Sidekick Ch. 04

We did get to the club, and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it turned out... well, I'll just tell you.

We arrived before ten so that we wouldn't have to queue. The place was pretty empty. It normally started to jump after about 10:30 or 11pm. Erika said it didn't matter because we could have a few drinks. (Of course, we were drinking on my credit card, so the outrageous prices didn't concern her). We found a place at the bar and Erika ordered two vodkas. Each.

Erika is such a glamour. Sitting next to her I was so obviously the plain friend. The second-best option. She shone like a beacon, all legs and teeth and boobs, and her eye makeup was amazing, with highlighted mascara that made her eyes sparkle like a fairytale princess. (I didn't immediately remember that, of course, the makeup had been purchased on our shopping spree with, yep, my credit card). By comparison I was just very plain. Anyone looking at us would know that I was lucky to be out with her, because she's so pretty she gets a lot of attention. Her castoffs are better than anything I would attract, for sure.

She was also bubbly and engaging. She had already started a flirty conversation with the barman, and had floated off down the other end of the bar to chatter with him. I was lost in my thoughts, just waiting for Erika's magical sphere of attractiveness to return, remembering what a wallflower I had been at school dances, when a male voice broke into my daydream.

"Uh, hi! Can I sit here?" he said, in a sort of charmingly awkward way.

"Oh, sure," I responded, indicating Erika's empty seat. There was another empty seat on the other side of it. I presumed his girlfriend would be along any moment.

"It's... kinda quiet. I guess things will heat up later?" he asked, for some reason.

"Oh, I guess so," I responded. "Probably in an hour or so." I tried to remember where I had been up to in my daydream.

Presently, he cleared his throat and said, "Look I'm not really very good at this, but if you wanted to maybe dance later or whatever, I'd really like to join you..." He looked like he immediately regretted saying this, for some reason. Perhaps his girlfriend would have strong feelings about it!

"Oh," I said, uncertain how to proceed. "I guess. Are you... here with anyone?"

"My buddy had trouble with the train. He'll be along in a while. But until then it's just me. You?" He was slightly more confident now.

"My friend is over there chatting up the barman. She's the really pretty one in the pink dress and cat's ears." I made sure to point her out carefully. "I might be able to get you a dance with her, too," I offered, hoping to impress him that I could arrange such a thing.

He seemed embarrassed, "Oh, yeah, " he unconvincingly muttered. "Ok, I guess. We could all dance together, maybe?"

I didn't know what the problem was. Was he afraid she was out of his league? He was pretty cute and seemed like a really nice guy. I didn't know where the reluctance was coming from. "It's a date," I promised. He smiled widely before trying to temper his response a little.

We introduced ourselves. He was a Steve. He didn't look like a Steve, more of a Jeremy, I thought. But it wasn't really up to me. He was Steve. We chatted for several minutes, and he seemed preoccupied the whole time. Finally he blurted, "Would you like to dance now? I know there's noone out there, but somebody has to start the party..." He held his breath.

Erika was really taking her time. I checked, and she was still fully engaged in conversation with the barman, and now another guy as well.

"Do you want me to see if Erika's up for it?" I asked.

Steve's face fell a little, before he replied quickly, "We've got all night. Let her talk. How about it? Are you up for it?"

Why would he want to dance with me? I guessed it was probably a pretty good play to get Erika's attention. He was starting off easy with the plain friend, then he would upgrade later in the evening. Clever! Anyway, I figured I might as well enjoy the attention while it lasted. Soon enough, Erika would waft back over and eclipse me, but until then I could have a little dance.

I let him lead me out to the empty dance floor, and there Steve and I started dancing together. He really did pay attention to me, which was good of him, I thought. It's all fair play, and he was playing it really well. He would have a good chance with Erika.

Eventually, Erika managed to come and find us on the dance floor. By then our courage had motivated several other people to come up and dance. Erika bopped over to us and said, "Who's this?" as we all gyrated to the beat.

"Steve," I responded, shouting to be heard over the music. I turned to him and said, "Erika", by way of introduction. He nodded politely to her. Wow. Very cool play, there!

We continued dancing, and he made no move for Erika. She didn't seem to worry about it. She was more concerned with dancing in ever more suggestive ways with me, which was fun, but as it progressed I did worry about embarrassing Steve a bit.

For his part, he didn't seem to mind. But he was very cleverly paying his attention to me, and remaining polite with Erika. It was probably some clever ploy, but I thought he was probably missing his chance by this stage. Erika was using me as a sexual foil, moving erotically around me, and making me do likewise. We entwined in ever more sensual and suggestive ways, and I would have thought Steve would have figured out he should make his move on her.

