Author: Bulgroz the Third Title: The Adjusters #21 - Happy Birthday Keywords: MF, mc Posted: October 3, 2011 Edited: October 3, 2011 The Adjusters #21 Happy Birthday The singing was awful, off-key, earbleed inducing--the way it often was. Jackson yelling to the top of his lungs was simply par for the course. Still, Daniel thought it was sweet. Grossly embarrassing, but sweet. The waitresses carried a small cake, joining in the revelry. Patrons around the restaurant were split between those who laughed earnestly, those who ignored studiously, and those who scorned openly. Next to him, Cindy was singing softly, her voice clearest among the friends at the table, her "Happy Birthday to You!" sounding like raindrops in a lake. Daniel wondered if she had ever sung on stage, and tabled the question for later. He looked around the booth as the waitresses left. Cindy was sitting next to him, looking lovely as usually. Jackson and Kyra were sitting opposite, their hands clasped together underneath the table. Remnants of their dinner were strewn before them, and wine was still flowing freely. They were on their third bottle. And now they had a small cake to share. A tablet computer was leaning against the wall of the booth, running a video conference application through which the smiling face of Radhu could be seen. Radhu had loaned out the tablet to Daniel--part of a remote learning project he was doing with a doctoral student in the Department of Education--so that he could participate in the festivities without leaving his apartment, something he had not done in more than four months now. Daniel felt a dissociation come over him; for a second, he was outside the bubble, listening in, watching everyone at the table quibble over which slice of the cake they cared about. He flashed to a similar scene a year earlier, another dinner for his birthday, this time at Serena's place--Jenn, Radhu, Serena, and him, the three musketeers. In less than a year, everything had changed. Jenn--don't think about it, he chided, she's gone. Radhu was still around, and had not really changed aside from his physical withdrawal from the outside world. And Serena... He had left her a few messages, inviting her to this small dinner celebration, but she had not returned his calls or his text messages. All of which had become fairly typical of Serena this semester. In those rare times when he could pin her down for a drink or even just a quick chat, she kept talking about how incredibly busy the year was turning out to be, between her classes, her work at the paper, her interviews for post-graduation, as well as her continuing investigative reporting of the New American Deal Association, the organization that she had discovered had been involved with the abduction of her friend Marjorie Duquesne the previous semester. All of which made her absences reasonable and understandable, but he missed his friend nonetheless. He looked over at Cindy, who was sharing a joke with Kyra. In many ways, Cindy had come to play the role that Serena had played for years--friend, sounding board, confidante. After the kiss they had shared at the party back in February--already a month and a half ago--she had respected his wish and did not push any sort of romantic involvement. She had kept her distances, at least emotionally. But they had continued hanging out together. For one thing, she was helping him with his senior project, Mind-Control Techniques in the Political Forum, in which he wanted to explore, as he stated in a proposal to his undergraduate advisor, "electorate manipulation through mind-control technologies, from linguistic manipulation to pharmaceutical methods." His advisor had approved the project, once he was convinced that Daniel was not simply going to write a fifty-pages review of The Manchurian Candidate. For Daniel, this project was an excuse to investigate the possibility that indeed foul play had been involved in--well, the events of a few months ago. And the research had been going well. With Cindy, and helped by Radhu's eclectic knowledge base and contacts in the online world, they were looking at the feasibility of curtailing will power via drugs, neuro-linguistic programming, neuro-cortical stimulation, subliminal channeling, and hypnotic repatterning, to name but a few of the more interesting approaches that had been advocated in the literature. So far, nothing had yielded a workable technique. It went beyond work, though. With Radhu holed up, Serena unavailable, and Jenn--don't think about it!--well, he felt alone. He had not realized how isolated he had become. His circle of close friends was small, had always been. But he was not keen on a solitary life, not for long stretches at a time. He liked having someone with whom to hang out, share moments, talk. And being with Cindy felt natural. So whether he wanted to or not, he had grown to genuinely enjoy the company of the short blonde with her sunny disposition and her almost otherworldly positive spin on practically everything. Looking back at Daniel as if she had sensed he was thinking about her, Cindy eyed him curiously. He shook his head, smiled. She smiled back, somewhat nervously, before downing her glass of wine and refilling it again. She had been drinking a lot, he had noticed, something she did not usually do. Before he could ponder her behavior further, Cindy piped up. "Gifts!" she said, before reaching down under the table for her bag. Daniel shook his head. "There's no need for that." Cindy emerged with a package wrapped with Christmas paper. "Of course there is. It's your birthday. Here. Happy Birthday!" She saw him eye the wrapping paper. "Yeah, that. It's all I had on hand..." Daniel shook his head. He unwrapped the package and pulled out a book. "Very twentieth century. Actually, no, wait..." It was an old book, a nice edition, leather bound and gilt decorated, with green silk markers and red-stained edges. He turned to the title page. Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The Reveries of the Solitary Walker. "Wow," he said. "That's incredibly nice." "Glad you like. I was thinking of getting you the latest Eco--I heard great things about it--but Serena told me you're more into nonfiction and philosophy." "Yeah," he said, turning the book over to admire the spine. "Jenn was the one big on fiction." Saying her name out loud broke the spell. Jenn. His fiancee. Or, actually, ex-fiancee. Two months since he had last seen her, after she had told him--at first by proxy, through that detective he had hired to find her, and then through a handwritten letter slipped into his mailbox--that they were through and had returned his engagement ring. He had been in shock. And then she had left with Biff, heading off somewhere in the Caribbean, and as far as he knew, neither had come back. He had toyed with the idea of following them, toyed with it seriously, but he never put the plan into action. Those first few weeks had been a cycle of anger, resolve, and depression--anger at the situation, at Biff, at Jenn; resolve to discover exactly what had happened, how Biff had managed to wrench her away from him; depression at the futility of it all. For those few weeks, he had clung to the hope that somehow all of these events were explained by something other than Jenn leaving him because she wanted to, and had focused all of his efforts on finding some sort of vindication in the research with Cindy. Radhu had been worried, had forced Daniel to accept his invitation to come sleep on his couch for a few nights. Serena had found some time in her crazy schedule to drop by and try to distract him and cheer him up. She had come right out and suggested he just go out there and get himself a pretty little thing to fuck--just sex, release, venting. A very Serena thing to advocate. She had even said that if it were not for the fact that they had hung out so much these last few years that he was like a brother to her, she would fuck him herself, right then and there. Daniel had looked at her, remembering very clearly what her body looked and felt like the one time they had hooked up at that party long ago in his freshman year, before Jenn, before everything, and he had smiled joylessly. While he did miss the sex, Daniel had told her, it was really the closeness and comfort that he craved. Serena had merely rolled her eyes. He regained a measure of sanity following his mother's phone call. She had contacted him after having been alerted by whatever sixth sense mothers had for such things, and when Daniel had explained to her what had happened, she had offered to take a break from her busy life--she was head surgeon at a major hospital in Chicago--to come visit. Daniel had thanked her, profusely, and had told her that that was not necessary, but that he would find a way to visit her before the end of the school year. The call had been inspired, and Daniel did not put it past his mother to have been completely aware of its effect on her son. After all, she had lost her husband--Daniel's father--after only a few years of marriage, and had survived and kept going