Chapter 13

Despite the late night, the next morning Elaine felt energised and bounced out of bed in a good mood. A long hot shower was in order, and she indulged herself. Emerging with wet hair, a smile, and wrapped in a soft towel, Elaine made coffee while her roommates slept. She hadn't even heard them come in, and it didn't bother her one bit. She felt like she was walking on air!

What's wrong with me? she wondered, giggling quietly. Carrying her coffee to the lounge room, she postponed getting dressed, instead slipping her favourite U2 Live DVD into the machine, resisting the temptation to crank it up. As Bono serenaded her, Elaine relaxed into the couch, cradling the mug of coffee in her hands and closing her eyes.

She could hardly wipe the smile from her face. Crossing her legs only enhanced the feeling of being 'well fucked'. Her pussy was warm and swollen. Muscles ached that she'd never used before. She was exhausted. And yet her skin tingled and her mind was doing somersaults!

She had almost heard his voice, telling her what to do. Where did her ability to construct such things come from? She knew she had a fertile fantasy world from which to draw, and she knew that postponement of her orgasm would raise its intensity, but her willingness to blindly follow her own suggestions, albeit imagined as Gary's, made her shake her head and blush.

Would it be like that? she wondered.

If I don't meet him, I'll never know.

Sighing softly, she buried herself deeper into the sofa. God I love U2, she thought. It was almost like she'd grown up with them, like they'd shared everything that had happened to her. And in a way, they had. They'd been there through every traumatic moment in her life. Bono was a surrogate father, helping to fortify her moral backbone, giving her a vision of how things might be. Edge was her unbridled passion, her soaring hopes and dreams. And Adam, with the amazingly perfect biceps; he was her heartbeat, her rhythm, her grounding.

Opening her eyes and smiling at her thoughts, out loud she wondered, "So where does Gary fit in?"

"Huh?" asked Chelsea, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight streaming in the window above the stereo. She collapsed on the other end of the sofa, crossing her arms and yawning. "Who's Gary?"

"Just... someone I met."

"You met someone?" Chelsea asked, feigning astonishment and sitting up straighter. "I can't believe it."

Elaine didn't feel like sharing Gary with Chelsea, at least not while she was in a teasing mood. Instead she rolled her eyes and asked Chelsea if she wanted a coffee.

"Yeah. Thanks. Don't worry about Kendra, though. She's not here."

"Oh?"

"She went to a party with some friends from school. I didn't see her after about two-thirty. Actually, I couldn't see much of anything after about two-thirty. She'll drag her sorry ass in sometime today. Don't worry about her."

"All right. I'll get you that coffee," said Elaine, heading for the kitchen. "Do you want some toast? I'm making some. It's no trouble."

Chelsea said, "You're an angel." That made Elaine smile.

When she returned with coffee and a plate of toast, Elaine noticed Chelsea was rolling a marihuana cigarette. "What are you doing?" Elaine asked. "It's not even half past nine!"

"Coffee and a joint. Breakfast of champions."

Elaine laughed as she sat down. "I didn't realise they gave out medals for the most brain cells destroyed in a semester."

"If they did..." Chelsea said, picking up a piece of toast. "Kendra would win hands down."

"Well, congratulations on getting the silver," said Elaine, sipping from her coffee and grinning.

"No one ever remembers who came second."

"No one ever remembers anything in this contest."

Now it was Chelsea's turn to laugh. "That's true." When she'd finished munching through her second piece of toast, she sat back with her coffee and lit the joint. "So who is this guy?"

Elaine figured Chelsea was in a better mood. "His name's Gary. I'm trying to decide if I should meet him or not."

"You haven't met him? Don't tell me it's through a dating agency."

"No, nothing like that. I met him in a chat room and-"

"You met him in a chat room? Are you crazy?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this Gary guy could be anyone. Chat rooms are supposed to be worse than dating agencies. He might be a rapist or an axe murderer." Chelsea had moved to the edge of the couch.

"I don't think I'd disagree with that, but he's not."

