Hollow Pleasure Ch. 05

Between the two of them, Danni felt like they were in on some secret that she was not. She felt left out, a stranger in her own home.

That was part of the reason why she clung to her Ipad. The other reason was—

"Earth to Danielle!" The tiny voice through the device snapped her back to reality.

"Huh?" She blinked.

On the other side of the screen, Bill Esposito smiled at her with amusement. Other side of the screen? Who was she fooling? It was the other side of the world! That was the real reason she clung to her device. Probably even the real reason she was avoiding her roommates. Her big brother was on deployment to the Middle East. Though he was a Marine, he was still her brother, and she was scared.

"You know I hate when you call me that," she said.

"Would you prefer I call you Squeaky?" He grinned.

Her eyes widened. "Don't you fuckin' dare!"

He snickered, and his eyes crinkled pleasantly at the corners. Even on the screen, her brother was a dashing man. He had a wide mouth and a bright smile that mirrored Danni's. He had a strong jaw that always reminded Danni of a superhero. He'd shed his slender physique after bootcamp and had packed on the muscles. Like her, his eyes were dark and lively. Both Esposito siblings had inherited those traits from their parents.

Thank god looks was all they inherited. Literally, all they had were each other. Danni's parents hadn't been much of a picnic. They were drunks. They liked to party. And as she grew older, she suspected they dabbled in pills. Very often, they would disappear for weeks on end. During those times, Bill had stepped up and taken care of Danni, though he had been a kid, himself.

For that reason, they weren't just brother and sister, they were best friends. Bill being on the other side of the world, in some foreign and dangerous land, without her there to watch over him frightened her. If something happened to Bill, she wasn't sure what she would do.

"Well I will if you don't snap out of it," Bill replied. He was seated inside an olive canvas tent with sparse furniture around him— a metal cot, a utilitarian desk, with a reading light. His rifle and rucksack were propped up behind him. There were a few pinups on the walls that Danni often teased him about. Just another reminder of the lonely alien-like world that Bill was living in. It broke her heart. Bill must have sensed this because he prodded.

"Danni, what's going on with you?"

She took a deep breath. "I'm just homesick," she folded her legs beneath her and nibbled the tip of her finger.

His brow furrowed in genuine confusion. "Really? I don't believe that."

"Not homesick in the normal sense," she said. "I just miss you. A lot. And Tina's acting sort of weird—"

"Tina *is* weird," Bill corrected her. This earned a high pitched giggle from Danni.

"Okay, but she's acting weirder than normal. I just feel like... really alone."

Bill considered this. "Maybe it's just a phase she's going through. But Danni, the only person that you need to count on for feeling content is you. Nobody else can do that for you."

He was right. But still— "I'd feel better if I didn't have to worry about you getting hurt."

Bill smiled. "I won't. I've got the might of the US Marine Corps watching my back."

As if on cue, a group of soldiers pulled back the divider curtain that separated Bill's bunk from the rest of the tent. They were loud and jovial in their camo fatigues— in the midst of bantering during their R and R down-time. "Espositoooooo!" one of them barked. "Holy shit, devil dog, is that your little sister!?!" They glanced over his shoulder at the screen. "Dude, she's smoking hot!"

Danni couldn't resist giggling as half a dozen faces filled the screen around an annoyed looking Bill. They were all shouting at once. "Hey baby!" "Show us your boobs!" "Send nudes!" "Marryyyyy me!" "Grease my gun!"

Bill had to raise his voice. "Will you all get the fuck out of here!?!" He barked. There were a few grumbles, but eventually his fellow Marines cleared out. When he was alone again, Bill shook his head and sighed, laughing lightly. "Sorry about that."

"You really didn't instill me with any confidence, Bill," Danni giggled.

"They're smarter than they look."

"They better be. You tell them, if they don't bring your butt back home in one piece, there will be hell to pay." After the laughter, Danni found herself feeling better. She always did after talking to Bill.

***

3A

"Oh crap," Rob grumbled as he reached the top of the stairs. Waiting on the top floor landing, Tina was in a very tight gray sweater that exposed the flawless olive skin of her midriff, and perfectly highlighted her curvaceous breasts. Her skirt was even more revealing. Plaid and pleated, with white knee-highs. He'd given her a 'homework assignment' and she'd dressed for the part.

