"The Clinic," by C. Maxwell, Pilot Episode. Preface -- this may not go quite where you expect. That is to say, for some of you it may seem to start slow; for others, it may seem to turn very strange as it proceeds. Please let me know how it "rubs you" with an email at flapaddict@yahoo.com. Oh, and in case there is any doubt, it IS a naughty story containing adult themes that you probably won't even "get" if you aren't, you know, an adult with adult perversities. So don't read it, kid. Scram. --- Christie and Nicole were among the two thousand-or-so freshman girls at the University of California, San Diego that year whose first introduction was as roommates, destined by a random lottery to spend at least a year in close quarters. Indeed, they may never have met were it not for this random selection, for they were very dissimilar in many ways. Principally, Christie was known after the first quarter as the bookish one: studious, serious, and intent on finishing towards the top of her class. She did not see her roommate as someone who would help her in this goal. Nicole was known as the wild one, the party girl, and many was the night when Christie was dislocated from her room to the library in order to give Nicole and whatever young man accompanied her that night their privacy. Nicole frequently pointed out that she never requested that privacy -- that indeed, Christie was welcome to stay and watch, and even participate -- but Christie would only roll her eyes at this. But this is not to say that these two roommates were subject to the rife conflict that pervaded many freshman dorm-rooms that year; indeed, the pair quickly became close, unlikely friends. The effect of this friendship was mutually beneficial, as Nicole's grades in her first two quarters ended up higher than they might have been, and Christie found herself invited to several parties on nights when she would surely have otherwise had only her books as company. Christie was not resentful to be displaced to the library so many nights -- she liked the presence of so many books -- and she was secretly jealous of Nicole's free-spirited antics. And she appreciated Nicole's attempts to include her, and found herself wishing that she would let go of herself and give in to Nicole's propositions. But, alas, Christie was much the shyer girl than Nicole. She dressed to avoid attention, in baggy jeans and generic tee-shirts, never even considering the short, brightly colored sundresses that typified her roommate's wardrobe. Her one and only boyfriend was a similarly bookish boy she met on her high school debate team, and although the two had never bedded, they resolved to stay faithful to each other even after they went to opposite coasts for college -- him to Boston's MIT, her to sunny southern California. Without the budget for substantial long distance phone conversations, they traded regular emails, until sometime in the middle of the Winter quarter, when his emails began to fizzle. Christie realized that she would not, as once she imagined, end up with this first-and-only love, and began to regret refusing the attention of so many boys at so many parties, while Nicole had all the fun. This is why, when Nicole proposed her crazy plan for spring break, Christie did not immediately refuse. Yes, it sounded wild and irresponsible, something completely unlike the girl her parents had raised. But what would she do if she did not go? Surely sit in her room and read books. Probably sexy books, books that made her imagine a more scandalous life, books that led her right hand into her pants. Indeed, Christie's sex life can be summarized with two words: books and masturbation, and she was quite well versed in both. On more than one night, while Nicole and her man-of-the-hour had their dormroom privacy, Christie would picture them as characters in her romance-novel-of-the-night, slip her hand into her unbuttoned jeans, and rub herself to a contented climax, realizing only later the danger of being caught doing something so personal in a university library. And while this activity seemed to satisfy Christie from night to night, she began to realize that maybe it was time to interact with the world just a little more -- perhaps experience this frightening activity called sex in real life. And it seemed terribly unlikely that Nicole's spring break plans could proceed without such experiences. "Okay," she said, fighting her fear, "I'll go." And Nicole squealed, bounced a few times, and gave Christie a big hug, for indeed, the plan apparently hinged on Christie's attendance. "So," asked Christie after the enthusiastic embrace, "can you tell me this plan again, from the beginning?" Nicole's eyes lighted up. "Okay, so you remember Ben." "I don't." "Well, it doesn't matter -- more importantly you remember Ben's roommate, Zach." "Zach? Tall, handsome Zach?" "The same!" Nicole's enthusiasm always encouraged Christie. "Well, we all know that Zach has had eyes for you since freshman orientation . . ." "He has not!" "Has too! Anyway, he and Ben -- who is also tall and handsome, and quite, um, fun -- have invited us to join them on a little road trip down to Mexico! They're going to rent a car -- something really fancy, a convertible sports car, they said -- and drive us down to some fancy resort in the middle of the Mexican desert . . ." "Middle of the desert? Why not to the beach?" "I don't know, but they said we'd understand once we saw it." "I don't know . . . it sounds a little questionable . . ." "But you'll come anyway? Right?" Christie knew that saying yes a second time would elicit another squeal and another hug, and that sounded nice, so that's exactly what happened. The day before departure, though, Christie sat for some time staring at her open, empty suitcase. She was having second thoughts. After all, she barely knew Zach, or Ben for that matter. She had met Zach at one of those parties Nicole brought her to, but she barely spoke to him before making it clear that a boy was waiting for her in Cambridge. She thought he was cute, but she knew nothing about him. And she would be effectively stuck with him! She wasn't sure she wanted her first time to be with this boy she wasn't even dating, at some isolated resort in Mexico. What if she decided she didn't want to? Could she trust Nicole to be there when needed? It seemed very dangerous, and her instincts told her that she should not go. She should stay behind and read another book. And her suitcase remained empty. Notably, she did not see Nicole that day. As the hours wore on, she wondered where her