by Kalpana Kali
“I never bought—” Then Darcie realized her stalker had framed her. She said, “That’s not mine!”
“Don’t lie to me, young lady. Go to your room.”
***
Her parents left just before noon, headed to Dallas for three days at a religious conference. Darcie didn’t know if she was more scared to stay at home alone or go outside.
In the end, she had to show up at school for her test. Her mind was blank for it, though. Well not entirely blank. Her imaginings of her stalker’s cock invading and impregnating her stayed very active. Her lips trembled with worry and her legs were warm with arousal.
She handed in her paper with less than half a page written down. Not ready to go home, she wandered through the food court of the student hall. Loud arguing caught her attention. Over at the side, a tall guy in a hoodie was standing at an information table, shouting at the three coeds behind it. He turned in anger and walked right past Darcie, bumping into her. By the time she recovered her balance, he was gone, leaving her with just the impression of his long hair covering most of his face.
She shrugged it off and was about to walk away when the sign above the table caught her eye: “Emergency contraception giveaway.”
“Hi,” she said to the girls.
“Hi,” said the one in the middle, organizing some boxes in the center of the table, “that guy didn’t hurt you when he walked past you, did he?”
“No,” said Darcie. “What was his deal anyway?”
The girl on the left said, “He’s some caveman. He was ranting about contraception being against God’s plan and that feminists need to let women get back to natural sex so that men could plant their seed in their wombs where it belonged. Ugh.”
“Don’t get us wrong,” said the third girl. “We love kids. We want women to have babies, but they should have as much control over it as they can get.”
Darcie didn’t reply. She was too stunned thinking about the word the man had used—’seed’. That wasn’t a common word. And it was what her stalker had used last night.
“Would you like some contraceptives?” the third girl asked.
“I...ah, yes, actually.”
“Here you go. These are morning after pills. Take them withing seventy-two hours of unprotected sex. The sooner the better. There’s no charge, but if you want to donate to our charity drive, we won’t say no.”
Darcie dropped the little box of pills into her jacket pocket and hunted around for some money. What she pulled out instead was a folded piece of red notepaper. Another stork.
She looked around in a panic. The guy with the long hair—had he planted it when he bumped into her?
There was no sign of him anywhere. Maybe he was watching her from a corner?
Without another word, she ran all the way to her car and drove off. She didn’t stop until she saw a campus cop car parked near near the basketball courts. She thought of Dushan as she pulled in behind the police car. Maybe she could call him to come guard her?
No. He let my parents know about the balloons after he said he wouldn’t. Even if he did it to warn them, I can’t trust him to keep things quiet.
Or maybe she should stop being such a baby and not worry about pleasing her parents when some psycho was out to get her?
She pulled the note out and read it.
“Last night wasn’t the right time. But the nighttime is still the right time to be with the one you love.”
Oh, God.
That last piece was a line in an old R&B song Darcie liked. She sung along to it often when she was driving. And her stalker knew that she did so!
She called Dushan.
“Oh, hi, Darcie.” He sounded happy. “I was going to call you—”
“You were?”
“I wanted to let you know that your dad spoke to the chief. I’m going to be doing patrols by your house every hour tonight, just in case.”
Darcie felt relief that her father finally seemed to be taking this seriously.
Dushan’s voice took on a flirty tone. “If you flag me down with some hot coffee, I won’t say no.”
It was hard for her to stay mad at him. He was so eager and genuine. And she wouldn’t have to worry about her stalker tonight. “I’ll think about it,” she said, teasing him back.
***
Dushan’s car rolled by the house twice before nine o’clock. Now that the early summer sun had gone down, Darcie figured he could use the coffee and put the pot to boil.
Maybe it was too warm for coffee, though. Darcie was wearing only jeans and a vest, foregoing the bra to keep cooler. She had her air in a high ponytail so it wouldn’t crowd her shoulders. Her father actually controlled the thermostat from his smart phone so he could ‘save money’ and the heat was getting to her. Darcie wondered if she could just ride along with Dushan in his car. Cool air conditioning and a hot guy would be a pleasant change.
She’d had a few boyfriends in high school, but boys were scared to date you when your father was always threatening to dismember them. No serious relationship had ever developed, just as her father had intended. Darcie was actually still a virgin.
And somehow my stalker knows that. How could he—?
The lights went out.
Darcie ran for the back door. She had made sure there was no stray furniture about beforehand and she got out into the yard in three seconds. She circled barefoot to the side path that would take her to the main road without being seen. She could flag down Dushan from there. She ripped her phone out of her pocket and hit the fast dial button for him.
In the glare of the screen, she did not see the stalker until he grabbed her. In the dim light, with his hood up, she could not see his face. He shut the phone off and pocketed it. From behind him, he produced a sack and pulled it over her head..
The telltale sound of duct tape being rolled off and torn came next and he bound her wrists together in front of her.
“No, please,” said Darcie. “The last balloon was yesterday. It’s supposed to be over.”
His muffled voice spoke with a chuckle, “Oh Darcie, don’t you know a countdown always ends at zero?”
