Kayley Goes Shopping Ch. 02

"Whoops," Todd said before breaking into hysterical laughter as a misstep sent beer sloshing out of his red cup and distributed the mess surprisingly evenly between the hardwood floor and the sofa. "Aw shit, boys and girls, looks like I need more beer."

Trina stepped over it and surveyed the damage on her way to answer the knock on the door. "Jesus Christ, Todd," she accented his name often to tease him because she always thought it one of the more WASPy names to be had and it just sounded odd on her tongue, "you spill more beer than you drink."

He never seemed to mind that she slurred his name. "That's why you keep the beer coming, no?"

It didn't really matter to her because parties were messy. That's what stain-guarding and maid services were for. Her parents gave her a hefty allowance and didn't much care what she spent it on as long as she kept her grades up and they didn't have to send a lawyer to get her out of jail for anything. She weaved through the bodies with practiced ease and answered the door.

On the other side were two young women that certainly looked like they belonged at a college party. Both were tall, but the one with raven hair edged out the other. Her hair caught a sheen from the porch light that seemed to focus attention on her. Her eyes were pools of brown and her features fine. Her makeup reminded Trina of a goth look with smokey eyeliner and dark red lipstick. She wore a tube dress as black as her hair with a plunging neckline.

The other's red hair flowed past her shoulders in waves and emphasized her sparkling green eyes with gold flecks. With her full lips, creamy skin, and carefully applied makeup, she looked like a lingerie model out in the world. Helping give that impression were pale gray leggings with four pinstripes creating a diamond pattern from ankle to thigh that fit her like a second skin and a lacy crop top that matched the leggings and put her substantial assets front and center. Both were smiling warmly and looked like they were having a good time just being out and about together.

Her voice was raised to be heard over the music, "What's up?"

The raven-haired woman spoke up in kind. "Constance invited us, but she didn't give a house number. Is this where the party is?"

Trina laughed. "Good guess. C'mon in."

She stepped back to allow them to pass and spoke from behind them as they glanced about, watching the dancing bodies and listening to the raucous reactions to the party games. "Welcome to the party, I'm Trina."

Kayley looked her over, quite attractive in her own way with her freckled face and eyes so blue they flirted with violet in the right light. "Hi, Trina, I'm Kayley and this is my girlfriend Lyssa."

"Cool name."

Lyssa nodded. "My mom was heavy into Greek studies, but I don't have rabies so you don't have to worry."

"Hah. Good to know. Anyway, I'm a pretty hands-off hostess. She pointed to the other end of the room. "We actually have straight punch over there if you're driving and give a shit about getting busted and beer's at that end," her arm stretching towards the back wall. Harder stuff is in the back. If you brought or want harder than that I don't wanna know about it and don't do that shit here because as long as the party isn't too loud, doesn't spill into the yard, and doesn't bring the cops, my neighbors are cool with the occasional get together. And I want my neighbors to stay cool. Got it?"

Kayley liked the firm approach to things, as it was one she favored most days. "Got it."

"With all that out of the way. If you need anything I'm usually not that hard to find. Otherwise, have a good time."

"See her around?"

Kayley scanned the room and craned to the left then the right. "No, but I'm sure she'll turn up."

"No reason to stand around in the corner waiting for her." Lyssa took her other's hand firmly and led her into the crowd. "You'll see her when you see her or she won't show. In the meantime, we should dance."

"And just what makes you think I'm interested in dancing?"

One eyebrow went up and she sounded a little pouty. "Fine then, I'll dance." Lyssa swayed easily to the music, those leggings leaving nothing to the imagination when it came to the shape of her body. Her legs were powerful in their own right and that ass was so plump, yet firm, quarters would almost bounce off of it. She was every bit as fit and firm as Kayley, but where Kayley wore it more like an athlete, her other wore it like a burlesque dancer. Her arms reached up to the ceiling, her eyes closed, and her head tilted towards a whisper it seemed only she could hear, her hips swayed with fluidity, reminding Kayley of a charmed snake.

