Sleepless on the Sofa

Author's Note: Thanks again to Secretsxywriter for helping me edit this story.

This time the focus is on Haley and how she deals with the last chapter's aftermath.

***

The smell of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies slipped in from under the door. Footsteps came closer. Haley hugged the pillow and kept staring at the wall. "Go away!"

It was Sunday night. She had holed up in her room the whole day, only stepping out when Brie had gone to the gym. Shame hung on her like a wet blanket, turning everything into an effort.

Yesterday, Tom had panicked after Brie had surprised them. He'd grabbed his clothes and ran out without a word. Haley had only managed to get in touch with him briefly. He'd still been in a state of confusion after everything that had happened, but he'd confirmed he wasn't angry or hurt.

Haley really wanted to—no, needed to—believe him.

Cookies rattled on the tray when Brie knocked the door with her foot. "I told you, I didn't mean to interrupt you like that. I'm sorry."

"I need to study."

"Bullshit!" Brie said through the door. "Did the dude call back, or did he bail?"

Haley buried her face into the pillow and screamed. Silent treatment had always worked on her mom. Brie apparently wasn't going to let her of the hook so easily.

All Haley wanted was to turn back time. Or if that was too much to ask, vanish from the face of the Earth. Either would work. And the sooner the better.

Everything had been perfect. She hadn't fumbled with the dominating. Somehow, a steel-hard Mistress had materialized from inside and turned Tom into a delicious boy-toy. If Brie had just stayed away, they could've basked in the afterglow and had a fun night. Now, who knew what was going to happen? It had been a huge thing for Tom to confide in her. Maybe he'd never want to see again.

"I didn't mean to laugh at you," Brie said. "If his self-esteem breaks from that, you're better off without him. I did message you that I'd be back early. How was I supposed to know you were banging some dude here? You never bring anyone home."

Haley bounced up. The pillow thumped against the door. "Tom isn't 'some dude!'" She rushed to the door but was unable to turn the knob. Brie's laugh echoed in her ears.

"He's your new bf?" Brie asked.

"It's complicated."

"Come out, Hal. Let's chomp down some cookies."

Haley took a deep breath. The quickest way out of the embarrassment was to confront it head-on. The knowledge didn't make it hurt any less. "You still have that wine?"

"Sure." There was the sound of retreating footsteps then silence.

Haley emerged to the hall. It was empty apart from the lingering smell of cookies. The mirror she had made Tom stare into now only showed a pale girl in an oversized T-shirt. Her pink hair resembled wet cotton candy. She looked miserable. No, 'pathetic' seemed a more apt word.

She found Brie franticly searching for a bottle opener in the kitchen. The bottle of red wine sat in the middle of the table, a plate of piled cookies next to it.

Brie's yellow hoodie and burgundy yoga pants were covered in flour stains. Same thing with her short, curly hair and brown cheeks. The sink was full of bowls and utensils. She never made anything from a mix.

Haley nestled in a chair. Heat coursed through her and made her pussy ache when she remembered what it had felt like to sit on Tom's dick. She took one of the cookies. The chocolate was still warm enough to stick to her fingers. It crumbled when she bit into it. Better than store bought, as always.

Brie popped the cork and poured the wine into two mugs. Her every move was easy and precise, making Haley feel even more miserable.

Haley drank deep from the mug. Red drops fell on the table, but neither of them seemed to care enough to wipe them off. Would Tom prefer someone like Brie? There was no competing against a former gymnastic.

Brie sat down and filled Haley's mug again. "Tell me everything."

"I can't." Haley rolled the mug between her palms and stared into the dark liquid. "There is too much - everything."

"That's for sure, Miss Fucked-senseless-against-the-wall." Brie snickered and took a sip of her wine. "I always took you for a prude."

"I'm not a prude just because I'm not irritating my flatmate with loud sex every other week."

Brie's face turned serious. "I'm just saying, you don't usually bring dudes home...and you shy away whenever sex comes up."

"I—"

"I'm right, and you know it."

Haley's reflection stared back at her from the wine in her glass. Okay, she was a prude. She had been for many years. Tom had never been allowed to see that side, though. "Not everyone was raised to be open-minded like you were."

"That's true, and I forget that sometimes." Brie reached for a cookie, but she brushed Haley's hand instead. "I really mean it, I'm sorry."

"I know." Haley squeezed Brie's hand. "I was too busy to look at my phone."

