Amnesty Program

This is a continuation of the story that began with Amnesty Program.

----

Jason had forgotten how long it takes jeans to dry.

Emily had burst in, just as Rebecca had predicted, her freckled face flushed from running and her wavy red hair windblown. She had been disappointed to find Jason and Rebecca calmly huddled over Jason's laptop, apparently working on a project. Jason was dressed in gym clothes though, a detail that didn't escape her journalistic instincts.

He was stuck there for at least another hour.

Emily followed Rebecca into the kitchen, hissing a stream of questions which Jason couldn't hear, but he could hear Rebecca's answers clearly, "

None

of your business. None of

your

business. None of your

business!

"

He smiled up at Rebecca as she came back into the room with a bowl of seasoned pretzels. Emily followed close behind and crossed her arms. "Are you really doing research?" she said, disbelieving.

Jason smiled and nodded.

"For who?"

Jason shook his head. "Not going to answer that one right now."

Emily shot Jason an evil look, and stormed down the hall to her room.

"Wow. Is she always that intense?"

Rebecca shrugged, "No. She's having a frustrating day."

Jason took a pretzel.

"Are you really as nice as you seem?" Rebecca sat next to him at the kitchen table.

"Nobody's as nice as they seem." he held up his pretzel. "Look. I took the best pretzel before you could get it. It has the most seasoning."

Rebecca grinned and held up her pretzel. "I took the only unbroken one out of the bowl in the kitchen before you could get it. We're even. Any other skeletons in your closet?"

"You dragged my biggest secret from me already today."

"Well, don't feel bad. If I had something as beautiful as a cock, I'd play with it all the time too." Rebecca crunched a pretzel. "I tried weed once."

"Really? How did that happen?"

"I was at my cousin's farm and I found some weed growing behind the barn. I tried chewing it."

"Does that work?"

"No." Rebecca grinned, "but I kissed him later that day, so maybe I thought it would. Did you ever kiss a cousin?"

"No. None of my cousins were ever that lucky."

Rebecca laughed.

"When I go home Emily's going to grill you, right?"

"Probably," Rebecca sighed. "It's a sore trial for an ambitious reporter to walk in on something as interesting as you with your pants down and not be able to get the story. She'd do anything to find out what's going on."

"She'd do

anything?

"

"Yep. Just about."

"Let's see how persistent she is." Jason launched a couple of applications on his laptop. "If I were her, I'd be trying to... yep. See here?"

Rebecca scooted closer. "What am I looking at?"

"There have been seventeen failed attempts to log into my computer as root in the last three minutes. She's trying to hack me. She's probably got a sniffer on the wifi too. Let's check."

"I didn't know she knew how to do that!"

"Journalists learn all kinds of little tricks. This one's not strictly ethical," Jason said, tapping a few commands into the computer. "If we invite her out here are you okay with answering some questions?"

"I guess I'd have to decide after she asks."

Jason opened up an email window and addressed a message to himself. "Hi, Emily," he typed, "you need to get more subtle with the hacking. If you're so curious, you should try coming out here and asking us questions together. -Jason"

"Wait-" Emily said, "can I add something?"

Jason pushed the computer over to her and watched as she added "P.S. Answers are going to cost you."

Emily passed the computer back to Jason. "She's going to be so conflicted... but how is she going to get an email you sent to yourself?"

Jason hit send. "If my guess is right and she's sniffing the wifi traffic it doesn't matter who I sent it to, she'll see it go by. She's seeing the message right now... she's swearing under her breath, trying to decide, and..."

Emily's door opened and she came down the hall. "Fine. I'll play your little game."

Jason motioned to the seat across from him at the table. Rebecca was trying to suppress a smile.

"Everything we discuss this afternoon is off the record," Jason said, looking pointedly at Emily. "Everything."

Emily deflated a little. "Why- is it... outside of what would be considered proper?"

Jason shrugged, "No, not technically, but we should check with the program before spilling anything officially."

"So, what department is the program running from?"

"I'm not sure," Rebecca said, "but it looks like a joint project between statistics and psychology. Probably mostly psychology."

"Is this a student research project?"

"No," Jason said, "this seems to be at a university level. We talked with professors and they're working with other professors. Pulling strings."

Emily's eyes were shining. "I've never heard of anything like this. Tell me about the program."

