Heavy Breathing

Holly got home from work to the sound of the phone ringing. "Crap!" she muttered, dropping her purse on the floor and running for the living room. Normally, she would have just let it go to voicemail, but she was expecting Kim to stop by or call about the free 'Hamilton' tickets she'd hinted she might be able to score for tonight, and she would be damned to a thousand fiery hells if she was going to miss that particular message. She scooped up the phone on the third ring, answered it just as the fourth was starting, and shouted, "Hello?" a bit more loudly than she intended to.

But all she heard on the other end was, "hhhhh... hhhhh..." Holly rolled her eyes. Who actually made obscene phone calls in this day and age? The Internet gave horny perverts webcams, bondage-themed social networking sites, and an endless supply of free porn. Who the ever-living fuck still got off on calling random strangers and masturbating?

She took the phone away from her ear to check the caller ID, but the stupid display was dark. Holly tapped it a couple of times, hoping to jar something back into position, but it didn't even flicker. Meaning that not only did Holly not know who was jerking off in her ear, she wouldn't be able ignore any phone calls for the rest of the night.

Holly sighed. Whoever it was, they were going at it pretty loud; even with the receiver six inches away from her face, Holly could still hear them panting. "HhhhhHHHhh... hhhhHHHHhhhh..." They sounded practically hoarse from the effort.

Holly decided she'd had enough. "What the fuck ever, sleazebag," she snapped out, stabbing her finger down on the disconnect button. She put it back on the receiver and flopped down on the couch in easy reach of the handset. She still wasn't sure whether to be pissed off or just plain surprised at the unexpected heavy breather. Some people officially had too much fucking free time.

Like her. Not in a 'time to call up total strangers and get off on them yelling at me through the phone' kind of way, but the musical didn't start until eight o'clock and it wasn't even half past four yet. She'd already grabbed a bite to eat before she came home, she didn't need to get changed, and she couldn't leave the apartment until she heard from Kim. Or until three hundred dollars spontaneously materialized in her bank account so that she could pay her cell phone bill, Holly thought ruefully.

Still, tonight would be a welcome escape from money worries. Three hours of Broadway bliss without having to wonder how she was paying for the ticket. She'd have to pay Kim back, of course, but that was in the usual currency of favors and informal barter that she was perfectly happy to accommodate. If only her landlord didn't insist on rent in actual money...

Holly decided to skip that particular pit of despair, and instead lost herself in the planning process for repaying Kim. She could probably get a few comp tickets at the restaurant if she agreed to knit Linda her own sweater like the one Holly made for Dana, and Jakob would probably help out with the yarn with his employee discount if she got him into the club on Saturday, and she could score some passes from Evan if she agreed to watch his son for a few hours while he and Gary went to the munch, which pretty much left her free and clear so long as she didn't mind giving up her Sunday afternoon to-

The phone rang again. Holly grabbed it and answered on the first ring. "Hello?" she asked.

"HhhhhHHHHHHH..." Holly just about threw the phone at the wall in frustration. She did not need this bullshit, not tonight. Couldn't this guy go flash some joggers or something and leave her out of his sex life? Instead, she got to hear him gasping like a third-rate porn star into her ear. "Hhhhhhh... HhhhhHHHHhhh..."

"Oh, fuck off!" she shouted, hitting the disconnect button so hard the phone slipped out of her hand. She scooped it up off the floor, her face flushing with humiliation even there were no witnesses to her bout with klutziness, and hung it back on the receiver. She decided to watch a little television.

And of course, there was absolutely nothing on. Just a few game shows and some re-runs of shows that only avoided being antique by being pretty much worthless. Not for the first time, Holly wished she had cable. She went over to the bookshelf and started to rummage through her movie collection for something to watch.

She poked around aimlessly for a few minutes, unsure of exactly what she was looking for-she didn't want anything that she would actually get invested in, just in case Kim wanted to go out before they went to the theater, but she wasn't in the mood for total schlock, either. She finally decided that a little cinematic comfort food might help her get over the creepy caller. She tossed in 'The Hunger', and grabbed her knitting needles as the opening credits rolled.

Instead of focusing on the movie, though, Holly spent most of her time glaring at the phone in an effort to psychically compel Kim to call. She paid a little bit of attention to the opening sequence, because hello, David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve as sexy vampire swingers, but once it settled in and got plotty, she tuned it out. "Come on, Kim," she muttered, already beginning to get the sinking feeling that maybe those tickets weren't the sure thing that Kim had suggested they were.