Brie stuffed a whole cookie in her mouth and grinned. "Anything you can share? He was a total hunk."

Haley bent her leg under her, trying to get her heel to push against her pussy. Even now, under Brie's questioning stare, she could feel Tom's skin against her own. His kiss along her thighs. His mouth on her...

She drank more wine. "It was so good."

"What did you make him do before the wall acrobatics?"

Haley froze in the middle of a bite.

"Don't play dumb," Brie said. "I saw the collar."

Haley hoped Brie would think it was the wine making her cheeks burn. "We tried some stuff."

"Did you tie him up?"

"No!"

Brie raised her hands in surrender. "Not judging. I'm into that, too."

"I'm no dominatrix." Haley couldn't stop the sigh, and that made her feel even more childish. Of course, Brie was into BDSM. What hadn't she tried? "It was my first time, and then you..."

"Next time, tell me to go mind my own business. I can stay with Marco. You've been way too lenient on me." Brie filled both their mugs again. "You go, girl. Snuffed that dry spell."

"I'm just worried he got scared. It was his first time, too. Huge thing. He'd never dared to ask anyone before."

"Oh, honey." Brie's eyebrows crouched into a frown. "If there's anything I can do to help, just name it."

Dark feelings wallowed inside Haley. The same ones that barraged her every time Carol did something notable. Like she had something to prove, or people would think less of her. It was a pattern she hated. But pushing through it was so hard. There was no real reason not to ask for Brie's help, yet she still had to force the words out. "Are you really into that stuff, or are you yanking my chain?"

"Marco and I've been doing it for years. The whole nine yards."

"Makes sense. Someone like you is made to order people around."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Haley waved her hand at Brie. "You're so buff and always know what to do."

"It's a bit more than that." A smug smile rose to Brie's lips. "Good coordination never hurts, though."

Haley just rolled her eyes.

Brie leaned back, and her face turned back to serious. "I'm not trying to pressure you. If you really don't want to talk, it's fine."

"It's not that." Haley felt her pockets. Her cell must be buried somewhere in her room. "I'd like to talk more, if you don't have anything else to do. I just need to make a call."

"I'm always up for some wine and sex talk."

"I'll be right back."

Haley went to her room and closed the door after her. It took long for Tom to answer. Long enough for her to start wondering if he was going to do it at all.

"Hi. What's up?" Tom's voice was tense and muffled

"Did I call at a bad time?" Haley asked.

"No, I can talk. Was just startled by the phone."

Haley sat on her bed. "I really wanted last night to end differently."

"Me, too. Didn't mean to bail on you like that."

"I would've too. Where are you?"

Tom was silent for a while. "In a sex shop."

Curiosity made Haley forget everything else. "What? Why?"

Another silence, this time Tom coughed. "Because I wanted to buy a dildo. So sue me."

"That's... Wow..." Haley concentrated on keeping laughter out of her voice. He was too damn adorable. "Awesome."

"I just wanted to test some things."

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about. Not the dildo, but what we did. Is it okay, if I talk with Brie about our stuff? She was super sorry about everything. She really had sent me a message, but my cell was on silent. And well...we were busy."

"Talk about what, exactly?" Tom's voice filled with doubt.

Haley took a deep breath. "She's into BDSM and might be able to give me pointers. Assuming you still want to do more. Or anything at all."

"I do. Both of those. I didn't mean to make you think this was it. I just... I was overwhelmed by everything." There was a clank like something fell on the floor and Tom cursed. "Can she keep a secret?"

"Brie can be a bit selfish, but I trust her."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"That you're Carol's ex and what we've been up to. She's open-minded."

"I have to go. More customers came in. I trust your judgment."

"You sure?"

"I trusted way more to you yesterday."

"I'll make sure you won't regret this."

Silence fell between them. This was the place for things like 'I love you', but they didn't have the words to fill the void, yet. Eventually, Tom said, "Bye."

Haley stared at her phone for a while, collecting her thoughts. She had to make this count. As much for her own sake as for Tom's. She slipped the phone into her pocket and returned to the kitchen.

"Your sister's ex?" Brie asked after Haley had spilled the beans. She laughed so hard she started to choke on her cookie. After a short coughing fit, her voice was raspy when she said, "Now, I'm the prude."

"You promised you won't tell."

"On my granny's grave." Brie grabbed the wine bottle and headed for her room. "I'll give you something in exchange."

