Liza Makes Deals

"Don't let your legs come together past the tape," he said matter-of-factly.

My hopes to regain my god-like hold over them were dashed, but I complied in good humor, trying to get through what I hoped to be the last few minutes without any more whining.

"Hey, good as new!" Jake raised the package so I could see it. "Marc will never be able to tell we opened it."

"You're an artist," I agreed. "Say, what's in the other packages?" I hoped to catch him off guard.

"Well, the little one is a bikini," he replied without thinking. "That one there is..." He stopped short. "Hey, you're not supposed to ask me that. I told you, it's a surprise."

"Yeah, I tricked you," I laughed teasingly, satisfied by my triumph.

Sam came back in the room just then and wanted to know what was so funny. When Jake confessed how he'd been tricked, Sam's brain went to work.

"It seems to me," Sam began slowly, figuring out what he was going to say as he went, "that when a debt is being paid, as you are paying one now, an indiscretion on the part of the debtor becomes a penalty incurring interest charges, which must be paid in addition to the original debt."

I laughed out loud.

"I don't think even you understand that gibberish," I teased.

Sam didn't join in my mirth.

"I'll make it easy to understand, then. You will perform a task in addition to serving counter time. Only then will our deal for you to do counter time be fulfilled."

I made no reply. I knew I wouldn't win, perhaps didn't even want to. I had become a tourist on a path, curious now to see what was around the next bend.

"What are you going to make her do?" Jake asked.

"Let me think..."

"I got it!" Jake exclaimed. "She was awfully careful to avoid the balcony. Let's make her go out there."

"No!" I blurted out quickly. "You can't do that. I could be seen out there!"

"Well, duh!"

"No, please. Listen. My landlady will throw us out of the apartment if I go out there."

"What makes you think that? That won't happen."

"No, really. Listen. She saw me on the balcony that time with you when I had on the towel, remember? She had a fit. She just about kicked us out for that."

"But she didn't, did she? She won't kick you out as long as you pay your rent, believe me."

"She will!"

"No, she won't. You're going out on the balcony."

"Please, don't do this," I pleaded as Sam took hold of my arm. "Okay, you're right," I cried desperately, "she won't kick us out, she'll do worse."

"What do you mean, worse?"

"I'm not supposed to say. She told me not to."

"You have to tell me. It's part of the penalty."

"You just can't pile on penalty after penalty. It's not fair," I whimpered.

Sam grabbed a hold of my clit with his thumb and forefinger. I was in shock. I never expected Sam to touch me there, like that. That was never part of the deal. I was scared. This tour bus was careening out of control.

"Tell me what she'll do!"

"She'll spank me with a hairbrush!" I shouted.

Sam released his grip on me as they both burst out laughing.

"Come on, then. Out you go!"

"Please, don't."

They each took me by an arm and pulled me toward the balcony off the living room.

"Okay, okay, I'll go outside, but please, only on the bedroom balcony. Please, just the bedroom balcony! Please. I'll do anything you say, just not the living-room balcony, please," I cried.

They came to a stop just before the door leading to my most dreaded balcony.

"If we give you this, do you promise to be good? You'll do anything we say?"

"Yes, I promise. Just not that balcony. Anything, I promise."

They led me to the bedroom balcony, put me through the sliding glass door and closed it behind me. They stood there watching me and I felt like an animal in a zoo, behind the glass. I cautiously approached the railing, about twenty feet from the door. I was curious about who might be below to see me, but I surely didn't want that. I put my arm over my breasts, confident that my pussy was hidden by the railing. I couldn't see anybody in the park close enough to care what was happening on my balcony. The more I explored my surroundings, the more I realized that I made a pretty good deal. I dried my tears and wiped my nose on my arm, making a mental note to wash it later. I also made a note to myself that one of the big drawbacks of being naked was not having a sleeve, then chuckled to myself. There's nothing like bettering someone in negotiations to lift the spirits. I turned to my captors with a big smile and a wave, but they weren't there. I became confused, not knowing whether to rejoice or panic. I ran to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. I put my face to the window, cupped my hands at the sides of my face to block the glare, and peered into the bedroom. It was empty.

I didn't like the idea of being locked anywhere, but this wasn't bad, I consoled myself. If they weren't watching, it was their loss. To me, this was preferable to "counter time."

The sound of the glass door opening next door caught my attention. My hands went instinctively to my breasts, but I wasn't really concerned. The wooden lattice between the apartments allows one to see only a blur of what is actually there.

"Liza, is that you?" I recognized Sarah's voice.

"Yeah. Did you sign the lease?" I asked.

"Yeah. We came back to take some measurements. Have your friends left?"

"No, they're inside. I'm having a little 'me' time."

"Are you still..." her voice trailed off.

"Nude?"

"Yes, are you?"

"Yeah."

"Liza..." she paused.

"Yes?"

"I need to confide in you. Can I?"

'Oh, oh. Here it comes,' I thought to myself, but said instead: "Of course, what are neighbors for?" I tried to make light.

"Michael is quite smitten by you."

"Don't worry," I said, smiling to myself over the word 'smitten.' "Men are all pushovers for a naked woman. It will pass as soon as I'm out of sight."

"He says I should be more like you."

"How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know. I need time to think."

"Don't we all?" I muttered.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just saying that this is all new to me, too. My mind is going in circles. You seemed pretty cool with the situation earlier, though. I was surprised...You acted rather...nonchalant."

"I was in shock...at first...then I was, I guess...intrigued."

"Um, that happens, I guess...

"Liza..."

"Yeah?"

