Risk Management

Many thanks to whoredinarygirl for all the hard work in editing and improving this story from a previous version.

"You have to break the pattern," Serena was saying. "If you think you can keep doing the same things and get different results, that means you are crazy."

I was pretending to listen and hoping she couldn't tell I was tuning her out. I reminded myself again that she was my oldest and dearest friend. I could always cry on her shoulder, and I knew she was loyal and would never hesitate to help me out of a jam. In the last few years, I've had to remind myself a lot about her good qualities as she's been getting increasingly insufferable.

It's not just the platitudes that she dispenses as advice on how to improve myself. What's infuriating is that she seems to think she's perfect. She would never put it in those words, but it's clear from the way she always uses herself as an example to illustrate the right way to do something, as opposed to the wrong way, in which I'm always the example.

Serena's air of superiority and her condescension are particularly galling when it comes to our love lives. As far as I can see, there's not much difference between us. I can't find a good man, and she can't keep one. We end up in the same place. But that's not how Serena sees it.

"When you engage in risky behavior, you're asking to get hurt," she was saying. "You're putting yourself in situations that have a high probability of getting you in trouble. Like, if you're dressed slutty and walking down a deserted street in a bad part of town, you're asking for something bad to happen to you. And there's no one else to blame when it happens."

"OK," I said, interrupting her lecture. "I know I let myself get carried away if he's good looking and puts on a good act, but you spent two years with Harvey, and now we're both sitting in this restaurant without a man in our lives. So if I had done what you did, how would it be any different?"

It only stopped her for a second. "I have a man in my life," she said, "and anyway, what happened with Harvey has nothing to do with what I'm talking about."

She wanted to get back to giving advice, but this was the first interesting thing I had heard through dinner and I wasn't going to let go. "What do you mean, you have a man in your life? Who is he?"

"You wouldn't know him," said Serena. "He just arrived in town a couple of weeks ago. I'm meeting him later."

"Is that why you're dressed like that?" I said. I had asked her earlier about why she was showing so much cleavage, and why her skirt was up to her ass. She brushed aside my questions and also wouldn't tell me why she was wearing makeup heavy enough for a streetwalker. I had never seen her looking like this in all the years I'd known her.

"Blade is an art photographer; he showed me some of his amazing pictures," she said, "the models are all over the top, and the lighting is garish, but the total effect is really striking. He asked me if I was too shy to look like that in public, and he said he thought I could pull it off."

"Blade is an unusual name," I said, "but I've heard it before and not long ago. What do you know about him?"

"I looked him up online, if that's what you mean," she said. "He's legit. There's a big website, and lot of galleries in New York have his photos."

"How did you meet him?" I said.

"It was an accident," she said. "He was at this bar where I sometimes go with some friends after work. Anyway, I can't tell you much about him yet. Tonight is only the second time I'm going out with him."

Something popped into my mind about the name "Blade." It was like an alarm. All of a sudden, I felt like warning Serena about Blade, but I couldn't think of a single reason why, especially if he was a legitimate artist. If I said anything, she'd say I was stupid and superstitious, and she'd probably be right.

"Let's get back to Harvey," I said. "You have to admit, you wasted two years with him."

"I didn't waste two years," she said. "It was a learning experience. I found out what I wanted in a man and what I didn't want."

"What more could you want than what Harvey gave you?" I asked. "He was a hunk, and he was smart and funny and kind and successful. He worshipped the ground you walked on. He would do anything you wanted him to do. You two couldn't get enough of each other; now you've lost him."

"I dumped him," she said. "I didn't lose him."

"I know," I said. "And I know how you did it. No matter what he did to you, how could you humiliate and belittle him like that? You didn't just break his heart; you almost destroyed him."

I could tell someone had brought this up to Serena before because her answer sounded prepared.

"What you said shows just why I was right in getting rid of him," she said. "I didn't do anything to him in public. It was his idea to go around telling everyone what I said."

"So you really said those things to him," I said. "When he told me, I thought he was delusional. Nobody could be that cruel. You verbally emasculated him."

