by Mary Jaine
A couple of days after classes resumed, I was in the cafeteria when Jane caught my eye. She was sitting alone at a table. She rolled her eyes to indicate the empty chair opposite her, so I casually sauntered over and plonked my tray on the table, dumped my books and sat down. Jane didn't waste any time getting to the point.
"Have you thought about what we discussed before Easter?"
I nodded, and Jane also nodded, watching me carefully in silence for a little longer than I was comfortable with, then seemed to come to a decision.
"Alright, I know some people who may be able to help you. Don't ask me any questions, Nim, because I'll just have to lie to you; just accept I know what I'm doing. I have to make a few calls, and you'll be hearing from someone soon enough, just be patient, got it?"
I nodded again, for the first time wondering just what I was getting myself into.
Jane nodded her head slowly, never once breaking eye contact, then leaned closer, her voice barely audible over the noise and clatter of the cafeteria.
"If you're having second thoughts, Nim, now's the time; I don't feel like wasting my time if you're going to get cold feet. Are you absolutely sure about this? Because this isn't kiss the boys and run away, or spin the bottle; real people are involved, and getting involved means going all the way; are you still sure this is what you want?"
I looked her back in the eye and nodded.
"Yes I am; I think he's worth it; you know him too, almost as well as I do; don't you think he's worth it? I've tried it my way; I couldn't get it to happen. Now I think I have to try it your way."
Jane smiled and reached over to pat me on my wrist.
"Okay, as long as you're sure. I think you'll be alright. The first time I did this with Greg I was scared, but I shouldn't have been; the people we're talking about here need to be careful, but they're good people, and they know what they're doing; they'll look after you and make sure you're safe and it's something you're completely happy doing. Trust me, Nim, I know you'll enjoy it. And, just for the record, Greg and I are still together, in secret, of course, but when I've qualified, we're going away somewhere where we can be together and safe; maybe you need to make plans as well. You know I think Rowan is a hottie, too; much as I love my Greggie, I'm feeling quite jealous of you right now!"
*
And that, pretty much, was that, at least for several weeks; June was part-way through when I finally got a call early one Saturday morning regarding that odd conversation I'd had with Jane way back in April. A woman who introduced herself as 'Sylvie' said that I'd been referred to her by a mutual acquaintance for inclusion in a special weekend gathering of 'like-minded individuals'; I assumed that was code for 'girls who want to fuck their big brothers'. Was I still interested? This was it. Of course I said yes, and that I would very much like to attend. 'Sylvie' told me that an invitation and instructions would be forthcoming, and rang-off. Now it was in motion, game on.
When I broached the subject about the weekend away to mum, she looked doubtful, but when Rowan said he was going along too, with the express intention of seeing I was safe and well-behaved, mum relented. So now we were set. While I waited on the date, I dialled-back a little on the flaunting and revealing clothes; no need to make it too obvious, not now I had him on the hook; all that was left was to reel him in, which our weekend away together should do quite nicely.
The morning finally arrived; I'd just finished re-packing Rowan's clothes and replacing his habitual grunge with some dressy shirts and slacks, a couple of tennis shirts, and some decent shorts I'd bought him without his knowledge, when I heard him calling me from downstairs.
"Nim, Nimmie, could you come down here, please?"
I poked my head over the balustrade to find out what he wanted.
"What's up , Rowan, I'm busy!" I called down to him.
"Nim, there's a bloody great big limousine here for us; did you order a limo? I thought we were driving down!"
I grabbed his weekend case and dragged it downstairs, where he was waiting for me with a quizzical expression on his face.
"Nim, about this limo...?"
I patted his hand reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Rowan, it's all part of the weekend; the people who are having the weekender have sent it; it's not costing us a penny! Now be a poppet and help me take these cases out!"
He looked at me with that expression he gets when he can't quite believe what I've just said.