"How do you know?"

"I checked."

"How?"

"He gave me the number of someone who could tell me about him. A friend. A woman."

"And you called her?"

"Yes."

"I still say you're crazy."

Elaine sighed. "You could be right."

After taking a long draw on the joint, Chelsea offered it to Elaine. "Join me. I don't like getting high on my own."

"Pusher. Oh, all right." Elaine took a small toke and held it out for Chelsea to take back.

"If you get high on that, I'll wear my panties on my head for a week," she said, nodding at the joint. "Have a proper go at it."

Elaine giggled at the thought. She took a longer draw and held it in for a few seconds. "Better?" she choked out, blowing blue smoke.

"Lightweight," Chelsea said, winking and taking back the joint and sinking into the sofa. "So you're going to meet him?"

"I think so," replied Elaine, enjoying her coffee.

"Where?"

"I don't know yet. Somewhere public. Nearby."

"When?"

"I don't know that either. I'll have to talk to him. Letting him decide is appealing."

"Do you know anything about him? What does he do? What does he look like?"

"We've been chatting online for a while. He owns a business and he's doing okay." Elaine wasn't sure whether she was prepared to show Gary's picture to Chelsea. But unless she lied, she didn't know how she could conceal it. "He looks good. I've seen his picture."

"He sent it to you?"

"Yeah." Damn.

"Do you still have it?"

"Yes."

"Well? Let's take a look, you ninny. You're harder to get blood out of than a stone, Elaine. What are you hiding? What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing." It was a matter of pride now. "Come on. It's on the computer."

"Cool," said Chelsea, picking up her own coffee and following Elaine down to her bedroom. Once the machine was booted up and Elaine had produced Gary's photo, full screen and in living colour, Chelsea hesitated and stared for a moment. "Um, sorry. Did you say he had a brother?"

Elaine laughed nervously. "I don't think so. Maybe. There's a lot we haven't talked about."

Chelsea was still staring. "He has weird eyes. They kind of see into you. Jesus, Elaine. He's hot. He's a bit older though isn't he?"

"Yeah. Thirty-four."

"Jeez. Well he looks pretty good for thirty-four."

"C'mon Chelsea, he looks like a frigging model. I feel a bit intimidated actually."

"Has he seen your picture?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"He's interested."

"So what's stopping you?"

Elaine wasn't sure. "I don't know."

"I'm getting the munchies," Chelsea said. "Let's finish the toast." Elaine nodded and they headed back out to the lounge room. When they were settled again, Chelsea said, "Well, if you don't want to meet him, I will. I'd park my slippers under his bed anytime."

"So you think I should?" Elaine could feel herself blushing.

"Let's see. He likes me. I like him. I've checked up on him and he isn't an axe murderer. And he's hot. Yeah. I'd meet him in a minute."

"But what if I don't like him?"

"Then you leave. Jeez, Elaine. You said you'd meet him in a public place. It's not like he could blindfold you, tie you up, and throw you in the boot."

Maybe not throw me in the boot, thought Elaine, blushing harder and suppressing a giggle. "You're right."

"Cool. So you're going to make a date?"

"I guess. I'll wait until the time is right. I'm going to need a favour, though."

"You want me to come too? I'd love to meet him. Maybe I could steal him from you." Chelsea winked.

Elaine wasn't so sure Chelsea was kidding. But she wasn't worried. She was pretty sure Chelsea wouldn't impress Gary at all. Kendra even less so! Still, the idea was perversely attractive, just to see what would happen. "I don't think so. Not the first time. But I do want someone to call me on my cell phone in the middle of our meeting and ask how things are going."

"I could do that."

"I'd really appreciate it."

"What if he's holding a knife to your throat? How would I know?"

"I'll call you 'Chelse', instead of Chelsea."

"And then what?"

"Call the place where we were supposed to meet. If I'm not there, call the police."

"Okay. I can do that. You've thought this over, haven't you?"

"Yeah. I'm just trying to be cautious."