"All right," Rebecca said, "but first you'll have to tell us something you don't want anyone else to know."

"What?"

"You have to pay for your answers."

Emily frowned, concentrating. "Well," she said, slowly, "I have root access to the Journalism Department server. I've had total access for three months."

Jason rolled his eyes at Rebecca. "Meh. Doesn't do anything for me."

Rebecca nodded. "Give us a scoop. You know how this stuff works. You want juicy? Give us juicy."

Emily closed her eyes and thought for a moment. Suddenly her face flushed red. When she opened her eyes, her pupils were dilated.

Rebecca smiled.

Emily leaned forward. "This stays here."

"Of course."

"Okay." Emily took a deep breath. "I needed an expensive textbook at the start of this semester. Extremely expensive- over twelve hundred dollars. I had all but the last $250."

"Crap, I've never heard of a textbook that cost that much," Jason said.

"Well, Professor Hines thinks the International Encyclopedia of Mass Communications is a must-have and whatever she recommends, I buy, even if it's more than a grand."

"So you stole one?" the corners of Rebecca's mouth turned up.

"No. I was in the university bookstore trying to talk the manager down and getting nowhere. A couple of idiots overheard me and when the manager was on the phone they came up to me and said their friend was having a birthday and they wanted to make it special. They would give me the rest of the money if I would make this guy's birthday special."

Jason turned a quizzical eye to Rebecca, who refused to look at him. "What..."

Emily smiled at him. "They wanted me to give him a blowjob."

Jason's face turned red. He sputtered, "Oh, I..." and stopped, at a loss. His cock had jumped suddenly, and was filling the front of his shorts.

"So I said I'd do it." Emily looked directly at Jason. "Can I get a glass of water?"

"Uh, sure." He started to stand up, remembered his condition, and sat down abruptly.

Rebecca scowled at Emily. "I'll get it."

Emily took a tiny sip of the water. "Thank you," she said, "Where was I?"

Jason started to answer, then stopped. He saw something. Emily's face had a subtle blush. She was breathing a little more heavily than before, and her eyes were dilated. She was playing a game, he realized, and he was the toy.

"You were just saying," he said, "uh..."

"How you were going to purchase your textbook," Rebecca finished for him. Jason looked at her gratefully, and saw a little anger in her eyes, but something else too.

"Yes, that's right," Emily continued, "It was going to happen at a party at this big house in the suburbs. I was dressed kind of slutty- a short black skirt and a thin white tank top and a black bra. I sort of overdid it on the makeup. Glitter. Okay, I was

really

slutty.

"I showed up and I didn't get any really dangerous vibes. The place was loud and hot. I had a couple of beers and found the idiot friends. They sent me to a room at the top of the stairs and told me to wait there for Birthday Boy. The room was a high school girl's bedroom. Posters of boy bands. Everything. I didn't know how the party was happening in this house, and I wasn't going to ask. Anyway, I played it up. I put my hair in long pigtails and just left the little light by the bed on.

"So then Birthday Boy came in, that sweet, clueless, asshole. Everything went sideways. It was supposed to be a simple blowjob. How complicated can that be?

Rebecca stiffened. "Was he... violent with you?"

"Oh- no, it wasn't like that. Just listen." Emily took another sip of her water. "I was waiting and he walked in and I just gave him a big naughty smile and pulled his pants down and went down on him."

Jason closed his mouth.

"So then, what happened next was probably a tiny bit my fault, because just before I started making Birthday Boy's day special, I asked him a question. I don't even know why I did it or where it came from. I said, 'What's your favorite shade of green?'"

"You did what?" Rebecca asked.

"Stupid. But I was all... busy and everything, then a minute later he made me stop."

"He

what?

"

"I know, right? So in my head I'm going through all the things that might be wrong with me- too fat, too ugly, no good at blowjobs. You know. And he says 'aloe, with sun shining through it.' He had no fucking clue how to get blown at a party."

"I'm not following," Jason said slowly. "I don't understand what... the problem was."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You're not supposed to connect. I mean, you connect, but you don't

connect

."

Rebecca cleared her throat. "I think she means that casual... encounters at parties... carry an implicit understanding that emotional entanglements are to be avoided."

Emily made a face. "Why am I explaining this to a

guy?

"

"Oh, I, uh," Jason started, "I haven't ever been to the sorts of party where, uh, casual blowing happens. In... upstairs rooms. That I know of. In fact, I've never..."

