Two Hundred Dollars Ch. 19

126 Dollars

Laura moved through the cafeteria, eyes darting in all directions as she desperately looked for Bailey.

I hope we're on for tonight, she thought, fighting to keep her teeth from clenching with anxiety.

She caught her friend's eye in the crowded cafeteria and rushed over. Unpacking a sandwich from her backpack even as she sat down, she leaned in close with a nervous expression.

"Tonight still good?" she asked.

"Yeah," Bailey replied, "Should be fine. Carson's got some Glee club thing he does on Mondays, so we'll have lots of time."

"Cool," Laura said, dropping her shoulders as a wave of relief coursed through her. "Cool."

"Glad you're excited," Bailey raised an eyebrow, "but it's hours away."

She tapped her phone and pointed the screen at Laura, showing her the time, "2:28".

Laura sighed and took a bite of her sandwich.

Bailey took a moment, watching her friend chewing thoughtfully, before speaking, "Still, I have an idea."

"Hm?" Laura's mother had cultured her far too well for her to speak with food in her mouth.

"Remember what you said yesterday?"

Laura swallowed carefully before speaking, "I said a lot of things."

"About gifts," Bailey said.

"Yeah," Laura replied, "like how you can't repay Kent for the, um, clothes."

"I can't, true," Bailey agreed, "But I could get a gift for him."

"Oh, right," Laura recalled. "And he'll be okay with it now."

"Because he knows I'm not just trying to repay that other money," Bailey nodded, glad they'd arrived at the same page.

"What are you thinking of getting him?"

"Well, it can't be too expensive," Bailey explained. "The whole point of this is to save money."

Laura tried to keep a smirk off her face.

The whole point of this is to turn you on by pretending it's about money, she wanted to tell her friend, to make you feel nasty because you're paying your debt with your body. If you go and spend a bunch of money frivolously, especially where Kent can see it, it'll break the spell.

But Laura, like Bailey, had no desire to break the spell, so she said none of this and tried as hard as she could to pretend she'd never even thought of it.

One of the benefits of a religious upbringing is the ability to pretend you believe things you don't and pretend you don't believe things you know are true.

"So it has to be something small," Laura said, "something cheap. But still, somehow, sexy?"

"I have some ideas," Bailey replied, "when's your last class end?"

"Four thirty."

"Alright," Bailey nodded to her friend. "My lab starts soon and runs 'til five thirty, but if you wait for me outside the Arts library, it should be okay. The lab shouldn't take the full three hours."

"Where we going?"

"Shopping."

Bailey offered nothing further before she whisked herself off into the crowd, leaving Laura on her own to finish her sandwich.

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"Are we taking a bus?" Laura asked, still wondering what kind of a shopping trip awaited her this time around.

Bailey had managed to finish her lab even earlier than Laura had finished her class. Consequently, she'd intercepted Laura outside of the library and immediately directed her off campus.

"Shouldn't need to."

"No mall?"

"No mall," Bailey confirmed, "we need to keep the costs down, here, right?"

"Oka-ay," Laura trailed off.

After moving through the quad, they passed one of the engineering buildings and hit the edge of campus.

"Still don't know where we're going," Laura offered playfully, looking at the plaza across the street from the university buildings.

"Right there," Bailey pointed before she hit the button for the crosswalk.

"The 'One, Two, Three Dollar'?" Laura wrinkled her nose. "Why?"

Bailey shrugged as they waited for the light to change. At rush hour, they could have waited a while, but they'd lucked out on the timing and crossed in short order.

Shivering somewhat, they marched through the parking lot and entered the store, thankful for the warmth.

"Let's have a look around," Bailey said, directing Laura toward the seasonal aisle, which still hosted a collection of leftover Halloween costume accessories.

"I am not interested," Laura said, "in whatever you're imagining when you look at that pitchfork."

"The masks are all too creepy," Bailey ignored Laura's jibe, "I was hoping they might have one of those whips or something."

"We kinda did that already," Laura laid discouragement into her voice, "but I don't know that I could ask Dakota to borrow hers again. So if you're dead-set on it, you'd have to get your own."

Bailey hummed softly, not meeting Laura's eyes as she continued her quest.

