It Could Have Been Anyone Pt 06

It Could Have Been Anyone - Pt. 06

By Cal Bishop

Author's Note

Alicia and Ben attend another party at Gene and Vivian's house, and there's a new couple.

If you're only going to read one chapter before this, Part 3 is very important to the series and characters.

A lot of authors include disclaimers, so I'll do so too: all rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any similarities to real people are accidental. 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.

The Email

As Alicia was on her way home from work one Tuesday, she got a notification of an email. She normally wouldn't have thought anything of it, but it was from Gene.

She didn't dare start reading it on the train in case anyone would look over her shoulder, but she walked home from the metro station a little faster than usual and opened the email in her apartment building's lobby.

"Hey, welcome home," her boyfriend Ben called as soon as she walked in the door.

"Did you see Gene and Viv have invited us to another party?" Alicia asked excitedly.

He had been absorbed in a game of Overwatch on the couch, but that got his attention. "Oh, no, I've been busy," he said, taking off his headset. "When is it? Any changes to the usual plans?"

"Friday, June 7," she said, scrolling through the email. "The usual other than that. Nothing about masks or specific arrival times. I guess they've given up on the sneaky stuff."

He winced. "Are you okay with that?" He jerked the X-Box controller up and to the left and hammered on some buttons.

"Pshaw. Of course." The sneaky stuff had been essential to their first party, but people had started to let the aliases slip halfway through the second party and no one had cared. She wouldn't know how the masks had turned out.

She stood next to him for a minute as he played, staring at her phone but lost in thought. It was only a minute before his character died. He made a quick apology to his teammates and said he had to go. He shut the console down and turned to her.

"Hey, sorry this is late," he said, giving her a peck on the cheek. She blushed. "So do you want to go to the party?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe," she said.

"Maybe?" Ben repeated.

"Well, June is looking pretty busy. I think Matilda at work is trying to organize a happy hour, you know, just us girls. I'll have to see if I can make it," Alicia said. But she couldn't keep a straight face.

At the Party

They had a quick pizza for dinner on the ninth and took an Uber to the party. They brought a duffel bag with a few essentials and a lot of extra space. Ben wore shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals. Alicia wore shorts, an off-white summery blouse with draw strings in front, and open-toed strappy sandals with slight heels. She had considered going braless but she didn't know the Uber driver or what they'd do after the party, so she decided on a strapless bra.

"The price is crazy," Ben muttered as they waited for the car on the sidewalk, fanning themselves periodically in the June sun. "Can you believe this will be about $55? And that's the 'wait and save' price, not the fastest option."

"Surge pricing, I guess?" Alicia offered. "It is Friday night. I'll get it next time. Sorry."

"Ahhh, don't worry about it. Still, this is ridiculous. There must be an easier way." He smiled. "Maybe we can host next time."

"In our apartment? Hah." Alicia said. "Maybe we can carpool next time. I think Dave and Betty don't live too far from us."

"Hmmm," Ben said.

They made light small talk in the Uber, but spent more time on their own phones. When they were on the highway, Ben reached across the seat without looking and felt the inside of her knee. She looked at it and then him. He arched an eyebrow and slid his hand a few inches higher further up her thigh.

She closed her legs, nodded toward the driver, and grimaced. Ben rolled his eyes but withdrew his hand like nothing had happened.

When the car pulled up in the suburban cul-de-sac around 7:15, Alicia opened the door and winced at the heat. Ben walked slowly up the driveway while he tipped the driver in the app. Alicia didn't wait for him, went straight for the door, and rang the bell.

Vivian opened it quickly. "Hey! Glad you made it!" she gushed. She threw her arms wide for a hug, which Alicia returned eagerly. Then she stepped inside and sighed at the air conditioning as Ben got a hug of his own.

Vivian locked the door behind her. "We can just go downstairs together, if you're ready," she said. "The other guests are already here."

"Big gathering tonight?" he asked Vivian as he put the duffel bag on the couch in the living room, next to a few others. Meanwhile Alicia took a hair band out of her purse, put her purse next to the duffel bag on the couch, put her hair in a ponytail, took the blindfold out of the purse, and tied it on.

"Average. You, Dave, Betty, and a new couple," Vivian said.

"A new couple? Really..." Ben said with an exaggerated rolling tone of voice, intrigued.

"Be gentle," Vivian warned him. "Seriously. I think they're nervous about this. Or rather, she is."

