This story is fiction and will hopefully remain fiction. The ideas and actions in this story are meant to be taken as fantasy and do not reflect the views and recommendations of me, the author. This chapter does not involve penetrative sex, so if that's what you're looking for, I'm sorry. Please enjoy with a detachment from the real world.
Follows, faves, stars and comments are a great way to give me free dopamine. Thanks in advance.
---
Belle and I quickly exited my car, covering our breasts with our arms as best we could and ran to the back of the house, climbing the stairs leading to my new duplex.
Once inside, we headed straight to my cozy bedroom and I dug out t-shirts for us. After that first experience, I didn't want to leave again unless I had to, so I saw no point in going for a bra.
"Belle, we need to do something," I said as I pulled a university t-shirt over my head. "Even if you want to, you can't be with me to sacrificially take cock for me every time."
Belle pouted. "While I do like dick, I don't want it *all* the time," she agreed. "There has to be some kind of Rose clause or something that says homosexuals can't be completely fair game. Male roses are a thing. There's no way straight guy Roses are forced to take it up the ass."
"You might be onto something," I said as Belle fixed her hair. I left my room and went into the living room, finding my laptop sitting on a glass coffee table. I did a quick web search and found out that I had 24 hours from getting my rose marking to change my designation of sexual orientation. It would be a basic added bracket on both sides of the rose.
"Why the fuck wouldn't they tell you that? Why did you have to research it?" Belle asked, her face getting red with anger. She was one of the most excitable people I knew.
"This is just my theory, but I think it's a sinister move to keep me from knowing I have the right to set my sexual preference. They make way more money off of me if I'm fuckable to everyone." That the State would hide such important knowledge to my well-being and preferences was disturbing to me. "I know we just left, but I need to go back to the Office of State right now," I said, fishing my keys out of my purse.
"I'm with you," Belle said, my ever faithful best friend. After putting on my shirt that was a little too big for her, she fixed her hair into a messy ponytail with an eye cover like mine to hide the 'I,' which made her look like Lola Bunny, especially in her basketball shorts. Given that I was the lesbian, it was a little funny that she looked more butch than I did. I'm not saying that all lesbians are identifiable or have to look a certain way, but out of the two of us, nobody would guess it was me. That's also not to say I was butch-presenting. Straight guys hit on me all the fucking time.
Once we were casually dressed again and our hair fixed to hide our markings, we headed back to my car, not feeling like we had to run, given we were fully clothed this time. We left without bras, but the t-shirts were a small comfort.
My car was far from fancy, given that I was a lowly community college girl. It was a Chevy Impala, not a sexy muscle car Impala like on Supernatural. It was a 2010 Impala, forest green, and probably on its last legs.
Driving to the State Office, every car, every person we passed felt like an enemy. Every one of them was someone who could use me, defile me, for $25. Until I got my brackets, any man could scan my code and stick his disgusting cock in me, and the idea made me want to vomit.
Pulling into the first available spot, I broke out of the safety of my vehicle and jogged for the Office, feeling like at any moment I could be tackled to the ground and used. I wouldn't know a moment's rest until I had my brackets. I wasn't looking forward to getting groped and stripped by anyone with spare change, but I could begrudgingly live with that. The idea of going to class Monday, getting bent over and fucked was far too much.
I had to stop myself from bursting through the door. I patiently waited for the two people in line ahead of me to finish their business before the caseworker smiled upon seeing me. "Kate? Back so soon?"
"Yes," I said, trying not to take it out on her personally that she didn't tell me that my sexual preference mattered. "I want my brackets."
I half expected her to look mad, or to look caught in a lie or the dirty trap that this all was. Instead, I saw a relieved smile. "You did some more research, I see." At that point, Belle had finally caught up and stood next to me.
"Yes we did," I said, trying to contain my anger. "We did some research after I almost got fucked by two men at the grocery store."
"I got it instead," Belle grumbled, moving her hair long enough to show the caseworker the 'I' on her cheek. "Give her the brackets, please."
"You're easily within the 24 hour window. Come here," she said, leading Belle and I back to the same room where I was so clinically inked a short time ago.
I immediately sat back on the stool and brushed my black hair aside.
"I'm sorry you had a close brush, Kate," she said, sounding genuinely contrite. Then she turned to Belle. I'm sorry you paid the price." She pulled open a door and came back to me with two tattoos. "It's State policy not to tell unless asked about Preference Practices. It's fucking disgusting, cruel, and barbaric." She leaned in close to my ear and whispered as she applied the tattoos, "There's clearly a lot I disagree with, which is why I became a caseworker." She pulled back. "Because I've experienced what sucks about this."
I tried to force a smile, to show my gratitude as I felt the saving ink of the brackets slowly drying on my cheeks. "I hate this system, but I appreciate you," I said as she set up the little fan to dry my ink again.
