Limits Ch. 10

Jude sat at her kitchen table feeling sorry for herself. What with the necklace, two dresses, two pairs of shoes, not to mention the drinks last night, she had shelled out a fortune on Karen, that silly little bitch. That would teach her to go after mousy little straight girls. She should stick with the girls who knew what they were, who weren't suffering from doubts every thirty seconds, who didn't end up running away.

And then, crashing through her self-pity, came the appalling sense of loss. Karen, ditzy little Karen, was really someone very special under all that frumpiness. There was the way she bit her lower lip whenever she was about to take another leap into the unknown. There was the tremble in her voice whenever she was pushed a little further than she liked and, above all else, there was that determined look as she overcame her fears and plunged on in. Jude was beginning to appreciate just how far and how fast she had pushed Karen. How many times Karen had been a million miles outside her comfort zone? Maybe she did have a point, maybe....

Dammit, she didn't have a point! She had agreed to be a slave for the weekend and had been nothing but trouble. If she can't stand the heat then she's better off out of the kitchen. Silly little cow.

She was still entangled in this train of thought when her phone went. She glanced at the screen, most of her hoping it would say 'Karen' but was disappointed to find that Lucy's name was there instead.

"Hi, Lucy. What's up?"

"Hi Jude. Look, 'Sisters Together', Masie's band, they're playing at the Adelphi pub, you know, the one on the Fylde roundabout. Mel and I thought we'd go down and give our support and wondered if you and Karen wanted to tag along."

"Err, no, sorry, we...." Jude tried to think of an excuse on the spur of the moment and failed.

"Are you OK?"

"I'm fine, just fine," Jude insisted.

"No you're not. I know that tone of voice. Come along, Judith dearest, tell Auntie Lucy what's the matter."

Jude would never have taken this from anyone else. Apart from anything else, she hated being called Judith, albeit it was her 'official' name. However, Lucy was one of her oldest friends and had been a shoulder to cry on time and time again in the past. If anyone had earned the right, then Lucy had.

"Karen and I... we've fallen out. Look, it wasn't going to work, we're too different," Jude admitted.

"Oh?" Lucy prompted for more.

"I don't know, we were getting on fine and then she took umbrage at something and we had words; she said she couldn't... that I... that we... Well, we both said a lot of things and I ended up taking her home. We're not right for each other."

Lucy, who had very different views on whether they were right for each other or not, gently prompted her friend to talk, until all the details came tumbling out. They were on the phone for nearly an hour as Jude poured out her side of the story. The more Jude complained about how impossible Karen had been, the more Lucy was reminded of the Hamlet quote: 'The lady doth protest too much, methinks.'

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Karen was sitting at her dressing table, fingering her necklace and wondering what to do about it. What with one thing and another, both she and Jude had forgotten all about it and now she was stuck with wearing it. After all, it was held on by a padlock and only Jude had the key. She peered into her dressing table mirror and studied the gold chain closely, admiring the strength and quality of the links; it really was quite beautiful, well, if you ignored the name-tag. And, if she were really honest with herself, even the name-tag had a certain something. It was almost as if it were an engagement ring or something, but, had it been an engagement ring, she could have taken it off. Without resorting to damaging the necklace, and she felt it would be sacrilege to have to cut it, she was stuck with it until she got in touch with Jude and she wasn't quite ready for that yet.

She sighed at the waste of it all. If only she and Jude had been more compatible, if only, if only, if only.... She felt the tears welling up and fought them back. She had things to do, but ever since Jude had dropped her off, almost thrown her aside, all she could manage was to sit at her dressing table and stare at herself in the mirror. Somehow she couldn't find the energy to do otherwise. Indeed, she was still wearing the dress and the shoes and, moreover, she hadn't bothered to put on any panties. Part of this was her apathy and part of it was the way it had become quite normal over the last week to dress like this and, somehow she didn't want it to end. Putting on panties would be admitting she had failed, admitting that it really was over.

Had failed at what? she asked herself. Had she 'failed' to join in with all their sick perverted games, had she failed to do everything Jude had demanded of her right up until the moment when....

