Cut of the Cards Pt. 01

"No same for me" I said, trying to inject a hint of bravado into my voice.

The small smile still continued to play around the corners of her mouth and her eyes still bore into me, but now they seemed to be brighter and dancing with light.

"So shall I get the cards?"

I nodded, my heart was racing.

I watched as she took the cards out of the packet

"Here they are" she said, "a new pack". She cut them in two and fanned them out in front of me. For a moment she just held them there, didn't say anything; just looked right at me.

"Sure you still want to go through with this?"

"Why not," I replied. I was trying with some difficulty to sound confident, offhand, but in the event only succeeded in sounding confrontational.

Her eyes widened as if in surprise

"Because this is it; if you take a card, then there is no going back. So are you sure?"

This time I simply nodded.

She extended the cards towards me and I selected a card from somewhere near the middle of the fan. At the same moment as she withdrew the cards and manipulated them back into a pack, I took a quick look at the card and put it face down in front of me.

She watched me closely

"How confident do you feel" she asked.

she folded up her right leg and bent her head forward so her chin was now rested on her knee.

The distance between us had halved; she had moved into my space. Her eyes were looking up at me, big, round, seemingly opaque. Consciously or unconsciously, and I was in no fit state to judge which, her thighs had parted slightly as she moved her body, and for some strange and perverse reason this focused my attention solely on her eyes and on what she had asked.

"Pretty confident" I replied

"How's that" she purred, "is it the card or something else?"

"Ah, that would be telling, except that a one in a million encounter happened last week which gave me an idea for one of the challenges."

"Really, so you are thinking that fate might be on your side."

This time it was my turn to smile

"Let's wait and see how the cards fall."

She too smiled and passed the cards over. I shuffled, cut and fanned them out in front of her.

"Widen the fan a little" she asked, her eyes moving over the cards, backwards and forwards, backwards and forward. Then she made her choice; a card from almost at the right end of the fan of cards as she looked at them. She looked at it, and then laid it face down in front of her.

"All done" she said

"Shall we turn over the cards?" I asked. My mouth felt dry and I could hardly hear the words I was saying.

She nodded and without further word we each turned over our card; slowly, synchronizing the movement, so that we would each know our fate at the exact same time.

Then it was over and I watched as the grin slowly crossed her face; watched as she picked up my list and slowly shredded it into a dozen pieces; watched as she rose to her feet, her nipples hard and erect from her moment of victory. She looked down at me, hands on her hips, legs slightly apart, head tilted back.

"What a pity there can only be one winner" she said, "but there it is, that's life" before adding as she turned away, "now I must get some sleep."

And then she was gone.

I looked at the two cards on the rug; at my eight of spades and her Queen of Hearts, then at her list of challenges. I tried to guess at what was behind the ambiguities, and which one she would choose, but everything seemed too vague, too many possible outcomes. I left them for a while and tried to get back into my book, but it didn't work, so I read the three challenges again.

You will go to a wood of my choosing and when you are there you will find your real self

You will join an arts group and assist them in developing their skills; including helping them discover new forms of modern art

You will make arrangements for me and a friend to spend a weekend away.

They all seemed innocent pursuits, but I sensed that the words I had read were merely the tips of three icebergs; a shiver ran through my body, a mixture of excitement on the one hand and apprehension, the fear of the unknown, on the other.

Then my cock went hard.

I heard her voice repeat my name several times, each time with an increasing irritation, which suggested, while in the shower, I had been oblivious to her calling.

"Coming" I shouted down the stairs

She sat at the kitchen table sipping a glass of water. In front of her were a half eaten kiwi fruit and half a slice of bread.

She looked up as I approached

"Steven, do you know a woman called Lisa?"

"Yes, vaguely" I mumbled.

"Well she has just been on the phone, talking about changing some time you had agreed with her. I told her you were in the shower; she said she would phone back. "

"Excellent" I said trying to sound cheerful

She looked at me as if she were weighing me up

"She also said something about you taking a woman to her house."

