Chapter 1

Alan Hamilton nosed his car into the traffic headed north from the city. He'd flown in an hour before, but he had deliberately arrived early; he wasn't due uptown until the next morning. Now, following a secondary road that wound alongside the river, he began to second guess the reasons for avoiding his usual downtown hotel...

"Man," Jack Travers had insisted, "It's the greatest! You check in, make yourself available on the system, and wait for some lonesome chick to pop up. Then it's simple sex, anonymous, no hassles; she wants it or you wouldn't be there, so you don't have to play stupid games. Worst case, you get a really good hooker - apparently, they cull out the losers..."

Alan shook himself out of his reverie - he had to be getting close... It took another two miles, but the place was hard to miss - a big sign proclaiming "Friendly Traveler's Inn" situated before a modern building. To the right of the lobby enclosure, the front windows were steamed - a sure sign that there was a pool. Well, Jack had said there was - two, actually, one for families and one for more intimate gatherings...

Alan pulled up and parked, not bothering with the limited portico parking; he was too much of a traveler not to know that using the place meant an extra trip to re-park the car. His travel case settled on its wheels, and he grasped the handle and turned for the entrance, the carry-on's wheels bumping across the lot's decorative cobbles.

Inside, the lobby was very nice, without being absolutely posh; Alan had stayed in Hiltons that were less well-appointed. The clerk was attentive, and the only indication of the hotel's odd and theoretically seedy nature was a small, tastefully lettered sign beside the registration desk that said, 'New in town? Not looking forward to another night alone in a strange place? Try our unique Guest Hosting Service! Channel 22 on the in-room television.' Alan collected his key and made his way to the elevators behind registration, veering to the right to do so in order to collect a glance at the facilities en route. As he turned to his left to circle back to the elevators, he looked to his right, through the steamy glass door at the kids frolicking in the swimming pool. The size of the pool left him dubious as to the supposed adult facilities, but as he followed the short hallway back, he discovered a sign that said 'Adult Facilities - Adult Guests with Key-Cards Only' at the end of the hallway. Again turning left, he planted himself before the elevator bank.

After a moment, the doors to the left elevator popped open to emit a heavyset brunette in her late thirties or early forties in a terry bathrobe, flip-flops, and obviously nothing else. Even if Alan couldn't see the huge quantity of bare skin she was displaying through the gaps in the loosely belted robe as it draped over her heavy breasts, the aura of embarrassed excitement she was exuding or the look on the face of the balding black man that followed her from the elevator was a dead giveaway. "We're going to try out the Jacuzzi!" she gushed, then colored brightly and dashed on. The black gentleman just smiled, and he and Alan shared a knowing nod. Alan entered the elevator, reflecting that she'd have done just fine handling HIS action - maybe this place WAS the ticket, after all! Even money said the fellow had been mauling those jugs of hers in the elevator...

Alan's fourth floor room was nicely appointed; it managed to be a step up from motel standard, for which he was grateful. He settled in, unpacking his bag and deploying his shaving kit in the bathroom, and then sat down before the TV, collecting the remote.

The first oddity was the fact that the TV was situated on a desktop, rather than the bureau or a simple table. Alan had seen them enclosed in armoires, too, but this one sat on a single pedestal desk, the drawers to which were unaccountably locked... Alan used the remote to turn on the set, and turned to Channel 22. The screen depicted a fairly standard web page setup, announcing:

"Welcome to Guest Hosting, the Friendly Traveler's Inn's unique Guest Matching service! There is no need to sit in your room alone; through Guest Hosting, you can meet another guest for dinner, conversation, group and family activities, or more adult pursuits. Match yourself with another guest with similar pursuits in mind, having selected this person anonymously in the comfort of your room. Guest Hosting removes the uncertainty and confusion from the situation - you know in advance what your guest or host is interested in doing - no need to beat around the bush; you can go right to enjoying one another's company! Our menuing system allows you to select the activities and hotel facilities that pique your interest, then view a selection of guests interested in the same things. When you have selected one or more candidates, the system notifies these individuals of your willingness to meet with them, anonymously, saving you the embarrassment of 'hit or miss' contact."

