Dearest reader
How are you? I hope you're well. Obviously, if you haven't read parts 1 and 2, I would go and read those first.
Trigger warning:
During this chapter characters discuss rape and film scenes of simulated rape.
All characters involved in sexual activity are over 18.
Massive thanks to Alina X and Mykymyk2 for their input, feedback and guidance. They've helped make this a better story. Any remaining flaws and errors are entirely my own fault.
Happy reading.
Love T x
Amanda - Thursday
Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh! Waaargh!
Ow! Fuck, that alarm is, like, loud. I shove a hand out from under the duvet and slap it around on the bedside table, but my phone isn't there. I nearly knock over a glass of water as I try to find the source of this hideous noise and then, suddenly, it shuts off.
I feel a draught on my back as the covers are pulled back from the other side of the bed, and it dawns on me that this isn't my bed, and this isn't my room, and that wasn't my alarm. I sit up, wincing as both my brain and my groin make their discomfort known to me, and catch sight of a tall, pale, red-haired and very naked female form disappearing into a bathroom.
I slump down in the bed, hands over my face, trying to remember how I got here.
The night before
"This was a bad idea!" I yell at Sarah, pointing at Samantha.
"I know," she yells back, "but she was determined!"
Samantha is sitting in the corner wearing DayGlo noise-cancelling ear defenders, the kind you see small children wearing at festivals, and big dark glasses. She's also wearing latex gloves. At least they are white, so the UV catches them, but I don't think she could look more out of place if she was wearing a sandwich board that declared
God hates gays
. She's reading her Kindle. Probably the latest page turner from the Journal of Cellular Physiology or something.
We're in the purple palace that is the Queen's Shilling, somewhere I've never been. Samantha insisted on coming, using the logic that if I went with Sarah, everyone would assume we were a couple and thus nobody would hit on me. The fact that Samantha will not dance, however, has rendered her logic redundant. Besides, I'm sure friends go to gay bars together and manage to pick people up, right? Not that I necessarily want to pull tonight... that isn't really the point. It is more just exploring, seeing how comfortable I feel here, whether it seems right. So far, it just feels like being at any other nightclub, which is good I guess, except that the boys are checking out the boys and the girls are checking the girls, and nobody has tried to cop a feel. I'm also wondering whether this is really me. Just like at the gym, while I can see many of the girls are objectively beautiful, there are none I want to walk up and beg a dance from. Nobody here sets my world on fire. Not for the first time, I find myself wondering whether it was just Carrie? That said, I've been having a great time, the wine and shots giving me a buzz and helping me fill the emptiness felt after Carrie fled.
"I think I'm going to have to take her home!" RenΓ©e Rap almost drowns Sarah out.
I nod. It's cool. I've got the vibe. I feel comfortable. I've also managed to go about an hour without thinking of Carrie and how pissed off I am with her, which is more than I've been able to do all day. Mission accomplished, I'd say.
"Sure! Whenever!" I yell back.
"You don't mind?!"
"Nah! It's all good!"
She nods. We start moving towards Samantha, but then Sarah grabs my hand and veers off towards the corner of the bar.
"Hey!" I hear her yell, "Kate! How are you?!"
She embraces a tall blonde woman with a pixie cut, who looks vaguely familiar. She's standing with a shorter brunette, though it's hard to be sure about hair colour under these neon lights. They are both sipping beer. Sarah hugs the other woman.
"Girls, this is Amanda, my flatmate! Amanda, this is Kate - she worked with me at the lounge - and Melissa, her housemate!"
We all say hey with a round of hugs.
"Look, could Amanda hang with you two?! This is her first time 'out'," the other two give me a smile and nod, "but I need to take Samantha home..."
"Samantha's here?!"
"Yeah, she's over there..."
"You,
like
, know Samantha?!" I ask.
"Yeah, I'm her tutor!"
"Cool!"
"Shall I come and say hi?!"
"I'll bring her over! Then we'll go; is that OK, Amanda?! Kate and Mel will look after you?!" They both nod, reassuringly.
"So, when did you come out?!" Mel shouts in my ear as Sarah nips across the small room to fetch Samantha.
"Not sure if I am, you know?! I mean, I slept with a girl last week and it was, like, amazing, but I don't know what that means for me yet! Like, maybe it's just her?!"
She nods reassuringly. "I'm a one woman girl too!"
"You and Kate been together, like, long?!"
"Nah! We're not together! We live together, but like, our girlfriends live with us too! They're at the studio tonight, recording, so we thought we'd come down for karaoke, but got the fucking night wrong didn't we?!"
"Shamel! I love karaoke!"
"Yeah, well, we fucked up: it's on Mondays apparently!"
"Bummer!"
I feel a tap on my shoulder. I hadn't noticed Sarah coming over. Samanatha is showing Kate something on her kindle.
"We're going to go then, babe, if that's ok?! Kate and Mel are lovely, and they live in Cotham, so they can see you most of the way home!"
I give her a thumbs up and a hug. "Thanks Sarah!"