Jules 01 - Game On!

Author's Note: This is a short introduction to a multi-part story, with several more chapters on the way. This story is definitely slower paced than many on this site, as I tend to enjoy the anticipation and the build-up as much as the actual sex. This is my first attempt at publishing anything, erotica or otherwise. As such, feedback is highly encouraged.

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It's her smirk that first shakes me out of my daze. That confident, almost arrogant half-smile that lets me know she caught me looking. I hadn't been purposely staring. My thoughts of her aren't the type that should evoke the embarrassment that I feel. I'm a card-carrying heterosexual female, after all. But there is something about this woman that wouldn't let me look away.

My gaze had settled on her unconsciously as I sat in my favorite sandwich shop, eating my lunch. I'd been trying to stop myself from slipping into the mire of self-pity that I've found myself in so often of late. I caught my boyfriend, Paul, cheating on me three weeks ago, leaving my self-esteem in tatters. We had been going through a rough patch, and Paul complained that I was not spontaneous enough... not adventurous enough... boring. Paul would like the woman in front of me. There's nothing boring about her.

I can't help but compare myself to her. If you look at individual features, we're actually very similar: Same height - around 5' 4", same slim build with a few curves where it counts, same dark features and shoulder-length, wavy hair. Even our facial features aren't too dissimilar, once you really look. But taken as a whole, the effect is totally different. She's everything I'm not. And the things that I am, she turns up to eleven.

Whereas I'm quiet and reserved, she practically shimmers. I keep myself in reasonable shape, but she's sleek and toned. I dress for comfort; she is stylish, even a bit edgy. I'm presentable, but she is captivating. I can pull off cute, but she is effortlessly sexy. Sexy as hell. She's the version of me I wish I saw in the mirror. I can feel the jealousy building.

In the weeks leading up to the break up, I had sensed Paul pull away and grow distant. I tried to put more into our relationship: more attention, more space, more understanding, more sex. In the end, what I'd really sensed was Paul hooking up with the fresh-faced new admin at his work. I catch myself thinking that if I was more like the version of me smirking back from across the room, Paul wouldn't have wandered.

God, I hate that smirk! That smirk dared me to break eye contact, which is exactly what I did. I blushed slightly and dropped my gaze... just for a moment. When I looked up, she was gone.

"Pull yourself together, Jules!" I chastise myself. I consider the half-eaten sandwich in front of me and am just about to get up to leave.

"Can I join you?" The voice is light and playful, with a hint of challenge. It has the same confidence as that damn smirk. I don't even have to look up to know it's her. She sits down across the table before I can answer.

"Uh, s... sure" I stammer out, cringing at how meek I sound.

"Thanks! You looked like you could use some company." The last thing I want is her company.

I compose myself a little better, and steel my nerves to send her packing. Looking up to meet her gaze, I... fold. Had I misread her? Where I saw arrogance before, I see only concern and compassion. Her face has the warmth of an old friend.

"Company would be nice." I hear my voice say. "My name's Jules, by the way."

The smile returns as she extends her hand. "What a coincidence, my friends call me J."

It turns out, J is exactly the company I need. I find myself opening up to her as a friend and confidant. I tell her about Paul, about his affair, and even about the comparisons I was making to her previously. We talk for 30 minutes or more, me laying myself bare and her offering comfort and encouragement.

Finally, she looks me square in the eye and says "You need to stop selling yourself short. All those things you think you see in me are in you, too. You just need to break out of your cocoon and spread your wings, Little Butterfly. And I think I can help you."

"How's that?" I'm skeptical, to say the least.

"Let's play a little game. Close your eyes." She stands and walks behind me. I close my eyes as she begins to gently rub my shoulders, the public contact making me self-concious. "Just relax," she whispers in my ear. I feel the tension start to melt away as she continues to work on my knotted muscles. Her upbeat attitude is contagious and I find myself more at ease in her presence.

"Put your hands on the table in front of you." As I do so, I feel her hands start to gently travel down my arms, her face next to mine.

"Take some deep breaths, that's good," The softness of her touch... The warmth of her breath on my ear... It's intoxicating. I let out a small sigh that only she can hear. Somehow, I sense her smile at that. I slide even deeper under her spell.

"Now, when I count to three, open your eyes. One..." Her hands have traveled all the way down my arms and are gently pressing mine to the table. I feel her cheek against my own as her perfume fills my nose.

