Chapter 3: Bringing More Things Home

"Let me hear you
Make decisions
Without your television
Let me hear you speaking
Just for me"

- Stripped (Depeche Mode)

It did not take me long to arrive at the local grocery store. Since there were no other stores in the area it wasn't the cheapest place but instead it kept a wide variety of products. I usually bought my groceries there since they had everything I needed and it was never crowded like the supermarkets.

Buying the groceries I needed took me much longer than I had expected. That morning when Jessica had praised my scones, I decided to cook dinner as well. I realised that I should have asked what food she liked and if she had any allergies. The only thing I knew was that she hated olives. I decided that I might as well just buy a bunch of different ingredients and make the final decision after I asked her. I realised that shopping was really much more fun when you were not only shopping for yourself. I could definitely get used to it.

I started to buy the stuff Jessica had put on the list and had no problem in buying the dental products or the deodorant but I found out that there were numerous of different types and brands of hairbrushes and sanitary towels. Since I never like to do blind guessing, I went looking for someone to ask.

I quickly saw a woman who was working with unpacking cans of shaving gel and putting them up on a shelf. I walked up to her and said, "Excuse me, I would like to ask you a few questions."

She turned around and I saw that the woman was about my age and was actually quite pretty. She had shoulder-length, blonde hair in a ponytail and gave me a big smile. On her chest, there was a nametag that said Sarah.

"What can help you with?"

"I want some help choosing what brand and model to purchase."

"Ok, what wares would that be?"

"A hairbrush and sanitary towels."

Sarah gave me an even bigger smile and said with a bit of a teasing voice, "Your girlfriend sent you shopping on your own?"

I simply blushed as a response and was just about to answer when Sarah beat me to it, "Don't worry. If she sends you to buy those kind of things, she trusts you and will not leave you even if you buy the wrong model and brand."

We walked over to the hairbrushes and she simply handed me one, "The other brushes are a bit cheaper but are essentially just junk that break after a few months. This one does not break and fits just about any type of hair."

As we walked over to the sanitary towels, Sarah asked me, "Is she an athletic type of woman that works out?"

I thought for a few moments and since her body was in really good shape she probably worked out a few times a week. "I would say she is the athletic type."

"Then she probably prefers the ultra-thin model over the maxi pads. Is she the type that wears thong type underwear or not?"

"I couldn't say, I haven't seen her wearing any underwear."

As soon as I said that, I realised how it sounded and I think I turned as red as a ripe tomato. Sarah noticed and decided to tease me about it. She gave me a really big smile, "Way to go, stud. Well, you know we have a special offer for condoms this week. If you think that she is the type that wears thong underwear, this is the model. I know, I use them myself. Otherwise, I would recommend these since they work well and are not too expensive. They also have small wings to keep the pad in place."

I was still a bit embarrassed by all of this but Sarah seemed to really think it all was a bit funny.

"You know that it is really sweet of you to be this thorough when buying stuff for your girlfriend and you look really cute when you smile. If things don't work out with your girlfriend, you know where I work," Sarah said and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. She then left me and headed back to unpacking the shaving gel.

I was still a bit stunned and embarrassed by what just happened so I just stood there for a while. When I regained my composure, I bought one of each of the two models that Sarah had recommended.

After I left the grocery store, I headed for Jessica's villa. It was in a quiet suburb that mostly housed younger families with children. As I approached the house, I saw that it was a large yellow villa with what probably was a large garden in the summer. Surrounding the lot was a white picket fence. I parked the car in the driveway and the snow crunched under my feet as I headed for the front door.

The spare key was hidden in the empty flowerpot that Jessica had described for me. I unlocked the door and I stomped off the snow from my shoes before I entered. As soon as I was inside, I deactivated the alarm on the right side of the door with the code Jessica had given me.

I looked around and found that I was standing in the hall. From what I could see of the villa was decorated with many beautiful paintings; most of them portraying seascapes and along the walls were small tables with fresh flowers. It looked very comfortable, and it was completely different from Jessica's strict and spartan office.

Since I felt bad about snooping around in the house, I quickly headed towards the room Jessica had said was the bedroom. The room had a king-sized bed and on each side of the bed there was a bedside table, a chest of drawers and a closet. Jessica had said that her clothes were on the right side of the bed. I opened up the closet and found that it was very well stacked with everything from business suits and evening dresses to casual clothes and night dresses.

I had not brought anything to put her clothes in but there was a large suitcase in the closet. I started to pack it with most of her casual clothes and a few of her night dresses.

I opened up the top chest drawer where I suspected to find Jessica's underwear; instead, I found what seemed to be her toys. There was stuff like dildos, vibrators, handcuffs, and some stuff I could not even imagine what they were used for. I realised that Jessica might get very lonely without her girlfriend so I grabbed one of the vibrators and threw it in the suitcase. I kept looking for her underwear and I opened up the bottom drawer and found it. There were a large variety and some of them were even thongs which made me happy that I bought those pads as well. There was also some expensive lingerie that quickly gave me some naughty thoughts. Being a gentleman I left the lingerie alone but cleared out the rest of the drawer. Everything ended up in the now very full suitcase and I closed it with some effort.

Just as I was about to leave the bedroom, I heard a couple of metallic clicks behind me and an aggressive female voice saying, "Just what the fuck do you think you are doing?"

I turned around and saw a beautiful 5'2'' tall woman with long black hair pointing two automatic pistols right at my face. I felt my heart beat as fast as a furious carpenter and my knees turning into jelly. I recognised the woman from a picture in the hall and guessed that this must be Sandra, Jessica's girlfriend. With obvious fear in my voice, I said, "You must be Sandra."

