Sisterhood - Temptation Ch. 09

The loud burble of the Great Hall enveloped Katharina. It had gotten busier, and the crowd was thicker. It felt as if she had been away for a while, though it couldn't have been very long, perhaps fifteen minutes or so. She stood for a moment at one end of the long bar counter, thinking back to when she had left Ivy. Unable to recall whether Ivy had said she would sit somewhere in particular, Katharina began walking along behind the sparse gathering of girls now standing at the counter, scanning the tables for Ivy's face.

She spotted Ivy quickly. Ivy stood out because she was alone, her face pensive among others animated by speech. She was sitting at the edge of the space, where up against the bare stone of the wall there were a few low couches, each with a tiled coffee table in front of it. Ivy had one of the couches to herself, her table empty.

Katharina was unsure why she felt such a flush of relief to see Ivy still on her own. Perhaps it was that she felt unprepared for the effort of making conversation with new girls. Emboldened, with the little secret triumph of her encounter in the toilets locked away for keeps in her memory, Katharina skipped over to join Ivy.

"So," Ivy's face brightened as Katharina approached. She shifted over from the center of the couch to one side to let Katharina plump herself down, "Success?"

"Success?" Katharina laughed hesitantly, "Going to the toilet you mean?"

Ivy's grin faded to a conspiratorial smirk. She said nothing for a moment, then spoke quietly, "You totally fucked another girl in there, didn't you?"

"No!" Katharina protested.

"Okay," Ivy tossed her head as if to discard the notion, "Never mind."

Only after she had spoken did Katharina wonder why she felt the need to hide from Ivy what she had just done. On reflection, she felt she almost wanted to share it, in part simply to validate what she felt was an achievement of sorts, to have someone else witness it. But she had said 'no', and the moment to share had passed.

"No, I just really had to go," said Katharina.

"You could have just asked me, is all," Ivy muttered.

"Asked you what?"

Katharina had begun looking over to the bar to search for an opening where she might order them a drink. She felt Ivy's hand clutch suddenly around her wrist.

"Quick," Ivy hissed, "Say something."

"Say something?" Katharina turned back to Ivy to see her friend sitting tense and rigid and staring over towards the other side of the bar alcove.

Ivy turned to look at her quickly, "Yeah, just chat or say something, quick. To make it look like we're having an actual conversation instead of both just gawping at her fucking massive tits."

Katharina's eyes traced across the room to where Ivy had been looking. An imposing figure stood out among the crowd. Louise, with a glowing tan on her bare skin, and her broad shoulders at the height of most girls' heads. Louise was striding slowly towards them, sidling between the knots of other girls standing at the tall tables. She moved with the quiet ease of someone in charge. As she passed each table, Louise glanced at the pitcher of water that stood at its center, gathering the empty ones in a bunch in her fist. At a distance, it was already apparent that Louise was topless. Her heavy bust lurched to one side each time she bent across one of the tables or politely shouldered someone out of her way. As she emerged from the nearest edge of the crowd, Katharina saw that Louise was dressed only in a pair of navy blue and white striped swimming bottoms, and flip-flop sandals.

"Katja!" Ivy whispered desperately, tugging at Katharina's arm, "I said make it look like we're not gawping."

"So," Louise called out as she approached, "What may I get you?"

"Don't say tits, don't say tits," Ivy muttered under her breath.

Katharina giggled nervously. "Um, thanks for coming over."

Louise put her free hand on her hip. She smiled at Ivy, "You should really order at the bar. But I guess I just got tired of you staring at me mixing the cocktails. It's kind of off-putting."

Standing on the other side of their table, Louise's hips were about level with Katharina's eyes. The swimming bottoms Louise was wearing were slim, and snug. The firmness of Louise's ample figure was apparent in the way they clung to her flesh, holding it against her frame but not digging into it. Katharina recalled her earlier fantasy about Louise, while masturbating in the showers, and felt a throb between her legs. She was glad she was firmly sitting on her dick.

"Well that's kind of you all the same. I guess I'll um..." Katharina had no idea what she wanted to drink, "Maybe a tonic water? Ivy?"

"Juice," Ivy croaked. She coughed, then spoke more clearly, "Cranberry juice. Thanks."

"Very well," Louise leaned forward and lowered her voice slightly, "This is your first year, isn't it? There's also a special offer on, just for debutantes."

"Oh?" said Katharina warily.

"You can motorboat a barmaid of your choice," Louise winked.

"What? Motorboat?" Katharina asked.