"Oh, okay. Sorry. I'll take it easy," Ben said.

"Can you give me a hand?" Alicia asked, holding out her hand.

"Sure," Ben said, taking it. He led her from the living room to the basement stairs and guided her down the corner and down.

She heard conversation as she descended. It turned to raucous greetings from multiple people as they arrived. A curvy woman wearing something silky and flowing gave her a quick hug. "Hi!" She said.

"Betty?" Alicia asked.

"Right, and here's Dave," said the woman. Alicia spread her arms, and a solidly built man gave her a brief but tight hug of his own.

"And I'm over here too. Glad you could make it," said Gene's voice. Alicia spread her arms and hugged him too, and smiled and let her hands wander down. He returned the favor, exploring the curves of her back through her light blouse, down further, wantonly groping her ass.

She heard jeers, and eventually they let go. "Well, anyways, we have a couple newcomers here," Gene said. "Alicia, meet Lewis and Rashida."

"Hi!" Alicia said brightly, extending her hand. With no other clues, she reached straight ahead, but when a man shook it, it came from her left. "Nice to meet you," the man mumbled.

"You too," Alicia said. She reoriented herself in that direction and extended her hand again, and this time it was shaken politely by a woman's hand.

"It's very nice to meet you, Alicia," said a voice Alicia assumed was Rashida.

"Thanks, same here."

"Want a drink, Ali?" Ben asked.

"Sure. Can I get a white wine?" She asked.

"Sure. Be right back."

Someone - Gene, she assumed - took her elbow and led her a few steps forward and to the left. "The gang's all here!" Vivian said. "There's another couple who comes to these pretty regularly, but they couldn't make it tonight, so it's just us."

"It's too bad, you really would have liked them," Gene said. "Especially Brandy." Alicia murmured agreement at that and heard others doing the same.

"Here you go," Ben said, putting a hand on Alicia's shoulder.

"Thanks," she said, holding a hand out. He put a wine glass in it. She took a sip.

"Dave, you've lost weight since the last time we saw you," Ben said. His tone was conspicuously casual.

"Well, thank you. I've been hitting the gym." Someone giggled.

"You know what, it was very nice to meet you all, but can I take Alicia here for a second and pick her brain?" Rashida asked.

"Um, sure, I guess," Alicia said. Someone, presumably Rashida, took Alicia's shoulder and guided her out of the crowd. She took Alicia's hand and they continued across the room.

"What did you want to talk about?" Alicia asked when they stopped. Then, hearing the change in the sound, continued, "Are we in the bathroom?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you in private," Rashida said, closing the door behind them and putting her hands on Alicia's shoulders. "Are you okay? Do you want me to call someone to come get you?"

"What? I just got here. I'm fine, why?" Alicia asked, confused.

"Why?" Rashida sputtered. "Because you've been blindfolded this whole time! You are in bondage!"

"Oh, this? This isn't bondage!" Alicia said. Then she stopped, thought about it, hemmed and hawed, and said, "Well, okay. I guess it's bondage since there's a knot here. But I don't think of it like bondage. I can take this off any time. Here, hold my glass."

She held out her wine glass. After a pause, Rashida took it. Alicia undid the knot of the blindfold and took it off. She blinked and looked at Rashida. She found a skinny woman with light brown skin, long black hair, and prominent cheekbones, wearing a black skirt and a high-necked top with a floral pattern, looking at her worriedly.

"See? I can take it off," Alicia said with a smile she hoped would be reassuring.

"I see. Thank you," Rashida said with care. "Would you like to stay in here for a while, do you think?"

Why would we want to hang out in the bathroom?

Alicia thought. Her sex-obsessed side, a personality she had named Sarah the first time she wore the blindfold, wondered about girl-on-girl action, but there was no reason to do it there, like that, and she didn't think Rashida meant that anyway.

"Why don't we just go back out to the party room and continue our chat there?" Alicia asked. Rashida nodded carefully. Alicia took her wine back in the same hand as the blindfold and opened the bathroom door with the other. She felt a bit self-conscious, she hadn't done it at the last party, but if it would make the newcomer more relaxed, she might as well.

Vivian met her eyes, and Alicia smiled. "See? No problem," Alicia said to Rashida as she stuffed the blindfold in her back pocket.

