Abby Ch. 03 - Dan's Reaction

Feedback and constructive criticism are very much appreciated and encouraged.

This story contains graphic scenes, language, and actions that might be extremely offensive to some people. These scenes, words, and actions are used only for the literary purposes of this story. The author does not condone murder, racism, racial language, violence, rape, or violence against women. Any depictions of any of these in this story should not be construed as acceptance of the above.

************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 3 - Dan's Reaction

The evening subway ride back to the bus terminal was much less crowded, and this time I had been able to find a quiet seat easily. Replaying the conversation with Mandy and the brief introduction to Victor over in my mind, I thought about the private club party she had invited me to, trying to make out how I felt about her invitation, imagining what kind of things might go on in a place like that. It wasn't that I was a prude sexually by any stretch, but I didn't know if my definition of wild would match a club like that.

Mandy had never mentioned working at a club before, let alone a private members-only club. She had used the term BDSM, so naturally, unlike the secret whispers many people would have used, it had taken a moment to register what she had said. Was this what she was into now?

Even more, how would Dan feel about the idea?

I sighed, thinking about what his reaction would be. He was certainly more reserved than I was, even a bit too timid about experimenting sexually in any way, not that I minded for the most part. In the past, I had tried to initiate a little experimenting in the bedroom with Dan, mostly just blindfolds, feathers, and the like. The cheap and playful things you find in novelty shops in a mall, but he hadn't been into that at all. I couldn't deny that I was just a little curious about Mandy's invitation, but I couldn't ever imagine Dan agreeing to go to anything like that, breasts on display or not.

As I exited the subway, I walked up the steps from the platform to the bus station, finding a small crowd waiting for their buses to arrive and to be taken to their various destinations. Most were dressed casually, with a few dedicated late-working executives thrown in, finally heading home for the weekend. Most were men, but there were a few women or families with children among the small crowd, the younger ones asleep in their parent's arms or in strollers being rocked gently, soothing them as they slept.

Purchasing my ticket, I took a seat on a nearby bench, scanning the other travelers while waiting for my departure time. I had an uncomfortable sense that they somehow knew of Mandy's invitation and were judging me as one of those people who did things that you would never confess to in public, condemning me while making themselves feel superior for supposedly being more chaste. I had known other girls who had done a walk of shame after some random pick-up encounter had lost its appeal in the light of a new day. As I imagined their eyes staring at me, it felt like this was my walk.

Thankfully I only had to wait a few minutes for my departure. However, as I stood up, I was embarrassed at how many people seemed to be getting onto the same bus, continuing to follow me on my imaginary walk of shame.

Fortunately, I got a window seat in the back with no one else sitting very near, leaving me alone with my thoughts of the evening. As the bus pulled out of the station, I hunched down in my seat far as I could, trying to blend into the seat's fabric out of sight as I stared through the window at the scenery, slowly changing from a cityscape to a more rural view.

As the city was left behind us in the distance, I contemplated searching the Internet for BDSM parties but quickly decided against it since I also used my phone for work, figuring it better to wait until I was home and could use my personal computer.

I thought again about Victor and the odd yet comforting feeling that seemed to radiate from him. I wondered briefly what it would be like to have sex with someone like that. His personality had seemed so different from Dan's. They both had some similar features, but there was something more sensual and intense about Victor. I shook my head, banishing those forming images from my mind, focusing instead on the conversation with Mandy.

There was no mistaking that she had changed in some way since I had seen her last. She had always been fond of revealing her curves, but her clothes were more provocative tonight, especially the choker design; I had never seen her wear anything like that before during all our time together as friends.

Her interaction with Victor was unlike the Mandy I had known as well. Perhaps nothing would have looked out of place to a stranger, but as her friend, there was something oddly different in her mannerism toward him that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Usually, she was the life of the party, flirting and laughing, but when he had joined us, she seemed more reserved than I could ever remember seeing her.

As the bus continued its journey across the interstate, I found myself dozing off to sleep, lulled by the hypnotic sound of the engine and road noise. Drifting off, I again heard the soulful moaning of the same wolf in my head, his howls seeming just a little bit nearer.

***

I arrived home just after eleven, welcoming the quiet silence after the atmosphere of the big city. Drawing a bath for myself, I texted Dan, knowing he would still be awake, anxious, unable to sleep until he knew I had returned home.

"I'm home."

Dan replied almost immediately. "Hey, how was dinner?"

"Not bad. Chinese fusion. How was your evening?"

"Nice and quiet."

I could feel myself relaxing as I slid into the hot water, sinking to my neck. The water felt so comforting as I felt the cold, empty aura of the city start to leave my body, replaced by the water's soothing warmth like a favorite blanket. I was about to answer Dan's text when there was another message.

