Chapter 7

Three Weeks Later—Sunday

Runner gave my hand a squeeze as we approached the door to the party room. “Why is your party here, if they usually have it in the caf?”

I grinned. “Melissa asked the Dean if they could use the party room, because it’s bigger. Usually it’s just friends of the one who’s being hanged—like the other graduates, or if they’re a dorm parent for one of the classes, it’s the students in that class, and maybe a few others. But so many people in all the classes kept asking Melissa if they could come, and she’d decided it was just too many for the caf.”

I heard the noise in the party room from well down the hallway. If was a different sort of sound from what normally came out of that room. Usually the conversations were more muted, with members chatting with hosts and decorum prevailing, though salted with giggles. Today the room was filled with students, in noisy high spirits, awaiting the arrival of the guest of honor.

I paused in the doorway, taking in the atmosphere. I had been to so many going-away parties over the years, for acquaintances, classmates, and beloved friends. Now it’s for me! After waiting for so long, after going through so much, I couldn’t believe my own time had finally come.

Stacia, one of the First Year girls, spotted me first, and shouted above the background hubbub, “She’s here!” All around the room people looked toward the doorway, and burst into applause.

I blushed, and covered my face. The nearest students came toward me to begin the endless parade of hugs.

Melissa came over and handed me a paper plate with a pizza slice and a soft drink in a paper cup. She grinned. “Be careful with it. The place has to be spotless when we leave, and you’re the only one who doesn’t have to help with the clean-up.”

I laughed and took a bite. I was surprised; everything tasted so much better at my own party. “I promise not to leave a trail of crumbs behind me.”

Tate hugged me, then turned to Runner with a grin, and gave him a hug as well. All of the students knew who Runner was, but he was closest to the Second Year boys, because he lived in their dorm. “So how was the party last night?”

Just eighteen hours earlier, Runner had participated in a party, hosted by the First Year boys (the hall was still festively decorated from that), and had private sessions with members for the first time. The Dean, having reviewed the videos of Runner’s sessions with Pellis and Bailor once more, had surprised me and assigned Runner to party duty. Melissa, Jana and I had spent the previous two weeks coaching Runner, this time mostly in how to have conversations with members in the main room, the tutoring conducted at a less frantic pace than for the previous party. I’d asked the Dean why he didn’t want to wait until Runner was actually a student before having him work parties, then read the answer on his face before he spoke. “You want members to get to know him and know what he can do, so eventually you can start charging extra for his services!” The Dean had simply smiled.

After the party, Runner had excitedly spent hours in bed with me, reconstructing his evening for me, until at last we made love and fell asleep. I was still feeling the aftereffects of a night with too little sleep. Runner didn’t seem to be, as he launched into a slightly less detailed description of his party experience for Tate’s benefit.

I heard a bark to my right, and automatically dropped to my knees while turning—nobody could imitate Puppy. I held out my arms to give Puppy a tight squeeze while she licked my face happily. She looked adorable in the harness that Kylie, a second year girl, had designed and sewn for her. The harness consisted of soft felt straps about an inch wide, in bright pink matching Puppy’s hair and bush. A band went around her waist, with a pair of straps attached to either side coming up her back, crossing each other and attaching to the sides of another band around her neck. A second pair of straps, also attached at the sides of the waistband, came up her stomach, across her chest and attached to the sides of the neckband. The neckband was fur-lined leather, with a ring at the back for attaching a leash. Ripley, a Third Year, was holding it now.

Puppy loved the harness. It seemed she would have adored anything that made her pinker.

Ripley offered me the leash; I smiled and declined it. “She has to get used to spending time away from me.”

Ripley crouched down and stroked Puppy’s back as she continued to lick my face. Puppy could now give something resembling a normal lips-only kiss, though she still had a tendency to use her tongue as the default mode of affection.

Jana arrived and set a paper plate of pizza, sliced into bite-sized pieces, in front of Puppy, with a paper cup and straw beside it—Puppy had recently learned to use a straw, making feeding a little less messy. As Puppy began attacking the pizza, Jana stood and gave me a hug. “We still on for tonight?” We would be spending the night together, our last time alone together.

I laughed. “It’s not like we could put it off for a week or so.”

Jana grinned, her arms still around my shoulders. “I know. In a week maybe I could sleep with your leg.”

I laughed. Jana gave me a kiss, then made way for the next student—Jenny, a Third Year girl.

Jenny hugged me, and asked, “What show are you doing?”

“Well, I don’t exactly know what I’m going to do. Benjamin says it will be straightforward and doesn’t really take any advance planning. I keep trying to figure out what it might be. Maybe something like what Shawna did.”

“Oh! I heard about that. That did sound fun.”

I shrugged. “That’s just a guess. The main thing is, I trust Benjamin. I know it’ll be a nice hanging and everybody will be entertained. I’ll make sure on that last part.”

Jenny nodded. “I’ve been with Benjamin. He’s so sweet. I was thinking he hasn’t bought a grad of his own before. Has he?”

I shook my head. “The Dean says no, this is his first time. I guess he just ... I don’t know. It feels like a real honor.”

