Cost of a Dream

Note: I don't really like to physically describe characters unless it is critical to the story. This allows you put anyone in place where you think it will be interesting.

--- 2 Days until the Game ---

Alice Wilkens huffed and puffed behind her N95 mask as she loaded the box of books from her store into her rundown station wagon. The handpainted sign of her christian bookstore - An Angel's Bookshelf - looming over her. The store had been the dream of her and her late husband. It was never as busy as the neighborhood Walmart, but they were proud of their mission and contribution to the salvation of the community. However - thanks to COVID-19 - Alice had been unable to attract a customer in over 2 months. In the interest of full disclosure, the store had been on shaky ground long before - heavily dependent on church donations and her husband's fight with cancer didn't help. She was behind. Her desperate attempts of moving her stock to Ebay were not doing well. The late rent notice stapled to the front door flicked in the breeze. The dream was being taken away.

Alice loaded the last of the boxes into her trunk as her phone started to ring.

Alice states, "Hello? This is Alice. Good Morning and God Bless you."

She hears, "Hi Alice. This Jon Conrad calling. Look, we need to talk."

Jon Conrad owned the entire strip mall that Alice's bookstore was a part of. A benevolent dictator, he could easily be your best friend or worst enemy depending on the timeliness of your rent checks.

Alice states with an air of mild annoyance, "I know I'm late on my rent, Conrad. Pestering me will do nothing."

"Alice - you are late. Hell, you were behind before the world went to shit. I have to evict you. This isn't a joke." Conrad matches her annoyance word for word.

Alice responds, "I have nothing for you, Conrad. I have no money. I'm doing the best I can."

Conrad coldly states, "Everyone else is the unit is still making payments in some form or another. Hell, the nail salon has me reselling their PPE to hospitals. You are the ugly duck right now."

The unit - that is what he called his properties - like it was some form of cell block. Conrad and a few other local businessmen owned the majority of commercial real estate in the area. They were modern day land barons.

Alice pulled the phone away from her ear after being called the "ugly duck." It was Conrad's codeword for the primary focus of his frustration at any point in time. The Asian Fusion place on the end had been the "ugly duck" last year. Conrad had served them with an eviction notice in the middle of a business day in front of customers. A gym had quickly taken over and renovated the space after that.

Alice offers, "Well, I'm moving my stock online. I'm still new at this Ebay thing, but I'm sure - by God's grace - I'll have some sales soon."

Conrad reminds Alice, "That is what you said two weeks ago, Alice. Look, you might want to start thinking outside of the box. Anything left from Kevin's life insurance."

Alice began to tear up at the mention of her late husband's name. They had put everything they had into the store before his death, but his life insurance did bear some fruit - sadly just enough to cover a new roof for her home and tuition for her sons.

She quietly responds, "No, that is long spent."

Conrad authoritatively questions, "Well, what else can you do?"

Alice enthusiastically states, "Well... I could maybe cook for you. Send a few of my famous pies your way?

Conrad jokes, "Hey, the missus is pretty proud of her cooking - if only it was good. She might get insulted if I hired a cook."

Alice becomes slightly more desperate.

Alice offers, "Um, maybe I could clean for you? At your home or another one of your properties?"

"I have that contracted out, so that is a no-fly zone." Conrad states as if taking cues from his lawyer.

Alice lowers the phone and looks to the heavens. Why is this happening?

Alice pleads, "Please Conrad. Don't do this to me. This store is my life. Please - I'll do anything."

After a brief silence, Conrad says, "Well, wait no. Nevermind."

Alice again pleads, "Please Conrad - no - tell me. Please."

Conrad mentions, "The local landlords and I have a poker game once a month. We typically have a lady there."

Alice immediately thinks back to her early days as a waitress.

Alice quickly responds, "I could take care of that. I'll make some snacks and handle drinks. That sounds great!"

Conrad interjects, "Wait - that isn't what I mean. Have you ever heard of a gloryhole, Alice?"

"You mean where you make your church donations?" she offers.

Conrad takes a moment to consider if this will work at all before going more in depth, "No. I guess you weren't that wild in your youth. We have a girl in a box... who gives blowjobs to whoever wants one. No one can see her and she can't see us."