"Poppet...?" he murmured, but took hold of both cases and lugged them out to the car, a huge black limousine with very dark privacy glazing. As the driver, a large, square man in a black suit and sunglasses stowed the cases in the boot, Rowan gave me that look again.
"Nim, who are these people, where's their house, and how do you know them?"
Okay, this was it, engage 'lie-mode'...
"The girl whose party it is, Sylvie, is an old friend of Jane's; you know, my oldest friend Jane?" Okay, so that much, at least, is true...
He nodded, grinning, a faraway look in his eyes.
"Yeah, Jane with the big eyes and nice tits; oh yeah, I remember her, alright!"
I punched him lightly on the arm, secretly pleased he was buying this.
"Get your mind out of the gutter and listen! Jane asked me to come along, and as I sort of knew Sylvie anyway, I squared it with her; she was lovely about it, she was actually going to invite me anyway, but felt she didn't know me well enough to ask me outright, so when Jane asked me along, she was fine with it. That's it, Rowan, now you know, the girl's jungle telegraph is still alive and well!"
So not too many outright fat lies, and just enough half-truths to keep him off the scent; besides, I'd talked to Sylvie, so I did 'sort of' know her...
Rowan accepted my explanation, and bowed me into the car, a smirk on his face, and instinctively put his arm around my shoulder as I slid into the deeply-upholstered bench seat next to him. The driver slammed the door, and it was then I realised the privacy glass was opaque in both directions; all we could see outside were vague, blurry shapes. As the limo pulled away, the driver activated the privacy screen, another opaque piece of glass, and we were completely isolated in a blacked-out car going God knows where. I had a few qualms, but I trusted Jane, and Sylvie had seemed genuine, and Jane obviously trusted her, so I tried to relax.
* * *
Part 3: Rowan
And now I was walking arm-in-arm with Nim thorough this place we'd arrived at, after endless hours of travel in a blacked-out limousine, and it was an almost surreal experience. Everywhere I looked there was rich, tasteful décor: wide, elegant, richly carpeted corridors with high, intricately coved ceilings, and Regency striped walls with niches containing ornate antique clocks or statues, hung with huge paintings of hunting scenes or fanciful shepherdesses, and long and dizzying flights of stairs that led to more corridors, and yet more staircases, until Nim was completely disorientated.
I wasn't, but I was staggered at the size of this place; just where the hell were we? Gigantic, empty stately homes, route marches through what felt like miles of corridors, large, anonymous men in black wearing radio earwigs, and all done in complete silence; the gorilla leading us refused to answer any questions, and the sound of our voices disappeared into the echoing silence as we trudged along. Now I was spooked, and one question kept squirreling around in my head: just what the hell had we gotten ourselves into, and how the hell were we going to get out of it?
Nim was starting to look apprehensive, and I wasn't far behind her, when we stopped in front of a pair of large double-doors. At some unseen signal the doors swung open silently, and there, at last, were other people, young people, couples, eyeing us curiously as the men in black ushered us into the room, then stepped back as the doors swung closed just as silently. The slight lull in the buzz of conversation dissipated as a myriad of conversations started up again, and Nim and I looked around the room, wondering what happened next; at least, I was.
I noticed she was looking a lo
t more chipper now that we'd arrived; her smile was back, and she was relaxing. I wasn't so ready to back-down just yet; for all that Nim had been invited here for the weekend, there had been no greeting, no introduction from the hosts, whoever he, she, or they were, just this collection of young couples, none of whom seemed to know each other, from what I could gather from the snatches of conversation I overheard. What exactly was going on here?
I scanned the room, looking for Jane; Nim had said she was also invited, but I couldn't see her anywhere, and I was just about to ask Nim about her friend when the doors opened again, and another couple came in, but what a couple! He was tall, about my age, very good-looking, and obviously well built, with piercing blue eyes and a mop of black hair; the girl with him was something else, though; tall, slender and graceful, with a mass of long, jet-black hair, stunning, deep blue eyes, and pale, clear skin.
