I Touch Myself

Leigh was feeling underdressed. The maitre'd didn't say anything to her--perhaps the restaurant didn't have an actual dress code, or perhaps she slipped by the standards; after all, she was wearing a dress she'd picked up on sale at Bloomingdale's. It wasn't like she was wearing cut-off jeans and a T-shirt. But walking into the restaurant and looking around, she felt suddenly certain that the average patron of the establishment (she was sure they didn't use words like "diner" here) probably had their dresses tailor-made. By their own private tailor. The maitre'd knew it too, and the look he gave her spoke volumes. He asked for her name, and she said, "Granville. Leigh Granville. I'm, um, with the 'Anne Merrick' party."

The maitre'd changed suddenly, like he'd had a switch flipped. "Of course, Ms. Granville," he said, his tone becoming honeyed with politeness. "Ms. Merrick is in the Lilac Room; Jacquez will take you there immediately." He snapped his fingers, and a Ricky Martin-esque waiter stepped forward with machine-like precision. He nodded to Leigh silently (she wondered if his salary got docked for speaking to the customers), and gestured. With a mental shrug, she followed.

She passed several tables of people having extremely elegant and expensive lunches; she passed senators dining on lobster and movie stars eating steaks. There was even a model or two in the mix, nibbling carefully on salads as though trying to work off the excess calories through the action of chewing. And she wondered what she was doing there.

Empirically, of course, she knew. She'd been invited by Anne. Five years of no contact at all, not since she'd moved in with Alec (and what a mistake, what a mistake that had been, the thought burst forth involuntarily. She beat it down.) She'd lost touch with a lot of her old friends when she moved in with Alec, but they'd all been so happy to see her get rid of the bastard that they'd come running to see her.

Except Anne. Nobody knew where Anne had gone... she'd just seemed to drift out of everyone's life. No forwarding address, not responding to emails, not in the phone book. No cards at Christmas, no invitations to weddings, no suspicious bodies dragged out of the Hudson River. Anne had vanished... until three days ago, when she'd called Leigh up with invitations to "catch up" at a restaurant so pricey and exclusive that Leigh was afraid of going bankrupt from even setting foot in it. And at a private room, to boot... God. Whatever Anne had been up to over five years, it had cashed in big time.

As they walked back into a long hallway with several doors, each named after a different color, Leigh mulled over the possibilities. Maybe she was one of the new 'dot-com' billionaires. Leigh never really remembered Anne as being a computer genius, but she did have a gift for marketing... perhaps she'd attached herself to some bright young man with a gift for ones and zeroes, and helped spin his product into the next 'Priceline.com'... no, wait. They were bankrupt. Well, one of the ones that was still solvent, then. Or perhaps she'd married money. No, she couldn't have. Not if she was still 'Anne Merrick'. Or maybe she kept her own name. Or maybe she was the kept woman of the Sultan of Oman, she berated herself sarcastically as they arrived at the Lilac Room. It was silly of her to try to come up with a theory before even seeing her... after all, that's what this meeting was for, wasn't it? To catch up?

She stepped through into the room, and the door closed behind her. Jacquez didn't come in. As soon as she took her first breath, she realized that the "Lilac" in the "Lilac Room" was more than just a reference to the color scheme; the air was filled with a thick, heady floral scent that reminded her of Easter mornings in her parents' backyard...

Anne was sitting at one end of a table for two, but otherwise the room was entirely empty. She looked... she looked fabulous, Leigh thought with a touch of jealousy. The two of them had always been able to turn men's heads, and Leigh had thought that she'd kept that touch fine (and the more Alec had belittled her, the prettier she'd tried to make herself, because she'd bought right into his claim that the reason he was sleeping around was because she couldn't attract a guy anymore... She beat that down.) But Anne looked as though she'd been spending days and nights at beauty salons and manicurists in order to hone her looks to a razor edge. The dress she was wearing didn't hurt either; it matched the lilac of the room perfectly, and showed enough flesh to make it seem as though she wasn't wearing much of anything at all. Leigh blushed, suddenly wanting to turn and run away.

Then Anne stood up, smiling brightly. "LEIGH!" she almost shrieked, heading over to her (and, Leigh noticed, balancing perfectly on spike heels). She enfolded Leigh in a tight hug, kissing her once on each cheek in a smear of bright red lipstick. "You look absolutely gorgeous, girl! Like you haven't aged a day in five years! You have got to tell me your secret!" And she virtually dragged Leigh to the table and into a chair.

