Alexis roused me from sleep. I blinked my eyes. The sun shafted into my bedroom, illuminating all. She took my hand, gently but firmly, lifted me up to a sitting position in my bed. ³Oh, why have you woken me so early?² I asked, sleepy-eyed. I lifted my fists to my eyes, rubbed them. Alexis drew me to the edge of my bed and sat down beside me. Barelegged we sat, our long legs dangling down off the edge of the high bed, toes just touching the floor. She was naked except for little bikini panties made of felt. They looked so delicate I feared they might fall apart if she dove in the pool and swam laps in them. ³Early?² she asked. She eased my babydoll nightie off my shoulders, as if to compensate for her own bare breasts by exposing my own. ³It is 3 p.m., silly, how late do you expect to sleep?² ³Until six, at least, when the sun is going down, I answered. ³So Iıll have lots of energy to dance tonight.² ³Oh, Iım sure youıll have enough,² she replied sweetly. She turned my back to her and began softly brushing my long locks with a hairbrush. It was made of ivory, from elephant tusks. ³Why do you like dancing so much? You never bring any men home with you,² she asked. Every night since weıd decided to share an apartment, two weeks ago, weıd gone out, just the two of us. Sometimes we came home alone, other times Alexis found a friend, bringing him along. I would drift off to sleep hearing their travails in the next room. Always Alexis invited me to join, always I politely refused. The men were all mesmerizingly strong, picked out for fucking and nothing else. ³Well, tonight Iıve been invited to a party, in a hotel suite, rented specially for the purpose,² Alexis told me. She turned, poured me tea, offered me a cup. I glanced at the pitcher sitting on my nightstand, the cup. She was bribing me. She wanted me to come along. I sipped. The tea was unaccountably delicious. ³Mmmm,² I breathed. I could not help myself. ³Chai,² she said absently. ³It tastes like spice cookies.² ³I thought youıd like it.² Sunset found us slipping out of a cab. I walked hastily, lest my naughtiness be discovered. There was a wind in the portico, I clasped the hem of my dress and held it tight-pressed to my thighs. It was still blazingly hot; Alexis had convinced me to party without my panties on tonight. ³Are you not cooler thus?² she asked. I had admitted I was a little cooler, perhaps. ³In any event, I got rid of that pesky hunk for you last night, and you promised me a favor. So no panties tonight, my little nun. You are going as my pretend slave, and I simply must make you a little uncomfortable. All in good fun, of course. You may enjoy yourself as you wish at the party.² ³I hope thereıs a spare bed,² I replied. I had no intention of joining Alexis in any of the trysts I suspected she had planned. Alexis had smiled, said nothing. It was true, I owed her a favor. Sheıd ditched a dude for me, so I reluctantly left my panties at home. Iıd begged her to put them in her purse for me, just in case, but sheıd declined. I myself wasnıt allowed a purse, being her pretend slave for the night. That was another favor I owed her, making her do the dishes all last week in our apartment while I played Nintendo. Iıd been smitten by the teddy bear version of PacMan, played it constantly when we werenıt out dancing. The wind caught the rear of my skirt, lifted it. Iıd wanted a leather skirt, Alexis had insisted on soft-woven denim. I thought I heard Alexis emit a smirking laugh as my bottom showed. A doorman opened the hotelıs gold-rimmed doors for us. We clattered inside, our heels announcing our arrival to all as we stepped in. The floor was marble, brightly polished, though carpets lay beyond. Guests and visitors looked up, men turned their heads in amazement at our beauty, and not a few women also. There was no wind inside, yet I faced a second worry; I wore a dogıs collar around my throat. Alexis had insisted upon it. I scurried across the lobby, Alexis quietly scolding me and making me walk a slowly as she could, trailing behind me in a gown that stretched to her heels. She wore only a decorative ribbon around her throat. She was calm, pleased with herself. I knew her secret, though. Behind an artfully draped silk sash, her nipples lay bare. The gown she wore, so elegant, sheathing her in tight black satin, rose only high enough on her bosoms to cup them from below, leaving the top halves bare, including the nipples. They stuck out boldly, and the excitement of having them so lewdly, if secretly, displayed made them stiff even now. If you looked closely at the sash hung round her neck, draping softly down over her bosoms, you could see the little indentations where her bare nipples poked into the fabric. Twin tents, they were, hiding two delicate tent poles. I guessed that her legs, so smoothly encased at the moment, might be boldly displayed later in the evening. The dress would be gone, her breasts free, and her legs, invisible now, would be naked and spread. She had long, firm, healthy legs, skinny almost, wrapped in black stockings that stretched up to the tops of her thighs. There they were held in place by garter straps, hung from a belt round her waist. Her hair, elegantly done, piled atop