The Ride Home

A special "Thanks" to FindingMyVoice for her wonderful editing assistance!

*****

Chapter 1

Just before the doors of the subway slid shut, Katie Wilson slipped through and steadied herself against one of the standing poles in the middle of the subway car.

As the subway started pulling away, she swayed slightly, her body trying to keep with the motion of the accelerating car, both hands tightly gripping the metal pole in front of her. Even though there were hardly any people on the subway car (and thus plenty of open seats), Katie just wanted to catch her breath for a few moments. Eventually she turned around and slipped down into a white plastic seat against the wall of the car.

She plopped her two handbags (the smaller tan one belonging to her, the oversized garishly red one her roommate's) on the seat next to her and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes, exhaling slowly, trying to calm her racing heart and stop the slight spinning in her head.

She only had that one drink, but perhaps her rushing to catch the subway caused that extra dizziness she was feeling... or maybe it was something else.

Now that she could finally relax, "safe" on her way home, she reflected on the crazy events of the past few hours.

The night started off as you may expect any crazy night would start off, with her roommate, Sandy, urging her to go out. Although she was pretty exhausted from a really busy week at work, and honestly wanted nothing more than to curl up with a good book that night, she somehow allowed Sandy to talk her into going with her on a double date.

Sandy's latest "flavor of the week" was some banker named Johnny and apparently Johnny was convinced that Katie would hit it off with his college buddy, Rick. How he figured this, Katie wasn't sure, as she's only met Johnny one time, and they'd not said more than the typical "hello, nice to meet you" kinds of things.

But Sandy really liked this Johnny fellow, and after hours of pleading (and a promise to take Katie out next week for a manicure), Katie reluctantly agreed.

It was almost worth it to see how excited Sandy was, and Katie vowed she'd do her best to try to enjoy herself. She let Sandy have her fun, advising Katie what to wear and telling her to "keep an open mind" about Rick, and to stop acting like an "old maid."

Now Katie knew she didn't act like an "old maid," but understood why her

friend

would say that. Although she would never refer to Sandy as one who "gets around", well... perhaps that's exactly how she'd describe her! Sandy was always on the lookout for a new man, and when they were out, was always surrounded by them. In the three years they'd been friends, Katie figured that Sandy must've had dozens of partners, and seemed to relish being with each and every one of them.

She often said how at 24, Katie was wasting the "prime of her dating life" and couldn't understand why she wasn't out partying all the time. But Katie just wasn't like that. She'd really only had one boyfriend, her high school sweetheart, Luke, and after that relationship she'd rarely dated. She honestly didn't feel comfortable around men, and absolutely hated the phony small talk that was involved in meeting them.

And when she did allow Sandy to drag her out to some club or bar, Sandy was always the one the guys wanted to talk to, always leaving Katie feeling out of place and uncomfortable.

Sandy would always say how gorgeous Katie was, and how she projected an aloofness that intimidated people. But how could her social anxieties be perceived as "aloofness?"

And although Katie knew that Sandy didn't have the "ideal" look to her (she was quite short and could lose a few pounds), she ALWAYS got the attention, despite Sandy's constant wishes about having Katie's "big blue eyes," or "curly locks" (her "Caucasian envy" as Sandy would put it, being of Korean descent). Katie figured there was nothing exactly wrong with her, but also knew there was something that just must not be entirely ... appropriate either. There was something Sandy had that she didn't.

But after her breakup, following the yearlong attempt at a long distance relationship with Luke, she didn't feel like dating much anyway. And then work took over and she just decided to focus on her career for now... except for the times, like that night, when she allowed her crazy friend to take her out on a blind "double date."

So she was wearing the orange dress Sandy picked out for her, but she drew the line when Sandy attempted to dictate her underwear. What difference would what she's wearing under her dress make? She sure as hell wasn't going to be doing anything on her date tonight, no matter how much she may like this "Rick" fellow.

But when Sandy wouldn't stop pestering her, Katie finally agreed to wear a pair of white thigh high stockings to match and contrast the black pair Sandy was wearing. After all, she would have gone out bare legged anyway, so she figured it didn't really matter much if only the two of them knew that she was wearing this slightly more risqué kind of garment (although for Sandy, this was not unusual, as she has drawers of thongs, stockings, and garters). And if it made Sandy happy, she decided to just go with it.

