Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Revenge - Chapter 21



Revenge
By Karen Singer


Chapter 21

Diane was too excited to sleep late so she was up and out of bed early.  She really loved the games they were playing with Steve, and today Steve was supposed spend all day cleaning her apartment for her.  She was expecting it to be fun and couldn’t wait.  The only odd thing was how much he had seemed to enjoy it all at Monica’s place yesterday.  But that didn’t matter, she loved the games anyway.
She looked around her apartment.  It wasn’t as spotless as Monica’s apartment was, but still it was fairly neat and clean.  There was no way she could ever let it be worse than it was.  She had company coming over, and besides, she did have her pride.  Actually though, the only one who was supposed to stop by was Monica.  Ruth had her family to be with, and Carla was supposed to get Steve to do her place Monday night. 
But despite that, since Steve was supposed to be coming by to clean, she still wandered around looking for some way to mess her apartment up a bit.  She tried pulling out some pots and pans and leaving them out on the counter for him to put away, but they were already clean and it didn’t seem like much of a task for him.  Finally, she decided that maybe she would get him to cook for her, then clean that up.  That would work much better.  She looked in her refrigerator.  Luckily it hadn’t been too long since she had been grocery shopping, and she had plenty of food.
She walked back to her bedroom closet and opened the trunk that was in there – all her bondage toys she had collected.  Yeah, it was going to be a fun day!  At least she hoped it would be a fun day.  She had mentioned once to Monica that she enjoyed a little bondage sometimes, and Monica had let her tie Steve a few times, but the others didn’t know.  What would they think of her if they found out?  When they found out, because as far as Diane was concerned, today with Steve could be a once in a lifetime opportunity that she just couldn’t pass up.  She still worried about what the other women would think. 
The waiting until Steve arrived seemed to drag by.  She continually looked out the window, watching for him, hoping that he would be early, but looking back at the clock told her how silly she was.  It wasn’t just early, it was way too early.  But still, she watched and waited.
 Finally, she saw his car drive up.  She glanced at the clock again, he was early, but only by fifteen minutes.  She watched as Steve got out of his car.  She watched as he pulled his suitcase out of the back seat.  She watched as he looked around to make sure there were no other cars coming before he crossed the parking lot.  He was wearing another short skirt, this time with a light pink top and some kind of cork wedge shoes on his feet.  She wondered briefly how he would look in that outfit with a wig.  Could he possibly pass as a girl?  Not a chance!  It didn’t take much for her to see that.  But still, watching him walk towards her apartment, the outfit did look kind of nice on him.  Just like that flirty little red outfit he had worn the day before.  
As she watched him heading for her apartment, she had to wonder if maybe he was moving more femininely than before.  She wasn’t sure so she chalked that one up to her imagination.  She went out to the balcony to greet him.
Steve noticed Diane coming out of her apartment and waved excitedly to her.  Diane was struck again by how much he seemed to be enjoying this – when he should be hating it.  She waited while he dragged his suitcase up the stairs. 
“Hi Diane,” Steve said as he finally got to the upper level where her apartment was. 
“Hey Steve,” she replied, looking him over critically.  Yeah, it was kind of a cute outfit he was wearing.  And his makeup looked somewhat acceptable.  It all combined to make the whole outfit look somewhat good on him.  He just needed a wig…or maybe not.  As obvious as it was that he was a man wearing women’s clothes, there was the chance that the wig might make him look more like a girl, and that would take away too much of the humiliation he felt – or the humiliation he was supposed to be feeling, because once again it was all too obvious that he wasn’t feeling much humiliation at all.  Why did he seem to be enjoying himself so much?  He wasn’t supposed to be!
No matter, she had a few things in the trunk in her closet that should take care of that little problem.
As soon as Steve got through the door, he asked, “Would you like me to vacuum first, or dust?”
Diane just smiled as she led the way into her bedroom, crooking her finger for him to follow.  She went straight to the trunk in her closet and opened it.  Rummaging around, she pulled out a wide pink leather collar with a large D ring in the front.  “This should go well with your top,” she said as she held it up for Steve to see.
Steve giggled, “Yeah, it’ll be perfect!”
Diane blinked in surprise.  Had he just giggled?  Once again she was struck by how much Steve seemed to be enjoying himself – and again she wondered why.  She got behind Steve and fastened the collar around his neck with the D ring in front.  Then she went back to her trunk and pulled out a small padlock.  When she turned around, Steve was posing, trying to show off his new collar.  Almost angrily, she snapped the lock shut so he couldn’t get the collar off – and all Steve did was to giggle again.  Diane went back to her trunk and pulled out a pair of padded cuffs and locked them around his wrists.  They were followed by a length of chain a little over two feet long that went from one cuff, through the D ring in his collar, then to the other wrist cuff.  She padlocked the chain to the cuffs.  Steve would now have to have one hand up against his throat to extend the other hand, and that hand could only extend part way out. 
