Love Comes To Me

He hopped a late flight back and arrived at his sister's house a little more than forty-eight hours after he left. As soon as he entered the door, Julie attached herself to him, fiercely hugging him. He could tell that she had been crying, but all she would do was tell him sorry.

A few minutes later, his sister walked over. She asked Julie to give them a moment, which Julie did only after Mike gave her a quick nod.

When they were alone, Kathy slapped Mike across the face, hard. He had not anticipated that reaction.

"Michael, don't you ever do that to someone ever again!"

"Wha..." Was all that Mike could provide as a response.

"Did you know that she didn't sleep a minute last night? It took us an hour to get her to unbarricade the door this morning so that we could get into your room!"

Kathy continued, "And you told her not to call you! Do you have any idea what you put her through? She didn't take that damned sweater off the whole time!"

Mike was reeling. He had certainly not expected any of this.

"I'm... I just... I expected you two to bond! I expected her to do better without me for a few days."

"Michael Benz, how fucking stupid are you?" He had never heard her swear before.

"You know that I talked to her about a doctor and counsellor and she wasn't even interested in listening to me. She just asked when I expected you to be home. You need to take better care of that poor girl!"

Mike had no choice but obey. He had always obeyed his older sister.

Walking out of the room, he found Julie and took her to his suite. She didn't say a word.

*****

Once they were in the room, Julie just sat disconsolately on the bed. She didn't even look at Mike.

Finally something clicked. He sat down on the couch and called her over. She curled up against him and cried silently, while he held her and thought about what he should say.

He ended going with what he should of started with.

"Julie, I'm sorry. It was stupid. I thought that being separated from me for a day or two would be good for you."

She didn't say anything, but she her weeping slowed.

"I never meant to make you think that you couldn't call me. I'll always be there for you when you need it."

She finally looked up at him with a sad, little smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. You can always give me a call or ask me for help, OK?"

"Alright, Michael."

"Tomorrow we should get you your own phone."

"I got one today. You told me that I should."

"Good! What kind?"

"I couldn't decide, so I got the same model you have."

"OK."

They sat there for a few more minutes before he finally started to get up.

"I need to get to bed, and I'm guessing you do too. I feel like I haven't slept in forty-eight hours."

A few minutes later, he was in bed and the light was out. Once again, he could feel her standing next to him.

"Michael, can..."

She didn't get a chance to finish. Mike grabbed her, more forcefully than he intended, and pulled her down towards him.

"Don't ask anymore!" He had not meant to be so harsh. The exhaustion was starting to play a role.

He could feel her warm skin against him again. This time, he expected her to be angry at him for being so short with her. Instead, he felt her lightly cling to him. Within moments, she was asleep.

He followed soon after.

*****

Mike woke up the next morning in a better mood than he had in weeks. He already had started missing Julie when he woke up without her. This time, when he woke, though, her eyes were already open. He smiled down at her, which earned him a large smile back.

"I missed you." As soon as he said that, her face started to beam.

"I missed you so much, Michael!"

She gave him a hug, and then scooted up on the bed so that she was seated next to him. He did the same, so they were sitting together.

He confirmed then that she did sleep naked. The movement of her breasts as she breathed distracted him for a few minutes, before he realized that he was staring.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to stare."

"It's alright, Michael."

"No, it's not... so what do you want to do today? I have a couple of weeks before I need to head to Seattle."

She touched his hand, tentatively. "What would you like to do, Michael?"

He was distracted by the touch of her hand and the nearness of her body. Slowly, he thought back to what his sister had said about the sweater. A suspicion rose in his mind.

"Would you like to go clothes shopping? We didn't pick you out much over there."

"It's alright, I am fine with what I have."

"What if I wanted to get you more?"

She just smiled when he asked that. He would consider that to be a yes.

Mike slid his body off the bed and headed toward the bathroom. As he reached the door, he realized that there was something he had never said. He looked back at Julie.

"Julie, you're beautiful, you know that, right?"

She simply beamed at him as he turned and made his way into the bathroom to shower.