"Really, I wonder what she meant"

"I would think exactly what she said, that she wanted to change the time you were taking some woman to her house - - - Steven, you wouldn't be hiding anything from me would you?"

"Well - - - "

"Well what Steven."

"Well I think I had better explain"

She smiled

"Your best answer so far."

She waited while I collected my thoughts. The difficulty was that whilst Lisa hadn't mentioned anything about a party, and so there was no reason why Laura should connect it to the challenge, she had said sufficient to make Laura curious, and when Laura was curious she was like a dog with a bone. I decided to come clean and tell her the connection between the phone call and the challenge.

She listened impassively as I recounted the details

"Is that everything?"she asked

"Everything but a dress I bought, which I'm sure I can send back"

"Let me get this right, and do stop me if I'm getting anything wrong. You arrange with this lady that I will perform as a stripper at her friends' teenage party, for which purpose you have bought me a dress to wear. And you organize all this in the confident belief, now found to be misplaced, that you would win the game. Have I got it basically right?"

I nodded

"So when are you going to tell her it's not on?"

"As soon as you leave"

She was silent for a moment as she finished off the last piece of Kiwi fruit and drank the remainder of the water.

"Do you have the dress?"

I nodded

"Let me see it, I'm intrigued"

I fetched the dress, still in its packaging and placed it on the table in front of her. She picked it up and started to remove the outer packaging.

"Goodness Steven, it seems so small and light, what have you purchased?"

She removed all the packaging and held it up in front of her.

"Well, well Steven, I don't know whether to be horrified that you would even consider asking me to wear this in public, or flattered that it would occur to you, that at my age I could still get into a dress for teenagers"

"And look great." I added

She smiled. "Don't push your luck Steven; you're still in very hot water.

She paused to think

"So what do we do?" she said absentmindedly talking to herself. "Maybe we should go through with it after all; otherwise you will be letting Lisa down. What do you think?"

"Well Lisa will be very happy that's for sure."

She smiled

"And no doubt you also will be very happy and also relieved that you don't have to phone her and explain what you have been up to"

I nodded, trying to look suitably chastened.

"However," she went on, "my helping you out of a hole will come at a cost. Instead of doing just one of my challenges, you will now do two. I assume you have no problem with that?"

In my position you take what you can get

"No problem at all" I replied stoically

Laura got to her feet and announced she was leaving for work

As she closed the door she shouted back at me; "don't forget to speak to Lisa about the time,"

Then she was gone

It was evening and she had just slipped out of her robe ready for the pool

"Steven, be a dear" she called out; "can you organize a couple of full length mirrors. Time's running out; with the party on Saturday, I really need to check out the dress tonight."

Moments later she was in the water

By the time she returned I had wheeled two full length mirrors into place.

She slipped on the G String, then pulled the dress down over her head

"Can you help" she asked

I moved behind her and started fixing the hooks through the second row of eyelets.

"Stop" she ordered, "The dress is too tight. Can't you see it is puckering up?

I squinted, if there were any puckering it was hardly visible

"Try the first row"

I now threaded the hooks through the first row of eyelets and moved around to the front to lift the halter neck tapes into place. The tapes could be adjusted on three settings, and after some trial and error she decided that she was content with the second setting

Now she was dressed. If I was excited by the picture of the model in the internet advert of the dress, then the vision in front of me of Laura in the dress was on a completely different level.

"So what do you think; does your cock say it all?" she said, smiling at the bulge in my trousers.

"Quite amazing, how does it feel?"

"The weight is extraordinary; it's as if you are wearing nothing". She giggled for a moment at the thought of what she had said. "And the fit, well the fit is perfect"

As I had anticipated her breasts, both from the front, with its low cut, and the side, with the exception of the small areas around her nipples, were totally exposed. Again as I had anticipated, the bottom edge of the dress extended to maybe two or three inches below her butt.

"You just wouldn't believe it" she said, observing herself in the mirrors. "It's like wearing a second skin"

I could see what she meant, not only were there no gaps between her skin and the dress, but the dress sat perfectly; no bulges, no puckering or stretching of the material. It was indeed the perfect fit

For the next twenty minutes she moved slowly between the mirrors; one in front of her one behind, all the while checking from every angle; the look when she was seated; when she was moving; walking, stretching, squatting. It seemed like every possible permutation of position had been explored, before finally she finished.