Brie's room was weird mix of an occult shrine and a home gym. Boxing gloves hung side-by-side with a dreamcatcher and dragon paintings. A folded weight-bench doubled as a shelf for a collection of skull-shaped flower pots. And the place always smelled like a spice market.

The wine bottle ended up next to the flowers, and Brie pulled a green, metal trunk from under the bed. It was one of those army surplus kind. Although it had chipped paint, it appeared sturdy as hell.

Haley had noticed it during the years and never given it a second thought. She had just thought of it as one of Brie's weird, yet practical, storage solutions containing nothing more than clean towels and pillow covers.

Brie opened the padlock, and Haley gasped when the lid rose. It was sex toys, not bed linens, that filled the trunk. Laying there in their dented boxes were a whole color wheel of dildos, vibrators, and stuff Haley wasn't even sure what they were called. In their midst were a myriad of leather equipment, their purpose obstructed due to being folded to fit into the small space. She had sat on the bed several times without an inkling of the arsenal stored underneath it.

"I didn't buy all these, just so we're clear." Brie sat on the bed and rummaged through the toys. "You remember Rosie?"

"The girl with a crimson mohawk?" Haley stared at the toys absentmindedly.

Brie kicked the lid shut. "Try to concentrate. Anyway, Rosie works in a sex shop and sometimes, she gives me stuff to review. Or just because the boxes were damaged during shipping."

"Wow." Haley went for more wine. "I have only one dildo and an almost-broken vibrator."

"I haven't used most of these. It just seems wrong to throw them away." Brie picked up a green, jelly dildo. "I wish I could put them on display. Some of these are basically modern art."

"Might be a bit much."

Brie jiggled the dildo and stared Haley intensely. "You ready for my secret?"

Haley had to slap a hand over her mouth not to spit the wine out. "This isn't it?"

"Remember last New Year's Eve, when we woke you up?"

"Yeah. You were whimpering so bad, I thought Marco was really hurting you."

"Except, it wasn't me yelling. It was Marco."

Haley's eyes widened. "No way! You fucked him?"

"Quite regularly after that, in fact. But you don't know about that, just like I don't know that you are banging your sister's ex."

Haley moved her fingers across her lips in the zipper gesture and nodded.

Brie unfolded a bunch of black, leather belts that turned out to be a strap-on harness. She circled her finger around the metal ring in the middle. "Turns out, men moan just like women when you stick something hard in their hole."

Haley let her fingers wander along the belts. The leather was smooth to touch and made her skin tingle. What would she look like in one of those? Her heart was pounding, and heat built up inside her. She saw Tom kneeling before her, slowly taking the dildo in his mouth. It would be so easy to grab his hair and force the toy further in. To fuck his mouth with it. She could practically hear the wet, slurping sounds.

"You okay there?" Brie asked.

Haley blinked and nodded. There was way too much wine in her...and nothing else.

"Great craftsmanship. Tom showed me some erotic stories, so I had some idea what he liked. It was still hard." She glanced at Brie's face...at her raised eyebrow. "I'm not going to show them to you."

Brie lifted her hands in defense. "Wasn't going to ask. Just a little interested. That's actually really clever. I wish I'd thought of it before."

Haley made a vague gesture towards the strap-on. "I didn't know men liked that. Tom always seemed so..."

Brie lifted her finger. "If your next word is going to be 'normal', I'm going to smack you. Don't go kink-shaming the poor dude. He has balls of steel to let you in on his fantasies."

"I was going to say 'innocent.' But..." Under the cover of the blanket, Haley brushed the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Tom was already buying toys for himself. He must want to go further. She suddenly couldn't wait for their next meeting. "I-I want to be there for him."

Brie grinned at Haley. "How I heard it, you already went beyond the call of duty."

Haley shrugged. "It was mostly mind games. I didn't really tie him up or spank him." Then she sighed. "I just don't want him to leave me because I'm as stuck up as Carol."

"Did they break up because of sex?"

"I don't think so."

"Nothing to worry about, then." Brie took Haley's hand. "Breathe, Hal. Would you like to see more stuff?"

Haley worried her lower lip then slowly nodded.

Brie pulled the harness over her yoga pants. The way she handled the device made it obvious that she was used to it. She stuck an ice-blue dildo in the metal ring and fastened it. The toy waggled while she paraded around the room.

Haley couldn't help but laugh.

"This is serious," Brie said, bursting into laughter herself.

"You just put some lube on it and go plowing?"