The thought of their 'sick perverted games' brought back recollections of what had happened the previous night and, in particular, how Lucy must have felt when she had been anally raped by that enormous dildo. Try as she might, she could not shake the image and somehow, much as it repelled her, it also fascinated her and, abhorrent as it was, she needed to find out for herself what it must have felt like. Here in her own home, alone, no one would know and it wouldn't hurt to do a little experimenting. Of course she didn't own any sort of dildo, let alone something as large as had been used on Lucy, so she went off on a search for something suitable. She was looking in the lounge when an arrangement of candles caught her eye. She had been quite keen on candles at one point. Surely she had some spares somewhere.

She searched the cupboard under the kitchen sink where her collection had been stored away, found a box of assorted spares and selected one of the thicker ones, one which was maybe an inch in diameter. She did have some candles that were thicker still, but she was realistic about what she could or should attempt. Even then she was going to need all the help she could get and some lubrication would be essential. Remembering that she had some baby oil in the bathroom cabinet, she went upstairs to find it.

Feeling incredibly daring, she went to her bedroom and closed the curtains before taking off her dress. Laying out an old towel to protect the covers, she got onto the bed and took the candle from the bedside table where she had put it. Suddenly it looked huge in her hands. She felt stupid for even contemplating doing this, but a little nagging voice in her head told her she'd always be curious if she didn't so it was time to get on with things. Should she apply the oil to the candle or to herself? Perhaps it would be easier on herself, so she put the candle back down and took the baby oil instead. Squeezing out a good dollop of the oil onto the tips of her fingers, she reached down between her legs to apply it. It was awkward and she was having trouble reaching until she lifted up her knees, which brought to mind the position Lucy had been in on 'the dentist'. She could almost feel the straps; almost see the others gathered round watching.

Another squeeze of oil and her whole anal area was slippery so she pushed the tip of one finger inside herself. There, that wasn't too bad, in fact it was rather nice. However that wasn't the point of the exercise. She put down the oil and reached for the candle, pressing the pointed end against the puckered ring of her sphincter. This was it; this was where she found out. At first there was a little resistance but she was soon easing the candle bit by tiny bit inside herself. Initially she just felt stretched although, after a couple of inches it began to get too uncomfortable so she stopped going any deeper. God, it felt so depraved, so disgusting, so... so....

She couldn't help herself; as her left hand held the candle steady inside her, her right hand started playing with herself, reaching for the inflamed nubbin of her clitoris. Her fingers were still slippery from the oil, not that she really needed it, her private parts were already slick with her juices. Part of her wondered what on earth she was doing but the amazing feelings from 'down there' were too strong to resist and she was pushing herself nearer and nearer to....

The sounds of 'Constant Craving' came from the floor next to her bed; the damn phone was ringing. For a moment she tried to ignore it but the mood had been broken. She couldn't concentrate, so, sliding the candle out from inside her, she rolled over and reached for her handbag.

"Hi, Karen, it's Lucy."

"Hi, Lucy, what's up?" Karen said, still slightly out of breath.

"Why don't you tell me?" Lucy said. "I've just been chatting with Jude and she's in a right state. What have you two been doing?"

"It's... it's complicated." Once again Karen was finding it hard to find the words to explain the complex mix of emotions inside.

"Do you want to talk?" Lucy asked.

"Please, I'd love to," Karen said, thankful that she could unload.

"Why don't I come on over?"

"Just you or will Mel be with you?" Karen queried.

"Just me, I think that's best, don't you?"

"Thanks."

"See you in fifteen minutes then," Lucy said and hung up.

Gingerly Karen picked up the candle, took it downstairs and threw it in the bin before going to the toilet and cleaning herself thoroughly. She was oh so aware of where the candle had been; even after she had wiped and wiped, the slightly slippery, slightly full feeling remained and felt deliciously naughty. She was mindful of two issues she hadn't fully faced. The candle that she had used had been much thinner than the dildo used on Lucy and, furthermore, she had only inserted it a couple of inches. Heaven knows how Lucy had managed to take so much of such a monster. She put her dress back on, went down to the kitchen and put on the kettle ready for her guest.

"Wow, nice dress!" Lucy exclaimed as she came in the door.

"Yes, Jude bought it for me," Karen explained.

"And I see you're still wearing her necklace. You can't hate her that much."

