The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

Chapter One: The Party

“Now, Kally, you’ve got to be very quiet and follow me. Understand?”

She nodded slowly, her eyes swimming and her head fuzzy. The dim light of the low-watt bulb waved around and cast the guy’s face into dancing shadows. She felt all dreamy and hazy. He grasped her limp hand firmly and opened the closet door he’d dragged her into. The noise of the party engulfed them.

Aside from being stumbly, she seemed pretty normal for a girl who’d been doing shooters all night.

“Who the fuck?!” Boomed a voice that cut through the blare of the stereo and the boisterous conversations. “Kally, stop!”

The man holding Kally’s hand cursed into the silence the angry shout created and glanced back. A massive bull of a man shoved people out of the way and was closing fast. He panicked, dropped Kally’s hand and took off running. Nobody stopped him.

Kally stood still, confused. She wanted to follow the stranger but also wanted to stop. Her thoughts crept like cold syrup over pancakes. Finally, the presence of her boyfriend surrounded her. “Who the hell was that? And what the hell were you doing with him?” He spun her around and yelled.

She blinked, mouth dangled open dumbly. Her lips moved soundlessly. Be quiet. She whispered something.

“What? I can’t hear you over this shitty music.” He frowned and grabbed her upper arm roughly, making her wince. “Come with me.”

She stifled a yelp and got dragged along to the deck out back. A bunch of people were swimming in the pool, fully dressed. Their playful laughter faded as the couple burst onto the scene. “Now, tell me who the fuck you were in the goddamn closet with!”

Her dreamy haze sheared off. The guy had simply asked her to have a chat in the closet... weird but not offensive. Nothing had happened. “Closet. I was... He wanted to ask me something...” She kneaded her temples. “My head hurts.”

He was fighting hard to restrain himself. She was such a slut when she got drunk and he wanted to smack her. “We’re leaving. Can’t go anywhere without you making a scene. Jeez.”

“What? What did I do?” She pleaded, her eyes welled with tears she tried not to shed. It always set him off.

He saw anyway. “Like you don’t know. You fucking slut. Always flirting it up with any cute guy you see. And this! You were making out with some scrawny goddamn stranger in that fucking closet! At a party where everybody saw!” Unnoticed, the frolickers in the pool had vacated, nervously. One of them thought about making a move to help the terrified slip of a girl but his own girlfriend held him back.

Tears burned tracks down her cheeks. Suddenly, she remembered strange lips on hers in the dark of the closet. The hot dance of tongues and eager, exploring hands. She was such a slut. “I’m sorry, Rick! I’m SO sorry! I don’t know what happened!” Despite the fact she’d never dream of doing those things, she had. It was unthinkable and her shame literally burned.

“I can’t believe this. What were you really doing with that guy in the closet? Tell me!”

The words caught in her throat. The truth was NOTHING had happened... but she couldn’t shake the memory, however hazy and indistinct. She HAD made out with that scrawny guy in the closet. It was undeniable. “I... I think we kissed. I can’t REMEMBER!”

He purpled. “Get your shit and meet me at the fucking car.” He was trembling with repressed anger as he stomped out the open privacy fence and into the shadow of the garage. “Goddamn slut! Spread your fucking legs for any man who asks!” He punctuated his statements with his ham fist slammed into the wooden gate. The wood snapped. Kally jumped and all the heads inside turned to the loud report, followed by a second of silence.

Kally wiped her tears and tried to get a grip. Rick was seriously pissed. She’d NEVER cheat on him... even though he always thought she would. What had possessed her to go in the closet and make out with that guy? She couldn’t even remember what he looked like. Had she been drugged? She’d heard about date rape drugs but they all made you black out. She felt fine. If scared. Really scared.

Her bag was inside, one of several in the tiny guest bedroom near the front door. She took a firming breath and stepped back into the house. Nobody looked at her in the face, which was fine. The tears probably smeared her mascara. Their whispers, she was sure, would have made her blush. They ALL knew what she did. What she was.

“Hey, you ok?” A stranger stepped up and touched her lightly on the shoulder. He was kind of cute and she felt a flush of strange excitement creep up her neck.

“Yeah, SNIFF, I’m ok.” She checked out his build. Athletic. Probably washboard abs. He had an “I go to the gym” feel right down to his spiky, moussed hairstyle.