Without answering me or even showing the slightest reaction, she continued to question me, "Who are you and what the hell are you doing here?"

"My name is Martin Young and I am a colleague to Jessica. She had to leave town in a real hurry because of a work-related emergency. She sent me to her villa to pick up some of her clothes and have them sent to her."

I felt her gaze at me as she walked towards me. Even though she was not very tall, she seemed well trained, and scared the living daylights out of me. When she got close enough, she struck me in the face with the back of one of her pistols. She had struck me so fast; I had no chance to dodge the attack. It hurt like hell. Blood started to pour out of my nose and I felt its metallic taste in my mouth.

"Don't fucking lie to me. I called Jessica's office half an hour ago and they said she had taken out a three-week holiday. What have you done to Jessica?"

"Look, I haven't done anything to Jessica, she..."

She smacked me in the face once again and I could feel my cheek swell up.

"I said don't fucking lie to me. You have kidnapped her."

I felt the tears in my eyes, "No, I haven't done anything to Jessica. Ok?"

I saw that Sandra was thinking and after a few moments she said with a bit of sorrow in her voice, "You're having an affair with her, aren't you?"

"No, it is nothing like that. There are some things that you don't know about Jessica."

"I know about the rape if that is what you are talking about."

"No, it has nothing to do with any rape. Look, I think it is better if Jessica tells you what's going on. She's in my apartment downtown."

I saw a bit of relief on Sandra's face but she still scared the hell out of me. She holstered one of her guns and used her free hand to open the drawer beside me. She took out the handcuffs and handed them to me. Understanding the gesture, I cuffed myself.

Sandra made a gesture for me to head out of the room, but before doing so, I grabbed the suitcase with my cuffed hands. We walked out of the house and towards my parked Volvo. I saw that next to my Volvo there was now a large Toyota 4WD truck.

"Get in the driver's seat," she said as she pointed with the gun towards my old Volvo.

I got in the car and threw the suitcase in the back seat. Sandra sat down in the passenger's seat and unlocked my handcuffs. Still under gunpoint, I drove towards my apartment. When I had parked at my parking space, she once again handed me the handcuffs. I did not bother with the suitcase or the groceries, instead I just left the car and headed towards my apartment.

I opened up the door with a gun pressed to my back. The first thing I heard when I entered the room was Depeche Mode's Exciter album in the background and Jessica's voice saying, "You sure took your time. I was beginning to worry."

Jessica came out of the kitchen and when she saw us, she was stunned for a few moments then she ran towards Sandra and threw herself in her arms. I heard Jessica crying behind me and decided it was best to keep my bloody mouth shut.

After about a minute, Jessica stopped hugging Sandra and turned towards me. She saw my beat-up face and the handcuffs. I reckoned that she figured out what had happened.

"Sugar Lips, can you give me and Martin here a moment in private. There is some newly brewed coffee in the kitchen if you are interested."

Sandra left us alone but I felt that she did still not trust me even a little bit. The look on her face told me that she still believed that I was having an affair with Jessica.

"Jessica, I want you to tell Sandra the truth about what has happened. She is really concerned for you and I think she believes that we are having an affair."

Jessica simply nodded and headed for the kitchen where Sandra was. A few moments later she emerged with a wet towel and the keys to the handcuffs. She unlocked the handcuffs and cleaned my facial wounds gently with the wet towel. I saw Sandra standing behind her looking at me and I could still feel a lot of mistrust in the air.

"Jessica, I will need to run a few errands. I will be out for at least two hours. I suggest you use this time to talk to Sandra about what has happened."

Jessica stopped cleaning my face and gave me a grateful smile. I left my mobile phone on a table by the door and went out for a walk in the cold and snowy weather. I headed to a bookstore not far from my apartment that I knew was open 24/7. After spending two hours browsing for books, I went to a pay phone. I rang my own mobile phone and after a few signals, Sandra answered it.

"Hello!"

"Hello, it's me Martin. I was just wanted to call and let you know that I found a nice bookstore and will probably be out another hour."

"There is no need for that. You should head home instead. Jessica still needs her clothes and they are locked up in your car."

"I'll head back then. I will be there in about fifteen minutes, Ok?"

"See you then, Martin."

I smiled to myself and hung up the phone. I started walking towards the apartment and I made sure that I was not in a hurry. Twenty minutes later, I opened up my Volvo and grabbed the suitcase and the groceries. Some of the vegetables seemed to have been damaged by the cold but that didn't feel important.

I headed up to the apartment and as I entered, I saw both Sandra and Jessica sitting on the living room sofa. Jessica was dressed in my bathrobe and Sandra in one of my largest t-shirt, which reached down to her knees. They both had wet hair so I guessed they both had been in the shower. Both of them smiled at me as I entered the apartment.

I put the groceries on the kitchen table and went over to the women and handed Jessica the suitcase. Sandra gave me a guilty look and said, "Look, I am really sorry for how I treated you. If I had known..."

"There is no reason to apologise. If I had been in your position I would probably have done the same thing."

Sandra looked at my face and said, "I think that cut on your cheek needs a few stitches. Sit down and I'll get my first-aid kit."

Sandra went over to her coat and got out a small plastic box as I sat down in the sofa.

"Jessica, head over to the bedroom to get dressed and unpack your clothes," I ordered Jessica.

Jessica got up and went over to the bedroom to change into her own clothes. Sandra came over to me and pointed for me to sit under the lamp. I moved to where she had pointed and Sandra sat down in my lap and grabbed my face with her left hand, "Don't get any funny ideas. I'm not interested in boys."