"Two..." I shiver slightly as I feel her lips lightly touch my ear. Somehow not knowing if the contact was intentional makes it even more exciting.

"Three..." Reluctantly, my eyelids drift apart. I am wrapped in the warmth of her presence and I am acutely aware of her breath on my neck and her face next to mine. My vision slowly comes into focus and I see a fiftyish man at the next table watching me curiously. I start to tense up, but I feel J's hands still holding my own. She gives them a reassuring squeeze.

"Here's the game" She breathes calmly in my ear. "I'm going to show you how sexy and badass you really are. Keep your hands where they are." I relax a bit, and feel her hands start to slowly travel back up my arms. The hairs on my forearm stand on end with her touch.

"Look at that man at the next table. Hold his eyes with your own". Her hands are back at my shoulders. I lock eyes with the man at the next table as I feel a tug at the collar of my blouse. I look down to see that J is twisting the top button between her fingertips. This button is already undone, but somehow this still feels provocative.

"Don't break eye contact." She whispers firmly as the pressure on the button continues. I raise my eyes back to the man, powerless to do otherwise. He's watching me intently now. J increases the pressure on the button as I wonder where this is going. With a quick tug, I feel the button give. J reaches past me and places it on my plate with a slight "plink".

"Keep watching him, own his attention." The room fades away and all I see is the man staring back. His eyebrows raise as I feel a tug of movement on the next button.

"Feel his desire," She starts to twist, and the man's face begins to flush. My breathing becomes heavier. I know I should put a stop to this, but my hands remain glued to the table in front of me. "What is he imagining right now?" J asks as she continues to work the button back and forth on its threads. "How far will he let this go?" I see a bead of sweat form on the man's forehead, but his attention is unwavering. The threads finally fail, and I feel my blouse gape a bit more. The button goes on the plate with the same plinking sound.

"Uh uh, eyes on your biggest fan," J admonishes as I start to drop my gaze to my blouse. My head is in a fog and I can't do anything but obey. My current state is far from scandalous, but the air is charged with anticipation. Mine, the man's and J's. His mouth slacks open as his eyes dart back and forth between my eyes and my blouse.

I let out a small gasp as I feel J's fingertips graze my breasts ever so lightly over my blouse. She circles one finger slowly around my nipple, bringing it to a sharp point. My mind is screaming at me to stop, but it's drowned out by the thrill of the moment. The man leans forward, subconsciously trying to bring himself closer to the scene unfolding before him.

"Maybe one more...Mmmm...What do you think?" I feel J's lips brush my ear as she starts to twist the button. I don't answer. I CAN'T answer. "Promise me that you won't fix your blouse..."

"I..." The pull on the button increases. The man's eyes are locked on my chest. The three of us are all that exist.

"Promise me that you'll follow the instincts that are waking inside you..." J pulls and twists the button harder with one hand. With the other, she gently pinches my nipple through my blouse. The man looks like he's forgotten how to breathe.

"I..." I feel J's tongue glide up the side of my neck.

"Promise that you'll play the game..." The man fades from view as all of my senses turn inward. I'm not sure if my eyes are closed or open. My breath is ragged. I can smell my own arousal. I desire, more than anything, for J's touch to continue. To feel her mouth on mine. To feel her fingers on my body. Third button twists free from my blouse. My hands are shaking on the table.

"I..." J's hand slides under the opening of my blouse. I feel her fingers slip under my bra. I arch my back, pushing out my breasts to meet them. My nipples are rock hard points under her fingertips. I barely hear the "plink" of the button on the plate through the rush of blood in my ears. J twists my nipple like the buttons before it. Time stretches out and slows to a crawl. The crescendo of sensations builds, blocking out any conscious thought. My entire being is a single, exposed nerve begging for her touch.

"I... promise."

Reality crashes back down around me. The din of the busy cafe swells up around me. With the spell broken, the man across from me drops his gaze in embarrassment and hurries away from his table. I look around and spot several other patrons staring at me in various shades of amusement, desire and disgust. J is nowhere to be found. I sit in shock for a moment before I notice one of the cafe employees walking towards me with an unapproving expression.

I grab the three buttons from the plate in front of me and race for the door. I swear I hear J's voice in my mind...

"Game On!"