Katie was even feeling a bit optimistic when they got to the bar and she was introduced to Rick, a tall, well-built, handsome man with a winning smile. It was amazing how quickly things went downhill.

After the standard introductions and Rick's expected "Johnny's told me so much about you," Johnny told Sandy he had something for her in his car and led her outside, leaving Katie alone with her new "friend." It took less than a minute for Katie to determine that Rick was a self-centered prick.

In that first minute he familiarized Katie with his salary, his car, and what he paid for his condo. Minute 2 revealed his exercise schedule and how much he could bench press. When his attention finally turned to Katie it was to get her drink order (snapping to a waitress to get her attention), and to praise her with the compliment, "Johnny was right, you ARE smokin' hot!"

When their drinks arrived, Rick seemed to turn up his crassness, encouraging Katie to "drink up" as he downed his first beer in moments and flagged down another waitress. Although Katie had barely sipped her dirty martini, he attempted to order her another which she had to tell the waitress not to bring.

"Come on Katie, have some fun!" he chided. "I know you ladies took the subway, so I know you're not driving home!"

Katie decided then and there that she would have no more than that one drink.

It was after Rick's second beer that he started getting handsy. Although he seemed to scoff at the yoga classes she went to (at least her exercise routine was SOMETHING about her he seemed to want to know more about), he wasted no time putting his hands on her shoulders, insisting there must be something more she does to keep her body looking so "good."

And when Sandy and Johnny returned, his hand slid down her back, to her waist as he turned to high five his friend with his other hand.

She stepped towards Sandy, breaking contact with Rick's hand.

"Excuse us gentlemen, the ladies need to freshen up!" Sandy said with a smile and thankfully pulled Katie away toward the bathroom. Katie was relieved to be able to talk to her friend in private, and was looking forward to telling Sandy what a cretin Johnny's friend was and insist that the rest of the "date" be aborted.

"Oh my god Katie, look what Johnny gave me!" Sandy exclaimed and Katie noticed the oversized red handbag she was carrying. "Last week while we were out I saw this in the store, mentioned how much I loved it, and he shows up with it tonight! Isn't that so sweet?" Katie forced herself to smile, now realizing she may not get out of this that easily.

"So how's Rick?" she asked with a devilish grin. "He's a hottie isn't he?"

Katie looked at her friend's smile that look of anticipation and forced herself to say, "He's ok, I guess..." resigned to the fact that she'd be stuck with him a little longer.

"Wow, someone getting lucky tonight?" Sandy gave her a little shove with a wink. "That's high praise from you! Come on, let's get back." With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, Katie followed Sandy back to the bar.

When they got back to the guys, Rick was waiting with a full martini glass extended towards Katie.

"To Johnny and Sandy!" he exclaimed. Katie reluctantly accepted the drink (although she knew her first drink was only half gone when she left with Sandy), and took a sip.

"Come on Katie, drink up!" Rick insisted.

"No, I'm fine," she said. "I wasn't finished with my first one...," she added quietly, taking another sip.

"Dirty martini right?" he asked. "I got it extra dirty for you," he added with a wink. "Not good?"

To appease him, she took another drink and nodded, hardly believing just how cheesy he was.

Johnny leaned over to them. "Hey guys, I have another surprise for this sexy lady," he said pulling Sandy close. Katie felt Rick's hand slide around her waist again and barely resisted elbowing him in the stomach. "Would you excuse us again for a little while?"

Katie looked pleadingly at Sandy, but when she saw that expectant smile, she knew she was sunk.

"Sure, you two take all the time you need," Rick said as his hand slid down to Katie's hip.

"Thanks, Katie!" Sandy said excitedly, leaning in conspiratorially. "I wonder what it is this time! There's someone he wants me to meet upstairs! Hey can you

hold onto my new handbag for me? I'll be back soon!" Katie smiled as Sandy spoke and tried to ignore Rick's hand as it slid in slow circles moving lower on her hip and around towards her behind.