Finally, Steve's buddy Wayne did turn up. I checked him out, because I knew what would happen. Wayne was the plain one of that duo, so Steve and Erika were naturally going to pair off, and Wayne would get me as a consolation prize. Erika would expect me to do whatever it takes to keep him happy, so that she could enjoy her time with Steve. And that's exactly what I would do.

Presently, I put my hands up in a surrender motion, and excused myself, indicating I was pooped and needed a rest. To my shock, Steve moved to come with me off the dance floor. I started to wonder if he got it at all. This was his chance. I was out of the way. This was his cue to send Wayne with me to buy me a drink, so he could move on Erika!

But no, he wanted to come along and leave Wayne with Erika. It was baffling. Anyway, as he had said earlier, we did have all night, so I figured we could just let it play out.

"YOU'RE SO HOT, YOU AND ERIKA DANCING LIKE THAT. IT'S INCREDIBLE," he shouted to be heard over the loud music as we threaded a path through the now crowded club towards the bar.

He was really good at this. He said that I was hot, which was really nice of him. But at some stage he was going to need to pivot if he wanted to make his move, and talking like that now could make it awkward later. I mean, what if I took it seriously? Rather than try to speak over the din, I just smiled warmly over my shoulder at him.

At the bar it was just a few decibels quieter. We could communicate by leaning close to one another's ears. "So Wayne seems nice," I said, which was rubbish. We hadn't said two words to one another, because the dance floor was throbbing with music. Wayne actually seemed a bit shy, and possibly boring.

"We're good friends. From school," he replied, missing his cue to ask me about Erika.

"Erika is my housemate," I decided to help him out.

"Ah!" he nodded. Again failing to capitalize.

"Was that vodka you were drinking earlier? Can I get you another?" He really seemed lost. I was giving him every on-ramp into Erika's pants, and he was just driving right past them. It was weird.

"Sure, yes. Thank you," I said, wondering how to facilitate this game that he didn't seem to know how to play.

"You know," I said conspiratorially in his ear after he had ordered the drinks. "Vodka has the tendency to make me very, very uninhibited." I wanted him to know that I was going to be quite willing to occupy his friend while he and Erika made out.

Strangely, he seemed to freeze. His eyes shot open like I'd told him the planet was about to be destroyed, and he blushed deeply. I quickly apologized, "I'm sorry. I've made you uncomfortable!"

"Oh, no, no. I mean... well. Ok, yeah. But... well," he stumbled to a halt. I waited, searching his face to try to understand what he was saying. "You just... you caught me by surprise is all. Now I'm kicking myself for not saying something smooth in response. Instead I'm just blubbering. What a dickhead. I'm so sorry."

This was... not what I expected.

He was genuinely shy. He was, wait. He was nervous! He wanted to pursue me, not Erika. What was wrong with him?

At that moment a vodka rocks landed on the bar beside me. I maintained eye contact with Steve, reached out and grabbed it, and threw it down in one gulp. Then I kissed him.

It was a sweet kiss. He kissed me back, nervously at first, but then with real feeling. He was actually into this! I wasn't sure what was happening, but the vodka was blurring all the edges and I was going with it. We kissed there at the bar, for a good long time.

"Hi guys!" Erika wasn't shy about barging in. She found it amusing to interrupt. Wayne was following her like a puppy dog. "I need to freshen up. Come with?" she requested. A request a girl does not refuse.

"Oh, yeah. Me too," I smiled a little tease at Steve. "We can pick this up after, ok?" I said, as though I was such a confident, experienced woman. He made me feel like I was attractive, and it gave me a real confidence boost.

"I won't move from this spot. Hurry back," he said earnestly.

This was the first time I had really had a nice experience, in a place like this, of meeting someone. I was walking an inch off the floor, as Erika led me away to the ladies restroom.

In the large powder room, plenty of women were milling around, with many at the long wall of well-lit makeup mirrors. They were chatting, doing makeup, strategizing or commiserating together, and the whole room was full of a comfortable, girly buzz.

That's when Erika dropped her bombshell.

"Ok, I'm going to have Steve. You can have the other one, ok?" she said as she adjusted her hair in the mirror.

I was dumbfounded. Steve actually liked me. We had a connection. It was a genuine thing. She shouldn't just swoop in and take him like that, just because she could.

And she could. I mean she was magnificent. Her pixie face was surrounded with whispy ringlets, and her eyes shone from her face. Her teeth were perfect. She was tall, spunky, leggy, had the most exquisite figure, and long, slender arms tipped with dainty hands. Not like my regular stumpy hands, average figure, and boobs barely half her size. My face had freckles. My hair was mousy. I was ordinary.

She was right, of course. It was fitting. She should have Steve. I was better off keeping the friend amused. That was more my lane. It was my station. I swallowed hard and nodded.

