GRIPPED (Romance Mystery & Suspense Box Set)

by Abbott, Alex

  By the time he had completely buried himself inside her she felt as though she might explode, though whether it be from passion or the mere size of the shaft now penetrating her most intimate parts, she didn’t know. She rocked her hips underneath him, matching his thrusts as best she could. She felt clumsy in comparison to him, but it didn’t matter. Everything else ceased to matter as she came for the first time.

  She didn’t notice anything after that for quite a few minutes. She didn’t notice that he had finished as well, or that he had pulled out. She was so lost in the afterglow of sex that nothing mattered. That is, nothing mattered until very suddenly there was another girl in the room with them.

  “Tommy?” the girl shouted incredulously. “Who the hell is that?”

  Unable to comprehend what was happening, Brooke quickly grabbed the sheets, pulling them around herself. It felt like she wasn’t living her own life anymore, but witnessing some sort of horrible nightmare.

  ***

  She awoke with a sudden start when she heard the door of her apartment swing open. Her heart began to race, filling with terror before she realized who it must be. Sara had an apartment key and had been planning on coming over. Sure enough, a second later she heard her friend calling her. “Brooke?”

  “Hold on just a minute!” Brooke called back. “I was just about to get out of the bath!”

  “Well hurry up,” Sara shouted back. “I’m getting excited.”

  “Of course you’re excited,” Brooke mumbled to herself as she pulled herself forward and then awkwardly into a standing position. She must have been out longer than she had thought as the water had gone cold, which only added to her feeling of numbness from inactivity. Shivering she reached for a towel to dry herself before getting out and pulling the stopper from the tub.

  As she dressed and dried her hair, she couldn’t help but think back on her dream. The details of it were slipping away, though it had been so vivid while she had been having it. She did her best to recall what it had been about, but all she had was the lingering feeling of heartache and nostalgia. Sighing, she realized that it would probably be best if she didn’t remember anyway; she didn’t need any more distractions. She just needed to do her best to make it through this night.

  Her hair was still a little damp as she finally exited the bathroom, but not enough so as to get any of her clothes wet. She grabbed a sweatshirt from her bedroom before resigning herself to sitting down with Sara and creating a profile for the ridiculous website.

  “About time,” Sara said as Brooke joined her at the computer desk. Brooke noticed that she had already pulled up an extra chair to sit in front of the desk so they could both see the screen. She had also brought the site up. Brooke sighed as the two of them got to work.

  They bickered almost nonstop through the process, but eventually they got her page up with the questionnaire filled out completely in its ridiculous entirety.

  Username: Miss Maudie

  Availability: Single/Looking for something simple

  Area: San Diego

  About Me: I’m 23, live in San Diego. Currently working as a waitress, but am hoping to move into something else soon. Live alone, no pets. I really like the outdoors, I spend a lots of time at the beach or out hiking.

  What I look for in a relationship: I’m mostly looking for someone who’s honest. No lies, no drama, I don’t like complications. I want a man who communicates efficiently and doesn’t play games.

  Likes: Books, reading, movies, the beach, music

  Dislikes: The cold, liars, seafood.

  Idea of a perfect date: Something short and simple. Not much for over the top gestures or excessive romance.

  Read more –

  Brooke stared blankly at the “Read More” button at the bottom of her profile in awe. She was finally done. She felt like she had been answering questions forever, and she couldn’t believe that all of that work was summarized on her page with just two little words. She blinked and looked over at the clock, groaning when she realized that it was almost 4:30 in the morning. No wonder she felt so tired. She couldn’t help but shake the feeling that this whole thing was some sort of surreal dream that she was likely to wake up from any minute, although deep down she knew better than that.

  “There, all done,” Sara beamed up at her and Brooke did her best to return the smile.

  “Great, can I go to bed now?”

  Sara’s smile turned to a scowl. “No silly, now we need to wait for a reply.”

  Brooke sighed and reached into the cooler her friend had brought, wishing that there was a cold beer for her instead of just these wine coolers. She could use something with a much, much higher alcohol content after the night she’d just had. Eventually Sara gave up on the idea that Brooke would find true love before she left the apartment.

  “I told you-” Brooke said again as Sara once more expressed her disappointment at having to go before she got a reply “Even in the few cases where these things do work, they take time. I’m probably not even going to get a response this week.”

  “I know, but I really really wanted to be here. I mean like really bad really.”

  Brooke tried to suppress a smile as she helped her friend collect her coat. Sara was quite obviously a bit drunk. “Do you need help calling a cab?”

  Sara shook her head. “Jason’s on his way. He’s gonna come get me.”

  Brooke nodded. Normally she’d offer to wait with her friend, but right now all she wanted was to get some peace and quiet. Sara turned to her on her way out the door. “Promise me that you’ll call me.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “When you get a reply, you need to call me right away.”