“Alright, you need anything, just let me know. Was that guy your... boyfriend?”

“Fiance. Thanks, you’re really sexy—I mean nice!” She blushed deep crimson as her slip of the tongue registered.

He broke into a sunny smile that melted her heart and made her breath catch. She wanted to taste his lips. Feel his hands on her body. Fuck him. Spread her legs and let him hump away at her while she screamed out in release. The silence between them seemed to cancel out the noise of the party. Finally, he said, “You know, you don’t have to go.”

She licked her lips, torn. “I’ve... I really do.” A little voice in her head whispered naughty suggestions. Kally’s reservations about making matters worse were swept away by a sudden conviction. To do something to justify Rick’s anger. “But I need to find my purse first.” Her eyes sparkled. “I could use your help.”

The guy glanced at the shadowy door and again at her upturned face, probably wondering if it was just his imagination. Her fingers took his and squelched any doubt. It was electric. She wanted him. “Anything to help.” He smiled again.

She’d dressed pretty conservatively for the party. It was a friend of a friend of a friend’s housewarming or something. With a bunch of 20-somethings together she almost expected to interrupt someone else using the dark privacy of the room but it was surprisingly empty. She shut the door behind him without fumbling for the lights.

A lip-lock interrupted whatever he was going to say. She felt a fire for this guy she used to feel for Rick. Back when they first met at church and he was charming and nice and never yelled at her. He smelled deliciously of cologne and a dash of alcohol. Although he was taller by a hand, she drove their stumbling steps in the dark toward the closet.

He kissed so differently from Rick, too. Even when she’d remembered the episode with the other guy, he’d been like a shadow of her fiance. This guy was different in every way. And she could taste the Crown and Coke he’d had before talking to her. Coats muffled their loud breathing as she shut them in. Somehow, making out in the closet with a cute guy just felt RIGHT. She REALLY wanted to spread her legs for him.

And she didn’t even know his name. God she was such a fucking slut. Rick had called her that before but it was never the truth. Never. And gym-boy here was going to finish the job her first visit to the closet obviously didn’t. She was hot. Her fingers fumbled with his belt. Her skirt could stay on if she dropped her panties. Maybe he’d tear them off...

Between kisses, he tried to warn her, “No.” “Protection.”

She thought about it. She was on the pill. What kind of slut would go, “Oh, no rubber, no way.” That’s for good girls. The kind who wouldn’t screw strangers in closets in other peoples’ houses. “I don’t care.” She moaned between breaths.

His pants and boxers fell around his ankles and, on impulse, she dropped down to her knees. The lights in the room went on, startled them both. Voices filtered in through the slats. Under the striped illumination through the door she admired his muscled, runner’s thighs.

“Yeah, I know. The red one with the bangles..” Rustling. He sounded annoyed. And cute.

“Come on, I’m ready to go!” Hissed a female whisper.

Kally looked at the smooth curve of gym-boy’s cock and then turned her eyes up to his. They met and she felt another electric shock to her clit. There was some guy out there looking for his date’s purse and they were in the closet about to FUCK. If she’d worn a coat, it could be in the closet. It was the hottest, scariest thing Kally had ever done. Somewhere, deep down, she WANTED the get caught. It’d make such a scene!

She engulfed his cock with her mouth. Blowjobs were rare with Rick. He was more of a wham-bam, thank you ma’am kind of lover. His giant cock made up for his lack of creativity. Real meat and potatoes. Not that sucking cock did anything for her but it was the dirtiest, sluttiest thing she could imagine. And slutty was HOT. Her fingers found their way into the waist of her skirt.

She was dripping wet. This was the most erotic moment in her life.

He stifled a moan by biting his knuckle as Kally latched onto his head and swirled her tongue around the rim. His cock was long and slim. But veiny. Her hands, after a little teasing, hiked up her knee-length skirt and slid her panties and hose down. The feel of the air brushing her mound was so wild. There’d be no question what they were doing if that guy opened the closet door. Hell, she’d ask the unseen couple to join in. It made her want to giggle for the sheer audacity.

Why hadn’t she ever done this before?

A muffled exclamation of success preceded the lights going out again. A faint glow came in through the door they hadn’t closed, making the closet feel even more open. And she could hear the shitty music playing. She stood again, kissed him with steamy passion, and turned to present him with her smooth ass. Leaning back, she whispered, “I’ll bend over.” She wanted to wrap her legs around him. Spread them WIDE. But there just wasn’t enough room.