"Katja, come on!" Ivy laughed. She turned to Louise, shifted as if about to get up, "But seriously?"

"No, of course not. Now order at the bar next time," Louise scowled. She turned and then called out as she walked away, "And don't leave a mess on the sofas."

With Louise's back turned, Katharina treated herself to a guilty glance at the taut curves of Louise's broad, athletic body, the faint bulging slope where the weight of her breasts in front pulled the flesh of her back downward.

"So what does motorboat mean?" Katharina asked.

Ivy grinned, then took one glance across the room, perhaps checking that Louise was still walking away. She lifted her hands in front of herself and scrunched her fingers in imitation of someone grasping two large soft objects, then thrust her face forward and shook it from side to side between her hands, blowing air from her lips in a sound somewhat reminiscent of a motor.

"Oh," Katharina laughed, "Wow. Well, that would be a great special offer."

"Yeah. In our dreams," Ivy sighed. She suddenly sat up straight, straining her neck, and waved, "Oh look. Here's Lia."

Lia was bouncing gaily across the mostly empty gap between the edge of the dancing surface and the beginning of the bar area. She skipped on the tips of her flat shoes and darted in between the tables to approach Ivy and Katharina, grinning and waving.

"Hi!" Lia giggled, pulling up beside the table and snapping her legs together.

"Hi there," Ivy looked up at her with a wary smile.

"Hi Katja," Lia waved.

"Come and sit," Katharina shunted aside, pushing her hips against Ivy's to move them both a little way along the couch.

Lia sat down with a jump beside Katharina, then shoved her over, wedging her in between herself and Ivy. "Whew. Good to see you guys. Have you been dancing already?"

Ivy cut in before Katharina could reply, "So? Lia? Tell."

"What?" said Lia, leaning forward to look across at Ivy.

"Your, ahem, assignment."

Katharina had noted that Lia had changed clothes since leaving their dorm room earlier. She couldn't remember exactly what Lia had been wearing then, but it had been a short summer dress of some sort, in a darkish color. Now, Lia was dressed in a thin pastel blue top with long sleeves and a high neck, which clung to her skinny torso and flat chest. Around her hips she wore a plush and ruffled knee-length skirt in dark gray.

"The writing thing? From last week's class? I still haven't done it," Lia frowned, "Katja was going to help me but then we got going with the ball and everything."

"No you fucking clueless dork," Ivy sniggered, "Your... D.S. assignment. Just now."

"D. what?"

Katharina put her hand to her forehead and sighed. "D... sucking," she said quietly, "Ivy is joking with you. It wasn't about that."

"Oh," Lia's face brightened, "Right! No, I guess not. I didn't... But well, I mean... Oh no wait, I'm not supposed to even tell-"

Lia was interrupted as someone leaned over the table with a tray and deftly lifted down three glasses one by one. Katharina looked up at one of the other bar girls. Like Louise she was clad in swimwear, but was also wearing the top to her bikini. She was tall and pale, slim and small-chested. Her tousle of thick frizzy brown hair swooshed back and forth as she leaned in to deposit the drinks.

"For you, and for you," the girl announced in turn, in a shrill, cheerful voice. She set the final glass, a tall thick tumbler of sparkling water, in front of Lia, "And Louise said you might appreciate this."

The girl straightened up and swished away, holding the tray at her hip. Katharina watched, then turned back to look at her drink. She looked at her two roommates seated either side of her then lifted her glass, "Cheers."

Ivy pulled herself forward to reach for her drink, and lifted it to chime with Katharina, "Cheers."

When Katharina turned to toast with Lia she saw Lia already glugging back her glass of water in slow gulps, her head tilted back and her slender neck bobbing with each swallow.

"Lia," Ivy's eyes narrowed, "You have been up to thirsty work, haven't you?"

Katharina took a first sip of the tonic water. It was not too sweet, and the bitterness was invigorating. She smacked her lips and blinked at the tingle of soda against the insides of her nostrils.

"Woah," Lia set her drink down abruptly and gave a hushed gasp, gazing off over the arm of the couch, "Milfs. Over on the other couch. Like, really hot milfs!"

Katharina glanced quickly at Lia, who was leaning to one side, her neck twisted round. Katharina was tempted to follow her gaze, but felt too embarrassed to do so, given how ostentatiously Lia was already staring.

"Lia, quit gawping!" Ivy hissed, "Anyway, it's 'milves'."

"Milves?" Lia turned back to face Ivy.

"The plural," Ivy took a casual sip from her glass, "I mean, I know it's an acronym, but there has to be some consistency."

"Huh?"