Nimmie aside, she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, and she was obviously having the same effect on every other male in the room, judging by the soft ripple of indrawn breath from every male present. I was in love with Nimmie, of that I had no doubts at all, but if I couldn't have her, I'd have settled for the new girl without a moment's hesitation. She and the guy with her were obviously brother and sister, and with that realisation came another; every couple here resembled each other; they were all brothers and sisters, just like Nim and me. Once again that thread of disquiet fluttered in me; just what the hell was going on here?
The set of double doors at the other end of the room opened, and three people came in, two girls and a man a few years older than me. They were also obviously family, and the room silenced as everyone took them in, two beautiful girls with long, gold-threaded red hair, dressed in the most revealing cat-suits I'd ever seen, slit from ankle to hip on the legs and with wide, plunging necklines that continued almost to their crotches, and a guy I assumed to be their older brother. The older of the girls smiled at everyone, and began speaking.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending our little gathering. It's good to see so many of you here; we shall strive to make your weekend a memorable one!"
The way she emphasised the word 'memorable', with a small, knowing smile, made me wonder what she meant, but I said nothing as she continued speaking.
"You may be wondering why you are here, but by the end of the weekend, all your questions will have been more than satisfactorily answered, of that you can be certain! My name is Sylvie, and this is my younger sister, Robyn, and my older brother Evan; we are your hosts for the weekend, welcome to our home!"
While she'd been talking, the other girl had been circulating through the crowd, saying something to each girl, who'd smiled, nodded, and left her brother to go stand by the closed double doors. When she came up to us and whispered something to Nim, she did the same, flashing me a smile and patting my arm before joining the other girls before I could object. What the hell?
When all the girls had gathered by the doors, they swung open, and the girl Sylvie turned back to once more address all us guys standing there with our mouths hanging open.
"Gentlemen, as you've no doubt been made aware, this is a special weekend, and the ladies have made a special effort as regards their...attire for the festivities to come, so if you will excuse them, they will have to leave for a short while, to get ready to look their best for you. Please, there are refreshments, I invite you to help yourselves, we won't be gone long. Until later, gentlemen!" With that, the doors swung open and all the girls filed out behind Robyn, Evan and Sylvie bringing up the rear, and the doors clicked shut behind them. Nim looked back and flashed me a warm smile, reassuring me, but I still didn't feel good about this whole thing; we were here in a huge, rambling house, God knows where, completely at the mercy of God knows who, and now she'd gone off with a bunch of strangers; to say I was uneasy would be to understate things considerably, but it was too late; she'd gone, and I had to trust that she'd be back soon, because I had a bad feeling about this whole thing, and I wasn't alone in that; from what I could hear around me, most of the other guys weren't too happy about what had just happened either.
There was nothing I could do about it, and to be honest, Nim hadn't looked too worried; if anything, she'd looked delighted and excited, so maybe she knew something I didn't. However, as time passed, I began to get more and more jittery; something was wrong here, very wrong; what kind of hosts split up their guests and disappeared with one half of the; why all the security; and just who were these people anyway? How did Nimmie know people with this kind of wealth? We were just ordinary people, from ordinary backgrounds, and went to ordinary schools; we didn't have these kind of people in our address books, and this definitely wasn't the kind of social circle we moved in, so just how did Nim know someone like this 'Sylvie' person?
Questions like this occupied my mind while I listened with half an ear to the buzz of conversation going on around me. I had been right; every man here had been brought here by his younger siste; no-one knew anyone else, but all their sisters knew this 'Sylvie', if that was even her real name, so just what in the name of all fuck was going on here? I'd just about decided to try and get out of there and find Nimmie when the double doors swung open as noiselessly as before and Sylvie and Robyn entered, but now they looked totally different, oh God yes, but what a difference!