"I have that information you wanted," she offered him a coy smile. Those piercing, almost yellow eyes of hers made him shiver... like she was staring right through him. Her black curls hung around her face like a school principal's worst nightmare.

A moment later and Paul arrived on the landing beside Rob. He looked thrown off by the college girl who greeted them.

"Who's your friend?" Tina asked, still in horny girl mode.

"Nobody, nobody," Rob said hurriedly. "Why don't you wait inside," he quickly unlocked his door, praying to god Kelsey wouldn't be just inside, or try to step out. God, this was like wrangling rambunctious dogs, he thought. He ushered Tina inside, glancing back out at Paul. "The college girls on the first floor needed some tutoring," Rob explained, his face turning red. "It's nothing weird, I promise," he laughed nervously.

"I'm not judging," Paul merely shrugged, but by his expression, he was honestly surprised... and impressed that a girl like that was hanging around Rob.

Not all of us can be as naturally good looking as you, fuck face, Rob thought bitterly. "Wait here, I'll find her key."

Rob shut the door. When he turned to the living room, he startled.

"Ahoy," Kelsey grinned from the turret. She spun around playfully in Rob's desk chair. Rob's cock was instantly springing to life at the sight of her. Under Rob's spell, she'd gone out and purchased some new attire for him. At the moment, Kelsey was lounging on his desk chair in a sailor's suit. Or what resembled a sailor suit, anyway. A navy blue mini skirt that showed far too much leg, high heels, and a tiny blouse jacket tied shut with a red bow that only covered her breasts... barely. Her tummy was exposed, and her massive DD cups were ready to come bursting out if she so much as breathed too hard. A sailor cap sat on her perky brown hair, tilted cutely to one side. Her bangs hung half over her eyes, the little blonde highlights bringing her whole expression to life, along with those big eyes. God... the smile in her eyes drove him crazy with lust.

She'd painted her cheeks rosy and pink, and applied a heavy coating of bright red lipstick. Rob even spotted fake make-up freckles on her cheeks and cute up-turned nose.

"Are you ready to get wet, Captain?" she giggled, her voice halfway between slutty and her usual perky tone of voice. She glanced at Tina. "Are you bringing aboard one more?"

"Oh shit, this is bad," Rob cringed. His heart was pounding. The kingdom that he'd been working to build was on the verge of collapsing. What would happen if he got caught? At best, Paul might just find out his girlfriend was cheating on him, and he'd storm off in a huff, ending the relationship. Rob might even get punched, but that wouldn't be so bad. That might be the most favorable outcome. But for sure this guy was going to ask Kelsey questions. And in the state of mind she was in, it would be glaringly obvious that she was under some sort of spell. Rob could never in a million years, plausibly explain why she was acting so utterly off the wall. At least not without ending up in the looney bin.

More plausibly, Paul would assume that his lovely and kindhearted girlfriend had been drugged or hypnotized. Rob would be arrested, charged with all sorts of seedy things that would destroy him. His over-thinking brain was already composing the headlines: "Innocent Well Loved Nurse Drugged and Kept As a Sex Slave By a Local Author".

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." Rob's heart was pounding so hard, that his breath was quivering.

"Kelsey, go put your normal clothes on, right now," he urged her. He took his spot by the computer, and his fingers typed feverishly. Even his hands were shaking so badly that the screen was full of typos— something that almost never happened to him. Rob was as skilled at typing as Beethoven was at playing the piano. He never missed a key. But now he was backspacing like crazy.

Without a word, Kelsey went to the bedroom. Rob watched after her. Her cute little butt showing out of the bottom of her skirt.

He needed to undo this. That was the first thing that came to mind— return Kelsey to her normal self— snap her out of the control of his narration that he'd written for her. But he stopped himself. That wouldn't do either. She's lost time. If he sent her back to her boyfriend, she'd be confused as to her whereabouts for the last few days. That would look even more like she'd been drugged and kept somewhere against her will.

Rob needed to come up with a convincing back-story and fast— one that was believable. But his hands were shaking like crazy, and no matter how much he wracked his brain, his creative juices weren't flowing under this kind of pressure. It was like his mind was freezing up.

For a brief moment, he thought about typing a short few sentences in which Paul had a heart attack, or fell down the stairs. But that would bring more people into this building. More heat would come down on him. Maybe he could just make Paul go away... but there was no way of knowing how permanent that'd be.