“That should make whatever you do today a little more difficult!” she told him decidedly.  But again Steve was giggling as if he loved it.  She watched as he pulled one hand out and then the other, over and over again.  His attitude made Diane somewhat angry, so she went back to her chest and a minute later Steve’s ankles were joined by another chain that left him only a few inches for walking.  Steve would have to shuffle around her apartment while he attempted to clean it.
“Now,” she said to him, finally feeling more in control, “go clean!”
But as Steve shuffled and tottered his way toward her living room, she could hear giggles escaping from him every few feet.  She could only stare and wonder what was wrong with him.  “Stop laughing!” she ordered.  But that just brought a louder guffaw that Steve tried to stifle but couldn’t.  The fact that he seemed to be loving it so much was definitely irritating her.  Maybe trying to work for a while in the chains he was wearing would finally take the smile off his face.  She could only hope.
But a little while later, she was sitting in her chair watching Steve trying to vacuum her rug, when she caught him laughing again.  He would stretch one arm out, pushing the cleaner with it, then he would extend his other arm to grab it and pull it back.  It looked like he was playing some kind of game with it.  His laughter and the fact that he seemed to be enjoying his predicament so much was definitely getting to her. 
She went back to the trunk in her closet.  When she came back again, she held what she had gotten behind her back so Steve couldn’t see it.  She grabbed the vacuum cleaner from him and turned it off.  “Open wide!” she ordered.  The look of puzzlement on Steve’s face was by far the most satisfying thing she had seen yet that morning.  But Steve dutifully opened his mouth.  “Wider!” she said as she brought the ball gag up to his lips and pushed.  “Wider!” she had to order again.  The ball gag was so big that Steve could barely get it through his teeth.  Once the ball was in place, she quickly fastened and locked it behind his head.  “There!  Maybe now you won’t be laughing so much.”
Steve made a sound like he was trying to answer her, but the only thing that came out was a muffled humming sound.  Steve’s eyes went wide.  He tried to speak again and again only an odd little hum came out.  Diane’s satisfaction was finally complete.  “Now you can go back to work.”
Steve made another humming sound to answer, then more sounds as he turned around to start cleaning again.  And Diane realized that he was laughing behind his gag.  He was loving that too.  What was wrong with him?  Fuming, she went back to her chair to sit and watch him.  He looked ridiculous…dressed as a girl, his hands chained to the collar at his throat, his lipsticked mouth stretched wide open by the ball gag, and his feet tethered so he only had a few inches for walking.  And he was loving it!  The more she tried to make him miserable, the more he seemed to like it. 
The doorbell rang.  That should be Monica she thought.  But as she got up to get it, Steve switched off the vacuum cleaner and made sounds as if to say, “I’ll get it.”  She watched as he quickly tried to shuffle his way toward her door.  The doorbell rang a second time before he could get there to open it. 
Monica blinked, and stared, and blinked again, and kept staring.  Steve, dressed in another short skirt outfit, had his hands chained to a collar on his neck, and a big ball gag stuck in his mouth, and he was making all kinds of muffled noises as he rocked his head and half his body back and forth as if the entire affair was nothing but hilarious.  And when he moved back so she could get in, she noticed that his ankles had been chained so closely together that he could hardly walk. 
Her mouth stuck open and unable to take her eyes off of him, she entered the apartment.  She stood still and watched as he closed the door behind her, then shuffled his way further into the apartment, still acting like he was having the best time in the world.  Monica just stood there by the door, her mouth open, watching and wondering what was going on. 
“Come on in, Monica,” Diane called from the living room where Steve was just then getting to the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the room.
Monica forced herself to move, but she still couldn’t take her eyes off of Steve.  The vacuum suddenly kicked to life, and she watched as Steve attempted to vacuum, bound up as he was.  It was nothing but bizarre!  Everything she had seen since the door opened had been nothing but bizarre.
“Let’s go to the kitchen where we can talk,” Diane suggested over the noise of the vacuum.
Monica didn’t even nod.  Still wide-eyed, she followed Diane into the kitchen.  The noise was somewhat quieter.  “You said you enjoyed a little bit of bondage sometimes,” Monica said, “but I didn’t expect the chains and stuff.”
Diane blushed.  “Does it bother you too much?  I can remove them.  I just thought…well…I enjoy it.  And since Steve here is kind of under our thumb, so to speak….  Well, I guess he’s supposed to be under our thumb.  Although I’m not sure how much that is right now.  Anyway, I just thought, why not.”
Monica shook her head.  “I just didn’t expect….”
Diane quickly placed her hand on Monica’s arm.  “I’ll get rid of all the chains and stuff, real quick.”
