Jewel
08-30-2008, 10:59 PM
First Forays
By Chloe Sterling (http://www.ruthiesclub.com/fold.php?pg=author&a=319)
Stacy eases the bus to a stop, just even with the bus stop sign. She prides herself on her ability to provide a smooth ride and not jolt her passengers around, especially those who have to stand in the aisle on rainy days like this one. The floor gets awfully slippery. Other drivers find it amusing to stop quickly and watch in the mirror as people slide around, trying to remain upright with backpacks and satchels. Her passenger side wheels mere inches from the curb, she opens the front door, then the back door and waits for passengers to exit and enter. This is her second to last stop on this shift. At the next stop she’ll pass her seat to the next driver.
She pulls up to the Student Center as smoothly as always, opens both doors, puts the bus in neutral, and sets the four-way lights and parking brake. The next driver, Rachel, is already standing beside her as she gathers up her jacket, umbrella, and backpack from behind the seat.
“Doing anything fun tonight?” Rachel asks as she settles her own belongings behind the seat.
“Huh. What do you think?”
“Right, of course not. Studying as usual, I take it.”
“You know it. See you tomorrow!”
As she steps off the bus, the rain intensifies, pelting down in fat, hard drops that almost feel like sleet on the bare skin of her arms. Before her mouse-brown hair becomes completely drenched, she opens her umbrella and makes her way across the Commons, glad she has no evening classes tonight. She heads for her dorm to begin working on a Biological Anthropology paper that’s due in two weeks.
She turns the key in her door lock and, as she pushes it open, she hears a screech from inside.
Lovely, she thinks. Amanda is home. Loud, messy, sometimes obnoxious Amanda. I hope she leaves soon so I can get to work on this paper. Stacy prefers quiet and order in her home-away-from-home, so she can study hard and maintain her full-ride scholarship.
She pushes into the room as Amanda drops the phone back in its cradle and turns to her, a giant smile on her round face, green eyes revealing excitement.
“We’re going to a party tonight, and that’s that. You can’t say no. If I have to drag you by the hair, you’re going with me. It’s time you came out of that shell, young lady!”
Stacy’s nerveless fingers drop her dripping umbrella and backpack to the floor at her feet. She’s in shock. Amanda has never invited her to a party before. To bars, yes, but never to a party with her friends. She secretly envies Amanda’s popularity and busy social schedule. Join that? Oh, yes, in a heartbeat!
“No, I can’t. I have to start this paper, and I have a Sociology test on Friday, and...”
Amanda’s manicured nails wave off her excuses. “What did I just say, young lady? You’re going and that’s all there is to it!”
At ten PM, two primped, powdered, dressed-to-the-nines girls leave the dorm. Stacy wears her low-rider jeans—the ones she rarely wears because they make her feel very self-conscious—and heeled boots. The sheer, short top belongs to Amanda, who insisted that Stacy had nothing suitable of her own. Stacy also wears more make-up than she’s used to, but it’s not overdone. Her totally average brown eyes now have the hue and luster of polished exotic Bibakao seeds.
The two young women get in Amanda’s old Chevy Cavalier. Amanda drives like a rabbit chased by a dog. The car bounds from one side of the road to the other, weaving through traffic, as Amanda drops a constant stream of chatter on Stacy. Stacy tries not to be too obvious about gripping the armrests as the car hurtles along the streets and stops in front of a house so hard it rocks on its springs. The two girls get out of the car and enter a house from which loud music pours.
Stacy tries not to stare at the seething mass of humanity that confronts her when she passes through the doorway. After her initial shock, she begins to sort out individual faces and recognizes some of them from the few bar trips she’s made with Amanda. She turns to point out a group of Amanda’s friends, but her roommate isn’t there. Amanda has left her alone in this crowd of people she barely knows.