She climbed into bed; her heart racing, adrenaline flowing, she was as horny as a cat on a hot tin roof. Ten minutes later and she had masturbated herself to sleep.

"Are you ready" I called out, "it's gone nine, if you want to arrive on time we should be leaving."

"Coming" she called out

She descended the stairs wearing a knee length linen skirt and sleeveless cotton blouse, and carrying over her arm, a matching linen jacket. Everything was in matching neutral colors. Along with modest high heeled shoes, she was suitably dressed as a thirty seven year old; you could have described the outfit as classic, it was one of those outfits you could equally wear to work, she possibly had. Fact is you could wear it anywhere and feel comfortable, and that feeling of reassuring, simple, comfort was what she needed.

As we left she slipped on her jacket and picked up her hand bag. We were on our way; her night's adventure had started.

She spoke little during the fifty minute journey, just the odd word in reply to conversations I had started on the weather, films on at the cinema, that sort of thing; just silence fillers really. Eventually as each topic quickly faded, the conversation would descend into ever longer periods of silence, and then permanent silence, as I finally gave up on my attempts. I sensed that her mind was somewhere else.

"Two or three minutes and we should be there" I said, half turning toward her as I spoke

She was looking straight ahead, her face expressionless, her hands clasped tightly together on her lap, her feet crossed. I imagined her heart would be beating ten to the dozen, that the adrenaline would be flowing, that her body would be sweating freely. In five minute I would be leaving her for two hours, two hours with strangers half her age.She was about to experience the fear of the unknown.

I kissed her briefly on the cheek, the parting had to be quick, no advantage in lingering. For a brief moment a flash of fear crossed her face and then it was gone. I watched her enter the small terraced house and then I drove slowly away. Ahead of me were two hours to quietly reflect and, aided by a disciplined amount of alcohol, to think more about my challenges still to come.

"I'm Lisa, come in, you must be Laura"

Laura nodded, smiled, and looked around. Ahead was a small hallway, and through the glass door at the end she could see into the Kitchen beyond. To her right, a half open door opened on to what must have been a lounge, from where she could hear the loud sound of young people talking

Lisa held out her arm; "Laura, come and meet those here so far."

Laura followed Lisa into the room. Other than three or four bean bags dotted randomly around, the rest of the furniture had been stacked against an end wall. There were maybe a dozen young people in two small groups, engrossed in conversation. Laura guessed they would be around eighteen, nineteen, that sort of age. They mainly wore jeans and tee shirts, with the faces of pop stars on the front (boys) or suggestive words across the chest (girls)

"This is Laura" said Lisa pointing to her new acquaintance, "she's come round to give us a hand."

They looked up, raised a hand briefly in acknowledgement as she moved through, then went straight back to what they had been talking about a split second earlier. Fact is, a woman, who in that brief moment when they see her, is wearing a linen suit, and could potentially have been one of their parents, was never going to generate a second glance.

Lisa and Laura walked through a door at the end of the room into the kitchen, where a girl was making sandwiches.

Lisa picked up a sandwich and took a bite.

"Alex this is Laura; she's come to give a hand"

After the briefest of chats, Alex needed little encouragement to give way on sandwich making to Lisa's new friend.

Now Laura and Lisa were on their own for the first time.

They climbed onto high stools, one on each side of a breakfast bar so they were looking at each other. Their faces no more than a couple of feet apart.

For the first time since she had arrived, Laura got to take a real look at Lisa. She was dressed much like the others she had seen in the lounge; plain black tee shirt, black jeans, white trainers. She also had the same sort of look as the others, a teenager look I guess; short hair, no makeup, slim body, little butt, small perky breasts.

"So is this where you live?" asked Laura

Lisa nodded."Yes, with my parents, they've gone away for the weekend, hence the party."

"So have you promised to be a good girl while they are away?"