“No!” Monica replied.  “I mean, it’s okay as far as I’m concerned.  If it’s something you enjoy then…well…I guess, why not.  Besides, he’s supposed to be here to work for you today.  I don’t care how you want him to do it.  I guess that’s up to you.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“No.  Like I said, it’s up to you today.  It just surprised me, that’s all.”
Diane smiled shyly.  “I was just trying to make him a little…less comfortable today.  But so far….”  She turned to watch Steve trying to vacuum again and shook her head.  “It’s like yesterday.  No matter what I do to him, he seems to love it.  I just don’t understand.”
“I don’t either,” Monica replied, “but I’m beginning to gain a healthy respect for this Sorceress woman…whoever she is.”
“Coffee?” Diane asked as she headed for the coffee pot. 
“Please,” Monica replied as she took a seat at the table where she could still watch Steve. 
A few minutes later, Diane delivered a fresh cup of coffee to Monica, and sat down with her own cup.  “How do you think she’s doing it?” Diane asked.
Monica had been mostly watching Steve trying to work and hadn’t paid much attention to Diane’s question.  “Doing it?  Who doing what?”
“I mean the Sorceress.  How is she making him enjoy it so much?”
Monica shook her head.  “I don’t know.  But I’m not sure Steve actually knows what he’s doing.”
“Well I would think that much is obvious.  He’s dressed as a girl, and cleaning my apartment while wearing chains, and he seems to be loving every bit of it.  Of course he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
“No,” Monica replied.  “I don’t think Steve knows what he’s doing.”
“That’s what you just said.”
“No.  He called me last night.  Fairly late last night.  And he thought he had missed coming to my place to clean yesterday.  He didn’t seem to remember any of it.  At least, he didn’t sound like he did.  But I wouldn’t put it past him to try to make it look like he didn’t remember it, when he did remember it perfectly.”
“What for?”
“So we wouldn’t think he was really enjoying himself that much.”
Diane tried to take that in.  “And what about the Sorceress?”
Monica shook her head.  “I just don’t know.  Maybe there is no Sorceress.  Maybe it’s all just Steve trying to make us think there is.”
“Why would he do that?”
Monica shook her head again.  “I have no idea.  Maybe he just wants everyone to think there is, so he can use it as a lame excuse for what he likes doing.”
“You mean like dressing in drag all the time?”
Monica nodded.  “Why not?  It’s the best answer I can come up with right now.”
Diane shook her head.  “I just don’t know.  I only went out with him the once, and that was a long time ago.  But I’ve known him a little ever since then, and I never got the least little notion that he was like that.”
“Well look at him!” Monica countered.  “What else are we supposed to think?”
Diane watched Steve for a few more moments and could only agree.  Evidently, Steve really was that way…and it was only just now coming out.  “I guess it’s just this deal with the Sorceress that has me so confused,” she finally said.  “Why bother?  He has to know that nobody in their right mind would ever believe it.”
“I don’t know,” Monica replied.  “But I guess there are stranger things in this world than someone making up lame excuses for what they want to do.”
“So if he really does like all this so much, what do we do about it?  We’re not punishing him at all.  He’s…in heaven for heaven’s sake.”
Monica nodded.  “I’m not sure what to do yet.  I’ll have to think about it.  But right now, since he seems to love it so much, I’m half inclined to try giving it to him…with both barrels.  We’ll see how much he likes it then.  And his stupid job be damned!”
“What do you mean?  What do you want to do?”
Monica shook her head.  “I’m really not sure yet.  I haven’t had time to really figure it all out.  Let me consider it for a while first.”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Since Monica didn’t really trust Steve’s cooking, and Diane couldn’t seem to remember anyone mentioning that Steve could cook, Diane fixed lunch for herself and Monica, but they had Steve deliver it to the table.  Awkwardly picking up the first plate, Steve, or rather Karen, held it in both hands, then bent over a little, with drool dripping out of her gagged mouth, she made the same noise over and over again with each quick shuffling step she took towards the table.  “Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh…”  It was actually funny to her since she was trying to run and make train noises as she hurried.  The gag in her mouth just didn’t let those noises come out properly – which was hilarious in itself.  She delivered the plate in front of Monica.  Then she stood up straight and made a bunch of noises through her gag like she was talking – all the while rolling her eyes, waving her arms around in the air, and cocking her body back and forth like she was animatedly saying something funny.  She finally wiped the drool from her mouth with her arm, and shuffled back to the counter for the second plate, again pretending she was a train on a track and making the same noises.  As far as she was concerned, it was hilarious!  She delivered the second plate to Diane in exactly the same manner she had with Monica’s plate, including the funny animated talking afterwards.  Then, extending her left hand, which brought her right hand up to her neck, she did her best to shuffle sideways back toward the living room while she waved with her extended hand.  It was so funny!  Karen was having a blast!
“You’re absolutely right,” Monica said, still watching Steve shuffle sideways away.  “This isn’t working at all!”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