Leigh smiled faintly, a bit lost for words. "Forget me," she said after a half-second pause. "Look at you! You look like you've just stepped off of the cover of Vogue, and you're telling me about my looks? You are too modest!"

Anne chuckled. "I'll tell you later... let's just say I've got a lot of incentive. Anyway, go ahead and have a glass of wine and tell me about what you have been doing for the past five years-- I'm just dying of curiosity!"

Leigh blushed again, this time for different reasons. She felt her cheeks tingling, and she gratefully poured herself a glass of wine. "Well, there's not really much to tell. You, um... you remember Alec?" she said, taking a sip.

"Of course," Anne said. "You know, it's not really my place to say, but he really wasn't good enough for you, Leigh."

Leigh snorted. "You can say that again. Alec turned out to be a very bad choice of boyfriend... he stole, he lied, he cheated, he pretty much ran the spectrum of country-music grievances." She sighed, and took another sip of wine. "And what was worst about it all, Anne, was that I bought into it for so long. I bought into all the crap he sold me, about how I wasn't pretty anymore, and I'd never find anyone else if I lost him, and..." she took another sip of wine. "I don't get it, Anne. I thought I was smarter than that."

"You're not dating him anymore; that's got to be worth something in your self-esteem scrapbook." She smiled. "How's the wine?"

With a start, Leigh realized she'd barely tasted it. Just sucked down half a glass of what was probably hellishly expensive wine without even thinking about it. She blushed again, blood rushing to her cheeks, and she felt the same sharp tingling... "It's, um, really good, Anne." She sighed. "Anyhow, I finally left Alec about a year ago; it took me nine months just to get my life back in order again." She finished the glass, trying to savor the taste this time. "But enough about me, please. Right now the last thing I want to think about is the disaster zone I've been dealing with. What about you, Oh Mystery Woman? The fancy outfits, the expensive restaurants--"

They were interrupted by the arrival of the soup, brought once again by Jacquez. He still didn't speak, but when he set the soup down in front of her, the look on his face made her realize that she still probably had a trace of Anne's lipstick on there. She quickly dabbed at it with a napkin, in hopes of at least blending it with the blush, before she tucked into the soup.

It was excellent-- not surprising, considering what it must have cost. It had a strong, spicy flavor... although with the thick scent of lilacs still in the room, it took on a bit of a different flavor. She finished the bowl quickly, then looked up at Anne. "OK. I've eaten the food, I've drank the drink, I think I deserve to find out what you've been up to, kiddo. Before I bust with curiosity."

Anne chuckled. "Well, after you moved out, I was kind of at a loose end... nothing to do and lots of time to do it in, which is a dangerous combination. Remember our trip to France?"

Leigh rolled her eyes. "I seem to recall that you spent most of it in the hotel, if that's what you're asking..."

Anne nodded. "Well, I was partying a lot, really honing my skills, as it were... that's what first attracted the attention of the Master to me." She shivered, once, strongly, then continued. "I was really lucky, Leigh; it's so rare of Him to take additions to His harem, but when He spotted me, He just couldn't resist!"

Leigh blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. She suddenly felt like she'd walked through the wrong door, into one of those horror movies where the director suddenly starts tilting the camera sideways to show how everything's gone insane. "The...Master?" she asked.

Anne shivered again. "Yes... my Master, Leigh." Another shiver. "He took me that night; put me under His spell, now and forever. I must obey His commands, for to please Him gives me the greatest of pleasure."

Leigh wasn't sure whether to run, or to reach across the table and slap some sense into her friend. "Anne, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I am a slavegirl, Leigh," Anne said in the kind of voice that was usually reserved for talking to very small children. "I've been a slavegirl for five years now, my will broken and my resistance shattered, living my entire life in dedicated service to the Master." She shivered again, and Leigh was startled to find herself shivering a little in sympathy. "I know you don't understand; that's why I asked you here."

Leigh's cheeks tingled again, this time all over. "What? Asked me here? To...why?"

Anne smiled. "Lunch is here, Leigh." Sure enough, Jacquez was bringing two plates of blackened chicken, with rice on the side. "Jacquez understands, Leigh," Anne said as he set the plates down. "Everyone in this restaurant serves the Master." Both Anne and Jacquez shivered, and Leigh found that the tingling in her cheeks grew stronger as she watched them. "Anyway-- you should eat. They do a very good chicken dish here."