Holly decided not to think about it. She knitted furiously, taking out her frustrations on the defenseless yarn for a little while and letting the movie get to the good bit. But just as David Bowie was starting to get a little less attractive, the phone rang again. Holly grimaced and set down her knitting, trying to keep the stitch count in her head, pause the movie, and still pick up the phone before (Kim) whoever it was (Kim) hung up and (she didn't get the tickets) she didn't find out what they wanted-

"HhhhhHHHHHhhhh..." The breathing on the other end of the line sounded desperate, almost tortured. "HHHHHHHHH..." Whoever this guy was, he was clearly having problems getting his rocks off. "HhhHHHhhhHhHhHHH..."

Not that Holly gave two fucks. "Jesus fucking Christ!" she shouted into the receiver. "What the fuck is it with you? I don't give a fuck what your sick pervy thing is, okay? I'm waiting for a real goddamn call, so leave me the fuck alone. Got it?"

But all she heard on the other end of the line was, "HHHhhhhh... hhhhHHHHHhhhh..." Not that she was expecting an apology, but Jesus Fuck, the guy didn't even ask what she was wearing. Wasn't that what they were all supposed to ask? Or was that just phone sex lines? Holly disconnected the call and slammed the receiver down hard before remembering that was the whole reason she no longer had a caller ID screen that worked.

Holly restarted the movie and the knitting, beginning to readjust her expectations for the evening. Free tickets to the hottest musical on Broadway? Probably not going to happen. Frozen pizza, cheap booze, and another viewing of 'The Hunger' once Kim got here? Still a pretty decent night, especially when they got to the good bit. Kim always liked to act out the good bit.

Idly, Holly wondered who Kim would decide to be tonight. Usually, she liked to be Catherine Deneuve, all suave and magnetic and irresistible. It suited Kim perfectly, all that sensual power under such perfect control. Holly shivered a little, remembering the way Kim even did the French accent as she recited the dialogue right along with the movie.

But every once in a while, Kim wanted to be Susan Sarandon. She always looked so different when she was Susan, suddenly hesitant and meek, caught in the grip of a compulsion she didn't understand and couldn't escape. It was a side of her she didn't show any of her other friends or play partners-even Holly had only seen it a few times. Holly squeezed her thighs together, thinking about the shy and tender way Kim pulled her shirt over her head and let Holly take control.

On the screen, David Bowie was busy committing decidedly unsexy murder, but Holly wasn't really seeing the television. She was seeing the movie inside her head, already fast-forwarded to the part where the immortal vampiress took one look at the nervous young woman and drew her into a web of delicious control. She was thinking about the first time she watched it with Kim-they were both thinking the same thing, but each of them thought the other one would think it was...weird.

But the room was so warm by the time they got to the good bit. Holly remembered blushing furiously, the blood rushing to her skin and practically radiating heat all over. She remembered feeling like a human furnace, watching Susan Sarandon get that distant, helpless look on her face as she said, "I don't even know why I'm here." And she remembered looking over at Kim and seeing that same blush...

Holly realized she was still squeezing her thighs together, her body naturally falling into a pleasant rhythm of squeeze and release, squeeze and release. She was incredibly wet already just thinking about it. Something about the idea of vampires always got Holly hot and bothered-Kim too, thankfully. Maybe it was that idea of being drawn to something dangerous. Everyone in a vampire movie always knew they were heading for trouble, but their desire was too strong to resist. Holly set down the knitting needles that hadn't actually moved in several minutes, her fingers drifted down to the waistband of her jeans-

The phone rang. Holly almost dropped it when she went to reach for it. "Um, hi, hello, hi?" she babbled, her voice almost a full octave higher than normal. If it was Kim, she was inclined to tell her to come over now so they could get in a little fun before the musical.

But it was just her old friend, the creepy perv. "hhhhHHHHhhhhh..." he said, in the half-second before Holly disconnected the phone. She had better things to do right now than listen to someone else masturbate. She unbuttoned her jeans and pulled down the zipper, caressing her pussy through the damp fabric. "Much better," she murmured to herself as she rubbed the heel of her hand slowly against her clit.