After he was done, he dressed and then sat on the bed to wait for her. After everything he had unknowingly put her through the last two days, Mike took some time to consider it. The critical step, he reasoned, was to let her be the one to leave him behind, rather than vice versa.

After about twenty minutes, she came out of the bathroom with dry hair. Again, she was naked as he walked into the room with a smile on her face. He couldn't help but wonder if she was an exhibitionist.

As she moved about the room, picking out clothes to wear, he could not help his eyes drawing towards her thigh gap. He had never actually seen a woman with one before. He could see her inner lips slightly protruding from her outer. It was entrancing. When she turned around, he admired the swell of her bottom.

He was ashamed to be watching her, but he could not tear his eyes away. If she was aware that he was staring, she gave no sign of it.

Chapter 7

They came out into the main part of the house, just as breakfast was starting. Mike sat down at the table and Julie took the seat next to him. Kathy had just finished serving the food and took her seat as well. Being an early riser, Tom had already left for work.

The three ate in silence for a few minutes, before Kathy broke it.

"Julie, I don't think we ever decided. Were you going to go to the doctor and a counsellor today?"

Julie hesitated before responding.

"I don't know about it. I just..."

Mike, always slow to pick up on signals like this, realized that Kathy was glaring at him in a violent manner. He interrupted Julie.

"I think it would be a good idea. Would you like me or Kathy to go with you?"

"You would go with me?"

"If you wanted."

"Alright."

The topic was settled. A few seconds later, Kathy slipped off to schedule the appointments. She would need to call in a few favors to get them set up for that day.

*****

The first place they visited was his sister's family practitioner. Mike intended to sit out in the waiting room to wait through the appointment, but he could tell from her behavior that Julie was very uncomfortable. When he asked whether she preferred him to come in with her, she gave him an emphatic yes.

After she was weighed and her height was taken, Julie was taken by the nurse to one of the examination rooms. The nurse gave her a paper gown and told her to change. Once again, Julie unself-consciously stripped in front of Mike.

When the doctor, a middle-aged woman, came in she began the exam. Just before starting, she pointedly asked Mike if he wanted to leave. Given the choice, he definitely would have, but he knew Julie needed him. It was obvious that the doctor's visit was much more nerve-wracking than one would expect.

The exam went normally. During the pelvic exam, again seeing building nervousness, Mike offered Julie his hand. She gripped him tightly throughout the process.

Despite Julie's admission to the doctor of having had a significant number of unprotected sex partners in the last two years (the doctor gave Mike a strange look when she heard that) there was no external indication of an STD. She also took a blood test to confirm. As a final item, Julie requested birth control pills, which she was already on.

During the exam, it was obvious that Mike felt far more awkward than Julie or the doctor, despite the fact that Julie was the one with a metal object inserted into her vagina.

Immediately after the exam, they headed for an initial visit at the counsellor. In this case, Mike, with the counsellor agreeing completely, refused to go in with her. When the two came out an hour later, Julie looked withdrawn and the counsellor looked upset.

The final stop for the day was at a high end clothes store. Here Mike made a determined effort to browse with Julie. He quickly realized that what she wanted was for him to pick the clothes. Attempts to find out her preference went nowhere, but whenever Mike suggested an item she immediately latched onto it.

It concerned Mike, he was not much of a woman's fashion maven but it was obvious that Julie had made him the deciding factor for all of her sartorial choices.

This extended to underwear as well, as Mike forced himself to make a foray into that area selecting items. In the end, he just tried to select the pieces that he thought would be the most comfortable. (Julie did not seem interested in that aspect herself.)

Mike did end up breaking down to the extent of selecting a couple of garter belts and thongs. He had not meant to do it, but when he imagined her wearing them he found it difficult not to buy them. Those items seemed to make her the happiest of all of them.

In the swimwear area she acted out a little by selecting a particular bikini that she saw him eying.

It should be emphasized that throughout the shopping trip, Julie had as big a smile on her face as Mike had seen. She was enjoying herself, even if he was having difficulty adjusting to the role.

