Chapter 7

Party Night

I looked over Runner’s skin, especially on his face. Nearly every student needed some trimming or other adjustment, but Runner was about as physically perfect as it is possible to be. Not a hair out of place anywhere on his body. I finally decided to trim his eyebrows. They’d been fine when he was wearing a student uniform, but were just a trifle bushy for the metrosexual effect we were trying to produce.

Melissa was working on Runner’s hair, brushing it straight back and slightly up at the sides. She spent nearly ten more minutes getting the windblown look we wanted. Jana was checking Runner’s fingernails: trimmed short, but long enough for sensual scratching, with no rough edges that could hurt sensitive spots.

I checked the way Runner’s clothing fit him. I made a slight adjustment in his shirt collar, straightened his jacket, and ran a lint brush over the slacks.

Satisfied, I stood again and looked at Runner, trying to see any detail of instruction we might have forgotten. I reminded myself that it was perfectly okay if Runner seemed inexperienced; it was okay if Runner sometimes seemed not to know what to do. As usual, the reminder did no good. I felt responsible for Runner. I had brought Runner here to be a NooseMeister, and felt a strong need to see that Runner could excel in every aspect of the profession. “What do you do if you can’t tell what she wants? If you see she wants to be in control, but you don’t know what she wants you to do? If you can’t read one of the positions we showed you?”

Runner nodded slightly before speaking, responding to the drill. “I can tell her I want to be her slave for the night, and ask her to put me in the position she wants. I move any part of me in the direction she pushes it, until I’m sure I know what she wants me to do. Oh! And I do the little moan, to say I like her doing it.”

“And if something hurts?”

“I don’t say anything. If it gets too bad, and if I can’t make the hand signal, I hum like this...” He hummed three notes on a descending scale, “ ... so Melissa can hear it on her TV. Then she’ll send somebody to help. But if it’s not too much, then I don’t give any sign, but I make the other sound,” he did the short squeak of distress, “And if she didn’t mean to do it she’ll stop. If she doesn’t stop, I’ll know it’s what she wants, and I do the moan. Amy, I’ll be okay! If I do something wrong, then I’ll remember it for next time.”

As always, Runner seemed determined to take charge of his own learning process. I wanted to go on testing him, but I was just going to have to trust him on his own.

Jana looked at the clock. “Just a couple of minutes. Do you need anything else, Amy?”

I shook my head. “You two go ahead.” Jana nodded; she and Melissa took off for the monitor room. The rest of the dorm was nearly empty, most of the other Third Years had already assembled for their party entrance.

I took a deep breath, smiled, and took Runner’s hand. “You ready?” I could barely look at Runner: He looked so hot that it took all of my self control to keep from pulling him to the nearby bed and spend hours making love to him while the party went on without us.

Runner, looking excited, simply nodded.

Runner and I waited in the corridor while the Second Years entered the Party Pavilion, each receiving their share of applause, appreciative sighs and gasps. I held Runner’s hand, and used my other hand to adjust my own outfit, genuine subling-leather, chosen from the Wardrobe room to suggest an Island Slave, although sublings didn’t wear clothes on Purity Island. My top barely covered my nipples. My bottom was a loincloth, leaving my legs bare to the hips and showing nearly half my butt. I wore moccasins like farmers wore on Purity Island but better fitting.

The last of the Second Years entered. I turned to Runner and gave him a soft kiss. “Now it’s time for you to show the sailors how grateful you are for them rescuing you.”

Runner smiled and nodded. “I’m just as grateful as you are. And I like them. And it’s something new to learn. Don’t worry, I’ll make them happy.”

When the last of the applause started to die down, I took a deep breath. “Time to go in.” I gave Runner’s hand a last squeeze, and left him to wait with Melissa, who would go back to the monitor room as soon as Runner had made his entrance. Jana would be monitor for my room, Melissa for Runner’s.

I waited a little longer, then walked into the party room. Most of the guests thought the processional of hosts was over, so it took a few seconds before they reacted. A few guests who happened to be looking at the door gasped; then more turned to look at me. Applause started and quickly grew. All the guests knew me from my performances with Grant, and most knew where I had been.

I colored a little at the enthusiasm of the reception, and gestured for quiet. “I’m really glad to be back...” I said. The applause broke out again, mixed with cheers. I grinned, gestured for silence again, and gradually got it.