"I just told him what he needed to hear," she said. "It was for his own good. I hoped it would help him change so he wouldn't let women run all over him."

"Like you did?" I asked.

She ignored this. "I heard he's much better now," she said, "so maybe it worked."

"Yes," I said. "After four months of heavy therapy, he's no longer suicidal. But you need to be careful. When I saw him a couple of weeks ago and your name came up, I didn't like what he said or the tone of his voice. He told me he needs to get some kind of closure to be able to move on without the mental baggage he has now. I asked him what he meant, but he didn't explain."

"That's what I heard, too," said Serena. "But this is a good example for you. Even though I know Harvey well, and I'm sure he'd never hurt a flea, I'm still taking precautions. Whether I'm shopping or at the club or in the garage at work, I'm aware of myself and my situation. I'm not afraid of him, but I don't want any messy scenes that we would both regret."

"I'm glad," I said. "Seriously, whatever I think about what you did to him, the last thing I would ever want is for you to get hurt. His eyes were really scary when he was talking about you. I was going to suggest you call the police and find out how you could get a restraining order, but he never said anything that could be interpreted as a threat."

"I'll be careful," she said, getting up. "I've got to go to the ladies room. Want to come with me?"

"Are you worried about being alone?" I said.

"No," she said. "It's right over there. You can see the entryway from here. If you're not coming, you can watch me."

"OK, I'll do that," I said.

As I watched her walk away, I thought about "Blade" again, and the same bad feelings came back. I decided I would say something when she returned to the table, but I didn't. She was a different mood.

"I've got to go in a few minutes," she said.

"Where are you meeting Blade?" I said.

"Never mind," she said. "Listen, Reese, you know I'm not a bad person. I've been thinking about what happened, and I agree that I was too hard on Harvey. Once I work up a head of steam, it's hard to stop me. He didn't deserve all that. You know I really loved him for a long time. I think maybe I still love him, but I couldn't spend my life with someone I could squash like an ant. He's better off without me. If you see him again, please tell him that I'm sorry about everything."

"OK," I said, "but promise me you'll be really careful."

"I will," she said.

After that, we talked about other things until we paid the check. She was leaving the restaurant through a different exit, and about 10 seconds after she kissed me goodbye and walked off, it hit me. Blade. Helen was the one who told me about Blade. Blade was the buddy who was coming to town to help Harvey get over his depression. They were like blood brothers, and Blade and Harvey would do anything for one other. Was this the Blade that Serena was all tarted up for? Was she walking into a trap?

I ran after her. The restaurant was attached to a hotel, and as I looked around in a panic, I saw Serena at the other end of a long lobby. I ran after her as fast as I could, but the lobby was crowded, and she had disappeared when I got to where she had been. I looked around, but all I saw were elevators to the hotel rooms and the hotel's lounge.

When I walked into the lounge, I saw her right away, sitting at the bar and scanning the room. As I made my way to her, I saw a tall, good-looking guy in a turtleneck come up to her and take her hand. I had noticed the guy in the restaurant. He had walked back and forth not far from our table, behind Serena's back. He must have been watching us.

I started toward them, but they began walking around tables and back to the entrance I had just come in. I saw them in heavy conversation, and I was sure I saw her shake her head several times. I rushed back the way I had come, and I saw them in front of the elevators. They were still talking and she was definitely shaking her head, and it looked like she was shaking her hand, too, trying to get it out of his grip. As I ran to them, she turned and saw me just as he pulled her into an elevator that had just arrived.. She stared at me as he pulled her into an elevator that had just arrived. The door was almost closed as I got to the elevator. I pushed at the button over and over, but the door didn't stop; instead, I saw another elevator door open.

I looked above the door of the elevator they had taken, and the display showed it had stopped on the second floor. I jumped into the open elevator and pressed "2." It seemed to take forever until the doors opened. I ran out and looked around. There were long, empty corridors in both directions. I walked to the end of one corridor and saw another corridor connected at a right angle. It was also empty. I went back to the elevator and walked as far as I could in the other direction. Nothing.