By midafternoon, Diane couldn’t take anymore.  She called Steve into her bedroom where she removed the gag and chains.
Steve, or rather Karen, laughed.  “That was soooo much fun!  Got any more things in there we can try?”
Diane was more than angry with Steve’s stupid crazy attitude towards it all.  “No!  Just get your things and get out of here.”
“But it’s early yet,” Steve complained.  “I was having fun!”
“Get out!” Diane yelled as she pointed toward her door.  For the first time all day, she saw Steve’s face look unhappy.  Finally!  But once again, his reaction was all wrong.  She watched as Steve grabbed his purse and his suitcase, and dragged it out the door.  What was wrong with that man?  But the answer to that question was all too obvious.  Everything!

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

At nine o’clock that evening, Diane laid a pile of things on her bed.  Stark naked, she sat on the bed next to the pile.  She stuck the same gag that Steve had worn all day into her mouth and locked it behind her head.  Bending at the waist, she grabbed the end of a chain that was fastened to the foot of her bed and wrapped it several times around her crossed ankles, locking it in place with one of several open padlocks she pulled at random from the pile on the bed.  Picking up a bar from the pile of things next to her, she painfully spread her knees wide apart and attached the spreader bar, putting a lot of pressure on her bound ankles and forcing her knees wide apart so she would be unable to close them.  The pink collar with the ring that Steve had worn all day went around her neck and was also locked in place so she wouldn’t be able to remove it.  She locked padded wrist restraints onto each of her wrists.  Instead of the short two foot chain that she had made Steve wear all day, she strung a longer four foot chain through the ring in the collar, then attached one end of the chain to her right wrist, still leaving her other arm free. 
She rolled over and looked at the pile of keys on her night table.  With a great deal of difficulty, she stretched and turned out the light, leaving her in darkness.  She fished the free end of the chain that ran from her one arm and through her collar, around the top of her headboard, then she locked the end of it to the padded cuff on her free arm. 
She was now thoroughly bound to her bed.  She would be just able to reach the keys, but not without a great deal of difficulty.  And if she wasn’t careful, she could knock them all down on the floor and never be able to reach them.  As it was, she would have to try key after key to find the one to release the only arm she could reach with before she could unlock any of the other locks.  Attempting to do any of it in the dark was impossible…and dangerous.  She was stuck there for the night until the sun came up. 
She felt alive.  Bound as she was with her knees forced wide open, she felt vulnerable.  She laid there dreaming of some man having his way with her.  She dreamed it and writhed in agony and ecstasy all night long.  It wasn’t just binding someone else up that she enjoyed so much.  That was definitely fun.  But what she really wanted was someone to do it to her.  To control her.  Someone to truly take charge of her…and let her know she was in their hands…and loved.


