It Could Have Been Anyone - Pt. 5
By Cal Bishop
Author's Note
Ben has a surprise for Alicia before a date.
This should be a relatively short, simple story. While it's in a series, I'm pretty sure it'll work well as a standalone story too. Enjoy.
A lot of authors include disclaimers, so I'll do so too: all rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Scenarios depicted here are intended to be fun fantasy, but may be illegal, immoral, and/or dangerous if actually attempted in real life. All characters are over 18.
It Started as a Normal Day
Alicia was lazily scrolling through Facebook on the subway on the way home from work when a text message popped up. It was Ben.
"Dinner at 5 Reasons at 6:30, right? If so, I'll meet you there, I have a stop to make. BTW, there's a surprise on the blanket at home. Enjoy. ;)"
She frowned, curious about both the surprise and his stop. Normally he'd be home almost an hour before her; she couldn't imagine what he'd have to do on a Thursday night without warning before a date.
Unless it's part of the surprise
, she thought.
She walked a little faster than usual when she got off the train. It was just after 5, a nice day in the brief window between winter and summer when she could be comfortable simply wearing slacks and a blouse showing a little cleavage, and she treasured it.
She stopped thoughtfully as soon as she got into the apartment. "Ben?" she called, just in case the text was a ruse, but there was no answer. The green-and-blue checkered blanket folded into a square on the couch had something on top of it.
That must be the surprise
.
It turned out to be two things: a piece of black fabric they had used as a blindfold in the past, and a note sticking out from under the black cloth. The note had text on it, typed and printed out in Arial font, so there was no handwriting to try to recognize. It was simple.
Instructions for your surprise
Put the blindfold on before going to the bedroom.
Say "It's on" out loud.
Take the blindfold off whenever you want.
She was curious about the third step.
How is that even an instruction? Of course I can take the blindfold off whenever I want; why couldn't I?
However, the first two were clear enough. She grinned slowly as she thought about when she got the blindfold, at a party where she did things she had never imagined, and what she had done with it since then. She looked down the hall; it was dark, the bedroom door closed.
I'm not supposed to know who's in it. Or what, even
.
She didn't have to go to the bathroom and the only jewelry she was wearing was stud earrings, so she just put her purse down on the couch and took off her pumps. She took a hair tie out of her purse and put her long brown hair in a ponytail. Then she tied the blindfold on as tightly as she could.
"Okay, I'm ready," she said. She clasped her hands in front of her body self-consciously. When nothing happened, she called more loudly, "It's on!"
A door clicked. She heard footsteps in the hall, muffled by the rug, but unmistakable in the otherwise silent apartment. They walked around her and she turned toward them. As soon as she was no longer facing the couch, someone kissed her. It was gentle, dignified, how Ben would probably kiss her soon when she would arrive at the restaurant. If it was a man, he had shaved recently.
Ben doesn't usually shave in the evenings... but maybe he did it for the date, or to make this more mysterious...
She reached out to embrace the person kissing her and felt the smooth lines of a fit man's back and hips -
that could be Ben, or for that matter Gene or Frank or someone just a little taller than them, but Barry was too tall for this and Dave was too wide -
but he pulled away before she could do any more.
He chuckled. He stepped around her, and then behind. He put his hands on her hips and pulled her back into him. She breathed deeply and rested her head on his shoulder, savoring the sensation. He kissed her neck and she giggled; she was often ticklish there. He ran his hands up her sides, snaking between her bra and her arms, encircling her shoulders from below. She took a deep breath and her nipples hardened with arousal.
The man's hands ran down her body now, one stopping at a breast, teasing the nipple through her blouse, while the other continued, past her belly button, past her belt, exploring freely between her legs. She parted them a little without thinking about it, but felt obliged to speak before going any further. "Ben?" she asked.
The man let her go and stepped back. Her heart was racing. She turned towards where he had last been but he stepped around behind her again. "Ben, is that you?" she asked again.
He smacked her butt. Not hard, it wouldn't even attract notice in some situations, but she interpreted it as a scolding, an instruction that she wasn't to ask questions.
But I have to at least know who it is. It could be Ben, or Gene, or a complete stranger! It could be some complete psycho who broke in here!
She turned again. He put a hand on her shoulder from behind. He squeezed her shoulder once, twice, three times.
Three. The third step in the instructions was the cryptic one. I should take the blindfold off whenever I want. If I do, I'll know who it is
.
She calmed down and thought.
Ben told me to expect a surprise. It could be Ben, Gene, or someone else from the party, but Ben wouldn't give his key to the apartment to a complete stranger. Well, probably not
.
A tiny, crazy, stupid, gremlin-like part of her brain, her id's id, a voice she had named Sarah the first time she wore the blindfold, thought,
But wouldn't it be hot if he did?
Alicia smiled.
So do I want to take the blindfold off? No
.
"OK, don't tell me, then," she said. "So now what?"
He kissed her on the lips again. He wrapped his arms around her and she did the same. He ran one hand down her back, over her butt, down her thigh, pulling her leg to him, and she wrapped it around his legs briefly. She broke off the kiss, breathing hard, then put her foot down on the couch next to them, leaving her legs wide open.
He stepped behind her again. Too quickly for her to relax, he kissed her neck and fondled her breasts gently. She leaned her head back into the crook of his shoulder as he started to unbutton her blouse. She reached back and ran her hands over his hips, around her own, and undid her belt and unsnapped her slacks. He took the invitation and reached down there before he had finished with her blouse, running one hand over her panties and down between her legs, almost fingering her through her panties, and she spread her legs a little wider to make it easier.