A Study in Fragrance Pt. 19

"What is that?" Caroline was staring at the small pom-pom.

Em sighed, seeing the tug of war with the tendril was useless. Whadya expect? It's Caroline! "Promise you won't judge me, yeah?" She pleaded with a look before standing up, and before she could think about it, pulled her pants down and snapped the tail in place, turning to let Caroline look. She snuck a peak at Caroline's reaction, relieved when she saw her raise an eyebrow and turn back to her chips and beer. "You know what that is, right?"

Caroline exhaled, sounding a little annoyed. "Really, Em? You think I haven't seen a butt plug before?" She laughed, maybe a little nervously. "I mean, I've seen 'em, but that doesn't mean I've ever seen 'em if you got me?" She stared back at Em's buns, reaching up to feel the tail. "But more important, are you okay?" She put her hand back down, taking another chip.

Em pulled up her pants, not even sure why, and carefully sat on the edge of the bed. "Yeah. I'm fine. Really. Caroline, uhnhh, shit." She didn't know where to begin. "Look. I...what I'm doing with Cos...it's fucking insane. I get that. I get that I'm going places I never expected to. He's being good about it. He's not hurting me. I'm being careful, but fuck," she looked back at her friend's face, studying for any judgment, "he's pushed me into a place I...I..." she couldn't say it, but she had to. Not only because of the tendril, winding its way up her spine, but because she wanted to be open with Caroline. She wanted to figure out where they were going. "I know I can trust you, right?"

Caroline stopped eating and turned her full attention to look at Em, nodding, solemn. "Yes, Em. I'm totally here for you. Anything. I..." she left the thought unstated, but she figured Em understood.

Emily nodded, taking a breath. "Okay. Okay. There's three things I need to tell you about what's going on. One, Cos and my relationship has entered an entirely new place...wait! Hold on!" She could see disappointment on Caroline's face, like Emily was going to break up with her. But we aren't even together yet! Still, the idea that Caroline was hoping for more was exactly what Emily needed to see. "What I'm trying to say is that he's put me in training. I'm training to be his servant cunt," she dropped her voice, still unable to simply say it like it was normal, "and in this case, it means I am learning to be his submissive." She gulped, finally saying the words out loud she'd been rolling over in her head.

Caroline stared at her, shaking her head. "You...are you...Em...are you sure that's what you want?" She reached a hand up to stroke Em's face. "I'm not sure I even know what that means, but it doesn't sound like you."

"I know. I know!" She looked at Caroline's face, nodding. "But he's got me riled up and I have to do this. I have to! Like the Ironman. It's like the Ironman, C!" She studied her friend's face to see if she was getting through.

"Okay...okay. I get that. I guess. But..." she hesitated, not sure how to say what she was thinking without fucking up what they had, or where she hoped they were going. "I...that's not something I can give you, Em. You know? Like, I don't understand it...you...you aren't looking for that with me, are you?" The whole thing tumbled out before she could think about it.

"Oh fuck no, Caroline!" Emily turned and wrapped her arms around her, planting a kiss on her cheek, and then Caroline turned her face and they were kissing, really kissing, Caroline's tongue exploring Emily's mouth, the taste of avocado and garlic and corn and beer. Emily pulled her into a tighter embrace, running her hands up and down her back. She popped her mouth away, breathing heavily. "Fuck, no Caroline. I don't want that with you! I've got that with Cos! That's already too much!" She smiled shyly, looking down and grabbing a chip. Her stomach growled, finally relaxing. "But I...I'm still so...fuck, Caroline, it's so fucking weird, I'm still so embarrassed by it." She waved her hand to her ass. "I have to be naked tonight, wearing that..." She looked back to make sure Caroline understood, that she wasn't judging her.

Caroline's eyes were soft, accepting, with a hint of mischief. "He's making you show off your butt plug to your girlfriends? Like the other night? Taking a picture of yourself naked? Or screaming you're his virgin cunt in front of everyone?" Caroline started laughing, making sure Emily understood she was laughing with her, not at her. "I just want to make sure you're being okay, Em. That he's not grooming you, or fucking you over." Her tone had grown harder.

