Chapter 2

She knew he was there the moment she opened the door to her apartment. She could smell his presence. It wasn't a bad smell—just different. Maybe it was a different soap or laundry detergent, but whatever the cause, it instantly revealed his presence.

Doris took a deep breath. Now was the time to run. She knew that she should leave and contact the authorities right now. But deep down, she knew that she wasn't going to do so. She had thought through every scenario. Her plan was in place.

Task number one was to act as normal as possible. She carefully placed her regular mail in the bin for her reader who came every Friday and walked to her bathroom. Safely inside, she paused, listened, and then felt all around the room. Thankfully, he wasn't in her bathroom. She splashed water on her face and stood straight and tall.

Courage, Doris, she thought. Courage.

The moment she left the bathroom, she sensed his presence in her bedroom. She tried to be nonchalant as she walked in and carefully placed her cane on her bed. Somehow it seemed very important to keep her protective cane close at hand.

This is it, she thought. What will he do? What will I do?

Her mind was a blur of rushing thoughts, but she had already decided what she was to do and she would stick to her plan... maybe. Adrenaline began to course through her body. She tingled in ways that she had never experienced before this moment.

Doris moved to her dresser, removed her swim suit from the second drawer, and placed it on the bed beside her cane. Her hands trembled slightly. Careful, Doris, she thought, don't start shaking all over and give everything away. She paused listening, but heard nothing. No turning back now, she thought.

Slowly, Doris began to unbutton her blouse.

One button... no sound.

Two buttons... slight sound... a strange one... like a zipper slowly moving.

Three buttons... a breath... maybe.

She allowed her blouse to slip from her shoulders. Blood was pounding furiously through her temples. Then she heard it.

It was a long, deep breath. Now she knew exactly where he was. He was on the other side of her bed... watching... watching her. The double-size bed between them gave her comforting protection.

She tossed the shirt as casually as possible in his direction and then unzipped the back of her pants. Her zipper moved smoothly as did her trousers. She let them drop to her ankles, and then kicked them toward the bed. A sudden feeling of nausea swept over her. To ward it off, she strangely found herself starting to hum a tune... a song by U2.

I hate U2, she thought... funny that their song would come to mind now... ok, ladies and gentlemen, the moment of truth is here. So far I'm wearing almost as much as I normally do at the pool... bra and panties, but that is about to change... drastically.

She faced the bed and Jerome, reached behind her back, and unhooked her bra. In one swift motion it was gone. It too landed on the bed. She paused and took a deep breath. Her breasts suddenly felt cold and her nipples instantly hardened. All those strange, unexplained feelings of sexuality came rushing back to her. An almost palpable pulsing began deep within the most private, sensitive part of her body... an itch that was yearning to be scratched. Without thinking, she rubbed the beads of sweat from under her breasts.

Across the room she heard motion, ever so subtle and slight, but there... movement, breathing. She smiled secretly.

Am I still pretty to you, Jerry... Jerome... whoever you are? Prettier now? Prettier than those other girls? Her mind and body were ablaze.

Now for the grand final, she mused.

She hooked a thumb in each side of her panties and slowly tugged downward. She knew the precise moment that the edge of her panties reached her pubic hair... then on past her now fully engorged labia. A moment later, the wisp of lace pooled around her ankles and cool air swept across her naked body in that very sensuous way, the way that she had come to love. She quickly retrieved the panties and tossed them on the bed.

The motion sound, very subtle, came again along with heavier breathing from the other side of the room.

Was he moving? Was he going to attack her? This was her most vulnerable moment. She had to be careful... vigilant.

Doris moved her hands defensively across her breasts and down to her pubis. She listened harder than she ever had in her life for a hint that might spell the difference in protecting herself or being hurt. All that she could hear, however, was her own heart pounding away. She heard nothing more. She was still safe.

Suddenly she became acutely aware that she was standing fully naked before a man for the first time in her life. On the one hand, she had a host of questions that she desperately wanted to ask of him. On the other, she felt a mad urge to bring herself to orgasm right then and there. Instead she tried frantically to do the "normal" thing.

Just put on your swimsuit, Doris, she thought.

Still she couldn't resist gently brushing her fingers across her pubic hair before doing so. Her fingers seemed to have a mind of their own. They lingered a bit too long against her burning slit.

Ok, Jerome, the show is about over. Here's one last look.

Doris turned slowly about under the guise of seeming to forget that she had already taken her swimsuit from her dresser.

That was the full view, she thought.

She then pretended to remember that her swim suit lay on the bed and felt around for it until her hand came in contact with the soft fabric.

"Ah-ha," she said aloud.

After one last pause, she slipped into the clingy garment and pulled the straps over her waiting shoulders.

What was that? she thought. A groan? Some sort of different sound.

A big smile appeared on her face.

"Doris, looks as if it is another great day for the pool," she said aloud while collecting her cane. "A terrific day! Swimming pool, here I come!"

With that, Doris grabbed her cane and breezed out of her apartment in a rush. Her heart still raced and she realized suddenly when she closed her front door behind her that she was covered in cold sweat. Instead of going to the pool, though, she silently turned back at the bottom of the stairs and hid underneath them. In a moment, the door above... her apartment door, characteristic squeak and all... opened and closed.

He was there, she smiled. He was there all the time.