Friday, August 25, 2017

Revenge - Chapter 20



Revenge
By Karen Singer


Chapter 20

Steve didn’t wake up Saturday morning – Karen did.  And as per her instructions from Susan, she would make sure that Steve remained solidly asleep for most of the day.  And it was a day that she was very much looking forward to.  She had to go and clean Monica’s apartment.  After her phone call with Susan last night, cleaning was one of the things she loved to do most in life – along with humiliating Steve, who unfortunately wasn’t going to get to participate in anything today.
As she showered and shaved herself smooth, she hummed an old song to herself – “I enjoy being a girl.”  It was going to be a great day because she was going to get to be a girl for most of it.  Diane was coming soon to help her pick out what to wear to clean in for the day, but her first big question was, what should she wear when Diane arrived?  Something pretty and feminine for sure.  She only hoped that she would like whatever else that Diane picked out for her to wear later.
She dumped the two suitcases that still held all her pretty clothes out on the bed and sorted through them.  She chose the simple red skirt outfit that she had worn in St. Thomas because it was cute and comfortable.  Then she found all her makeup and did her best with it.  When she was done, she looked at all her pretty clothes jumbled on the bed.  That wasn’t where she really wanted them.  She began hanging everything that needed to be hung into the closet.  She had to make room for most of them by pulling out some of Steve’s older clothes that he didn’t wear much and dumping them into a heap on the floor.  She did the same with the things that needed to go into the dresser.  When she was done, she piled Steve’s clothes that she had thrown into the pile into one of the suitcases and put them away.  She felt much better now that her closet and dresser held mostly her clothes.  Why did guys have to have such boring clothes anyway?  Absolutely uninteresting.  Her things were much nicer.
While she waited for Diane, she made the bed, probably neater than it had been made in a very long time.  Then she began cleaning the apartment.  By her estimation, it really needed it.
When Diane knocked on Steve’s door, she thought she heard the sound of a vacuum cleaner being turned off inside.  Steve was about to spend the day cleaning Monica’s apartment, why would he be cleaning his own now?  But when the door opened, she was totally shocked at what she saw.  Steve was dressed completely femininely and was smiling and looking like he was really happy.  “Steve…” she started, staring at the feminized guy in front of her.  “Umm…you look…good.”
“Thanks, Diane,” Steve replied, seeming to sound really happy about her compliment.  “Come on in.” 
Was it her imagination, or was there something different about his voice?  Diane entered his apartment, but couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
“I was just cleaning up a bit,” Steve told her.  “The place needs it, don’t you think?”
Diane barely looked away from Steve and could only nod her head. 
“Come on,” Steve continued, leading the way toward his bedroom, “I hung everything in my closet this morning.  I can’t wait to pick out something interesting to wear.”
Diane followed him into his bedroom, totally unsure what to make of the person in front of her.  She had expected him to be apprehensive over what was about to happen or at least show a bit of nervousness, but instead, the “person” in front of her was bubbly and happy and excited about it all.  From what she thought she knew about Steve, it wasn’t making sense.
Steve led the way to his closet.  “I hung everything up in here earlier so it would be easier to see.”  He then started pulling various items out and holding them up for Diane.  “What do you think, should I wear this…or this?”
Diane was so confused she didn’t know what to say.  “Umm…what’s going on?” she finally asked.  “I thought you didn’t like all this.”
“Oh, normally I don’t,” Karen replied.  “But today I do,” she added happily.  Then she went back to pulling things out, “This or this?”
Diane just stared at Steve for a few seconds then finally turned to look at the items he was holding up.  She still didn’t know what to make of it all.  Steve was acting completely crazy.  “Tell you what,” she finally said, “wear what you have on, but pack several other outfits so
you can change later if we want you to.”
Steve seemed to become even more excited.  “That’s a great idea!  What shall we bring?”
“You pick a few things,” Diane replied, not at all sure she wanted to really pursue the plan with the way Steve was acting.  She was so unnerved by Steve’s behavior that she really just wanted to get out of there.  “Tell you what, I’ll just meet you at Monica’s.  Okay?”
“Great!” Steve replied, going back to his closet and happily sorting through the different clothes in there.
Diane headed for the door to get out of there, but the moment she heard Steve start singing, “I enjoy being a girl,” she nearly ran.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