despite the pain. There was a lesson there, clearly. Much more surprising was the call he received from Carole Hansen, Jenn's mother. She had sounded distraught on the phone, both worried about him, and worried about her daughter. She had told him that Jenn had called her to inform her of what had happened and to let her know that she would be gone for a while, but she had not elaborated on the details. Daniel had found himself in the admittedly odd position of defending Jenn's actions to her mother. He liked Carole, and had not wanted her to worry. Carole had told him how she went to complain to the police and they said that there was nothing they could do since Jenn had left willingly. Daniel and Carole had talked a long time, and by the end of the conversation Daniel had managed to convince her that Jenn had likely freaked out because of the upcoming wedding and perhaps nursed a fear of commitment, something for which Carole had wasted no time feeling responsible. And now it was a month later, and life had gone on, and a new routine had evolved, and somehow pain had muted into a dull ache, and he had started to contemplate the possibility of life without her. He still did not like thinking about her if he could help it, but he could do it with an onslaught of emotions. And while he still had this deep rooted feeling that Biff was somehow involved, the more time passed, the more this feeling started to feel like a dream, a house of cards he had built to distract himself from the truth, a truth that everyone around him kept telling him he had to accept before he went off the deep end. And the truth was that Jenn was gone, and he was still here, and life asked to be lived. It's not giving up, he kept telling himself, it's just accepting the facts. And when those facts change, I'll change along with them. It almost worked. Cindy was looking at him, and he realized that he had remained silent for longer than expected. He smiled warmly. "This is wonderful, Cin. Thanks!" He leaned over and kissed her, softly, on the lips. Daniel heard Kyra giggle. Cindy blushed slightly--not the reaction Daniel had expected--and reached for her glass of wine. Just then someone pulled a chair up at the end of the booth near Daniel. "My god--I'm sorry I'm so late!" Serena dropped down on the chair and leaned over to kiss him. "Happy birthday! Hope I didn't miss too much." "You're just in time for cake." "Goodie! Oh, thank you--" she said to the waitress who had just dropped a drinks menu before her. "Hello Serena," said Radhu's voice through the tablet. "Rad? That's new. I see you found a way to join us." "Indeed. At the very least, as long as the battery survives. May I say, Serena, that you look positively ravishing this evening." "Well thank you, kind sir!" "You okay?" asked Daniel. "Yeah. Interview ran longer than expected." Daniel raised an eyebrow and smiled--she was wearing a form-fitting sleeveless shirt showing a generous amount of cleavage, and a short and tight skirt that exposed her shapely legs. A tall pair of heels completed the picture. "That interviewer must have had a good time." Serena looked down, and pulled her skirt down slightly. "Well, sometimes it helps when you flash a bit of leg, you know? Loosens their tongue." "I bet it does." "So what were you guys up to when I crashed the party?" Jackson replied. "We had reached the gift phase. Hi Serena." Daniel lifted his book. "Rousseau." "Very nice. Didn't know you read French." "I don't. Translation." "Slacker," replied Serena, perusing the drinks menu. "As for me," added Jackson, "here." He pushed a small envelope across the table. Daniel pulled out a gift certificate. "Shroedinger's Games--nice! Thanks." "Wasn't quite sure what you wanted, so I went with generic but fun. Obviously." "Well, I'm glad I did not come unequipped then," piped in Serena. She pulled a box out of a bag she had laid at her feet without Daniel noticing. "Happy birthday, Daniel!" Intrigued, Daniel opened the package. His breath caught when he saw what was inside. He looked up at Serena. "How did you...? Where did you find...?" "Took some work. Lots of work, actually. But I managed to find someone willing to sell me his." Daniel looked at her, a troubled expression on his face. He tried to camouflage by teasing her. "Flashing some legs helped there too, no doubt?" "Actually, he was a dirty old bastard. He wanted to fondle my tits and then I had to blow him." Daniel was not sure she was not telling the truth at that. He shook his head. "I don't know what to say, Ser. I really don't." Kyra's eyes volleyed between Daniel and Serena, her curiosity peaked. "So what is it?" Daniel paused before pulling a small-scale car model out of the box. It was a red racing car, maybe eight inches long, in perfect condition. "Nice," said Kyra. "What is it? Ferrari?" asked Jackson. Daniel shook his head. "This is a Maserati 250F, a perfect reproduction of the car Stirling Moss drove to win the Monaco Grand Prix in 1956." "Wow," said Jackson, "I didn't peg you as a racing guy." "I'm not, not really. But... but my father was. He had this huge collection of models, and this was one of his prized cars. I broke it back... back when I was young." He could not continue. He remembered so well how he had felt that day, seeing the pieces of the car scuttle across the floor after he had dropped it while showing it off to some of his friends that had dropped by house. Serena picked up exactly where he had left off. She had been one of those friends. "I remember that day. Your mother was furious. I don't think I'd ever seen an adult so angry before that." "That she was." His father's collection was one of the few things that she had left of him, and she had protected it like a hawk would its progeny. She had remained angry for almost a week after the incident. "This means a lot, Ser. Thanks." "Don't mention it." He hugged her. At that moment, Daniel felt bad about the distance that he had let grow between them over the last few months. "Things are going to calm down some for you by the end of the semester, yes?" He asked her. "I'm worried you're pushing too hard." Serena shrugged. "I'll survive." There was a pause in the conversation, everyone at the table falling silent. Then Kyra broke the silence. "Huh, I have something for you too, Daniel." She reached under the table and pulled out a large wrapped rectangle. He ripped off the paper carefully. It was a painting--an alpine scene, showing a valley between two tall mountains, the one on the left rocky and strewn with lichen, the one on the right blanketed in snow and a monument to quiescence. A pair of mountain goats were caught sauntering up the slopes of the rocky outcrop, as if unwilling to disturb the whiteness the snowy ledge. In the background, the mountain range continued, majestic, unperturbed. aloof. "Kyra... it's... it's beautiful." Everyone at the table agreed. Kyra flushed, pride mixing in with not a little bit of embarrassment. "It's nothing," she said. "How did you know?" "Cin. She told me you liked mountains. And I was looking for something to paint, and I wanted to do something for you because--well, because of the rough patch you're going through--so something soothing, rejuvenating, replenishing. It's not much, but it's honest. Plus, it's a nice change from drawing cutouts of body parts." "Wow... this is so incredibly sweet. Thanks! Jackson, kiss your girlfriend for me." "With pleasure!" And Jackson leaned over to kiss Kyra's rosy lips, and lingered there long enough for Kyra to gently hit his shoulder to get him to stop. "Jackson! There are people around!" she half-laughed, half-frowned. "That's what makes it fun, no?" Kyra blushed furiously. Meanwhile, Daniel had turned the painting around to show Radhu through the tablet. Serena was getting impatient at the waitress for not stopping to take her drink order, and excused herself to go and try to find her or anyone willing to serve her something. Her heels clacked on the restaurant floor as she hurried down the aisle. "So Kyra, when are you going to decide to expose some of your work?" Cindy asked. "I don't know. I don't think it's very good. I doubt a gallery'd be interested." "Oh come on, it's great. People love it. I'm sure you could start small." "Maybe. I don't know. I gotta say, I kind of like just painting for myself for fun--or for friends." "There's a University-wide little expo every spring where they showcase artwork from students and faculty," mused Daniel. "Maybe you could put up a couple of pieces. Anonymously. So as to not compromise your artistic integrity." "You think I'm silly, don't you?" "No. But I think you have talent, and you should parade it." "I second that," chimed Jackson. "Third," added Cindy. "I would fourth if not for the fact that it would sound utterly redundant," said Radhu, from the tablet. Behind him, something beeped. He made a face, and he disappeared from the frame, momentarily. He was frowning when he returned. "Everything okay there, Rad?" asked Daniel. "Yes, everything is under control. I do find myself having to investigate a recent