Night Trial

[Author's note: this story is inspired by, and owes a lot to, a chapter from William Goldman's novel Brothers.]

Phoebe didn't want to go out that night.

It had been a long week at work. The project was behind deadline, her teammates weren't pulling their weight, and yet her boss seemed to take it out mostly on her. Not even direct comments, but that annoying passive-aggressive, "I thought you were more up for this task" bullshit. So when Friday was done, so was Phoebe. She crashed on the couch and channel surfed. Spending her entire weekend that way seemed like a great plan to her. She sure as hell wasn't in the mood to be social.

Her roommate Veronica, however, had other plans.

"Come on," Veronica pleaded with her, standing in front of her and doing a good job of blocking the TV. "I don't want to stay in all night."

Veronica was a decent enough friend, but she didn't ever go anywhere out on her own if she could have company instead. "Not tonight," Phoebe said, trying to look around her.

"But we'll have fun! And it doesn't have to be all night. Let's get out of here, let our hair down, and relax! Come on!"

Phoebe sighed. She turned the TV off and tossed the remote on the far end of the love seat. Wasn't anything on worth watching anyway. "I better not regret this later," she said.

Phoebe started regretting it almost from the moment the Uber dropped them off at a downtown club. The place was packed. The drinks were watery and over-priced. The DJ sucked. The music was loud and awful. Rather than letting go of her cares she just felt more annoyed. After a couple of dances she gave up, sat down at a table, and nursed her drink.

Her more buxom and social roommate was still on the dance floor, having a great time, making eyes with every guy. That was par for the course, Phoebe thought. Veronica was the social one, the devil-may-care one, the one who occasionally needed Phoebe to cover her half of the rent just for a week or two. Phoebe was the one who took care of business.

An older guy with the start of a gut and a slightly receding hairline came over to her. "Hey," he shouted over the music, "want to dance?"

"I'm just here with my friend tonight," she said. "Not really in the mood for dancing."

"How about I keep you company? What are you drinking?"

Fuck it, she thought, he's not getting the message. "I'm gay," she lied.

He scowled and moved off. "Asshole," Phoebe muttered under her breath.

Eventually Veronica took a break from dancing and came over to the table. She plopped down in the seat next to Veronica. "Whew!" she shouted over the noise, "I told you'd this'd be fun!"

Phoebe said, "Let's get out of here."

"Oh, come on!" Veronica said. "Let's stay a while longer!"

Phoebe glared at her. "I'm leaving. And I'm not leaving you here on your own."

Veronica pouted. "All right," she said. The two gathered their purses and walked towards the exit. Suddenly a woman stepped right in front of them. She looked to be in her forties, pale skin, short dark hair, and dressed in an immaculate light grey business suit.

"Excuse us," Phoebe said, just about to walk around the stranger.

The woman didn't say anything, didn't betray any expression. She simply reached in her purse, brought out what looked like a palm-sized perfume bottle and sprayed Phoebe in the face, and then Veronica.

They both closed their eyes and coughed. Phoebe thought she smelled something burning and there was a small taste of metal in the back of her throat but both sensations disappeared after a moment. Phoebe blinked rapidly and when her vision cleared, she saw the woman leaving through the door.

"Bitch!" Phoebe cried. "Come on!" she said, racing after her. Veronica followed. The other woman had a long stride and she was halfway down the street before Phoebe caught up her with. Phoebe grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. "What the hell is your problem, lady?" Phoebe yelled at her.

For a moment the woman looked back at her with that same blank expression. But then her face adopted the most sorrowful look to it. "Oh, I am so sorry!" she told Phoebe. "I was trying to use my perfume, but the nozzle must be broken!"

"Just be more careful next time," Phoebe said.

"I can't believe I did that to you and your friend. I feel just awful about it. How can you two ever forgive me?"

"It's all right," Phoebe said. "Just...was surprising."

"Yeah," Veronica chirped in, "it's all good."

"I insist you allow me to help make up for it. Here," she said digging around in her purse for a moment before pulling out two one-hundred bills. "Please," she said, "take these."

"We couldn't," Phoebe said but she almost started reaching for them.

"Please. I insist. I feel terrible about what happened, and you wouldn't want me to feel bad, would you? Take them."

Phoebe and Veronica did so, thanking the woman as they pocketed the cash.