A little while later, Diane entered Monica’s apartment.  “Where’s Steve?” Monica asked, realizing that her friend had come alone.
“Oh, he’ll be along in a little while I’m sure.  But I’m telling you now, you’d better brace yourself!”
“What for?”
Diane just shook her head.  “You’ll see when he gets here.  You’ll see.  Frankly, I don’t know what to make of it.”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Steve didn’t get to Monica’s house until nearly half an hour later.  In fact, by the time he did get there, Monica was beginning to think he wasn’t coming.  But since Diane wouldn’t tell her anything else about what happened at Steve’s apartment, she wasn’t at all prepared for Steve’s arrival.  And she was just as flabbergasted as Diane was when a very excited and happy Steve came through her door, dressed in a flirty red skirt outfit, dragging his suitcase behind him. 
“Sorry I’m late,” Steve practically gushed as he walked in.  “I didn’t know what clothes to bring so I packed a bunch of stuff.”
Monica was totally surprised by his appearance, especially since it was the first time she had seen him fully dressed.  But she was much more surprised by his attitude.  Instead of being reluctant and acting humiliated, he seemed as happy as he could be.  She looked over at Diane questioningly.
“I told you,” Diane said. 
Monica looked back at Steve again.  “Nice outfit you picked out for him Diane.”
“I didn’t pick it,” Diane replied.  “That’s how he was dressed when I got there.”
Monica raised her eyebrows in surprise again.
“Can I start cleaning now?” Steve asked like he couldn’t wait.
Once again Monica was taken aback by his attitude and could only nod.  “The vacuum cleaners in…” she pointed toward the hall closet.
“Great!” Steve replied as he made a beeline for her closet and pulled the machine out.
Monica and Diane sat side by side on her couch and watched in amazement as Steve began vacuuming the apartment.  “Is he singing?” Monica noted after a few minutes, unsure over the noise of the vacuum cleaner.  She couldn’t hear him that well, but it sure looked like he was happy and singing away like there was nothing better in the world.
“I think he’s singing, ‘I enjoy being a girl,’” Diane replied.  “That’s what he was singing when I left him this morning.”  Still totally unsure what to make of any of it, Diane pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.  “Carla?  This is Diane.”    “Yeah, I’m at Monica’s.  Get over here as fast as you can.  You’ve got to see this!”
Monica looked over at her friend and nodded her approval.  “Call Ruth too.”
A little while later, Steve had finished with the vacuum and was just about to start on Monica’s already spotless kitchen when someone knocked on the apartment door.  “I’ll get it,” Steve called out.  Monica and Diane were once again flabbergasted at what he was doing.
Steve pulled the front door open, and when he saw who it was, put a big smile on his face and said, “Hi Carla.  I’m so glad you’re here.  Monica and Diane are watching me clean.  Come on in.”
Carla’s first instinct was to laugh when she saw Steve completely dressed up, but there was something about his attitude that made her stop and just stare for a moment.  For some unknown reason, it looked like Steve was liking everything he was doing.  She entered the apartment.  “What did you do to him,” she asked Monica and Diane.
“We didn’t do anything,” Diane answered.  “He’s been this way since I knocked on his door earlier this morning.”
Carla looked back at Steve who was now wiping down Monica’s counters and was humming to himself while he cleaned.  “I’ve got to admit, the outfit he’s wearing is kind of cute on him.  He looks totally ridiculous in it of course, but it still looks cute on him.”
“Yeah, it does,” Monica agreed.  “He looks ridiculous, and not too bad…all at the same time.”
Carla looked around Monica’s apartment.  “How long has he been at it?  The place looks spotless.”
“It was spotless before he started,” Diane answered. 
Monica looked a bit ashamed.  “I can’t help it lately,” she replied.
“Not much of a challenge for him then,” Carla noted.  “Or a punishment either.”
Monica just shrugged her shoulders.  “Like I said, I can’t help it.  I’m much more fanatical about it than I used to be.”
Carla smiled at her.  “I understand.”
Diane was still watching Steve.  “The way he’s acting, I think you’re right.  This doesn’t seem like it’s much of a punishment for him at all.”
They all watched Steve again.  He was still humming happily to himself and almost dancing as he cleaned the kitchen.  “Yeah,” Monica finally agreed.  “I don’t really understand it.  I was so sure he wouldn’t like all this.  Instead, it’s almost as if he loves it.”