adventurous roommate was, and eventually fell into an uneasy sleep. The next morning, it was clear that Nicole's bed had not been slept in. Alone, she showered and dressed into her most comfortable jeans and an old T-shirt. Spring break had begun, and, she decided for certain now, she was staying behind. She had not packed, her roommate had abandoned even before the trip had begun, and it just didn't make sense to go on so foolhardy a venture! Of course, the campus would be nearly deserted for the ensuing week, and so she would have the dining halls, the library, and her room to herself. And indeed, the usually crowded cafeteria was nearly empty at breakfast, allowing Christie to eat her first meal by herself, at an empty table, reading her current paperback. When she returned to her room, however, Nicole was there, dressed in a short yellow dress, and forcing closed Christie's suitcase. "You can't wear that!" were the first words out of Nicole's mouth. "It's spring break! Zach and Ben are on their way! You have GOT to wear something more spring-breaky!" Christie shook her head. She was upset. "I'm not going. Where were you last night? It doesn't matter. I'm not going." Nicole began to pout. "I was . . . with Ben, last night. We started talking about the trip, and I kinda fell asleep." "Fell asleep, huh? I felt very lonely last night. What if Zach starts acting like a jerk, and you abandon me, like last night? Then what? It's a bad idea. I'm staying behind. I'm not even packed." Nicole realized her pout was not going to effective. She looked Christie in the eye with the most serious expression Christie had ever seen. "Christie," said Nicole, "we haven't talked about it much, but I think, in the last 6 months or so, we've become close friends. Don't you think?" It's true, thought Christie. We've never acknowledged it. But Christie could not remember having a closer friend. "Yes." "I'm sorry I left you alone last night. I didn't know you were missing me. But I did not abandon you. And I promise -- I mean it, I PROMISE, I will not let anything happen to you on this trip that you don't want to." "Nicole . . . " started Christie, unconvinced by her pitch. "No, I mean it. There are a thousand other things I could do this week, but I arranged this trip with Zach and Ben so that I could be with you. Listen, we're going to stay in separate rooms from the boys, so you won't be stuck, and I promise you that Zach won't do anything you don't want him to. I actually discussed this with Ben. He assured me that they would be gentlemen. They know you're shy. Heck, we all know you're shy. But we also all know you're ready for a little fun. So what'd'ya say? Shall we give it a try?" Christie was still uncertain, but Nicole seemed genuinely sincere. She still felt uneasy about the trip, but she had never seen Nicole so serious, and she did not want to ruin their friendship. "Okay," she said, somewhat shakily, "I'll go." And for the third time in the past weak, Nicole squealed and gave her a hug. "Great! Awesome! I'm so glad!" she exclaimed as she hugged her friend. "But what we HAVE to do now is get you changed. It's time you started really borrowing my clothes." Christie and Nicole were very different girls, it is true, but in one respect they were very similar: their physical appearance. Many wondered if they were sisters. They both featured long, straight hair, and while Nicole's tended to end up in pigtails with colorful rubber bands and plastic ornaments, Christie's tended to hang loose, occasionally gathered in a ponytail. And they both were the same dress size, on the small size of U.S. 5, with well proportioned B-cup breasts, slim waists, and shapely hips. Nicole had often chastised Christie for hiding her nearly perfect body behind her baggy clothes, encouraging her to borrow her own dresses, tight shorts, tank tops, and miniskirts, all of which seemed to fit Christie quite well. Christie had tried a few of these items on in the privacy of their room, but could not bring herself to wear them in public, becoming too self-conscious. The one time she wore one of Nicole's more modest dresses to a party, she found herself unable to unfold her arms, and left early. But now Nicole was telling her to try on a much shorter, lime green minidress, and Christie was not sure. The dress fit, but the hem fell a few more inches above her knees than any dress she had ever worn. She worried that if she bent over her white cotton panties would show, and she expressed this to Nicole. "Well," said Nicole, "don't bend over, then!" The dress left most of her chest bare, with only the thinnest of straps over her shoulders and a neckline revealing the top of her breasts, which of course could not be supported by a bra. But Christie knew Nicole was right: it was spring break, and time to let go. She agreed to wear the dress at almost the same moment that a honking horn indicated the arrival of Ben and Zach. "But I'm not packed!" Christie said, frantic. "Don't worry," said Nicole, grabbing Christie's suitcase which seemed to be quite full and heading towards the door, "I packed enough clothes for both of us. We'll make do! And we'll buy whatever I forgot -- things are cheap down there!" Christie was nervous about leaving for a foreign country wearing so very little and without knowing that her more comfortable, more conservative clothes were coming with her, but Nicole was already out the door with the suitcase, and it did not seem possible to turn back now. Outside, Ken and Zach were waiting in the driver and front passenger seats of a large, white convertible automobile. The windows were open, the top was down, and the sun gleamed off the boys' mirrored sunglasses. Nicole ran from the front door of the dorm to the car, dropped the suitcase, and literally jumped over the car doors into the back seat, landing on her back. Her legs stood straight up from the seat and her short dress fell to her waist, exposing her matching yellow thong panties. The eyes of the men looked as long as they could before Nicole straightened herself out. Christie rolled her eyes. Sometimes she wished she was as spontaneous and carefree as Nicole, but she knew she would be the one putting the suitcase in the trunk and using the back door like a lady. But maybe this trip would change her, she thought, feeling the warmth of the sun on her bare legs and shoulders and noticing the gazes of the handsome boys. Shortly after starting the drive south, Christie suggested that they put on some sunscreen. Zach said that he and Ken already had, and handed back a tube.