"Where are my manners?" the woman asked. "My name is Ms. Lanke. What are your names?"

"I'm Phoebe," Phoebe said, "and this is Veronica." As soon as she said their names, she realized she didn't particularly want this woman to know her name but it was too late then.

"A pleasure to meet you both," Lanke said and she shook their hands. "Listen," she said, "I still feel like that's hardly enough, but I don't have enough else on me right now to compensate you. I know -- why don't you both join me back at my place? It's just a short drive away. Maybe a fine glass of wine or two would help patch things up.

"We were just about to head home," Phoebe said.

"Oh, I know," Lanke said, "that club was much too awful. I assure you we'll have a much nicer time at my place. Please say yes."

"I guess that would be okay," Veronica said. Phoebe shot her friend a dirty look. Veronica, abashed, looked away.

"Would you like to follow me in your car, then?" Lanke asked.

"We got a ride here," Veronica said.

"Even better. And you, Phoebe? It's all right with you as well?"

"I'd rather just go home, thanks anyway," Phoebe said.

"Oh, but I would feel terrible if I couldn't do more to make up for things. And you don't want me to feel terrible, do you? Please say yes and come over. You won't regret it. Say yes."

Phoebe hesitated a moment before sighing and said, "Okay, but only for a little while."

"Great," Lanke said. "Follow me," and with that she turned and continued walking. They hesitated briefly and then did as they'd been instructed.

They followed Lanke into the neighboring parking garage and to a very shiny Porsche. They piled into the luxurious back seat and moments later Lanke was driving them towards uptown, leaving the club far behind.

"I don't know about this," Phoebe told Veronica in a low voice.

"Me neither. I mean, it seemed like a good idea a few minutes ago but now..."

"Should we just leave when we get there? We can always get an Uber..."

"You girls know I can hear you, right?" Lanke asked them. Both women immediately stopped talking and looked out the windows at the passing streets.

The drive wasn't anywhere close to "short" in Phoebe's opinion as they passed through several parts of the city. Downtown turned to business district turned to apartment blocks. Soon they were driving through an upscale neighborhood.

Eventually their car pulled into the driveway of a large two-story house. The lawn was just big enough to give the house some semblance of privacy from the neighboring homes. Lanke got out, walked to the front door, and unlocked it. The two women followed her nervously. "Home again, home again," Lanke said as she stepped through into the foyer. "Come on in, girls," she said. Phoebe and Veronica looked at each other once and then stepped across the threshold. Lanke closed and locked the door behind them.

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Lanke said, "but I do have one firm rule." She reached into her purse, took out her smart phone, and placed it on a small table by the foyer wall. "Privacy is very important to me as is being free from distraction. I'm afraid that while you're visiting I'll have to ask you to turn off your phones and leave them here."

Both women hesitated. "We can just mute ours," Phoebe said.

"I'm afraid muting won't be good enough, dears. I want us to get to know each other tonight and I don't think that'll be possible if we're distracted. I know this is rather a large favor to ask. Maybe I'm being too pushy."

"No, no," Veronica said, "it's all right."

"Would you girls be willing to do this favor for me?" Lanke asked. "I'd really appreciate it. It'd help put us on the right path for the rest of the night."

They slowly took out their smart phones, turned them off, and then placed them on the table as well. Lanke smiled warmly at them. "Thank you," she said. "This way." Phoebe and Veronica followed her into a large kitchen. They sat down on bar stools at the island counter while Lanke took a bottle of champagne out of the fridge and took down three glasses from the cabinet. "The making of new friends is worth celebrating," Lanke said with a smile.

Phoebe looked around as Lanke poured them each a drink. The kitchen adjoined the dining area in one large contiguous room. Everything was white or off- white, immaculately clean, almost antiseptic. On the dining table there was a centerpiece of two bronze intertwined figures. The figures had few features but the swells of hips and busts implied femininity. The figures were wrapped around each other, merged in some places into a single being. Both their visages were facing the same direction, featureless except for a single mouth each, open as if screaming but whether from pain or pleasure Phoebe couldn't tell. She found the whole piece disturbing.

"Here you are," Lanke said, handing them their drinks. "To new friends," she said and the three raised their glasses to each other in toast and began drinking. It wasn't bad champagne at all, Phoebe thought. Certainly better than the cheap stuff she'd had in the past.

