Jessie's Girl

Jessie struggled against the bonds, but there was absolutely no give to them. They didn't dig into his flesh, but nonetheless, he couldn't move his arms or legs even an inch. The head restraints kept him staring straight ahead, so he couldn't see Mary beside him, but he could hear her grunt with the effort of struggling against her own bonds, so he knew she was there.

Lars moved into his field of vision, speaking to some sort of hovering spheroid robot. He knew Lars was smart, had even called him a genius more than once, but all this...it was beyond anything he'd ever imagined his friend to be capable of. Not just because he didn't think Lars was smart enough, either. He'd never seen this coming. "Why?" he grunted out, his jaw partially immobilized by the head restraints. "Lars, we've known each other since we were kids, why are you doing this to us?"

Lars looked over at him with a calm, almost disinterested expression on his face. "I don't have to justify myself to you," he said.

"The hell you don't!" Jessie shouted. "I'm your best friend, you were going to be Best Man at my goddamned wedding, you at least owe me an explanation!"

"There'd be no point," Lars said. "That's what I mean when I say 'I don't have to justify myself to you'. You're not going to remember any of this in a few hours anyway, so why bother telling you when you won't remember having this conversation?"

"Because you want to tell us, Lars," Mary said. Mary had always been the smart one in their relationship. "I can hear it in your voice. Whatever your reasons are for doing all this, you want to tell us what they are, even if you know we'll never remember it. You want to tell us, because you want to convince us that this isn't wrong. Because if you can convince us, maybe you can convince yourself."

"It's because..." Lars sighed. "It's because I don't want to hurt either of you. You're absolutely right, Jessie. You're my best friend. I always want you to be my best friend. I'd hate for anything to come between us. And this would. I thought maybe it wouldn't, but I realized that even if you'd broken up that night, instead of getting engaged, it would still come between us." He patted Jessie on the shoulder. "It's better this way."

"Better what way?" Jessie tried to shrug off the hand, but he couldn't move enough. "What the hell are you going to do to us? What's wrong with you, Lars?"

The robot bleeped. "Deep brain scan complete. The memory extract has been downloaded to your personal files for later viewing. Verisimilitude projections holding stable at 98.97%."

Lars nodded, decisively. "Good enough. In fact, more than good enough. That's a 14.7 percent increase on natural memory. Congratulations, Unit Seven."

"Thank you, sir. Do you wish to begin?"

"Yes, I think it's about time. Let's start the process. Oh, and begin scheduling retrieval units to pick up the others. We'll need to make sure everyone's on the same page, or otherwise the whole thing is kind of pointless."

Jessie twitched as he felt a tingling sensation in the electrodes attached to his temples.

UNSPOOL.

Mary smashed the chair leg as hard as she could against the robot's silvery hull, but all that happened was that her hands stung like a bitch. The robot reached out for her, and she backed up in an effort to dodge its hands; but whipcord-thin steel tendrils extended out from each palm, wrapping around her with lightning speed. They felt cold against her naked body.

"Dammit," she heard Jessie say, and she knew he must have been taken prisoner too. The robot reeled in the slack on the tendrils, pulling her right into its waiting arms, and lifted her slightly off the ground. She couldn't even kick at it--tendrils wrapped around her calves, tying her legs together just as tightly as her arms were bound to her sides. The robot walked out of the bedroom holding her, just like its identical twin held Jessie. Incongruously, she noticed that Jessie's dick hadn't softened yet; little details like that sometimes stood out at stressful moments. "What the hell are these things?" he shouted to her.

"Some sort of robot," she said, as the machines carried them down the hall. "I don't know exactly what they are, but I know who they have to belong to." She heard the matter-of-fact tones in her own voice, and was surprised at her own calm. She'd never have thought she'd be able to handle something like this so calmly.

Sure enough, Lars was waiting for them in the living room. "I'm sorry," he said, pushing his glasses back. "But it has to be this way. You understand why, of course."

UNSPOOL.

Jessie motioned Lars over to the booth where he and Mary sat, and Lars slipped in on the other side. "Hey, Lars!" Mary said. "I suppose you're wondering why we called you out here tonight."

Lars said, "Well, I thought that--"

Jessie couldn't hold it in any longer; he thought he was going to burst from happiness. "We wanted you to be the first to know. Mary and I are getting married!"