  “Yeah, okay.”

  After a few more promises to call and another hug, Sara was out of her apartment. Brooke sighed after she locked the door behind her, grateful to be alone. She was exhausted, and all she wanted was to get to bed. Still, as she walked through the living room towards her bedroom, she couldn’t help but take a glancing at her laptop.

  1 New Message.

  ***

  She hated herself in that moment when a little bit of excitement crept up into her heart. She couldn’t believe that she had gotten excited, didn’t want to get sucked in even for a second. She hated even more the growing sense of curiosity at the message. She thought it wouldn’t hurt to take a quick look. One look, and then bed, she decided.

  She took a deep breath, trying to abate the nervousness that suddenly plagued her and sat down in the computer chair.

  Atticus Finch: Hey, I know this sounds sort of cheesy, but I feel almost like I know you from somewhere. Never been to San Diego though or anything, you just sound a lot like someone I used to know. You seem honest. You’re who I’m looking for, and I don’t want to play games either. Message me back.

  Brooke couldn’t explain it, but reading that last sentence felt more like a command than a request, and something about it made her knees weak. She shook it off, assuming it was just because she was tired. Normally if a man commanded her, particularly a stranger, she’d be pissed off. She certainly wouldn’t find it sexy, would she? She decided that no, she would not, but he probably hadn’t meant it to come across as a command anyway. Whether he had intended it or not, she found that she was reading a certain amount of strength into his words, and more than that, she found that she was liking it.

  The exhaustion she had been feeling just minutes ago no longer seemed to be affecting her in the slightest, and she only briefly considered going to bed before clicking on his profile.

  Username: Atticus Finch

  Availability: Single/Looking for a fling

  Area: N/A

  “Not applicable,” Brooke thought. “How is his area not applicable?” At first she thought it a bit suspicious before she realized that it was probably a privacy thing. If she had thought of it, she might have said something very similar on her own profile.

  About Me: 26, single, looking for a fun kind of wom
an to keep me company but nothing serious. Very wealthy but I live mostly in seclusion. I like a certain level of privacy. My greatest joys in life are reading, coffee, and times when the beach is quiet.

  What I look for in a relationship: I’m mostly interested in a girl who would be willing to work around my schedule. I spend a lot of time working, so I’m looking for someone who I can connect with who won’t cut into my time alone.

  That made Brooke’s jaw drop a little. So far this was sounding mostly like the perfect guy for her. She could talk to him, they had similar interests, but she didn’t have to spend any face time with him, no dates, and best of all, if they hooked up she could finally get Sara off her back without needing to make a serious commitment to anyone. She hadn’t expected to find anyone who fit her needs this well. She didn’t even take the time to finish reading through his profile before she returned to her messages and replied.

  Miss Maudie: Uh, hey. I got your message. Browsed your profile. Interested.

  Brooke knew all too well that if Sara was here she’d be getting harassed for not writing more, for not trying to be more engaging, but she had been up close to twenty-four hours now, and she didn’t feel like going through editing messages to this guy. Besides, he didn’t seem like the type that would care much about that.

  She paused, thinking about what she was doing. She had no idea where this guy was, what he looked like, who he was, and the more she thought about it, the less sense this whole thing made. What was she expecting out of this? Best case scenario, they decided they liked each other and then what? Where was there to go from there? He said that he had never been to San Diego, it was quite possible that he didn’t live anywhere close to California. Even if this went well, she had no idea if they would ever get the chance to meet. Was this some sort of internet sex deal she was about to make with a complete stranger? She had no idea, and it seemed ridiculous to her, but she didn’t have much time to actually think it through because soon a notification came up on her computer.

  1 New Message

  She clicked it, but it was not the response she had been expecting, but rather an invitation.

  Atticus Finch has invited you to chat. Accept? Y/N

  She was once again nervous. Her heart was fluttering. “Ugh,” she said out loud to herself as she shook her head and clicked the accept button. “Sara’s really starting to get to me. I am way more excited about this than I should be.”

  Atticus Finch: Hello

  Miss Maudie: Hi

  Brooke sat there awkwardly. She had never been one for chat rooms, but even if she had been more accustomed to them, the awkwardness of this situation would still have been obvious. She felt as though they were sort of being pushed together.

  Atticus Finch: Nice screen name.

  Miss Maudie: Oh, right. Thanks.

  Miss Maudie: You too.

  Atticus Finch: It was a great book, wasn’t it?

  Again, Brooke paused. He was obviously talking about To Kill a Mockingbird, the book from which both of their screen names had originated. She hadn’t chosen this book to steal an alias from because it was her favorite; it was just the first one that had come to mind. She wondered briefly why that was. He obviously must have really enjoyed the book, though, and she couldn’t really argue. Objectively, yes, it had been great.