Ivy sighed, "Like, one wolf, two wolves, one milf, two milves."

Katharina chuckled to herself, "As in 'torn apart by a pack of ravenous milves'?"

"Oh yeah," Lia growled, "I would love to be torn apart by them."

Katharina gave in and took a quick glance to the side. The couch where she, Lia and Ivy were sitting was near the angle where the wall at the end of the bar space met the longer wall at its back. Against the back wall, obliquely opposite them, a group of three full-figured and elegantly dressed women were taking their seats on another couch, shuffling over to fit themselves snugly seated side by side.

"Lia!" Ivy whispered through a clenched jaw, "They can hear you, you know? They're sitting just there."

"Oh yeah, they're waving," Lia pulled her legs up to kneel on the couch, then leaned over to wave back. She turned excitedly to Ivy, "Let's go join them."

"Okay," Ivy sighed, flinging her arms out to heave herself forwards off the couch, "Smooth, like, really smooth Lia, but whatever. Let's go join them then."

Katharina watched the other two stand up, Lia hopping down off the edge of the couch and springing to her feet, Ivy slowly rising with a twist and a stretch. Katharina was glad to be seated in the middle, it provided a natural pretext to sit and wait while Lia, then Ivy, went ahead and took their drinks to walk over towards the other couch. Once there was room for her to get up and move, Katharina took her own glass and followed.

She arrived just behind Ivy. The other two murmured a giggly 'hello' and Ivy addressed the three women, "So, welcome to the Summer Ball. Is it alright if we come chat to you?"

The woman sitting in the center of the trio, a plump blonde dressed in black, answered with a cheerful smile, "Of course, of course." She looked around, "Um..."

Katharina noticed there were no seats around the low coffee table. On the couch itself there was perhaps room for at most one of them to sit beside the three women. Just as she looked around to see whether there were any free chairs nearby, Katharina saw one of the bar girls approaching them hurriedly, the same one who had brought their drinks a moment earlier. The girl was carrying a low wooden stool in each hand, and a third under the crook of her arm.

"Here you go," the girl chirped, laughing as she set the three stools on the floor by the table. She shoved them into place with a kick from her bare foot, then skipped away back behind the bar.

Katharina looked back at the three women sitting opposite. The blonde woman clapped her hands, looking impressed, "Well. The girls here are awfully attentive, aren't they?"

Ivy squatted and took her seat on the middle of the three stools, "We try to look after our guests."

Katharina spread her legs and lowered herself forward, taking care to sweep her dick firmly under herself and squash it back against the seat of the stool. She realized she hadn't yet spoken a greeting, and gave a feeble wave.

The blonde woman smiled back at her, then turned to Ivy, "We?"

"Well, some other girls are running the bar obviously. But we're sort of... part of it, too," said Ivy.

"Well you're doing a great job," the woman replied, "Whatever your job might be. This is absolutely lavish."

Now they were all seated, Katharina took a closer look at the woman who of the three had so far done all of the talking. Her head was tilted back as she admired the arched ceiling of the bar alcove. Her blonde hair was obviously dyed, but the color had a pleasing, subtle texture to it, a sort of creamy, varied gold rather than the complete shock white of peroxide. She wore it cut short to the nape of her neck and heaped up in thick curls. It was the sort of hairstyle that might have stood out as incongruous or extravagant on a younger girl, but on an older woman Katharina thought that it looked extremely good. The hair was matched by the pale white skin of the woman's face, on which her full lips stood out painted in bold red.

While the woman's gaze was averted, Katharina admired her figure. She was dressed in a stretchy black cotton dress with long sleeves and a high neck. It clung tightly to a full bust slumped atop several thick rolls of flesh around her stomach. Katharina found that with the woman's mature features, her confident poise and refined demeanor, the extra weight looked somehow fitting, and very attractive.

"Thanks. I'm Ivy," Ivy seemed to waver, shifting on her stool as if to get up and exchange kisses, but then the blonde woman leaned forward over the table and extended a hand decorated in silver rings.

"Jane," she said. Her voice was high-pitched, but loud and resonant, like that of a singer.

Ivy clasped Jane's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. She turned, "And this is Lia. Lia, pay attention."

Lia was squirming on her stool, crossing and rearranging her long legs while looking down at her skirt, still trying to find a suitable sitting position. "Oh, hi," she looked up, then shook Jane's hand.

"Katja," said Katharina when Jane turned to her. Seated at one corner of the table, Katharina was a little too far away to reach out for Jane's hand. She began to lean forwards, dragging the stool with her.

