Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 19:01:01 -0700 From: J. Ocean Subject: My Seventeenth Summer, Part 11 I went to bed early, exhausted after my encounter with Ana and Vu. I woke up before dawn but stayed in bed, semi-conscious, letting my mind drift. It had been an eventful couple of days. Images of Laura and Lana, of Ana and Vu, came and went and then finally just went. I'd had a great time with them but only that; the thought that came to my mind and stayed was of Madeleine. I missed her. She'd been gone only a couple of days but it seemed like much longer. I wanted to see her, feel her, taste her, to rest my head between her breasts and hear her heart beating. I felt a little guilty about playing around on her while she was out of town, even though it was clear that she had arranged these assignations for me. It was after all, just sex...great sex, but lacking that divine spark I felt with Madeleine. It even seemed possible that, eventually, I could become bored of fucking different beautiful girls every day. Who would have thought it? Then a novel thought occurred to me. What if, the next time someone tried to seduce me, I resisted instead of diving right between the first pair of legs that opened for me? What would that be like? The idea was perversely exciting. After taking a long shower, I put on my most conservative underwear--sexless stuff that I never wore anymore--and a dress my mom had bought me, long-sleeved and cut high on top and down around my ankles below. Fortunately, it was a cool and cloudy day, so I felt pretty comfortable in my wholesome attire. After breakfast I strolled over to Madeleine's and found the envelope labeled "Wednesday." I popped it open and out fluttered a cream-colored card that said: You Are Invited to a private showing at Chimera and gave an address on Lagoon out by the water. This was happening, it said, today at 11 A.M. I checked the clock. It was almost 10:30, so I was going to have to hustle if I was going to make it on time. The clock on the dash showed 11:00 exactly as I made my way up a long, winding driveway to the house at the address on the card. It was actually less of a house than a mini-mansion, Victorian style, with extensive gardens and what looked to be stables in back. Clearly, whoever lived here had quite a bit of money. I parked and walked toward what looked to be the front door. I was feeling kind of uncomfortable; I wasn't used to places like this and felt instinctively that I wouldn't fit in. But I had after all been invited, so I tried to relax and just see what would happen. The door was answered by a girl about my age, a very cute one with olive skin, long, medium-hue brown hair, and big, friendly brown eyes. "Hi, Morgan," she said. "We've been expecting you." I was a little taken aback. "Have we met?" I asked. I thought maybe she went to my school, though I couldn't remember seeing her before. "No, Madeleine provided us with your picture. Won't you come in?" Strange; I didn't recall Madeleine ever taking any pictures of me. Forgetting about that for the moment, I stepped into the foyer, which was as big as some people's living rooms. "My name is Julia," said the girl, extending a hand. She was somewhat oddly dressed, I realized, wearing a black designer dress that was covered from neck to knees by a long white apron, which in turn was dusted with flour. "Pardon me, I've been in the kitchen," she said. "Will you excuse me for just a moment?" Julia disappeared through a doorway and when she returned a minute later, the apron was gone, revealing formidable cleavage that was pulled together and up by the tight dress. "Thanks for waiting," she said, "and welcome to Chimera. Will you follow me, please?" Julia led me through a huge, beautifully furnished dining room to the base of a long spiral staircase, which we began to ascend. I noted the alluring sway of Julia's ass as she walked, but went no further with the thought. We climbed for awhile and, as it was dim, I stuck close behind Julia to keep her in sight. Suddenly she stopped and I bumped against her; next thing I knew, I was up against the wall and Julia was kissing me. I was totally flummoxed for a second, but then I pulled away. "Um, excuse me..." I said. She looked at me quizzically. "What's the matter, you don't like me?" "I just met you a minute ago." Julia shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said, and resumed ascending the stairs. At the top we walked through wooden double doors into a cavernous, high-ceilinged room. It was like a small theater, with a stage at one end surrounded by an array of plush chairs. They weren't arranged in rows, though, but scattered about hither and yon according to someone's whim. The floors were dark wood polished to a glossy sheen. My eyes were drawn to a purple chair at the left side of the stage, which contained a stunning young woman somewhere in her early 20s. She was tall, long-limbed, with cocoa-colored skin; I wouldn't have known whether to call her a dark-skinned white person or a light-skinned black one, and I don't suppose it makes any difference. She had on a chic, loose-fitting white silk suit and a lovely feathered hat. Julia led me up to her and stopped. "This is India," Julia said. "She'll be your attendant today." India looked up at me; she was truly gorgeous, with high cheekbones and piercing indigo eyes. She cradled a champagne glass in one hand; the bottle was on a table next to her, along with bread and an assortment of cheeses. India offered me her hand. "Welcome, Morgan," she said. "It's a pleasure to have you here today. Won't you have a seat?" She indicated the dark blue chair on the other side of the table. "Our show will be getting underway in just a few minutes. Won't you have some champagne while you wait?" I shook my head as I sank down into the chair. "It's a little early for me," I said. India shrugged -- the gesture was eerily similar to the shrug Julia had given me on the stairs. "Cheese, then? Can Julia bring you some other kind of food or beverage?" "No thanks. I'm just fine for now." "Then that'll be all for now, Julia," said India, nodding. Julia exited through the door from which we had entered. India handed me a booklet from a pile on the table. "Perhaps you'd like to look through our catalog while you wait." Weird -- it hadn't occurred to me until just then that I had no idea what I was there for. I flipped open the catalog.