He grunted softly while his hands traced their way from her bared shoulders, down her strapless tube top, and gripped her hips. She planted her forearms on the closet wall and spread her legs as far as her underthings would stretch. He slid into her like a key perfectly fit for a lock.

She moaned into the upside-down V of her arms, bit her lip as his thrusts sped up and went deeper. Doing it this way was the BEST. Rick liked missionary. She couldn’t ride him hard enough on top and he really liked being in control. This angle was new and, while she was used to a thicker, longer tool it was stroking her in an entirely different way.

Their breaths quickened and synched up. His thrusts became more frantic and she reached down with her left hand to tease her clit. When he came, she could feel the jet inside her and his rhythm skipped a beat. She worked her clit harder and almost let out a cry of pure ecstacy to mix with the echoes of the stereo. Her knees went weak but the wall kept her up. Gasps in time ruled the close quiet as Kally straightened, the guy’s cock slipped from her dripping lips.

“God. Damn.” He finally whispered, disbelieving.

Kally turned languidly and wasn’t really sure what to say. She settled for a smile he could barely see in the gloom and another, lingering kiss. Now, whatever Rick did, at least it wouldn’t be for nothing.

“My name’s—” He began.

“No. Don’t say it. It was sweet of you to help me out. Let’s leave it at that.” She caressed his clean-shaven cheek with heartfelt tenderness. He was the first man she’d had sex with aside from Rick. Ever. And only the third, no, fourth she’d ever kissed.

“I. I guess. Ok.” He paused as she pulled up her panties and hose, settled her skirt. “Why are you with that jackhole?”

She wondered at it as he pulled up his pants. “I love him.” She said, finally.

“He doesn’t deserve you. Everybody says he’s an ass. And treats you like shit.” He was getting a little fired up. It was sweet.

And he was right. But she had to go. She had to meet HIM at the car. With her stuff. And it had already been 10 minutes since he’d stormed off. She felt embarrassed and self-conscious in a way she hadn’t been even when wantonly offering her sex to him. “I’ve got to go.”

She yanked up her skirt, hose, and panties as she sighted her purse in the gloom. Then she took off before he could follow her and stumbled out of the house towards the Explorer. Her tears started again but far less out of remorse than for herself. Why did she feel compelled to go back to this asshole? And there, standing like a shadowy angel of vengeance against the car door, was Rick.

“What took you so goddamn long?” He groused, a menacing figure like the devil in a play.

With tears streaming down her face and a throaty sob, she spat his words back at him, “I couldn’t leave without screwing some guy in the closet, asshole!”

“Get. In. The. God. Damn. Car.”

Without a word, she complied. He slammed his door. Hard. And drove off like a bat out of hell. Unseen in the bushes, the man that had horribly failed to rescue Kally raised his cell phone in a shaking hand to finally face up to his error. He looked sickly and terrified in the blue light of the display.

“Hey, Tina. Um. No. I fucked up. Royally.”

Chapter Two: The Breakup

The tension was impossibly strained as they roared through the quiet streets. Even the radio sounded muted as Rick’s thunderous anger and Kally’s sharper discontent charged the air between them with what could only be described as silent fury.

The guy in the closet was SO right, Kally decided. Rick was such a jackhole and treated her like garbage. Why did she put up with him? He didn’t trust her. Was smothering and controlling. And they were always arguing.

On second thought. They didn’t argue. He yelled. She meekly took it. “God, I’m just like my mom.” She thought, in a moment of shocked clarity. It took a random fuck in a coat room to wake her up to just how stupid she’d been. This was it. She wasn’t going to take his shit any more. Let him yell. And just let him try to hit her. Again. She rubbed the phantom bruises on her face. It has been two months since he’d done it. The memory made her cringe.

The timber of her anger changed with her dried tears. Her fingers relaxed on the purse she’d been clenching in a death grip. If he made one move towards her, she’d pepper spray him down. Get her stuff, hop in her Jetta, and drive to her parents’ house. They hadn’t wanted her to move in with him before the wedding anyway. And they’d protect her when she told them how Rick REALLY treated their daughter.

She felt a calm and a courage she’d forgotten she had. He didn’t deserve her. And she didn’t deserve to be treated the way he treated her. Unafraid at last, she turned to glare at him as he stewed behind the wheel.