"Don't get up dear," Jane smiled, "Those stools don't look terribly comfy. These are my friends Mutia, and Fereshteh."

Jane indicated her two neighbors in turn, and each of them smiled and waved. In stark contrast to Jane's complexion, both were dark, with ruddy tanned skin flushed red at the cheeks.

Fereshteh's long hair was a deep chestnut brown. She looked a little younger than the other two. Katharina always found it difficult to judge women's ages. She guessed Fereshteh might only be in her late thirties. She seemed healthy, athletic. She was quite full-figured, but the thickness in her arms and legs looked firm, underpinned by muscle. Her smooth tanned limbs were on full display in an extremely short, bluish-gray backless dress tied behind her neck.

Fereshteh's lips were painted a glossy dark red. She put them around the straw that protruded from her glass and took a slow suck.

Then the third woman, Mutia, spoke, "So this Summer Ball, it's your thing, is it?"

Mutia might have been the oldest of the three. At a guess, Katharina thought she could be about fifty, but maybe younger. She was also the darkest. Her skin looked not only tanned, but naturally dusky. Her thick shoulder-length hair had obviously once been jet black, and was now a silvery slate gray. She was dressed fairly conservatively, in dark stockings and a knee-length black dress. Only her arms were bare. They were freckled with the first tiny marks of age, and her slender hands were creased and rough. Where her two companions wore a more sultry, vaguely seductive look, Mutia's smile was open, and energetic. Her expression was kindly, reassuring.

Katharina realized Mutia was smiling at her.

"It's... well, not really," Katharina replied, "We've been here a while but this is our first Summer Ball. Our only job is to entertain the guests. We're debutantes."

"Debutantes?" Jane lifted one eyebrow in amusement.

"That sounds kind of pretentious, doesn't it?" said Katharina.

"No, it sounds like fun," Jane sighed and looked up wistfully, "Makes me rather nostalgic."

"Debutantes?" Lia repeated.

"It just means it's our first Ball," Ivy replied, cutting her off.

"Oh," Lia hung her head, bemused, "Really? Is that all? I thought it meant, like, something to do with, you know, our secret stuff."

"Secret stuff?" Mutia chuckled.

"Fucking hell Lia," Ivy muttered, sinking her forehead into her palm, "With your amazing talent for discretion it's a miracle you were allowed to attend at all."

"Just traditions and stuff, you know," Katharina explained quickly, "It's kind of like a silly club and so there are little secrets and traditions, nothing serious."

"Like a sorority?" said Fereshteh, and took another careful suck on her straw. There was a gurgle from her near-empty glass.

"Yes, exactly," said Katharina, "Just like a sorority. It's kind of embarrassing, but I mean they take care of us and there are nice events and so on, so it's fun too."

"You shouldn't find that embarrassing," said Jane, "I find it very sweet. Takes me back to my college days. I was in a sorority, too."

"What's a sorority?" said Lia.

"A Sisterhood," said Ivy, "It's just another word for Sisterhood."

Lia looked confused, "I thought we weren't supposed to talk about that?"

"Lia," said Ivy firmly, through gritted teeth, "Would you perhaps like to go and get Fereshteh something else to drink?" Ivy looked up at the couch, "Fereshteh, right?"

Fereshteh nodded. "Well remembered," she said. Then she set her empty glass on the table and stood up, smoothing down the front of her dress, "That would be lovely. I'll come with you. Anyone else want something?"

Katharina looked at the other glasses on the table. She and Ivy had only taken a few sips from theirs. Jane's was empty, the bottom coated in the dregs of what had perhaps been a creamy coffee. And Mutia seemed not to have a drink at all. Katharina shook her head.

"Not for now, thanks," said Jane, flipping up the palm of one hand.

"Okay," Lia held out her hand.

Fereshteh trotted around the table on a pair of thick high-heeled shoes to join her, "Lead the way."

Katharina watched the two of them walk off towards the bar. She noticed only then just how much more of Fereshteh's body her dress revealed at the back. Whereas the front covered her more or less completely, if precariously, from the neck to just below the hips, the back was completely absent but for the band that tied the dress at the neck, and another slightly thicker band stretched across her broad backside. Katharina recalled there having been a special name for the style, when it had first come into fashion several years earlier. 'Virgin slayer', or something like that. Fereshteh's smooth, curvy back was conspicuously missing the strap of a bra, and the dress flashed glimpses of the sides of her freely swaying bust. At the base of her spine, the cleft of her buttocks was just visible, and protruding from it the thin black string of a thong.