Alice fell silent. She would never do something like that. She wouldn't even talk about something like that. She had only attempted a blowjob once with Kevin for his birthday after reading one of those sinful magazines in the checkout lane.

Conrad backpedals, "Look Alice, forget I mentioned it. That definitely isn't for you."

Alice interrupts, "I'll do it."

Confused, he asks, "What?"

"Please, Conrad, I need my store." she states before briefly sobbing into the phone.

He responds before hanging up the phone, "Jesus. Well, ok. The game is in 2 days. Meet me behind the gym at 6PM then."

--- 1 Day until the Game ---

Alice was driving for the weekly grocery run with her sons in the backseat when her phone rang.

Alice coldly welcomes, "Hello, this is Alice. Good Afternoon and God Bless you."

Her mood had soured after her conversation yesterday with Conrad. However, she was trying to stay focused on the important things in her life.

"Hi Alice, its Conrad." he states after a brief silence.

Alice's eyes darted to the rearview mirror and her sons in the back. She couldn't talk to him now. What if they overheard?

Alice curtly states, "Conrad, this really isn't a good time. I'll call you back later today."

"Look Alice - this will be quick. We typically have a body picture of our girl displayed on the outside of the box. A little tease of sorts. Do you think you could throw something on and take one?" he offers.

She responds, "I'm not sure what you mean."

Conrad states, "We usually have a picture of the girl in lingerie or nude. Faceless, but enough to pique our interest."

"Well, I don't have anything like that." she apologetically states.

He asks, "Nothing you would throw on for your anniversary or Kevin's birthday?"

Once again hearing her late husband's name in this context almost broke her down. He would have fixed this.

Alice requests, "Can't you just use someone elses? Like the last one or one from online?"

Conrad dismisses her idea with, "I don't want the guys to get suspicious. They might recognize the picture otherwise."

Alice looks again to her children in the backseat. No room to argue. She can do this.

Defeated, Alice states, "Fine Conrad, I'll send you something."

"Great! Yeah, send me a couple shots. I'll pick one and crop your face out, so no worries." he enthusiastically responds.

Coldly, Alice states before hanging up, "Bye Conrad."

Alice tries to contain her displeasure as she hangs up the phone. Her oldest reaches forward to tap her on the shoulder.

Tapping her on the shoulder, her oldest son asks, "Mom, everything OK? Is Conrad bothering you?"

With a slight twinkle of a tear in her eye, Alice dismisses his concern with, "Oh sweetheart, it is nothing. He just wanted to borrow something of mine from the shop."

Alice had not yet summoned the courage to tell her sons about the financial issues they were having. Kids were resilient. God would answer her prayers and resolve this soon.

--- A sinful photoshoot ---

Food shopping completed. Alice returned home. Her boys got to work unloading the car and putting their supplies away. She truly was blessed. However, she sadly had work to do. She wasn't happy about it. While shopping, Conrad had sent her a couple "examples" of previous girls. They were all clearly much younger and in better shape than her. She hated having these images on her phone.

However, it was with these pictures that she retired to her bedroom - she told her sons that she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to be disturbed for an hour or two. They fawned all over her and asked if there was anything they could do to help. Alice could barely contain herself. God had truly blessed her.

She just needed to get this done.

Conrad had hit the nail on the head. For their 5th wedding anniversary, Alice had bought a little outfit from one of those lingerie stores at the mall. She had no idea what she was doing. The saleswoman did most of the deciding for her that day, but Kevin liked it. That was also the night they were blessed with their youngest, so maybe that confirms it.

Alice stared at the lace garment with disdain. How could she corrupt this memory of Kevin? What was she doing? She thought of the store and the day the first opened. Kevin was so hoping. She was so proud.

Alice stripped down. Briefly, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror above her dresser. She hadn't really looked at herself in a while. With Kevin gone, there hadn't been much reason. Following an unknown urge, she decided that she should probably brush her hair and put her makeup on. Maybe it was an instinctual competitive nature. She wanted to look better than the images Conrad had sent her.

The woman looking back at her from the vanity mirror was a church committee member. She had seen that face smiling at raffles, bake sales, and mixers. Now, she just looked so glum. She tried to fake a smile.

Alice, frustrated, declares to herself, "Ok, I guess I need to just get this over with."