“I’m not here tonight to put on any sort of show, but just to thank the folks who are responsible for me being back here at the Academy.” I looked around briefly, and spotted them, near the hanging platform. “They’re right there. The captain of the boat that brought me back from the island is Justin Greene ... Raise up an arm, Justin.” The applause got louder as the guests turned to see Justin; he gave an embarrassed smile. “And standing with him are Rochelle Bailor ... Give them a sign, please, Rochelle.” An equally embarrassed Bailor raised a hand. “And Jimmy Pellis.” Pellis nodded shyly. “Everybody please join me in telling them how much we appreciate what they did for me.” I led a renewed burst of applause.

The three of them looked about the way I’d expected. All were freshly showered, Greene with his hair carefully combed, Bailor with hers tied up in a ponytail, and Pellis with his cut short, all of them looking uncomfortable in their Sunday best. I’d sent the word along to them to “dress to look nice,” which covered a lot of possible variations in clothing. The men had taken the safe approach. Probably fewer than half of the male guests were wearing suits, but there were enough of them that Greene and his crew didn’t look out of place, beyond radiating an impression that they felt out of place.

I looked around the room with a grin and said, “Okay, I’ll have another announcement in a few minutes, but for now, everybody just party!”

A gleeful shout went up around the room, and the guests resumed picking out students to chat with and arrange some private time together.

I made my way across the room. I’d meant to greet the sailors coolly, but about ten feet away I broke into a run and threw my arms around Greene, who was surprised but returned the hug. I broke away and gave hugs to Bailor and Pellis. With the two males, I could feel the hardness at the front of their trousers. Pellis, in particular, was looking around wide-eyed, turning his head rapidly to look at one student, then another, like a small child suddenly finding himself in a huge, colorfully-lit candy store. Rochelle Bailor was equally excited; I could smell her arousal.

I broke off the last hug and flashed a grin meant for all three. “Before we figure out any plans for the evening, I have a confession to make. Obviously, I meant everything I promised you, and I’ve worked on making sure you get it, but I wasn’t totally upfront about one of my traveling companions from the island. My friend’s name isn’t really Caleb.”

Greene, who had apparently been steeling himself against disillusionment, gave me a puzzled look. “Why would we care what his name is?”

I chuckled. “You’ll see. It was just a matter of being really careful. I didn’t know what your reaction might be if you knew. I’m sorry about not trusting you, but you understand I didn’t really know anything about you.” I turned around and held my arm up. “Can I have everybody’s attention again for a minute?”

Conversations quieted around the room, and I went on, “I want to introduce another person who’s very special to me, who came with me from Purity Island.” I made a beckoning gesture with my arm in the air. “This is my very, very good friend and roommate, Runner.”

In the dim light of the corridor beyond the students’ entrance, I saw Melissa give Runner a one-armed hug and pat on the shoulder. Runner, with the grin of excitement he reserved for any opportunity for a new experience, entered the room, using the walk Melissa had been teaching him. His nearly-bare chest practically glowed in the room’s bright light, and the skin-tight silk slacks drew the eye to his crotch.

The collective gasp around the room reminded me of the reaction when a breathtaking boy named Grant had entered this room for his first party several years ago.

Greene, staring at Runner, was seized with a coughing fit, holding the back of his hand over his mouth and struggling to keep standing. Pellis whispered hoarsely, “He’s a subling?” followed by a grunt as Bailor elbowed him in the ribs. “Nitwit,” she said affectionately, “Of course he’s a subling. That’s why he needed to escape from the Island.”

In the seconds following the first shock, a general movement toward Runner began as he crossed the room. I called out, “Runner is not a student yet, and he’s here tonight only for my friends from the boat. If those of you who want to spend time with him privately can have some patience, he will be a student eventually.” The convergence on Runner stopped, with several disappointed groans, and Runner was able to reach me and take my outstretched hand without mishap.

Greene said uncertainly, “The puppygirl was really a puppygirl, right?”

I laughed so hard it took some time to recover my breath. I turned back to the sailors. “So how should we do this? Usually each student at a party has three one-hour sessions from seven to ten. Does everybody want an hour with me and an hour with Runner? And an hour with another student?”

Neither Pellis nor Bailor could manage much more than an inarticulate “Umm,” unable to take their eyes off Runner. Pellis, in particular, had his gaze fixed on Runner’s crotch, that the slacks did so little to hide.

