Knowing Her Ch. 05

The commotion had stirred Chris and Taz from their slumber and they joined us in the downstairs bath room. I reiterated on my subterfuge; Chris and Lynn seemed convinced, but I know Taz could see through my ruse.

All the while I expected Kat to talk, but instead she played along. It became clear that, at least for now, I was safe. The more I considered the options it became clear that Kat couldn't very well reveal her "big secret" without herself looking guilty of having hidden it all this time. However, by the glint in her eyes, the malice from her defeat, that her revenge was inevitable.

After lynn had dried off and borrowed one of Taz's dressing gowns and a blanket for the night, Kat made a hasty (and sulky) retreat to her bedroom, shortly followed by Chris and Taz. I was left alone with Lynn in the lounge once more.

Lynn curled back up onto the sofa under the blanket. In her sweet tired and drunk slurr she whispered to me.

"We're all so lucky to have a friend like you Michael, you're always looking out for us. You've always been one of my favourites."

I smiled back at her and gently stroked her damp hair. Lynn continued.

"No, no, I mean it Mike, really. For all your big talk you have a big heart, I know. Tamsin does too; she knows how much you care. She cares about you so much."

I was left speechless, and sad.

Lynn's eyes closed and she slipped into a deep sleep. After a while of watching her I decided to leave the house. Sure, it was very early in the morning, and I lived a fair few miles away, but I had plenty to think about and a hang over to walk off. I let myself out without ceremony, locked the door with Taz's key and posted it back through the letter box. It was freezing cold outside, my breath turning to cloudy vapour, but my battered brown leather jacket kept out most of the chill.

That was the last time for a long while we were all at the same place at the same time. Stuart got a promotion at the telesales centre and had to put in extra hours. Lynn had thrown herself into her degree. Tamsin became semi-reclusive, choosing to spend her time indoors. This put a strain on her relationship with Chris, who complained about a lack of sex. I later learnt from him that she was looking for her own place away (no doubt trying to distance herself from mad-bitch Kat). All the while I struggled to make ends meet as a freelance artist and illustrator.

Taz was ignoring all of my calls, and I was ignoring all of Kat's. The events of that party were never far from my mind. A mix of guilt for the damage I had done to Chris' relationship and the abuse done to Lynn, lust for the stunning Taz, fantasies of control and domination and of naked helpless bodies, anxiety that everything was left unresolved, and dread for the future, Kat's retaliation.

Isn't life simple?

3 weeks later and Chris' birthday had crept up from nowhere. For the record, we all live in a small town on the coast. That's fine for quieter night spots, but for the big nights out one needs to make an hours drive to the nearest city. Chris' birthday was one such occasion. One and all from the party (and at least twenty other people I can't be bothered to elaborate on; a combination of Chris' friends, family and workmates) were invited out to celebrate Chris reaching the grand old age of 27 at the cities liveliest and loudest nightclub. I was tempted to blow it off after I heard Kat was in attendance, but so to was Taz. I decided to run the risk of meeting the first in the hope of being able to see the other. I needed closure.

The night of the party arrived. I put in an effort; my favourite black collard shirt, undone at the neck and rolled up at the sleeves. My lengthy dark brown hair turned into a spiky mess. Worn dark blue boot-cut jeans and a white belt. I had to admit, I thought that I looked pretty good. Stuart had agreed to drive me that night in his new sports car (lucky bastard was on a pretty good salary), and was due to pick me up at 8pm.

I waited in my lounge, fidgeting, both eager and nervous of the night to come. The clock reached 8:15, then 8:30. Eventually, at 8:40, I heard my ride pull up outside; the headlights poured through the drawn blinds. I stuck my trainers on and swung the front door outward, only to find myself staring at a car that wasn't Stuarts. This was Kat's car. She sat alone inside, smiling at me, the way a cat might smile to a mouse while holding it down by one paw.

The window rolled down.

"Stuart's gonn'a be late tonight sweetie pie, I'm your ride!"

Shit.

I decided to take my chances and stepped into the car. I sat in the passenger seat beside Kat. It seemed she too had made the effort with her appearance. Her usually straight hair had been waved and was now full of body. She wore a frilly edged black corset that was split at the front down to the waste, held together with criss-crossing cords, designed to accentuate her already ample breasts. The skirt was also black, and short. It barely covered any leg whatsoever, and was worn with black suspenders. In short, she had an obvious "slutty" appeal.

"Mmm, get you, you look gorgeous tonight!" She spoke.