“Oh, for sure! But listen, thank you so much for all of the help over the years. And I’m not talking about the same thing as the way Grant helped. You just always ... kept us all in the right frame of mind. You reminded us how special what we’re doing is.”

My eyes started to sting, and I gave Jenny a still tighter hug. “Pass that on to the younger students, okay? Tell everybody to do that.”

“I will. We will. I promise.”

I kissed Jenny. She smiled and backed away, yielding her place to the next in line.

Nearby, Victor asked Holden and Hamish, “Are you guys really going to do hangings together? Like Grant and Amy did?” I couldn’t make out Holden’s reply, other than the giggle. Farther away, a small knot of students stood talking to Runner.

The party outlasted the refreshments. As the room slowly emptied out, Melissa and Jana persuaded several other students to tidy up the room, while a gradually shortening line waited for me.

Runner stood by me as the last half-dozen students got in words and hugs. I slipped my arm around Runner’s waist as the last of them departed for some weekend studying. I asked, “So what were you talking with Monty about?” I’d spotted a very animated Runner in conversation with Monty just before the two of them came over to me.

“Oh! He was telling me about this book he read in high school, about this girl named Sadie who figures out things the police can’t. He was asking if I’d read it yet.”

“Oh, that’s actually a bunch of books about the same girl. They’re really popular with teenagers. I don’t think the library has them, but you could check. Anyway they’ll order them if you ask.”

Runner nodded. “I’ll check later.” He frowned. “Maybe I should wait, though. I don’t want to get away from the schoolbooks too much.” Runner was concentrating more on educational texts than on recreational reading. He didn’t want to miss any standard knowledge. He was particularly interested in arithmetic, currently adding long columns of multi-digit figures and staying on the lookout for anybody willing to spend a while drilling him on multiplication flashcards.

I grinned. “In the Sadie books you’d probably learn more about what high schoolers do every day. That’s not really in schoolbooks.”

Runner’s eyes lit up. “Okay.” He took my hand. “Have we got time for some snuggling before dinner?”

I laughed and kissed him. “I do if you do.”

After Dinner

The knock on the door proved to be Jana. She was carrying a small bag and, to my surprise, looked first at Runner, seated on the bed beside me. “The caf is empty. The staff is just finishing cleaning up.”

Runner nodded, and began, “Did you bring ... Okay.” He’d spotted the bag.

I looked back and forth between them, puzzled. I could, at least, tell one thing. “You guys have something planned!” I grinned. “So what is it?”

Jana laughed. “Not telling just yet. We’re going down to the caf, in case you couldn’t tell.”

Runner sprang off the bed, grinning, and offered me his hand.

I shrugged, and let Runner pull me up to my feet. “I’m up for whatever. I guess.” I felt a little disappointed. The evidence pointed to another of the occasional sessions of Jana tied up in the caf, available to be played with. I’d been hoping for some ... alone time with her.

The four of us—Melissa came along—walked down to the caf together. I tried to read whatever I could in the other three, but whatever was happening was too complex for anything specific to show on their faces.

We arrived at the caf, empty of both staff and students. Melissa put up the “Private Party” sign at the door, to prevent anyone entering for the moment, and led us inside, closing the door behind us. I wondered whether any student was misled by the sign anymore—in the interests of candor, they probably should have made a sign saying “Getting Jana Set Up.” Everyone would have understood.

One of the tables was already draped in plastic wrap. Jana walked eagerly toward that one, stood beside it and began stripping out of her uniform, while Melissa began rooting around in the bag Jana had dropped on the floor.

Naked now, Jana climbed onto the table and lay on her side; I was a little surprised: this looked like a position I’d never seen before.

Runner turned to me, grinning. “Now you. Take off your clothes.”

My jaw dropped. “What? What’s going on?”

Jana began laughing, and propped herself on her elbow, looking up at me. Then her face became earnest. “Amy, this is my last time being with you. I’ll always remember you, and all of the really special things you’ve done for me and Melissa. Tonight I want to try to get closer to you than I’ve ever been, and I don’t mean in the physical sense. I mean, physical is going to be part of it, but the plan is, I want you to spend part of the night in my world with me, and I’ll spend the other part of the night in your world with you.”

“Ummm...” I looked at Runner; he gave me a go-ahead gesture; I unhooked my bra, bent over to take off my shoes and socks, then tried again to read Jana’s face. I gave up. “I’m not sure exactly what you mean.”

Jana beamed at me. “You’ll see.”

While I was pushing down my shorts and panties, Melissa withdrew several pieces of equipment from the bag. Some sort of head harness with leather straps. A gag of some sort, I guessed, but not one I was familiar with. Some of the straps connected to a hard rubber double-ended dildo, others formed a headband, and others connected it all together. The short end of the dildo fit into the wearer’s mouth, and the straps held it there. The long end of the dildo projected directly outward from the wearer’s mouth. Melissa fastened one of them to Jana, whose lips curled upward around the gag. Jana’s eyes grew steadily brighter as they always did at the start of one of her bondage games. She was staring right at me, but I was still puzzled. I could think of several possible uses for the harness, but couldn’t figure out which one was intended tonight.