development. I will see you later, yes? Are you still expecting to visit me later this evening?" "That's the plan." "Perfect. I will therefore see you later. And please do not forget the tablet. Happy birthday once more. Radhu out." "Bye." Everyone waved. Kyra turned to Cindy. "So, Cindy, have you figured out what you were going to do after leaving here? You're still graduating, aren't you?" "Kindda. I've applied a few places, but I'm really looking at grad schools. I just got a few acceptances this week, so it's really a matter of choosing." "Where?" "Oh, nowhere, really." "Come on, spill it." "Stanford. Princeton. Columbia." "Holy fuck," piped Jackson. "That's some high-class list there. What did you do, suck off the deans to get in?" Cindy smiled patiently. "Wish it were that easy. No, no--I did it the hard way." "What for, master's, or doctorate?" asked Daniel. "Doctorate. Probably economics, although the interaction with game theory and computer science is also intriguing." Daniel nodded, lifted his glass. "Well, kudos. To smarts and beauty!" "Cheers!" "Where's Serena?" asked Daniel, after the toast. He turned around, looking for her. He saw her further down the aisle, by the wall, speaking to a young man. With her heels, she was as tall as he was. He had a hand on her arm. She was looking at him, her head tilted, her chest thrust out, one leg forward pressing against the man's own. He was running a hand up and down the side of her body, finally settling down on her thigh, after having raised the hem of her short skirt even higher. Serena seemed not to mind, and in fact leaned forward to offer her lips to the young man, who accepted them eagerly, and they enlaced and kissed in their corner of the restaurant. The young man pulled Serena close against him, the hand on her thigh now squarely on her ass, pushing her groin against his. "Looks like she made a friend," commented Kyra, who had leaned out into the aisle to catch the action. "Yeah, that was fast," said Daniel. He knew his friend did not waste time making romantic connections--or breaking them, for that matter--but this was fast even for her. Unless the young man was her current flame and Daniel simply had not kept up with Serena's love life. "Hey, isn't that Nathan from your frat?" Kyra was asking Jackson. Jackson made a face, and took a moment to answer. "Looks like him, for sure." He smiled nervously. "I didn't know he knew Serena." The kissing couple, after breaking their enlace, headed to the exit of the restaurant, arms wrapped around each other's waists. The birthday party watched them go. "Did she really take off like that, ditching us?" asked Daniel. "Looks like," replied Cindy, reaching for her wine. Daniel frowned. Serena had always been abrupt and could be downright rude in pursuit of a story, but she usually did not treat her friends that callously, not for a boy. That the boy in question was a member of Delta Iota Kappa was not overlooked. He eyed Jackson, speculatively. "You okay?" whispered Cindy. He nodded. "Yeah." He felt her eyes on him, but was suddenly too tired to deal anymore. "Just feeling a bit out of it. Give me a minute to recharge." He picked up his book and opened it up. I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother, neighbor, friend, or society other than myself. The most sociable and the most loving of humans has been proscribed from society by a unanimous agreement. In the refinements of their hatred, they have sought the torment which would be cruelest to my sensitive soul and have violently broken all the ties which attached me to them. I would have loved men in spite of themselves. Only by ceasing to be humane, have they been able to slip away from my affection. He did not pay much attention to the discussion around the table--Cindy, Jackson, and Kyra were arguing about the university plan to build a new set of dorms further out on West Campus--and thumbed mindlessly through the book. The waitress stopped by and the check was settled. "You guys up for going to grab a drink somewhere?" finally asked Cindy. She looked at Daniel. "Our treat, birthday boy." Jackson and Kyra nodded. They were about to leave when a beautiful blonde in a tall pair of boots and jeans so tight they looked painted on approached them. "Hey guys, I just wanted to drop this off for you before you left." She distributed four postcard-sized thick and glossy announcements. Daniel glanced at it. It was a typical university announcement card, the likes of which he had seen countless times on tables all over campus proclaiming upcoming shows and special events. This one showed a montage of several feminine body parts--mostly legs and asses--surrounding the well-known logo of The Spirited Flesh, the popular local strip club. "The Spring Amateur Show," advertised the card, "Saturday April 10 @ 9PM." "You guys definitely have to come," said the blonde, making sure to make eye contact with each of them, but lingering especially on Daniel and Jackson. "It's going to be huge. Lots of sexy girls putting on a show." She looked at Cindy and Kyra. "You two should consider entering the competition. Trust me, your boyfriends will love it." She glanced meaningfully at Kyra. "And you--redheads are usually a huge hit. Especially one put together like you are." To make sure her meaning was not misunderstood, she let her gaze travel down and back up Kyra's tight body, making the redhead blush. "See you there," she grinned, strolling down the aisle to approach the next booth. "She's right you know," teased Jackson, earning himself a punch in the shoulder. They left the restaurant and found a bar to continue the birthday celebration. Serena never came back. * * * A few hours later, Daniel and Cindy were walking back towards her dormitory--Daniel walking her home. Spring always brought a few random attacks on students, mostly coming from young disenfranchised from the rural community around North Alexandria that felt left out of the live of the University, a consequence of the not uncommon Town and Gown tension in college towns the world over. Nothing too dangerous, usually: a few muggings, a few instances of harassment falling well short of sexual assault. But Daniel would have felt odd letting Cindy walk alone. She had laughed at that, pointing out she more often than not walked alone without any sort of problem. He had simply retorted that she was tipsy enough to make the situation different this time. She had giggled at that before admitting that she had indeed drunk too much, and that she appreciated his company. And then she had leaned over conspiratorially and opened her purse. "Although look what I have." He had peered inside. "Is that...?" She had nodded. "Yup. A taser. Courtesy of my father. One of those few times when... well, when he spared a thought for me." She had made a face, but had not elaborated, and Daniel had not pressed. They were silent now, walking slowly in the cool air of the night, Cindy with her arm under his, leaning against him. Daniel relished the silence, a welcome respite from the noise and celebration of the evening. It had been fun, he recognized. Amazing how one's world could change in a short year. Cindy seemed content to just walk with him. While she was not as nervous as she had appeared earlier in the evening, he could still feel tension from her, hiding under her giggling intoxicated state. He stole a glance at the blonde. She looked good in the short cocktail dress that she had donned for the occasion--she rarely dressed up, she had explained. Good looking, and sweet. While her daily persona seemed calculated to make everyone think she was a blonde airhead, Daniel had come to know the quiet almost shy girl underneath the mask. He was not ready for a new relationship--had no interest in starting over again. Cindy was a friend, and that was that. He thought back to that discussion with Serena--why did she leave so suddenly earlier this evening?