The Alpha For Her

“I will let you make your own introductions,” Tomiko said. “But now, I’ll be showing you to your rooms.”

As they passed the people, a tall, statuesque black woman was getting out of the pool. The water sheened off of her rich, dark-chocolate complexion, little beads dotting her close cropped, kinky hair. She wiped her face with a towel, then noticed the newcomers. Her eyes went immediately to Jennifer, and then her face took on a look that Jen could not fathom. Jennifer smiled. The woman nodded, then turned away, her face again in her towel. Jennifer frowned as she saw the woman’s shoulders bouncing slightly.

Tomiko led them through the sliding glass doors that were the entrance that she had seen through the foyer. The wood floor she had spied was lain in an ornate geometric patterns in teak and cherry.

“To your left is the dining room,” Tomiko said. “We will be having our first meeting there for breakfast at eight. To the right is the ballroom. Your rooms are upstairs, and you are lucky; you are on the south wing, so very sunny.”

The upstairs was divided into two wings with eight bedrooms in each.

“Lois’s bedroom and office is down there in the western end,” Tomiko said, leading them down the carpeted hall. “If her door is open, you are free to pop in with anything that is on your mind. On this side, there are twelve attendees, and, oddly enough, everyone is out this evening. But no matter, you’ll meet them soon enough. It tends to get a little warm in the afternoons, so I advise you to keep the curtains drawn during those hours. Candy, this will be your suite. Your companion is Vera Davies. I’m sure that you two will get along splendidly. Billie and Jennifer, you two will take this one. So, go on, settle in and explore. Any questions? No? Ciao, then.”

“Oh my god,” Jennifer said with a sigh as she and Billie stepped in to their rooms.

“Oh, my,” Billie said.

They were in a sitting room that looked as if it had been stolen from Buckingham Palace. Windows covered one wall in that same leaded glass that they had seen in the entrance, but the westering sun was hazed by clouds and sheer curtains. Heavy maroon, velour drapes, hemmed in gold, hung at the sides.

The room itself was done in a creamy, but cool color tone with softly gilded panels. It had a small fireplace, around which two leather, ox-blood wing-back chairs and a plush, beige settee stood. Everywhere there were the trappings of opulence; paintings and figurines, butterflies and brass things. On either side were panel doors with the same gilding and ornate brass and crystal knobs.

“Bedrooms, I presume,” Jennifer said.

“Which is whose?” Billie asked.

“I’ll bet that they have that one figured out.”

Jen looked at Billie, the two shrugged, and then went to the one on the right.

“Holy…” Billie began.

The space was huge, easily accommodating the queen-size bed and two dressers all done in whites and lavenders with sheer lilac curtains. But the centerpiece had to be the ornate, delicately feminine vanity in a Louis-the-fourteenth mode, complete with matching chair and a fold out three-way mirror. There they found all of Jennifer’s cosmetics, and then some. There was a set of Bobbi Brown lip colors, L’Occitane Shea body cream, and even La Prairie Skin Caviar.

“It’s like out of Vanity Fair,” Bobbie said, almost sighing as she opened and smelled a tube of Bobbi Brown. “I’ve always wanted one of these.”

Slowly, Jennifer had Billie pegged. The woman was in awe of fine cosmetics, but she knew what they were. Jen figured her for working-class, but upper-working-class. She was a professional’s assistant; Doctor, Dentist, or Lawyer. Her fingernails were trimmed close but neat. And when Jen saw that she had excellent teeth, she pegged her for a dental-hygienist.

Through one door, they found a walk-in closet that was bigger than some of the apartments that Jennifer had lived in. There she found her clothes, but again, there were some very fine, formal and casual additions.

“I guess that this is my room” Jennifer said. “But just to be sure…”

She returned to the bedroom and explored the tall, cedar lingerie-dresser. Billie flushed a little, then did a double-take when she saw Jennifer holding the white satin corset. Jennifer frowned; she didn’t own a corset.

“Oh, look,” Billie said, opening the second door.

There was the bathroom, and, by far the highlight. The tub could accommodate the Israeli navy, and had jets for a whirl-pool. There was a roomy, corner shower bristling with showerheads, fragrant soaps and luxurious shampoos on four shelves. There were two, standing three-way mirrors, also gilded. The room had its own towel-closet with a warmer, and a laundry chute. The toilet was porcelain, and there was a bidet.

“Oh?” Billie said looking and examining the contraption. “Jennifer, you seem worldly; and I’m not embarrassed to ask how this thing works. It looks so…inviting.”

“It’s really quite a treat. There’s a couple of ways you can use it…”

She demonstrated how one could sit or straddle the bidet; then showed how to work the water.

“The word itself,” Jennifer said, “is French; bidet. It’s derived from something about riding ponies. It’s a lovely experience.”

Billie giggled. Then she saw the other door.

“Must be my room,” she said.

Billie was surprised and delighted to find her vanity, dressers and walk-in closet also stocked with her things, plus others. She took some time exploring the new lingerie. Billie seemed to touch the frilly things almost reverently.

“I’ve never had a corset,” she said. “Have you?”

“A few. They’re pretty self-explanatory, but you’ll need help with the initial fitting. I’d be happy to show you.”

“Thanks.”

As Billie held up a pair of pink lace Journelle panties up to the light, Jennifer saw the mix of delight and awe in the girl’s eyes, then she saw a small shadow cross. She looked to Jennifer.

“I’ve heard of swag-bags at conventions and such,” she said, “but I have to wonder about this kind of stuff.”

“I know,” Jennifer said, nodding. “But, let’s just think that they’re going a notch above.”

The two agreed that they would keep open the bathroom doors, and when one of them needed privacy they would shut them. Jennifer called dibs on the shower first, and Billie happily let her. The shower was like standing in her own private rain as multiple heads cascaded the water at the temperature and pressure that she wanted. She dried with the plushest towels she had ever known, dressed in her favorite cut-off and tee, and then immediately took a nap. The bed was a cloud.