His veins stood out on his neck and on his underlit forehead. And his lantern jaw was grinding molars. Every inch of him was trembling. He wanted to shout at her. It was written in every line of his body. She’d scored a point against his callous armor with her brutal honesty. Only he didn’t think she was telling the truth. He’d have killed her. She’d fired back with the kind of ammo he could finally understand. He was mad at HIMSELF.

She couldn’t believe it. Years now they’d been together. And she’d never WON an argument. And here she’d thrown his lack of trust in his face for once and it WORKED. She felt a rush of unfamiliar relief. The bastard would never admit it but the only right thing to do was to apologize. She could tell him straight up that it was all his fault this once... for not trusting her... and revel in her victory. Life would go on.

But she didn’t want that anymore. They were done. Finished. She’d get her life back on track without his bullshit. Not even if he begged.

“I. I’m sorry.” He finally ventured. Sounded almost sheepish.

“You should be.” She answered, flatly.

His surprise was tangible. “What the hell was I supposed to think? You came out of the closet with that scrawny dude holding your HAND.”

“I don’t even know how that happened! It’s like I blacked out or something.”

“Blacked out? You hardly... well, you were kinda into the shots.” He was trying. She could tell. With a detachment she’d never felt before she analyzed the conversation. Normally, she’d whimper and scrape saying it was all really her fault. They’d have make-up sex and he’d blow up at some other stupid thing on another day.

“Well, you left me alone with that skank and her fat friend. And you could have been nicer. I think that guy tried to rape me in the closet or something!”

He turned his head, sharply. “I should have beat him to a pulp. I’m really sorry. I mean it, Kally. You know I just want to protect you.”

He was right. The firm foundations of her conviction to break up suffered its first crack. But she shored it up quickly. “Protect me from everyone but you! You treat me like shit, Rick!”

“I’m trying to fucking apologize!” He growled, the dangerous glint in his eye further bolstering her resolve.

“Honestly, I’m tired of hearing it. When we get home I’m packing my things and going to my parents’. Tonight’s shown me maybe we don’t need to be together.”

That shook him. Especially the steely calm of her delivery. None of her weepy crybaby whining. She felt transformed.

“What are you saying?”

“It’s over, Rick. I’m leaving you.”

“What about the house? Our plans? Our goddamn future!” His voice rose to shouting at the end.

“I don’t give a damn! I deserve better!”

“Fucking bitch!” He pulled into an unlit parking lot and screeched to a stop. “You can’t fucking leave me!”

Kally rose to match his anger for the first time in her life but was left totally speechless. It was like he’d kicked the seat out from under her and gravity was just waiting to pull her down. He was right. She couldn’t leave him...

He seized on her silence and jabbed his thick finger at her, yelling, “You don’t have a clue how good you’ve had it! I’ve done everything for you AND MORE! I bought that car you drive and the clothes you’re wearing! Everything you’ve got I paid for!”

She flailed blindly, trying to find the underpinnings of her desire to leave. It was scary, he was red-faced and his muscular presence filled the car. She felt very small and insignificant. And scared. She’d started something she didn’t have the strength to finish. Nevermind that she’d dropped out of college to be a stay-at-home wife. And quit her job, however small it was. Given her entire future to him because he’d told her to. For “family values.” And put up with his violent temper and constant browbeating.

“What an ungrateful bitch! And after everything I’ve done for you, you’ve got the GALL to say you’re going to fucking leave? Over a misunderstanding?”

All her plans suddenly felt pathetic and petty. And the guilt over what she’d done back at the party started to well up in the form of tears and a gut-twisting desire to come clean. She’d decieved him into thinking he was wrong. She WAS an ungrateful slutty bitch. She was trying to use a misunderstanding to justify her own selfish lies.

“I should fucking leave YOU.” He finally shouted.

Fear shot through her. A terror that reached down into her deepest heart and shook her down to her toes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry!” She leaned forward. “It was all my fault. You were right, I WAS in the closet... making out. I’m SO sorry!” He was right. He SHOULD leave her. She couldn’t control herself. Damaged goods.

He was shocked silent as comprehension dawned on him.

“Please, Rick. Please don’t leave me I’m sorry!”

“So you grabbed some scrawny pencil-dicked loser and messed around in the closet.” It wasn’t a question.