"I shave my pussy, too. Mike makes me do it."

"Same here. Marc hates the hair. Does he ask you to go without panties?"

"Sometimes. I treat it as a joke, but do it occasionally in a long skirt."

"The requests will become more frequent, the skirts shorter, believe me."

"Will I end up like you, naked on the balcony?"

"It's up to you, but don't knock it until you've tried it."

I laughed and she laughed, too.

"Liza..."

"Yes?"

"I have to admit that I was more than a little apprehensive about moving in next door to you."

"I'm not surprised. Why did you sign the lease?"

"Mike was so excited. Something came over him. I don't know how to explain it except as...perhaps...a spark. I haven't seen him like this in a long time: it's as if years of...life...have been rolled back. He's got that boyish enthusiasm again. I couldn't disappoint him. You should have seen his face! I just had to sign."

"Yeah, I know that face. I'm surrounded by that face... Sarah, do you think all men look alike?

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. It was just a thought..."

"Sarah!" Mike called from inside.

"I'm on the balcony talking to Liza," she yelled back.

In no time at all Mike appeared on the balcony. I could tell through the lattice that he had put his arm around Sarah as he spoke.

"Hi, Liza. We leased the apartment. Did Sarah tell you?"

"Congratulations! Welcome, neighbor."

What happened next was totally unexpected. I saw movement toward the partition, then heard a cracking, a breaking of boards, and then I noticed a small hole in the lattice. An enlargement of the hole followed another cracking, and then Mike's face appeared, about waist high.

"Hi there!" He seemed quite proud of himself.

Without thinking, my hands went again to my crotch and breasts. My spine curled to hide my shame.

"Hey, there's no need for that," he cajoled. "We've seen it all before."

He'd sung the refrain of what had become the music of my life. If I didn't know it before, I knew it for sure, now. Once someone has seen me naked, he expects to see me naked all the time. There would be no hiding, no escape. I removed my hands and stood upright. I smiled sweetly at him, the sweet smile of resignation to one's fate. I even walked right up to the partition, right in front of the hole.

"When are you moving in?" I asked.

From his position at the hole and my closeness to it, he had to strain to try to look up the length of my body to find my face. He gave up and spoke to my pussy. "Maybe this weekend, if we can get a mover lined up. We have a lot of packing to do first, though."

"Yeah, it's tough," I said. "Marc says he'll never move again."

"I don't blame him. Once we're here, with this beautiful view, we won't want to move again, either."

"Ha," I laughed. "The best view is over there, believe me." I pointed toward the ocean.

"I'll be the judge of that, if you don't mind," he laughed.

There was a rustling, then Sarah's face replaced her husband's in the newly created hole.

"We're leaving, now. It was nice to see you, again," she laughed.

"I hope to see you one of these days," I countered as her face disappeared.

Mike and Sarah laughed and hollered, "good-bye" once more before the sliding glass door closed. I was alone, again. I looked inside: nothing. I made another mental note to put a chair out here, then leaned against the glass. It felt cool on my butt. I liked it. My ass was still a little tender from Ms Thomas' ministration, and sitting on the hard counter hadn't helped any. I peered out at the ocean.

About five minutes later, Sam and Jake reappeared.

"Have you learned your lesson?" Sam asked sternly.

"Oh, yes. Please don't ever make me stay out here again, please." I tried to sound sincere as I silently mocked them.

"Let me hear again that you promise to do anything we say, for as long as we want, then I'll let you in," Sam lectured.

"Well, here's the thing," I began. "Just as you were collecting penalties on me, I've collected a few on you, too."

"Oh," Sam was taken aback.

"Yes. For instance, your touching me was never part of the deal. Marc made that perfectly clear to you last night."

Sam blanched.

"Secondly," I continued, "that Jake made a mistake and told me something he shouldn't have was a penalty for him, not me. I've been falsely penalized, creating a double penalty for you both."

"All right, hold it right there," Sam interjected. "You started the touching. You let Jake touch you in the bathroom, remember? Do you remember that you promised me a turn? Huh? Well, I just took it a little earlier than you planned, that's all. And as far as Jake's mistake goes, well, you tricked him and there's no getting around it. The blame is yours, and your penalty remains."

Sam's reasoned eloquence caught me by surprise and I made no response. I bowed my head and he understood he'd won the argument.

"So, are you ready to come back in and do as you are told?"

"No more touching. Marc said so." Sam used the Marc card against me once today, now it was my turn to use it against him.

"Deal," Sam said.

"Deal," I replied.

Sam opened the door fully and allowed me to pass inside. He took my arm and led me to the counter. I knew what was expected of me, so I climbed into place with my thighs spread outside the strips of tape. I grabbed the edge of the counter with my hands at my hips.

"Good," Sam said. "Now, here's what's going to happen. Jake and I have to leave, but I happen to know that Marc will be coming home soon. You are to stay in this position until he arrives. You are not to move your hands or legs from where they are now. Not even for an instant. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

He stood and gazed at me for a few seconds and I watched as his stern façade faded into a boyish smile.

"Does the 'no touching' rule exclude good-bye kisses to the cheek?" he asked humbly, sweetly, adoringly.

My heart melted at this unexpected renewal of respect.

"I'll make you one last deal," I said. "As long as you ask nicely, you can even kiss me on the lips."

"May I?" he asked in a tone that would melt stone.

"Yes, that's a deal maker."

Sam gently bowed his head between my legs and planted a kiss on my swollen labia.

I drew a quick breath in surprise.

"A deal's a deal," he grinned broadly.

"Yes, a deal's a deal," I had to agree.