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- The HEAT (Parts 1-4 of 8)
-
- 1
-
- On July 11th, the temperature in downtown Willyville topped 94
- degrees, a considerable jump from the high of 78 the previous day. The high
- pressure area that Bob Katt, the weather forcaster for TV station KNUT, had
- been predicting all week had finally arrived. The sun sat hot and brassy in
- a sky devoid of clouds. Bob Katt had predicted that the temperature would
- only increase for the rest of the week, at least. The heat wave had begun.
-
- Three days later the temperature broke 100 and everybody knew the heat
- was here to stay. The air was hot and heavy. Those unfortunate enough to be
- working outside or without benefit of air conditioning groaned and cursed
- the sun, giver of all life and bringer of all misery.
-
- Skin became a much more common sight as uncomfortable humans stripped
- down to the bare neccessities, if not farther, in search of some relief. As
- clothes fell away, so did inhibitions as the human, the horniest animal on
- earth (who was actually capable of becoming sexually aroused at the mere
- sight of the uncovered body of a fellow human of the preferred sex! Imagine
- that!) began to follow the urges that nature had imbued them and that they
- themselves had honed to a fine and wonderous art.
-
- In other words, once the night cooled off, they started fucking like
- rabbits.
-
- But human nature can be a two edged sword, and while one edge was
- sweet, the other was very bitter indeed. Hot weather and its attendant ills
- caused tempers to flare where they otherwise would have been held with
- discretion. Many great home truths, which had been considerately
- unmentioned by friends, lovers, relatives, etc., suddenly came out in full
- force with the expected arguments and fights following. Frustration at the
- endless discomfort caused human to strike out at fellow human in a futile
- substitute for lashing back at the true source of their aggravation, a safe
- 93 million miles out of reach. The local constabulary spent a great portion
- of their time quelling these arguments. Of course, being human and just as
- uncomfortable as everybody else, their tempers were somewhat shorter than
- they would normally have been, and guess who they took it out on? Quite a
- number of offenders made their way to the local lockup by way of the local
- emergency room.
-
- But all of this was simply human nature, and none of it was very
- serious, at least not on a grand scale. Civilization had survived much
- worse. But on a personal level some of the catastropies were very serious.
- Some lives were changed completely. One such person who'd had his life
- changed by the heat was Harold Sykes. And here's what happened...
-
-
-
- ---
-
- The moon poured in through the open window, flooding the bedroom with
- an eerie half light. The air was warm, a pleasant 75 degrees. Perfect
- temperature for nudity. Cindi settled back on the pillow with a satisfied
- sigh of pleasure not yet faded to memory. Harold still kneeled on the bed
- between her knees, his erection pounding almost painfully against his
- belly. The moonlight spilled across her nude, fluid form, and he lovingly
- eyed her firm, small breasts, still hard nippled in the aftermath of her
- orgasm. His eyes roamed down her smooth, taut belly to the wiry mass of her
- pubic hair, where he had but moments ago spent so much time carefully and
- artistically bringing her to a powerful climax. Whatever else you could say
- about his performance in the sack, he knew how to give head. It was one of
- the skills he was especially proud of.
-
- But enough wool-gathering (bad pun intended). Harold leaned forward,
- placing his hands on the bed on either side of her. He kissed her fully and
- deeply as he gently lowered his weight onto her. For a moment they simply
- lay there, as he savored the full body contact, the feel of her naked skin
- against his own. Then he raised his hips and she gently guided him into
- her.
-
- For Harold, at least, no sensation in the world could ever compare to
- the warm, slinky feeling of penetration. He thrust deep, and her hips moved
- in response. His excitement towered to new heights, and his balls ached for
- release. Take it slow, take it slow. He kissed her again and ran his hand
- along her side, from thigh to shoulder, feeling, touching, loving.
-
- He began to pump in a slow sinuous rhythem, her hips moving with his.