--where she advised him to just find someone to have sex with and work out some tension. She had even suggested Cindy, said the girl would not mind at all. Daniel had grunted noncommittally in response. He had an inkling that Cindy liked him--her flirting the previous semester had been rather intense at times--but since Jenn left, she had not made a move, even when he was arguably vulnerable. Instead, she had stood by him and was a friend. Why would he jeopardize that? Stability. He realized he craved stability. "What are you thinking?" she asked, softly. With a start, he saw that they had reached the steps leading to the entrance of her building. "Do you ever wish things to be the way they were when you were a kid. I'm thinking, what? Ten? Eleven? Before all of this drama? Before the teenage years? Before time started accelerating like nuts?" Cindy looked at him, a smile that looked bitter on her face. "Back to ten or eleven? Not really, no." "I had this pal, Tim, called him Timmy. We used to just hang out, ride our bikes, listen to some music. Life was good then." Cindy squeezed his hand. "It's not that bad, now." Daniel did not reply. Cindy climbed up on the first step and turned around to face him. "So we're here," she said, to flesh out the silence. Her nervousness seemed to have returned. "We are. So, we're till meeting tomorrow to work on our project, right?" "I'm there if you are." "Perfect. Well, I should thank you for a very nice evening. I had fun." He leaned over to kiss her. He had not known that he would do it until he was doing it. Their lips touched, pressed, melted into each other. Cindy's lips were soft, insistent, yielding. And then they parted, and her tongue sneaked out to lick over his own lips, teasing him. Cindy moved closer to Daniel, her body now pressing into his. He put a hand down her back. He could feel her breasts on his chest. Unbidden, the image of a naked Cindy--breasts exposed, perfect legs straddling his lap, tight ass resting on his groin, grinding onto his dick and riding him slowly while little whimpers of pleasure escaped her throat--rose in his mind. It came as a shock. He wanted her. So much for all those resolutions, he marveled. She's a friend, his internal voice mocked, why would I jeopardize that? And what about Jenn? He pulled out of the kiss. Before he could say anything, Cindy spoke with a tremor in her voice. "Would you like to come up?" "It's probably not a good idea. Besides, your roommate probably has plans--" "She's away for the next few days. Field trip." She paused. "Come on, just a nightcap. I promise--promise--I'll behave. Besides, I have something for you." Daniel pondered, then gave in, the way he knew he would. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought. "Do you have tea?" "I'm sure we'll find something." She signed him in, and brought him up to her room. It was one of the large dormitory rooms that the University reserved for the most academically accomplished students: central living room and kitchenette attached to two separate bedrooms. Except for its size, it had the look and feel of dorm rooms everywhere, including distinct and vaguely clashing decorating styles. "Preferences as to the kind of tea?" asked Cindy, headed to the kitchenette "Huh, not really. Green if you have some, otherwise, any kind of herbal. A bit late for caffeine for me." He sat on the futon couch, a comfortable affair overloaded with pillows. On the coffee table before him, magazines were piled up, from Cosmopolitan to Discovery, along with at least one French philosophical magazine. And several old paperbacks: he spotted Robots of Dawn, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Martian Chronicles, Tarnsman of Gor. "Green tea," said Cindy from the kitchenette. "Melinda's got some here. She went on a health kick last year--didn't last but we inherited all this weird food. And green tea. Ah, there it is. I didn't know you drank that." "It's a new thing. Melinda--your roommate right? What's she studying?" "Yeah, Melinda. If you ask me, she really studies old timey sci-fi, and puts up a front about studying robotics. Probably just so that she can say she programmed Asimov's three laws into her robots." "Asimov's laws, huh?" "Spend enough time with my roomie and it's crazy what you pick up." "So this is geek central, then." Cindy came back to the couch carrying a tray with a tea pot, a mug, and large glass. "That dig would be a lot more effective on me if I hadn't already seen your friend Radhu." Daniel flinched. "Touche. You're not having tea?" "Nope." She pointed to the glass filled with a transparent liquid in which a lime wedge was floating. "Gin and tonic." She sat down next to him. While he poured himself some tea, she downed nearly all of her drink in a few swallows. Before he could comment on it, she handed him an envelope. "Your second gift," she said, a nervous giggle on her lips. He looked at her. "Cin, you didn't have to. Your first gift was already way too generous." "This is different. This is... just open it. I..." She fidgeted as he took the envelope. "Cin, what's with you tonight?" "Nothing! Nothing. Just... I'll be right back, okay? Just open it." She nearly ran to one of the bedroom doors, leaving Daniel to wonder what was going on with her. He looked at the envelope. It was the size of a birthday card. He opened it, pulling out what was indeed a card. He smiled at the joke setup on the cover, and opened the card. A small folded piece of paper fell out. All around the joke punchline on the card--You're lucky I didn't think it was your barf-day! Ha! Ha!--Cindy had scribbled a message. Daniel--you have made the last few months incredible. I don't think you could ever know why, or just how much. You are simply wonderful, and I feel privileged to have you close. Thank you for your patience and understanding. You have been an amazing friend. Use the attached at your convenience. Love, Cindy. He was confused. Patience? Understanding? He picked the folded piece of paper. Inside, seven simple words. Good for one blow job, anytime, anywhere. It was signed Cindy. He stared at the piece of paper a long time, conflicting emotions fighting it out in his chest. The first was an overpowering feeling of lust. He had been aroused by her kiss only minutes earlier, and now the vision of Cindy on her knees worshipping him lovingly, her blonde hair bobbing, lips stretched out around his dick, tongue dancing around its head, her mouth sloppily bobbing up and down--would she take the lead, sucking him aggressively, hungrily, or would she want him to be in charge, letting her mouth be a receptacle for his desire? Underneath this flash of lust was the stark reminder of what he had lost. And the accompanying pain. This paper in his hands. Good for one blow job, anytime, anywhere. It could not be a coincidence, could it? It was too much like that board game that he and Jenn had played the previous semester--What is thy Bidding, my Master?--during which she gave him essentially carte blanche to explore his control fantasies. He had learned a lot about himself, a lot about Jenn, and the two of them, he liked to think, had grown closer after the experience. Until Jenn left, of course. And now this. The universe mocking him. While Daniel rode the wave of his feelings, Cindy returned. "I was too freaked out to be in the room when you opened it," she said, her voice small, anxious. She had swapped her dress for a thigh-length large tee shirt, blue with a large decal of Minnie Mouse on the front looking very happy to be nestled between a firm pair of breasts. Cindy's marvelous legs were exposed--and while she was not showing less skin than she had in the short dress she had worn earlier, it seemed even more revelatory now. That her small feet were bare--her toenails were lacquered pink, he registered absently--made her look even more vulnerable. Looking back up, another memory blossomed in his mind. When Jenn had her nightshirt on she usually went pantiless, something he had taken advantage of many a night. His face tightened at the memory. This was indeed incredibly stupid. I should leave. Looking worried about the expression on his face, Cindy slowly made her way to sit next to him. She had a new drink in her hands, and sampled it, eyeing him nervously. "Cin, what is this?" He lifted the paper. He was trying to keep his voice even. "Your second gift." "I got that part, thank you. But why that particular gift?" Cindy giggled, her smile flattering. "Doesn't every guy in the world like blow jobs?" She leaned back, her body language a mixture of casual and defying, and she drank some more. "That's not what I mean. Why a card like that?" "It was a just an idea..." "Don't give me that. You know exactly what I mean. So I repeat, why a card like that?" He stared at her, hard. She looked back at him for a beat, before averting his eyes. He could see her jaw clench, then relax. She sighed, took another sip of her drink. "Serena... Serena told me." Great, he thought. "Told you what?" "About the game, the game you were playing last semester, with... with Jenn and stuff, and she said how much fun you had, and it sounded like a cool idea, and I just..." She took another mouthful of her drink. Her hand was shaking. "I just thought you might enjoy it. Keep you distracted a bit. And maybe we could have some fun together." Her voice was growing small. Were he to have been paying attention, Daniel would have seen that Cindy was breaking down--the happy-go-lucky girl with a permanent smile on her face was slowly losing her assurance and her self-control, and seemed on the verge of tears. But he was getting too upset himself to notice any of that. "Have some fun together? Is that it? That's what you were thinking about? Some fun? How could you?" "If you don't like it--" He took a deep breath. "It's not a question of liking it or not. Look, leaving aside the fact that that was something personal that you had no business knowing--that's probably something that I'm gonna have to settle with Serena and her big mouth--you have no idea, okay? You have no idea what this does, what this means, what this leads to!" His voice was rising. He was shaking the piece of paper between them like an over-the-top attorney in a David Kelley production. "You're upset--" "No kidding I'm upset! Do you know what happened? Did you bother asking more about it? Did you spend even a second wondering if this was a good idea, or did you just want to have some fun so much that everything else was minor and not to be bothered with?" Cindy was shirking before his anger, looking even more anxious, and worried. "I don't understand--" Daniel clenched his teeth. "You wanna know what happened? What happened with that game you mentioned? That game where we had so much fun Jenn and I?" He realized he was shaking in anger and self-disgust, but he could not stop himself. "It was all my fault, you see--it was all me! All me! I've caused this, all of this!" He made a sweeping gesture. "Did Serena tell you about that day in the Arts Quad--fuck, you were there!