The rest of the party seemed to be fragmenting more. Vivian was talking animatedly to a short, curly-haired man who Alicia figured had to be Lewis, while Ben, Gene, Dave, and Betty seemed to be having a more casual conversation. Ben and Lewis were facing them. Ben met Alicia's eyes briefly, but Lewis seemed to be distracted by whatever Vivian was saying and most of the rest of the group had their backs to the two girls.

Rashida blinked. "Of course not," she said.

"I guess it would have been a bit confusing to see me coming down the stairs like that," Alicia said as they chatted around the counter by the fridge. "I'm sorry it gave you the wrong idea. I don't think of that as bondage, and this party isn't mainly about bondage. Not that there's anything wrong with that," she added thoughtfully.

Rashida looked skeptical.

"But anyways, enough about me. What brings you here?" Alicia asked.

Rashida looked down at her hands. "My husband and I wanted to try something new," she said.

"And... you found Gene and Viv online?" Alicia asked. "I think they meet a lot of new people that way."

Rashida nodded. "The same for you?" she asked.

"Oh, no, Ben has known Gene since they were kids," Alicia said. "In fact, the first time I met him and Vivian, it wasn't a party like this, it was a Halloween party, and I thought it would be just a normal party. That was... well, that's a story for later, maybe."

"I see," Rashida said, sounding confused.

"Have you done something like this before?" Alicia asked, beginning to worry.

"Something like what?" Rashida asked.

"Attended a kink lifestyle party," Alicia said frankly. "There are no particular rules about this, besides the testing I assume you already know about, and respecting consent and peoples' boundaries, but most people come here either because they want to do something sexual with a new partner, or watch someone else do something sexual, or be watched. Were you thinking of something like that?"

"No," Rashida whispered, her eyes wide.

Alicia got a chill. "Um. Okay. I feel like I should ask if you want me to call someone to come get you."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Rashida said, putting her hands on Alicia's arms. "I'm fine here. I wouldn't want to leave my husband alone. And that is... what we expected, I admit. I'm just not sure."

"I see," Alicia said, thinking things through. "This was probably your husband's idea, right?"

"Yes."

"And do you know what he's thinking of doing here?"

"He says he just wants to see what it's like, but I don't know," Rashida said, ending in almost a whisper.

"You think he'd do more if you gave him the chance? Or someone else did?" Alicia asked. Rashida nodded.

"And you don't seem comfortable with that," Alicia stated. Rashida nodded.

Alicia rubbed her forehead. "Are you

sure

you shouldn't leave? Both you and your husband?"

Rashida nodded miserably. "I promised I'd give this a fair chance. I don't want to do anything dirty," she corrected. "But if we just leave, just because I saw someone in a blindfold, not even doing anything, I'd be breaking my word."

"It's okay to change your mind, or be wrong sometimes," Alicia muttered. "But never mind." She took a big gulp of her wine, looked at it, looked at Rashida's empty hands, and thought. "First things first, we should get you a drink." Rashida shook her head from side to side, but Alicia tut-tutted her. "Sorry, but if you're dry-mouthed and empty-handed, you aren't giving the party a fair chance, are you?"

Alicia turned half a step and opened the fridge. "They've got white wine, as we know, and red... two different IPAs, a lager if you're into that, some liquor and mixers, Gene's a pretty good bartender... and if you want something nonalcoholic, I see orange juice, Coke, lime and grapefruit sparkling water... and the tap water right there is fine too," Alicia said. "What'll it be?"

"I'll have a Coke, I guess," Rashida said.

"Great." Alicia handed her a can. "This time of year, I'd drink it straight from the can, but if you want a cup, they're in that shelf there."

"Thank you. I know, it's so hot, isn't it!" Rashida said, laughing with relief.

Great, she seems to be calming down a bit

, Alicia thought. "I'm going to go talk to Ben and Vivian. I'll be right back and then we'll hang out some more, okay? Don't go anywhere."

Rashida nodded. Alicia hurried across the room. "Ben? Viv? Got a minute really quick?"

She separated them from their current conversational partners. "Rashida there says she doesn't want to leave, but she's almost freaking out. I think she and her husband should have talked more before coming here," Alicia said in a quick, low voice.

Vivian winced. Ben looked somewhere between confused and horrified. "I think it might help if she gets to see what the blindfold does for me, uh, us," Alicia said. "If I put it on, can you help me sort of put on a show? Don't involve her unless she asks for it, but make sure she can see what we're doing and I can talk to her, okay?"

