After The Conference

The girl pushed off a shoe, flexing her toes within her black tights. There was something absurdly sensual about the act and Karolin watched helplessly as the foot snaked forward beneath the hem of her skirt. As it brushed against her knee she gasped, and her whole body trembled with the touch. She looked up at her tormentor, pleading with her to stop or continue, she no longer knew which. But the choice wasn't hers. The girl was in control.

She felt the foot slowly make its way up her inner thigh until it finally made contact. She ground her sex against the intruder, so close to coming that nothing else mattered. The girl's foot pressed her wet panties hard against her lips, chafing and teasing her clit. Karolin, beside herself with an aching need, tried to grab hold of the leg, intent on drawing it hard into her. But the girl dropped her foot from beneath the skirt.

Karolin's moan of frustration seemed to give the her some perverse satisfaction. A faint smile flickered, as she raised her foot toward Karolin's face. Even in the dimly lit cinema, Karolin could see it was soaked with her juices. Casually, the girl brushed her foot across Karolin's cheek, smearing her face with sweet-smelling musk of her arousal. Then the girl's toes teased at her lips and without a conscious thought, Karolin welcomed them deep into her grateful mouth. She sucked at the wet nylon, frantically trying to delve beneath the overpowering taste of her juices to the earthy essence of the girl. Her tongue tried to burrow between the toes, but the sodden nylon frustrated her efforts. Any sense of shame had long since vanished, all that mattered in that heated moment was her insatiable need.

The girl indulged Karolin's fevered worship with a cool detachment until finally, withdrawing her foot from the hungry mouth, she hooked it around the back of Karolin's neck, drawing her towards the dark juncture of her thighs. This was no invitation, it was insistent. Karolin lost balance, her hand reached out to steady herself. Sensing reluctance, the girl grabbed her by the hair, forcing Karolin beneath her skirt into the dark void.

Nylon clad thighs closed around her, their warm embrace obscuring the sound of the film. In this disembodied state, the girl's scent possessed her. She inched forward until her lips brushed against butter-soft skin. Instinctively she recoiled, shocked to meet bare flesh where she'd expected the inhibiting barrier of nylon. The tights had been ripped open, exposing the hairless mound of her sex. Karolin barely had time to process the thought before she felt the insistent pressure of the girl's hand forcing her back down.

As her lips once again made contact with the heated flesh, the girl's thighs clamped tightly closed, holding Karolin in place. Barely able to breathe, her tongue reached out, tentatively at first, caressing the impossibly smooth flesh. The pressure from the girl's thighs eased with her surrender. Emboldened Karolin began to delve deeper. As her tongue wormed and pried its way towards her prize, she could feel the girl's hips begin to gently rise, teasing herself as much as Karolin.

Finally, she reached the tender apex. Suddenly, the girl's thighs opened, and tender dew-soaked lips met Karolin. It was a kiss like no other, wet and wanton. The scent, already overwhelming, now had taste, a sweet, astringency that seeped between her lips and ran down Karolin's neck. Her tongue delved between the folds working its way inside with an insatiable need. The girl's sex constricted around her tongue, the muscles holding her back as if the sensation was too overwhelming.

Karolin eased her hands along the girl's thighs, pushing them further apart. She could hear a muffled groan as she allowed herself to be opened up. Spurred on, her tongue continued to probe deeper until all resistance gave way and juices flooded into her mouth. As she lapped feverishly, Karolin felt the girls ankles dig into her, urging her on. Fingers coiled gently into her hair then clenched into a painful fist, which held her tight as the girl began to grind her open sex over Karolin's face. It was a suffocating ferocious assault.

Karolin began to panic, she tried to pull back, struggling for breath, but there was no escape. She was helpless before the girl's frenzied lust. It was humiliating, debasing and yet somewhere deep inside she realised she'd never been more aroused. She reached for her sex, clawing her panties aside to roughly thrust two, then three fingers into herself. She could feel her climax rise, each thrust bringing her closer to the edge. Her whole being was consumed by her need for release.

The girl, sensing the change, dragged Karolin's mouth hard against her sex demanding she work her tongue inside once more. It had the desired effect. Within moments the girl reached a shuddering climax, her thighs clamped tightly around Karolin's head, holding her in an interminable, suffocating embrace. Until finally her legs parted and Karolin sprawled back from beneath the hot-house dark of her skirt, gasping for air.