--how I gave her a stupid card and told her go and flirt with Jackson. I don't even know why I fuckin' did it--I've been asking myself that question since that day, since the minute when that fuckhead Biff tried to put the move on Jenn in that field and then threatened to rape her. All because I sent her out there, all because I gave her that card, all because I played that stupid game!" He was almost screaming at that point, and forced himself to settle down and breathe. Cindy was looking at him with wide eyes, face aghast, mouth open. That's the crux, isn't it, he told himself in a cool internal voice. It has nothing to do with her. She doesn't know. She was there, but she doesn't know. But now she does. It's all my fault. I caused it. All of it. Dear God. He felt exhausted, suddenly, his anger spent. "Oh my God--Dan, I'm so sorry! Had I known... Oh my God! I'm such an idiot!" "No, you're not." His voice was tired, slow. "Selfish, maybe, but not an idiot. How could you have known?" He looked at her. "You've been a good friend this last month, Cin. And against my better judgment, I let you be one. And clearly that was a mistake. It was all a plot, wasn't it? A ploy to... what? Seduce me? Ah! Look at me, I'm complaining because a girl maneuvered to get into my pants. I guess that's what all those women mean when they say they feel used, right? Can't believe I'd get to say that myself." He shook his head, a grimace on his face. "I have to go." "Please don't!" cried out Cindy, putting her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry!" "Cin, just let me go." "Don't!" Her voice was panicky. "I take it back, I take it all back! Don't go! Please!" There were tears in her eyes. She was shaking. She collapsed back on the couch, grabbing her head in her hands, her eyes squeezed shut. Her hands turned into fists, and she started to bang them against her temples, hard, groaning all the while. "Idiot! Fuck up! Such a fuck up! What were you thinking?" Her voice shook with her blows. "You couldn't help yourself, could you? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She was hitting herself so hard that Daniel, all of his own anger dissipated, had to intervene. He grabbed her hands and pushed them down. She was strong and was resisting. "Cin--hey, it's okay. I mean, look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... You took me by surprise, I was shocked, a bit hurt, but it's all better now, okay? I'm not going anywhere, okay? I'm staying with you until we figure this out." Cindy opened her eyes and looked at him, tears streaming down her face. He almost took a step back at what he saw there, pain, rage, hatred. "You don't understand! I'm an idiot, an idiot! I knew it was a bad idea! But I did it! I was so envious, I wanted it so bad, I needed it so bad, so I went and did it and now it's all gone bad and you're angry and you hate me and you're gonna leave and I'll never see you again and and and--" Her tears were flowing freely now, and they were stuffing her nose and she could not breathe any longer and and to take deep lungfuls of air through her mouth. She had stopped struggling, and so Daniel reached for a nearby box of tissue to hand to her, wondering just what was happening. Had he not been the one angry not a moment earlier? Now that was all but forgotten. "Cin, I'm not angry, not anymore, and I won't leave--well, yeah, eventually, you know, to go sleep, but you'll see me again. Cin, you're kindda starting to freak me out here--" At that point, Cindy let out a huge sob, and like a damn bursting she wailed and sobbed and before he knew it he was cradling her in his arms, her head in his chest, his hands on her back, rubbing softly, while she cried harder than he had ever seen anyone cry, huge sobs wracking her back and making her clench her fists into his back. Whatever was happening, it had to go much deeper than just reacting to his own outburst. He let Cindy cry for as long as she needed, until her sobs gave way to whimpers that themselves gave way to sniffling and labored breathing. After a while, she reached for a handful of tissue and blew her nose. Her breathing slowly returned to normal, and she just leaned against Daniel. She shivered. When she spoke again, her voice sounded drained of life. "I asked Serena a few days ago about what you might enjoy for your birthday. She laughed and said a good lay. I questioned her further, and that's when she told me about the game you played with Jenn. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pushed her to tell me. But when she told me, I just became insanely jealous. I mean, I knew you loved Jenn--that was clear as the eyes on your face--and I wanted someone to love me like that too, but that, what she told me, it just dug deep. It was exactly the kind of thing I've craved ever since... well, ever since Farid dumped me." She let the sentence hang in the air, as if it answered every question Daniel might have had. It did nothing of the sort. "Who's Farid," he asked softly. Cindy snorted. "Who's Farid, he asks." She shook her head. "Just the best and worst thing that ever happened to me. Where do I start?" She blew her nose again, then leaned back on the couch, her shoulders slumped. "How about at the beginning?" asked Daniel, still speaking softly. "I think I'll need another drink for that one." "And I think you've had quite enough for the evening, young lady." She smiled, a small smile that felt forced more than anything else. "Then how about some of that tea, then?" He poured her a mup, which she took gratefully, letting her hands warm up against its sides. "I guess it started midway through my first year of high school," she said. Her voice was monotone, almost a drone. "I met this boy. He was older, a senior. Farid. Cute, pretty smart, and a classic bad boy. He didn't use drugs or stuff like that, but I'm pretty sure he stole cars. And he drove this old bike, a real beauty. Anyways, he took a liking to me. I was a little nerdy girl, pretty much a cliche--big glasses, no sense of dress, only thing missing were the braces, thank God! But Farid saw something in me, and pursued me. Not that it took a lot of pursuing. He took me out to a movie, then to some dinner, then brought me over to his place. He lived alone in a small apartment. And there we fucked. I didn't want to. Well, I did, but didn't want to. It's complicated. But he took my virginity. On his bed. It was the best day of my life." She looked in the distance, a dreamy look on her face. Then she looked back down at her legs, nervously tugging the hem of her nightshirt down. "I was broken when I met him," she said after a long silence that Daniel had not dared interrupt. "Still am, in fact. See, I had made out with guys before him, but I discovered I had this... block. I could kiss and stuff, but as soon as things would get too far... well, I'd freak out. Start fighting back, pushing the guy away. Even though I might have wanted it originally, I just... yeah, freaked out. Don't know why. I've been to therapists, and none of them could really explain it either. Oh, they have theories about this and that and trauma and protecting my inner self and something about the death of my mother--" She paused, closed her eyes, took a deep breath. The mug in her hand was shaking slightly. "Point is," she continued, "Farid didn't care. Or cared so much it didn't let it stop him. When I started freaking out that first time we made out, he just ignore me and kept going, and while I tried to fight him off he just thrust inside of me, and then it was like he had unleashed a monster. I fucked him like there was no tomorrow. And that happened over and over again. We'd make out, I'd freak out, tried to fight him off, and he'd just take me, and push me through that wall inside and he'd find that sex-hungry girl on the other side. He's the only guy I ever met that could do that, push me through that wall. And that girl on the other side, well, she would have done anything for that boy. Anything. "And because of that, Farid owned me. For two years, he could do whatever he wanted to me. I was a virgin when I met him--afterwards, there was nothing I hadn't done. For two years, I did everything he asked me to do, everything. I just surrendered myself. Once