on my skin and beads of sweat and steam roll between my breasts.