More Than Friendship Material Pt. 01

"On it!" She replied and went over to sample the wares.

"Sup Todd," Ben said. "Brought you some leftover pasta, salad, and bread sticks from Olive Garden. Man does not live by cereal alone."

'Thanks man, I appreciate it."

"No sweat. I don't have a lot of time, though. You want to get into what we were discussing earlier now, or hold off for Salvation Point Alpha?"

"Salvation I think, dude. Plus, there's been a weird turn of events." Todd handed Ben his phone to show the text message.

"What the fuck?" Ben asked quizzically. "Aside from being the start of about a thousand wet dreams, that makes no sense."

"What makes no sense, hun," Mary asked as she walked up to join them. She handed Todd a couple of the discounted adult toys. "I'll take the red one if you can get me your employee discount. The pink one is Liz's brand if you want to get it for her. Isn't her birthday coming up soon?"

Todd shook his head. "There were just too may things wrong with that last statement, Mary. Liz has a brand? You know what it is and want me to buy her a vibrator?"

"Sure, Todd," Mary giggled. "I saw it in her room when I was looking at her underwear. And what better present from a sexless male roommate for his platonic life partner."

"Sexless roommate?'' Todd blushed. "Hey, just because we haven't..That doesn't mean..."

Ben's motions behind Mary caught his attention. Ben was casually, but emphatically, indicating he should stop this line of dialogue.

"Kidding Todd!" Mary said. "Jeez but you're touchy. Hangovers do not become you."

"Anyway," Ben said changing the subject. "what doesn't make sense is this." He showed Mary the text.

"What the fuck?" Mary echoed the unanimous reaction. "Why didn't the bitches ask me to go? Hollie seemed to appreciate my attention last night. That reminds me, Todd. Does the sale apply to strap-ons?"

"He'll let you know later, babe," Ben said. "Why don't you go start the car, we have to meet your folks in 10 minutes. Just bring her thing home and I'll pay you back for it later, Todd."

"Sure thing, man," Todd replied. "Have fun with the in-laws, and I'll see you at Salvation Point. Oh wait, should I respond to this text? I'm not sure if that was just informational or a cry for help."

Ben laughed. "Your call, man. Are you sure you want to know?"

"I'm not sure of anything right now. I'll probably just say something noncommittal."

"Well, few people know less about commitment than you, buddy," Ben replied as he headed out. "See you at the Point."

Todd stared at the cell phone, pondering how to respond. Taking a deep breath, he typed out. "Have fun. Let me know if you 2 need a ride or anything. Off at 12."

***

Hollie's batch of friends were all gigglers and Liz was fast approaching a headache when they hit a local bar that also included one massive dance floor. The music thumped loudly, some dance mix as bodies bumped and ground together. She really needed to go, she thought to herself, but Hollie was holding onto her tightly.

"Woooohooo!! Come on girls!" She hollered over the loud thudding of the base. Liz seemed to be the only redhead in a sea of blondes. She wondered if they were naturally blonde or bought bulk in hair dye. "Shelly - order up baby!"

Hollie efficiently handed out orders and then turned to Liz, grinning the cat that ate the canary. "Lets dance!"

"I'm horrible..." Liz began, only to be cut off.

"Nonsense, just follow the beat Lizzie!!" dragging her into the crowd of bodies, Hollie began to move her curvy little body. Liz couldn't help herself, it was all too much. She began to laugh at Hollie's enthusiasm and before she knew it, her body began to move. Hollie let out a whoop of excitement and grinned. "Go Lizzie! Wooohooo!!"

Liz didn't hear her phone over the music. After the first song she was actually starting to loosen up and enjoy herself. Hollie's excitement was contagious, but by the third song, she was beginning to get hot and thirsty.

She signaled Hollie that she needed a break and the blonde actually agreed. They wiggled and shook their ways to the front, but as Liz went to step off the floor, a strong arm caught her by the waist and jerked her back. She yelped, clasping the meaty forearm as she was twisted around to face a grinning Kevin.

"Wow Lizzie! Look at you!! I thought you were busy babe."

She flushed, and pushed against his chest as he moved his body against hers, working to the beat. "Um...yeah, but Hollie decided I needed to get out and have some fun after all." she replied lamely.

"Great...come on, one dance with me."

