WARNING: This story includes sexually explicit material.

 Please note any unfamiliar spellings and phrases may be due to the
 fact I am English, not American.

 I would like to thank Morgan for all his help

 Any and all comments, including constructive criticisms would be
 most  appreciated.  Please send to artemis55@hotmail.com 

 This work is copyrighted by the author.  You may download and keep
 one copy for your personal use as long as my byline and e-mail 
 address and this paragraph remain on the copy.  Any posting or 
 reposting on a website or to a newsgroup requires my permission
 first (but I'll probably say yes). This story should not, under any
 circumstances be used to make a profit by anyone other than the author

======================================================================
IOU
Chapter 3

Ellie woke up the next morning with a surprisingly mild headache 
considering the amount and variety of drinks she had consumed the 
previous night.  She made her way downstairs to find that her 
supposition had been correct; both her parents were engaged in making 
breakfast in the kitchen.

"Good morning Elizabeth.  Would you like some bacon?"  her mother 
asked, for all the world as if this wasn't the first time she had seen 
her daughter in over a year.

"Morning Mother, Father.  No thank you, I'll just have some cereal."

"Very well."

"Oh Elizabeth," her father called.  "Have you any plans for this 
evening?"

For a moment Ellie hesitated, tempted to say, 'Yes, I'm, going to 
seduce my best friend's little brother,' but prudence triumphed and 
instead she replied, "Not really, nothing I can't cancel.  Is there 
something I can help you with?"

"Well, yes actually.  We're having an informal get together tonight of 
the M.R.C. and some of the council members."  He clucked impatiently 
when he saw Ellie's puzzled face.  "M.R.C., the Middleton Restoration 
Committee.  I wish you would pay attention sometimes to what is 
happening in the adult world.  The caterers are coming to set 
everything up but they can't stay to serve, so I was hoping you might 
be able to help out there."

"Of course.  That's not a problem.  After all, I've done it before."

"Have you dear?" her mother queried.  "That's good.  We thought you 
might like to ask one of your little friends to help you."

"I think Lizzy is working but I'll give Beth a ring to see what she's 
doing.  I'll ring her right now in fact.  Excuse me."  Ellie hurried 
into the hallway and dialled Beth's number.  Despite the early hour she 
was quickly answered.

"Hi, it's Ellie.  Is Beth there, please?"

"Hi, Ellie, it's Carl here.  I'll just get her for you."  Ellie heard 
him give a muffled yell, then he came back on the 'phone.  "Um, Ellie," 
he asked hesitantly, "you haven't changed your mind about tonight have 
you?"

"I've not changed my mind, but we're going to have to do some 
rescheduling.  My parents are back."

"Oh."  His voice held a wealth of understanding.  "It's up to you, but 
we could use my brother Nick's place.  He's taking his wife and kids to 
Euro-Disney next weekend so I'm house-sitting for him."

"Suits me.  What time?"

"Well, if you come round about seven on Friday night I'll cook you a 
nice tea," Carl offered.

"Oh, only if you want to.  You don't have to."

"Hey don't sound so worried.  I'm not that bad a cook.  I can make your 
favourite," he said temptingly

"Really?  What's my favourite?"  Ellie asked.

"Toad-in-the-Hole with lots of gravy.  Correct?"

"Correct," Ellie confirmed, slightly surprised that he had known that. 
"So unless I hear otherwise, I'll see you on Friday."

"It's a date.  Here's Beth.  See you then."

It didn't take long for Ellie to talk Beth into helping with the 
catering.  She hardly had chance to put the phone down before the 
caterer arrived and the rest of the day passed quickly as she helped 
her parents prepare for their visitors.

Judging by the level of noise the party seemed to be going well.  The 
buffet had been rapidly decimated and the majority of the guests were 
now tucking into their desserts.  Ellie and Beth circled the room 
discreetly, filling wineglasses and collecting discarded plates.  
Ellie's father was at the centre of an animated group, which was 
discussing various schemes to celebrate the opening of the new Town 
Hall.  When Ellie approached them her father he was expounding on the 
desirability of a talent night.

"It's something which would get all the community involved.  There 
would be no age or sex limitations, so anyone could enter.  That's what
we need to heighten awareness of the M.R.C.  Otherwise we won't get the 
contributions and support we need to start Phase Three."

"What kind of prizes would we offer?  They would have to be good to get 
people on stage to make fools of themselves," someone pointed out.

"I'm sure we can get some firms to donate something suitable," Ellie's 
father replied.

"It sounds like a lot of work.  I prefer the beauty contest myself.  
Lots of pretty girls in swimsuits will get us plenty of column inches."

"They'd freeze to death in our weather," Ellie's father muttered as she 
refilled his glass.  "Besides Elizabeth here would be guaranteed to 
win, so no one else would bother to enter."

"Too true.  Your daughter has grown up into a beautiful young woman, 
Fred."

Ellie's father beamed proudly as his cronies admired Ellie.  "Don't 
know where she gets it from," he declared.  "We sometimes wonder if 
there was a mix-up at the hospital.  She looks nothing like Margery or 
I and she certainly hasn't inherited any of our brains.  Not got two 
brain cells to rub together, have you Elizabeth.  So it's a good job 
she's so pretty really"

"But surely she's just back from University."