- Her legs raised and locked around his waist as her hands moved along his
- back. Her breathing became short and rapid, and Harold knew she was
- building to another orgasm. With each thrust, his own pleasure mounted to a
- new height until finally he poised, breathless, at the brink. Too soon, too
- soon...
-
-
- Too late. He cried out as his seed shot into the warm depths of her
- body. Face straining, he pumped again, one last time, trying to squeeze
- what last litle bit of feeling might be left after that almost painful
- explosion of pleasure. Then he collapsed on top of her, exhausted.
-
- For an endless time he lay, gathering strength. Finally it soaked into
- his sated conciousness that something was wrong. Cindi lay beneath him
- wooden, unmoving. He looked down into eyes that stared back with cold fury.
- "What- what's the matter?"
-
- The anger in her eyes flared as she placed her hands on his chest and
- pushed him off. Her strength was surprising, and Harold fairly flew against
- the wall by the bed. Blinking back stars, he looked at her in confusion.
-
- "God dammit!" she yelled.
-
- Frightened now, Harold could only gasp, "What... what..."
-
- "You didn't even try to make it last!" Hands on hips, her bare breasts
- jiggled fetchingly as she shouted. But Harold wasn't exactly fetched at the
- moment.
-
- "I sure did try! It's not my fault-"
-
- "The fuck it isn't! You don't even TRY!" she yelled, "Two pumps, a
- tickle, and a squirt and that's all you're ever good for! I'm sick of it!"
-
- What the fuck was this? It was hard to believe she had been so
- intimate and caring a minute before. Miss Jekyl had just turned into a
- raving Miss Hyde and Harold was far too stunned to properly defend himself.
- "You mean to say you haven't gotten any enjoyment out of tonight?"
-
- "Ha!" She was gathering her clothes and putting them on now. "Hasn't
- it ever occurred to you that I might get a little tired of being frigged
- and licked every single night? I want a MAN, dammit! Not some little boy
- who shoots his wad five seconds after he gets his pants off!"
-
- He watched, unbelieving, as she stomped around the room. This was the
- woman he had been so in lust with the last few weeks? Was he really such a
- terrible lover? "Why are you doing this to me?"
-
- "You did it to yourself." she snapped. She was fully dressed by now.
- Shouldering her handbag, she turned to him. "I'm leaving now. Until you
- learn how to fuck, don't bother calling me." Her pretty features twisted
- into an ugly ironic smile, "Have a nice life."
-
- And then she left. Harold stared at the door a long time, his stomach
- churning along with his mind. Cindi had deliberately set about to hurt him
- in the worst way she possibly could. The only thought that kept running
- through his head was WHY?
-
- The sound of a car starting and pulling out floated in through the
- bedroom window. Somehow this sound seemed to bring reality back into focus
- and his mind started working again. With a snarl he jumped off the bed and
- ran to the window, throwing the curtains aside.
-
- He screamed something out the window, causing lights to come on all
- over the neighborhood: "YOU FUCKING BITCH!"
-
- He ducked back inside before anybody could see him, collapsing back on
- the bed. Nothing was resolved, and some painful issues would have to be
- dealt with in the near future.
-
- But he had to admit that, for the moment, he felt a little better.
-
-
-
-
- 2
-
- The days seemed to grow longer, and if possible, hotter. Bob Katt
- recieved the usual number of crank letters and calls demanding he do
- something about the heat. He even went so far as to run a videotape of an
- indian rain dance on his show. No such luck, and the local indian community
- inundated KNUT with calls demanding Bob's resignation for broadcasting
- racist material. A couple dozen even went so far as to picket the station's
- parking lot. It was noted by many that some of the placards bearing the
- station's call sign, the N and the U were transposed, though whether this
- was accidental or intentional was unclear. Bob was beginning to wonder if
- it was time for that long overdue vacation. The station manager wondered
- the same thing.