"No! Fuck it's nothing like that. I've got a safe word and he respects it whenever I use it!" She blushed at the confession, but kept pushing through. "And I'm not like signing over my car or letting him tell me what I can or can't do, or who I can or can't see. It's not like that. He's pushing me. He's pushing me to be the best servant cunt I can be." She widened her eyes when she looked at Caroline, trying to make it clear that this was her thing, that Cos was just her trainer. Except for the cumming part. But she couldn't go there. Not now.

"Okay. Okay. I don't pretend to understand it...I mean...I get the competitive stuff, yeah, but what a weird competition you decided to get into, Em!"

They both giggled a little at that. "Fucking Abby," was all Em could say.

"You said three things. I assume that was the first, yeah? You're going to be naked with a bunnytail butt plug on display in there?"

Em nodded, swallowing to prepare for the next thing. "That one was huge, Caroline. Really huge for me. Thank you." She leaned in and kissed her again and pulled back, hearing the others coming up the stairs. "The second thing is, you know you wanted me to tell you what I was 'remembering' so that you didn't feel manipulated?" Em waited, watching Caroline prepare for whatever she was going to say. "We're going to sleep together tonight." She said it with a smile, hoping Caroline would be as excited as she was. "Here. In my bed. Both of us butt naked, squirming around together." She laid it on thick but hoped it came off light and frothy.

Caroline started laughing, setting aside the bowl and bottle, turning, giving Emily a kiss, and then she switched it up, wrestling her to the bed, wrapping her leg around her. "Squirming, hunh? You sure it has to wait until tonight?"

Emily's chest felt like a hundred butterflies had taken flight, her head filling with air, the tendril nowhere to be found. Yes! Yes! This is what it should feel like! Not that she didn't want what Cos was giving her, she did! But this was so different, no baggage, no transactions. She let Caroline roll on top of her, their bodies pressed together, her lips coming down to kiss her again. Fuckkkkk, yes. Thank you Abby! And she smiled inside at how much Abby had given her, hard and easy. This was easy. This was so easy.

"Okay," Caroline said, rolling off of her, out of breath. "That was #2. What's the third thing?" She didn't know if she could take another thing.

Emily caught her breath, staring at the ceiling, turning to stare at Caroline's face. "Complicit. It gets weirder." She explained what had happened to her, watching Caroline's expressions shifting from incredulity to shock to disbelief again.

"No. Fucking. Way." She'd brought her hands up to her mouth, her eyes staring at Emily's. "Holy fuck, Em. Holy holy fuck."

Emily didn't know what to say. Was she worried about it happening to her? Was she worried I'll know when she and Bobby are fucking? Was she worried I'd be thinking about someone else while we're doing it? "You're worried, C. What are you worried about?" She rubbed her hands along Caroline's arm.

"It's. It's not possible. That's like...telepathy or something, right? That can't be p..pp...possible!"

Caroline never stuttered unless she was freaking out. Em hadn't heard her stutter since the 9th grade dance recital. "It's okay, it's okay, C. Yeah. It's like telepathy I guess. But seriously, it's just as weird as three of us seeing what was going to happen tonight, right? Or the way it makes us do shit, yeah? It's not that different is it?" But Emily didn't think it was the same at all, and would totally understand if Caroline wanted to debate the idea. Was there something else going on? "Talk to me Caroline. What's the real problem here?"

Her friend just stared at her, gears turning, trying to formulate a coherent thought. It was mind-blowing. It meant that all sorts of things she believed were true weren't, or were only part of the story, or...she couldn't wrap her head around this latest symptom. Symptom, that's how she'd been thinking about it. They had been infected by Complicit and one of the symptoms was losing inhibitions. Another was the hallucinations, which she didn't have but tots believed Steph and Em. But now...telepathy. "It's just...it's just too hard to believe, Em. I...okay. Okay." She took a few calming breaths. "Okay. I'm going to just believe you, and I don't know what it means." She looked over at the closet. "Does anyone else know?"

Em shook her head. "I haven't told anyone, but..." She thought about Jamie. "There's another thing. Well, a half-thing, I guess. Jamie's gotten it, right?" She looked at Caroline to confirm she knew that. "Right, but she's not only seeing things, she's drawing them up." She hesitated before telling her the next thing. "She and Naomi. They're going to hook up. Tonight." She crunched her lips over her teeth and nodded, unblinking into Caroline's eyes while she absorbed this news.

"Oh my fucking lord," Caroline rolled back to stare at the ceiling. "What the fuck is Complicit doing? Jamie? And she's okay with that? Jamie?"