They finally found their way back in the late afternoon.

Mike collapsed on one of the couches in the house when they arrived. He had not realized that a woman's day out could be so exhausting.

While he was sitting there, Julie asked, "Michael, is it alright if I go change into some of my new clothes?"

His only response was a simple, "Of course."

While Julie was changing, Kathy arrived back at the house. She immediately sought out Mike, excitedly.

"Mike, I just got you guys an appointment at this fantastic hairdresser downtown. It's in thirty minutes."

He gave her a blank stare (and probably an unhappy expression). Before he knew it, she was in his face again, although thankfully this time she did not actually indulge in any violence.

"You stupid son of a bitch, in case you haven't realized yet, she only feels entitled to enjoy things that you are enjoying. And she should enjoy getting her hair cut at this place, so you'd sure as hell better enjoy it for her."

Mike was speechless, Kathy had never spoken to him like that before today. As she walked out the room he heard her muttering under her breath about men being self-obsessed pricks.

*****

Needless to say, when Julie came back out into the room, wearing the clothes that Mike picked out for her, and he told her about the hairdresser (with the requisite enthusiasm), she was thrilled.

He found himself back in the car three minutes later.

Chapter 8

On the drive over, Mike was thoughtful. He was continuing to consider everything that had happened that day. At the same time, he could not help his mind from wandering back to that image of Julie sitting on the bed with a huge smile on her face. He could see her pert breasts moving as she stretched.

"You know that you can have me whenever you want, right?"

Mike decided that must have been a part of his daydream. He returned his attention to the road.

"Michael, did you hear me?"

He looked over at her. The expression in her face was hard to interpret.

"You can have me whenever you want, Michael."

"I... I mean... what..." Not for the first time, he had no response.

"I would like to make you happy. Whenever you want me, I'm yours."

At that very moment, they pulled up to the salon and got out.

*****

Mike was not catching on very quickly. He should have anticipated the expectation that he would pick her hairstyle.

But once again, he was lost trying to determine the right thing to say.

In the end, the very peppy, rather tiny, pink haired hairstylist seemed to interpret the situation accurately. She grabbed a book of styles and walked him through it. Julie was included as a courtesy, but the stylist obviously knew that the final decision was going to rest with Mike.

He selected, with the stylist's help and a lot of inquiring looks at Julie, a medium length style that was going to accentuate Julie's curly, red hair.

Mike sat down praying that he had picked something that would look good. He did feel a sense of relief a few minutes later when he realized that she would probably look gorgeous with any haircut.

It was possible that part of Mike's discomfort was due to the fact that he had never spent time with someone that looked like Julie before. He had never even really daydreamed about it, as he assumed that beauties like her ended up with rockstars and movie stars and billionaires. However, it was quickly becoming obvious that she was more attached to him than he was to her.

The drive home picked up where the ride to the salon had ended. Julie preened in the mirror a little, she obviously loved her new hairstyle, although Mike couldn't help but wonder whether she loved it because she loved it or if she loved it because he picked it.

"You never said anything before." She was speaking.

"I... well... I didn't have anything to say."

"Is that a no, Michael?"

"Julie, it's an 'I don't know', OK."

She sighed. In response, he reached over and took her hand. He could instantly sense her mood picking up just at the slight contact.

"Look, a week ago I was in the middle-east alone, with weeks more at the job planned before I moved on. Now, I'm sitting in a car with the most beautiful, and most damaged, woman I've ever met... and she is offering her body to me. It's not simple, OK?"

There was a very long pause.

"I mean, look, I don't know what happened to you, but I can't help but think that if I took you up on your offer, I would be nearly as bad."

He felt her squeeze his hand. The same nearly imperceptible squeeze she had given it in that smoky room.

"Would you like me to tell you what they did to me?"

"I don't think it will help anything if I ask you whether you want to tell me, will it?" He gave a very slight smile at this.

"I would like you to tell me, but you need to know one thing first."

"What?"