-
- The growing membership of the Willyville Nudist Society (formed
- somewhere around July 11th) petitioned the mayor's office to temporarily
- modify the laws against public indecency so as to allow the nudists to
- pursue their own version of 'personal freedom'. A story about it appeared
- in the local newspaper, and a day later the mayor's office recieved over a
- thousand anonymous letters in support of the petition. However, almost 80%
- of those letters were mimeographed in the same writing, unsigned, and sent
- without return addresses. Somebody had been very busy, indeed. There was no
- comment from the mayor's office about the whole situation. Rumor had it he
- had snuck out of town for a long overdue vacation...
-
-
- ---
-
- For Harold Sykes, the usual lunacy of Willyville passed over him
- without notice as his days stretched into a grey cloud of depression. At
- work he hardly spoke, and when he went home he drew the blinds and sat in
- the stifling heat staring at a blank wall. When he saw a pretty girl out on
- the street he would avert his eyes until she passed by. When his friends at
- work spoke to him he would always jump, as if jolted from some private
- world. When asked about his change of behavior, he would simply dismiss it
- as the aftermath of a breakup. But deep inside his heart ached and he spent
- long, sleepless nights wondering who Cindi might be with and what they
- might be doing and being certain that she was having a far, far better time
- now than she had ever had with him. His depression grew deeper and deeper
- and he knew that over the horizon lay only more dark clouds.
-
- The situation came to a head when Harold nearly throttled a co-worker
- for singing "Zipity-Doo-Da" one morning after announcing his engagement.
- After explaining to his supervisor (and the police officer) that he had
- been under a lot of stress lately, he was awarded with a two-week (unpaid)
- vacation and the advice to see a psychiatrist. Soon.
-
- Instead he sat at home, watching "Love Boat" reruns and drinking some
- horrible beer and lemonade concotion bottled in New Jersey. Masochism was
- the word of the day here.
-
- He was idly (and a bit drunkenly) trying to decide whether to use a
- sledgehammer or a shotgun on the TV set when the phone rang.
-
- The harsh, obnoxious sound grated in his ears, pulling him from the
- fantasy that enveloped him. A part of him begged to answer the phone, as
- usual, to see who would be calling. The rest of him said screw it, why
- bother?
-
- Finally, long ingrained habit won out. He lurched over to the phone
- and yanked the reciever off the cradle. Placing it to his mouth, he offered
- the most cheery greeting his jangled mind could come up with.
-
- "Go fuck yourself."
-
- There was moment's hesitation before a familiar male voice came out of
- the other end. "Harold! How ya doin'?"
-
- "Hi, Tom." Harold sighed. Tom was Harold's best friend and a devout
- hedonist, to boot. "I'm doing fine. Just don't feel like getting out much
- in this heat, is all."
-
- "Yeah, right." Tom said in a voice that made it perfectly clear he
- didn't believe a word of it. "Well, shit, man, you need to get out
- sometimes, before you start to grow cobwebs or something. And I got just
- the thing..."
-
- Harold silently groaned and rubbeed his temples. The only thing he
- wanted was to be left alone. One of Tom's 'just the thing' ideas was the
- last thing he needed right now. "Uh, look, maybe later-"
-
- "Later my ass!" The voice on the other end roared. "I know what
- happened. Kelly told me." Harold's eyes widened but he really wasn't
- surprised. He fully expected Cindi to blab to everyone who would sit still
- long enough to listen. He tried to imagine that Cindy was sitting in front
- of him instead of the TV and suddenly his hands fairly itched for that
- sledgehammer.
-
- Tom continued, "Shit, man, something like that would've killed me.
- Cindi has got to be the most twisted bitch I have ever heard of. Nobody has
- a right to do that to somebody else."
-
- "Yeah, I ain't too happy about it either. But I can't do anything, so
- how about I call you later-"
-
- "I ain't done yet." Tom interrupted firmly. "You've got to get out of
- there and back into circulation. You stay in that dark house much longer,
- you're going to do something stupid." Harold felt a sudden shock. What had
- he been thinking? He had twelve payments to go on the TV yet. Suddenly the
- beer and lemonade in his stomach began to churn.
