Carmen flirted with the hunky UPS guy as he picked up the last of our boxes, and I hummed a bit of "school's out for summer" as I turned in the key to the landlord. We made one last round through the apartment—we did want that deposit back—then tossed our suitcases in the trunk of my convertible.
Carmen waited until I got the top down before sliding into the seat. She pulled the neckline of her tank top away from her body and fanned her breasts with a magazine. "It's hot as hell out here, girl. Let's go!" I grinned and gunned the engine. What Carmen lacked in modesty, she made up for in fun. She'd come to the university on an athletic scholarship, then tried out and made cheerleader her junior year. She took a great deal of pride in her body, and men responded in kind. Her current boyfriend, James, seemed to have her under control, however, and as I turned onto the freeway, I glanced again at the light bruises that circled her wrists and ankles.
"What's James think about this trip?"
Her laugh was as robust as her thick, dark hair and her figure. "He promised he'd call and leave teasing messages on my cell phone the whole month. He thinks I'll fly home, begging him to fuck me."
"Would you?"
She reached down and adjust the seat backwards, propping her feet up on the dash and spreading her knees. "Maybe! He sure has rocked me the last couple of nights."
I never suspected Carmen, the wild child, would want to give up control to any man, but James had introduced her to bondage, and Carmen had become an eager student. The last two nights, her tales of gags, bonds, flails, and toys had left me so wet, I'd pinched my clit until I came twice. My own boyfriend, Charles, was so vanilla that I felt neglected. When I'd suggested a little more than the missionary position, he'd been offended.
"I don't think I'm going to miss Charles at all. That's horrible for me to say, isn't it?"
Carmen pulled a scarf out of her purse and tamed her hair, then put her sunglasses back on. "Come on, girl. These need some tough love, too." With that, she reached over and pinched my nipple. I screeched, and a horn sounded, making both of us jump. "What the hell?"
The SUV that had been passing us slowed to match our speed. The two men on the passenger side waved furiously, and motioned for us to flash them. Laughing, Carmen lifted her tank top, wagging her bare C-cup beauties at them. The car swerved and almost went out into the median. The driver hit the brakes in an effort to regain control, and Carmen collapsed against the seat.
"Girl!" I shouted, "you're a dangerous weapon! And I should have worn a bra!"
"No, you should not! Just because you're a double-D doesn't mean you have to fence them in!" She jerked my shirt up, and this time the poor SUV driver wasn't the only one who had to slow down to get control.
She loved the attention. Seemed to crave it. Getting home would take two days of constant driving, and I had the suspicion she was going to flirt with the boys on the road the rest of the trip. She certainly did that day, and the truckers, especially, loved it, rewarding us with blown kisses and horns blown. She'd lift her top, and sometimes mine, or spread her legs on the dash and pat her pussy.
What the hell, I thought, you're only young once. Carmen, who had been my roommate for the past three years, was my best friend, someone I'd considered as close as a sister. We did everything, except date, together.
We stopped for dinner around 6:30, then drove on another hundred miles or so before stopping at a little motel next to a truck stop. In our first day on the road, we'd traversed two states and driven almost 600 miles. We were exhausted. We showered and drew the heavy drapes, plunging the room into darkness. We were sound asleep well before the late news.
I have no idea how much time had passed when I heard Carmen's scream. My sleep was so deep that I felt drugged, and as I struggled to wake up, a second scream ended abruptly. Before I could react, hands grabbed my shoulders and flipped me over. A weight hit my chest, knocking my breath out. I gulped for air, and a thick rod pressed down on my throat, pinning me to the bed.
A hoarse male voice whispered in my ear. "You scream, bitch, and I'll snap your neck. You understand?"
I couldn't breathe, and nodding hurt, but I tried. Apparently, it was enough, as the pressure eased on my neck. I sucked in air and tried to look around. The room remained mostly dark, although I could see a dim light coming from the wall opposite the bed. It made no sense at first, then I realized the two doors separating our room from the next one were open. I tried to twist my head to see, and barely caught a glimpse of a struggling, gagged Carmen. Then the door shut.
"Don't worry about your slut friend. She'll be taken care of, just like you will be." To my right, the bathroom light came on, and I realized there were two men in the room. Both wore ski masks, and the one sitting on my chest appeared to be taller and heavier. And in charge.
Tears burned my eyes as a hot fear shot through me, making me shiver. "Please don't." My voice came out a cracked whisper, and he laughed, reaching down to entwine his fingers in my hair. He stood up quickly, jerking me off the bed by my hair. Pain shot through my skull and I cried out involuntarily, a sound more like a wounded kitten than a woman.
He laughed as he pulled me toward a long narrow table that had once stood next to the window, the motel version of a desk. I stumbled, my arms flailing, trying to get my balance. Instead, he shoved me down across the flat surface, so that my head and breasts hung off one side, my ass and legs sticking out on the other. He let go of my hair as I landed hard, immediately grabbing my upper arms and pulling them backwards. "You ready?" he said.
"Yep," the other man replied, and handcuffs clinked as they locked around my wrists. The partner worked quickly then, looping rope around my elbows, pulling my shoulders back, which pushed my breasts high. More pain as my joints resisted the position, and tears now streamed down my cheeks. "Please. . .don't."
The larger man slapped me. "No talking, slut. You should have kept your shirt down out there. Not a man alive who wouldn't want to be here now."