When the redhead's eyes opened there was a knowing look in her eyes, for she knew Kayley would be drawing closer, her shoulders moving to the beat and she knew that look. Her love had decided to let go and enjoy the moment. She was so serious and so driven that once in a while she had to be pulled out into the rest of the world, though Lyssa didn't usually have to pull very hard. She just seemed to know when Kayley had to be herself and when she could be tempted away.

As the minutes passed and the songs changed, they swayed together, drawing ever closer until their dancing was little more than moving in a circle as they slithered all over one another. A few eyes on the fringes of the crowd were watching the display, but neither really noticed and they certainly didn't care. She felt Kayley's hand on her hip and felt it move to take firm hold of her backside as their lips were so close they could feel the other's breath. Kayley squeezed. "I love you."

They were so close now that they could speak in a normal tone, though it still seemed like a whisper. "Feels like you love my ass."

"That, too."

Lyssa's hand went up Kayley's breast, squeezing for an instant before her long fingers traveled to the back of her neck so her nails could caress her hairline, happy when Kayley's eyes closed to enjoy the feeling. "I love you, too." It was a phase that encompassed so much, but it was nothing compared to the depth of her feelings. She lived and breathed for Kayley and simply didn't bother imagining her life without her because it was inconceivable on its face. "It's okay to love my ass though. It's a stellar example of a posterior."

"Mmm-hmm. There's so much I love about you, namely that I could get you to suck my cunt right here in front of everybody.

Her skin tingled at the thought. "No, you couldn't." The statement was resolute, but they both knew how hollow it was in reality.

"Yeah? You'd resist me for as long as you could resist me because it makes your little ginger fuckhole wet to resist me, and wetter when you break."

She touched that hairline just a bit more. "Like it doesn't make you hornier than that to break me and see me break."

There was no point in denying it. "One of the many ways we fit together, sweetheart." And they did. From the day they met, they had both known they were meant to be.

Lyssa didn't need to ask what was going on as she registered the other's dark eyes lock onto something behind her and track as a lioness would a particularly slow and meaty Gazelle. "That her?"

"Yeah."

"You know, this is a lot of effort for someone you barely know."

Her tone conceded the point. "Yeah, but it's worth it. College parties are perfect for pickups, so it's not like this is a losing exercise." She gave Constance a sour look. "Besides, she annoys me."

She frowned playfully and her voice carried just the right amount of pout. "You are such a meanie sometimes."

Kayley let herself be distracted once more. "Yet you love me anyway. That makes you pretty messed up."

She shrugged."Everybody's messed up, baby, it's only a matter of degrees. If loving you is messed up, I'm good."

Kayley grabbed that ass once more with feeling. "That's my girl. Everything should be in place soon, so let's go to work."

"Nine minutes, forty-two seconds," Lyssa clarified only for herself. Their line of work lived and died on precision, so, at the end of that time, sure as the sun would rise tomorrow, everything would be in place. Anything less and there would be hell to pay. "Promise to pick up where you left off later?"

Kayley kissed Lyssa hard and fast, "I'll be grabbing more than that ass. Go be where you need to be, honey."

The redhead scurried away, slapping Kayley's ass with enough force that even she jerked in surprise and a smirk followed. That's my girl. She made her way to the kitchen where the harder liqueur was, as she was of the firm belief that all beer tasted like shit. Finding the various bottles taking up every bit of counter space in the kitchen that wasn't taken up by stacked cups and associated trash she went to a nearly full bottle of Grand Marnier and poured a generous amount into one of those many red cups, noting the smaller speakers in the ceiling. The whole house was probably wired for sound that way, not that it would have mattered. Things would work out fine either way, but it'd still be helpful when the time came.

She watched the people mill about as they got away from the din. They talked, played drinking games and she amused herself watching a young couple making out furiously in the corner. It gave her thoughts of Lyssa, and, to be honest, she had respect for passion so strong that they really didn't give a damn who might see. They're probably drunk as hell, but still...

"Hot, huh?"

Kayley glanced at the young man who had sidled up to her with his sandy blond hair and a bit of a belly, but very strong arms. She guessed he played football or something. "A little bit."

"Want that girl to be you?"

She laughed heartily, grateful for not having coughed up her drink, as she turned and sized him up a bit more. "You're not a bad looking boy, and while I like a boy now and then, I already have a girl to make out with. Thank you though. As far as lines go, at least it's honest and not the worst I've ever heard."