Below this were instructions on using the system, including which buttons on the remote unlocked the lap drawer, revealing a keyboard to be used to navigate the menuing system. There were several headers, including 'Safety'. Alan used the remote to select the item, and the following message appeared:

"Guest Hosting is anonymous - whether you share your name with the other guest(s) involved is totally up to you. You enter a name into the system, and a random number is attached to it - this is the name used to identify you to the system and other guests. However, WE, the staff, KNOW who you are, and have other identifying information regarding you, such as credit card and driver's license data - in the event of an incident of some type, the staff, while they will not release your personal information to another guest, will cooperate fully with law enforcement officials to see that illegal activity is properly dealt with. This allows a finely balanced combination of safety and anonymity for your Guest Hosting activities. Relax and enjoy yourself!"

Alan pursed his lips, scratched his chin, and executed the key combination on the remote. The lap drawer popped open, revealing a mouse and keyboard, and the prompt, "Enter a first name to be known by:" appeared on the screen. Alan shrugged; he was divorced, and had no real reason to hide his identity, so he keyed in "Alan" and hit the Enter key. The screen responded with "You are Alan 136! Press F1 to continue." Alan did so, and was presented with: "Do you want to (1) Host, (2) Visit or (3) Either one. Select a number, or hit Esc to leave Guest Hosting." Alan shrugged, and hit the '3' key.

The next menu said, "Please describe yourself. You are a:" followed by a series of radio buttons marked Male, Female, Transgender, Couple, and Other. The 'Other' option had a text box next to it, presumably to allow people in whatever odd status might require it to explain their unique situation. There were also fields for age, height, and weight, and radio buttons for race, smoking and drinking preferences. Alan shrugged and clicked on 'Male', filled in his age, height and weight, ( at forty, he was six feet tall, and right at two hundred pounds - not big at all for his height), selected 'Caucasian', Non-Smoker', and 'Light-Drinker', and the system continued, presenting a new menu, this time with check boxes: "You are looking to meet a:" The options this time were Male, Female, Transgender, Couple, Group, Family, and Other. There was also a second box of checkboxes for age, organized in five year ranges, from twenty-one to eighty-plus. At the bottom of the screen, the following appeared in a box marked 'Help': "You may make more than one selection. The system recognizes that you may be open to multiple things; for instance, you may want to Visit a Female for Adult Pursuits, but would be willing to Host a Male for Dinner. When you have input this scenario, the system will ask you if you wish to input another." Alan was somewhat bemused by the selections - Transgender? Amazing... He chuckled and limited his selection to 'Female', and selected the four age ranges that set his target ages from thirty to fifty, clicking the 'Continue' button displayed on the screen.

The next screen displayed a plethora of activities, grouped in three columns, 'Private', 'Group-Adult', and 'Group-Family'. Sex wasn't mentioned specifically - the closest the system came was 'Intimacy', but 'Nude Sauna', 'Nude Bathing' and 'Nude Jacuzzi' appeared under both Private' and Group- Adult'. Innocuous items like 'Dining' and 'Conversation' appeared under all three headings, and 'Party or Function' appeared for both types of groups. Alan found himself wondering if merely selecting 'Intimacy' was too limiting, so he selected the nude activities under both the 'Private' and 'Group-Adult' columns, just to see what would happen. A notice popped up to indicate that private use of the facilities must be scheduled and that preference was given to group activities, for obvious reasons. There was also a notice that the presence of children in the room made the adult columns un selectable; the hotel couldn't be responsible for adult activities in the presence of minors - but the notice went on to read, "Child care is available, and concurrent with it is a release on these restrictions. Contact Guest Services for details." When Alan selected 'Continue', there was a click, and the drawer in the pedestal unlatched. On the screen appeared the following message: "Selection of 'Intimacy' enables the availability of a selection of birth control devices and adult toys from the pedestal drawer. Prophylactics are complimentary, and their use is encouraged - other items will be charged to your room. These items are stocked in bulk and are thus reasonably priced according to the following list:" Alan perused the list; the assertion that the pricing was fair was more than accurate - a surprise, since the hotel industry had irritated him on more than one occasion by charging him $3.00 for a can of soda from an 'honor bar'. At the bottom of the list was the entry "Other items, including adult party games, are available upon request, but may have special requirements; restraints, for instance, require a signed release." Alan shook his head; the stuff in the drawer - rubbers, contraceptive foam, two different vibrators, a couple of dildos, anal plugs, a selection of flavored and unflavored lubricants, and apparently edible panties - was MORE than enough! He clicked the 'Next' button.