On the screen, reality had finally caught up with her fantasies as Susan Sarandon paid her call on the seductive French vampire. "I don't even know why I'm here," Holly mouthed along with the screen, her nipples stiffening under her shirt as she ground her hips slowly against her hand.

Holly knew the scene by heart, and her body settled into a rhythm of self-pleasure timed perfectly to the story beats. When Catherine Deneuve poured the sherry, she slowly slid her hand inside her panties and began to stroke her labia. As Susan Sarandon lounged on the chair, not even realizing how beautiful she looked, and said, "Are you making a pass at me, Mrs. Blaylock?", Holly slipped in a finger and began to gently push it in and out.

Susan Sarandon spilled the sherry, and Holly added a second finger. Her other hand was busy with her breasts, rubbing her nipples through the fabric and whimpering as each touch sent sharp tingles of pleasure through her whole body. By the time the characters on the screen were naked, Holly was groaning with bliss and her eyes were only half-focused. She knew when she would cum, when she always came. Every time, when Catherine Deneuve kissed the inside of Susan's arm and marked Susan with her fangs...

The phone rang. Holly almost didn't answer it. But she stirred back out of her erotic reverie just a little and remembered that she needed to make sure Kim knew to come over as quick as possible. Holly always needed a second go after watching the good bit. She reached out with her free hand, unable to stop swirling and thrusting her fingers even for a second, and grabbed the phone.

"'Lo?" she muttered, trying to keep the whimper out of her voice and just barely succeeding.

"hhhhhh..." It was the pervert again. Fuck it, she decided. Let him hear. Maybe then he'd go away.

"Is this what you wanted?" she growled out, her voice husky with lust. "Is this what you wanted, you fucking creep?" She put the phone right next to her pussy and pumped her fingers in and out, over and over, the slap and squish of her wet and sticky cunt so loud that she could hear them over the movie. "Is this, ohhhh...oh, fuck, is this good for you? Are you cumming now?" She felt it then, the crest of her pleasure rolling over her like a tidal wave. "Because I am..."

Then her words melted into moans and her pussy clenched around her fingers. She gasped for breath as the orgasm flowed on and on, her hand unable to stop, and with every gasp she heard the voice on the other end of the phone hissing out gasps right along with her. "HHHHHHH! HHHHHHHH!" She never thought she could cum so hard in front of a stranger, but something about the kinky exhibitionism was cranking her motor like nobody's business. Her hips strained against the air as her pleasure hit a final crescendo.

At last, utterly spent, she flopped down again onto the couch cushions. "And don't call again, sicko," she said before disconnecting the phone. Then she very slowly withdrew her fingers, mewling softly at the aftershocks of pleasure from the motion. "Goddamn," she whispered to herself.

There was a knock at the door. Holly breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she thought to herself. She hung up the phone on the charger and said as loudly as she could, "Come on in, it's open." She was glad she hadn't bothered locking it, because she wasn't sure if her legs would support her for another few minutes.

She looked over at the door with a smile of anticipation as it opened.

ONE HOUR EARLIER...

Kim shivered in the chill of the air conditioning, goose-pimples covering every inch of her skin as she knelt naked on the thick carpet. She gazed up at Mistress Imani, the effort of keeping her eyes open so difficult now that she couldn't possibly spare any energy to resist. "I obey you, Mistress," she whispered. She heard the distant, dreamy tones in her own voice and it made her sink even deeper.

Mistress Imani reached down and caressed her cheek gently. Kim couldn't help herself, she whimpered and rubbed her face against the soft, dark skin of Mistress Imani's hand like an affectionate kitten. "I know you do, pet," Mistress Imani said. "You can't resist me at all anymore, can you?"

The words were like a stone on her tongue. She could feel the weight of them pressing against her lips, and she no longer had the strength to hold them in. "I can't resist you at all anymore, Mistress," she said softly, feeling the shudder of pleasure all the way through her body as she obeyed.

She always obeyed, now. She could remember a time when she told herself that she could resist, that it was just a secret game that she and Imani played when they were alone together and she could stop any time she wanted. But now she knew that to be a lie. Mistress Imani had broken through that lie and seen the truth, that deep down Kim had always been an obedient girl. All her pretense at dominance was just that, a mask she wore to conceal the slave within. Mistress Imani had removed that mask, and now all she could feel was pleasure.

"Good pet," Mistress Imani purred. "Your friend is where I want her to be?"