"Hate her!" Karen was horrified that anyone could think such a thing. "How could I possibly hate her? She's kind, generous, loving, everything I could have hoped for except...."

"Except?" Lucy prompted.

Karen led her through to the kitchen and poured out two cups of tea before replying.

"Except... except I don't know," Karen admitted. "I really tried, I did my best to please her but I felt smothered. I couldn't breathe, I needed space. Oh, Lucy, I really like her, really I do but she can be a bit much. She even ordered my meal for me. Don't I have any say in things?"

Secretly Lucy thought that a Domme ordering for her sub was part and parcel of the experience, but she wasn't going to argue the toss directly.

"So, let's see if I have this straight. You didn't mind being ordered to strip naked and being told to hump another Domme's hand, right? And you came so hard you fainted, yes? But you do mind having your meal ordered for you?" Lucy asked. Karen was quite shocked by the bluntness but Lucy's smile, as ever, disarmed her.

"It does sound a bit stupid when you put it like that, and god knows I must have looked awfully ungrateful after she bought me the dress and all but...."

"But?" Lucy prompted.

"Oh, I don't know." Karen was nearly in tears. "One moment everything is wonderful, I couldn't ask for a better friend. The next I'm just... I'm just... Oh, Lucy, it's all this Domme and slave stuff. I guess I'm not cut out for it."

Again Lucy had firm opinions that differed considerably, but she wasn't going to push any more. She realised that Karen had to make up her own mind. After putting her arm around Karen and making a few 'poor you' comments, she listened to Karen's confused tangle of complaints against Jude, before tactfully changing the subject. With Lucy's gentle guidance they discussed the weather, Eastenders, Corrie, X-Factor, Strictly and Masterchef until, with a glance at the clock, Lucy said it was time for her to go. Karen was surprised to find how much calmer she had become. Ignoring the problem had made it go away. She felt as if Lucy had answered all her worries although, for the life of her, she couldn't see how. As for the necklace, well, it would just have to wait until she was ready to face Jude.

"Look, Mel and I are going out to watch a friend's band tonight," Lucy said as she got up out of her seat. "Why don't you come along? After all, I know you've got nothing else planned. We'll pick you up just short eight o'clock. Wear that dress, you look great like that. Please say you'll come."

"OK," said Karen, slightly against her better judgement; still, anything was better than Saturday night telly. "I don't normally go to that sort of thing but if you're going, then I'd love to."

"See you later then. Seven forty-five. Be ready." And with that Lucy picked up her handbag and set off for the door.

Karen went upstairs and took off the dress. If she was going to wear it that night, she didn't want to get it all dirty while she did her housework. She put on some sloppy-joes and, with her earlier apathy gone, set to with the vacuum cleaner.

At seven fifteen Karen was upstairs getting ready to go out. She had had a long hot bath and was sitting at the dressing table putting on her makeup. She couldn't help but think back to the last time she had done this under Jude's watchful eye. Jude had commented how she liked her slave to look pretty; well she would damn well show her that she didn't need to be a slave to look pretty, but then, of course, she wouldn't, because she wouldn't be seeing Jude. That brought her thudding back down to earth. Jude had been such a big part of her life for the past week that it seemed sad that, apart from when they met to remove the necklace, they would never meet again.

Her makeup done, it was time to get dressed. She reached down to her panties drawer and pulled it open. God, what a boring selection! Not wearing panties for a week was now focussing her mind on those that she owned which were, without doubt, the most boring collection of passion killers ever put together by womankind. It would almost be better to go without than to put any of these on. That went for tights as well. Her selection was uniformly black and a pretty heavy denier, nothing that looked in any way sexy or glamorous; any of them would have clashed with the carefree attitude that the dress suggested. So why wear them? Sure, the dress was short but it wasn't that short. If she went without, no one but her would be any the wiser. If she had learnt anything from the week she had just been through, it was that going without panties was no big thing. Anyway, it was all part of showing Jude what she was missing, or rather not showing Jude but, for all the faulty logic, it made sense to Karen.

And then it was seven forty-five and Mel's car was pulling up outside. Apprehensively excited, Karen checked her handbag to ensure she had money and her keys before going outside to meet them.

"Hi, Karen." Lucy had got out of the car to greet her. "Jump in the back."