Next, the screen depicted a small picture of him in the upper right corner of the screen and he was presented with the following prompt: "You now have the option of having a still picture or a short introductory video created for other guests to examine during the Guest Hosting Guest Selection process. Only guests participating in Guest Hosting may see the picture, and only then if your description meets their basic criteria. Double-click on the thumbnail picture to present a larger picture, and select the 'Still' or 'Video' option, then click 'Enter' to take a still picture or the 'Start' button to begin recording a short video. The microphone for video recording is embedded in the monitor before you and adjusted to pick up clear speech plainly when you are seated at the desk. You may re-do either option by hitting 'ESC' or the 'Cancel' button. Save your picture or video by selecting 'Continue'. You MUST provide a visual depiction of yourself to continue with Guest Hosting."

Looking closely at the TV, Alan discovered the camera lens in the control box atop it - it wasn't exactly obvious. It led Alan to wonder if it could be remotely activated. There was a door in the control box - it hadn't been exposed before; if it was, Alan figured he could assume it was working... Shrugging, he double-clicked on his image, combed his hair with his fingers a bit, and hit 'Enter'. The resulting picture didn't appear to be too horrible, so he clicked 'Continue'.

The next screen was titled "The Hosting Process", and presented the following description:

"The next screen presents three areas: Hosts, Visitors, and Groups. It presents statistics regarding the number of Hosts, Visitors, and Groups that meet your criteria, as well as totals in each area. You may discover that your criteria are either too loose or too estrictive. If this occurs, select 'Change My Scenarios' to return to your scenarios and edit them. The Guest Hosting process proceeds as follows: Visitors examine Host pictures and interests, and request an Invitation from the Host. Hosts examine the pictures and interests of Visitors requesting an invitation, select a compatible Visitor, and issue an Invitation. The Visitor then chooses from among the proffered Invitations, and Accepts one. Upon Acceptance of the invitation, the Visitor is provided with the Host's location and the Visit begins. You remain active on the system until you select 'End Guest Hosting'; however, unless the Host is hosting a Group, the ost's status will be indicated as 'unavailable'."

"Clicking the 'Hosts' button will cause the Hosts window to expand to full screen, depicting individual Hosts and how many Visitors are requesting an invitation from each Host. This allows a prospective Visitor to gauge his or her chances of success with a given host. Double-clicking on a Host's picture will present an enlarged view of the Host's photo, along with the Host's description and interests. If the Host has created a Video, a 'Video' button will appear, and may be used to play it. To request an invitation, click 'Request'. You will be returned to the Hosts view and the Host's picture will be highlighted. To cancel a Request, double-click on the Host's picture and click 'Cancel'. Again, you will be returned to the Hosts view."

"If a Host responds by proffering an Invitation, their picture will begin to flash. Double-clicking on it will present the Host's details nd the options 'Accept', 'Decline' and 'Cancel'. Click 'Accept' to Accept the Invitation; at this point, the Host's room number and telephone extension are displayed, and you may contact the Host, or just appear at the Host's room, if you prefer. Any special instructions that the Host wishes to leave will pop up in a Chat window; if you need to communicate with the Host, the 'Chat' option is available from this screen, 'Decline' retracts your 'Request' - the Host will be notified that you cannot Visit. 'Cancel' merely returns you to the Hosts screen."