"How would a mask work anyway?" Laura's lips compressed in doubt. Then she looked up. "Now, a cloak..."

Bailey eyed her suspiciously as Laura took the black cloak off the hanger and wrapped it around herself.

"Think about it, Bai," she prodded. "What am I wearing underneath? You don't know."

With a courteous tilt of her head, Bailey acknowledged her friend's contribution. "Not quite a gift, unless we let him wear it," she said, "and we somehow have something to match."

"He already has the vampire outfit," Laura shoulder slumped, "but if we want to dress all goth and stuff, I got my tall boots."

Bailey continued walking down the aisle, but found nothing that stirred her insides.

I want something that makes me tingle, she thought, something that will make Kent tingle when he sees it.

She remembered the look in his eye when he'd seen the skirt.

If I showed up in a black cloak and nothing but black panties underneath, would that do it?

A grimace took over her face as she thought about it.

How would he spank me though? It seems awkward, all that extra cloth.

Bailey preferred blue jeans for a reason: they didn't get in the way.

"That's it, Bai," Laura said. "End of the aisle."

They meandered for a while, their eyes scanning the other offerings of the discount store.

Suddenly, Bailey's eyes went wide.

"What?" Laura asked, turning immediately to follow her friend's gaze.

Bailey pointed, her confidence absolute.

"No, Bai," Laura stammered. "No-no-no."

"You don't have to," Bailey pointed out, not moving her eyes.

"Don't I, though?" Laura sighed. "I guess it's not that bad, all things considered. Alright, I'll even go half and half on it?"

"Really?"

"Yeah," Laura said. "So it's from both of us."

"Thanks," Bailey smiled.

The dollar and fifty cents wouldn't matter, but the thought counted.

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Kent had decided to forego videogaming for the evening. Events with Bailey and Laura didn't really consume that much of his time, but he had reached a personal epiphany regarding his schoolwork. If he didn't plan to get things ahead of time, his little adventures with the two girls could completely screw up his schedule later. He really had no way to handle that kind of interruption and then go straight back to focusing on his school work.

Early on in their interactions, Bailey had kept things fairly sparse, coming by his room every few days to pay off a few dollars. More recently, she had turned up the pace, dropping by almost every day. He couldn't resent the time he spent with them, but he would eventually resent any failure on his part to attain a decent education.

What else do you want out of life, right now? You're getting an education and all the weird-ass sexy shit you can handle.

To that end, when Carson left for his musical thing at half past seven, Kent had finished all of his assignments due for the week and counted himself wise when he heard Bailey and Laura enter the apartment, locking the door behind them.

Yep. Called it.

"Hi, Kent," Laura sang down the stairs, "Busy tonight?"

"Just wrapping up, actually," he shook his head and rolled his eyes before either girl reached his doorway.

Bailey appeared first, blue jeans and winter coat whisking past the doorway.

"Give us a moment," she called back.

Laura waved politely and followed Bailey, carrying what he took for a small suitcase of the type usually used as a carry-on by air travellers.

Kent listened to Bailey unlock her door and close it behind her. He heard nothing for a few moments, whatever the girls had gotten up to. When they came back out, Bailey relocked her door, a touch Kent found paranoid even for her, and they shortly returned in stocking feet, but otherwise still wearing their outdoor clothing.

"Do we have a plan today?" Kent looked them both up and down, noting the burdensome level of clothing.

"We got you a gift," Laura said.

"I see," Kent replied, not seeing at all.

"A real gift," Bailey said. "Just so you know."

"Alright..."

"It's in my suitcase," Laura added, "which is locked."

"The suitcase is in my bedroom," Bailey blushed hard, "also locked."

"And the keys?"

"I have one and Laura has the other," Bailey's eyes went straight to the ground as her shoulders shook with barely restrained laughter.

"You have to find them, though," Laura explained. "Then you can unlock your gift."

"Oh," Kent finally understood the game.

Christ, Bailey, he thought, this is what we're doing? Exactly how am I supposed to know how to touch Laura?

He'd touched Bailey just about everywhere by this point and, to be fair, he'd touched Laura almost everywhere. That didn't mean he took generic permission to touch either of them just any time, but today they'd invited him.