"What they did to you, regardless of what it was, will not change how I treat you, alright?"

"Alright, Michael." There was a little sob in her voice.

"Can I tell you once we're home?"

"That's fine."

*****

Kathy had loved the haircut and insisted on praising Julie for how good she looked. When she looked at the clothes, a few items caused her to glare at Mike behind Julie's back. All he could do was shrug.

They had dinner with the family. Julie surprised everyone by spending part of the meal making faces at the twins and giggling along with them.

After dinner, Julie and Mike retreated to their suite. Mike stopped for a second to consider the fact that it had gone from being his suite to their suite in such short order. If he were being honest with himself, he had to admit that he didn't mind it.

They sat down on the bed again and held hands. Mike was slowly beginning to be able to sense what Julia wanted, even if she would not tell him.

He noticed that she was wearing the sweater again, stroking her hands on the fabric.

"I was eighteen when agents started approaching me to model. It was obvious pretty quickly that some of them were legitimate and some of them were porn directors, so I tried to be careful.

"Before I got any major shoots, I was approached by a representative of a very significant clothing company. It's a French company, but I've gathered since that it's owned by someone in the Middle East. I completed three shoots with them that seemed to be real.

"So when they offered to take me to Dubai by private jet for a photoshoot, I agreed immediately."

She took a few deep breaths.

"We never landed in Dubai, I think. They put something in my drink and when I woke up, I was in a locked room. They kept me there for a week before anyone appeared except the mute who brought my food.

"Several elegant women came to get me. They spent time trying to 'make me beautiful' and training me on ways to make a man happy.

"After a month of that treatment, I was drugged again. When I woke up, I was in the mansion of some man. He took my virginity, then used me in other ways.

"After that, the cycle began to repeat itself, I wasn't being prostituted 100% of the time like the women you see on the street. They would bring me somewhere different, spend time making me beautiful, training me. Sometimes, they would even bring me a doctor. And then when the wait was over, I would be drugged and I would wake up with a different man who raped me.

"They were all different. The one thing I realized was that they lusted for youth and for pale skin."

Julie looked down at her hands.

"After two years, and probably two dozen men, they apparently decided that it was time to make the final sale. The sense I got from the women who prepared me was that girls who go through the final sale end up on the street like any other hooker, or dead.

"And that is when you found me."

Her voice had remained flat throughout the entire recital. As always, Mike didn't know what to say, but this time he had the sense not to try. He simply told her it was time for bed, went into the bathroom, came back out thirty seconds later, and went to bed.

This time, Julie did not hesitate before getting in with him. She was still clinging desperately to him when he drifted off.

Chapter 9

The next morning, Mike woke up to Julie's mischievous smile as she ran her fingers through his hair. (He did not know why it was mischievous, nor did he ever find out.) She wasn't wearing any makeup, she had bedhead, and she took his breath away.

He enjoyed the affection until nature called, when he finally got up.

Mike was standing in the shower, contemplating everything that had happened, when he heard his name. Julie was standing just outside of the curtain.

"Michael, can I join you?" That was new.

He didn't have a response, or at least not a spoken one. Apparently he made some sort of grunt that Julie took as a sign of assent.

She stepped into the shower in front of him, her blue eyes shining above a bright smile. He did not know why she would have a smile this morning.

They stood there awkwardly for a few moments before she spoke up again.

"Michael, could I soap your back?"

He must have agreed, because a moment later she was stroking his back. After she was finished there, she shampooed his hair. He had never felt anything like it before.

A moment later. "Michael, would you like to soap my back?" She had that same smile on her face again.

As he rubbed her back, Mike couldn't believe how soft and smooth her skin was. By the time he reached her lower back and top of her bottom, he was breathing hard. He had an erection, but was far enough back that she couldn't feel it.

Once Mike was done with her back, he took his time shampooing her hair and massaging her scalp. As he did so, Julie's eyes closed in pressure and she leaned back, until she was in contact with him.

He expected her to react angrily or unstably. Instead, she seemed to relax as if she just enjoyed leaning against him.