The two girls were dressed in identical outfits of contrasting colours; they were both wearing clinging mini-dresses, Sylvie in what looked like red latex, and Robyn in glossy black, with matching stiletto heels, with their hair in ponytails. They paused for a few seconds, then Sylvie spoke to us, but to be honest, I was too busy ogling those two stunning girls to pay much attention to what she was saying; that, and wondering where the hell Nim had disappeared to...
With an effort, I made myself pay attention; this might be important.
"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, you know how it is, sometimes it takes a little extra effort to make that bigger bang. The ladies are waiting to show you their chosen attire for the evening, so, if you please...the ladies!"
I tore my eyes away from Sylvie's neckline as the girls began filing back into the room and my breath caught in my throat; none of them was wearing anything more than a few scraps of lace, stockings, and high heels; the room was suddenly awash with nearly-naked girls, and then my jaw dropped; Nim, bringing-up the rear, dressed in the scantiest, most revealing garment I'd ever seen; a few strips of frilly lace, white stockings leaving the tops of her perfect, milky thighs bare, and oh no! I could see her nipples all the way across the room! It took a real effort to not stare at them, but when I finally tore my eyes away from her chest, I looked into the face of the most beautiful girl in the room, a golden-haired, green-eyed angel, and she was my sister, and she was almost naked, in a room full of strange men!
She walked up to me, a small smile on her face, her patented Nimmie 'I just put one over on you' smile of triumph, but all I could do was stare in disbelief; never, in all my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd see her like this for real, and, I'm ashamed to say, I kind of overreacted. She swayed up to me and stroked my chest lightly, and murmured:
"So, now you know; how do like this, Rowan? It's all for you, Roly, anything you want!"
I lost it; my beautiful little sister dressed like that, coming on to me, in front of strangers? I yanked my shirt off and bundled it around her, oblivious to her efforts to push me off.
"No, Rowan, don't, please, what are you doing, I just wanted...!" but I cut her off, basically shouting her down, overbearing her, and glaring at her while I covered up her nakedness. I made myself not listen, because I was mad at her for pulling this stunt, here, in front of strangers; mad at her, and even angrier at myself because I knew then that I wanted her, in the worst possible way, and I couldn't have her, no matter how much I wanted to hold her, and kiss her quivering lips, and fondle her body, that soft, stunning, perfect body. I knew, if I did that, then we'd be lost, it wou
ld be too late, and we'd never be able to fix it...
Somewhere in the background, one of the sisters was telling everyone why they were there, and the part of me that was listening felt a surge of horror, tinged with revulsion; this was some kind of incest club? How the hell did my kid sister know of things like this? Didn't she know how wrong this was? Oh my God, we were in a room full of brothers and sisters who were here to have sex with each other! I had to get her ou; I couldn't let this happen; supposing the police got wind of this? It didn't bear thinking about; all I knew was, I had to get my little sister out of this...this deviants' paradise, get her somewhere safe, then try and figure out how to get us home again.
Nimmie struggled against me. I could feel her trying to get away. She was crying, and that shocked me too; the last time I'd seen her cry was the day dad walked out, almost nine years earlier, and now here she was, held tightly in the circle of my arms, crying and struggling to get away from me. I let her go, still too confused and angry to understand fully what was going on here, and then the girl Robyn was there, her arm around my baby sister as she led her away, still crying bitterly.
"That could have gone better..." said a soft voice, and I spun around to see the brother (Evan?) looking at me sympathetically.
"I guess it wasn't exactly what you were expecting, eh?" he murmured, and I nodded, still not trusting myself to speak. Evan lifted an eyebrow as he took my arm.
"Go to her, Rowan. She really needs you now, and you need to try and fix things with her."
He looked at me closely, and shook his head slightly.
"Look, I understand how this came as a complete shock to you, but you need to look at her, too; all she wants is you. Look at all the trouble she went through to get you here. Don't tell me that was all just a whim or a prank; I saw you when you both came in, I saw how she looked at you, she's got you bad, and I can see it's not one-sided. Help her out now; go to her; that's what she needs."