Lars' eyes widened in surprise. "I..." He glanced back and forth between Mary and Jessie for a moment. "Congratulations!" he said at last. "That's wonderful!"

"Ain't it just, mon ami? We decided to bring you out here for a little party, just to celebrate. What with my folks being dead and all, and Mary...well, you know how she doesn't get along with her parents...you're the closest thing we have to family." He chuckled. "Our kids can call you 'Uncle Lars'!"

Lars blinked a few times, his expression unreadable. "I...don't know what to say, Jessie. That means a lot to me. Thank you."

Jessie grinned. "Best buds forever, man, just like I always said. And you know I want you to be Best Man. It's not even a contest. Besides, I always said you should wear a tux more often. Remember Joe Palermo's wedding, when we both spent the whole reception pretending to be secret agents? 'Schuyler. Lars Schuyler.' Bum-ba-da-da-dum, ba-ba-ba, bum-ba-da-da-dum, ba-ba-ba..."

Lars chuckled at the memory, and looked over at Mary. "I guess it worked," he said.

Mary smiled sheepishly. "I guess it did."

Jessie shrugged. "We all have to grow up sometime, I guess. Mary was right. It was time to take the next step."

Lars pushed back his glasses. "It's a big step. Still, I can't think of two people I'd want more to see happy."

UNSPOOL.

Mary sighed. "He's just...he's such a big kid sometimes!" She massaged her temples, trying to let the frustration out. "I'm sorry, Lars, I know you shouldn't be the shoulder I come to cry on for this, he's your best friend, but...you're a good listener. Better than Sara, that's for sure. She'd probably just tell me to dump him." Her eyes widened. "Don't tell him I said that."

Lars held up a placating hand. "You know me better than that, Mary. One of the most important parts of listening is 'not talking'. And believe me, I've been Jessie's friend for long enough that I'm not blind to his irritating qualities. That's part of what being a friend is, putting up with the dumb shit your friends do." He gave her a crooked smile. "Don't tell him I said that."

Despite her irritation, frustration, worry, and general bad temper, Mary had to crack a smile at that. "My lips are sealed," she said. The smile faded from her face. "I just...I don't know how much longer I can do this, Lars. We've been living together for four years now, and it's just the same old routine. I want more, and I think he does too, but...he's just a big kid." She rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I'm repeating myself."

Lars waved it off. "No worries," he said. "You're allowed." He shrugged, slightly. "Look, I'm probably the last person who should be offering advice here, because a," he held up a finger, "I like both you and Jessie, and so there's an obvious conflict of interest here, and b," he held up a second finger, "it's not like my dating life is such a spectacular success that I think I should be giving advice out to anyone. But since c," he held up a third finger, "is that I'm an incorrigible busybody who can't keep his opinions to himself, I'm going to say what I think anyway." He closed his fingers, and his crooked smile faded. "I think you have to do what's best for you, Mary. Jessie's a great guy, and a great friend, and I don't want to see him hurt; but you can't stay in a situation that's making you unhappy just because you don't want to make him feel bad. You have to let all this out, or you'll drive yourself nuts, and sooner or later it'll all come out anyway after you've gotten so frustrated that you stop loving him completely."

Mary looked down at her feet for a moment, thinking. "So I should just go up to him and say, 'That's it! Marry me or dump me!'?"

Lars opened his mouth slowly. "I wouldn't phrase it exactly like that," he said tentatively, "but yes, tell him that you want more out of a relationship, and his fear of commitment is driving you away. Either he'll grow the heck up and do the right thing, or he won't. But at least you won't be frustrated anymore."

Mary gave him a hug. "Thanks, Lars. I know this has to be hard on you, knowing us both so well. I mean, I know that you're always going to be His Friend, but I like to think that I'm more than just His Girlfriend to you."

"Of course you are," Lars said firmly, patting her on the back.

UNSPOOL.

"Hey, man," Jessie said, his voice carrying in the still night air despite his attempt to be quiet. "You alright?"

Lars slicked back his hair nervously. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just, um...needed some fresh air. That's all. I'll head back in just a moment."

Instead of heading back to the party, Jessie walked over to him and leaned on the balcony. "Look, I know I'm no genius like you, dude, but I'm not totally stupid. I know what it's like in there, with me and Mary, Jim and Sara, Kelly and Richard...it's a pretty couple-tastic get-together. I'm sorry, we should have realized that it might leave you feeling like, you know, kind of a...third wheel."