-
- "Look, Harold, I'm your buddy. It hurts me to see what she's done to
- you. I wanna help, and I think I know the best way to do it. There's a
- party going on Saturday afternoon at this place I know over in Squirrel
- Heights. Right off Wanker street. The whole gang's gonna be there, along
- with a bunch of other people I don't know. Lots of available girls, I hear.
- Hoping to add a couple to my collection myself. I think you ought to go
- with me. Keep me from getting in too much trouble."
-
- Harold's voice was thick as he struggled with his gorge. "I... I don't
- know..."
-
- "Aw, c'mon. I want you there. You don't have to do anything or talk to
- anybody if you don't want. Just soak up some rays and good feelings. I
- ain't heard of anybody going away from a West Side Party feeling bad."
-
- "Well..."
-
- "It's settled, then." Tom concluded, perhaps a bit prematurely. "I'll
- be by about noon Saturday, and you can ride with me. I know you don't
- drink, and I could use somebody sober to drive me home. If I go home at
- all. If not, you can use the car. Sound good?"
-
- Harold had his voice under control and was actually feeling a bit
- better. Tom's nonstop talking had distracted him from the full impact of
- the crisis, and his depression was beginning to lift a bit. "Sure, why not?
- Should I bring anything?"
-
- "Toothbrush and a change of shorts, maybe."
-
- They talked for a few more minutes and when Harold finally hung up, he
- felt immensely better. He had felt so alone not long ago. It was good to be
- reminded he had friends. Maybe with their help he could pull through this
- depression and come out a whole human being once again. But that was still
- a ways off.
-
- In the meantime, he tidied the house up. Lastly he came to the
- collection of bottles from his binge that morning. He was astonished to
- discover how much of that stuff he had drunk. Thinking about it reminded
- him just how awful the stuff really was. He hiccuped once and ran for the
- bathroom, hand over his mouth.
-
- He almost made it.
-
-
-
-
- 3
-
- The week wore on and Willyville got even hotter, if such a thing was
- possible. It also got weirder, and many had considered that impossible,
- too.
-
- During the daytime the streets were like that of a ghost town, as
- everybody remained inside with shades closed to beat the heat.
- Air-conditioners became the number one most stolen item in the city,
- beating out televisions by a wide margin. It made sense of a sort, after
- all, you don't even need to get inside the house to steal one. Many a
- homeowner returned from work in the evening to find a large hole in the
- wall where the family's most cherished appliance once rested and
- subsequently broke down in tears. However, the chief of police had a sudden
- brainstorm that guaranteed a quick end to this new and despicable crime
- wave. He promptly instructed all four hospitals in the Willyville area to
- inform the police of any emergency room cases involving hernias or slipped
- discs. When the anxious media questoned the chief of police on this new
- tactic, he simply replied that the results so far were "interesting".
-
- In other news, weather forcaster Bob Katt had been suspended for
- appearing on his show wearing boxer shorts, a tie, and nothing else. It
- seems the building's air-conditioning system had been stolen the previous
- night (an impressive feat in itself, considering that the compressor alone
- weighed half a ton) and Bob had refused to work in a suit in the stifling
- heat. So he had walked into the studio, dressed only in his skivvies, and
- up in front of the camera before any of the stunned studio crew could even
- think of stopping him. Of course, it would have been very bad form to yank
- him off the camera, so they simply let him do his broadcast. Once he was
- finished he was greeted by a purple faced station manager. Despite the
- indian pressure groups, Bob was still very popular in Willyville, so he was
- not fired on the spot.
-
- Instead, the station manager sent him on a long overdue vacation...