The girl stared down at her, languid now, her expression tinged with knowing satisfaction. Karolin was a mess, her hair plastered with sweat, skin growing tight as the girl's juices dried on her, and a gnawing frustration etched on her face. She felt powerless with this girl, and the shame which filled her fed a new desperate hunger.

Vaguely, somewhere in the background, Karolin could hear music. The film was ending. She tried to say something, but the words wouldn't take form. The girl watched her struggle, offering no help or encouragement. Then the cinema lights faded up, and reality came crashing in. Karolin could hear the clatter of seats as the audience began to leave. Someone would see her. The girl stood, glanced at her with evident amusement, and walked away. Karolin had no choice but the scramble on hands an knees, back to her seat. She barely made it before men began to trail past her on the way out.

The girl's scent clung to her, she reeked of sex. She could feel the eyes of the men all over her, like insects crawling on her flesh. All she could do was fold herself in her coat, keep her head down and pray no one would notice the state she was in.

Finally, she sensed she was alone and allowed herself to glance around the empty cinema. She expected to see the girl, but she too was gone. She stood and for a moment thought she might sick. What had she done? This was insane. She had to get out, run back to the sanctuary of her life before the madness consumed her. She looked down at her clothes, praying they showed no sign of what she had done. A ladder ran the length of one stocking, her skirt was dirty from the floor and her blouse stained with the girl's juices. She looked like she'd been ravaged in some dark alley. She couldn't go out in the street like this.

Thankfully the Ladies was unoccupied. Two stalls faced a pair of marble hand basins, topped by a long gilt-framed mirror. Someone had tried to add a touch of style to the dated fittings, but all Karolin could see was her reflection. She looked awful. Her hair, her clothes, but most of all the face that stared back at her, with its glazed hungry eyes, had been transformed into something wild and degenerate. Worse still was the horrifying intuition that she was somehow looking directly at her true self.

The sound of voices approaching from the lobby broke the spell. Karolin retreated into a stall just as the door opened and two girls entered. She held her breath dreading that anyone should see her like this. The girls, preoccupied with their conversation didn't register her presence until one of them pushed at the stall door. She muttered an apology and took the adjoining stall. Her friend joined her and continued chatting as they each took turns peeing.

Their casual intimacy so different from what Karolin had just experienced, now seemed charged with erotic possibility. Silently, she eased up her skirt, pulled down her ruined panties and began to rub her swollen clit. The gentle caress that had always worked now seemed inadequate. Her climax remained stubbornly out of reach. She began to rub harder, trying to summon the release she'd been so close to with the girl. But it refused to come.

She wanted to cry out in frustration as the girls finished up and their chatter faded away, leaving her alone once again. A few stray tears splashed onto her open thighs, and for a brief instant, she indulged her misery or frustration. She could no longer tell the difference.

Then, with a visible shudder, she cuffed the tears from her face and reached for her panties. She began to pull them up, then thought better of it. What was the point, they were ruined. She balled them up and stuffed them into the waste bin. Feeling more in control now, she began tearing off strips of toilet paper and wiping away the juices that still leaked relentlessly from her sex. It would have to do until she could shower. There was nothing she could do about her laddered stocking, it was too cold outside to go without. Her skirt was creased and dusty, but she could get away with it. She flushed the toilet and, steeling herself, returned to confront the mirror.

Carefully avoiding her gaze, Karolin was determined to stay focused on repairing the visible evidence. She filled a sink with warm water and scooping it in her hands, doused her face. The water ran down her neck soaking into her blouse but she barely noticed, repeating the process again and again until she realised her hands were shaking.

She glanced up at the mirror, she looked ridiculous, standing there dripping wet. This was absurd. She was behaving like a lunatic. She yanked a handful of paper towels from the dispenser and began drying her face and blotting water from her blouse.

She checked the mirror again. Still a mess, but at least the hunger seemed to have dimmed. Relieved that she'd managed to claw back some sanity, Karolin combed out her hair and carefully reapplied her sparse make-up. Finally satisfied there was nothing more she could do, she glanced at the door. What if she was there? What then?