in a while, the wall would rise up again and I'd freak out and try to push him away but when that happened he just grab me and fuck me and push me through my wall again, finding a slut ready to do anything for him with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Making him happy was the single most important thing in my life." Daniel frowned. That sounded crazy. "When you say you did everything he asked you to do, you mean...?" "I mean exactly what you think I mean. I fucked whenever and whomever he told me to fuck. He taught me everything--how to fuck, how to suck, how to turn a man on, how to turn a woman on. He got me to wear dresses and skirts all the time, with boots or heels, anything to show off my legs. He loved it when we were out and men would stare at me, wanting me, and always made sure I'd encourage them. He told me to flash them whenever I could, and I did. And I loved it, to be desired and objectified like that. And it's not hard to understand why--" She stopped herself, shook her head. "My junior year, he made me stop by his place every morning on my way to school to wake him up with a blow job. Sometimes he'd come in my hair and made me go to class like that, with his junk stiffening on my head. "And he'd bring me to parties, and have me change into some lingerie and parade around all evening, and guys would hit on me and I'd have to tell them to go see Farid and ask him if he would let them have me and more often than not Farid would say yes and offer my mouth or my pussy to the guy to use as he pleased--never my ass, Farid kept it for himself--and I loved it, I loved it all, loved how he would order me around, never raising his voice, in his calm tone of his, just looking at me, saying 'get on your knees and flip up your dress' or 'unbutton your shirt and let that man see your tits--I want you to look at him in the eyes while you make your nipples hard.' I get wet just thinking about it; I can almost hear his voice still." Tears had started streaming down her face again, and she was kneading her hands together on her lap. "Once in a while, he'd punish me--maybe I didn't obey his request fast enough, or I wore underwear when he had told me not to, or just because he felt like it. Then he'd put me in this chastity belt--I kid you not--and he'd keep it on for weeks at a time, doing his best to turn me on and keep me aroused but without release, all the while he used my mouth and my breasts for his pleasure. After two weeks I'd be insane with lust, begging him to let me come, promising to do anything he wanted--and he'd smile and tell me I'd do anything he wanted anyways. I'd jump and shiver every time someone touched me, at school, on the bus. And then finally he'd let me out and I'd rub myself against him and just like that I'd explode, telling him I loved him, I'd always love him, as I practically peed on his leg." She dropped her face into her hands as she sobbed anew. Daniel, not knowing what to say, reached his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, and she sobbed against him for a few minutes. He did not know what to think. "I loved him," Cindy said eventually, once her sobs had faded. "I know I shouldn't have, but I did. I hated some of the stuff he made me do, but at the same time, I loved it all. I can't explain it. It was just so... easy to be with him. To just let myself go and do as he said. To never have to make another decision, to never be responsible for anything. The good girl, the sane girl in me rebelled at that--maybe that's what the wall was, good sense--but the little girl inside craved it like a candy. "After my high school prom, Farid dumped me. Told me to go, that I was too bright to spend the rest of my life with a bum like him. That I would go on to bigger and better things. Save the world, stuff like that. I protested, pleaded, fought. He never relented. He said that his decision was final, that he never wanted to see me again, that if I kept on hounding him he would sell me to a friend of his that kept a kennel and that he'd turn me into the resident fluffer bitch. "I was heartbroken. I zombied my way through the last month of summer, then moved here and tried to move on with my life. And have been mostly successful. But there's this big chunk missing, right here--" she touched her sternum, "and I don't know how to fix it." She started crying again. Daniel tried to console her once more, holding her close, rubbing her back. He was dazed, all thoughts of his earlier upset gone. He was bewildered by the picture Cindy had just painted, and just could not reconcile it with the image of the girl he thought he knew. Of course, he knew that there was more depth to her than she let on, little glimpses of which she sprung on him here and there, such as the doctoral applications earlier that evening. But nothing had prepared him for what she had told him. "It's okay, Cin. You're okay. I'm not going anywhere. Look, I know it's hard to lose someone. But you'll get over it, you'll see." Even to his own ears it sounded lame. The same sort of crap they had fed him when Jenn left. "You don't understand! I'm broken. I haven't been with a guy for four years now, except for--" She grunted, then took a deep breath. "I've got this psychological block and because of it I just can't... I just can't have sex. And you know what that leads to on most dates? An epic fizzle. But I want to do it, I really do. I just need a man to push me hard enough, to not take no for an answer, a man that will possess me completely, body and soul. Like Farid did." Tears were streaming down her face again. She pressed closer against Daniel, turning her head to drop her face into his neck. "I miss him so much," she whispered, wrapping her arms around Daniel. He hugged her back. Cindy, in one smooth motion, flipped her legs over his and pulled herself onto his lap, squeezing him even closer. She was crying softly, her head on his shoulder. He tried to comfort her as best as he could, aware of the warmth of her body against his, of how thin her nightshirt was. Her ass was pressing right into his crotch, and her breasts into his chest. "That's why," continued Cindy, her voice low, "when Serena told me about your little game, I went nuts. Jenn had told her pretty much everything, you see, and Serena just repeated it to me. Don't be mad at her, please. I begged her for it, and told her that I was asking in order to better please you. She wanted to help. She told me how you were there in the Arts Quad and how you told Jenn to go and flirt with Jackson, just like that, all cool and collected, all 'go and make him hard and make him want you,' and it was so exactly what Farid would have done that it made me all wet." She breathed hard onto his neck, edging her face closer. "It still makes me wet." "Had it been me," she continued, "had it been me that you had ordered to go and flirt with Jackson, I'd have done it. I'd have walked up to him, slowly, swinging my hips wide, walking with that gait that told boys that I've got one thing on my mind and I know exactly where to get it, and I'd have walked right up to him, and he would have turned towards me with those big baby blues of his and they would have traveled up and down my body and before he could have said a thing I would have grabbed his hand and put it on my tit, like this--" and she did just that, taking hold of Daniel's hand and lifting it up between their bodies, and pressing it on her breast, firm and full and with a hard small nipple that Daniel could feel through the nightshirt, and he was about to protest when Cindy moved on his lap, "and then I'd have stepped up to him and I'd have kissed him before he could say a thing," and just like that she slid her lips onto Daniel's and kissed him hard, fierce, hot, her hand over his over her breast pressing harder as her tongue slipped through his lips. Daniel knew he should have resisted. Cindy was intoxicated, emotional, vulnerable--probably unable to make any kind of decision right then. But he was himself overwhelmed by the physical and emotional tensions in the room. And she felt so good in his arms, and it had been a long time that he had not felt someone close, and her lips were so soft, and her weight was so pleasant on his lap. When she finally let him go, she kept her forehead pressed against his, breathing hard. Her eyes were closed. She was still lost in her fantasy. "I'd have brought him down with me, onto the grass, lying down on top of him, and as I kissed him he would have run his hands down my body, making me squirm, then he'd have lifted my little skirt and pawed by behind through my panties, and I'd have moaned in his mouth and started shifting my hips to rub my crotch against his dick and his dick would have been so hard against me I'm sure, and I'd have been so wet too that I'd have soaked his jeans with my juices. I'd have made him so hard that he'd be whimpering in need. And then--" her voice dropped, and she pressed her ass hard against Daniel's cock, and rubbed it back and forth. Daniel's hand unwittingly dropped to her leg and the