-
-
- ---
-
- Saturday dawned bright, clear, and warm (surprise, surprise!). Harold
- was up with the sun, mostly because he hadn't slept at all the previous
- night. His stomach was a tight little knot and his heart would not stop
- pounding. He was having second thoughts about the party. Harold Sykes had
- never been a party animal, and recent... events... had convinced him that
- he would be very wise to stay away from certain segments of the human race
- (read: female) for a long time to come. In fact, now that he thought about
- it, he was rather frightened of them. After all, if he couldn't keep Cindi
- happy, would he be able to keep any woman happy? And there would be lots of
- girls there, probably all laughing at him. Why go?
-
- Then he thought about his depression of the last couple weeks. Tom had
- a point: right or wrong, he had to do something.
-
- Tom came by at 2:30 and picked Harold up. As they drove over to
- Squirrel Heights, Tom did most of the talking. Harold had lapsed into a
- moody silence, soaking up Tom's words and saying almost something in
- return. If Tom noticed, he didn't show it as he kept up a steady monologue
- all the way to the house.
-
-
- The Squirrel Heights Boarding house was a dumpy three story affair
- sitting in front of about two acres of worn out farmland. The place was run
- by an aging ex-stockbroker named Michael Wilburn, who believed in free
- expression of everything and threw wild parties as often as the house's
- budget would allow. Some of the parties were solely for the house's
- inhabitants, but most of them were for whoever wanted to come. Booze and
- most kinds of drugs generally circulated freely, and Harold had heard
- rumors even more outrageous than that. All in all, it was pretty
- intimidating to an introvert like Harold, and as he stepped out of Tom's
- car and looked at the peeling gray mass of the boarding house looming over
- him, and the virtual sea of cars surrounding it, he knew he had made a
- mistake. He as much as said so to Tom, who ignored him completely.
-
- The affair was already in progress, as he discovered when Tom led him
- around the back of the house. There must have been almost a hundred people
- there, engaged in all manner of outdoor activities. People everywhere,
- talking, yelling, running, horsing around, just generally having a good
- time. A table had been set up by the back door, and there was somebody
- serving booze and food to an endlessly regenerating queue.
-
- Harold looked around and noticed that Tom had abandoned him and was
- nowhere in sight. For an instant he almost panicked and yelled for Tom,
- then his rational mind took over. What's your problem? it said. You're an
- adult, you don't need a keeper.
-
- So Harold decided to walk around and see what he could see.
-
- In one corner a net had been set up for a vollyball game. There was a
- team on each side, if a pushing, laughing, staggering group of people could
- be called a team. Harold stood off to one side with a small group of
- spectators and watched. All of a sudden his attention had been captured by
- one particular member of one team.
-
- She wasn't tall, maybe five seven or so, buxom, and maybe a few pounds
- overweight. Which, as far as Harold was concerned, made her all the more
- nicely rounded. Her hair was blonde and fell down past her shoulders. Her
- face was pretty, but not spectacularly so. What had really caught Harold's
- attention was what she was wearing, or, more to the point, not wearing. She
- was dressed in frayed cutoff jeans that were so tight they had split along
- the sides halfway up her hips, and a string bikini top that struggled
- valiantly to hold up under the weight of enormous breasts. Harold glanced
- around and saw that she had the attention of pretty much every man in the
- crowd.
-
- His heart fluttered as he watched her move, and he couldn't help but
- wonder what it would be like to take her to bed. He imagined her long hair
- spread out over the pillow, glimmering faintly in the moonlight, those
- magnificent breasts moving in slow liquid motion as she arched her back in
- sheer pleasure, her frenzied gasps as she reached a sudden and powerful
- orgasm...
-
- Harold shook his head to clear it. Get real, he told himself. Someone
- like that certainly already has a boyfriend, and even if she didn't, why
- should she be interested in somebody like him? He turned around and began
- to make his way back towards the house.
-
- Sudden catcalls and whistles made him turn around again. She was
- sitting on the grass, apparently having just fallen. When she landed, the
- overburdened top string of her bikini had given way, exposing her for all
- the world to see.