The saleswoman had given her a full rundown of the outfit. It was all black. The underwear was called a g-string. Alice had asked where the rest of it was. It barely covered anything. The saleswoman had just laughed and told me my husband was in for a real treat. The bra was cupless. Alice actually liked it as it removed some of the sag from her breasts. The last two pieces were called a garter belt and fishnet stockings. Alice had worn pantyhose before, but not these. The saleswoman had quieted her protests by telling her to just trust her.

As she smoothed out the fishnets, she took a look at herself in the mirror. She felt shame - she looked pretty. What was she doing?

"No time to think about that." Alice states to her reflection.

Alice opened her husband's old closet. She knew what she was looking for - Kevin's old digital camera. He had used it to commemorate birthdays, vacations, and graduations. Now, it was going to capture something else. Alice held the camera in her hand and found she was crying. What was she really doing?

Her shoulders slumped as she set the camera on her dresser and set the timer. She climbed up on the bed and threw on the best face she could muster. Posing as she had seen those girls Conrad had sent her do. She tried to just make the best of it. Get this over with.

After 5 pictures, Alice felt that was enough. She transferred them on her old laptop and sent them to Conrad. A few minutes later, she received a text stating, "Wow, Alice, these are great. I'll see you tomorrow."

Alice cried for a bit until she fell asleep.

--- Game Day ---

Garret's Gym had taken the place of an Asian Fusion restaurant about a year or so prior. Conrad had invested a lot in the conversion and the manager was a personal friend of his. Some would say that it was a jewel in Conrad's crown as it had won multiple local awards for "Best Gym." Alice didn't like it. The windows were covered in images of half naked men and woman - showing how "fit" they were.

As Conrad requested, she arrived at the back door to the gym at 6PM. She felt like a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi in her sunglasses and zip up hoodie. She couldn't believe that she was doing this. Alice took a moment to collect herself - then she knocked on the metal exit door. Conrad soon arrived and greeted her.

Conrad welcomes, "Hi Alice, I'm really sorry about this. How are you?"

Conrad motions for Alice to enter. Once the door closes behind her, Alice removes a handful of condoms from her pocket and pushes them towards Conrad.

Conrad, confused, asks, "Uh.. what are this for?"

"I'm not getting any gross diseases from this. I'm doing it for my shop and only for my shop." Alice coldly states as she looks around her surroundings.

He slowly responds, "Oh, look Alice. That won't fly with the guys. Don't worry - we are all clean. We get tested every couple of months. Um, is that ok?"

Alice hesitates as her role slowly shifts.

With a face like she had tasted something sour, Alice mumbled, "I... but... they'll ejaculate, won't they? I.. don't like semen. It's dirty and ..."

Alice makes a gagging noise.

Conrad offered, "Well yeah. That is kind of the point. If you don't want to swallow, just let them spray. Granted, the box is kind of small. You won't be able to move out of the way. I guess I should have been more descriptive about the expectations before. Still on board?"

"I... I guess I have to be." she states.

Conrad looks a bit uneasy as he watches Alice's shoulders slump even lower.

Uneasily clapping his hands in front of him, Conrad moves on, "Well, let's get you squared away."

Conrad leads Alice into the back offices of Garret's Gym. A small conference table has been converted into a poker table complete with poker chips, cards, and a collection of soon to be ignored coasters. Off to the side of the conference table, there sits a box - about half height - with a hole drilled into the front. The path through the hole is then obscured by a fabric guard. In a small frame on the front of the box, Alice sees one of her recent pictures. It churns her stomach. The image is from her shoulders down as she sits on her knees. Breasts fully exposed with a hand covering her pussy. The frame has a title bar proclaiming in large letters "Cum Slut, 21F."

Alice derisively snorts, "How charming..."

"Sorry ... it is what it is. They won't know who is in there. Like we agreed." Conrad states matter of fact-ly.

Conrad turns a handle on the side of the box which opens a side panel door. The inside is small - barely big enough for a single person. A small kneeling bench takes up the bottom with a smooth metal dildo protruding in the middle. Handcuffs are present for the ankles and wrists.

Confused, Alice asks, "Wait, I'm not going to fit in there. And what are the cuffs for? Conrad, this is too much."

Alice reaches in and places her hand unknowingly on the dildo.

Clearly getting more lost, Alice continues, "Also, this is in the way. I won't be able to sit down."