feel of the smooth skin of her thigh under his fingers was like an electric shock. "And then I'd have told him to go talk to you, to go ask you if he could have me, take me, fuck me--for a fee, for a favor, just for a thank you--and if you'd have said yes I'd have done it too, I'd have fucked him, sucked him, done anything you'd wanted me to do with him. I'd have made you hot! I'd have made you proud of me! Please!" Tears were once more flowing down her face, and she was kissing his cheeks and his lips and his eyelids, saying "please!" over and over again, swaying her ass on his lap. "Cindy--" "Please! I'll make it so good! The best you ever had! Just take me! Take me! Please, just take me! I'll fight, I'll scream, I'll scratch, but just take me--right here on the floor. Rip off my panties, gag me with them, tie me up, and then just shove into me as hard as you can and rip me apart! Please!" She sobbed, her words becoming difficult to understand, as Daniel tried to soothe her. "Please!" she cried, "Just take me. I need it. Please!" She collapsed in his arms, sobbing without restraint. Daniel's mind was whirring like a out-of-control engine, trying to comprehend all that he had learned and how to deal with the poor girl cradled in his arms. It was as if a levee had broken deep in her mind, and everything that had been kept at bay had come pouring out. He had to navigate this carefully. He had not intention of forcing himself onto her, and certainly not now, not in the state she was in. But an out and out rejection might well crush her. And he did not want to see her crushed. He cared about her. What to do? Cindy was now quiet in his arms, her head on his shoulder, her body inert. His shirt was drenched with her tears. She had cried herself out. "Cin, listen to me. I'm sorry, but I can't force myself on you the way you want. I just can't. It would not be right. Yes," he said before she could articulate the obvious objection, "even if that's what you want, deep inside. I can't know that, not in the state you're in." Cindy breathed deeply against him, then pulled back without looking him in the eye. Her voice was flat, empty, exhausted. "I understand. I told you, I was an idiot. How could you want me? I mean, look at me, I'm a wreck, a useless shell. I've got nothing to offer anyone. No wonder Farid left me--he knew the truth. I'm worthless. I'm nothing." Daniel shook his head. "Now you're being an idiot. You're not worthless. Far from it. And all I said was that I wouldn't force myself on you..." Cindy finally looked at him, confused. She had picked up on the lilt at the end of his sentence. "Then, what...?" "Cindy, please stand up." She looked at him, hesitant. He had the distinct impression that she had reached a point where thinking was physically difficult. He rolled his eyes, a smile on his face. "For someone that wants--begs--to be told what to do, you don't really obey orders quickly, do you?" "What...?" "Just do it. Please stand up." She did. Daniel looked at her, letting his eyes roam down her body. She was beautiful--different from Jenn, certainly, but beautiful still. Her nightshirt hugged her body, and her breasts were pulling it taut. He let his eyes glide over her legs, smooth and soft and flawless. He felt a stirring of guilt, thinking about Jenn, but he pushed it out of his mind. In a weird way, Cindy needed him right now, and perhaps he needed her in return. When he looked back up, Cindy's eyes were boring into his. Her face was still wet from her tears, her eyes red, but she no longer looked sad. She looked--expectant. As if she was holding her breath waiting to see what he would do next. Daniel smiled at her, and after a moment she smiled back, a hesitant smile. "Good," he said, nodding to the floor, "now, please lie down." After another hesitation, Cindy did. There was enough room next to the coffee table for her to stretch out, and she did. Her nightshirt pulled up with the movement, and revealed a thin pair of white lacy panties happily nestled where her thighs met. Daniel stood. Cindy kept her gaze fixed on him, without saying a word. He was not even sure she was still breathing. He knelt at her feet. She did not move. When he put his hands on her ankles, she gasped softly. When he gripped those ankles and used them to lift and spread her legs, she let out a deep breath. He felt her tense up. If he was wrong about this, he thought, she would start fighting back soon. He hoped he was not. "Tell me, this psychological block of yours--does it only kick in when a man tries to have sex with you?" "Pretty much." "Penetration?" "That, and blow jobs too. So yeah, I guess, penetrations." "Fingers?" She had to think about that one. "No..." "That's what I was hoping for." He ran his hands up her legs, marveling at the smoothness of her skin. When his palms were on her thighs--the flesh soft and tight--he lay down between her legs, his face a few inches from her crotch. Not only were her panties wet--he could see a spot forming on the flimsy material--but he could smell her from where he was, a honeydew fragrance that made him hungry. He ran his hands further up and slipped them under her ass, cupping her cheeks, and pulling her up. Cindy gasped. "Dan, what are you doing?" "You really gotta ask?" He landed a soft kiss through her panties, making her shiver. He could feel the bumps of her pussy lips through the material, and could taste her juices. He kissed her again, and again, pressing lightly every time, and was rewarded by a moan, and an effort on Cindy's part to push her hips up and seek a deeper contact. "Ooooh! You... you really shouldn't..." Daniel lifted his head, and admired the view from where he was, staring up at her upper body with her nightshirt rucked up, exposing her stomach but still covering her breasts, two soft mounds of flesh tenting the cotton. "Nonsense. It's my birthday, isn't it? Please push your panties aside." It was not an order, just a request, and Cindy let out another soft moan and sneaked a hand between her legs and delicately, with two small fingers, pulled aside the thin material covering her pussy. Daniel took just a few seconds to admire the beautiful pussy in front of him, its blood-engorged lips dripping with arousal and a trimmed patch of blonde fur just above it, before he closed in and ran his tongue in one long lick up from the bottom of her slit up to the hard knob of her clit. Cindy's breath caught, and her pelvis jerked in a long spasm. Daniel gave three more long licks in exactly the same fashion, eliciting exactly the same reaction, relishing the fresh new taste, an overly sweet taste, with almost no musky kick--not unpleasant at all, just unexpected. He plunged his tongue deep into Cindy's pussy, trying to reach in as far as he would go, licking and thrusting inside, his lips smashed against her own lips. She seemed to enjoy it, and her free hand--the one not holding her panties out--came to rest on top of his head, pressing down softly, and Daniel took it as encouragement. He redoubled his efforts, licking and sucking with wild abandon, enjoying the feel of Cindy's thighs sometimes pressing on the sides of his head when sensations were too strong for the petite blonde. After several minutes, Daniel lifted his head to breathe, and Cindy took advantage of the pause to quickly slip off her panties, who were well on their way to ruin anyways. She then sprawled back on the floor, her beautiful legs spread wide, and Daniel admired shamelessly the spectacle of her legs meeting together with a pussy shiny with his saliva and her own copious juices. Cindy's eyes were closed, her lips partly open, and one of her hands was playing with one of her breasts through her shirt, kneading it softly, small movements of her hips betraying her high state of arousal. Daniel lubed his fingers on the juices leaking down from her pussy and smoothly slipped two inside the warm and welcoming slit. A silky tightness greeted him as he pushed two fingers as deep as they would go, to the background music of Cindy soft groans. Her pussy sucked his fingers in, and Daniel could not help wonder how it might feel to sink his cock insider her. He pulled his fingers out slowly, his eyes trained on Cindy's hand still grabbing her breast, and shoved them in harder. Once more and then he dove down and wrapped his lips around her hard clit and sucked. Cindy stiffened, her hands reflexively grabbed his head, and then she lifted her legs and held them up, with a hand behind each knee to provide him better access. He sucked her clit hard, rhythmically, almost violently, as he pumped two finger in and out of her. Juices were streaming steadily down, and Daniel wondered how Cindy would react were he to slide in a finger inside her thoroughly lubricated anus. She might not even notice given her current state. Then again, it may be enough to send her over the edge. Instead, he added a third finger to the two already pumping in and out of Cindy's pussy, forcing her to open up wider, which she did with a groan that shifted quickly back into the soft moaning she had been