The moment Sandy turned to go, Katie pivoted away and glared at Rick. He gave her a surprised look and was about to say something when Johnny reappeared, interrupting, "Hey, don't expect us for a little while OK?"

"Nice!" Rick responded, and the two friends fist bumped. "No rush bro!"

As Johnny walked away, Rick turned back to Katie with a smile. "Looks like it's just us for a while? Hey, I'm gonna go take a piss, why don't you drink up and I'll be right back?"

Katie was stunned as he walked away. How could anyone be such an ass? She took another drink thinking how she could keep Rick from touching her AT ALL the rest of the night.

But as she was drinking, she felt a tentative hand on her shoulder.

"Excuse me," she heard a voice say. She turned around to see a pretty young woman. "Um, I know this is weird, and it may be none of my business, but..."

Katie nodded, encouraging to the woman who seemed at a loss for words.

"Anyway," she continued, "I don't know if that's your boyfriend or what, but while you were... not here... I think I saw..." The girl hesitated a bit before blurting out the rest quickly. "I think I saw him put some powder or something in your drink." She gestured at the half filled glass in her hand. "I saw something on TV once about guys doing that and maybe he did. I just thought I should tell you that maybe that's what I saw." And with that, she turned and melted back into the crowd.

Katie could feel the anger welling inside her as she slowly raised the glass, examining it for any signs, as if there'd be something she could see to prove what the woman suspected.

After a moment's consideration, she grabbed her purse (and with an angry huff, Sandy's new handbag) and stormed out of the bar, eager to get as far away from that asshole as possible!

It wasn't until she was halfway to the subway that her heart started to slow and she considered if running out had been the best course of action. After all, was she sure that he DID put something in her drink? And if he did, should she have taken the drink to have it, what, analyzed?

Well, it was too late now. She did feel a bit buzzed, and maybe a little dizzy, but how much did she drink? And getting angry and storming out like that... that could make her feel worse too, right? Either way, she figured, whether he did something to her drink or not, getting away from Rick was the safest thing to do, wasn't it?

It was just too hard to concentrate. She'd just get on the subway and think. Just get to the subway... the subway...

Chapter 2

Will Jeffries dejectedly walked down the subway stairs and onto the train platform. It really was no surprise that he was in this position, having to grab the subway back to campus by himself. Things always seemed to get screwed up when he followed Kerry's plans.

Kerry insisted on picking him up to go watch the game at the sports bar by the entertainment complex. And although they were both only 19, Kerry was confident the fake IDs his friend made for them would be sufficient to get them inside.

Will was a wreck when they pulled into the parking lot and prepared to go into the bar.

"Don't worry about it Will." Kerry tried to reassure him, "I've used my ID here plenty of times, and yours is just as good as mine!"

Will had to admit, it did look legit. But, while Kerry had a full 5 o'clock shadow going (and slightly receding hairline), Will, with his "baby face" was often mistaken for being younger than his 19 years. It hardly mattered that he was at 6'2" a good half foot taller than Kerry, he just didn't look as old.

But Kerry kept assuring him that the bouncers don't really care, and that as long as he had an ID that even looked somewhat legitimate, they would just pass him right through.

To help calm his nerves, Kerry pulled out a flask of whiskey and they each took a couple of swigs. "That'll steady you a bit," his boisterous friend proclaimed, "and help keep the bar tab down a bit!" An important consideration for the two students.

After a few more sips of the liquid courage (which, truth be told, made Will almost want to vomit... never saw why people drank the stuff), they headed towards the bar.

Of course Kerry sailed right in. And of course Will didn't. The bouncer took one look at Will and chuckled, shaking his head as he took the ID in his hand. "You really want to do this kid?" he said without even looking at the card.

Will could feel his face start to flush as his mind raced for something to say. But then Kerry chimed in. "Come on pal, he's 21, check his ID! Why are you hassling us?"

The bouncer turned towards Kerry. "Tell you what...pal...why don't you wait right here and I'll go get a cop to check out BOTH your IDs, how's THAT sound?"

"Uh..., "Kerry mumbled, "no, that's... not necessary..."

The bouncer turned his attention back towards Will. "So what'll it be?" he asked, holding the fake ID up, offering it back to Will.