"Oh yes, but it was one of these throwaway degrees they have nowadays, 
not a real one.  What was it again Elizabeth?"

"I studied English and Media Studies."  Ellie replied meekly.

"And what are you planning to do now?" one of the councillors asked 
kindly.

"I have a job interview on Thursday with a local TV company," Ellie 
told him.

"Have you really?" her father asked.  "Well that's amazing."

"Well good luck," the kind councillor offered.

"Thank you."  Ellie responded politely.  "We will be making coffee and 
tea in a few minutes if anyone would like some."  She collected their 
orders and thankfully retreated to the kitchen.  No matter how hard she 
tried, she could not stop her father's careless indifference to her 
life from hurting.

                             * * *

With one thing and another the week passed quickly and Ellie had 
managed to push to the back of her mind exactly what she had committed 
herself to do on Friday evening.  However when she awoke on Friday 
morning she knew she could no longer close her mind to the situation 
she had got herself into.  She couldn't believe how confident she had 
been when talking to both Lizzy and Carl.  Although she had never had 
any complaints from her boyfriends she was hardly an expert on sex.  
Nor did she have any real idea of what Carl was expecting.  Feeling 
very nervous she decided to do some last-minute research.

She tried the library first.  There was no way she was going to ask the
librarian for help, but she was hoping she could find something by 
herself.  After an hour or so she gave up.  Either she was looking in 
the wrong places or an ancient translation of the Kama Sutra was all 
they had.  She had found it under Health and Medicine, which seemed a 
strange location, and it was more confusing than helpful.

Next she went into W.H. Smith's on the high street.  She picked up a 
copy of every magazine that had the word sex on the cover, including 
all the 'lad mags'.  The book section at the back was slightly more 
helpful than the library.  She found a manual on sexual massage and 
another on aromatherapy for lovers.  There was also a big glossy book 
that called itself "A guide to more active lovemaking for you and your 
partner".  Flicking through she found a step-by-step guide to doing a 
strip tease, complete with pictures.  It seemed to be the closest thing 
to what she was looking for that she had discovered so far.  

Her heart dropped as she approached the till and recognised the shop 
assistant on duty.  She was a close friend of her mother's and renowned 
as a gossip.  Everything else Ellie was buying could be passed off as 
an interest in massage and the magazines had lots of other topics 
besides sex advertised on their covers.  The book however, was without 
doubt about one thing only.  Suddenly it seemed even bigger and more 
colourful than before.  In desperation Ellie quickly tucked it inside 
her coat under her arm.  Her face was bright red as she paid for 
everything else and she was sure a security guard was going to arrest 
her at any moment.  Somehow she managed to pay and politely answer the 
shops assistant's chit-chat.  Pausing only to shove a twenty-pound note 
in the newspaper honesty box to quiet her guilty conscience, she almost 
ran out of the shop and hurried away as fast as she could.

She spent the next few hours expanding her education.  In her room she 
was safe from interruptions.  The cleaner had learned long ago not to 
enter it and Ellie couldn't remember the last time her parents had 
knocked on her door.  The magazines were quite helpful as they gave her 
some idea of what men fantasised about.  There was also plenty of 
information about what men considered sexy.

The book was the most helpful though.  She skipped all the sections 
about sex being part of a close, loving relationship and the exercises 
for better sex as neither had any relevance to the evening's encounter.
She didn't bother with the information about contraception either.  Her
previous boyfriend had insisted on regular check-ups at the campus 
clinic so she knew she was clear.  As Carl was a virgin she didn't have
to worry about him.  Since she had been on the pill for years 
everything seemed to be covered. The chapters on diet, vitamins and 
minerals and 'making love without intercourse' she also ignored.  She 
was left with about ten chapters that covered everything from different 
positions to exploring fantasy.  Everything was clearly described with 
accompanying pictures, diagrams or photographs.  Some of the things 
Ellie had already thought of but she picked up some new ideas also.  
When she had gleaned what she could from the literature she sketched 
out a plan of action.  When she had completed it, she realised she 
would have to make another trip to the High Street to collect some 
accessories.

By the time she returned it was after five and she had to start getting 
ready.  She took a long shower and, after some deliberation, used some 
cream to remove all of her pubic hair.  Her previous boyfriend had 
liked her to trim it but from her research she had discovered that the 
majority of men preferred women to shave it all off.  After she had 
dried herself she made up a blend of the oils the aromatherapy book 
recommended as aphrodisiacs.  She smoothed the compound all over her 
body.  It made her feel decadent, like a courtesan of centuries ago, 
rubbing expensive perfume into her skin to entice a man.  She took her 
time piling her hair on top of her head and carefully applying her make 
up.  She chose her cosmetics carefully, making sure they were all long 
lasting and guaranteed not to rub off.  Her previous boyfriends had 
taught her that males did not like to wake up to find either themselves 
or their sheets smeared with mascara and lipstick.  She got dressed and 
made sure she had everything she might possibly need in her bag.  At 
last there was nothing left to do and she could delay no longer.  She 
left a note for her parents and drove across town.

When Carl answered the door the stunned expression on his face told her 
that her preparations had not been in vain.  She hoped he would be just 
as impressed with everything else she had planned.  She was determined 
to pay her IOU in full.

Copyright 1998 Vickie Morgan
E-mail artemis55@hotmail.com