Charged with a desire to appease him, she lowered her eyes and whispered, “Yes.” He was right. They’d messed around in that closet. The stranger. The first one.

“And THEN LIED TO ME ABOUT IT! You fucking SLUT. Who else? How many times?” He demanded.

She weighed her fear of him. A feeling close to awe spawned by the recognition of everything he’d done for her spurred her tongue to answer before she could reason out a better story. For her own sake. And for his. She had to come clean. “Just one other time.”

“WHAT?!” His hand rose and she cringed, curling up into a defensive ball in the passenger seat. “WHO?” There was a lethal edge to the word.

“I don’t know his name. It was. I couldn’t.”

“I always knew it. Good little church girl. Your father’s a fucking Deacon and your mom’s in the goddamn choir! You’re a living lie. Get the fuck out of my car you fucking WHORE!”

She turned to do it, feeling wretched and worthless when he grabbed her arm with bruising force. “Not yet. You’re going to pay for all these years I’ve wasted on you, you two-faced bitch.”

Kally quailed inside. This was IT. She didn’t deserve him. And the fact he didn’t deserve a bitch like her found new meaning. He’d be better off without her. For his own good he’d leave her. It was for the best. She’d deceived him all along. Her eyes were wide, luminous, and her lower lip trembled.

He pinned her with his hateful glare. “Stay there.” He hurled himself out of his seat and strode around to her side of the SUV. Paralyzed by fear and his command, Kally followed him with her eyes and yelped when he yanked her door open.

“Please, Rick, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I’m sorry!” She blabbered as he silently pulled her from her seat. It was late. There were no other cars nearby. Just the amber glow of street lamps and the wet echoes of their steps on damp pavement.

He led her to the back hatch and almost tore the handle off, strained the struts, and physically tossed her into the spacious bed. They’d removed the back row of seats just that morning to make room for a couple of nightstands. She bounced painfully.

She felt wretched. And not because of what was about to happen. She’d ruined it. Destroyed their futures with her loose ways. The liberation she remembered feeling turned to ashes in her mind. Damning evidence that she was everything he said. Burning testament to her betrayal. She’d FUCKED a man besides her Rick. And now she remembered doing more than kissing the other stranger in that first closet. Far from being excited by it, she was stunned.

His silhouette grew as he climbed in and shut them in. She was sprawled in front of him, sobbing. He towered over her, fuming. Always before an apology had cooled the red energy of their arguments before he’d ever moved in on her like this. He was a volcano of pent up violence, ready to blow. He reached for her.

“No.” He finally growled. “No.”

She was afraid to even squeak an acknowledgement. Whatever he did, she deserved it. She wanted him to salve her guilt with whatever penance he chose. Anything to replace the pain she was feeling. She didn’t care if he killed her or raped her. It was all her fault.

“Why, Kally?” He finally begged. “Why?” His tone dropped to resignation. It tore her heart out to hear it.

“I...” She would be honest with him. Her lies had gotten her into this position. “I’m sorry, Rick. You were right. I’m a slut. I don’t deserve anything you’ve given me. And I don’t deserve you.”

“So you really did that guy in the closet? And some other guy, too?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Get out.”

She crawled around the stilled bulk of him and opened the hatch. He followed her out and climbed into the driver’s seat while she stood forlorn in the parking lot. The window rolled down smoothly and her purse sailed out. Mute and still, Kally watched Rick drive away.

Chapter Three: Richard

She stood there for several minutes, crying. Then looked around. It was dark. And lonely. A few stilted steps took her to her purse and she tried to make sense of what to do next.

She’d never see Rick again. There was no way she had the courage or the shamelessness to look him in the face after what she’d done. And, when word got out... would her parents even speak to her?

“Stupid. Stupid stupid slut!” She hissed. She’d left her cell at home that night. Home. She didn’t have a home. Not now. How in the world had she let that happen? She had EVERYTHING. And she’d ruined it.

“Hey, you ok?” A voice cut through her private despair and she turned. A tall, hunched figure in filthy clothes shuffled out of the shadows.

She gathered herself up, a little afraid. How much had he heard? What had he seen? “Yeah, yeah, thanks.” She picked a direction, away from Rick’s place despite the fact it was over five miles away, and started walking.

“Argument with your husband?” He asked, following after.