He held her with firm hands and pulled her along. They walked into the woods for at least half an hour, but Darcie’s sense of time was damaged by having her head covered. The whole way, he walked at a steady pace, like some force of nature in whose wake she was caught.
***
When they finally stopped, he told her to stand still for a few minutes. She knew it was hopeless, being deep in the woods with trees all around, but this was her last chance. He was going to do disgusting and demeaning things to her if she just obeyed him. She heard him walking away from her in a pattern, taking a few steps and then fiddling with something. The smell of smoke was filling the air. When she guessed that the man was about thirty feet away, she dropped to her knees, then twisted onto her back and began rolling away from him. Her hope was to somehow drop into the shadows and escape his notice.
Minutes passed. Had she evaded him? She wondered how she might remove the hood.
“Oh, Darcie,” said his voice right at her ear. “So resourceful and resilient. You’ll be a perfect mother.”
“Stop,” she cried as he plucked her off the ground and set her on her feet. He removed her hood and she blinked at the lights. Her eyes needed to adjust, even though it was just seven tiki torches set in a circle within a large clearing. The trees of the forest stood dark, the light too weak to penetrate their secrets.
Within the circle of torches was a small party tent decorated with red balloons. And underneath the canopy was a full sized wooden bed, the sheets white with red lining.
She said, “I— what— how—?”
“It took me a while. Had to bring the bed in piece by piece and assemble it.”
“It’s amazing.”
Darcie could not believe she was admiring and praising this man when that was the very bed he intended to forcefully impregnate her on.
“
Thank you,” he said.
Darcie looked up at him. His face was covered in a stocking mask and his body was obscured by a large jacket. It was impossible to tell if he had long hair, like the nutcase from school. She looked about. Nothing but dark and trees and the stars shining down on the clearing where they were. The faint glow of a late moonrise colored the east.
On the far side of the tent, Darcie saw two chairs and a small cafe-style table with food.
“You think this is a date?”
“I believe in treating women right.”
She held her taped hands up to him and said, “Yeah, so I see.”
He brought her hands to his covered face and kissed them one after the other. “Let’s get you attired properly.” He pulled a folded bundle from within his jacket, opening it up to display a red evening dress. It was the kind of thing Darcie had actually fantasized about wearing, but could never get past her parents. The front would show her cleavage and leave her back bare. The skirt was long, but with a slit almost all the way to the top of the left thigh. She’d spent fifteen minutes once admiring a gown like this in black. It had been at the new department store over on—
He was watching me that day. That’s how he knows.
“You are one twisted freak,” Darcie said.
He reached to her long hair in its single ponytail and let it loose. “I like your hair down and free like this. It makes you look wild.”
Was that a compliment? It did make Darcie feel complimented somehow.
“Change into this,” he said, handing her the dress. “I’ll turn my back for five minutes. That’s enough time for you to get out of your jeans and pull it on. Not enough time for the bears to find you if you run off.” He flicked open a knife and cut the duct tape off her hands.
She rubbed her wrists slowly and took the dress. He turned and she stared at the garment. Darcie could refuse, but something about this whole situation, being under this man’s power, made her feel submissive. It was like she wanted to please him. And it couldn’t hurt to keep him happy until another escape opportunity came along.
“Here,” said her captor, turning around. “I forgot these.” He handed her a pair of red satin panties with an embossed lotus on the front.
She kicked away her sneakers. After lifting her vest off she removed her jeans, then pulled the dress over her head. She changed the panties only after that, so she never had to be fully naked.
Darcie had been wrong about one thing—it had hurt her cause to obey him. She felt guilty, as if she were part of her own downfall.
The man turned around and whistled softly in appreciation.
She said, “You forgot to give me shoes for this outfit.”
“I didn’t forget. I like you barefoot.”
He took her hand and led her to the table. He pulled her chair out for her to sit. After he took the chair opposite, he pointed to the dishes, saying in his muffled voice, “Bean salad with fruits, wild salmon, and ice cream. I don’t know how true it really is, but I read that they boost fertility.”
“Geez, you never let up do you? Am I nothing to you but a damned baby machine?”
Why did she want his approval? What did it matter how he saw her?
He seemed to take her seriously, though. “Oh, no, Darcie, no. You have to understand, I’ve thought you were a wonderful person for years and years. If I didn’t see the beauty in who you were, I wouldn’t want to give you the gift of life so much.”
‘Years?”
He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess I have to take off this stupid mask to eat anyway.” The stalker pulled the mask off.
Underneath was Dushan.
“What the fuck? You!” She reached across the table to slap him, but he caught her wrist and laid her arm firmly on the table.
“Yes, me.”
“Oh my God. My father never asked for protection, did he? That was just an excuse so you could come around tonight.”
He looked regretful. “That was necessary. It’s the last lie I will ever tell you.”
“Why are you doing this?”
He pointed at the food. “Eat and we’ll talk.”
“I can’t eat knowing I’m your prisoner.”
“You’re not my prisoner.”
Darcie looked to see if he was joking. “What?”