continually emitting. Her breathing was rapid, and her legs were starting to shake, whether due to excitement or fatigue he could not tell. He just concentrated on bringing her to orgasm. Which she did, all of a sudden, her body stiffening up, her breath catching, her legs scissoring over his back and squeezing his head between her thighs--her crotch pushed hard into his face. Daniel could feel her pussy walls tighten forcefully around his fingers, and he pushed them inside as far as they would go and left them there, enjoying the feel of her pussy spasming wildly around them, all the while sucking hard on her throbbing clit. Cindy peaked for a long time. Daniel did not mind. He marveled at the difference between her orgasms and Jenn's. Jenn had always been very vocal, unafraid to talk and scream and urge him on. Cindy had been quiet, almost silent, except for low moans and gasps. And whereas Jenn would come explosively, in a grand release, Cindy had reached her plateau correspondingly gently, as if pleasure had sneaked up on her. It was fascinating. Again, he had to make an effort to push further thoughts of his ex-fiancee out of his mind. Cindy urged him up by grabbing his head. He barely had time to wipe the excess of her juices from his lips and chin before she sought his mouth and kissed him with passion, not seeming to mind that he must have tasted of her, wrapping her arms and legs around him to cradle him close. She was still shaking. When she let him go after a long kiss, she had trouble catching her breath. "Wow," she mumbled, looking at him. "That was something. Thank you." "My pleasure," he replied. She was adorable. "Oh no, definitely my pleasure this time. I'm pretty sure." She sighed, stretched out. "You're not going to... you know, take me, are you?" She sounded disappointed, in a lazy what-can-you-do way. Daniel smiled, shook his head. "Not tonight, Cin. I can't do it. I hope you understand. There's--" "Sssh," she said, kissing him quickly on the lips, and interrupting him. "It's okay, I understand. But keep the paper, okay? And if you ever change your mind, just give it to me. It'll be our signal." She kissed him again, a longer kiss that engulfed them both for a time. * * * Stepping out into the night upon leaving Cindy's dormitory, a bag containing Kyra's painting as well as Serena's small-scale model under his arm, Daniel pondered what had just happened, going over Cindy's story again. In the still air of the night, it felt like an odd dream. Working backwards from the quasi-tryst with Cindy on the floor of her living room to the dinner back at the restaurant, he remembered that he had promised Radhu he would call him. He did so. "Hey Rad. Sorry it took so long to get back to you." "Not to worry, Daniel. I trust you had a pleasant denouement to the evening festivities?" "Yeah, I think so. Weird, but good. The world's a strange place, my friend." "Sharper minds than ours have long been stating something similar, albeit using mathematical equations to highlight just how strange the strangeness may be." "I'll take your word for it. So, you wanted me to call when I was done?" "Yes, I did." He paused. "You remember the software I have installed to monitor cameras on campus and an a few in the city? They have picked up something of interest." "Really? Did you find Snowman?" "No," added Radhu, with a slight hesitation. "You may want to come over and see it yourself." "Rad, is everything okay?" "I am unsure, Daniel. I am utterly unsure." Fifteen minutes later, Daniel was buzzing at his friend's door. "So, what's going on?" he asked Radhu after the Indian let him in. "Please sit down, and direct your attention to the monitor to your right. This was flagged by my program at fifteen hundred today and recorded automatically. I saw it when I reviewed the daily logs." He tapped his keyboard, and the blank screen of the monitor flashed to life, showing a scene that Daniel took a moment to place. "The Student Center?" Radhu nodded. "Yes. This is the feed from the camera in the north-east corner of the main seating area. This point of the view is the most panoramic. There is a secondary feed from a side camera that I can put on this other monitor here." Radhu tapped his keyboard again, and the image on the second monitor flashed as well. The camera was aimed at one of the exits from the center, and captured a few of the tables closest to the exit. Daniel's jaw tensed. Biff and his crew were clustered around two tables that had been pushed together, playing cards, the remnants of fast food meals littered around them. There were a few girls with them, talking and laughing, once in a while reaching over and kissing one of the guys. There was a time stamp in the lower left corner, indicating a bit past three o'clock in the afternoon. Radhu pointed. "The first monitor. Exiting the coffee dispensary." Coming out of the Starbucks tucked away in the far corner of the Student Center, two coffees in her hands, was Jenn. But unlike how Daniel had ever seen her in public before. She wore a bright fuchsia dress that really was more of a long sweater and that clung to her body like a second skin, barely reaching the upper half of her thighs, exposing her long delectable legs down to where they slipped into a pair of black stiletto-heeled boots. She walked with assurance and grace, and she exuded sex. Men, and not a few women, turned to stare at her or just track her as she walked by, and Daniel had no difficulty understanding why, or imagining what they were thinking. Jenn made her way through the crowd completely oblivious to the stares, without any suggestion of self-consciousness. Jenn glided her way to the tables where Biff and his posse were assembled, her hips swaying suggestively, maybe due to the tall heels, maybe out of a conscious attempt to entice. When she arrived, she handed one of the two cups she was carrying to Biff, who stood up before taking it, putting it down on the table, and pulling Jenn to him. Jenn molded her body to Biff's, holding on to him with one arm while still holding on to her own cup, and kissed him, a long wet kiss that offered him plenty of opportunity to run his hands down her back and settle on her ass, which she obligingly made available by going on her tiptoes. Everyone at their tables started cheering--that was clear, even though the monitor did not convey sound--making a commotion that attracted much of that part of the Center's attention. Biff's hands were freely roaming Jenn's body, threatening to lift her dress off, while he practically slobbered all over her face. Jenn lifted one of her long legs, and Biff slipped one of his hands under her thigh, under her dress, while she wrapped that leg around Biff's waist. She let her weight rest completely in Biff's hands. Jenn seemed completely enthralled by it all. Daniel was astonished. This was so public, so exhibitionist, so in-your-face that it was almost obscene. Things hardly improved when the couple stopped their embrace. After Biff sat down on a seat, he patted his thigh and Jenn obediently sat down astride his lap, one arm around his shoulders, and nuzzling his neck, her long hair spilling across Biff's back, the perfect picture of the devoted girlfriend. They were watched carefully by several students around them, many eyeing lustfully Jenn's lithe form and long legs, undoubtedly dreaming about what she might feel like were she sitting on their laps. Then Biff pulled her head back and kissed her again, and that kiss was just as long and as passionate as their last one. Jenn was wriggling on Biff's lap, and running her hands through his hair. "I'm sorry, mate," said Radhu, his voice low. "I can hardly fathom how that must feel like. But I presumed that you wanted to see this with your own eyes." Jenn was joking with some of the girls, swinging her legs, looking like she was in the best spot in the world. Biff, one arm possessively wrapped around her waist, would pull her down to him to kiss her at regular intervals. "It's okay, Rad. I guess that confirms it. They're together, the whole world knows it, and even though I can't understand it, she seems... happy." On the monitor, Biff ran his big hand down Jenn's back, then pulled on her hair sharply so that her head tilted back and he dove onto her neck, kissing and licking and sucking, while Jenn laughed. Biff ran his hands down to her ass and gripped it hard, pulling Jenn towards him. Biff was pawing her and making a public show of it. Daniel turned away from the monitor. "Okay, Rad, okay. I get it. They're back. They're together. I don't need to see any more." He sighed, shook his head. "Fuck, that hurt more than I thought it would. We've got to figure out what's going on, Rad. What Biff did to her." "There's more--" "I've seen enough, thanks. Just write the Cliffs Notes if it's important, and tell me some other time. Right now, I think I need to be alone." He left, leaving Radhu to worry about his friend. Radhu called Serena to see if she could spend some time with Daniel, to make sure he was not alone, but the reporter never answered her phone.