The night was young and he sensed room for negotiation. "I'm okay with just watching though if your girlfriend is as hot as you."

"And if she's not?"

He shrugged, "Fuck it, I don't care. Everybody needs love."

She toasted his chest with her cup. "You know what? That's a very enlightened attitude. Hang around and if the night goes well you might find some love."

He liked the sound of that. "Works for me. How will I find you again? And you haven't even told me your name."

She headed back out to the living room, sipping as she went. Kayley. And I'll find you."

"Clint.," he called out just before she disappeared. He went back to eyeballing the public foreplay, seeing him and Kayley in his mind and happy at the prospect that he'd find some action tonight after all.

Fortunately, Kayley had no problem finding Constance again, as she was sitting on the sofa with Ginnifer and Brandi, all with cups in hand, giggling like crazy, the sense they owned the place and nothing mattered but them wrapped around them like cloaks. Not to be outdone, Kayley put on her own mask, "Hi, guys."

Constance's green eyes were a little watery from the nights drinking and took an extra moment or two to focus on and remember her. Finally, the light came on, at least partly, "Hey...umm, Kayley, right?"

"That's me. Nice party."

"Trina always throws a good one. Hey, where's Mandy?"

"Oh, she had studying she wanted to get to tonight. I figured since you said she could bring me anyway I might pop in and check it out."

Ginnifer chugged the contents of her cup so quickly that some went down the wrong pipe, triggering a spasm that stifled her laugh in mid-chuckle. "She's probably online looking for new potato sacks to wear."

Her two best friends joined her in her laughing mockery, "Do you believe that shit? Flower dresses and sweaters and glasses thicker than the windshield on my fucking car."

"Like she got her wardrobe from her hippy grandma's attic."

More laughter before Constance considered who they were speaking in front of, "Sorry if she's a friend of yours, but goddamn, she's a mess."

Kayley sat down in the plush chair nearest the sofa and crossed her long legs, "Not really. I just met her today." She took another drink. "She was crying and I was curious what about, so..."

Brandi interrupted by rubbing her eye, "Boo-hoo. Boo fucking hoo."

Constance had no sympathy. "I'd fucking cry too if I had her life. If I was born in Podunk fucking nowhere with only the change I could find under my couch cushions to my name I'd fucking cry, too. I don't know how those people even live. Somebody needs to make my lattes, I guess, but Jesus Christ."

"You could have helped her out, maybe."

Ginnifer and Brandi huffed while Constance narrowed her eyes, "You said you barely know her. What do you care? You take her out then."

Kayley held up her hand in surrender. "Hey, I just figure everybody likes puppies. Be nice to her for five minutes and get her to do your homework for you or something. You might as well get something out of it."

The truth amused her. "She'd do that anyway on the off chance I let her feel me up."

"Eww," Brandi said.

Ginnifer was having none of that. "Seriously, I'd let her feel me up if she did my French Lit work."

Brandi was stunned. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, my grandmother forced mom to make me take that shit and I can't stand it. Some wallflower dyke wants to do that for me she can third base me and I have no shame saying so."

Constance wagged a finger in Kayley's direction. "We're just toughening her up, Kay. College is cruel. The world is cruel. If crybaby Mandy cries it out and gets herself some new clothes and her eyes lasered and stops acting like such a whiny bitch, she'll be better off."

Kayley saw similarities between that and what she'd tried to tell Amanda herself, but "Nobody gets credit for being nice?"

"Nice is for pussies and marks."

Her grin turned a little wicked, "And, you know the thing about puppies? They keep coming back even if you're mean to them. They want you to love them and you were mean and maybe she did something wrong and all she wants is for you is is to love her, so she tries again. Sometimes it's fun to see if they ever give up."

"And if they do give up?"

She shrugged. "Then you give 'em a pet and 'Who's a good girl?' and they come back until you're done with them." She sighed contentedly, "Then they wonder if they were bad and take baby steps toward you, head down, and try again and again."

"And Amanda's a good puppy?"

Constance pondered it and all she offered in response was, "Everybody likes a good puppy. The world is made up of things on the leash and things holding the leash; that's it."