"I'd say we've got him covered."

"I hope so."

For a moment they sipped from their cups and stared at the T.V. screen. Bono was mesmerising as he tore into an oldie, 'Electric Co.' "Thanks for asking me," Chelsea muttered, taking a dig at Kendra in her absence.

"I couldn't have asked Kendra," Elaine replied with a grin. "I wouldn't have known how to shorten her name."

"How about 'Bitch'?"

They looked at each other and cracked up hysterically. Elaine laughed so hard she spilt coffee on the towel that was still wrapped around her body. She was completely taken aback by the fact that she was still in just a towel after being up for over an hour. "Um, I better get changed."

"You've already changed."

Elaine stopped climbing out of the chair. "What do you mean?"

"I dunno. You just seem to have changed lately. You seem more... three dimensional."

"Really?" Elaine smiled warily. It was a strange thing for Chelsea to have said.

"Yeah. Like, you hardly talked to us for the first half of semester. Even though the past week has been weird, I feel like I know you better. I mean, look at you sitting there in a towel while you have your coffee. You wouldn't have done that two weeks ago."

"I guess I feel like I know you guys better too. Maybe it's because we've seen each other's cunts." They burst out laughing again and Elaine took off for her bedroom before she embarrassed herself any further.

Of course she hadn't been in her room for five seconds before she noticed Gary's picture on her computer screen. Once she'd changed into shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, she plonked into the chair and stared at him.

Who are you?

Are you real?

Elaine booted up the Internet and logged onto Messenger, feeling strangely relieved that Gary wasn't online. At least he doesn't spend all his spare time sitting on the computer, she thought, biting her lip. Taking the shortcut to her email account, she found there was an email from him in her mailbox, titled 'Explanation of Queries'. She clicked on it and sent it to the back. She also found her copy of the BDSM checklist and opened it up, also sending it to the back. She planned to take a look at them in a minute.

Elaine took a deep breath. Bringing up a new email, she typed and pressed 'send' before she could change her mind.

Elaine

She stared at the 'sent message confirmation' page, her heart thumping.

Tap. Tap. Tap. "Um, sorry," Chelsea said, pushing open Elaine's bedroom door. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's okay," said Elaine. "I was just thinking about how crazy I must be."

"You mailed him?"

"Yes!"

"Then I'd say 'certifiable'." Chelsea winked. "Just kidding. I'm going to do the shopping. Do you want anything special?"

"No. But hang on. I'll give you some money."

A minute later Elaine heard the front door close. She tried not to think about the fact that Messenger was still open as she brought Gary's email to the front and read it. As she expected, he had given concise explanations of the terms she hadn't been sure about.

She worked through her checklist, filling in the blanks and getting more nervous by the minute. As she reread her answers, images and feelings inundated her. Staring at the hundreds of answers she'd given, she had a thought.

I should send this to him.

The next thought didn't take long in coming.

Wait until after you've met. 'Take your time'. Remember?

With her chest thumping, she lay down on her bed and wondered what she was getting into. Elaine placed her left hand over her heart, feeling it pound, while her hardened nipple pulsed against the inside of her wrist.

It took her a little by surprise to feel her nipple so stiff, and she raised her right hand to the other one to see if it was the same. Running her fingers lightly over it confirmed the fact, making her breath catch in her chest. In one move, she raised her knees and separated them, her feet flat on the bed. The shorts she'd chosen tightened and she brushed her fingers over the material that now outlined her pussy. Her eyes fluttered closed.

"Mmmmmmm," she moaned softly.

Her eyes shot open at the sound of the front door opening and closing. Glancing at her bedroom door, she noticed it was open and quickly sat up and got herself together as footsteps approached down the hallway.

"Are you here?" Kendra asked, tapping on Elaine's door.

"Yeah," Elaine said, a little out of breath. "Sure. Come in."

Kendra had a big smile on her face as she bounced into Elaine's room and sat on her computer chair, swivelling to face her. "Can you believe last night? I can't believe I did that."