Chapter 29

While I went to bed happy that night, my dreams were anything but. Chased, scared, cold, and alone ... that’s what I felt as my dreams shifted back to twisted nightmares that I’d hoped had left me for good. Darkness hovered around me, shrouding me from the light and warmth I craved as I ran through unfamiliar woods, bounding over logs and under brush to escape a pursuing predator.

The world seemed so big, or maybe I was just small. The frozen winter landscape, filled with dead leaves and scrub, flew past me. My heart raced as I tried to outrun and outmaneuver my unseen foe. Fear filled my ears, blocking out most sounds beyond the crunch of the leaves and snow under my grey feet. I didn’t know how much longer I could go on. I needed to rest, but I knew I couldn’t. If I stopped, it would get me. Yet despite the danger, a part of me wished to just lie down and let nature take its course. I pushed those thoughts from my mind, knowing it would lead to the end. And I ran on.

In the distance, the glow of a small fire caught my frantic attention as I leaped over a broken tree branch. Cold and hoping for refuge, I turned in its direction. I could suddenly hear the sound of wolves behind me; barking, howling, and gnashing their teeth. I knew they’d devour me, should I be caught, so I tried to bound faster towards the safety of the fire. Each of my leaps seemed to land me deeper and deeper into the snowpack, covering more and more of my body. My long ears could hear the wolf pack growing closer. I had to get to the safety of the fire.

On the apogee of my leap, I could have sworn I saw Riley warming her hands around the fire. I tried to call out and ask for help, but all I could do was squeak and squeal. If it was Riley, she couldn’t hear or understand me. I had to get to the fire for her help and warn her about the approaching wolves. I was moving as fast as I could, but my hind legs had started to freeze from the cold. With each bound, I was barely able to clear the snow, making my sprint to safety more difficult.

‘Give up and give in ... let them eat your tail’ the voice in my head shouted louder. I wanted to cover my ears with my paws as my whiskers twitched from the cold. I was only a few yards from the fire, the light just out of reach. I was tired and just wanted to lie down. It was hard to go on, even being as close as I was. The urge to give in was strong, but with my final ounce of strength, I vaulted as hard as I could and landed next to the fire.

My eyes had closed from exhaustion, but I tried to open them to see Riley, warn her about the approaching wolves. I didn’t want her eaten either. I struggled against the blinding light of the fire, my eyes still adjusting from the darkness from which I escaped. I looked up, hoping to see Riley’s smiling face but instead saw my longtime friend Val. She looked down at me curiously, like I was a pet or something, and reached down to pick me up.

I wiggled, but her grasp was too tight. She placed me on her knee and stroked my grey fur, holding me firmly so I couldn’t escape. It felt good, I had to admit, as she stroked me from my ears down to my tail. I let myself be warmed by her embrace as my body thawed from the cold. I twitched my nose, finally having a moment to breathe. That’s when I realized ... I was a rabbit.

I didn’t have time to contemplate this turn of events when my ears shot up at the sound of a breaking branch in the distance. I turned my head in the direction of the noise and looked out into the encroaching darkness all around us, scanning the horizon for movement and danger. A pair of hungry glowing eyes soon reflected the light of the fire as a growl emitted from the surrounding woods. It sounded like a call to a feast, as another set of eyes flickered into existence from the dark, murky woods; then another, and another. We were surrounded.

I felt my fur stand on end as I watched with growing panic. Surrounded by a sea of glowing eyes, I was trapped. I looked up to warn my friend of the danger we were in, but I could only squeak in fear. Looking down at me was Val’s shimmering eyes, alight and glowing from the nearby fire. Her look sinister with her teeth bared, and she hardly resembled my longtime friend.

“Just let us eat you,” she said through her now fanged teeth.

Suddenly, the light of the fire started to dim, and the eyes around us stalked closer and closer. I squeaked and struggled under the weight of her large grey paws, kicking back legs with all my might ... but it was no use.

“I bet you taste really good,” said Val, as she lowered her snout towards me. The only light I could see was from the dying flicker of the fire and the bright eyes around me. I braced for the end as I felt Val’s mouth on my tail.