"Yes, Mistress," Kim responded automatically. "I told her to wait for me at her apartment. She will be there when you arrive."

"Good pet," Mistress Imani said with a smile. She leaned down and kissed Kim on the forehead. "Won't it be nice, the two of you kneeling together?"

Kim swooned as she attempted to follow Mistress Imani's gaze until her eyes rolled back in her head and her eyelids slipped shut at last. "Yes, Mistress," she replied, unable to even imagine any other response now. Her vision was filled now with the fantasy that Mistress Imani had promised her, the two of them side by side staring helplessly into Mistress Imani's hypnotic eyes and sinking into obedience in perfect unison. It had been so easy to betray her friend at Mistress Imani's command...

"Good pet," Mistress Imani said. "I'm off to collect her now. Be a good girl while I'm gone, pet." With that, she turned and left, not even waiting for a response.

Kim couldn't help providing one anyway. "Yes Mistress," she whispered as she heard the door slam shut. She knelt there for a timeless moment, thinking of nothing but obedience. She obeyed, and soon Holly would obey too...

Holly. The thought let a tiny sliver of sunlight into the darkness in her mind. Holly was at her apartment, unaware of Mistress Imani's impending visit. She wouldn't stand a chance-if Kim had a secret submissive streak for Mistress to exploit, Holly had a fucking four-lane freeway leading straight from her brain right down to her clit. Mistress Imani would break her, take her and make her a helpless pet just like Kim...

The fantasy almost overwhelmed her again, but Kim fought it. She reached up and physically pulled her eyelids open, trying desperately to focus her glassy stare as she struggled against the endless hypnotic pull of Mistress Imani's conditioning. She had to save Holly. She had to warn her that Mistress Imani was coming for her.

Kim tried to rise, but her body refused to obey her. Every time she tried to get to her feet, she heard Mistress Imani's voice in her head. 'Be a good girl for me while I'm gone, pet'. She crawled across the floor to the door, reached to the cubbyhole where her clothes were stored for those times when she needed to wear them. Her hands refused to pick them up. 'Be a good girl for me while I'm gone, pet.'

Kim felt a surge of panic rush through her body. She welcomed it. Anything that kept the trance at bay right now was welcome, even if it was the shameful knowledge that she had laid a trap for her best friend and favorite lover. She crawled back across the carpet to the bedroom and picked up the cordless phone from the charger on Mistress Imani's bedside table.

Her fingers trembled as she struggled to punch in the number. She told herself that this wasn't disobedience. Mistress Imani had never told her to stop speaking to Holly. She'd never told her not to use the phone. She'd never actually said that good girls always helped enslave their friends. That didn't stop Kim from kneeling on the floor for a full minute before she managed to press the CALL button.

The phone rang once. Twice. A third time. With every ring, Kim's treacherous subconscious told her that Holly probably wasn't even home, that it wasn't worth calling, that she could hang up and relax and wait a while for Holly to come back with Mistress Imani. Desperately, she struggled to keep herself from listening to it. And on the fourth ring, she heard Holly's voice on the other end of the line. "Hello?" Holly said loudly, sounding slightly out of breath.

"hhhhh..." ...olly, Kim said, her voice giving out before she could turn her breath into any real sound. "hhhhh..." ..olly, she tried again, hearing the words dry up in her throat.

No, she shouted soundlessly, No no no no no! She tried desperately again, screaming her friend's name into the phone. "HhhhhHHHhh... hhhhHHHHhhhh..." Nothing else came out.

She heard Holly's voice on the other end of the line, and her heart sank into despair. "What the fuck ever, sleazebag," Holly snapped out, just before the line went dead.

It almost broke Kim all over again. She knew now that the part of her that belonged to Mistress Imani would never let her warn Holly. Mistress Imani's power over Kim wasn't a genie's wish that she could find loopholes in. It was the gift of total obedience, pure and perfect. Kim was a good girl, and good girls obeyed. It was all they did. It was all they could ever do.

Kim felt her pussy flushing with heat. She was a good girl for Mistress Imani. She had failed to resist, just like every good girl always failed to resist. Whenever she fought against Mistress Imani's power and failed, it always felt so good. She would always lose when she struggled against Mistress Imani's will, because it felt so wonderful to lose that deep down, she didn't even want to win. She just wanted to obey...