Author's note:
This story is a stand-alone story and complete, but I do have several sequels planned.
In the off-chance you missed the subtle hints in the title, description and category, this story deals with themes of rape, specifically rape fantasy. Real world rape is completely different to a woman having a rape fantasy, and if you don't know the difference please move on.
It was 7:27 am and I didn't need to be at the office until 8 am, but first day at a new job in a new city... you bet I arrived early. Locating a building on Google Maps was nothing like actually being there and staring it down. Thirty-three minutes was, however, a tad too early to walk through the front door, even on the first day. So I turned away from the hideous building I'd soon be calling "work" to suss out a good place to grab a coffee.
I'd only just moved up here from Melbourne. The ending of a ten-year relationship with the man who'd been my boyfriend since we were teenagers had really turned my life upside down. He'd been my one and only. I'd skipped out on the stage many young women go through, dating, having experiences with different people, because I'd been in a relationship. I'd given him my youth and then he'd gone and cheated on me. So, old life behind, new job, new city. Maybe I could live out some of the experiences I'd missed out on. I was in my late 20s, but still looked good. ell, in my opinion, anyway. Of course, I'd heard that the nightlife here was virtually non-existent. "Good luck if you want to find a place that serves dinner after six," one of my friends had said to me. But, we'd see.
As I walked I found the usual big coffee chains, but after a bit of wandering around I found a small "hole in the wall" place. The whole shop couldn't have been more than two metres square, it was just big enough for the barista to stand behind the counter.
"Good morning," I greeted him. He was an older chap, thin with curling grey hair pulled into a ponytail. Probably should have been retired by now, but who could afford that what with the economy being what it was. "A small skinny latte please."
"Wow, was that a full sentence and everything?" he asked with a bit of a chuckle as he grabbed a paper cup from the stack on the counter.
"I know, before coffee and everything, right?" I joked. "Bet not many people manage that?"
"Deserve a medal," he said, "But nah, not many do these days. Folks spent two years locked away and forgot how to interact with people."
"Dunno, this is my first day back at the office and I still remember how to say good morning."
"Ah, boss finally forced you back into the office then, hey?"
"Nah, new job."
"Ah, yeah, gotta at least turn up to the first day." He poured some milk into a jug and began frothing it.
"Yeah. And while I may not have forgotten how to talk to people, I did forget how annoying these are." I gestured to my corporate, high-heeled shoes. The man chuckled.
"Well, I can't comment on that," he said. Then he gave me a cheeky little glance. "Or maybe I could!" I laughed.
"In truth, if I could teleport I wouldn't mind going into the office every day," I said. I liked people, I liked the hum of a busy office, but spending two hours a day on a packed train just sucked.
"Would that be your superhero power?" the barista asked as he handed me my coffee. "If you could choose only one."
"Now that's a big question before coffee and all." I thought about it. Just one power. Teleportation would be cool. So would flying. X-ray vision could be handy, and not just to see people naked, but you could use it to pick the winning scratchie. Knowledge of the future would be useful too, really useful... But only one power... "Control over time," I answered. That achieved teleportation (freeze time and walk there,) knowledge of the future... so much could be achieved with control over time. Not the joy of flying, but you couldn't have everything you wanted.
"Good choice," The barista answered. Something... That was weird. Suddenly my nipples were hard and I was feeling wet... down there. It was like I suddenly felt the after-effects of being aroused without being aroused... Maybe a combination of nerves and the need for coffee? Old mate barista had certainly not done anything to cause such an arousal. "Oh, here," he reached beneath the counter and handed me a small booklet not much bigger than a business card.
"Thanks," I said. "Have a great day!" I turned around and walked back to the office drinking what was a pretty awesome coffee, putting my weird feeling out of mind. It always pays to skip the big chains and go for the small guys. A few shops down the street I paused to put the small booklet in my purse. I glanced at it, expecting it to be some sort of loyalty card or "where our coffee comes from" story. It wasn't. The front read "How to Freeze time." I rolled my eyes. He probably asked everyone the superhero power and gave out a booklet closest to their power, probably some advertising thing. "Enjoy a good cup of coffee, feels like time's stopped still." I looked around for a rubbish bin but there wasn't one right here. But something else was off with the street. I couldn't see the little coffee shop and I should have been able to, it was only a few shops back. I was tempted to go and look so I glanced at my watch. Shit! It was 7:53. I didn't want to be too early, but I still wanted to be a little bit early. I hurried back to the office.
I had one more road to cross to get to the office, and the crossing light was green as I approached. I ran, the best I could in my heels to the crossing. It was one of those where the numbers counted down and you weren't meant to start crossing once it hit 1. 10...9...8...7... I wasn't going to make it. But I sped up anyway. 6...5...4...3...2... stop traffic lights! Stop! My head begged. Just
freeze!
2...2...2... Somehow the light stayed on two just long enough for me to sprint onto the road. But something felt off. It was like the world around me was frozen in place and I was the only one moving. I blinked and the world was normal. Just my imagination. I made it across the road just in time and arrived at my new work at 7:55am.
My first day was fine, as first days go. In the afternoon there was a farewell party for someone going on maternity leave. Never one to say no to free cake, I went along. I was flirting a little with one of the cute guys there when I turned around and accidentally knocked a jug of raspberry soft drink off the table with my elbow. Instinctively I reached out to grab it, knowing I had not a chance. It was one of those moments when you just wished time would stand still.
And it did.
Everything froze. The people, still. The hum of conversation, silent. Even the soft drink froze in mid-air, half spilt out of the jug. Everything but me. Holy shit. This morning I wished for control over time and here I was, freezing time. I reached out and touched the jug and found I could move it. I scooped all the suspended soft drink back into the jug and found it settled back in there like it hadn't spilt in the first place. That didn't make sense, but then, neither did freezing time. Now I just needed time to...
unfreeze?
Time started again. Right where it left off.
"Woah!" the cute guy I'd been talking to exclaimed. "Nice catch!"