Emily retold the conversation they'd had earlier. "I know. I'm...like what kind of secret life has she been leading?"

They both jumped at the knock on the door, Naomi opening it. "Hey you two, you joining us or what?" She was smiling knowingly, a glint in her eye. "And, you got that set handy?"

Emily barked a sharp laugh and sat up, reaching down to slide out the set. "Be my guest. We'll be in in a minute." She turned to Caroline. "I...I...I guess I'm just going to rip off the bandage and go in there au naturel." She waited for a reaction. "Or should I do it later?"

Caroline just smiled, taking another swig of her beer. "We're all going to be naked in a minute, so what difference does it make, right?"

But Emily wavered. "Let's just go. You're right. It'll happen soon enough." She rocked onto her feet, adjusted the bunnytail, self-conscious at how it pushed out her pants and before she could think about it anymore walked to the closet, pressing the latch. The door rolled aside.

"There they are!" Allison had looked up at the movement, stopping mid-step in her examination of a top.

Em watched her eyes scanning between Caroline and herself, her eyebrows raised. Sarah had stopped her picking and turned to look as well, her face a bright smile, more lit up than Em ever remembered seeing it.

Caroline ignored the unspoken questions, claiming her space in the room, taking stock of the piles. She saw her bag hadn't yet been emptied and busied herself in spreading her donation onto the pile.

Em's eyes darted to the purple shorts that tumbled from Caroline's contribution. "Are those yours?" she asked, directing attention away from the two of them.

Caroline looked up and followed Em's glance to the purple shorts, laughing. "Yeah. From like a million years ago. They don't come close to fitting me."

Em looked over at Naomi to see if she'd noticed them yet, but she was busy with something else. Em could see the bump of the fox tail under her shorts; she shook her head and continued to hunt through the clothes.

To anyone watching, it looked like chaos: seven young women pulling items out of a pile of random clothes, tossing some aside onto a pile they were considering, holding items up against their bodies, tossing discards back into the pile. One might turn to another for an opinion, and offer an opinion in return, the couple splitting up to continue the hunt. Seven smallish piles were rapidly becoming one large pile with seven very tiny piles off to the sides.

Naomi was first to actually try something on, Em noted, and of course she didn't have a bra on, her beautiful breasts flashing while she pulled a gingham button down onto her arms. She didn't bother to button it before she pulled it back off, tossing it onto the pile. And then she didn't bother putting anything on to cover herself, her breasts hanging down as she bent over to find something else.

Em noticed Allison, momentarily distracted by Naomi, commenting to Sarah but not stopping her own search, and Steph was walking all around the pile, her eyes darting to Jamie as often as they were to the clothes. At one point she leaned against the wall, her eyes closed, her hands in prayer. Em thought she could see Steph's body trembling, struggling against Complicit. The fragrance was everywhere, even though she'd closed the cabinet earlier, her thoughts returning to what it had done to her. She wondered what being exposed to it as much as she had might mean. What else might it do to her? She looked at her friends. And them!

A bright yellow pair of slacks caught her attention and she pulled it out of the pile, turning to Caroline with a silent lift of her eyebrows. Her friend, distracted by three different blouses, took a moment to look up and nodded her head, her eyes lighting up. "Definitely, Em. That's definitely you."

Em thought she remembered these on Sarah, and she wondered if they'd really fit, their two builds similar but not the same. Sarah's legs were about as long, but her hips were much smaller. She set them aside and looked for a top that would work. As she picked through the pile she discovered a cluster of bras, all different, some sports, some lacy. "Naomi?" She held one up and turned to look where her friend was contemplating a skimpy bathing suit.

Naomi looked up, still topless, her hands holding the small triangles against her breasts and nodded. "Yeah. A bunch of bras from last year. Barely wore any of those. Don't know who they might fit," she looked around, stopping at Jamie, glancing at Caroline and Allison, "but they never quite felt right on me." She shrugged, dropping the suit top to unsnap her jeans.

Em just shook her head, seeing that Naomi was unfazed about what she was about to reveal to the rest of the room. Everyone else appeared to be focused on their own hunt, but Em could tell they were keeping tabs on what the others were doing. And then Naomi was naked, her body so well proportioned, her lack of self-consciousness reducing Emily's anxiety.