I went all the way to the end in the original direction again and stopped at each door, putting my ear against it and listening hard. This was an elegant, older hotel, and I wondered if there were security cameras watching me. I hoped there were. I didn't see any. If a guard showed up, I was going to make him open every room for me.

As I rounded the corner into the first corridor again, I ran into something big. He grabbed me and held me tight, putting a large hand over my mouth and nose so I could barely breathe. He opened a door and dragged me in. He pulled me into the bathroom and stuffed a small towel into my mouth. Afterward he let me go and just held onto my hand, pulling me back into the first room.

Up to then he had held me tightly to him, but as he was pulling me to the couch, I saw it was Harvey. Suddenly, I was shaking, but strangely, I wasn't frightened of him. I knew he wouldn't hurt a fly. I was frightened of Blade. Was he mutilating Serena in some horrible way? I had no idea what Blade would do for his blood brother. I listened for Serena's screams, but I didn't hear a sound.

Harvey pulled me down on the couch and then took my hands and pulled them behind me, doing something to them. They were cuffed, not with metal handcuffs but with some kind of cloth Velcro thing. He then he got up and sat down on a chair facing the couch. I sat there with the towel in my mouth and my hands tied behind my back looking at him. He didn't have the look of a depraved killer. This was just Harvey, the nice boy that I always felt sorry for because of the way Serena walked all over him.

He let out his breath. "I'm sorry you had to get mixed up in this, Reese," he said. "I didn't realize Serena was having dinner with you tonight. Then I saw that you guessed what was going on, and I couldn't let you interfere. Please don't worry about Serena. She's in no danger. Nod your head if you believe me."

I nodded, but very slowly. I did it because I could tell he wanted me to, but I wasn't so sure she was in no danger.

"I don't think you're convinced," he said. "I will prove it to you, but right now, I have to leave you for a little while. When I come back, I hope I can take off the gag and the restraints."

He got up and walked across the room into a small alcove and then turned left and disappeared. I sat on the couch for a while shaking and wondering what to do. My legs were free, and I decided to try to get out of the room. I got up and walked to the door. I could turn around and reach the handle. I turned it, but the door didn't open. Then I saw the dead bolt switch up higher on the door. There was no way I could reach it with my hands locked behind me.

I looked around the room. It was a large suite. I saw the telephone. What if I knocked the receiver off it and found a way to dial zero? I couldn't talk, and there were no other sounds. Would someone downstairs become suspicious and send up a security guard? It wasn't likely.

I walked around the suite and got to the alcove where Harvey had disappeared. There were three rooms around the alcove. Two of them were open. I went into each one, and they were just large bedrooms, exactly the same size. The third door was closed. I put my ear to the door, and I heard sounds, but they were soft. I couldn't even tell if they were voices. As scared as I was, I decided to turn around and see if I could open the door with my hands behind me, but the door was locked.

I went back to the main room, sat down and looked at the clock. Harvey walked back into the room around 10 minutes later.

"If you will sit down on the couch, I'll explain this," he said. I sat down.

"I would like to take out your gag and remove the restraints from your wrists," he said. "If you promise me you won't say anything or get violent, I'll do that right now. If you break your promise, I'll have to gag and restrain you again, and you'll stay that way until everything's finished. Will you promise?"

I nodded, and he removed the gag and freed my hands.

"I'm actually glad it turned out this way," he said, "because now you can take Serena home."

"What are you doing to Serena?" I asked.

"Come with me," he said and took one of my hands in his. He led me to the closed bedroom door and turned the doorknob. It was no longer locked.

As we walked in I had to blink because the light was so bright. There were several tall lamps like photographers use around the room and they were all turned on. After I blinked, I saw Serena and screamed. Harvey put his hand over my mouth until I stopped. I didn't try to say anything after that. I just stared. My eyes were bugging out of my head.

Serena was on the bed on her hands and knees. She was naked. Behind her was a naked man who was thrusting in and out of her. I squinted, and I saw he was doing it in her anus, not her vagina.