-
- He could not help but stare. Her nipples stood out hard, the aurioles
- colored light rose pink. He ached to take them in his mouth, to feel their
- soft but firm weight in his hands. Then he looked up and saw she was
- staring directly at him.
-
- He locked eyes with her and suddenly his face turned beet red. Why, he
- didn't know, because surely every other male here was staring and thinking
- the same thoughts. She made no move to cover herself, she just sat there,
- challenging him with her gaze.
-
- Finally, Harold turned and pushed his way through the crowd. His heart
- was pounding in his ears and his balls, denied their release, ached
- miserably. He still had a raging hard-on and kept his hands in his pockets
- to conceal it. He felt sick, and ashamed. And he wanted to leave this
- instant.
-
- But that stare kept coming back to him. On reflection, he felt there
- was more than just a challenge in her eyes. What, he didn't know, but he
- somehow knew it. It was almost as if a spark had passed between them.
- Undoubtedly it was just his overworked imagination, but...
-
- He felt as if she wanted him, too.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 4
-
- Day gave way to night, as days usually do, and slowly Willyville began
- to cool off. People moved out of their stifling houses (except for those
- who hadn't had their air-conditioning stolen yet) and into their back
- yards. They brought TV trays, TV's, barbecues, bedrolls, and just generally
- prepared to enjoy the night in relative coolness.
-
- All over Willyville the night was alive with the sound of voices,
- televisions, stereos, lustful moans and the other noises of humans enjoying
- themselves outdoors. With one exception. In Squirrel Heights, all was
- quiet. The place seemed deserted, in fact. Virtually all human life in the
- area had gravitated to one spot. At the Squirrel Heights boarding house,
- when night fell, the real party began...
-
-
- ---
-
- Harold Sykes hadn't left the party like he planned, although he came
- awful damn close to doing so when he spotted Cindi in the crowd. But, in
- the end, the thought of going back to his lonely, empty, stuffy house was
- just too much. So instead he wandered around the yard, just watching the
- extraordinary panorama of human activity taking place before him.
-
- Eventually he found a peaceful spot on the back porch where he just
- sat and watched the sun set. Tom came by and asked him how he was doing.
-
- "Better." sighed Harold, "I really feel better."
-
- Tom gave him a wink. "You may be feeling better than that before the
- night's over, old buddy." and sauntered off before Harold could say
- anything.
-
- Now what was that supposed to mean?
-
-
- As it got dark, the party outside thinned out. A few left, spinning
- their wheels in the gravel lot out front, but most just went inside the
- house. Probably gonna booze it up good, Harold thought, Although it looked
- to him like they had been boozing more than adequetely already. Harold
- didn't feel like drinking very much, especially after his binge the other
- day. Drugs didn't hold much of an attraction for him, either. Just sitting
- there, alone with his thoughts, seemed to do quite a bit for him.
-
- Eventually he awoke from his musings and was startled to find he was
- alone. With a sigh he got up and went in through the back door.
-
- The back hallway was unlit. There was the low murmur of voices and
- music coming from somewhere ahead. He could make out dim light from around
- a corner in the distance. Cautiously he made his way down the hallway,
- hoping nothing solid was in the way of his shins.
-
- Eventually he made his way to the light, and when he turned the corner
- he recieved the shock of his life.
-
- The front room was spacious and poorly lit. But the light was more
- than adequete for Harold to see what was going on. There was about twenty
- to thirty people sprawled about the room, all naked, contorted in every
- kind of sexual position imaginable. And a couple that weren't imaginable.
-
- Harold could only stare dumbly. The floor was almost lost amongst the
- moving, writhing bodies. There were six people on the couch, in some
- bizarre group contortion that made them look like something from another
- planet. One man sat moaning softly in an easy chair with a hard-on that
- Harold would have sworn was twelve inches long, at least. He watched in
- total amazement as all twelve inches dissappeared into the mouth of the
- co-ed sitting on the floor between the man's feet.
