AT THE END -- Afternoon
The power of Florida's early Fall sun was evident by the considerable warmth the pool water managed to hold; the feel of the water, lapping softly against her neck as she stooped in the shallow end, was quite nice. The languid movement of it relaxed and reassured her body, gently rocking it back and forth. Eyes closed, Ella allowed her arms to float at her sides. For just a moment, she could imagine she was the only person in the world, could escape the harsh recollection of what had just happenedâignore the fear of what lay ahead, the waves of humiliation that still crashed over her body. It was like a nightmare: you wake up, thinking that it's finally over, that you can go get a tall glass of milk, a handful of cookies, and dismiss as so much bullshit the horrible dreams your subconscious mind just subjected you toâ
And then reality comes crashing in. The hands, suddenly on her shoulders, large and demandingâthey were real. The feel of his knees, bent slightly, as they slid behind her thighsâoh, those were real. The bulk of his chest pressing against her back, the length of his erect penis nestling between the cheeks of her assâall undeniably real.
"Hey," he whispered, "how's it going?"
His voice, whispered inches from her ear... that was real, too.
Ella felt his hands move down her arms and underneath her buoyant breasts, squeezing them firmly under the water, mashing them together.
It was all very, very real...
CHAPTER 1 -- Aftermath
It seemed impossible to think that she could overcome what had happened, the night in the closet or the lunch hour on the exam tableâand yet she had, if not overcome, at least reached an uneasy truce with those ill-fated occurrences. These lurid events, seared forever in her mind, were forced into a dark, unused corner, safely away from conscious thought. There were two reasons for this: one, she threw herself into everything, all the way, staying so busy she just didn't have a spare moment to waste thinking about something she could never change. Two, her dreams... that was a place she couldn't escape, a place where no amount of busy-work or studying or running or anything else could serve to push away the intruding memories of what had transpired only a few short weeks ago. The nightmares... at least, once awake, the nightmares fadedâand at least the nightmares kept the daytime ponderings at bay.
Ella's life, such as it was, divided by the uneasy compact between conscious thoughtlessness and subconscious preoccupation, settled into a comfortably predictable routine. She continued her diligence with respect to her studies; started running four or five days a week; had cheerleading practice three days a week; and, of course, had football games every Friday night, where the Key Biscayne football madness encompassed her life for a few short hours.
Her studies were exemplary, as always. Nobody hit the books harder than Ella Sanders. Running was something she started the day after Dr. Tarsal came to the campus, it was a way she sought to escape, ever so briefly, into a world of pure physical exertionâand she loved it. In no time she was running 20 miles a week and had been for just over a month now. The mental impact was one thingâthe physical impact was something else, her body had trimmed up very nicely in the last few weeks, adding some lean muscle and melting away pounds of stubborn baby fat around her waist.
The guys at Key Biscayne JC certainly agreed. She was no longer the slightly pudgy, big breasted cheerleader that everybody watched walk by, she was now the smokin' hot nerd that never wore makeup and never dressed upâbecause she didn't have to. And they didn't just watch, they fucking STARED. Naturally, she was mostly oblivious to all the newfound attention.
As for cheerleadingâthat was quite the success story, as well. Ella was punctual, practical, and devoted. The cheerleading crew was the picture of efficiency: a well-oiled machine executing each drill and movement at both practice and games as though they were engineered for it. It seemed that the night of the first game had never happened, which was exactly the way Ella wanted it. She went out of her way to avoid social settings with Jenny or any of the other cheerleaders and instead focused on arriving at practice on time, flawlessly delivering all her cheers and routines, and leaving as quickly and quietly as possible. Even her new uniform had been a wonder, for it fit her perfectly. Still, there were a few catcalls at the games, but Ella did her best to ignore them. It seemed a few of the home fans wanted a repeat of the now legendary Topless Cheerleader show.
Of course, it was easy to cheer for a winner. Key Biscayne was now 7 -- 0, a defensive juggernaut racking up impressive wins behind the play of blistering defensive pressure and the calm, collected decision making of star quarterback Stone Moore. Stone was a maniac, a one-man wrecking crew who single-handedly put defenses on their heels with his incredible speed and innate sense of where every defender would be on any given play.
Ella was relieved that Stone, Stu, and Ricky had seen fit to give her a wide berth since the events of the night following the first game. She was glad for the time it gave her to devote solely to school, running, and practice. She figured it must have all been 'typical' cheerleader initiationâalbeit an initiation she very much disliked. She assumed all the cheerleaders had gone through it, so she sucked it up and managed to compartmentalize those events (along with the dreadful physical she had endured) in a distant corner of her brain, tucked away where she could try to let them just fade away...
Chapter 2 -- Practice
Thursday afternoon was a normal practice day. Jenny Thompson stood before the other six members of the cheerleading squad, hands on her hips. Her face was very seriousâalmost as if someone had died. Suddenly, her eyes brightened and the blonde bombshell smiled.
"Ok, this is the bye week, so no game tomorrow night. We're taking today offâ" scattered small cheers could be heard for the extra downtime, "âand having practice at my house on Saturday morning, 10am sharp. As you all know it'll take about an hour or so to go through all the routines, and then... barbecue! Daddy will be there, cooking everything up for us, so it should be lots of fun! Anybody have a problem with that?" Jenny asked, looking at Ella meaningfully.
None of the others objected. Ella considered it briefly; her natural inclination was to refuse, but if Jenny's father would be there, she supposed it would be all right. Besides, it was an early-morning practice, and everything had gone fine for the last six weeks. She shook her head slightly and said, "No problem."
"Excellent! See y'all there."
As the girls dispersed, Jenny made a b-line to Ella. "Will you need a ride, Ella? I could come pick you up if you need a lift, or I'm sure you could hitch a ride with one of the others. I think Anna stays just off campus, she could probably hook you up."
"I... well, yeah, I think so. I usually just hoof it around, or ride my bike, but your place is kind of out thereâ"