By the way he was bumping and grinding, she figured she had no choice. Shooting Hollie a bit of a look, she threw one arm over his shoulder, leaning back slightly as they moved. He didn't seem to mind. Instead, he grasped her hips, boldly moving his fingers over to her ass cheeks and began to bump against her. Hollie made one of her excitable noises again and Liz was sure that she saw the flash of her camera phone. Oh great...she thought. Just what she needed.

Grinning, Hollie sent the picture to Todd. "Hey sexy...look who I have out and having fun!"

***

Todd stared at the picture Hollie had just sent. Well, that settled it. It didn't look like Liz needed a rescue. She looked excited and happy and sweaty and hot and.... He decided to quit while he was ahead. The clock on the wall flashed 10:35 underneath the glowing neon mammaries. I'll be so glad when this night's over, he thought. I need some distraction.

He responded to Hollie's message. "Gr8 babe. Just keep an eye on her. She's a newbie. Who is she with?"

He pressed send, then went back to the picture. He forwarded it to Ben, adding "Are we in the f'ing Twilight Zone? See U at the Point."

There were a couple of air force guys wandering the store, but the place was otherwise dead. Todd was ok with that. It gave him a chance to eat the pasta and gnaw on some bread sticks. It wasn't Captain Crunch, but what else could be. He'd just have that for dessert when he got home. Provided Liz picked some up before she got switched out with that pod woman in Hollie's picture, he thought. What am I saying? Of course she picked some up. I can always count on her. That's why I lov...

Ben's reply message interrupted that unexpected line of thought. "Well, if it is the Twilight Zone, I like the floor show. L8r."

Todd waited for a response from Hollie that wasn't to come. No real surprise there. He liked Hollie, but she was really flighty. Plus, if they were where Todd thought they were, it was nearly impossible to hear a phone, and there was too much motion and contact to feel one vibrate. When you were at The Oasis, it was almost like the outside world went away for a while.

Traffic picked up at the store around 11:00, which wasn't unusual. Perversion was fueled by darkness and alcohol. That made the time go a lot quicker. His replacement, a sullen war vet named Allen, showed up at 11:30. Allen was nice enough, but barely put more than 5 words together at a time. Word was that he had been a sniper in Iraq, and he looked as if he could do a lot of damage without the rifle. Hence, the brilliant management decision to have him work overnights. "Better him than me," Todd thought.

Todd turned the register over to Allen, then did some last minute store upkeep. sweeping the main areas and rearranging the various adult items to "maximize customer appeal," as his boss was fond of saying. As the witching hour hit, Todd took Mary's desired item to Allen to ring up, since he wasn't allowed to sell himself anything if invoking the employee discount. Allen looked at the gleaming red device then back at Todd with an inquiring stare.

'It's for a friend," Todd said sheepishly.

"Uh huh," Allen answered in the same tone Todd used when dealing with most of the customers who said such things to him. That struck Todd as funny, and he laughed.

"Just bag it man. I've got a schedule to keep."

Todd headed out to his car, a dark blue Mercury that could look crappy or great depending on how much attention he paid to it. Today was a good day for it, since he had taken Hollie out last night. Such roomy back seats, even if he didn't get to show her last night. Since the two women so occupying his mind were together and drinking, he thought it wise to try to contact them once more.

His first message was to Hollie. "Sup girl. Do you ladies need a DD?" He thought a little about his message to Liz. Should he be friendly, concerned, funny? He decided to go with the latter, just because she'd expect that more. "Did my milk come with that shake? Off now."

Todd cranked up the radio and headed back to their apartment. He decided to take the long way, since it would put him closer to The Oasis, in case they did take him up on his offer.

Liz was thankful when the dance was over and she could pry herself away from Kevin whose hands seemed to have a mind of their own. He sure was Mr. Grabby and from the scent of his breath, she figured he'd had a few already. She quickly joined Hollie and her gang of gigglers and gulped down a glass of water. Was it always so hot in clubs, she wondered and caught the beeping over her phone.

Flipping it open she saw Todd's text and sighed. She wanted to be rescued now!! Sighing, she let the girls buy her a round and sipped on a fruity drink that went down so smoothly that she had another. The girls laughed and yelled out 'cheers!' just as Kevin came and situated himself next to her, his entourage of hunky hunks joining the giggling gang.

One more drink and Liz was feeling not only hot, but giddy. No wonder these girls giggled so much. She stood to go to the bathroom and swayed back, landing in Kevin's lap with a giggle of her own. "Awe yeah...finally back where you belong." He teased, nuzzling the side of her neck."

She jerked away, the sensation tickling her further. "Stop stop! I have to use the bathroom."

