Caroline and Friends

They lay there on the floor: Kelly with her long blonde hair scattered around her, her face pressed against the carpet, her arms and legs spread, and Caroline, lying atop her, her face on Kelly's back, her long red hair spilled above her head, her arms across Kelly's face and rear. Seth and I stood beside their limp forms. They were at our mercy.

​

It started about a month ago.

​

I've known Seth since grade school. His family moved to Europe when we were 15, but we kept in touch. He and his new wife Kelly moved back stateside about a year ago. They live just about a half hour away.

 

Kelly is a wonder: both an intelligent, beautiful woman and a devoted friend. She is Irish by birth, tall (2 inches taller than Caroline), and fit with long straight blonde hair (her father was Swedish). She speaks English, Gaelic, French and Italian. Her eyes shine blue. Whatever she sees in Seth, I'll never know.

 

Last month, Caroline introduced Seth and Kelly into our personal fantasy world. We were at our place watching a video (Foul Play with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase) and Caroline suddenly started "choking" on her popcorn. She was actually very believable, standing there bent over with her hand at her throat, her face contorted with the effort to breathe, one arm across her stomach. Seth and Kelly were about to call 911, and I stepped behind her to do the Heimlich.

​

The first thing they tell you to do is to see if the choking victim can talk. "Are you OK?" I asked.

 

Caroline turned it off. She stopped coughing, her hands fell to her sides and she stood up straight. "Yes, I'm fine," she said. She turned to our friends, "Kelly? I'm all right."

​

Then she turned it on again. She coughed and wheezed and grabbed at her stomach and throat. I grabbed her from behind, feeling the denim of her jeans and the cotton of her T-shirt against my arms. "She's fine," I said over the wheezing. "She's acting."

​

Seth and Kelly stood there with their mouths open.

 

"She's good," said Seth at last.

 

"She'll be dead in a minute," I said. "It's a game we ..."

 

Just then, I felt Caroline's weight on my arms. Her head drooped down, her shoulders fell forward and her arms dropped from her throat and stomach and hung like wet nylons. Her sudden weight threatened my balance, and I had to place one of my feet forward between hers. I dragged her back to the couch and sat her on my lap, partly so that I could feel her weight on me, partly so that I could hide the reaction she was causing in me. Her head fell back across my shoulders and her arms fell at my sides. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted.

 

"She's acting?" Kelly asked incredulously.

 

"Yes," I said. "She's fine. She likes playing dead for me. I like it too. I like it very much."

 

"She's good," Seth said again.

 

Caroline smiled a bit at that, the corners of her open mouth curling up just a bit. Kelly noticed it, as did Seth.

 

"She's acting," Kelly said incredulously.

 

"She's good," Seth said again.

 

"She does this for you?" Kelly asked. She walked over and lifted Caroline's wrist. It bent limply in her hand. "She likes to do this?"

 

"Yes," I said.

 

"Yes," Caroline said as she lifted her head from my shoulder, then dropped back again, limp as before.

 

"She's good," Seth said again. The fourth time.

 

Now you don't get to be a woman who can speak four languages without having something seriously efficient working between your ears. Kelly noticed Seth's newly found lack of vocabulary, and the way his eyes kept darting back from Caroline to her. I swear she watches Seth like I watch Caroline. Nothing he does or says gets by her.

 

"Seth?" she said.

 

Seth turned his attention solely to his wife.

 

"I'm fine," Kelly said.

 

Then in a moment she was convulsing as if an electric shock were passing through her and she collapsed on the ground. She wore a polo shirt and a short skirt, and as she fell the skirt rose about her, exposing part of the white garment she wore underneath. She lay there on her side and convulsed twice more. Then she was still.

 

Seth just stood there. "Check her pulse, you fool," I said.

 

He knelt down and placed a hand on her neck.

​

"She's dead," he said with restrained emotion. He turned out to be a pretty good actor. "I can't believe she's dead." He ran a hand through her blonde hair, smoothing it gently around her face. "I can't believe it."

Kelly twitched again. Seth walked around her, knelt once again, and lifted her into his arms. Her head fell back and all that blonde hair came streaming down.

 

"Use the spare bedroom, down the hall," came Caroline's voice.

 

*******

 

Well, like I said, this was about a month ago, and while we'd seen Seth and Kelly a few times over the weeks, nothing of much consequence had happened. Well, I walked in on them once when Kelly and Caroline were talking about their new shared fantasies, but as soon as they both saw I was in the room, they hushed up. Seth told me while we were getting beer one night how much he enjoyed feeling Kelly's body resting in his arms, so vulnerable. I nodded and said how glad I was Caroline had chosen to share this with Kelly and him.

​

But this night would be different. I could tell. We were at Kelly and Seth's house, and we were supposed to be playing Monopoly, but Caroline and Kelly kept conversing in French and while neither I nor Seth could understand their words, I understood the look in Caroline's eyes. I understood it perfectly.

 

Caroline was wearing a Hawaiian-style mini skirt and halter top. Kelly wore white shorts and a very short sky blue tank top. Both women were barefoot, having kicked their shoes off earlier.

 

"Seth, the girls are cooking up something," I whispered. My heart was pounding.

 

"No kidding," he whispered back.

 

Now, before I go on, I think I need to say that while Caroline is one fantastic actress, she is not a great stunt woman. I'll describe what ensues as if it were a real fight, but if you were there, you would have seen in a moment that the whole thing was fake. Neither Seth nor I would ever do anything to hurt Caroline or Kelly, and it's important for me to say that now.

 

Anyway, we were playing Monopoly, and Caroline landed on Indiana Avenue, which Seth owned. "Pay up," said Seth.