A hand lightly touches her arm, and she turns back to find a slim, pale woman with hair the color of ebony, head slightly cocked, gazing up at her from a couple of inches height difference. Stacy doesn’t recognize her as one of Amanda’s friends. Pale blue eyes that remind her of icebergs in the Arctic contemplate her from deep within the nearly ghostly white face, while lips the color of a dying sunset part slightly in a half smile. Stacy has never seen such a creature as this in all her nineteen years of life. She inhales, and discovers the scent of jasmine emanating from the woman. Stacy’s gaze, quite beyond her control, trails down from the round face to find a black velvet dress with a very deep neckline showing off some fantastic cleavage, a moonstone on a silver chain centered in the middle. Stacy feels her face begin to flush as her eyes continue down to the narrow waist and all the wonderful curves below it.
“I’m Madeline,” the woman says. “And you’re Stacy. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Stacy stares at those beautiful eyes and wonders who could have told this fascinating creature anything about her.
“Amanda said I’d like you. She was right.”
Well, that answers one question, Stacy thinks. But why would Amanda tell her anything about me in the first place?
Madeline’s soft, warm hand slips down Stacy’s arm, and the fingers entwine with hers. Madeline turns and starts across the room. Stacy has no choice but to follow, although she has no thought to leave. She is intrigued by Madeline, and why Amanda thought they should meet. She’s not sure why she can’t take her eyes off this woman. She’s never had a woman’s eyes remind her of anything in particular, and she can’t recall ever paying attention to what a woman smelled like. Madeline weaves through the crowd like a cat through legs, and they emerge at the bottom of a grand staircase leading to the second floor. Without hesitation, Stacy follows when Madeline begins to climb. The two women enter an unoccupied bedroom. Stacy pries her unwilling gaze from Madeline to take in her new surroundings.
The room is painted bright red with black trim. Several framed images adorn the walls. They appear to be portraits of nearly naked people in strange poses, but Stacy cannot quite tell from this distance. A single large window overlooks what appears to be an archaic courtyard with a large stone fountain in the center. The bed is covered with a black satin comforter and red pillows ... and several leather and metal pieces that Stacy can’t identify. She wonders what Amanda has gotten her into.
Madeline drops Stacy’s hand and moves to the side of the bed. She reaches down to pick up one of the leather pieces. She toys with it in both hands, giving Stacy that same half smile. Stacy realizes with a start that the piece of leather is a black collar with silver studs and a clasp. A small shiver runs through her body at the shock. Madeline notices and her smile grows. She approaches Stacy with the collar still in her hands. Stacy is too much in shock to protest as Madeline, on tip-toe, fastens it around Stacy’s neck. As she steps back to admire the new accessory, Stacy is surprised at how comfortable it feels on her skin. The slight pressure, the not-quite-choking sensation sends another shiver through her body. Madeline nods in approval. She crooks one long, slender, red-tipped finger at Stacy and turns back to the bed, not waiting to see if her silent command is obeyed. Stacy’s feet seem not her own as they step forward. Through some deep, primitive instinct, she stops just behind Madeline’s right shoulder.
Another shiver runs through Stacy’s body as Madeline’s graceful hand glides across the pieces scattered on the bed. Stacy’s mind races with possibilities of what will happen next. She is confused by the excitement she suddenly feels at those possibilities. She’s always been a good girl, studying hard, even on weekends. She doesn’t have time for a boyfriend, and she doesn’t date much. So why is it that the collar and all the devices strewn across the bed incite such heat in her? Embarrassment at the thought adds more color to her flushed cheeks, and now there’s a strange heat beginning in her midsection, below her belly button.
Madeline’s hand pauses above one of the pieces on the bed. It looks like another collar, except that it has a bright red rubber ball attached in the center of it. Madeline picks up this piece and turns to Stacy, who begins to tremble slightly.
“Open your mouth,” Madeline commands.
Stacy can’t imagine why she should, but her mouth opens anyway. Madeline fits the rubber ball between her teeth and reaches behind her head to buckle the straps. Stacy’s face reddens even more as she realizes that, even though she can swallow, she can’t keep saliva from dripping from the corner of her mouth. Madeline smiles and pulls a handkerchief from her sleeve to dab it away, then turns back to the bed.
Without looking at Stacy, she says, “Take off your clothes.”