Kevin relented and let her up with a smack on the ass. She rubbed her stinging cheek and escaped to the ladies room. God she was hot. Pulled at the too tight shirt, trying to get some air under that sticky slinky thing. It was almost like a suction cup...pulling away and then sucking back against her skin, making her shiver.

She wanted to call Todd, get out of this place, but he would probably think she was being a wuss. She had, after all, let Hollie drag her out. She could do this. Blotting her skin, she refreshed herself as best as possible and went to return to the gang, only to be snagged to the side by Mr. Beefcake himself. She shoved against Kevin's chest, the sudden jerking making her head spin. "Wow big boy - ease off or I may hurl on your feet." It wasn't far from the truth...those fruity drinks were beginning to make her stomach roll.

Turning her to the wall, Kevin pressed close, his lips on her cheek and neck, his hands wandering up and down her sides, cupping the sides of her breasts. She gasped and squirmed, trying to get some room. "Hey wait! Kevin!"

Now he was just pissing her off. She strained against him, one hand squeezing her ass while the other boldly slipped between her legs. She cried out then and clocked him in the ear. The pain that shot through his head, made him jerk away, cursing and his ear. "What the fuck?!"

Liz sagged a little, her legs feeling wobbly. Hollie rounded the corner as Kevin straightened, looking red faced and pissed. Her eyes widened and she made a grab for Liz, pulling her out of the dark hallway and back into the crowd. "What did you do!?"

Liz groaned, "He got too friendly. I'm not into beefy jocks. Can we go home? I'm really not feeling too hot. Too many umbrella drinks."

Chapter 5

Hollie felt her phone buzzing away in her back pocket. Between helping Liz stay up and fumbling with it, she almost tripped. "Damn it!! Here...lean against this wall." she told Liz, who wanted to puke her lunch back up.

Hollie shot Todd a text back. "SOS! Abort whatever mission you have, need you."

"Come on Liz, you're a total lightweight." Hollie grumped, but in a teasing fashion, wrapping her arm around her again and helping out into the cooler night air.

Liz slumped against the cool concrete wall and groaned. "Oh god, this sucks."

"You're not going to hurl are you?" Hollie asked nervously.

Liz shook her head no, then a moment later changed her mind and nodded, bending at the waste as vomiting on the sidewalk. Hollie "Eeeeewed!" and Liz struggled to stay up.

Todd's phone beeped and he saw Hollie's SOS. "Damn. Wonder what trouble they got into," he grumbled, happy that he had already been on his way in that direction. Taking as many shortcuts as he knew while driving as fast as he could without obviously speeding, Todd made his way to the nightclub. As he approached the Oasis, the neon palm trees flashed to welcome partiers to its friendly confines. Todd slid in to the drop-off lane behind a parked limo.

He hopped out, shooed away the valet attendant and looked around for the damsels in distress. He saw them near the entrance, with Liz slumped up against the wall and Hollie leaning over her. Todd made his way over to the girls. Hollie looked up with slight concern on her face. "Thank God. You got here fast."

"Is she OK?"

"I think so. Just too much girly drink, not enough girl."

"I can tell", Todd replied, seeing the remnants of said drinks on the sidewalk. "Let's get her to the car."

Todd handed Hollie the keys and pointed to where he was parked. Carefully he bent low and swept Liz up, who groaned a little but didn't make any really coherent sounds other than something that sounded like "sorry" and "thanks". Tucked against his firm body, he carried her over to the sedan, and Hollie opened the door to the back seat. Todd poured Liz inside made sure she was turned toward the floor in case she threw up again, and shut the door as softly as possible.

Opening the front passenger door for Hollie, the tiny cheerleader got in, and Todd returned to the driver's side. As he opened the door, he saw Kevin come out of the club and look around, before going back in. He seemed to have a scowl on his face. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy, Todd thought, as he got back into the car and pulled away.

"Thanks for coming to get us," Hollie breathed. "Liz overdid it a little."

A few moments later, Liz moved back, wishing she had a breath mint or a toothbrush to wipe out the nasty taste that lingered in her mouth. Hollie smiled, unphased by it. "A few minutes later and you could have puked on Kevin's feet." She teased.

Liz groaned, "I should have. What a jerk. How many hands did he have anyway? They seemed...no they were everywhere." She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and was thankful for Todd's quick appearance. "Where did you come from?"

"I came to get you, after Hollie's distress call," Todd answered."Now close your eyes and take it easy. I don't want you getting sick in my car."