Jacquez left, again without speaking, and Leigh found herself tucking into the food hungirly. The weirdness certainly hadn't affected her appetite; the chicken was excellent, but even spicier than the soup. She found herself longing for a glass of water, or even more of the wine...

Anne seemed affected too. "Ohhh," she said, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin, "I do so love the food here, Leigh. The heat of it is sooo...delicious..." and with that, she slipped her dress off, letting it fall to the floor. Leigh's eyes widened like saucers, but she wasn't even sure what to begin to say... or how to say it if she knew. The spicy sensation felt like it was burning up her whole body now.

"You'll cool down if you take your clothes off, Leigh," Anne said, gently rubbing a nipple. "It's part of the spell. The Master..." and this time, she brought her finger to her clit, darting to it once, quickly, "...he's enchanted the food. You'll have to take your clothes off if you want to feel comfortable again."

Leigh shook her head in disbelief. "Anne, I... what's going on? What is this?"

Anne smiled blissfully. "Isn't it obvious, Leigh? There's an opening in the harem. The Master," and she pleasured herself again, "wants you to fill the spot." She gasped once in excitement. "Isn't it wonderful, Leigh? He thinks you're worthy!"

"No, I... this makes no sense," Leigh responded, slipping her jacket off onto the chair. "I don't want this, Anne. You don't either. You're just... under His spell."

"I know, Leigh." Anne laughed softly, seductively. "I know I'm being made to like this through His control. But we're all conditioned somehow, Leigh. Society conditions us to want to be this weight, this height, wear this style of clothes, eat at McDonald's, watch Brad Pitt. It doesn't make those experiences any less pleasurable when we do them, does it?"

Leigh's hands were undoing the buttons of her blouse now, without her even realizing it. "But this is... different. He's conditioning you to be His complete slave! To have no life without Him! I just went through that with Alec, Anne. I hated myself."

"No, Leigh. This is different. I have a life outside of service to Him; I just have a center to my existence now. A joy that comes from being in His service." She looked into Leigh's eyes, earnestly, sincerely. "He cherishes me, Leigh. When I'm with him, I feel special because He thinks I'm worthy to serve Him. The very thought of Him is bliss; when I mention Him, I touch myself in ecstasy. Did Alec make you feel like that? Did anyone, ever, in your whole life make you feel like that? Because He will."

Leigh's bra was on the floor now. She wasn't sure how or when it had gotten there. "If He's so good, why is there an opening in his harem? One of the girls quit?"

Anne's face fell. "Maria was killed in a car accident. The Master..." a shiver this time, but no touch, as though she was too sad to, "...was inconsolable for days. We all were, Leigh; we're all sisters within the harem. You'll love it; you'll love us. For days on end, when He doesn't need us... we're allowed the joy of constant pleasure even when not serving Him."

Leigh tried to shake her head. "Nooo," she moaned, even as she slipped her panties off, "i...i can't do this, Anne, I'm not a slave..."

Jacquez entered again, carrying a small mint on a tray. He set it down in front of Leigh and left. "Alright, Leigh," Anne said, "you have a choice." She stood up and walked over to Leigh. "You can refuse to enter His service if you choose; He's not unreasonable." She brushed her hand against Leigh's breasts, and Leigh arched her back into the touch. "You can leave anytime you want, Leigh. Or, if you'd prefer, you can finish the meal. Each element of this experience, from the wine to the soup to the air in the room to the lipstick I was wearing, brought you further under His spell... tasting the mint will seal your service to Him forever." Her hands were running up and down Leigh's body now. "So if you want to leave, you'll need to do it now... because this is your only chance to turn back." ...touching her between her thighs... "But if you leave, you'll never be offered this chance to serve Him again, Leigh. Never again feel this pleasure..." ...caressing her everywhere now... "And really, of course, you can't fight it even now. You've gone too far to come back. You're already under His spell." Leigh was moaning loudly now. "He knows this. He's watching us. Watching you give in... to Him, the sight of your final struggles is an erotic symphony, Leigh, and you please Him both by struggling...and by giving in..." Leigh's eyes were half-closed now, and her breathing was coming in short gasps... "So please Him, Leigh. Give in. Obey. Submit...forever..." With a cry of ecstacy, Leigh grabbed the mint and pushed it into her mouth.

It melted... and under Anne's touch, so did Leigh...

THE END