By Chloe Sterling (http://www.ruthiesclub.com/fold.php?pg=author&a=319)
Stacy eases the bus to a stop, just even with the bus stop sign. She prides herself on her ability to provide a smooth ride and not jolt her passengers around, especially those who have to stand in the aisle on rainy days like this one. The floor gets awfully slippery. Other drivers find it amusing to stop quickly and watch in the mirror as people slide around, trying to remain upright with backpacks and satchels. Her passenger side wheels mere inches from the curb, she opens the front door, then the back door and waits for passengers to exit and enter. This is her second to last stop on this shift. At the next stop she’ll pass her seat to the next driver.
She pulls up to the Student Center as smoothly as always, opens both doors, puts the bus in neutral, and sets the four-way lights and parking brake. The next driver, Rachel, is already standing beside her as she gathers up her jacket, umbrella, and backpack from behind the seat.
“Doing anything fun tonight?” Rachel asks as she settles her own belongings behind the seat.
“Huh. What do you think?”
“Right, of course not. Studying as usual, I take it.”
“You know it. See you tomorrow!”
As she steps off the bus, the rain intensifies, pelting down in fat, hard drops that almost feel like sleet on the bare skin of her arms. Before her mouse-brown hair becomes completely drenched, she opens her umbrella and makes her way across the Commons, glad she has no evening classes tonight. She heads for her dorm to begin working on a Biological Anthropology paper that’s due in two weeks.
She turns the key in her door lock and, as she pushes it open, she hears a screech from inside.
Lovely, she thinks. Amanda is home. Loud, messy, sometimes obnoxious Amanda. I hope she leaves soon so I can get to work on this paper. Stacy prefers quiet and order in her home-away-from-home, so she can study hard and maintain her full-ride scholarship.
She pushes into the room as Amanda drops the phone back in its cradle and turns to her, a giant smile on her round face, green eyes revealing excitement.
“We’re going to a party tonight, and that’s that. You can’t say no. If I have to drag you by the hair, you’re going with me. It’s time you came out of that shell, young lady!”
Stacy’s nerveless fingers drop her dripping umbrella and backpack to the floor at her feet. She’s in shock. Amanda has never invited her to a party before. To bars, yes, but never to a party with her friends. She secretly envies Amanda’s popularity and busy social schedule. Join that? Oh, yes, in a heartbeat!
“No, I can’t. I have to start this paper, and I have a Sociology test on Friday, and...”
Amanda’s manicured nails wave off her excuses. “What did I just say, young lady? You’re going and that’s all there is to it!”
At ten PM, two primped, powdered, dressed-to-the-nines girls leave the dorm. Stacy wears her low-rider jeans—the ones she rarely wears because they make her feel very self-conscious—and heeled boots. The sheer, short top belongs to Amanda, who insisted that Stacy had nothing suitable of her own. Stacy also wears more make-up than she’s used to, but it’s not overdone. Her totally average brown eyes now have the hue and luster of polished exotic Bibakao seeds.
The two young women get in Amanda’s old Chevy Cavalier. Amanda drives like a rabbit chased by a dog. The car bounds from one side of the road to the other, weaving through traffic, as Amanda drops a constant stream of chatter on Stacy. Stacy tries not to be too obvious about gripping the armrests as the car hurtles along the streets and stops in front of a house so hard it rocks on its springs. The two girls get out of the car and enter a house from which loud music pours.
Stacy tries not to stare at the seething mass of humanity that confronts her when she passes through the doorway. After her initial shock, she begins to sort out individual faces and recognizes some of them from the few bar trips she’s made with Amanda. She turns to point out a group of Amanda’s friends, but her roommate isn’t there. Amanda has left her alone in this crowd of people she barely knows.
