The fabric of Stephen's sheets rubbed against his tender flesh as he slept; it served as a reminder when he woke of Victoria's savagery the night before.
He hurried to work on the bus and spent his lunchtime buying food for a simple three-course meal. Stephen was not a skilled cook with limited skills in the kitchen, so he opted for a straightforward menu.
For a starter, he took prepared salad and added cooked prawns and a dollop of seafood sauce. For the main course, spicy wedges, corn-on-the-cob and a rump steak with peppercorn sauce. For the dessert, crème brûlée and shortbread biscuits. He put the wine in the freezer to cool quickly. Most of the food could be simply heated or served, and he changed into the only apron in the house shortly before six.
Victoria was on time. She walked into Stephen's home the moment he answered the door, wearing a white blouse and leather trousers. She dropped a large gym bag in his hallway and watched him close the door. "My family wants to do video chat at seven thirty. I need to speak to them as they tried to ring me yesterday but I couldn't... you know."
"That's fine. I will allow this. I might even say hello myself." Stephen's face drained of colour and she slapped him on his bare bottom. He squirmed when they sat down for dinner and she teased him. "I was having a look at your bookmarks yesterday."
"Oh God," Stephen squealed.
"Yeah, I wonder whether your parents would like to know what filth, and it is filth, that you have been wanking to." She laughed at his expression and finished her prawns as jabbed at his starter.
"I am not the only guy in our year to read those stories or watch those videos. I got them from... someone."
"I know," Victoria replied. "But we all have to take responsibility for our actions," she reminded him and cooed when he stood up from the table to plate the main course. "I can barely see the marks from yesterday. I'm not up to my usual standards," she chastised herself.
Victoria shook her head and watched from the dining table as he dropped a dollop of butter on the rump steak sizzling in the pan and then dished up the potato wedges crisping in the oven.
"That apron does suit you. The lacy edges really brings out the desperation in your eyes." He said nothing as the woman teased him and topped their glasses of white wine. She hummed as she read the label and smiled as he put her plate in front of him.
"I need to wear my clothes when my parents dial," he told her. "Or..."
"Well, that depends," Victoria interrupted. "Be a good boy after dinner, and I will play ball." Stephen gave a feint nod and tried to steer a conversation towards college or university, but she was a tough person to read.
Eventually, he mentioned Anne-Marie's business and Victoria smiled. "I get paid a couple of times a week to help my aunt. I am going to Amsterdam in two weeks' time to go to a Sex Fair and then Uni. It's a good lifestyle. Easy money, and lots of fun. One guy is obsessed with being whipped and spanked by someone who is his daughter's age. I mean, it's sick, but my aunt just takes his money, and watches over me giving this guy a going over. He gets a stiffy, I kick him in the balls. And I get paid for it." Her eyes lit up as she spoke. "Sometimes I get to do other things. It's... fun."
"Isn't that a bit, twisted? You enjoy inflicting pain. That's... weird."
"Yeah, well. As my step-dad told me when he threw me out, I bring misery and nastiness."
She looked at her meal as Stephen stared at her. "I don't think you do."
"You don't know me," Victoria replied in a glacial tone. She glanced at her watch. "We do desserts when your folks ring. We have a job to do first." She pushed her empty plate towards him and rubbed her mouth with the serviette. "That was good."
Victoria took the gym bag to Stephen's room. He had the smallest bedroom in the house, but he didn't have to share, unlike his younger sisters, and took out a red fist-sized bulb with a nozzle. "What's that?"
"This is a douche." She reached into her bag once more and took a small tube of lubricant. "You use it in the bathroom." She guided him towards the familial bathroom and filled the basin with tepid water. He watched as she squeezed the air out of the douche and submerged it in the water to fill it.
Victoria drizzled lubricant over the nozzle tip and offered the bulb to the naked teenager. "Sit on the toilet," she commanded. "Put that inside your anus and squeeze it. Leave it for two minutes. Empty. Repeat. I will leave you with the lube, in case you want to put some around your hole."
"But, what for?"
"You'll see. You need to it four or five times. Try on your last two times to get two bulbs of liquid in. You want to be clean and empty when you expel. Then have a shower. Oh, and what's your laptop password?"
"Why?"