Rebecca scooted her chair closer to Jason and squeezed his thigh. He stopped talking. He grabbed her hand. She drew his hand over to her thigh and caressed it once, then put both her hands on the table.

"Well," Emily said, "that sounds fascinating. I'd love to hear more about..."

"Aloe." Rebecca said, firmly, "With the sun shining through it."

"Of course," Emily said, after another sip of her water, "He put his hand on my head and stopped me. He asked me my favorite shade of green and I said 'kelly' and he said 'bullshit' and I stood up to leave because I didn't sign up for any complicated shit.

"I was leaving and he screwed it up. He said, 'My name is Nathan.' So I couldn't leave then, because you can't, when he's kind of sweet and his name is Nathan and he's sitting there on some girl's bed with his pants around his ankles on his birthday. I told him my name was Lauren.

"'You're the girl from the bookstore,' he said, suddenly. I didn't say anything. He pulled up his pants. 'My friends are... idiots. They told me I should meet you. Here. Why did you show up?'"

"I told him about the stupid Encyclopedia and the arrangement. 'Look,' he said, 'This isn't me. And unless I really miss my guess, this isn't you either."

"I was still miffed about all the damn connecting. 'You don't know me.' I said, and I looked at him for the first time. He was sweet faced. Blond with brown eyes."

Jason was running his hand lightly along the length of Rebecca's thigh. Her skin was soft and he was pleased when she leaned into him slightly.

Emily sipped her water. "Nathan slid to the floor and leaned against the bed. 'I know you're willing do something extremely... awkward... to further your education, and I admire that. I also know you'll go to great lengths to disguise yourself as a hot but forgettable party girl. You want to be forgotten, at least tonight you do. We're both expected to pretend we're someone else tonight. Different people, shallow enough to use each other with my idiots snickering outside the door. Fuck that.'

"I told him my name wasn't really Laurel. He kind of grinned. 'So what's really your favorite shade of green?' I told him, then I sat on the floor next to him. Then he asked about the book, was it the one journalism majors had to get, because his older brother studied journalism and he had a book he wouldn't let anyone touch when he was in college because it was so expensive.

"'That's the one,' I said. He looked at me. 'I'll get it for you,' he said. I stared at him. 'It's just sitting gathering dust in my brother's old room. He left it when he moved out.' I thanked him, but it felt weird, like I should hug him, but I shouldn't hug him.

"'So did they pay you already,' he said, pointing his head toward the door, 'or are they waiting to see if you came through?' I shrugged, 'If you get the book for me I don't need their stupid money.' Nathan smiled. 'Maybe not, but I know Benny- the one with the earring- his family's loaded. He could have just bought you the book right there in the store and never felt it. Instead, he pulls this asshole move. In my view, assholes should be separated from their money at every opportunity. What do you say?' I said I could use a better camera.

"'You're going to have to convince them. Let's get you in shape.' He stood me up and looked me over, then he pulled my pigtails out, carefully, one by one, and mussed my hair.

Emily stared into her water like it was whisky.

"Then he took his thumb and smeared the lipstick on my upper lip. It was the strangest thing. I started to get turned on. Then he did it again, slowly, and I sucked in a big breath. He stepped back, and I could tell that he wanted me. It was all I could do to keep from jumping him right there. I was afraid to move.

"'Forgive me, but I think this will help,' he stepped forward and ran his hands up my back under my shirt and unhooked my bra. I wrapped my arms around him and held on. He was trying to figure out how to get the bra out without taking off my tank top, then he gave up and just held me too, breathing into my hair. He held me for a long time. He smelled good, and when he pushed me away gently, I tried to get back into him. He wouldn't let me. He took a step back.

"'There's a way to get your bra out without taking everything off, isn't there?' He said. 'Yes, there is,' I said, but I took my shirt off anyway. I wanted him to see me. I turned around slowly- a full circle. He completely devoured me with his eyes. He reached out, but didn't touch. Pulled his hand back. 'You'd better put your shirt on.' I did, but he kept looking at me like he could see all of me. 'Get some of that on me,' he said, his voice shaking a little. He stepped in and kissed me hard on the lips. I was gone, gasping into him. I couldn't get enough. I had his shirt in handfuls. His hands were in my hair, on my back. It was the only time he lost control, but he still pulled away first.