"So how did you two meet?" Lanke asked.

"Craigslist," Phoebe said, taking a drink.

"That's nice. And how long have you both been dating?"

Phoebe did a spit take. Veronica laughed. "No!" she said.

"God, no," Phoebe added.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lanke said. "I thought you two were..."

"Absolutely not," Phoebe said.

"No," Veronica said. "Phoebe and I are roomies."

"So, you've never experimented?"

"No," Phoebe said.

"No. Well," Veronica said, drawing out the word, "there was that one time at this frat party where me and Missy Barlowe kissed in front of a crowd but that was just for the guys."

Phoebe drank more of her champagne and didn't say anything. She hadn't known that about Veronica and Missy Barlow. Veronica had never mentioned anything about it before.

"There's nothing wrong with being open to new experiences," Lanke said to Veronica. To Phoebe, she asked, "So you've never experimented, then?"

"I'm not gay," Phoebe said firmly.

"I see," Lanke said, and she took a swig from her glass.

Phoebe turned her head suddenly, looking behind her. "What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?" Lanke said.

"I thought...I thought I heard something from the other room."

"Just your imagination, I'm sure."

"This is a great house," Veronica said, interrupting before Phoebe could ask anything further.

"Thank you, my dear," Lanke said. "It cost quite a bit but I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford the fine things."

"What is it you do precisely, for work, I mean?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm an executive in R&D for a pharmaceutical firm," Lanke said. "You'll pardon me if I don't say which one. The nature of our work is a bit confidential."

"Well, that sounds...lucrative," Veronica said, laughing.

"Oh, it is! Very lucrative and the work itself is very interesting as well. We're currently finishing a project that I'm very hopeful about. I'm excited about it but I shouldn't...well, here's the thing, girls, can you keep this just between us?"

They nodded. "I knew you could," Lanke said. "We're developing a new drug for treating anxiety."

"There's already anti-anxiety medication," Phoebe said.

"Yes, but we're hoping ours is a vast improvement, more effective and longer lasting. Could be revolutionary in terms of long-term treatment."

"What," Veronica asked, "people would take a pill and not feel any anxiety?"

"Something like a pill, yes" Lanke said. She took a sip of her drink. "We're still deciding on the best delivery mechanism."

"Well, that's awesome that you've been to make a product like that."

"Thank you. We're trying to, at any rate. It's a work in progress. There are some side effect issues we're working through but nothing major."

"What kind of side effects?" Phoebe asked.

"Oh, just very minor things, not even worth getting into. We have had trouble recently getting clearance for clinical trials, though. That's put us behind schedule."

"That's too bad," Veronica said.

"Yes, but there is good news. I've recently come up with an idea for how to perform a trial for the drug. But enough about boring old work. Time for a change." She picked up her champagne glass. "Come," she said, smiling at them, "let's take our drinks into the other room."

The young women followed Lanke into the living room. Again the white motif in this room as well -- white plush carpet, white leather sofa and coffee table, white leather chairs. Lanke took another drink, put her glass down on the gas fireplace mantle, and said, "If you both will excuse me, I want to go get out of these heels. Please make yourselves at home. I'll be right back." And with that she walked down the hallway and left the two other women alone.

"Does this feel weird to you?" Veronica asked Phoebe once she thought Lanke was out of earshot.

"It is weird," Phoebe said. "We should just go."

"But we can't do that. She asked us to come with her and we promised."

"Yes, but..." Phoebe squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to think. It was maddening. It was as if she were of two minds, one telling her to leave the strange woman's house, the other one kept telling her that she wanted to please Lanke. "Maybe...maybe we can stay just a little while and then leave."

"Yeah," Veronica said, "that sounds good. We can stay and then leave in a bit. We can still leave and keep our promise."

"Finish our drinks, tell her we really have to be getting home, and just leave." Phoebe took a deep breath. "Right, that's what we'll do."

Lanke walked back into the living room a couple of moments later. She was completely nude. Phoebe and Veronica's gaped in shock. Lanke was rail-thin with small breasts and long nipples. Her pubic hair was nicely trimmed, a thin landing strip. She was smiling at them both. "I'm feeling so much better now," she told them. "You both look surprised. Is something amiss?"

"You're fucking naked!" Phoebe blurted out.