  Miss Maudie: Yeah, definitely.

  Atticus Finch: So, don’t take this the wrong way or anything. You’re not the kind of person that I would expect to find on a dating site.

  She had no idea what to say to that. She wasn’t the type of person who would ever, ever be on a site like this of her own accord; that was completely accurate. She was trying to figure out a nice way to explain why she had joined, when his next message popped up on her screen.

  Atticus Finch: Did your friend make you sign up too?

  Brooke’s heart almost stopped when she read that. She couldn’t believe how well this seemed to be going or how perfect the whole situation was. It seemed too good to be true in just about every aspect, and she had never had this sort of luck dating in real life.

  Miss Maudie: Yes, actually.

  Atticus Finch: Did you win a subscription or…..?

  Miss Maudie: She did. But she’s already got a boyfriend, so she made me take it.

  Atticus Finch: Ah. Well, lucky for me then.

  Brooke smiled in spite of herself.

  Miss Maudie: So, did you win a subscription then?

  Atticus Finch: No. Nothing like that for me. I just get a discount.

  Miss Maudie: A discount? What do you get a discount for?

  Atticus Finch: I actually am one of the developers of this site.

  She felt surprised by this latest development.

  Miss Maudie: Seriously?

  Atticus Finch: Yeah

  Miss Maudie: I didn’t take you as the kind of person who would ever work for a place like this.

  Miss Maudie: No offense or anything

  Atticus Finch: No, it’s okay. I wouldn’t normally, but the pay is incredible.

  Miss Maudie: Ah, that explains it.

  Miss Maudie: So you’re a computer guy then?

  Atticus Finch: Guilty as charged. And I believe it said on your profile that you’re a waitress?

  Miss Maudie: Unfortunately, yes.

  Atticus Finch: At least you get out of the house sometimes.

  Miss Maudie: That’s true. When was the last time you left the house?

  She sent the message and hoped he realized that she meant it in a light, teasing sort of way. In a lot of ways she found that the chat room was actually more stressful than an in person conversation because there were so many ways to read into things online. She also felt a little awkward typing. She expected that many people would be using more chat lingo and emoticons in this sort of situation, but she comforted herself with the fact that he didn’t seem to be using any either. Thankfully, he seemed to have understood the tone she had intended; the message she got in return seemed to be him joking back with her.

  Atticus Finch: Yikes, I don’t remember. I’m starting to forget what the outside looks like.

  Miss Maudie: Lol

  She tested the waters with the use of this, wondering if she’d feel a little more relaxed if their conversation was a little less formal. It seemed almost foreign to her to actually type lol, and she wondered in that moment if there was something wrong with her.

  Atticus Finch: smile

  She was instantly relieved to see the smile as it meant that he didn’t think she was stupid or anything. She realized how paranoid that seemed. More importantly than that, she couldn’t believe how much she cared about this. She didn’t know what to write next, but thankfully he saved her form the embarrassment of figuring it out.

  Atticus Finch: I’m not really the best at this online chatting thing, so I’m just going to cut straight to the chase if that’s alright with you.

  Brooke’s heart fluttered as she couldn’t help but feel like there was about to be a very serious development. His next sentence could make or break everything.

  Miss Maudie: I think that direct is good, so by all means.

  Atticus: Good. I want someone that I can get to know online before investing in anything serious. I’m looking for good conversation, light cybering, and if things go well, I’d like to meet in person. Since I’m an employee here at the site, I take the Terms of Service very seriously. This means that we will remain completely anonymous to one another as the courting takes place. We won’t see one another, web-cam, exchange pictures, or reveal our real names to one another until we feel comfortable enough to meet in person should we find that we’re compatible and our relationship progresses to that level. Ideally, this would progress into a serious relationship that we would carry on in person, but I don’t want to push anything. Right now, I just want to get to know you and see how this develops. Is that alright?

  ***

  Brooke read over the message, slowly weighing each sentence. It sounde
d almost too good to be true. She had been doubting this site since she first heard about it, but despite her cynicism about it, and all online dating, she realized that this was exactly the kind of relationship she was after. It would be geared toward an emotional connection as opposed to sex, and she’d be able to form a real and possibly romantic bond with someone before they ever even met. If things went bad, there would be no fallout, no awkward run-ins, and they would never even know one another’s identities. She could literally walk away at any time she wanted, no strings attached.

  The one thing that really concerned her about this was the term “light cybering.” She had never really done any sort of role play with a partner, particularly a partner that she couldn’t see in person. She wasn’t the best at dirty talk either, and the idea of having sex through chat had never been anything that had particularly appealed to her. She took comfort in the fact that at least he wasn’t asking her to video chat with him naked or send nudes that might end up on the internet; in fact, he had ruled it out.