In front of her was another naked man, and she was sucking him. As I watched, she moved her head back and forth on his penis, and then she pulled her mouth off of him at times and flicked her tongue on the tip and caressed it. She licked the entire shaft and even lowered her head to lick his testicles before sucking him in again. The man's hands weren't on her head, and her hands were on the bed with nothing restraining them. She was only using her head, and it looked like she was enthusiastic about what she was doing.

Next to the bed was another man holding a video camera. He slowly moved between her mouth working on the man in front and the penis - it was a large one - penetrating her anus and going faster as I watched. It looked as though Serena was moving her butt against the man behind her, and as he moved faster, the bodies were slamming together violently. The man's hands were at his side, but as I watched, he moved them to hold her buttocks and then pounded even harder into them a few times and stopped. She kept noisily sucking the man in front of her.

After a few minutes, the man behind her pulled out slowly. I saw a trickle of semen fall from her anus as his penis fell out.

Then I saw the man in front of her tap Serena on the nose with his finger, and she opened her mouth wide. He pulled his penis out of her mouth and got up and went around behind her. The man who had been behind her got off the bed and took the camera from the man who had been filming. The man who now held the camera was pulling some clothes on. The man who had been getting sucked plunged into her anus hard, and for the first time, I heard Serena's voice. She didn't say anything, but let out a loud moan, and then there was a penis in her mouth again.

I looked up, and behind the bright lights, I saw movement. I squinted and saw there were naked men standing back from the bed. One of them must have gotten onto the bed and put his penis into Serena's mouth. She began doing the same things as she had been doing before, and the man behind her began pounding her anus as her butt moved to meet him and make his pounding stronger. The man who had come inside her moments before was filming everything.

I heard a voice. It was Harvey's. "Reese is here, Serena," he said. "Look over this way."

Serena turned her head. I saw her eyes were wide, but the huge penis filling her mouth prevented her from making any other expression. She never stopped working at it while looking at me.

"Serena, I'd like you to stop sucking for a moment and give Reese a big smile," he said. "Keep on sucking until you are ready, and then let it drop out of your mouth and give Reese a big smile. Then you can go back to enjoying yourself. OK? Whenever you're ready."

I felt like I was in a horror movie watching Serena being pounded from behind and sucking the man in front of her. They must have hypnotized or drugged her. She dropped the penis from her mouth, turned to me and smiled broadly. I looked at her closely. The smile wasn't a happy smile. Did I see a teardrop in her eye? I couldn't be sure. She stopped smiling and moved her head back to the penis and sucked it in before working on it again. I stared at her until Harvey took my hand and led me out the bedroom door. He closed it behind him and I no longer heard the sucking sounds of her mouth and the squishy sounds of the large penis in her anus.

Harvey led me back to the couch, and I sat down. He sat down opposite me and watched me, as if he was waiting for something. I wanted to ask a million questions, but I didn't know where to start. Finally, I said, "So, Serena is really enjoying what they are doing to her. Is that what you were trying to show me?"

"Of course not," he said. "That's just for the video. Serena is hating every second of this, but she's acting. Did you take a look at her butt?"

"What do you mean?" I said.

"Did you notice it was bright red?" he said. "When we began, I had to spank her really hard until she went along with acting like she was enjoying herself. She knows that this way it will be a hundred times more humiliating."

"What about her ass?" I asked. "The men are destroying it. She'll need surgery."

"Don't be silly," he said. "First of all, I put a ton of lube inside her. Then I went first. I'm pretty large, but I went slowly and carefully and let her adjust to my size before I came. That opened her up for the other guys. By the time the third guy got to her, his penis went in easily.

"That doesn't mean she's not experiencing a lot of discomfort, along with the humiliation, but they're not going to tear any tissue. She'll be stretched and bruised and in pain for a couple of weeks. A month from now, she won't feel anything except mental pain. Of course, that hurts bad, too.

"There are only eight other guys in there. Blade isn't one of them. He's gay. After each one finishes, they are getting dressed. Then Serena will eat a creampie cocktail."

"A what?" I asked.