"He will need to know you're out of the way, though. Ok? You're going to need to get all friendly with what's his name," she was more or less just thinking aloud about how this would work. She was reading out what my script would be in the play that would unfold. The play in which I would be arranging for her to have the man I was really attracted to. The man who fancied me. My man. She would take him, and I would let her do it.

"Ok," I said, my voice croaking with emotion. She didn't notice.

"He said Steve has a nice apartment, so we can go back to there. You and... him... will be in the lounge room. It's just a one-bedder," she had this all figured out. She would be in my man's bedroom, in his bed, with him, and I would be keeping his friend "entertained".

"Okies, well. I'm getting a drink. Can I have your card? Don't be long, ok?" I handed over my credit card, and just like that, she was gone. This was going to be absolutely humiliating. It already burned. My face was flushed hot with indignation, and I was falling into my familiar vodka-lust humiliation paradise.

I stood for several moments, surrounded by perfume and womens' voices, until one voice broke through the others, "Girl, did I just hear that right? Who does that bitch think she is?"

I snapped out of my inwards thoughts to see a girl about my age, staring into my face in a demanding posture. I was at a crossroads. Should I confess that, yes, I felt wronged, or confess that, actually, this was part of a game we play, and it was a game that I absolutely need to lose.

"Now, don't be hasty, my dear," another voice, substantially older, quaint, and gentle, interjected. Half the powder room was now listening. "I've got a feeling there may be more to this than meets the eye." The older woman emerged. She was dressed in an ornate nineteenth century dress and jacket, and wore a wide hat. She was so out of place in this noisy club, I couldn't make sense of it, yet here she was, like Mary Poppins.

The younger woman was also taken aback. We both gaped as she approached.

"Now, I realize it looks like this poor girl is being bullied by that other woman. I mean, if I understand what just took place, it's extraordinarily cruel. Am I to take it you're keen on a young man, and this woman is going to make you transfer his affections to her? At your expense?" She had, by now, the attention of every woman in the powder room. She was holding court with her question.

I looked down at the floor and nodded. She had gleaned correctly. The younger woman leapt once again to my defense, "Bitch! I'm gonna hurt that sack of no good..." she clearly intended to begin a tirade of violent threats against Erika. I sensed some real potential danger in that. I needed to de-escalate. But I didn't want to break character. I was plunging quickly into my shameful, lustful, obedient little sex pet role, and I didn't want to come back.

"May I suggest," the older woman interrupted. "That we ask, first?"

This did have the effect of slicing the energy in the room, halting it's momentum, if for a moment. The young woman looked frustrated, but agreed, turning to me and saying, "Well? Where are you in all this? Is that bitch riding you? What's she got on you? We all can sort it out right now."

There was a chorus of sympathetic assent from the women in the room. The sisterhood was awakening.

But I didn't want to say it. I didn't want to spell it out. That would diffuse it, and I was just starting to get going. I looked at her, not knowing how to respond.

"I think I can help," the older woman again took control. "Young lady, either you are in need of assistance to sort out a bullying situation, or you are engaged in an erotic game, which you do not want to end."

I stared at her. Was I so transparent?

"And if it's a game, you will keep playing no matter what. So I think I can see how we can get to the bottom of this." She paused for an extended time, leaving me in unbearable anticipation, and the whole room along with me.

"If you're playing a game, then it's a submission game. And you will want to continue to be obedient and submissive. If you are being manipulated and bullied, you will be looking for a chance to get out. So here it is. Here is how you show us, not tell us, what is going on, and either double-down on the game, or tap right out." She spoke with authority. Not just over me, but everyone in the room was completely still. She was intoxicating.

"Kiss her," she said, with no emotion.

I didn't understand. I looked to her for an explanation.

"Kiss her. Do it now. You don't have any choice. If you're going to be obedient, obey." she repeated, indicating the young woman who had been leaping to my defense with such determination. For her part, she looked completely shocked, and while not horrified, at least completely out of her comfort zone.

She was right. If I obey, I indicate that I am safe and happy in our game. If I hesitate, all hell will break loose as this army of women mobilize in my cause.

I stepped forward and kissed her. Deeply. My tongue was on the roof of her mouth, and I was sucking and slurping at her upper lip. Then I took in her lower lip, and gradually, allowed myself to slide from it, with firm but gentle suction the whole time. Finally, I released her lip as I held her gaze. I tilted my head downwards but looked up through my lashes at her in submission, hoping she now understood.

She was gasping. I think she probably hadn't kissed a girl before. She was shocked, and aroused. She was lost for words.

"I think everything is ok here," the mysterious woman announced. She leaned in to whisper, "be safe, and have fun, you mischievous little scoundrel". And with that, she moved into the crowd of women, many of whom were clearly now fascinated by me, and she disappeared. I was now an object of curiosity, as every woman in the room knew what I was. A submissive little sex pet. A toy. I was awash with delicious humiliation.

It was going to be an extraordinary night.