"Um, OK, thank you...," Will said weakly, taking the offered card back.

The bouncer just looked to the next customer in line, ignoring both Will on the outside, and Kerry just inside the bar.

Will looked up at Kerry and shrugged helplessly. Kerry put his thumb and pinkie up to the side of his head, motioning that he'd call Will and disappeared into the bar.

Kerry did offer to leave with Will, but Will knew Kerry was meeting some friends, and told him he'd just take the subway home. To Will's chagrin, Kerry didn't put up much of a fight, and after promising to make it up to him next time, hung up the phone.

As he waited on the platform for his subway train to arrive, he shook his head, even regretting that whiskey was still in Kerry's car. At least that would make the trip home somewhat interesting.

The subway, full of passengers, pulled up and Will stepped aside to let them out. When they all disembarked, he entered the car and sat down in a seat on the opposite side of the train, facing the doors. And waited.

It was a full ten minutes before a second passenger even entered the car. Fifteen before another group of three sat down at the far end. This was the last stop on the subway line and NOBODY was going in this direction now. He knew in a few hours after whatever concerts and sporting events were over the cars home would be jammed, but who would be LEAVING from this station now?

He may as well enjoy it though, he thought, as he knew once the subway passed through the city it would fill up considerably before heading out to the suburbs, discharging passengers a bit at a time before its last stop, a few miles from his college campus. He sighed, thinking about the walk from the station that was ahead of him. At least it wasn't raining... not yet.

At last he heard the chime, signaling that the doors would be closing and they would finally be pulling out. And that's when he saw her.

Looking out the open door, he saw a young woman hurrying towards the subway car. Time seemed to slow down as he took in one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

Chapter 3

She slipped inside the door moments before it closed, flashed the most wonderful smile in his direction (although it didn't seem she was actually "seeing" him), and grabbed the pole directly in front of him.

Will quickly looked around, stunned that this beauty would choose to stand not two feet from him while the subway car was almost completely empty! She was holding onto the pole with both hands, facing the front of the train. He leaned back in his seat, and took advantage of the situation to look over the beautiful creature in front of him.

She seemed to be about 5'5" or 5'6" or so, and the first thing his eyes went to was the hem of her dress. She was wearing an orange summer dress, which went about midway down her thighs, exposing quite a nice bit of her long shapely legs. And although she was wearing what he guessed to be sheer white pantyhose, he quickly determined that he was in the presence of the perfect pair of legs.

The dress seemed pretty simple, unpatterned up until just below her breasts, where it seemed to be cinched in and from that point up had a lacey, embroidered texture. From his angle, he thought he could see four or five buttons go down the front of her chest just along the lacy top portion.

The top of the dress was fairly conservative, and although it showed a large view of her upper chest, it was quite high, and it didn't look like it was designed to show much cleavage. The sleeves, although short, also emphasized the simplicity of the dress.

Lastly, was a thin white belt she had around her waist giving a wonderful contrast in color to the solid orange surrounding it.

The dress was really quite plain, and it occurred to Will that if it weren't quite so short, just below the knee instead of showing so much of those incredible legs, it would look more appropriate on a little girl than this gorgeous woman.

Still in profile, he had a wonderful view of her perfect little rounded butt and how the dress seemed to flow down her back over it, hanging slightly off of the backs of her legs. There was no doubt in his mind that she must have been some kind of athlete or runner or something to have what looked to be the perfect legs and bottom.

His eyes travelled up her flat stomach to her chest, and her perfect breasts. He was never a fan of especially large breasts, and immediately determined hers to be the perfect size. With his limited experience, he figured they were a solid B cup, and seemed to sit high and firm on her chest.

Finally, he looked up at her face (and had a moment of relief when he saw she was still looking straight ahead, as he realized he had been blatantly examining her body all this time). Her face was framed with thick, curly, darkish strawberry blonde hair which hung a few inches past her shoulders. She had an orange barrette pulling the hair out of her face, pinning in on the side of her head. If there ever was a case of someone's hair being perfectly made up, but not made to look as if it was, this was it. Will never really thought much of hair, but decided that he just

loved

her hair.