 

"Sure, big boy," said Caroline in a deep, breathy voice. "Any time. Anything." She said it to Seth, but she was looking at me. It's a good thing I didn't have to stand up right then, because my insides melted down to my feet.

​

Kelly threw the board off the card table, scattering money and pieces all over. "That's eet!" she cried. "You 'ave your eyes on ma 'usband, non? You try to take 'im from me, non?"

​

"What are you talking about?" asked Caroline.

 

"And when did you become French?" I asked, but was ignored.

 

"Thees ees what I talk about!" said Kelly, and she knocked the table over, knocking Seth off his chair. I was quick enough to scoot back. Then, Kelly rounded on Caroline and slapped her across the face as she sat in her chair.

 

Caroline's eyes burned with fury. "You bitch!" she cried and lunged at her friend, but Kelly danced out of the way. As Caroline flew by, Kelly slammed both fists down on the back of her shoulders, driving her to the floor.

 

Seth was lying next to his fallen chair with his mouth open. Kelly looked at him. "And I suppose you weell take 'er side, non?" she asked. A hint as subtle as a brick through a window.

 

Seth got his feet under him, but Caroline was quicker. She pounced on Kelly from behind, throwing a devastating kidney punch. Kelly stumbled sideways, wincing and grasping her side. Caroline followed her and threw a right jab (or something like it -- Caroline is no boxer) into Kelly's midsection.

 

Kelly responded with a left cross at Caroline's head, snapping her chin to the side, her red hair flying. She turned a bit and stepped away, a dazed look on her face. It was Seth's turn.

 

Seth walked up to Kelly, fists at the ready. She threw a high kick that caught him in the side. He stumbled sideways as if it really hurt, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face. Kelly threw a left cross at his head, but Seth ducked and slammed her stomach with a right. She leaned forward against Seth's shoulder and grasped her stomach with both hands. Seth continued to pummel her midsection and she agonized with every blow.

 

Meanwhile, the fog cleared from Caroline's face and she approvingly observed the situation. "Can I have a turn?" she asked.

​

"Be my guest," said Seth. He stopped punching Kelly and stepped back. Since some of Kelly's weight was on Seth's shoulders, she stumbled forward a bit but did not fall. Her expression was shocked disbelief.

 

Caroline threw a kick at Kelly's tortured tummy which drove Kelly back against the wall. Caroline stepped toward her, but Seth said, "No, let me finish her off."

 

Kelly's eyes were glassy, her jaw slack, her hands uselessly dangling at her sides. Seth walked casually over, took her face in his hand, and slammed the back of Kelly's head against the wall. He then stepped back as Kelly swayed for a moment, then fell forward onto the floor, her legs and arms spread, making her shorts tight against her bottom. She got her hands under her and started to push up, looked agonizingly at Seth, and then collapsed again with her arms stretched out. She twitched a couple of times (she likes twitching), then lay still and silent.

​

Now, I figured it was my turn. Caroline and Seth were staring down at Kelly's unconscious form. I got up and quietly walked behind Caroline. I tapped her right shoulder, she turned to face me, and I smacked her chin with my right.

 

She snapped her head around as if I'd really hit her and stumbled back. This left her defenseless before me. I landed a quick left to her stomach, and as she bent forward, I came down with a karate chop on the side of her neck. She sank to her knees, her bare feet touching Kelly's limp form.

 

While this was happening, Seth had walked around Kelly and knelt beside her. He ran his hand through her hair. Kelly twitched again.

 

I held Caroline under the arms and lifted her to her feet. She stood there wobbling for an instance, her stare on a plane bound for Cleveland. I grabbed a handful of halter top. She bent pliantly toward me. I swatted her side-armed across the face (which needed some kind of sound effect), simultaneously letting go of her top.

 

She spun around, and fell over Kelly's back, knocking Seth off his knees. Her toes were touching but her legs were parted, her right arm across Kelly's face, her left arm across her bottom.

 

Caroline and Kelly lay there for a minute while Seth and I got our heart rates under control. They were so helpless there, completely at our mercy. Then I saw the note.

 

It was tucked into the waistband of Caroline's mini, just barely peeking out. I pulled it out. "Seth, there's a note," I said.

 

"What's it say?" Seth asked.

 

I showed it to him. "You get the futon. We get the bedroom. -Kelly" Like I'm an idiot.

 

I walked over to the futon and converted it from couch to bed. Seth was running his hands over Kelly's limp, bare feet. She looked practically feverish.

 

I pulled Caroline's arms up over her head and rolled her onto her back so that she lay across Kelly's rear. "Want to give me a hand, Seth?" I asked.

 

"Sure," he said.

 

"You take her legs," I said.

 

He lifted her legs and I lifted her under her arms. Caroline's head fell back against my legs. What a woman!

We tossed Caroline onto the futon, and she fell on her side.

​

"Hey!" There was a voice from the floor. "Me, too!" Kelly had lifted her head so she could talk.

 

"You're supposed to be knocked out," I said. "And French."

 

Then she started twitching again, finally lying once more still.

 

"She twitches well," I said.

 

"I think so," said Seth.

 

Caroline then twitched a couple of times. "You too, dear," I said. "I like the way you twitch too."

 

We rolled Kelly over. She was just about coming out of her tank top. This time, I got the legs, which was fine with me. We carried Kelly into the bedroom and tossed her onto her bed. She rolled over until she lay on her stomach.

 

Then, with a handshake from Seth, it was back to the futon for me.

 

Please write me if you have any comments about this story.

Copyright 2002 DPsleepy.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.