Despite his mood, Lars let out a little laugh. "Legend, oh legend, oh third wheel legend..." he sang.

"Always in the way!" they finished together, and both chuckled.

"But seriously, dude," Jessie said, "you'll find someone. It happens. Even if you're not looking for someone, someone's going to find you someday. Maybe it won't be the kind of girl you expect, maybe it won't happen when you expect it to, but it'll happen. I mean, look at me and Mary. She's going for a PhD in astrophysics, and I barely got my Bachelor's Degree. She's got more in common with you than she does with me. But we met each other, we made it work, and the same thing is going to happen to you someday. You'll see."

Lars shrugged. "I hope you're right. I just...I dunno." He took a sip of his beer, and gestured at the skyline. "I just don't think the right girl for me is out there."

"Well, she sure ain't in there!" Jessie said, jerking his thumb at the apartment behind them and laughing. "Come on back to the party, dude. We're breaking out the Trivial Pursuit, and the only way you won't win is if you're not in the room."

"What's my handicap this time?" Lars turned away from the balcony, heading back towards the warmth inside.

"Two wedges," Jessie said. "Would be three, but Mary's feeling cocky tonight..."

UNSPOOL.

Mary looked at herself in the mirror, looking into her own deep brown eyes, and asked herself, Mi>Am I settling?

The face in the mirror had no answers. It was pretty, far prettier than most astrophysicists-in-training of either gender were usually expected to be, with classically beautiful Asian features; but it didn't know whether or not Jessie was the right guy for her. Mainly because it was her face, and she didn't know whether or not Jessie was the right guy for her. Two years into the relationship, and she still just...didn't know. Sure, the sex was good. (She felt the warm, just-been-fucked sensation between her thighs and her mind lingered on the events of the last hour or so. OK, the sex was very good.) Sure, he was handsome, in a 'doofy frat boy' sort of way. Sure, he was a nice guy--he'd never been anything other than sweet to her, had remembered Valentine's Day without being prompted, and even went out and bought tampons for her when she'd run out.

Go ahead, she told the little voice in the back of her head. You know you want to say it. 'But...'

But...he was shallow, not a great conversationalist, the last book he'd read outside of classes was 'Needful Things', he didn't understand anything about physics and didn't make a secret of it, he actually liked reality TV, and he only went to college because his dad had told him that if he didn't, he wouldn't leave him anything in the will. Mary hated to admit that she was an intellectual snob, but there it was. She just didn't know if she could be happy with Jessie. She wondered if he noticed that. Probably not, he was pretty clueless. Or maybe he noticed, and he also noticed that she didn't think he was capable of noticing. Was she hurting him? She didn't know how much she loved him, but she knew she cared enough not to want that...

He knocked on the bathroom door. "Um...honey, can I come in?" They'd just moved in together, and neither one of them had lived with another person before. They were still feeling out the rules on 'personal space'. "Only, I wanted to use the shower, and..."

Mary rubbed her eyes. It didn't look like she'd been crying at all. "Sure, I'm done in here."

UNSPOOL. Jessie tweaked Mary's nipples, just a little, and was rewarded with a soft whimper as her breathing sped up. "That's it, honey, that's...ohhh..." He felt her pussy clench around his cock, so slick and tight, and it was getting harder and harder to think, his whole awareness was centering down onto the tip of his cock, but he fought it just a little longer, because he knew Mary hadn't come yet, he always knew when she was getting close, and she always sounded so sexy when she came, and he just kept pumping into her, rubbing her nipples, trying so hard to fight off his own orgasm, until he could make her come, he had to make her come, had to, had to...

Mary let out a long, low moan, and Jessie totally lost it, his hips straining forward as his balls tightened, come spurting out of his cock as he grunted hard in pleasure. After a near-eternal moment of bliss, he pulled out of her and slid the rubber off. "Mmm," he said, giving her a kiss. "Love you."

"Do you really?"

The question caught Jessie totally off guard. "I...I mean, um, yeah. I...yes. I mean, what do you mean?"

Mary sat up a little in bed, wriggling out from under him. "I mean, we've been going out for...six months now? I just...I guess I wanted to know if you think this is, you know...going anywhere." She stammered out, "Sorry, I, um...I didn't mean to, you know, make you feel uncomfortable or anything."