"Fuck fuck fuck..." he had already wasted more than enough time. He scooped up Kelsey's spare key and ran it to the door. He only opened it partially. "Here you go," he passed it to Paul, and shut the door quickly.

"Okay," he said to himself. "That buys me a little more time." He took a deep breath and tried to calm his beating heart. But he was nervous. This guy was over in Kelsey's apartment right now, waiting for her to come back. How long would he wait before getting impatient and leaving? If he left, he'd certainly come back with the police. Rob wasn't sure how powerful is computer was. How many people could he mind control at once? Could he put an entire police force under his spell? He dismissed that idea almost at once. He wasn't ready for that. Not yet, anyway. Juggling half a dozen of these sluts was proving to be difficult enough.

If he could find a way to sneak Kelsey out of his apartment, snap her out of her spell, return her to normal, he might be able to fabricate a good back story for why she was out of touch, and why she didn't remember the past few days. But he needed to make sure it was damn good...

"Professor?" Tina stepped forward, looking like a bad girl who just couldn't wait any longer for her discipline.

He sighed. "What is it, Tina?"

"Do you want my report about my roommate, Danni?" She asked, biting her bottom lip, looking desperate and slutty.

Now wasn't really the right time, but Rob was out of ideas. "Sure, lay it on me..." He said, disinterested.

Tina told Rob all about her best friend— growing up together, Danni's personality, her past boyfriends, and insecurities— being teased about her squeaky voice, contending with absentee and neglectful parents. And her fears about her brother in the military, fighting overseas.

Rob made a few notations, but nothing that really jumped out at him. "So her brother isn't in the US and won't be for a while?" Rob asked.

"No. He just shipped out. She face-times with him at the same time every night, but that's it."

Rob frowned. That was good news and bad news. It meant Danni was all alone and nobody would notice her behavior changing, or if she was absent for periods of time (provided she didn't miss her conversations with her brother). She was cute, so Rob could see himself enjoying her. And... Rob thought of Meggy and her son. The thought of a brother and sister was sort of tantalizing. Unfortunately, the guy wouldn't be coming around any time soon. Rob would have to think of something else for Danni. Unless...

No, he didn't have time to chase that thought. How to get Paul to stop asking questions and to just fuckin' leave. He needed a solution. One that didn't involve Rob giving up his most precious toy. As much as Rob didn't want to get caught, even more, he didn't want to send Kelsey back to that ass-hat. It wasn't fair. Paul was so good looking, he could have any girl that he wanted, and Rob was a loser with no—

Wait. He stopped. Tina waited patiently, looking sexy and ravenous in her uniform, with her wild eyes and juicy curves.

Rob suddenly had a plan. A clever plan. He'd break up the happy couple for good, in a way that wouldn't provoke a single question leading back to him.

"Tina, I may have one more task for you." Rob smiled. He was suddenly sure this would work. He started to type.

***

Basement

"So what's work like?" Ethan asked. He'd planted himself in a cheap plastic lawn chair beside the folding table. Galloway was sitting on top of one of the washers, kicking her legs slowly back and forth.

"Exhausting," Galloway responded.

"Is it like the movies?" he asked. "Like one of those training montages?"

Galloway laughed. "Kind of, but the novelty wears off after two seconds. It's a lot of running and pushups and sit-ups. I honestly never knew I could do so many pushups."

"I was never good at those in gym class. But I always crushed it on the run."

Galloway looked at him sideways. He'd said it so matter of fact that for a moment, she thought he was being serious. Then he started to sputter laughter and she joined in.

"Oh trust me. You get good real fast when you've got a big scary State Police trooper as your instructor." Galloway explained.

"Is he your boss?"

"No. My bosses work for a private firm, not the State Police. They're cool people. You'd like them. The woman who owns the firm is a lot like me, only way more sarcastic. And my Captain is an old friend of mine from years ago. They work a lot with the State Police and their training officers are putting me through the wringer as a favor. It's not like the police academy or anything. They want me going through specialized training while my Captain and my boss oversee. It's just me and a few rookie troopers. It's kind of scary and kind of lonely. The rookies are alright, but at the end of the day, they won't be my coworkers, so we aren't really friends. We just keep to ourselves."