Karen got in and Mel greeted her warmly. Karen was glad that her split with Jude hadn't ruined her friendship with the others. Well, she hardly knew Andy, Beth, Sarah and Kathy, which seemed odd in itself given that they'd all seen her naked, but Mel and Lucy were already quite important to her.

It's only five minutes' drive from Karen's house to the Fylde roundabout; but parking in that part of town is a nightmare and it was gone eight when they finally entered the Adelphi. As usual on a Saturday, the pub was packed to the gills. They made their way to the bar and ordered drinks before looking around to see if there was a table. Of course there wasn't, so they had to stand and Karen was once again grateful for her new shoes. They were so much more like party shoes than any others in her collection, and yet they were comfortable enough to wear all night. They found a corner where they could see the stage and settled down to chat. It was nigh on half past eight when....

"Hi Mel, hi Lucy, hi...."

Karen turned from the pillar, which had half hidden her to see Jude staring back at her. Jude's face dropped, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. Karen glanced at Lucy and realised that she had been set up. She was furious but at least she owed Jude an explanation, to point out that she hadn't known, that she wasn't in on the plot. She put down her drink, grabbed her handbag and raced after Jude who was just passing through the door.

"Jude! Jude!" She shouted to the figure fast departing down the dark streets. "Stop, please."

At first Jude was easily outstripping her, but busy traffic held Jude up when crossing the road and, panting from the exertion, Karen caught up with her.

"Please, Jude, I know what you're thinking but it wasn't my idea," she pleaded as she grabbed Jude by the arm.

Jude turned to face her, and was about to push her away and snarl something nasty when the look on Karen's face under the sodium glow of the streetlights made her think twice.

"No, I guess it wasn't. This looks like the work of that interfering minx Lucy. Not that it makes any difference. This isn't how I want to spend the evening."

This time it was Karen who saw the pain in her friend's face, and, in doing so, she realised that she wasn't the only one who was hurting.

"Look, Jude," she said gently. "I know I hurt you. I'm sorry, really sorry. I get so...." Once again Karen got stuck in the emotional minefield surrounding how she felt about Jude. "I never really said thank you for the dress. Look, it really suits me." Karen stood back and struck a pose.

"You're welcome," Jude said gruffly. "I see you're still wearing the necklace as well."

"Well, I can't really take it off. You've got the key."

"Yeah, I hadn't thought of that." Jude reached in her pocket and pulled out her key ring. "Here, I'd best undo it now."

It would have been easier if Karen had turned her back but it seemed more natural just to step towards Jude and bow her head. This, of course, meant that Jude had to put her arms around her to reach behind her neck. She felt Jude fiddling with the lock. It was under Karen's hair and hard to find when the only light source was the streetlights. Karen could feel Jude's warmth, she could smell that wonderful Jude aroma, the soap that she used, a clean wholesome smell. She felt at home, she didn't want this to end. Jude had finally found the keyhole and had put the key in when....

"Jude, please," Karen said softly.

"What? I'm working as fast as I can. It's damn fiddly out here."

"No, I didn't mean that. Jude, please leave it on."

There was a long silence.

"And why should I do that?" Jude asked.

"Because I'm sorry," Karen said meekly. "Sorry I hurt you, sorry I got scared, sorry I behaved the way I did."

Again there was a silence until Karen heard the click of the padlock being refastened.

"I'm sorry too," Jude said quietly. "Can we find somewhere to talk?"

"What about the Adelphi?"

"And have that bitch Lucy crowing over us all night? I don't think so. Anyway I want somewhere quiet, somewhere where it's just the two of us."

Karen looked about them at the Saturday night crowds as they milled about here in the heart of the university area. One thing was for certain, there was nowhere around that was going to be quiet.

"Your place?" Karen suggested meekly.

"Come along then." Jude took her by the hand and led them up the hill towards the police station. Karen guessed that Jude used it every time she was in town. Sure enough they walked into the yard and over to Jude's Astra. They were just pulling out of the yard when Karen's phone started ringing. As Karen pulled the phone out of her bag Jude stopped the car. As soon as Jude saw the name 'Lucy' on the screen she reached over, grabbed the phone from Karen and switched it off.