I shot up from my pillow, gasping for breath as I looked around my darkened room. The faint light from the streetlights snuck around my curtains, causing a now unsettling orange glow. My bed and sheets were soaked with sweat; my hair was wet and messy, partially draped over my face. I brushed it aside as my heart beat rapidly in my chest, my memories of the dream slowly fading to just vague impressions of emotions of fear and my old friend anxiety. I knew it all too well.

Everything felt wet. I climbed out of bed, naked as the day I was born, and pulled out the towel I kept aside for visits to Brad’s. I wiped myself down. The soft fibers of the towel made my body tingle. I was hot from the nightmare and cool from the night air combined with my sweat. I felt a chill run down my back as I dried off my chest. My nipples stood out hard as diamonds, and I groaned slightly at my own touch.

I couldn’t tell if I was still scared from the dream or what, so I just continued to wipe myself down. I found extra wetness between my legs, which I found confusing. Was I actually turned on by that weird dream? Did I like being chased and hunted?

I didn’t want to think about that or examine it any deeper, for fear of what I’d find out about myself. I think I was too scared about the things I was already doing to want to dive into any other twisted stuff. I moved the towel down my legs till I was as dry as I could get, then moved around my bed and climbed into the other, less-wet side of the bed; most recently, Riley’s side. As I pulled the sheets over me, I wished more than anything she was there beside me to make me feel better. She was my last thought as I drifted back off to sleep.

I awoke the next morning tired and groggy. I slept fitfully for the rest of the night until I finally woke up. I felt a hunger in my belly for some breakfast, and despite the previous night’s activities with Brad, a yearning in my pussy for a filling of its own. It was strange, I usually was quite satisfied after a night of lustful pleasures, but I couldn’t help but feel a growing need for more. It was disconcerting and pulled at the corners of my mind during my waking hours.

It was like I’d been turned up to max heat of late, and I found myself wanting it more and more. As I lay in bed, I looked at my phone and thought about the pictures collected there. When I reached for it and flipped to the first couple, I felt the familiar tingle down below as my hands wanted to travel down to stoke the fires. I resisted though, as the pain in my stomach outweighed the lust in my heart - and lower. Reluctantly, I got out of bed, put on some clothes, and left the confines of my bedroom and into the new day.

It was a difficult couple of days until the morning of my next shift. Without work, there was nothing but time to kill and idle hands are the devil’s playthings and ... well, my hands were less than idle most of those days. Beyond my morning runs, I found myself locked in a cycle of lustfully staring at the pictures on my phone, hungrily wishing to feel that same sense of carnal excitement again. My fingers and toys were shoved inside me on a regular basis, desperately trying to satiate my ever-growing lust. It was no use.

By the time of my next shift on Thursday, I was struggling to keep it together. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen at the end of the night with Crystal, but I needed something to happen. I needed the touch of another, as I’d grown tired of my own. All I knew for certain was that she’d have to try on an outfit for me, and I was going to get the chance to see what her sexy body truly looked like.

I left for work at the normal time, having made sure to dress as sexily as I could in a little black skirt and tight white blouse with the first two buttons undone. Underneath, I wore a set of the new underwear we’d picked out on my last shift; a very sexy matching white bra and panty combo that left little to the imagination. The outline of my nipples was clearly visible through the white lace, and the cleft of my pussy could be seen through the bottom of the panties. I looked less like a retail employee and more like a street worker, if someone happened to look at me from the right angles.

It felt dangerous to go out like that, but more importantly, I felt sexy. I couldn’t believe my transformation from anxious virgin girl to sexed-up lingerie store worker, but I did like the confidence boost it had provided. A lot of that improvement couldn’t have been done without Riley, so I snapped a couple pics of myself and sent them to her before I headed out the door to work.

I could feel the eyes of men I passed fall upon me, staring at my legs, tits, and ass as I strutted down the street on a busy Thursday afternoon. My short black pumps clicked on the concrete as I strolled, head held high as the warm sun shone down on my face. My phone buzzed in my purse, so I pulled it out, and saw Riley’s reaction to the pictures I sent her.

“So fuckin’ hot!” she said with several fire emojis. It was quickly followed by the picture of a familiar looking erect penis. “Dad likes it too! Visit soon, please?!?!”