"Well, that is a kneeling bench. You have to kneel - Like at church." he retorts.

Conrad smiles a bit at his joke.

As if reading from a retail brochure, Conrad declares, "The cuffs are meant to hold you in place and keep you just sucking. That is part of our incentive program."

Conrad reaches to the top of the box where there is a set of small colored buttons. He presses the green button. The metal dildo springs to life slowly moving up and down while emitting a vibrating sound. Alice jumps back.

He offers, "If the girl does good, we push the button. The increments start off small, but increases with each happy customer."

"I... won't I need my hands? When I did a blowjob before I did most of it with my hands. And that ...thing? Y... you want me to enjoy this? This is sick and twisted, Conrad." she asks with a pleading look in her eye.

Conrad mentions, "Oh, well - you don't. It might just take longer without hands."

Conrad eases his weight from one foot to the other wondering if he made a big mistake. Could she even handle this?

"To be honest, we typically get desperate college girls to do this. Honestly, they get off on this kind of stuff. I don't think we can remove the dildo though." he states.

Alice replies, "How will that work my clothes still on?"

Speaking matter of fact-ly, he answers, "Oh, you will need to strip before you get in the box. Trust me. It might get a little hot in there and the game lasts a couple of hours."

Alice whimpers as her position continues to slide further.

He shakes his hands before dismissing her with, "Look Alice - this was a bad idea. Why don't we just forget it? You got a couple more days. You are a smart business woman. You'll figure something out."

Alice replies in a soft frustrated tone, "Th...theres nothing. I've no other choice."

Alice starts to strip. Conrad graciously turns his back offering Alice a small semblance of privacy.

Apologetically, he says, "Sorry Alice. These crazy times. The guys will be here soon. Get in the box."

Alice attempts to enter the box, but is unsure what she is supposed to do with the dildo.

"I - what do I do with this?" she says while try to move the metal dildo.

"Well, it goes inside you. Um, here." Conrad states as he turns around and catches a glimpse of a nude Alice trying to fit the dildo between her legs without inserting it. He reaches to the button panel and presses the yellow button. A moment later, a clear liquid begins to ooze out of the tip of the dildo and run down its sides.

Conrad mutters, "Sorry, I'm sure this is a little overwhelming."

Alice gets on the kneeling bench and slowly lowers herself onto the slick dildo shivering as it penetrates her.

"Are you going to cuff me or what?" she whispers clearly frustrated but also depressed.

With a seemily sincere tone, he replies, "I'm sorry, Alice. The world really sucks. The game will only be a couple of hours. There are 5 players including myself. You will be fine after this. Clean slate."

Conrad closes the door and locks it before placing a small plastic trophy on top - the engraving reads "Poker Champion of the Week." A knock is heard from the front of the store front.

Conrad quickly states, "That must be them. Good luck Alice."

Before heading to the front, Conrad removes the picture from the front of the box and replaces it with one he had conveniently placed out of site. This picture is unedited. Featuring Alice's uncertain and nervous face staring directly into the camera. The title bar bolding reads - "Alice Wilkens, 40F." As he is about to leave, Conrad presses the incentive button once in hopes of getting Alice a little more settled.

Conrad mutters quietly, "The world really does suck - but not as much as you will."

Alice strains to hear in the darkness of the box. The only light was provided by a small fluorescent light bar at the top. She looks down at her naked body. The cool AC has sharpened her nipples to rocks. Goosebumps have begun to form on her legs and arms. As she hears Conrad begin to walk away, she hears a small motor begin to turn underneath her seat. The sudden movement of the dildo startles her, but she can't really move away from it. She feels the device's lube start to coat her insides as it moves up and down inside her like a slow piston. Her body reacts to the uninvited but brief touch with shameful lust. Her sex life with Kevin had been rare but perfect. The didn't indulge these desires without good reason. Sex had given her 2 children. Now, it was just an unfortunate distraction. She hopes that they would not be pushing that button too much.

Conrad reaches the front of the story to greet Tim, Ted, and Steve - other local landlords.

Putting his hand on Conrad's shoulder, Tim asks, "Conrad, was your text serious?"

"Guys, listen. You won't believe it - but yes. That prude bible seller is in the box. But don't blow it. Let her do it." Conrad addresses the group.