-
- The blonde he had seen earlier was conspicuously absent.
-
- He heard creaking above him, and he looked up. In the rafters, some
- twelve feet above, a rope and pully setup had been arranged with a large
- wicker basket. Three people were in the basket, which swung back and forth
- alarmingly. Harold quickly moved several feet over, out from under the
- setup.
-
- His head was spinning. His experience with sex had always been
- limited, and now he was confronted with a full-fledged orgy. It was too
- much. He didn't want any part of this. All he wanted was out.
- Watching his step carefully, he made his way for the nearest door. He
- was almost there when he saw the one thing he *knew* he didn't want to
- see.
-
- There was a clear spot at the far end of the room. Only two people
- were there, a man flat on his back with a woman sitting astride his hips,
- moving up and down in sensuous rhythem. He didn't know who the guy was but
- he knew the girl. Cindi. Pain that had been mercifully submerged now rose
- to stab arrowlike into his guts. Cindi turned her head at that instant and
- their eyes met. Instant recognition and something spiteful and unpleasant
- glittered in her eyes for a brief second, and then she turned her attention
- back to what she was doing. Her movements became more frantic, and her
- moans much louder, exaggerating as much as possible.
-
- Her parting words rang in his mind: "I want a man, dammit!" Well,
- fine. All Harold wanted was out. He averted his eyes and ran blindly
- towards the closest exit. He stumbled over one couple on the way (startling
- them into a premature orgasm) and mumbled apologies as he kept going.
-
- Then he was in a hallway, but not the one he had come from. Doors
- lined the hall on both sides. He grabbed one and pulled it open, only to be
- rewarded with several outraged yells. Redfaced and near tears from
- embarassment, he pulled the door shut and looked around desperately. And
- empty room, anything, just so he could get out of sight and get his
- thoughts together. If he didn't do it quick, he feared he might lost his
- mind. He had to get away, somehow!
-
- There, at the end of the hall. An open door, the room dark within. He
- paused at the doorway for a second, but could detect no movement within.
- Empty, thank God! He slammed the door shut behind him and let the blackness
- envelop him as he sank to the floor with a hoarse sob. He lay in a heap for
- who knew how long before he finally calmed down.
-
- His heart gave a sudden leap as he somehow realized, in the total
- darkness, that that the room wasn't empty after all. After a long moment,
- he finally summoned up a weak voice. "Who's there?"
-
- There was a longer silence, and he almost began to hope he was alone
- after all, when a soft voice answered "Are you all right?"
-
- Fuck NO! I ain't all right, you stupid... But Harold controlled
- himself before replying, "I will be, eventually. In about fifty years or
- so." He hesitated before the next question, "Are you, um, alone?"
-
- "Yeah." she replied, "I just wanted to be by myself. I kinda outgrew
- the scene out front a long time ago. All the interesting guys already have
- somebody. There was one guy, but I think he went home or something."
-
- Harold got up, a little unsteadily "I'm sorry. Sorry I barged in on
- you. I'll leave now."
-
- "Please, don't." she said, "Unless you really need to. I think we
- could both use someone to talk to."
-
- Harold sat back down against the wall with a weary sigh. "Sure, why
- not?" After a silent moment, he continued, "Would you mind turning on a
- light? I'd like to see who I'm talking to."
-
- "Well," she began doubtfully, "you may feel more comfortable without
- the light, but if you insist..." There was a click and a flare of light
- exploded into his eyes, blinding him momentarily. When he could open his
- eyes, he recieved the last shock of a very long day.
-
- Standing by a lamp on the dresser was the blonde from the vollyball
- game, still dressed in the frayed shorts but minus the bikini top, which
- lay discarded on the bed. She had her eyes screwed shut against the light,
- opening them a moment later.
-
- "Oh! It's you!"
-