Greene was looking at me. “Meaning no disrespect to your very beautiful friend, I was hoping for a little more time than that with you.”

I smiled, genuinely happy. I was grateful to all three collectively, but it was Greene whose decision to take a chance on a girl in distress had guaranteed my rescue. I wanted to show him just how grateful I was. “We can probably arrange that.” I turned to the others. “How does this sound? Would the two of you like ninety minutes each with Runner, and spend an hour of the rest of your time with another student? I can’t guarantee you could have absolutely any one you want, because you’ve got a whole room full of members competing for their attention, but really, you can’t go wrong with any of us.”

Rochelle and Jimmy had both torn their eyes from Runner and were looking hungrily around the room. I saw Rochelle’s attention fasten on Jordan, standing about ten feet away talking with two guests. I asked, “Do you want him? The blond boy in blue?” Jordan was in a half tank-top and very short shorts with strategic rips.

Rochelle gulped and nodded.

I signaled Jordan to come over. “Jordan, do you have any chits left?”

Jordan gave me an apologetic look, and a smile to Rochelle. “I’m sorry, Amy, I just gave out the last one.”

Bert, one of the males with Jordan, had won an auction last year for my evening-long services after a performance with Grant. He smiled at me. “Amy, are you trying to arrange something for one of your friends here?”

I returned his smile. “Hi, Bert. Hoping to, yeah.”

He held up the stub of paper he was holding. “Jordan, if you’ll promise to look for me at your next party, I’m willing to give this up to help Amy out.”

Jordan nodded. “Sure. By that time I’ll be at a Third Year party, not Second Year.”

I tried to read the chit, jiggling in Bert’s hand. “What time is it for, Bert?”

Bert looked at the chit to make sure. “First hour, I think ... yes.”

I looked at Rochelle. “That okay?”

Rochelle cleared her throat. “Does that mean, like ... an hour with this boy, then wait thirty minutes, then you were saying ninety with ... ummm, Runner?” I nodded, and a smile lit Rochelle’s face. “Cool.”

Jordan gave Bert a friendly kiss. Bert smiled, waved at me, and departed to look for another boy.

Within five minutes, I had located a date for Jimmy’s last hour, a girl named Christa. We had a few minutes before it was time to go to our private rooms. Jordan, Christa, Runner and I chatted with the three sailors, who were obviously — and uncomfortably — horny. Actually, four of us chatted. Runner mostly stayed silent and observed the interactions, except when asked a direct question.

I took Justin by the hand and led him to my room for the night. I turned to him. A quick read of his face confirmed what I’d sensed in the main party room — I should be his girlfriend, with an intimate, long-standing relationship. I stroked his arm, smiling, speaking softly. “Take off that coat, Justin, loosen that tie. Wait, let me do that.” I reached up and wriggled the knot loose on his tie, freed the top button of his shirt, and caught his coat as he shrugged out of it, hanging it on the hook behind the door.

He seemed suddenly shy. Hesitantly, he said, “Your hair looks good. They did a nice job on it. Fixing it...” He trailed off.

I grinned at him. “Thank you. Would you like coffee? Something stronger?”

He blinked. “Coffee’s fine, thanks.”

I gestured; Jana would relay the order to the staff. “Now watch the magic happen. Shoulder rub while you wait?” I pulled him down gently to sit on the bed, knelt on the bed behind him, and started kneading his shoulders. I could feel him begin to relax.

Within about three minutes a kitchen slave arrived with a coffee service on a silver tray — steaming carafe, a cup already poured, creamer, packets of sugar — and set it down on a little table beside the bed. Justin picked up the cup and started sipping the coffee, black.

Still working his shoulders as he sipped, I leaned forward and lightly kissed his neck. “So how was your day? Same old same old?”

It took Justin a moment to formulate an answer. “Pretty much.”

I smiled and softly licked the spot I had kissed. “Well, let me add some sugar to it then.”

Justin blinked, staring at his cup, and then seemed to realize I wasn’t talking about coffee.

I gave him time to finish his coffee, then slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

Justin and I lay naked on the bed, facing each other, each lying atop one of the other’s arms, our bodies cooling after the intense heat of sex. I stroked his hair lightly with my other hand.

I touched my lips to his. “So why did you want to take a chance on rescuing me? I could have been a really clever island slave, fooling you. You could have got in so much trouble.”