A small smile played around the corners of Lisa's mouth, "Something like that - - - tell me Laura, are you sure you are still up for this?

Laura felt herself blush slightly

"I suppose I wouldn't be being honest if I didn't admit to having a few butterflies. But I'm sure if I have a stiff drink just beforehand I'll be fine."

Lisa pushed her arms forward on the breakfast bar and held her heads in her hands, her face no more than a foot from Laura's.

"Are you definitely sure you still want to go ahead Laura- - - look, we're the only ones who know about this, if you want to pull out, I certainly won't hold it against you"

For a moment Laura was silent. Then she leaned forward and looked right into Lisa's eyes.

"No, you can't just pull out because of a few butterflies, that's being weak."

Both of them then leaned back in their chairs, crossed their arms and at the same moment crossed their feet

A broad smile crossed Lisa's face. "Good, I can't wait - - - by the way, where is your outfit"

Laura tapped her handbag, ""In here"

"Really, it must be very- - - how can I put it - - shall I say, discreet?"

"Let's say, very discreet and", Laura smiled, "let's leave it at that."

While they worked on preparing the sandwiches, Lisa told Laura how she had just started at university and was looking to get into something to do with human biology.

Then she sighed. "But my parents' finances are tight, so maybe it will be a struggle to make it to the end of the course."

Laura said she hoped everything would work out.

She had immediately taken to the teenager; there was something about her that she could not put her finger on, something enigmatic, and something that made her seem older than her years.

From time to time the doorbell would ring and newcomers would arrive; time was moving on and increasingly Lisa was checking her watch.

Finally she looked across at Laura. "Now that virtually everyone has arrived, we ought to be thinking about getting started. How do you feel?"

"Okay"

"Fancy a shot of something first?"

Laura nodded and Lisa opened one of the kitchen cupboards, "help yourself" she said.

Laura poured herself a glass of brandy and swallowed it down in one long swallow. "Okay, where do I go to change?"

"Follow me."

She followed Lisa up the stairs and to a small single bedroom. The room contained just a single mattress in the corner of the room, a small stool and a full length mirror

"Harry's room for latter on" Lisa explained, "till then we can use it. Do you need anything?"

"Just a hand doing up the dress."

"No problem, you get started and I'll be back in five minutes."

As soon as she heard Lisa's feet descending the chairs, she closed the bedroom door and pulled the curtains. Then she started to undress, folding the clothes as she took them off and piling them unto the stool.

Now she was ready to redress; she opened her handbag, took out the package and extracted the dress and G String; the last thing she wanted now was Lisa returning and finding her stark naked. She swiftly slipped on the G-string and pulled the dress on over her head. She had done as much as she could; now she had to wait for Lisa.

It was barely a couple of minutes later when she heard a quiet knock on the door, followed by Lisa's smiling face then whole body sliding around the half open door.

As soon as she saw the dress, Lisa let out a low, muted whistle, followed by" wow", "crikey" and "amazing" in that order.

Before finally adding; "that's some dress Laura"

For the second time that evening Laura blushed, this time deeply

"How can I help?"

"It's the hooks at the back, can you see, they do up on the first row"

"Yes, gotcha"

Lisa quickly secured the hooks and stepped back to admire

"Laura, though I can only see a partial reflection in the mirror, and with my own eyes only from behind, I can see more than enough to say you look absolutely amazing - - - but can I try something?"

Laura turned half towards her, a look of slight suspicion on her face

"Is something wrong?"

"Of course not, you look great, but there's something I would like to try."

Lisa moved the stool directly in front of the mirror

"If you can kneel on the stool I will show you what I mean"

Laura moved over and knelt on the stool. Lisa took hold of the halter straps and adjusted the length to the third setting. Next she changed the hooks from those in the first to those in the second row.

She stood back and admired the alteration. The effect had been to minimally lower the dress and lift her breasts slightly, so that now from the front, Laura's breasts appeared fuller and virtually fully exposed.

Lisa smiled, what had been hot had now become hotter.

"That's better isn't it?" said Lisa

Laura looked long and hard, and then nodded acknowledging what Lisa had achieved