her head, gave her an air of sophisticated poise. Opera-length gloves, matching the black of her dress, added a final touch. She wore wristlets of pearls, five pearl-studded strands binding each of her wrists as if they were ropes. Put her to a white wall and youıd think she was tied to it, the pearls blended in so neatly. As for myself, I had a boldness of my own. I wore a smart-looking jacket. It matched my dress. Denim, but thin, stone washed Œtil it was almost threadbare. (Though not quite, thank God! Iıd have refused it if it was see-through, favors be damned!) My arms and chest were enclosed in the jacket, but it left my tummy bare. My belly-button was teasingly visible, my tummy browned by lying in the sun. Below this was my skirt, so low on my hips it looked like it might fall off. And below the hem of my skirt, which reached just to the tops of my thighs, was bare leg. I wore stockings, black nylons that ran up my legs to mid-thigh, with elastic tops to keep them in place; but between my stocking tops and the hem of my skirt there was nothing. Just smooth, neatly tanned flesh. Leg-flesh. My flesh. So I had a kind of exposed band of naked skin both above and below my skirt, while the rest of me, from my leather booties right up to my collared neck, was clothed. Alluring, to be sure, and another reason for me to hurry across the lobby. We reached the elevators, at last. We stepped inside. We did not hold the doors open for the men rushing to join us. Quietly the lift rose. I looked at Alexis, she at me. We were alone together. She reached out, took my hand in hers, squeezed it. We exchanged smiles. The elevator doors opened near the top floor. Alexis peeked out, saw no one. We felt cautious suddenly, shy. Together we stepped into the hallway. We followed a row of doors down to a number; 96. Alexis knocked softly, her gloved hand protected from the hardness of the wooden door. Voices. The door cracked, opened. A woman gazed out. She was auburn-haired, dressed in a skirt and vest. It had long sleeves but was open in front. Her bosoms shifted loosely beneath it. There was no blouse, no tell-tale bra strap crossing between the open halves of the vest. Yet she was covered, if she moved gracefully, carefully. Unless a gentleman chose to lift her vest, perhaps, to inspect the stiffness of her nipples inside, tenting the fabric in obvious twin little points. ³Come in,² she breathed. ³Iım Elizabeth, and you must be?² ³Alexis,² my partner replied. ³And this is Lisa.² I smiled, did not want to disappoint her. She smiled back. A perfect hostess, save for her indolence in forgetting her blouse. She closed the door behind us and slipped a chain across its edge. We were the last to arrive, I guessed. There would be no more. Room service would have to get special permission to enter, lest they break the chain. I remembered now; ³Do not Disturb² had been hanging on a tag from the doorknob. ³Come in, please. Meet the others,² Elizabeth urged. She turned to me, I thought she would put her arm round my waist. Instead she slipped her hand up underneath my miniskirt. I jerked as I felt her palm touch my heinie. ³Ah, you have come well prepared,² she smiled at me. Frankly she palmed me all over my tush, as if evaluating it. She traced my cleft with her finger, dividing my cheeks herself with her lightly-pressing digit, drawing it up my behind until she reached the band of my dress underneath. ³Very fine,² she whispered. With a swish of her long auburn locks she turned her head to Alexis. ³A fine bottom, suitable for whipping. Demanding it, really, donıt you think?² ³It is hers to do with as she wishes,² Alexis replied, not turning to look at our hostess. Her dress swished regally round her ankles. I loved her for her taunting, her refusal. We teased them yet did not agree to their terms. Perhaps she would be punished for it. Perhaps she wanted it. A large living room opened before us. We stepped from the entry hall into it, gazed around. We were sheep, come to dance with farmers at shearing-time. Handsome men and women greeted us. The men in tuxes, the women in gowns or skirts, depending on their mood or their age. Some wore collars, some not. The men betrayed their hopes for the evening with significant bulges in the groins of their expensive trousers. We were offered drinks, accepted. Quietly we mingled, chatted, Alexis and I always staying near each other. All the faces were strange, new. I shivered. I did not want to think about what might lay ahead, yet it tempted me to speculate. The women looked at me with knowing eyes, admired my jacket, my skirt. No others touched me, though, save Elizabeth, who now was safely removed to the far side of the room, chatting with some man she favored. Yet their eyes, their eyes undressed me, I thought; though I myself couldnıt help but stare sometimes at the menıs groins. Large and protruding they were, drawing my attention. The men did not complain, seemed to treasure my glance, hoped for it, accepted it with gentlemanly pride. Did they stand with their hips thrust out a bit? I fancied they did, just for me, though I could not be certain. The air seemed strangely still; moist and hot, despite the soft purr of an air conditioner somewhere.