"Oh. That must be hard."

She shrugged. "It's okay. I've got friends outside of work to pal around with... or do laundry with. But sometimes I wonder if I made the right career choice."

Ethan smiled and glanced at the floor. "I think you did. You seem pretty natural for a job like that."

"Thanks. Sometimes I think you're right. But other times... like tomorrow, I don't. Tomorrow is mace training and I'm dreading it."

"Mace training?" he asked.

"Chemical mace. Like pepper spray. To certify us, they have to spray us in the face with it."

"Why?" Ethan was alarmed.

"Something like one out of every one hundred people are immune to it. My Captain said years ago a police woman was in a struggle with a suspect, and the suspect managed to get her mace away from her. So she shot him. She argued that if he had used the mace on her, she would have been blind and he would have gotten her gun and done whatever he wanted to her." For some reason, as she imagined it, she felt a little tingle of excitement between her legs. The bad guy could have done *anything* to her. Galloway had the sudden mental image of handcuffs and grunting and moaning in the back seat of a squad car.

"Anyway, the suspect's lawyer cited that a percentage of people are immune to it. They asked her if she had ever been sprayed before, and when she said 'no' they said 'Then how do you know it would have incapacitated you?' A stupid argument on their part, but ever since then, if we carry mace, we have to know how our bodies react to it. Typical case of one asshole ruins it for everyone."

"I'll bet you're immune," Ethan said.

"You think so?"

"You're tough. It's hard to imagine anything phasing you."

"Well we'll find out tomorrow, won't we? I'm still kind of nervous though."

"Are you going to be around tomorrow?" he asked. "I want to hear how it goes."

"My boyfriend is stopping over after work, but maybe you can catch me when I first get home. Assuming I'm not crying hysterically and pawing at my face."

Ethan barely heard her attempt at humor. She had a boyfriend? Not that he assumed there would ever be more to his interactions with Galloway than what they were doing right now; she was older than him by at least ten years, and much too gorgeous for him. He glanced at his crutches resentfully. And he was so far from her level of perfect that it was ridiculous. He wasn't belittling himself. His practical side knew this all too well. But he couldn't help feeling oddly disheartened by this new information— she'd been so nice to him, that it was easy to get lost in his wishful thinking.

Galloway noticed the way he seemed to deflated by this information. She felt bad. Technically Quinn wasn't her boyfriend. But how could she possibly explain to Ethan that her oldest friend and partner, who she *did* love, and who loved her back, who she'd always chum around with, and get drunk with, and have wild sex with... that they weren't an exclusive couple? Shit, she barely understood it. She and Quinn had a long history. They were more than just simple fuck-buddies. But they had never been exclusive, even though there was mutual respect and love. They had their fun, sometimes with each other, sometimes with other people... sometimes all at the same time... It was just easier to say 'boyfriend', and that revelation was showing now on Ethan's face.

"Something on your mind?" She asked.

Ethan replied all too quickly. "N-no. I guess that makes sense," he said.

Galloway was about to say more, but a voice suddenly called to them. They both startled, thinking of the ghostly voice. But then they realized it was calling down the basement stairs to them— and it was one that they both recognized.

"Ethan, are you down there?" It was his mother, Meg.

"Yeah, mom. I'm hanging out with Galloway."

"Who?"

"Kate," he blushed. Galloway smirked back at him.

"You're not bothering her, are you?" Meg's voice was amused, trying not to sound overly curious.

Galloway was dismissive. "If anything, I'm bothering him."

"Well, dinner is almost ready, and if you have a minute, I'd really like your help with something." There was a slight husky undertone to her voice.

Both Galloway and Ethan heard it. It was strange. The look they traded said it all. "Well I guess I'd better go," Ethan told her. He paused, and glanced around the basement, looking hesitant to leave her down here alone. "Will you be okay if—"

"It'll take more than a ghost to take me out, Ethan," Galloway grinned proudly. "Go eat something. And thank you for keeping me company."

Ethan smiled sheepishly. "Good luck tomorrow with your mace training. What gets me through physical therapy is when I go in there thinking 'Bring it on!'" Then Ethan was heading up the stairs.

Alone now, Galloway smiled to herself. She was genuinely touched. It was nice to have a friend.

***

3B

Paul was uneasy.

Kelsey's apartment was completely undisturbed. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.