"If you are Hosting, the Visitors screen depicts Visitors that meet the criteria of your Interests. Visitors posting a Request are highlighted, similar to Hosts proffering Invitations on the Hosts screen. Double-clicking on a Visitor's picture displays the Visitor's description and Interests. You may Invite a Visitor by clicking on the 'Invite' button in this view, or got back to the Visitors screen by clicking 'Cancel'. If the Visitor Accepts your Invitation, the Visitor's telephone extension will be provided. You may provide special instructions to the Visitor using telephone, or by using the 'Chat' button. You may proffer more than one Invitation, but if you do, and more than one Visitor Accepts, you are creating a Group and your information moves from the Hosts screen to the Groups screen. Group Hosts are provided additional options as discussed in the Groups screen below."

"The Groups screen depicts active Groups; the Host is not identified - a Group number is assigned and that is the Group's sole dentification. Groups may meet in the Host's room or in Public locations, as they are available (See Scheduling). Clicking on a group's number on the Groups screen opens a window that provides information and the shared Interests of the Group members; if the Host chooses, pictures of Group members may also be displayed. Groups in Adult Public locations may also choose to allow Visitors to view their current activities at the discretion of the Group Host; if this option is selected, a 'View' button appears in this view. The Group's Host ay continue to issue Invitations all through the duration of the Visit. Adult Public locations include special facilities to allow this."

Alan pondered this information - it was quite a bit to absorb, but it appeared to cover most cases. There were some pretty interesting options, especially for groups! He read on...

"Scheduling: A Host or a Group Host may Schedule the use of an Adult Public location, (these locations include the Adult Pool, Jacuzzi, auna, Fitness Center and an Adult room in the Restaurant, where bar service is available). Preference is given to Groups, but if an Adult Public location is not scheduled by a Group, a Host may schedule it for a private Visit. A Visit may occur in a Family Public location at any time; however, Adult activity is prohibited in Family areas. This should not present a limitation as all Family Public locations are duplicated for Adult Public use. The Host may schedule an Adult location by selecting the 'Schedule' button, which will open a screen depicting available locations and times. Family locations cannot be scheduled in the Guest Hosting system as they are in use by the entire uest population. Please be courteous - do not schedule an Adult location if you do not plan Adult Activity."

There was a 'Continue' button below this information; Alan clicked on it and the three-part screen opened. Alan clicked on 'Visitors', and was unsurprised to discover that none of the female visitors depicted had requested an invitation. Well, it was early; besides, maybe this wasn't the way to do it... He backed out of the Visitors screen and clicked the 'Hosts' button. There were three female Hosts displayed, one rather heavy, unappetizing white female, a narrow black woman in leather and holding a whip (!) and a shy-looking Indian woman identified as Deepti 376, who had 37 requests pending. Things weren't exactly wild...

Alan didn't bother with Deepti - he was virtually certain to be outgunned. Instead, he backed out and clicked the Groups button. Hmmmm, Group 686 was in the Adult Jacuzzi... The description said one woman and two men. Alan clicked on the group number and the window expanded to display the heavyset brunette and the black man from the elevator, and another fellow, white, late thirties, balding, insincere smile... 'Loser, ' Alan thought. 'The woman is better off with the black guy.' There was a 'View' button; Alan clicked it, grinning. A new window opened, obviously a webcam view; the woman, a beatific smile on her face was raising and lowering herself on the black gentleman's lap, while the white guy suckled at her huge left breast, holding it steady in both hands. Alan chuckled, wondering how much fun one woman could have; apparently, the group was still capable of proffering invitations... He watched a moment, but figured that he'd wait a bit before succumbing to temptation and becoming just another member of her male harem, no matter how sweet-faced she was.

Backing out to the main Groups screen, he noted that most groups were dining, and currently limited to more social pursuits. So much for wild and crazy fun, although, to be fair, it was early, and a Monday night. Back to the Hosts screen, where Deepti 376 was up to 39 requests, but the black woman in leather was now unavailable; well, THAT was no loss! Alan shuddered. Being beaten wasn't on his top ten list of salacious activities...

There was a blip, and a new Host appeared, a Pam 887. Alan double- clicked on the thumbnail picture and expanded it to display a thin, fortyish woman with gray-streaked brown hair pulled into a bun, dressed in a high- necked white blouse and a skirt...