“Maybe. Please, leave me alone.” She surreptitiously dug around for her pepper spray.

He held up his hands and stopped, “Sorry, lady. Just trying to help. Thought you might’ve been hurt.”

“Look, I’m ok. Thanks but I really just want to be alone, please.”

“You don’t want to be alone out here, lady. Trust me, there’s some real sickos that come out here at night.”

With his warning, the shadows took on a menacing cast. The empty road and the darkened shopfronts signs of a dangerous environment. Fear crept into her heart and her pulse raced. Suddenly, the homeless guy stood out as a beacon of safety. “Really?”

“Yeah, there was this once a sweet lady like yourself broke down few blocks down. Didn’t never get seen again.” He stepped closer as her stance changed.

“Oh man.” She raised her hand to her mouth. Her imagination was running wild. And the guy had such an air of authority when he said it... she couldn’t help but believe him. And trust him. “Maybe. Maybe you could walk me to...”

Her tears started again and he closed the final gap. His overwhelming body odor wrinkled her nose but anything was better than being alone. She still hadn’t decided where she could go. There was NOBODY in her circle of friends that would be able to understand. Except... maybe she could call her sister! Rick didn’t like her talking to her because, well, she was a lesbian. And she and her parents had disowned her. It was a dirty secret. But, considering her recent decisions, Kally found she couldn’t really marshal the usual disgust for her sister’s sinful choices. And if anyone would understand...

“I’ll get you wherever you want, lady. Like maybe this diner down the way? They’re open all night.” He let the suggestion hang in the air.

“Do they have a phone?” She figured she could buy him a meal for his trouble.

“I’ll bet they do.” He held out his hand before sheepishly pulling it back in when he noticed how filthy it was.

Kally smiled and took it, anyway. “My name’s Kally.”

“That’s a pretty name. I’m Rick.”

She started, feelings of guilt and surprise twisting her guts into a knot.

“What? What’s the matter?”

“My. My fiance’s name was Rick. That was him in the SUV.” He let go of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Kally. You. You can call me Richard if you want.”

“Ok, Richard.” She straightened and cleared her throat. “So, where’s this diner?”

He led her on, “This way.”

In the steady lights of the streetlamps she noted with a sad pang that his clothes were filthy and ragged. His shoes were falling apart. And his skin held a layer of grime so thick she doubted a week in a bath would shift it. What could bring someone to live the way he did? She couldn’t imagine.

“So I saw your SUV pull into the lot. I, uh, live near here... went up. Saw that big fella storming around and yelling and you crying.”

Kally didn’t want him to talk about it but couldn’t really bring herself to outright stop him. “I hope the diner takes credit. I don’t carry cash anymore.” She tried to change the subject.

“I’m sure they do. Well, I saw him toss you in the back and was about ready to jump in when you two got out and he drove off.”

“You were going to... jump in?” She paused, amazed that this scrawny, underfed homeless guy had considered attacking the monstrously-sized Rick to protect her.

“Yeah, I used to be a Marine. Bigger they are, harder they fall.” He illustrated the point with a karate chop.

No wonder she’d instinctively trusted him. Her dad was retired Marine Corps. And she could totally see it happening now that he’d explained it. However, with a stab of self-pity, she spat. “I’m glad you didn’t. It was all my fault. And I deserved what I got.”

“You seem sweeter than sugar, Kally. I don’t believe there’s anything you could’ve done that deserved what he looked to be dishing!” He spotted a bench and led them to it.

“I don’t want to burden you with my problems, really.”

“You can tell me. You look like you need somebody to talk to. And a shoulder to cry on.”

The lure of the comfort he could offer shone through any reluctance she had to air her dirty laundry. On HIS dirty laundry. She HAD to get this off her chest. “Tonight, at a party, I cheated on him TWICE.”

He gasped, and saw her in a whole different light. The tube top. The skirt. Torn hose and mussed hair. “Twice?” He repeated.

She embraced him cried like a baby on his shoulder. “Yes, TWICE. I don’t even know their NAMES!”

Shocked beyond his experience, Richard repeated, “Didn’t know their names?”

“I know, Rick always accused me of fooling around any time I even glanced at anyone but him but he was never right. Not until tonight in those closets!” She was weeping unabashedly.

“You must’ve had a reason. I mean, did you do it to get back at him or something?”