“As soon as I can.” I replied with a smile. I hadn’t seen Curtis in a while and I could certainly use a getaway from everything here to visit them, if I didn’t have to work. It was a double-edged sword, having a job. It was great to start saving money for the future, but it also meant I had less free time to do things like run off to visit Riley or hang out with my friends. Granted, I was still avoiding Val for the time being, since I wasn’t sure what her intent was after our last time hanging out. The recent dream I had certainly didn’t help matters either, not that I could blame her directly for my imagination ... could I?

As I approached work, my head was still swimming with thoughts of a visit out to Riley’s. I was about a block away when I heard someone yelling a name in the distance ... but it wasn’t mine, so I didn’t turn to look.

“RILEY?!?” the voice yelled louder from up a walkway to the right. Curious who this voice was yelling to, I turned to look in its direction. There, a person waved wildly in my direction as he ran this way towards me. I turned and looked behind me but didn’t see anyone. As he approached though, I thought he looked familiar.

“RILEY! Is that you?” he said as he approached slightly out of breath as he neared.

“I think you have the wrong person, my name’s Jane...” I replied questioningly, staring at him straining to put a name to his face. He was very familiar but I just couldn’t pin down where I knew him from, and it made me feel stupid.

“Jane? Oh sorry! It’s me, Brian!” he said with a winded smile, and I suddenly put everything together.

“BRIAN! How are you?” I said cheerfully, finally recognizing Ross’ roommate. I quickly put my arms around him and hugged my former protector.

“Good good, you know, trying to get by after...”

“I never did get to thank you for what you did for Riley and me. Hopefully things are still good between you and Ross,” I said as I remembered how angry Ross had become when he discovered the trick we girls pulled. It could have gone very badly if Brian hadn’t stepped in when he did.

“Uh ... Not so much, actually. I just handed him my key to the apartment after I moved my stuff out. Guy was a jerk anyway.”

“I’m so sorry,” I replied. I felt quite bad that I’d ruined their friendship and living arrangement with my stupid swap idea.

“It’s ok, really. I’m just happy you and Riley got out safely. I moved back home with my parents for now, but I’m hoping to find something new in the next few months. How have you been?”

“I’m ok. Got a job and I’m trying to save up money to get a place with Riley. We want to live together in the city, so I’m starting to save now,” I smiled happily. He seemed less nervous and shy since the last time I saw him. He was kind of cute in a nerdy sort of way.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you. Just thought I’d say hi. Tell Riley ‘Hi’, too,” he said and started to turn away, but I reached out and touched his arm.

“Brian wait...” he stopped and turned around. “You know it was me you were with that day, right?”

“I get confused sometimes but yeah...” he said with a warm smile but started shuffling his feet awkwardly.

“Do you ever ... think about that day?” I asked curiously.

“You mean, like what happened?”

I stepped closer, “More like, what might have happened, if Riley and I hadn’t been discovered...”

Brian noticeably gulped. His expression changed, and he no longer looked me in the eye. He seemed to be looking everywhere else than at me, but he did nod his head.

“I think about it all the time, but I know I did the right thing,” he said quietly.

I took another step closer, my body nearly pressing against his. I felt a bulge in his pants poke me into my stomach which excited me further. I leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I think you should be rewarded for your good deed. Wanna finish what we started?”

He looked at me. His eyes opened so wide I thought they might pop out in disbelief. “You- you mean it? You don’t have to I mean if you want to but you don’t have to you aren’t bound by any rule or pact or anything I don’t mean I don’t want to or anything but you don’t have to of course I’m just saying that you are free to say no or whatever,” he stammered in a sentence so long he started to turn red as he spoke, or maybe that was just the embarrassment on his face.

I leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “I’d be more than happy to,” I said softly in his ear. “ ... but I do need to get to work. Here...” I pulled out my phone from my purse and told him to put in his number so I could text him later. His fingers typed so fast you’d have thought they were on fire before handing it back to me.

I winked at him, “Thanks, Brian. I’ll text you later.”

“Bye Ri- I mean Jane...” he said with a big goofy grin on his face. “Where do you work by the way?” he suddenly asked.

“Oh, over there at Hidden Miss,” I said, gesturing my head towards the store.