Pam 887 was Pamela Langston. She was a relative local, who worked in the city, but lived less than fifteen miles from the Inn, where she shared a house with a heavyset brunette named Margot whom she had met at a previous job. Currently, Pamela worked in the accounting department of a rather stodgy insurance firm which, more than anything else, explained her librarianesque outfit; between the firm's rules on behavior and conduct and the long hours she spent there, she really had little need for a more modern wardrobe. Pamela had never been a fatal attractor of men; serious care and support of a sister and two younger brothers from an early age had painted lines of responsibility on her already unremarkable face (well, aside from the sharply pointed nose - she'd have been better off TRULY unremarkable) and imbued her with quantities of caution guaranteed to see to it that she never did anything the least bit exciting or adventurous. Men were... out - they didn't even see her. Add a little bit of perfectionism, which is seldom endearing on the personal front, and you have a woman thoroughly lacking in male companionship.

Margot had been a big help. Soon after they'd met, in the billing department of a local hospital, they'd hit it off and become fast friends, to the point of sharing the rent on, and eventually buying, a house together. Margot's size made her horizons as limited as Pamela's in general, but she was a much braver soul, going out to the local bars every weekend and occasionally bringing home a live one, usually some worthless sod that Pamela could laughingly deprecate while Margot suffered through her Sunday morning hangover - which didn't keep her from masturbating vigorously while listening to the moans and the bedsprings squeaking in Margot's room. It was Margot who would frequent the local adult video store, coming home tittering and lugging the latest adult toys and a couple of rental videos that she would subsequently allow Pamela to 'borrow' before she took them back - and it was Margot who had discovered the Inn in a local adult paper.

Truth to tell, without Margot, Pamela would never have even HAD a sex life; she'd dragged Pamela out to the bars on a number of occasions using the excuse that she needed someone sober to drive her home. And on more than one occasion, she'd gotten Pamela drunk enough to get brave and crawl out of her shell. At least once, a dozen years before, which had resulted in Pamela enjoying a sexual relationship with a man - but the discovery that he'd actually deflowered Pamela at the ripe old age of twenty-eight caused the miscreant to fear for his freedom and he slunk off into the shadows, never to be heard from again. There had been a couple of other incidents, but the quality of barflies was never good enough to meet the standards inculcated in cautious Pamela by her early upbringing; they never lasted once she could reflect upon them in sobriety. The adult video store trips were a sham; Margot, despite the fact that her sex life wasn't exactly healthy, was getting several times what Pamela was, so she would go out and collect the movies and devices almost solely for Pamela's benefit. It was an act of true friendship; Margot never let on, and Pamela had no idea that when she 'borrowed' a video, it was likely the only viewing it got.

The pair had no sexual relationship - they were friends and roommates, period. In fact, when the pair had paid their first visit to the Inn a month before, where they had shared the room and stayed in, purely to examine the matchmaking system and discover it's capabilities, Margot had thoroughly shocked Pamela by openly masturbating while watching two black couples go at it in the sauna. It had taken the pair days to get past the episode - that and the fact that only embarrassment had kept Pamela's hands out of HER crotch; the whole scene had been pretty hot!

The intervening month had been a period of slowly escalating expectations; their perusal of the pictures of hosts and visitors available on the previous visit had convinced Margot that this was a target-rich environment, and even in her caution, Pamela had to agree with her outspoken friend. The businessmen depicted in some of the pictures had been a very LARGE cut above the average local barflies - even the more working-class males appeared to have something going for them, usually. Margot began to openly discuss the fulfillment of a couple of pretty wild personal fantasies as though they were suddenly imminently achievable, and Pamela found herself dragged along by this enthusiasm to the point of summoning courage for a second trip.

But Pamela was under no illusions as to her probable luck in this adventure; the fact that her appearance was that of an aging wren of a librarian was all too apparent to her, but she really had no idea what she could do about it. Margot had probably seventy-five pounds on her (a quarter of that breast flesh - my God!), but she was vivacious and sweet-faced, as well as being undemanding in her selection of partners; success for her would undoubtedly come with a lot more ease.