Kally groaned, “No! He gave me EVERYTHING and I betrayed him the first time I was alone with another man.” Her hate for herself fired every word. “I’m such a stupid slut!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, Kally. You trying to tell me he caught you doing it with some guy in a closet?”

She wiped her nose and her hand came away gritty with dirt from his jacket. “No, we argued... and I tricked him into thinking I didn’t... but I did... and I was going to dump him but then he told me—”

“Hey, it’s ok.” He interrupted, placing his hands on her shoulders and facing her. His breath was rancid and his facial hair was frazzled and filthy. “Pretty girl like you. Dry those tears. It’ll be ok.”

Kally sniffled and felt a flutter of warmth for this ragged man. He made her feel safe. Like everything would be ok. Her tears stopped and she dazzled him with a smile. “Thanks, Richard. Thank you SO much!” She hugged him, ignoring the smell.

“I’ll tell you what, if you were my girl I’d, aw, nevermind.” He was blushing and nervous in a way he hadn’t been in a really long time.

She wiped her face with a tissue from her purse. “You seem really nice, Richard. But I just got out of a relationship.” She joked.

“Hah! I guess so. If I were 20 years younger and still in the Army I’d—”

“Marine Corps.” She frowned. No Marine would make that mistake.

“That’s what I meant.” He covered, lamely.

Kally’s frown vanished. “Of course. Hey, I’m hungry. Are you?”

“Hell yeah. Starving!”

They strolled through the darkened streets arm in arm. Kally felt so comfortable with Richard it was like she’d known him her entire life. The dingy diner practically appeared in front of them. With a gallant bow, Richard ushered her in underneath the disapproving gaze of the wrinkled hostess.

“So, about these guys at the party...” He finally broached over the plates of breakfast goodies spread out between them.

Kally whispered, “I don’t remember much about the first one. I was pretty drunk. But the second one was a nice guy who offered to help and we did it in the coat closet right before I went out to see that fucking bastard!”

They laughed together. Kally felt a kind of kinship with Richard she couldn’t put her finger on. She was putting off calling Tina to spend more time with him. He seemed like such a store of wisdom and so kind. Where originally she’d planned to just buy him a meal and wait for her sister, she found his company magnetic and suggested they share a meal.

“Wow, so then you had him convinced you hadn’t when you had and he was apologizing? What a dumbass!”

“Yeah. And I’ll tell you what, that second guy was hot!”

“So, do you do every guy that helps you out?” He joked.

Kally thought about it. Richard had torn the hooks out of every one of Rick’s nasty manipulations over the course of their conversation. She imagined him groomed and cleaned up. The pause grew strained as he realized she was taking his joke seriously.

“I mean... I was going to fight him for you. That fella at the party didn’t do that. And, to be honest, you make me feel like a man again, Kally.”

She nodded in agreement. Her slutty side was sending naughty signals to her again. None of the guilt. None of the vengeance. Just a straight desire to have sex with a man. This man. If she’d done it for that cute guy at the party, how much more meaningful to do it with Richard. Like a statement of her newfound freedom from Rick and her old life. Screw Rick. Literally and figuratively at the same time.

The feel of their conversation underwent a sudden transformation. The light laughter vanished, replaced with a sort of intimate hush. The waitress stared in amazement from her ignored perch at the counter as the young woman started FLIRTING with the homeless guy she’d brought in off the street.

“You know, Richard. You did help me out a lot tonight.” She purred as she leaned forward.

“I’ll do ANYTHING for you, Kally. I mean that.”

She couldn’t imagine anyone else offering her so much. Despite his outward appearance, the devotion he offered her was beyond her experience. It woke up feelings of home and relationship. The kind girls dream about after hearing a fairy tale. “So it’s only right for me to give something back.”

Over the forgotten banquet, he faced the unbelievable. “I know a place. Where you can spend the night. Motel.”

Kally’s smile melted his heart and set his soldier at attention. “It’s dark outside. I’ll need someone to walk with me.”

Richard offered his freshly-washed hand with its grimy callouses and said, “Let’s go.”

The waitress stood forward and cleared her throat. “That’ll be $18.74.”

Kally rolled her eyes at Richard and fished around in her purse for her card. She’d call her sister in the morning. “Do you know where the closest convenience store is, Richard?”

Perplexed, he nodded. The waitress looked at Richard sharply and asked, “Do you want the leftovers in a bag?”