After Melissa finished with Jana’s harness, Runner bent over the bag and pulled out a second, identical harness. “This one’s for you.”

My eyes went wide. “What?”

Jana, on her side again, grunted insistently around her gag, her eyes on me.

I never minded being tied, hands and occasionally feet, when hanging was involved. It was all part of the process, and the joy, of hanging. I had sometimes been tied up by club members in private sessions at parties. It wasn’t my favorite thing, but I enjoyed giving a member what he/she wanted.

Now all of my friends would be using me for their amusement, it would be embarrassing as hell. I knew how much Jana adored it. But that was Jana.

I began shivering. Runner was looking at me, holding the harness, waiting for a physical signal that I was okay with this. I felt frozen, unable to give that signal.

And just as suddenly as the paralysis had come over me, it washed away. Jana had just stated the obvious herself: this was her way of feeling close to me, and I wanted that closeness, this week, not just with Jana but with everyone I loved the most. And as for feeling embarrassed ... I giggled. I’ll be dead in less than a week. Embarrassment is just enhanced self-consciousness. I want to be conscious of myself, my being. It makes giving it up that much more special.

I smiled at Runner. Runner grinned back and began securing the harness around my head. He did it quickly—either he had practiced it beforehand, or ... well ... he’d just watched Melissa do it. With Runner, seeing something once was all it usually took.

The gag filled my mouth so completely that I wasn’t able to make any remotely intelligible sound. And I was already starting to drool.

Melissa, grinning, said, “Okay, get up on the table, facing Jana—no, other way. Yeah, like that...”

Fifteen Minutes Later

Now I knew what the harnesses were for. I wriggled a little, trying to get comfortable, and saw Jana’s reaction. Her butt clenching and her labia quivering—that was almost the only thing I could see.

Runner had just finished with the last tie, and Melissa patted me on the hip. “You doing okay?”

“Hm hm hm.” Even my giggles were muffled.

Runner looked up from the bag. “Where’s the tape?”

“Oh!” Melissa pulled the tape dispenser out of her pocket. “One time it unwound a little in the bag and got tangled up with the ropes. So I keep it separate.”

Runner took the tape, and taped a sheet of paper to one side of the table. I could see that much, but not what it said. But I could predict the contents in general: Instructions and/or suggestions for how Jana and I should be treated.

Melissa bent and kissed Jana on the hip, whispering, “I love you, honey.” Jana hummed a pair of musical tones that I assumed were a “love you” response, and wriggled. The movement created a thrill of pleasure in my pussy.

Runner gave me a hip kiss of his own, saying, “I love you, Amy,” while Melissa gathered up our clothes and stuffed them into the bag.

Melissa said casually, a laugh in her voice, “Okay, Runner and I are going back to my room to watch a couple of movies. The second one is pretty sexy, so we might get a little involved with each other after. Anyway, see you later.”

She’s serious! We’ll be in here three, maybe four hours! I’d visualized more like one hour. I called “Hmmmm!” after them as they walked away, hand in hand. I was trying to yell “wait,” but “Hmmmm!” was all I could manage. Melissa gave a cheery wave at the door, then she and Runner walked out into the hallway, the door closing softly behind them.

I thought they’d stay and watch! I moaned to myself. I felt very alone, and clung tightly to Jana. Jana was already reacting to my movements, and her movements stimulated me!

We were tied lying on our sides, facing each symmetrically other in opposite directions. My head was between Jana’s legs, my arms wrapped tightly around her waist. My left wrist was tied behind Jana’s back to my right upper arm just above the elbow, and the same for my right wrist and left arm. There was a short rope between my knees, holding my thighs tight around Jana’s head, and I knew how Jana felt, because I had her thighs squeezing my ears. Another rope ran from my knees to my arms, so I couldn’t straighten my legs at the hip. My ankles were crossed and tied, not that I could have used them for much.

The dildo sticking out of my mouth was buried full length inside Jana’s pussy, and another rope kept me from pulling my head out of her crotch. I could pull back a few inches, nowhere near enough to pull the dildo out of her vagina.

And of course Jana was tied to me in exactly the same way.

Even the slightest movement would cause my head to change position and move the dildo inside Jana—maybe a few millimeters, maybe more. Jana twitched in response to my every movement, giving me that same tickling, teasing feeling between my legs. Then I would wriggle again, continuing the cycle.

My senses seemed scrambled. Sight and sound, usually the busiest senses, were useless. I could see an extreme close-up of the skin of Jana’s buttocks and labia, with the dildo going into her. The only sound was Jana’s soft squeaks and gasps. And I was making the same noises whenever she twitched! But my other senses felt like the volume knob was turned to maximum gain. I could feel heat and tingling on every inch of my skin, and not just where Jana was rubbing against me. I could taste the milky foam of self-lubrication leaking from Jana’s pussy, and I had the same fluids in my own pussy. Both dildoes slid in and out without noticeable friction. Above all else was the smell of sex, my own and Jana’s. It aroused me to a higher level of sensual need than I could ever remember experiencing before.