I ignored the comment as she pulled away from my house. The journey would take us at least an hour to reach the city, and then there was the problem of parking. I would be stuck here with Kat the whole while. I suspected I may have made a mistake.

The conversation was one sided as Kat continued to make small talk about this (as if nothing had ever happened) and that while I kept my replies short. Then the subject suddenly changed.

"I've been thinking about that night, the party..."

She knew she had my attention as she continued.

"You see, I believe your behaviour that night was entirely understandable, at a primal level that is."

Oh, really? I added silently in my mind.

"In the animal kingdom, the male will search out the most attractive female; as they provide the better genes for reproduction .Obvious, right? But the female has her eye on the future, she knows that only the strongest male will be able to provide for her and the future offspring, so she needs to test the male's metal. The female fights the male off with all her strength and ferocity until she is forced to succumb to the act of coupling. This ensures that the male was stronger than herself and thus putting her in a better position to survive, now that she is technically 'owned'. Therefore, I believe, deep down, that every female secretly fantasies about being taken without permission- its part of her basic instinct to ensure she finds the best possible mate. That's why us girls love being tied up, blindfolded; were programmed to be submissive! See, doesn't that make sense?"

"I think you rule out circumstance and individual psychology. I mean, you can't be serious? Every woman secretly wants to be raped? Come on!"

As much as I believed Kat was well and truly off-her-rocker, she had an interesting (if controversial) point.

"Society has softened us. We were never born to follow all the laws we have now, we were born to follow our primal instincts. "Only the strong survive" and all that shit. Look, I'm not saying women want to be raped or enjoy it, just that on a basic level its natural. I'm sure this instinct, diluted by the passage of time and the rules of society, has evolved into what we do now; women nag and argue and generally try to dominate their partners, testing the boundaries, secretly trying to encourage them to push back; to be a real man and a better mate."

"Perhaps." I conceded.

"I'll prove it."

"How?"

"You already know that since the party Taz and Chris' relationship has taken a nose dive."

"Yeah..."

Kat widened her legs, revealing her thighs as she got comfortable in the drivers seat, the clammy leather sticking to her skin. She went on.

"That's because in her eyes, after you forced yourself onto her, you proved yourself to be the better mate. We all know how feisty Taz is, and you made her your bitch! Rock on! I mean, to compare you to Chris, no offence, but he'd turn you inside fucking out in a fair scrap, but Taz had him well and truly under the thumb; that's not what a girl wants."

"Get to the point."

"Well, I want to make a bet with you... Anything you like, if you make a move on Taz tonight she gives in to your advances."

"That she willingly gives herself over?"

"I expect a little amount of protest, but not much. How about it? Player?"

The proposition intrigued me, but I wanted to find out more.

"What if I loose? Aside from the bet, if it all went wrong I mean, she could go running to Chris, and like you said, he'd kill me."

"Taz is clearly going to be drinking tonight. As long as you stay sober, who do you think Chris is likely to believe? His close friend or the girl who's been giving him a hard time and has had too much to drink? I'll stand up for you, just as Lynn will. All you need do is stay more sober than Taz."

I was uncomfortable with that plan, but I figured if Taz had said nothing yet she was unlikely to in the future, even if I did make another pass at her. If she protested too much I could always stop, right?

"How would I get her alone, surely Chris is going to want her with him on his birthday?"

"You leave that to me babe, I have my ways."

I'm sure she did.

"Alright. What if I lose the bet?"

"Well, you do exactly as I want for three weeks."

That was it? How was she going to hold me to that anyway?

"If I win?" I continued.

"You choose."

"How do I know you keep your word?"

"How do I know you will?"

"If Taz rejects me I win, and you never bring up tonight or that night at the party ever again, to either me or taz or anyone!"

"That's all?" She said, biting her lower lip seductively.

"That's all I want from you."

Kat looked almost hurt, like a disiplined child.

"Fine then. And if Taz is all over you like a rash by the end of the night, I win and you're my toy for three weeks. We have a deal?"

"Deal."

I knew the possibility that everything would go disastrously wrong was high, but some secret part of me was thrilled by the risk. The urge to turn my fantasies of late into a reality, to make Taz my own again and to finish what was started, was too great to resist; I was a willing slave to the lust that burned deep inside. So what if I couldn't trust the femme fatal beside me? In the end, this wasn't about her, it was about me and Taz. So what if Chris ended up single? He had a chance to make things work and failed.

Tonight was about to get interesting.