With Kally’s eyes on him, he stifled his first response and shook his head.

Chapter Four: The Bright Light Motel

The guy behind the glass stared at the fresh-faced woman with the bags in her hands and the scruffy homeless guy with her. She didn’t look like a hooker and he didn’t look like a John but her card was good. And matched her ID.

He slid the keys into the steel transaction tray and jerked his thumb at the map. “That way, second floor. Enjoy your stay.”

Kally winked at him on impulse, he was cute in a greasy kind of way, and waved for Richard to follow her. The place was a run-down dump and probably a haven for druggies and prostitutes but she was going to enjoy it. She fairly skipped to the door to their room.

It stank of old cigarettes and something else. The bed was unmade with rumpled linens and the tub and sink were grimy and scummy. She set the contents of her bag on the stained counter by the sink. Soap. Shampoo. Shaving Creme. Razor. Scissors.

“I can’t say I’ve... um... done this in a long time.” He finally said, holding a toothbrush.

“Richard. It’s like riding a bike. Now, you’re going to get cleaned up and then...”

She trailed off suggestively and he felt butterflies in his stomach. He was living some kind of waking dream with Kally as an angel. He jammed the toothbrush in his mouth as she ran the water in the tub. How the hell some idiot had let Kally slip out of their fingers he couldn’t imagine. That other Rick was an absolute moron.

Bubbles obscured the nastiness of the tub as she filled it. “I’ve cut hair before for church fundraisers. We’ll get you all cleaned up and then in the tub. I don’t think housekeeping will care if we flush your clippings down the toilet.”

He allowed himself to be led about. Before long, his layers of clothing reduced to a pair of shorts and his t-shirt, he got a careful grooming. “Kally, you’re. You’re an angel.” He finally started crying, overcome.

She beamed and leaned in for a kiss. Three rounds of Listerine had left him with strong but fresh breath. The contact rocked them both. She dropped her scissors and straddled him as he sat on the closed toilet performing duty as a barber’s chair. His whiskers itched her horribly but she felt a fire in her belly. Her hands were clenched in his half-cut hair and she moaned.

He was, simply, in heaven. And Kally wanted him.

Reluctantly, she broke the embrace. “Not yet. Not yet.”

Filthy hair rained down and collected on the floor around the toilet. He stared at the shape of her breasts as she worked to shear off several years of unkempt growth. She smiled at him.

“You’re so handsome underneath all that hair, Richard.” She cooed.

He blushed. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“How did you end up... you know... like this?”

“I... I don’t wanna talk about it. I don’t wanna ruin. You know.”

She rustled his salt-and-pepper hair and leaned in to kiss him again. “Alright, man of mystery.” Kally was so tempted to just drag him to the bed. She was such a slut! But he really needed this bath. And he had a sort of Sean Connery ruggedness to his age. She’d never been attracted to older men before.

But she’d never really explored her slutty side before, either. And it was like her heart was driving her body. She’d think about consequences later.

“Now, into the tub!” She pulled off his final bits of clothing. She ran her fingers over the unfamiliar shape of his body and her stomach did flip-flops when his rigid cock sprang into view. Fascinated, she stroked it.

He moaned, breaking the spell. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

She took his spot on the toilet as he sank with a sigh into the hot, bubbly water. Soap in hand, she began to explore him. He was old enough to be her father but she really didn’t care. Her hand found him under the water and started working as her lips found his again.

Without warning, he jerked and came. She smiled at his stutters of embarrassment. “Shhhh!” She silenced him with her tongue. “We’ll get him back.”

“Oh god, Kally.” He promised. “I think I love you.”

She continued lathering him, the soap streaked black and brown with loosened dirt. Did she love him? What could she say? “Let’s worry about that later.”

Afraid to drive her away as she shut him out, Richard clammed up. He wasn’t stupid but the words just came out. The dreamlike haze that had started back in the diner was gone with his erection. But she was real. And he was really in this place with her. “Can you get me the razor?”

Kally stood up and reached for a non-existant towel to wipe her hands. “Great! I should’ve known.”

Richard looked up and asked, “What?”

“No towels.” She stepped out and grabbed the razor and shaving creme. “Here, I’ll just be a minute. Finish up and we’ll...” She winked suggestively.

“Anything for you, Kally.” He nodded, squirting the shaving creme onto his hand.