Thankfully the lobby was still deserted. Only the muffled soundtrack of the movie, which had started again, gave any hint of life. The girl must be inside, back at work as if nothing had happened. Perhaps it was nothing to her? The thought made her feel old, dull, faintly ridiculous. She headed up the stairs.

The evening was drawing in and Karolin shivered at the sudden chill. Wisps of fog still lingered in the air and the chances of a flight seemed unlikely. She was going to need a place to stay. As she reached for her phone her hand brushed against the card given her by the receptionist. She peered at the scrawled address, pondering the girl's eager invitation. No, she couldn't do that. Today had been bizarre enough, she didn't need more complications. She tossed the card in the gutter and began to walk towards, what looked like, a parade of shops in the distance.

It wasn't far, yet somehow she felt reluctant. She glanced back at the cinema as the lights on the adjoining restaurant flickered on. Karolin paused, watching as a balding man in a white apron unlocked the door and flipped the closed sign to open. Perhaps a drink would help, maybe something to eat? She could look for a hotel later. There was no rush. She turned back.

A bell attached to the restaurant door brought the man scurrying back from the kitchen. He seemed surprised to have a customer and began explaining something. Karolin shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand?"

The man had the same problem.

"Can I sit here?" Karolin gestured towards a window seat.

The man smiled helplessly as Karolin sat down. Somewhat reluctantly he pulled out a notepad and walked over to her. Food was obviously going to be a problem, so Karolin settled for the easy option.

"Vino?"

He nodded, visibly relieved, and brought over a large glass of dark red wine and a bowl of pickled chillies. It seemed an unlikely pairing but Karolin nodded her gratitude, and the man retreated to the kitchen, leaving her alone. She leaned back in her chair and sipped at the wine. It had a dense peppery flavour that did little to disguise its alcoholic strength, perhaps that was what the chillies were for? She could only imagine the hangover it would produce.

She took another drink and then allowed herself to look outside. She had a clear view of the street directly in front of the cinema. Sooner or later the girl would appear.

She was halfway through her third glass when the straggle of audience left the cinema. As she watched them wander off into the night, she realised she had no idea what she was doing. What she expected? What she was waiting for?

While she pondered these troubling questions, the light from the cinema died, leaving the pavement in darkness. Moments later, a figure stepped from the shadows and jogged across the road. Karolin felt her breath catch, as she peered intently for a glimpse of the girl. But as they entered the halo of a street light, she saw the boy from the ticket office. The sharp pang of disappointment caught her off guard. Somehow she'd missed her.

She starred into the dark empty street, cursing herself. One pathetic, humiliating encounter and she'd fallen apart. Sitting here like a fool, making an exhibition of herself, waiting for someone who'd already forgotten her. The girl probably left hours ago while she was having a hysterical fit in the toilet. Stupid! She knocked back the last of the foul tasting wine, and with as much of her tattered dignity as she could summon, stumbled outside.

The street was slick with the memory of fog. Karolin swayed on unsteady feet. Cold air reached beneath her skirt, caressing her naked sex with icy fingers. She shuddered as she remembered, she was lost and had nowhere to sleep. What had she done with the receptionist's card? Tossed it in the gutter. Where?

She scanned the pavement, searching so intently that, at first, she failed to notice she was being watched. Then with an audible gasp, her eyes darted up and she saw the girl standing in the shadows, watching her. She held her gaze, coolly savouring the turmoil of emotions that overran Karolin. Without a word, she began to slowly walk away. Karolin watched her go with something approaching panic, then bereft of choice, she began to follow.

The girl made her way across the dimly lit square, past the plane tree, and into the labyrinth of alleys. Karolin trailed behind her, clinging intently to a ghostly silhouette, which threatened to dissolve into the night. She feared the girl would turn at any moment and confront her. But her pace never varied as she threaded the twists and turns, ever deeper into the remote heart of the old town. Karolin knew she could never find her way back in the dark, it would be hard enough in broad daylight, but the thought barely registered.