"What is that, Naomi?!" Allison, standing by the table, one arm resting on her small cache of clothes, the other pointing.

"It's my fox tail. Pretty sweet, hunh?" She turned to model it for everyone else, poking her buns toward the room, bending over to make them seem larger, wagging her legs to toss the tail back and forth..

Em stared at their reactions: Caroline non-plussed, Steph paying attention, smiling at Naomi's brashness, Jamie mildly amused having seen it before. Sarah and Allison were the most curious, casting looks back and forth as if sharing a secret. And then she caught Naomi's eye and saw her friend was about to say something, Em's tiny shake of her head stopping her. Naomi shrugged, unsnapped the tail and continued trying on the suit bottoms.

Naomi's lack of self-consciousness had broken the ice: Caroline, peeling her blouse off, her bra bright against her skin, focused on a fuchsia knit top; Jamie shimmying out of her jeans, her powder-blue panties sliding half-way down her bottom (Em noticed Sarah stopping to look, whispering something to Allison who, surprised, turned to watch) before she pulled them back up; Sarah turning away for a moment to peel off her shirt, her shoulders and back naked, Allison' eyes drifting down her front, pausing to watch her wriggle into a tube top; and even Steph, quickly unbuttoning her button-down, stripping it off one arm while diving into a turtleneck. She'd exposed her chest for less than two seconds, Em estimated, demonstrating years of practice.

Em returned to her hunt to make an ensemble with the yellow slacks, darting into the pile to snatch a light weight pale plaid shirt. Holding the two together she saw it would work. Just the right weight for early fall, imagining the colors working with a landscape of autumn leaves. She took a breath and peeled off her clothes, feeling the hem of her sweatpants catching on the bunnytail momentarily before they dropped, letting her step out of them.

It was Steph who reacted first, gasping loud enough for everyone to look up. "Em?"

The others stopped and looked, Naomi smiling wickedly, Caroline's expression supportive, Jamie shaking her head slightly, as if annoyed by how childish everyone seemed to be acting, and again, Sarah and Allison exchanging glances.

"Hey, Em. I didn't know you were into bunny play!" Allison, always looking to tease.

The tendril shot like a rocket into her head, her being called out, her humiliation, her struggle to fight it, the sheer panic at what she had to say to break Complicit's hold on her. She couldn't pull of the nonchalance that Naomi had demonstrated, but she turned her bottom to face the others, slowly bending over, resting her hands on her knees. "Yeah," she said as loudly as she could, but it sounded like a whisper, "Remember about my being a servant cunt? Cos has insisted I show this off to you all tonight." Her eyes were filling with tears as she cursed herself for doing it, even as her shame flooded her insides, the tendril falling just as fast as it had risen.

She jumped at the touch of someone's hand on her back, turning to see Caroline had stepped over, lightly rubbing her. "You're such a fucking freak," she said softly, smiling encouragingly.

Em bent back up, tears wetting her cheeks and leaned over to let Caroline embrace her, the knit top soft against her skin. And then they were kissing. She melted into her friend's arms, ignoring whatever the others were thinking, to immerse herself in the sheer joy of Caroline's lips. When they pulled apart, the rest of the room finally came into her consciousness.

"Save it for the bedroom you two!" Allison jeering, a tinge of envy in her voice.

Em turned to look at them, the joy she'd felt combining with bravado and the fading embarrassment of the bunny tail. It was Steph's face that she settled on, smiling at her with such sincerity she couldn't pull herself away. She blinked a silent thank you to her and told everyone else to fuck off as she turned her attention back to the outfit she was putting together.

Their 'coming out' had further loosened the rest of the group; that and all of the alcohol. Em noticed the bottles Steph and Naomi had brought up were dwindling. And Complicit. She left The Study to look at herself in the bathroom mirror and when she'd returned, everyone was exactly as she had seen it. No one had a stitch of clothing on, each continuing to try things, comparing notes, asking opinions, but without any apparent self-consciousness. Allison's figure, the most curvaceous of the group, stood out next to Sarah's lean musculature; Steph, pale and thin, nervous about being exposed, comparing notes with Jamie, also pale, also thin, but different, more tone, her breasts perky, her glutes tight. She stripped off the outfit and threw it into her bedroom definitely a keeper turning to meet Caroline at the cabinet where she was taking a swig from one of the bottles.