Ben nodded quickly. Vivian arched an eyebrow. "Just like me and Linda at your first party, huh? Good thinking."

Alicia blushed. "Well, maybe."

Then Vivian nodded. "Then go to it. You're in charge. It looks like she's getting lonely."

Alicia looked back. Sure enough, Rashida was standing where Alicia had said, her soda in one hand and the other arm crossed over her chest. Alicia hurried back and waved. "Hello again! Sorry about that," she said.

"Oh, no problem," Rashida said demurely.

"I want to make it clear that you shouldn't stay if you aren't comfortable," Alicia began. "But if you want to stay, I think it might help you relax if you get to see what I get out of it. What it's like for me. Makes sense?"

"All right," Rashida said.

"Great," Alicia said, smiling as warmly as she could. She opened the fridge again and refreshed her wine glass. "Cheers," she said, now that Rashida had something to bump her glass on, even though it didn't make a clinking noise.

"Now, would you hold this please?" Alicia asked, holding her glass out. Rashida agreed, looking puzzled. Alicia took the blindfold out of her pocket and tied it back on. She was once again unable to see. Sarah, resting ever since the bathroom, came alert like a cat at dusk.

"What are you doing?" Rashida asked.

"You didn't understand this, and fair enough, it's weird. Everyone's weird somehow, right? Can I have my drink back?" She held out her hand, Rashida put the glass in it after a short pause, and Alicia carefully took a sip.

"So. I like wearing a blindfold at parties like this, and I don't think of it as bondage. I think of it like several things, but mainly a concentration aid," Alicia announced.

"And what do you mean by that?" Rashida asked.

Is she curious, or just asking because it's expected of her?

Alicia wondered.

Oh well, the answer is the same either way

.

"It helps me ignore the things that don't matter, like how people look," Alicia said. "There's a guy who comes to these parties sometimes named Barry and I don't know if he's really athletic and a hot dresser or if he's kind of short and chubby, but I know he's a generous lover," she said. That was a lie on both counts, Barry was a slim six feet tall with cute dimples when he smiled and she wasn't sure if she had ever actually been with him, but it was the first name that came to mind.

"On the other hand it helps me focus on the things that do matter, like the sense of touch. Think about that at a party like this," Alicia continued, with a smile that she hoped looked enigmatic rather than smug.

"I see," said Rashida.

"And then there's the way it makes everything a surprise," Alicia said.

Ben interrupted. "Hey, honey, would you mind holding this?" he asked.

"Uh, sure, I guess," Alicia said, and she held out a hand, and he put a beer bottle in it. She was prepared to get back to her talk with Rashida and elaborate on surprises, but apparently Ben had been eavesdropping. As soon as she opened her mouth, he reached for the front of her shirt and untied the three drawstrings on her top. Tug, tug, tug, and her top was hanging loose.

"Eep!" she blurted out.

"On my god!" Rashida cried.

"For example, I was not expecting that," Alicia laughed. She might have covered herself purely by reflex, but it was impossible with a drink in each hand. More tugs on her front, loosening the strings so they weren't held together even by inertia. "Yup, there it goes," she said, feeling air-conditioned air on her belly. "Are you ready to take your drink back, honey?" she asked brightly.

"Sure! Thanks," he said.

"And there - yup, that wasn't nearly so much of a surprise," she said, swapping her wine from one hand to the other to help someone ease the shirt off her shoulders. They followed by unsnapping her bra. "And now I'm topless."

"And you're okay with that?" Rashida asked in a disbelieving tone.

Alicia smiled. "I didn't get too good a look when I had my blindfold off, but I think a couple other people were dressed to show off the goods, weren't they?"

"... Maybe." Rashida finally said.

"I thought so. I have been to this house before with my eyes open," Alicia said. And, thinking about the wet noises and low moans she was hearing, she continued, "In fact, forget about clothes, it sounds like people are doing something even more exciting than me just getting topless. Am I right?"

"Oh my god. Uh, yes," Rashida said. "Lewis, would you come here, please?"

"Don't worry about it, okay?" Alicia said, speaking up in case Rashida had left her. "It's that kind of party, but if you don't want to be a part of whatever's going on, you don't have to. We can just keep on chatting here for a while, the two of us."

"Thank you," Rashida said in measured tones. "But I should warn you that it's not just the two of us. My husband is -"