"He was breathing hard, looking at me. 'Go get that asshole's money. Get the book from the Journalism Department office on Monday. Then, when you're ready, come find me. We'll do this right."

Emily finished her water in a long pull and crossed her arms.

Rebecca was trying not to breathe hard. Jason's fingers, gently touching her leg, weren't helping. "Then what?"

"Nothing," Emily said. "That's it. Well, I got the book."

"You never went back to him?"

"I was humiliated that night. I just want to forget the whole thing. He probably just had a fit of virtue. Anyway, I couldn't afford to take the chance."

"How could you do that?" Rebecca was outraged, "Leave such a nice guy like that and never even give him a chance... when he did something so generous!"

Emily's eyes kindled. "Don't lecture me about taking chances. You've never taken a chance in your life! You're safe, analytical, methodical, and if I hadn't seen you two playing doctor this afternoon with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it." Emily paused, had a thought. leaned in and whispered "Did they give you drugs?"

Rebecca didn't laugh. "I need to get on the same page with Jason about this. Can you give us a moment?"

"I have to pee anyway," Emily said, and disappeared down the hall.

"That was one of the hottest things I've ever heard," Rebecca said under her breath when Emily was gone. "She was really turned on, and I'm all hot now too."

"Me too," Jason said, gesturing at his shorts. "Look at me. I'm never going to get away from the table without poking someone in the eye."

Rebecca laughed. "Okay, listen, Emily's playing one of her games and I want to mess with her... and there's something sexy I'd like to try- it's actually one of my favorite fantasies. Are you game?"

"Sure. Are you going to fill me in?"

"No. I don't think so. It will be more fun that way. Trust me?"

Jason grinned. "I barely know you."

Rebecca smiled back at him sweetly, "You know me enough."

Jason tried for a poker face as Emily came back into the room.

"Nice try," she said as she sat. "You'd better have a damn good story for me."

"I don't know if we can compete with the, ah, colorfulness of your story," Jason said, "but I'll try to keep you interested."

"If Safety Patrol here doesn't put on the brakes." Emily's jab was what Rebecca was hoping for.

"You go first. I think you can tell her everything," Rebecca said, "I'll just fill in if you forget anything."

"It was Professor Suarez and Professor Danton that told us about the program," Jason started, "It's called the 'Amnesty Program' and it's an experiment to see if they can help high-performing students to develop more balanced lives..." His voice trailed off as Rebecca slid off her seat and under the table.

"Dropped an earring," she said from somewhere around his knees, "go ahead."

Jason looked across the table at Emily, who was eyeing him skeptically. "Um, ...balanced lives. Apparently a lot of good students don't do so well in life because the skills you learn to excel in school don't line up with the skills you need to excel in life..."

Rebecca's hand was running from his knee up his thigh, making it hard to concentrate. It was about to get harder.

"But what's the experiment?" Emily said, "What's all the fuss?"

"Oh, well, we have to do exercises that they give us every day and write what happens in a journal."

"That's it?"

"And if the ahh..."

Jason felt Rebecca's mouth cover his cock from outside his shorts. She blew her hot breath through the cloth, making him feel like his dick was in a sauna.

"...if the exercises interfere with our... oh lord..."

Rebecca was tugging on Jason's shorts, trying to get them off, and nibbling him through the cloth at the same time. He shifted to help her. He felt them slip down to his ankles.

Emily frowned at him, then her eyes popped wide. She looked under the table, then snapped up straight. Jason's face was a study in confused desires.

Rebecca's voice floated up from under the table, "Don't forget the grades." Then she licked Jason's cock from his balls to his tip.

"They gave you

drugs!

" Emily hissed.

Jason shook his head. Rebecca was teasing gently, just running her fingernails gently over his balls. She was resting her head on his thigh, her breath tickling his skin. "No drugs," he managed, "we have amnesty for our grades. They know we can ace everything, so as long as we stay above a C average and we're doing the amnesty work, they'll ahhhhh... record all of our scores as 'A's."

Emily felt pulled in all directions. She wanted answers, and she wanted to run out of the room at the same time. She also wished the table was transparent. "Why is she doing that?"

Jason closed his eyes "Because she wants to," he paused, took a slow, open-mouthed breath and smiled, "and because you told her she never takes risks. Thank you."

Emily "So no drugs? at all?"