But how far exactly is Laura willing to go? Okay, need time to think. Stall.

The most obvious course of action came to mind and Kent rose from his chair, approaching Laura on account of the fact she stood closest. Smiling awkwardly, he first checked the pockets of her long, beige coat. This didn't take nearly enough time, as women's jackets never had a lot of pockets. He had only two places to check on the outside, and one inside pocket, all of which he found empty.

"It's a little warm for a jacket," Laura offered and turned her back on him.

"So true," Kent rolled his eyes and took her coat off her shoulders.

As she turned back toward him, she faced away from Bailey. Kent kept himself from flinching as Bailey's eyes met his and she made a quick gesture with her hands at her belt, waving upwards.

Got it, he eyeballed a message back at her. Thank you. At least I know I'm searching high.

If Laura had hidden the key against her breast, it meant she intended for him to touch her there, the knowledge of which constituted a life saving flotation device, emergency breathing apparatus and final exam cheat sheet all in one.

Not that I have to go straight to the end of the puzzle from the start, he smirked. That's how cheaters get caught.

Instead, he moved over to Bailey and starting frisking her ski style jacket. It had the advantage of external pockets at about chest level. When he unzipped those and checked inside them, he reached his fingers as far toward her breasts as he could. Bailey's eyes closed and she inhaled deeply under his attention.

They would never make it that easy.

He unzipped her jacket, checked its internal pockets, and then removed it from her shoulders.

"Alright, then," Kent turned back to Laura and surveyed her from head to toe.

"Something wrong, Officer?" Laura played her voice for maximum innocence.

Now I get it.

"I'm going to have to search you very carefully," Kent jerked his head over towards his bed. "Put your hands on the mattress, both of you."

The girls gave a start at his instruction, not having expected it, but he'd found it always paid to disrupt their plans just enough to surprise them.

Bailey glanced at Laura, who shrugged in return, and the two of them walked over to the bed and leaned over to rest their hands on his mattress.

Kent started with Laura first, going down on one knee behind her so he could slowly run his hands up her legs, one at a time, inside and out. When he reached her ass, he carefully used both of his hands to squeeze her cheeks and grope every bit of her, feeling her tense and release her muscles up under his attention. Standing up, he reached around her hips and checked at much as he could from the outside of her pants, running his fingers over every available surface without pressing down over her vulva.

I am not going too hard there yet, Kent said. I know the key isn't hidden there so I can wait for her to give me some clue.

He switched over to Bailey, starting at her ass and working his way down the back of her legs and back up the front. With the denim on, though, she could be hiding her room key just about anywhere except the pockets. He checked all of those, taking special care to reach deeply into the front pockets and probe her pelvis. On his knees, he slid a hand between her thighs from behind, wanting to give her lips a stroking, but found the fly seam of her jeans far too hard.

When he'd finished, Kent knew he'd treated Bailey and Laura differently, but Laura shouldn't have been able to tell from her position, and he just had to assume Bailey wanted it that way.

I'm not getting a lot of guidance until I hear the moans after the fact, he thought worriedly, but they showed up here and asked me to grope them, so that's where we are.

Laura had worn a heavy sweater he'd need to check out next.

"Gonna need you to stand up straight," he said as he grabbed her hips.

She giggled and stood up.

"Hands on your head."

With a deep breath, she obeyed his instructions.

Suitably posed, Kent put his hands on her lower back and slowly felt his way up her spine, across her shoulders and back down the underside of her arms. Laura shivered slightly when his fingertips traced the underside of her ribs.

The sweater may be heavy, but I can already tell she's not wearing a bra under there. Oh, boy.

With Bailey watching over her shoulder, Kent ran his hands over the front of Laura's body, slowly feeling his way to her breasts. When he hit the spot where her underwire should have been, Laura inhaled deeply and thrust her chest out, her head turning up to the ceiling.

That's a pretty clear message.

Cupping both her breasts at once, he trapped her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers.

"What have we here, ma'am?" he asked with a smirk.

"Uh," Laura managed to moan.

He gently squeezed, compressing her breasts against her ribs while maintaining his grip on her hardening little tips.