“I think he does love it,” Carla decided.
“Yeah, this is doing nothing at all to punish him,” Diane agreed.  “Hey, I’ve got an idea, let’s look through the other clothes he brought with him and see if we can find something more interesting, or uncomfortable, for him to wear.”
Monica’s face seemed to brighten.  “Good idea!”
Two minutes later, Diane lifted Steve’s suitcase onto the bed and started pulling clothes out of it so they could all see what he had packed.  Carla immediately seized the gold shoes that Steve had once worn to the club in St. Thomas.  “Oh God,” she exclaimed, “I love these.”  She looked at them closely.  “Too bad they’re not in my size.”
Monica pulled the gold dress out of the suitcase.  “Looks like this goes with them.  I guess we have our first outfit for him to show us.”
“Looks good to me,” Diane replied.  Then she giggled.  “I can’t wait….  Oh, let me get the camera from my purse.  I want some pictures.”
Carla giggled.  “Yeah, get some of the outfit he has on now too.  It’s cute.”
A few minutes later, Diane was snapping pictures of Steve cleaning, and Steve was striking pose after pose as if he loved it.
“There’s something wrong here,” Carla noted quietly.
“Yeah, there is,” Monica agreed.
“Okay,” Diane said to Steve, “time for another outfit.”
“Oh good!” Steve replied gladly.  “What did you pick?”
“Yeah, definitely something wrong,” Monica muttered.
Diane snapped picture after picture of Steve in various outfits, while Steve smiled, and laughed, and posed, and cleaned.  He was loving it.  The girls were enjoying watching him, but they still couldn’t figure out why he suddenly seemed to be enjoying himself so much.  Too much in fact.
Someone knocked on the door and once again Steve offered to see who it was.  “Ruth!” the girls heard him exclaim happily as he opened the door.  “Come on in.  We’re having a great time today.”
Ruth followed Steve into the room and began glancing back and forth between Steve and the other women.  Finally she had to ask.  “What happened?”
“You tell us.” Carla replied.
“He’s been like this since I went to his place this morning.” Diane added.  “You should have seen the outfit he had on when I got there.”
“It was cute,” Monica noted.  “We have pictures.”
Ruth glanced around the small apartment.  “It looks spotless.  At least he’s doing a good job.”
“Oh, he’s doing a good job alright, but it was this way when he got here,” Carla replied.
“Humph!  Not much of a punishment then.”
“No, probably not,” Monica admitted.  “I’m sorry!  I just can’t help it.  I like it clean!  Okay?”
“Monica, that’s a good thing!” Diane said.  “Don’t worry yourself about it.  We’re just wondering about Steve in there.  Okay?”
“Sorry,” Monica apologized.
“Ha!” Ruth snorted.  “If you want to punish him by making him clean something, send him over to my house someday.  That’ll keep him busy.  Between the kids and my husband, it stays a mess!”
Monica seemed to think about that for a moment.  “I guess we could do that if you want.”
“I truly wish we could!” Ruth replied.  “But with the kids and my husband, I don’t want him anywhere near them!”
Diane jumped on the idea though.  “I wouldn’t mind having him do my place for me.”
“What the hell,” Carla added, “I hate cleaning.  He can do mine too for that matter.”
Monica looked at Diane and Carla, and smiled.  “I guess he’s going to be busy then, isn’t he.”
The three women sat and watched Steve spraying polish on the furniture and then dusting.  He was still humming to himself.  His actions were anything but masculine and he seemed to be enjoying himself way too much.  It was Carla who finally put it into words.  “That’s not Steve.”
The others looked at her.  “What do you mean?” Diane asked.
“I’ve dated Steve too many times in the past.  I know him pretty well.  And that’s not him.”
“Of course it’s him,” Monica replied.  “Who else can it be?”
“I don’t know.  But I’m telling you, that’s not him.”
The four women sat and watched Steve for a few more minutes.  “So what happened to him?” Ruth finally asked. 
The silence was long as they all sat and wondered.  But finally it was Monica who spoke.  “The Sorceress.”  The others looked at her.  “It has to be.  She didn’t want me to punish Steve.  She wants me to leave him alone.  So somehow, she’s done this to him.  Instead of punishing him, it’s almost like we’re rewarding him.  He’s loving it!  It has to be the Sorceress!”
“Maybe you’re right,” said Diane.  “But how?”
“I don’t know.  How has she done everything else?”
The women all sat and pondered that for a few moments.  Finally, Ruth got up to leave.  “Well, I’m out of here.  I’ve got kids at home.  Let me know what’s going on.”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