The pair had arrived an hour earlier, and settled into adjoining rooms on the theory that they could cover one another - but Margot had rapidly trashed THAT idea when she got a half-dozen requests almost instantly, one from a halfway-decent looking black gentleman (a favorite fantasy for her). When early in the conversation he agreed that group sex was okay, Margot shifted to Group mode, selected another partner, and booked the Jacuzzi, going for the gusto and leaving Pamela absolutely speechless. Her parting shot as she met the black gent at her door wearing a terrycloth robe and nothing else, was, "If things don't work out, Honey, just meet us at the Jacuzzi - we'll let you in..."

So here she sat, quaking, fearful of the results of an attempt at collecting a partner solo, but unready to either participate in group sex or admit she hadn't tried. Finally, she brought up the interface, worked her way through the scenario preliminaries. Familiarity wasn't expertise, however, and she bobbled photo creation, making a video without realizing it and then fumbling right through the instructions screen and into the Hosts screen by reflexively clicking buttons, trying to recover. While 'Where am I' was still cycling through her brain, two Requests popped up. The first looked remarkably like a drunken sailor, even in thumbnail, but the second... She double-clicked, enlarging the picture of a relatively distinguished looking fortyish fellow with a well-trained salt & pepper moustache and thinning hair, silvering at the temples. Well, she'd give it a bit, and if he was still around and she didn't get the attention of the pool boy, maybe... The pool boy joke produced a smile, even in thought; what would she do with such a one? She reached out to back out of the screen, but there was a 'blip' sound (the sailor had retracted his request), and she jerked - and sat staring at the businessman's now-highlighted picture, marked 'Invited'! "Oh, shit!" she moaned, "Now what?"

The answer was immediately forthcoming - before she could even come up with a strategy for fixing the situation, the picture's border began to flash, and 'Accepted' replaced 'Invited' on the screen. "Oh, Lord!" Pamela moaned, "Now what do I do?"

If you asked Alan just why he bothered to send a request, he'd likely have been unable to answer you - but it had a lot to do with Pamela's accidental video. He clicked the 'Video' button and Pamela sat looking at the screen and announced, "I've GOT to be insane..." then her eyebrows went up and she erupted, "Oh, shit!" wiggling the mouse. Obviously, she'd just discovered that she was recording a video, not just a picture. Alan cracked up. The first comment gave a pretty good insight into her frame of mind, but, oddly enough, the exclamation was almost as revealing! Truly prim librarian- type ladies did NOT say, "Oh, shit!" The impression left was also at odds with his other initial worry - that Pam was a variation on the theme presented by the black woman with the whip! No, something in his head said, 'Go check this one out..." He clicked on 'Accept', and got a pop-up that read, "Pam 887 is in Room 303. The telephone extension is 7303. To chat with Pam 887, click on the 'Chat' button. Your Visit has begun."

Something about that last statement conveyed urgency. Alan couldn't see much reason to communicate with the woman by telephone by IM or telephone if she'd already indicated that she was interested in becoming intimate with him - it seemed like a case of going slow for nothing. He collected his room key, and headed for the elevator.

Pamela sat frozen before the computer screen, her primary thought process 'Oh, God! What have I done?' A stranger was en-route, anticipating a sexual encounter, without a doubt. Well, wasn't that why she was HERE? 'Well, yes, but... ' her mind gibbered. She got up to pace, her mind a welter; part of her was scared to death, and part of her was thrilled to death! She did a couple of laps, trying to force some kind of mental organization, and there came a knock at the door!

Pamela approached the door as if the man on the other side was using the peephole, instead of herself, sidling up and only focusing an eye on the lens at the last moment. It was him, all right! This Alan... Alan 186! Was Alan his real name? She examined the figure in the distorted view of the lens. Well, he still looked okay... Best to make a clean breast of it - she'd made mistakes with the system - he'd understand! Pamela's fear had her in full retreat, her only courage evident in the resolution that she must open the door and face the music...

Alan approached and rapped on the door to Room 303, then stood there, waiting, certain without any requirement for evidence that he was being watched. The door flew open, and there stood Miss Prim and Proper, fear writ large upon her face. Her mouth opened, "I..."