Up ahead the girl turned a corner and disappeared. Karolin quickened her pace, but when she reached the corner she stared in disbelief. The girl had vanished. She spun around, looking for a hidden passage she'd somehow missed. But there was nothing. Only this solitary, gloomy, empty lane. She was utterly alone. It was like a waking nightmare, chasing a twisted phantom of her imagination. Before she knew it she was all but running in blind pursuit. So frantic she almost missed the half-open door, faintly outlined by a dull orange light.

She stumbled to a halt, the door seemed to offer the hint of an invitation. Uncertain, she peered down the lane into the darkness, straining for a distant footfall. The stillness, the absolute silence, felt unreal. Everything seemed as insubstantial as a cardboard set, everything but the door. Karolin reached out, almost relieved when her hand felt the rough surface of the wood. It swung silently open to reveal a bare hall and a well worn staircase winding up into the building. She stepped inside.

The place felt abandoned, only a naked bulb glowing in the broken wall light offered any hint of occupancy. Her eyes followed the staircase up past a succession of flats draped beneath decades of dust and cobwebs. Then she saw it, light three floors up at the top of the building. Some distant part of her rational mind told her this was crazy, she could be raped or murdered and no one would ever find her. But by then she was already climbing the stairs.

When she reached the top, her heart was racing. She stood, hardly daring to breathe, before an open door. A narrow hallway reached into the apartment, illuminated by a warm flickering light that spilt from a room at the far end. As the light danced over the crumbling walls, it seemed to animate a huge forest, rendered in violent swathes and slashes of black paint, covering every surface. Naked, half-formed creatures writhed amidst the knotted branches. The effect was visceral.

Karolin stepped back, her fear returning in a sudden rush, taking root in this forbidding forest. This was no amateur daub, the artist had created something primal, archaic. Instinctively she knew that if she entered, she too could be lost amidst the chaos, and there would be no return.

It was stupid, irrational, but the door, deep within this nightmare forest seemed to beckon her, daring her to continue. She wanted to call out if only to hear the sound of her voice, but what could she say?

Steeling herself, she began to walk towards the room. The bare boards creaked underfoot and she tensed, expecting an angry challenge. But there was nothing. 'Perhaps there was no one there?' The thought rang hollow, but it was enough to take her to the threshold. Hardly daring to look into the room, she paused, held her breath, then with her last grain of courage, she stepped inside.

The room was much larger than she'd expected. A dozen or more candles carefully arranged in a circle provided the only illumination. The corners of the room were lost in shadow. Two windows, gazed blindly out to the dark street. Between them, a large unfinished canvas of a female nude rested on a paint-spattered easel, more paintings were stacked against a wall. The air was heavy with incense, something sweet and cloying that embraced her like a drug. She felt light-headed, bewildered and alone.

Her eyes drifted back to the canvas. She recognised the same powerful lines from the hall, now carving out the sensual form of a young girl in the throes of ecstasy. The technical skill was evident, but it was the raw emotional intensity that held her spellbound. She moved closer.

"Do you like it?"

The disembodied voice shocked the silence. Karolin flinched with surprise. She spun around, searching the shadows. The girl was sitting on an ancient sofa, her long legs casually askew, studying Karolin.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry.. I was lost. And I saw a light. The door was open. I didn't mean to intrude.."

The girl didn't reply. Karolin felt like a naughty child caught in a lie. She fumbled for a last shred of dignity. "This is a mistake, I'm sorry, I should go.."

"But you're not going to, are you?" The girl's tone suddenly abrupt as if she'd lost patience with the charade.

"Stand in the light. I want to look at you." There was no hint of an invitation, it was a command given with absolute certainty of obedience. Karolin flushed with shame, as she felt her body respond. She moved into the circle of candles and stood like a sacrificial victim, her head hung low. She felt horribly self-conscious, exposed to predatory scrutiny, lurking in the shadows. She heard the creak of the sofa as the girl stood, and the gentle pad of her feet on the bare boards.

She could sense the girl circling her, studying her from every angle and the thought sent her heart racing. This wasn't who she was, she was strong, independent, successful, not some object to be judged by a stranger. And yet it was as if she were paralysed, unable to protest, her body refusing to surrender to reason, overwhelmed by need. She realised she was wet, shockingly wet. She clenched her thighs, trying to stem the flow that had begun to leak from her sex and down her leg. Somehow the greater the humiliation, the more she struggled to regain control, the more her arousal bloomed.