"OK if I come over?"

"Sure," I replied, suddenly realizing that I didn't want to be alone more than usual for some reason. "I'm tired, but come spend the night. I'm soaking in the bath, so go ahead and let yourself in."

Dan must have been excited at the prospect of my naked in the bath because he responded instantly.

"OK, I'm on my way!"

Dan only lived a few minutes away, so it wasn't long before I heard the front door open and his familiar footsteps echoing on the hardwood floors in the hallway.

"Hey, cutie," he said, poking his head in the bathroom wearing his standard off-work jeans and t-shirt, "want some company?"

"You wish," I teased playfully, "I'm just getting out. Hand me the towel, would you?" I said, pointing behind him.

Dan turned and grabbed a towel from the shelf behind him obediently, turning to hold it open for me as I stepped out of the tub, turning to let him wrap it around me with his arms as he kissed me softly behind the ear. I smiled, closing my eyes.

As Dan dried me off, I thought about Mandy's invitation again and decided it was better to get the subject of the party out of the way now.

"So Mandy invited us to a party next Friday night in the city."

"Invited you or us? What happened to her boyfriend? Did she dump him already?"

His question made me realize that I hadn't even thought to ask her about her most recent boyfriend she had used to post about on social media. It had been quite a while since she had posted about him, but I decided not to bring up Victor being there since I didn't really know their actual status, and I didn't want to face a bunch of questions from Dan if it triggered his jealousy.

"No, us. It's a BDSM-themed party at a private club she works at."

I saw his eyes widen slightly as his mind started working overtime, drawing conclusions and looking at me with concern.

"The hell! What did you tell her?"

I shrugged casually, trying to pass it off as though it had been a random, casual invite she had thrown out, something that anyone might have gone to and not that it had been an invite-only event.

"I just told her that I would talk to you about it."

He looked like he was going to say something about Mandy but then seemed to change his mind, pausing for a few seconds.

"Do you want to?" he asked finally with some hesitation.

"I don't know; it might be fun to be a little fly on the wall at something like that. What do you think?"

"I'm not sure I'd want to be a fly on that wall," he said, a hint of disgust in his voice, "who knows what might be on it."

I laughed, trying to steer the conversation away from any in-depth discussion of the topic, knowing how his mind worked.

"Oh, come on, silly, it's a private club. Mandy wouldn't work at some dive bar. It's OK, though. I told her you probably wouldn't want to."

Dan sighed. "Well, I mean, I guess we could if you really wanted to go."

I could tell he wasn't looking for a yes. Dan had an annoying habit of offering to do something while letting you know with his demeanor that he was expecting you to say no. If you did say yes, he would sulk or be argumentative until you finally gave in and said no. Usually, though, this was not an issue as we typically agreed on most things.

"No, it's OK. I had just casually mentioned to her that life had been a bit routine lately with work and planning for the wedding and stuff. You know how she is. She suggested we try a new experience," I caught myself quickly, knowing Dan's mind would kick into high gear at the thought of 'try.'

"Not try. But you know what I mean. It's no big deal, though; I'll tell her we can't make it." I desperately tried to end the conversation before things snowballed out of control.

Dan smiled. "Good idea. I'd hate to watch you dress up all sexy only to see a bunch of old perverts staring at you."

I chuckled at his comment, although for a second, I felt a sudden excitement at the thought.

"Yeah, me too. Are you going to take a shower?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute."

Feeling slightly disappointed with Dan's expected reaction, I texted Mandy while he was in the shower, "Hey, thanks for the invite for next weekend, but Dan and I can't make it. Sorry."

I paused for a few seconds before finally hitting send.

***

As we slept, I dreamed I was standing before a large open field on the edge of a dark forest, a small worn path leading forward into the darkness of the woods on the other side. I froze as I saw a wolf standing solemnly, looking at me from the other side of the field. Somehow, I immediately recognized him as the wolf I kept hearing as I had fallen asleep. My heart pounded as I tried to decide if I should run, hoping he would ignore me or remain standing still, pretending to be unafraid and confident, not knowing if he was a friend or foe.

The wolf seemed to be regarding me with a strange curiosity, his head slightly cocked, his tail relaxing as if he knew that there was nothing to be afraid of and didn't want to frighten me any further. Watching me for a few minutes longer, he finally turned and trotted off into the forest, pausing to look back at me for a moment before disappearing into the unknown, almost as if he had wanted me to follow him.

Waking slightly, my mind tried to make sense of what it symbolized. My final conscious thought was a moment of recognition that my life was about to change dramatically before I slipped once again into a deep slumber.