Again, she noted that Constance wasn't entirely wrong. "You have a point." Kayley leaned back in the chair, took another drink, and waited.

* * *

All Lyssa really had to do was follow the speaker wires to their source. The path took her down the hall to the bedroom in the back where she found the DJ behind a folding table with his board and his laptop. He was a rugged looking young man with close-cropped straw blond hair with a hint of a tan. Lyssa suspected he was an outdoorsy type when not working parties.

He was laughing, trying to make time with one of the girls, who, judging by her wobbly stance and her need to brace herself on the table as she stood there, she was already well on the way to plastered. Lyssa sauntered over to hear him bluster. "Yeah, I've sent some demos out and got some good gigs lined up."

"How much money can you make doing that?"

Lyssa answered for him, "A couple hundred grand a year if you know what the fuck you're doing; more if you really know what the fuck you're doing. So the only question is," she leaned in slowly to give him a long look at the first things most men noticed when they looked at her, "do you know what the fuck you're doing or not?"

His eyes locked on to Lyssa's attributes for nearly a full two seconds before he bothered to look up into those mesmerizing green eyes. That body and her flirty tone had commanded attention. "Unless you just got here two seconds ago you've been listening, so you tell me."

"I'm back here to meet the DJ, so that should tell you something. I'm Lyssa."

He smiled back. "Mark."

"Nice to meet you, Mark." They let their flirtation continue silently until the young lady there first looked as pissed as she sounded. "Yeah, hey."

Lyssa fixed his gaze upon her as though the greatest thing about her was her insignificance. "Hey," she said flatly, "why don't you go back out and party while Mark and I have a chat." She looked coyly upon him again, undressing him with her eyes. "Have any groupies yet?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Want one?"

That was an outstanding idea. "Maybe. You auditioning?"

"Since it was my idea, yeah.."

The girl huffed, "Jesus fucking Christ, man. Have a good time." She left as quickly as her heels would carry her, stumbling slightly twice before finding the hallway, grumbling about his loser and Lyssa's whore status as she went. When they were finally alone she came over to his side of the table and immediately started examining his setup. "Touchscreen board, too. Sweet."

He was proud of it, "I had to get a part-time job for a couple months to pay for it."

"It is nice. Tell me all about how you put together the beats playing now, I like 'em. They're nice and punchy, but not a lot of auto tune. I hate that shit. People play with the voices like that just because they can."

"I know it. Louis Armstrong to a pixie on Helium over and over and over. I try to enhance what makes the song good and make it more fun to dance to without screwing with what made it cool to start with."

She let him keep talking, engaging where she needed to to keep the conversation going, not to mention a hand on his shoulder or a brush against his thigh to keep the flirtation at a simmer, but wasn't as there as he thought she was.. He really did seem to enjoy doing it and was genuinely good at it, but this part of the exercise for her was really just to burn nine minutes and then some in order to be absolutely certain that all the assets were in place.

When she ticked off that time and then a little extra for good measure, she waited until he was finished talking up his process for picking the right notes to cut and to link to from bar to bar so that it didn't sound too clunky, she caressed his cheek with hers and drew her hand down the other. She pulled back, but only a little."You're an artist, Mark. I love artists. It takes skill to take something people have heard a million and make it unique again; make it your own."

"I could tell you all the ways artists of all types move me, but I think the simplest way to say it is that artists fucking turn me on. "Wanna go somewhere?"

His mouth opened and closed without sound coming out. He started to rise from his chair, some parts rising sooner than others, before he reminded himself of all his gear. It'd probably be gone in sixty seconds or less without him there to watch over it. His voice was pained, "I can't. I really want to, but I can't. I gotta watch my stuff. We could get together after the party if you still wanted to."

It didn't seem to bother her in the slightest. "I get it. That's cool. Or," she whispered, "I could show you how much I love artists right here. Show it to me."

The words barely registered to him at first, "What?"

She rose to her full height and reached down her top to retrieve a shiny, gold container of lip gloss that he watched her apply slowly, as though she wanted him to see every centimeter of of her lips be bathed in that glossy sheen. Then she spoke in a low, dirty tone, the vibrations of which started in his spine and worked their way up to the base of his brain. "Show it to me."