It was late in the afternoon when Karen finally got back to her own apartment.  She was still jubilant over the wonderful day she had just had, and it really had been a blast.  She had gotten to clean Monica’s apartment, and not only that, she had gotten to model a lot of her new clothes.  She couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day.
She knew she was supposed to return her body back to Steve again when she got home, but as she looked around the apartment, she realized that it really could use a good cleaning too.  She hung all her clothes back up in the closet again and got down to cleaning. 
Finally, the apartment was spotless.  She logged into Steve’s computer and sent an email telling Susan about the magnificent day she had just had.  By the time she was done, the sun was going down and it was getting late.  She sighed.  Susan had said that she had to return control back to Steve.  There was no reason left to delay that.  Oh well, there was always tomorrow.  She smiled at that thought.  She was going to get to do it all again at Diane’s apartment tomorrow, and then she was going to get to do Carla’s place on Monday night.  She got undressed, laid down on the bed, closed her eyes and woke Steve up.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Steve rolled over and opened his eyes.  The light in the room was dim.  The sun must have been just coming up.  He glanced at the clock next to his bed, then glanced at it again.  Almost eight thirty?  Then he looked closer…PM.  He groaned, it wasn’t even fully light yet.  His clock must be wrong.  He got up and turned on his TV.  The evening programs were on.  Puzzled, he went and found his watch.  It confirmed the time on his bedside clock.  And his apartment was still getting darker.  The sun was going down.  He had slept through the entire day! 
Then he remembered something else – Monica!  He was supposed to clean her apartment and if he didn’t do whatever she said, she could ruin him.  Panicked, he grabbed his phone and called her.  “Monica!  I’m so sorry.  I know I was supposed to be there this morning to clean your place, but I just woke up now.  I don’t know what happened!  Please don’t do anything bad.”
Monica was completely puzzled.  “Steve, what are you talking about?  What do you mean you just woke up?  You’ve been here all day!”
“I have?”
“Of course you have.  We all saw you here, cleaning and posing for pictures – all day.”
“But I just now got out of bed.  I’m not even dressed yet!”
“Stevie, you were here.  Remember?”
“No…I don’t remember.  How could I have been there if I just now got out of bed?”
“Stevie, I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.  We’ll see you tomorrow at Diane’s place.  Now goodnight!” 
The phone connection clicking shut startled him.  He had been at Monica’s all day?  Tomorrow at Diane’s?  He didn’t remember any of it.  He realized that once again he had lost a lot of time.  What was happening to him?  Maybe what he needed was a good doctor.  Losing time and not remembering could be a sign of something serious.  Or had the witch been at work on him again.  That was probably the more likely answer.  What had she done to him now?  All he knew for sure was that he was still a pawn in a very cruel game.  And he had no way to solve that problem.
His stomach growled.  He headed into his kitchen to make something to eat.  As he looked around, he noticed how good his apartment looked, almost like it had just had a thorough cleaning.  What had gone on all day?

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

Susan smiled as she read every word of Karen’s email.  Monica and her friends had tried to punish Steve, but they had unknowingly been faced with Karen instead.  By Karen’s description, Monica and her friends didn’t know what had happened.  They weren’t at all satisfied by their attempts to humiliate Steve. 
Monica may have won the first round in the battle by making Steve wear panties, pantyhose, and now a bra under his clothes all the time, but that was only because Karen hadn’t been able to get her email in time.  But Susan had definitely won this round.  And Monica would soon find out that Karen couldn’t be punished – in any way.  No matter what they asked her to do, Karen would love it. 
Monica may not fully realize it yet, but she was now locked into a battle of wits…with the Sorceress!