"No, no! It's cool." He kissed her again, trying to make it seem natural, knowing that trying to make it seem natural probably made it seem really really forced. "I guess...I dunno, I mean, I'm not a big thinker--I usually leave the heavy stuff to Lars--but I really do like you, Mary, and not just, y'know..." he gestured at her naked body. "I like you as a person. I think you're smart, and funny, and I...I'm not very good with words, sorry. But I like you, and I think you're great, and I want to keep seeing you. For as long as you'll put up with me."

She reached down between his legs, and began to stroke his cock. He was usually good for another go within a few minutes, and she knew it. "I think I can put up with you for a little bit longer, Jessie," she said, smiling wickedly.

UNSPOOL.

Mary darted up to the end of the line just in time to get the last seat. Sure, she would only have had to wait five minutes, but this was the fair! Five minutes was an eternity of standing and waiting when there was cotton candy to eat, carnival games to play, and most significantly for purposes of this example, roller-coasters to ride.

She looked over at the boy she was sitting next to. He had blue eyes, sandy blond hair that curled tightly underneath a backwards baseball cap, and what Mary had to admit was an incredibly cute body. They both snapped the restraints down onto themselves, securing them into the seats (whoa. Déjà vu, for some reason), and the ride started.

They'd been advertising the new roller-coaster all spring long, the tallest one in the state, and Mary felt the familiar tightness in her body as they started up that first big hill. It wasn't just anticipation, she knew that. It was more, it was always more, but she'd never been able to put the sensation into words. She just knew that she loved to ride them, loved the exhilarating feel of danger and excitement and just...aliveness! They started down the hill, and in the rush of wind that blew into her eyes as they swooped down, her knee pressed against the boy's knee. She felt a sudden tingle right between her thighs and realized something that she hadn't realized in the last decade of riding roller-coasters, in the first eighteen years of her suddenly-very-sheltered-seeming life for that matter. That tight, nervous feeling that felt like anticipation, only better? Oh, wow. That was arousal.

With every dip, every swoop, every curve, she became more aware of it, and more aware of the guy next to her. He kept looking over at her when he thought she wasn't looking at him, and she thought that was cute, really cute; and she pressed her thighs together tightly, because somehow the whole whoosh and the rush and the swoops and the dives all made it seem even better. Didn't they say love was like a roller-coaster ride? Maybe falling in love on a roller-coaster made falling in love even better. It certainly made the roller-coaster ride better.

He was feeling it too, she could tell. His hand just sort of found its way into hers, and his skin felt so warm against hers, it was perfect. When the ride ended, they practically dragged each other into the nearest quiet place they could find, a little alley between two of the rides, and she unzipped his fly, and he was already hard, and then she pulled her skirt up a little and slid her panties aside, and god, she'd never felt like this before, and he pulled a condom out of his wallet, and she was so glad he'd thought of that because this was all way too new and different to her to think about that, and then he just slipped it inside her, and oh, it felt so good, filling her up so much, he was so big, and he pushed her back against the wall, and she felt an electric surge of pleasure running through her whole body, and suddenly she wished she'd done this before, because oh, and oh, and oh, and ohhhhhhh...

Mary let out a long, low moan, and she felt the boy's muscles go all rigid for a long moment. Then, slowly, sheepishly, he backed away, pulling the condom off of his dick. "Sorry," he said, his first words to her. "I mean, not sorry we did that, I liked it, but sorry I didn't, you know, ask." He put his cock back into his pants, and rezipped his fly.

"No," Mary said, adjusting her panties back into position, "don't be. I mean, I don't want you to think--" She straightened her dress. "I mean, I don't just, you know, do that all the time. I mean, I actually never..." She blushed. "That was my first time. I'm a total science geek, I never went out on dates at all in high school, I..." She took a deep breath, let her flow of babble dry up. "It was really nice, though."

The boy blushed. "It was nice for me too." He looked around. "Wanna have a soda?"

"Sure."

The two of them walked down the midway together, both of them feeling just a little bit tongue-tied. It seemed like such a crazy way to meet. Suddenly, another boy ran up to them. This one had dark hair that he kept combed back and slicked down, and big thick glasses that gave his blue eyes a perpetually surprised look. "Jessie!" he shouted. "Glad I found you in this crowd, I thought I was going to have to go back to the car to--" He stopped when he saw Mary. "Oh, um, hi," he said. He noticed that Jessie had his arm around her. "Hi," he said again, a little nervously.