"If you want to be so crude. Obviously, there is more to it." Brie made some sharp thrusts with the dildo. "You need to be more careful with anal."

"Is this Sex Ed with Brie, now?"

"You wanted my help, didn't you?"

Haley's gaze was fixated on the blue toy. The wine had made her feel lightheaded. Her fingers became wet when she pushed them deeper between her legs. "Some of those are really beautiful."

"You can have some, if you want."

Haley gasped. "I didn't know you did girls."

"The toys, dummy."

Haley looked down into the trunk. "I know. I was just messing with you." She wanted to try all of the toys. "Would you help me? I just don't get all of it. Like verbal humiliation."

"What about it?" Brie asked.

Haley shifted on the edge of the bed. "On one hand, I get it. But it's no fun to be called names."

"Without consent, it's just abuse and bullying." Brie looked around then her brow wrinkled. "It's like verbal spanking. It's hard to explain. It's one of those things you either are into or you're not."

"If I understood it, I could be better at it."

"You didn't feel anything when you read those stories?"

"I did. It was hot calling Tom..." Haley bit her tongue. She couldn't give away all of his secrets. Maybe she had said too much already. "I read some humiliation stories aimed at women, and it didn't make me feel much. Maybe I'm just bad at imagining it."

"It's different to read it than to actually hear the words being said or be made to say them."

"I never thought this would be easy, but I didn't expect to be this lost." Haley stared at the ceiling. "I could've messed up so badly yesterday."

"You didn't." Brie sat next to her. "I'll let you in on a secret. I was a mess, too, when I started. You're on your way. Just keep talking with Tom, and you'll do great."

"At least I can improvise. To be fair, I'm not surprised Carol didn't want to do this. She's always been one to stress about things she doesn't know. Kind of a bummer for Tom."

"He's got you now."

Haley took a deep breath. "Could we, like, try it? I know it sounds bad, but I'm more of a face-to-face person when it comes to learning. That's why I loved theater."

"I'm not going to dominate you."

"Just some name calling. If it doesn't do anything for me, then that's that."

Brie played with the lid of the trunk. "Least I can do, after what happened yesterday." She went to sit on her office chair and spun around a couple of times. "I, on the other hand, suck at improvising."

"I'm not going to judge."

"I know." Brie hit her heels into the carpet, and the chair creaked to halt. "I need some info here. Is there something you don't want me to call you?"

"I don't think so. I'll tell you if something comes up."

Brie's expression was pained for a second before she seemed to be concentrating. "You're a slut. I came home yesterday and saw you naked on the floor, your pussy still leaking cum."

Haley remembered the exhaustion. How the wall had felt against her back when Tom had bound her. The hot bursts of semen filling her up. How it had dripped out and ran along her sweaty thighs. She nodded.

"You liked that, didn't you?" Brie asked. "Being fucked by him? Completely taken. You just moaned and let him do what he wanted. You'd done whatever he'd asked. Let him take you like an animal."

Every word penetrated Haley's mind. Made her blood rush. This was completely different from reading. If the sex toys had made her hot, now she was steaming.

Brie's calmness was replaced by a mischievous smile. "You say it."

"What?"

"That you're a slut."

"Why?" Haley swallowed hard. Her ears were ringing. When Brie continued to stare at her, Haley said, "I'm a slut."

Brie twirled her finger, telling her to continue.

"I'm a bad girl who likes to fuck around." Haley's palms were sweaty, and her fingers tingled. "I loved it when Tom slammed me against the wall and took me. Filled me with his cum. There was so much, it leaked out for hours."

Brie clapped her hands in applause. "Now, see? It's not so hard. You liked it."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Your cheeks are literally on fire."

Haley shifted under the blanket again, circling her finger just a hair's breath away from her clit. This was not right. Not in front of Brie. But she couldn't help herself. Now she understood why Tom had had such a hard time looking at himself in the mirror. "I-I didn't expect it to feel like that. It's like I want to hide and expose myself at the same time."

Brie laughed. "I'm happy to help."

"You don't have to stop," Haley said, wishfully.

"We've drunk too much to continue. I don't mind messing around with you, but you have a boyfriend."

"We are more like friends with benefits."

"Go fuck him if you want more."

Haley looked at the clock. It was too late now. She really needed to be working on the morning lecture. Who knew if Tom would even be up to something like that on this short notice? It was better to let things cool down after yesterday. "Could you do one more?"