Liz groaned in the affirmative and closed her eyes, then rested her arm over them to even further block out the world. Moving the car onto the expressway, Todd turned to Hollie. "Well, looks like an eventful evening. Whose idea was it, if I didn't know better?"

Hollie grinned and replied. "We ran into Liz at the grocery store and I convinced her to go out with us."

"Of her own free will? That's impressive."

"Well mostly. She put up a token struggle, but caved too easy for me to think she didn't really want to go. I know you guys are tight, and I like you, so I wanted to get to know her better too."

"That's sweet, Hollie. You mean you still want to hang out after that fiasco last night?"

"What fiasco? You were tired and drunk, and I still had fun. You're a great guy. I figured that the problem might be that you and Liz were hooked up, but Ben and Mary convinced me otherwise. So, when the opportunity presented itself tonight, I took it. We had fun, didn't we, Dancing Queen?" Hollie turned around in her seat to check on Liz. "You hanging in there, girl?"

"Yes." Liz answered as she opened an eye. "Are there supposed to be three of you?"

Hollie laughed and started singing with the radio. Todd did his own glance to check on Liz and her particular shade of green, then asked, "Hollie, I'd like to get Liz home and I'm supposed to connect with Ben. Do you mind crashing at our place again?"

"Sounds good to me," the little blonde replied. "After you get through with Ben, do you think Santa can stuff my stocking tonight?"

Little Todd sprang up from his bed to see what was the matter, and Todd laughed, "I think that can be arranged little girl." He turned the car into the parking lot and found a spot near the apartment door. "OK drunk girl, we're home," he said.

"Yay," Liz replied in a half-hearted manner. 'Must find bathroom soon."

"Patience, inebriated one," Todd said. 'Hollie, here are the keys. Go open the door while I get Ginderella."

"On it, hun," Hollie said with a smile and hurried off to the apartment. Todd got out of the car and opened the rear driver's side door. "OK sleepy head sit up slowly."

Liz did as she was told then scooted back to lean on Todd's firm chest. Todd noticed that the green top she was wearing had turned slightly see through as it had soaked through with sweat. The nipples he had seen up close and personally that morning were prominent and close once again. To make matters worse, the shirt was sleeveless and her left side boob was peeking out. Little Todd was now yearning to break free, but Todd ignored his plaintive cries. He reached under Liz's arms, despite the necessary grazing of the side boob, and helped pull her from the car.

"Can you walk, Liz?" She nodded and held onto the car to get her balance, then took Todd's arm. Together, they walked slowly to the apartment.

Hollie had unlocked the door and already gone inside. Thoughtfully turning on the lights, she made her way to the bathroom and put up the toilet seat. Then she wet a couple of washcloths with cool water.

Finally, she went into Liz's room and turned her bed covers down. As the two roommates made their way into the apartment, she called to Todd from the bedroom. "I've got everything ready for her. Just lead her down here."

"Thanks Hollie," Todd replied as they moved to the bathroom. Once there, Liz almost lept from Todd's arms to kneel before the porcelain throne. Holly knelt behind her and pulled her hair back.

"Get down here and put this cloth on her head, " she said handing him the cool rag. Todd did as commanded as Liz's body rejected the fruity red concoctions once more. When she was through, Hollie helped her up and into her room. Taking charge once more, Hollie put Todd into action, "Go get her a glass of water, or Gatorade if you have it."

"Yes, ma'am," he barked and headed to the kitchen.

"Hollie?" Liz's voice was weak and childlike.

'Yeah, Lizzie." Hollie answered.

"Thank you for kidnapping me and then taking care of me," Liz murmured. "You've been really sweet." Liz leaned toward Hollie and hugged her.

"It's OK, Liz," Hollie replied, returning the hug. "I like you. We'll do it again soon."

Todd returned from the kitchen with some Gatorade on ice. He sat on the other side of Liz and handed the drink to Hollie. "Liz, you need to drink this slowly," Hollie said. Liz nodded and did so, supported by her roommate and new friend. When she was finished, she lay back on her pillow, turned over, and was almost immediately asleep. Todd gazed at his best friend a moment longer and carefully covered her up before he and Hollie left the room and went back to the living room.

"I've got to meet Ben at Salvation Point Alpha. I'm already late," He informed her, giving her a bit of a sheepish smile, his hands sliding down her arms to grasp her hands lightly. "Can you occupy yourself for a while?"