"Why, yes, I am. I told you I wanted to start relaxing and this is how I relax at home with friends. I feel much better already, let me tell you."

"Miss, Ms. Lanke," Phoebe said, "I think...I think that it's..." Phoebe closed her eyes and swallowed. She didn't understand why it was so hard to say the sentence she wanted to say. "Veronica and I really should be..."

"Oh, no, I've upset you," Lanke said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Wait, I think I have just the thing to help us out." She raised her hand and the girls saw she was holding the perfume vial again. Phoebe started to say something but it was too late. Lanke promptly sprayed each of them point-blank in the face with the perfume.

Phoebe smelled that burnt odor again, the taste of metal in the back of her throat again, stronger this time than the time before at the club. The room seemed to spin for a moment as if she'd been drinking heavily. When things steadied though she did feel calmer. Lanke was still smiling at her and Veronica.

"Again, I'm so sorry," Lanke was telling them. "I'm used to just doing my own thing at home. I should've thought about how unsettling it might be to two new people."

"It's all right," Veronica said. Phoebe thought her friend's voice sounded a little slurred for some reason. "We just weren't expecting you to be nude."

"I think I know something that might help put us all at ease," Lanke said. "Do you girls trust me?"

"Sure," Veronica said.

"Yes," Phoebe said, though she didn't know why she did.

"I think you both are upset at my nudity because you feel that it puts you both at an advantage over me. It does nothing of the kind but I don't want this to remain a sticking point between us. Why don't you both take your clothes off as well? Then we can all be equals."

"I don't know," Phoebe said but part of her wanted to agree with Lanke.

"I'm positive we'll all feel better if you did. I know it would make me feel better. You do want to make me feel better, don't you girls?"

"Yes," Veronica said.

"Then it's settled!" Lanke said. "Go on then."

"Shouldn't we go into the bathroom or something to change?" Phoebe asked.

Lanke laughed. "It's okay, we're all women here and friends in the making as well. It's fine. Now, no more talking or thinking about it. Go on. Strip." She put her hands on her hips and waited.

Phoebe and Veronica slowly kicked off their shoes and then unzipped their dresses. The material pooled at their feet on the floor. They each undid their bras and dropped those to the floor as well. They paused, hesitating to take the next step.

"Oh, such pretty underwear," Lanke told them. "But come now, we all agreed to be nude. Off with the panties." They both complied and a moment later all three women were nude. Phoebe started to raise her arms to shield herself but stopped and let her arms fall to the side.

"Marvelous, just marvelous," Lanke said. She openly ogled both girls, grinning from ear to ear. "Turn around, please" she told them, motioning with her finger. They complied. When they turned back Lanke was beaming broadly at them both. "Just exquisite," Lanke said, "Such firm, young bodies. Now, you girls like to play, don't you?"

They said yes.

Lanke was still smiling at them but the smile now just had a touch of cruelty about it that wasn't there before. "And you both like to fuck, yes?"

They said they do.

"Great," Lanke said. She went over to the coffee table, opened a drawer in it, and began taking out items. She placed them one by one on top of the table in full view -- dildos, vibrators, a plug, lube.

Lanked turned her attention back to the two women. "You both are so very beautiful," she said. "Is it all right if I kissed you both? I would like that very much. Please say yes."

Phoebe mumbled her assent. Lanke stepped to her, took her in her arms, and kissed her. Her breasts pressed right against Phoebe's. Her hands went around Phoebe's waist and caressed down to her ass. Phoebe had expected a chaste kiss but Lanke's tongue pressed into her mouth, explorative and electric. When Lanke finally broke the kiss Phoebe stood there wide-eyed as Lanke repeated the experience with Veronica.

"That was wonderful," Lanke said. "Why don't you both kiss each other? I'm certain you'll enjoy it just as much you just enjoyed kissing me. Go on. Kiss."

The two women hesitantly turned to each other and kissed, a light peck on each other's lips.

Lanke tittered. "You can do better than that, girls," she said. "Make it a real kiss." The two opened their mouths to each other and did as they were told.

"Now," Lanke told them when they finally came up for air, "let's start having some fun." She picked up a large dildo and the lube and presented them to Veronica. "Why don't we start off with a little performance piece, hmm? Use this on yourself, dear." Slowly and mechanically, Veronica took the items and began slicking up the dildo.