A hand lightly touches her arm, and she turns back to find a slim, pale woman with hair the color of ebony, head slightly cocked, gazing up at her from a couple of inches height difference. Stacy doesn’t recognize her as one of Amanda’s friends. Pale blue eyes that remind her of icebergs in the Arctic contemplate her from deep within the nearly ghostly white face, while lips the color of a dying sunset part slightly in a half smile. Stacy has never seen such a creature as this in all her nineteen years of life. She inhales, and discovers the scent of jasmine emanating from the woman. Stacy’s gaze, quite beyond her control, trails down from the round face to find a black velvet dress with a very deep neckline showing off some fantastic cleavage, a moonstone on a silver chain centered in the middle. Stacy feels her face begin to flush as her eyes continue down to the narrow waist and all the wonderful curves below it.
“I’m Madeline,” the woman says. “And you’re Stacy. I’ve heard so much about you.”
Stacy stares at those beautiful eyes and wonders who could have told this fascinating creature anything about her.
“Amanda said I’d like you. She was right.”
Well, that answers one question, Stacy thinks. But why would Amanda tell her anything about me in the first place?
Madeline’s soft, warm hand slips down Stacy’s arm, and the fingers entwine with hers. Madeline turns and starts across the room. Stacy has no choice but to follow, although she has no thought to leave. She is intrigued by Madeline, and why Amanda thought they should meet. She’s not sure why she can’t take her eyes off this woman. She’s never had a woman’s eyes remind her of anything in particular, and she can’t recall ever paying attention to what a woman smelled like. Madeline weaves through the crowd like a cat through legs, and they emerge at the bottom of a grand staircase leading to the second floor. Without hesitation, Stacy follows when Madeline begins to climb. The two women enter an unoccupied bedroom. Stacy pries her unwilling gaze from Madeline to take in her new surroundings.
The room is painted bright red with black trim. Several framed images adorn the walls. They appear to be portraits of nearly naked people in strange poses, but Stacy cannot quite tell from this distance. A single large window overlooks what appears to be an archaic courtyard with a large stone fountain in the center. The bed is covered with a black satin comforter and red pillows ... and several leather and metal pieces that Stacy can’t identify. She wonders what Amanda has gotten her into.
Madeline drops Stacy’s hand and moves to the side of the bed. She reaches down to pick up one of the leather pieces. She toys with it in both hands, giving Stacy that same half smile. Stacy realizes with a start that the piece of leather is a black collar with silver studs and a clasp. A small shiver runs through her body at the shock. Madeline notices and her smile grows. She approaches Stacy with the collar still in her hands. Stacy is too much in shock to protest as Madeline, on tip-toe, fastens it around Stacy’s neck. As she steps back to admire the new accessory, Stacy is surprised at how comfortable it feels on her skin. The slight pressure, the not-quite-choking sensation sends another shiver through her body. Madeline nods in approval. She crooks one long, slender, red-tipped finger at Stacy and turns back to the bed, not waiting to see if her silent command is obeyed. Stacy’s feet seem not her own as they step forward. Through some deep, primitive instinct, she stops just behind Madeline’s right shoulder.
Another shiver runs through Stacy’s body as Madeline’s graceful hand glides across the pieces scattered on the bed. Stacy’s mind races with possibilities of what will happen next. She is confused by the excitement she suddenly feels at those possibilities. She’s always been a good girl, studying hard, even on weekends. She doesn’t have time for a boyfriend, and she doesn’t date much. So why is it that the collar and all the devices strewn across the bed incite such heat in her? Embarrassment at the thought adds more color to her flushed cheeks, and now there’s a strange heat beginning in her midsection, below her belly button.
Madeline’s hand pauses above one of the pieces on the bed. It looks like another collar, except that it has a bright red rubber ball attached in the center of it. Madeline picks up this piece and turns to Stacy, who begins to tremble slightly.
“Open your mouth,” Madeline commands.
Stacy can’t imagine why she should, but her mouth opens anyway. Madeline fits the rubber ball between her teeth and reaches behind her head to buckle the straps. Stacy’s face reddens even more as she realizes that, even though she can swallow, she can’t keep saliva from dripping from the corner of her mouth. Madeline smiles and pulls a handkerchief from her sleeve to dab it away, then turns back to the bed.
Without looking at Stacy, she says, “Take off your clothes.”