"Now that you have brackets, there are some more things you need to be aware of," she said as she went to a tall filing cabinet and pulled out a thin pack of papers. "You need to sign this affidavit that states you are claiming to be a lesbian. This will protect you if a man tries to penetrate you. If one does, he will again, be sued by both you and the State for damages and be faced with 10-15 years' sentence, depending on severity of the assault."
"I don't hate that," I said. "However, I feel there's a 'but' coming somewhere."
"The affidavit will also be referenced if you attempt to marry a man while you are a Rose."
"Oh, that's no big deal at all," I shrugged. "I assume a lot of Roses get brackets to try to avoid penetration but aren't actual lesbians?"
"They do," she confirmed. "I didn't drag you through the gauntlet of questions because you were here under five hours ago, you're already in a different shirt, and your friend has dried cum next to her right eye."
"Oh goddamn it!" Belle cursed and licked her thumb before scrubbing at that part of her face. "Well what's the rest of the bracket packet?" she asked before I could.
The caseworker sighed. "Unfortunately, the bracket only stops men from penetrating you. Luckily they can't do felacio, either. But anything they can do with their hands and mouths is legal. The State says it's because those are parts both sexes have. They're missing a lot of the picture, but the State wants their money."
I could feel my face contorting at the idea of a group of guys cornering me somewhere, tearing my clothes off and doing every imaginable thing to me accept fucking my holes. "It... it is better than nothing," I grimaced despite trying to see the super thin silver lining. "It's a protection that could be better, but I'll take it."
"Kate," my coworker called to me before Belle and I could leave. "If there's anything else... please call me. I can tell you're a nice girl, and I want to help you all I can."
"Thanks," I smiled at her, and it still sat weird in my gut that I didn't even know her name. Part of me didn't want to. She was just another part of the system that was fucking me over for money. She was the shinier part of that system, but still part of it. "I know a law student that's focusing on Rose laws," I said. I wouldn't exactly call her a friend.
"That's good. She can help you find loopholes and tips that Im hamstrung against telling you. Lean on her."
"C'mon, Kate," Belle said, taking my hand. "Let's get out of here."
"Excuse me," she said one more time. "I'm afraid I don't know your name."
"Belle."
"Belle," the caseworker said sweetly. "I can tell that you care for Kate dearly, and that you'll be with her through all of this. It might be in your best interest to electively become a Rose. If you're going to suffer for sticking up for your friend... you might as well get rich off of it. If you do it electively, you don't get extra support benefits, but you can wash off the rose and code. It's a way you and the State can make a lot of money."
"Okay, now we're going," I said, shocked that she'd even say such a thing to Belle, my poor sweet little protector.
"Uh, yeah, no thanks. I'm going to stand up for my friend because that's the right thing to do, but I'm not going to sign up to be a whore." Belle froze after her last sentence which was meant to be defending me, but.... "Oh my God, girl! I did not mean to call you a whore!" she backpedalled. "You were forced into this, you didn't choose this, is what I'm saying."
"I know what you meant, Belle. It's okay," I assured her as we left the State Office. "You're the best friend I have," I said as we headed back to my car. "We still didn't eat. We got dressed and came right back out," I pouted.
"Wanna just grab something quick somewhere, or head back to your place where it's safe?" Belle asked.
"A fair question," I sighed. "It'd be nice to go casually sit down, but unless I want to lose more clothing and be utterly embarrassed and assaulted, it's either my place or drive-throughs."
"We can hit a coffee shop and grab some bagel sandwiches?" Belle suggested.
"Deal," I said with a smile and pulled my car out of park. "It'll be a nice way of trying to pretend I'm not hunted."
"I'm sorry, Kate. I know I keep saying it, but I mean it every time. You're a hard worker, you do your best in school, and you're a hell of a basketball player. You don't need this on top of all of that."
My eyes went wide. "Oh my fuck, the team!" I said in distress. "How are they supposed to feel inspired by their team captain when she's a fucking Rose? Will I still be able to play?"
"Can they kick you off the team for a State sanctioned thing? You're doing your 'duty' or whatever, so they can't, right?"
"I-I don't know. But I have scholarships through the team. If I get kicked off the team, I lose them and then I won't be able to finish school, I won't be able to get a big girl job, and I'll be stuck a State slut forever!" Everything in my mind started to snowball, and then avalanche. I was starting to have a panic attack, I realized. Did this happen to everyone?
"Hey girl, one step at a time," Belle said softly, rubbing my back. It's okay. Breathe. We'll figure it out. We'll call that one girl, the cute redhead that's a law student. She can have some answers."
"Claire! That's right!" I dug into my back pocket and pulled out the receipt at the stop sign. "Can you text her for me?"
"You kept her number? Were you thinking about calling her for a date?" Belle asked, making her cute blonde eyebrows dance.