“I’ll take you home anytime you ask.”
“Well, good, just—”
“As soon as you finish dinner.” He looked at her, his eyes a serious blue. “Now eat.”
Darcie felt compelled to obey the commanding tone of his voice. The way Dushan was taking control made her feel important and even protected. And she remembered how he had made her feel safe the day before, after the stalker had broken in—
But he’s the stalker!
Dushan lifted a grape off her salad plate and placed it with two fingers at Darcie’s lips.
If I accept this, he’s going to think I accept everything he has planned. If I don’t say no now, I’ll never be able to say no to him again.
She looked at his eyes—they were still serious, but hiding a sense of longing underneath.
She told herself she was obeying to buy time. But doing so felt natural too.
Darcie bit into the grape, the sweet juice spurting everywhere inside her mouth. They watched each other as she chewed and swallowed. He smiled, then he fed her another. This time he rested his finger against her lip as she ate. When Darcie cleaned a bit of juice off her top lip with her tongue, she brushed against his finger.
“I’ve wanted you for so long,” said Dushan. “In high school, I’d watch you walk by and dream of a night like tonight.”
“I don’t understand, though.” Darcie ate more. “Why the notes? Why kidnap me? We already had a date. With a little effort you could have had all this—”
“Effort,” said Dushan disgusted. “Give up control you mean? You remember when Deanna Haynes invited me on a date?”
“The cheerleader? I never knew she liked you.”
“She didn’t. It was a trap for her and her friends to make fun of me. I learned that night: never let a woman have control. From the minute you got your first red note, you belonged to me. And with every note after that, I made you think about me, made your life about doing what I want.”
“You know, most people would think that you’re kind of creepy to say that.”
“And you?” asked Dushan, taking a drink of water.
“I think it’s creepy too. Very creepy...but, there’s this kind of sweetness to it almost. It’s hard to explain, but the fact that I make you feel that way is...” She trailed off. Unsure how to describe the complicated, ever-changing emotions he was inspiring in her.
He’s a stalker! He’s a criminal! You shouldn’t be feeling anything about him except fear. Get yourself together.
“It’s not hard to explain,” said Dushan. “I could tell what you were from the first day I saw you. You like being told what to do, Darcie. You enjoy having a man controlling your destiny. It’s how you were raised.”
A sense of panic rose in Darcie. She didn’t want this to be true. She was in control of her own life. Wasn’t she?
“Leave the rest of the food for later,” said Dushan, standing and extending his hand to her.
Darcie took a deep breath and let him lift her out of the seat. He pulled her into an embrace, stroking her hair. Being under his power did feel like what she needed.
“Time to choose, Darcie.” Dushan pulled back from her and Darcie instinctively pressed herself closer. He held her away from him, his blue eyes more serious than ever. “We leave now or you admit the truth and stay the night with me.”
“And if I stay? You’re going to...” Darcie looked at the bed.
“Yes. Tonight is the start of your ovulation. You’re ready for me. And I intend to create a new life in you. I’m going to make you pregnant.”
I can’t just let him get me pregnant. I have a life.
But, did she?
I have a life I don’t feel right in. Whatever this guy might be, I feel so drawn to him. Like I belong to him.
She took a breath. That last thought had to be a slip. She had meant ‘belong with him,’ surely?
Darcie looked over at the path out of the clearing. Then she looked up at Dushan, her stalker, the man who wanted to become her whole world. His handsome face promised her a different fate if she joined him. She tried to say what she felt—to confess the desire she was afraid to make real with words—but her courage failed her. She could only show her acceptance in her face.
He nodded in understanding, the hair on his forehead falling into his eyes. Dushan leaned down and kissed her. His touch burned into her mind. After a lifetime of holding back, Darcie let herself surrender to a man. She reached up to encircle his neck, as much to keep herself upright as to keep herself close.
He stroked down her bare back to the rise of her ass. She moaned into his mouth as he squeezed her buttocks, pressing her body as close as she could into his warmth. Dushan brought one hand up and caressed up her neck, then took hold of her jaw. He held her still and pressed his lips roughly against hers. He kissed like a man with total confidence, his tongue insistent without being wild, exploring her with the ease of quiet ownership.
His lower hand likewise went slow and deliberate, sliding up her hips and side to her breasts. Dushan gently lifted each one in turn, squeezing and gripping them.
Darcie wanted more. Her pussy tingled with its arousal and she was sure it was soaked.
Instead, Dushan backed away to arms length, looking her up and down as she panted. “Undress for me,” he said simply. He took another few steps back, leaving her there to comply. A small part of Darcie still rebelled against his treatment. It was humiDarcieting in a way to be ordered to undress. But his force of will seemed to possess Darcie. The sexual being in her wanted to obey. And she did.
She slipped the straps of her dress off her shoulder one at a time, keeping her eyes down. Was he watching? Was he pleased? She couldn’t bear to look up and find out, her sense of embarrassment still strong. With a few firm tugs, she pulled the bodice down, her breasts revealed to the eyes of her stalker.