"Is this what I'm looking for?"

Laura let out another little moan and shook her head.

He released her nipples and moved his hands around her breasts before he felt a hard package, roughly square in shape, no bigger than his thumb, on the underside of her left breast.

"Ah," he breathed. "What is this?"

A little squeak of dismay sounded from Laura's throat, as if he'd disappointed her a little by finishing his search so soon.

"How will we get that out?" he wondered aloud.

Looking for a clue here, you twits, Kent mentally beamed at them. I'm probably supposed to reach underneath, but I could tell her to take off her sweater, too. She called me 'Officer', which maybe means I'm suppose to strip search the two of you. Christ, this is complicated.

"I guess you'll have to go get it," Laura whispered anxiously.

"I guess I will."

He slid his hands under her sweater at the waist, feeling the trembling in her belly. Slowly, he moved up over her abs. The key, he well knew, lay just under her breast. His hands, however, slid up the sides of her body, the heels of his palms pressing along the soft sides of her breasts. He moved inward over top of her pectoral muscles, dislocating her sweater almost enough to expose those generous mounds of flesh.

With Laura shivering in his grip, his hands slithered down, palms over her hardened nipples first, cupping her breasts second, and finally captured her bare nipples between his thumbs and forefingers again.

Laura let out a low throaty growl as he gave her tips a little downward tweak before releasing them. Finally, with his hands underneath her breasts, he bumped against the little bit of tape she's used to attach the tiny luggage key to her body. It came free with a little force and no obvious sign of pain.

As he withdrew his hands, Laura sighed and tilted forward to brace her hands on the bed.

"That's one," Kent announced.

"Yeah," Laura replied with all the force of a misting rain.

Kent decided to give Bailey the same treatment initially, telling her to stand up and put her hands on her head. Throwing him off, however, she stood up, turned around to face him and then interlaced her fingers before laying her hands on the back of her head. Finally, she closed her eyes, although Kent could swear she rolled them underneath her lids.

He put his hands around her, at the small of her back, and ran them up her white t-shirt. Feeling carefully at the strap of her bra, he didn't detect anywhere she could have hidden a key. Kent checked her stomach, then slid his hands up to her breasts, using his thumbs to poke and prod, roughly as he dared, at every bit of flesh covered by the cups of her bra.

Bailey breathed out softly as he worked both of her nipples in circles.

"They're not magic lamps," she scolded. "Nothing's coming out no matter how much you rub them."

Kent grimaced. Their bodies didn't offer that many locations to hide a key. Bailey's key, especially, had to take up more space than the tiny luggage key Laura had hidden. On top of that, given that Laura had hidden her key near her breasts, he judged it unlikely Bailey would do the same.

"Well, ma'am," he told her, "Looks like I need to check you more closely."

Bailey let out a little breath of disdain through her nose and turned her chin up at him.

Fine, Bai. One level further.

He grabbed her belt buckle and unthreaded the belt. With a bit of force and an inhalation from Bailey, he managed to pull it just tight enough to loosen the prong from the little eye in the belt. With an exhalation of relief, Kent released the belt. Next, he popped the snap button on her pants and unzipped them.

The transparent underwear I gave her, he smiled, nice.

The key, to his surprise lay right against her flesh, underneath the panties, with a bit of masking tape wrapped around the edges.

She didn't want to risk the edge of the key damaging her panties. That's why she wrapped it in tape.

He hadn't felt it all when he'd frisked her, on account of the fly seam hiding it.

Given that she'd placed the key just above the line of her pubic hair, he could have just reached down her waistband to get it. Instead, he pushed her jeans over her hips and let them drop to the floor. Then he slid his right into her panties from the side, over her lips, and pushed his way up over her clitoris.

Bailey opened her mouth, letting out a breath of shock as her stomach tightened and her whole body started to double over. Kent stroked her one more time, feeling her body shudder again, before he wandered farther up and reached the place she'd tape the key to herself.

"There we go," he said, tearing the tape from her skin.

"Hmph!" Bailey exclaimed, opening her eyes.

She sat back on the bed, blinking away as her eyes searched for anything to look at but Kent, and Laura came to sit down next to her.