Dressed in a translucent gown, Cynthia stood outside the room listening to Harriet's screams. The noises had started almost immediately upon Sid's arrival to the room and didn't seem to be coming to an end. She looked over at Sally and asked, "Is she going to be okay?"
"She's going to be fine. It sounds like she's got a hair trigger," Sally said with a smile.
"If you say so," Cynthia said walking over to the couch. She sat down able to hear the sounds just as easily from there.
"You're going to be the envy of every woman on Cassandra," Sally said listening to the noises coming out of the room. The volume of Harriet's screams had just increased a little more.
Cynthia shifted nervously in her seat. She said, "This is making me a little horny."
"Same here," Sally said with a smile.
"When will it be our turn?" Cynthia asked distracted by the noises coming from the bedroom. It sounded like Harriet was having a real good time in there.
Sally shrugged her shoulders and said, "That all depends on Harriet. She risked her life for this chance so she's in charge for now."
"Oh," Cynthia said. It was real easy to forget that at times.
Sally smiled and said, "I can't believe that my Hero has a Hero Companion."
"What is life like on Cassandra?" Cynthia asked hoping that a more serious conversation would distract her from the sounds coming from the bedroom.
Sally frowned and answered, "From the kinds of things that you and Sid have said about Earth, I think that before the war we were a lot like the men of Earth. It seems to me that the women of Cassandra always were a little more interested in sex than men. I guess we took the men for granted. We were interested in sex and it wasn't too difficult to entice the men into being interested in sex. There were lots of games between the sexes with men making petty little demands for our attention.
"After the war, life for women became very difficult. With the men losing total interest in sex, the focus of our lives shifted from taking care of the day to day details to trying to have children. We found that we had to become much more focused on seduction. It really changed our entire society."
"I guess I have a hard time imagining men not being interested in sex," Cynthia said.
Sally nodded her head and said, "Every minute of every day, women of Cassandra spend their time trying to attract the attention of a man. Every move, every gesture, we make is intended to convey our willingness to have sex without scaring off the man. Crass overt sexual signals will send a male from Cassandra running for the hills.
"The men of Cassandra have very fragile egos. It doesn't take much to destroy their sense of self. The war was particularly hard on them. If a woman wants to have a child with a man from Cassandra, then they have to be very careful in how they treat him. The games that used to work before the war don't work today.
"We have become the masters of subtlety. Everything we do is to entice the men of Cassandra into desiring us. It may take us a week to entice our husbands into bed. One moment of inattention can kill his interest. One misplaced word or moment of aggression can scare him away."
"I haven't noticed you or Harriet being all that subtle," Cynthia said with a raised eyebrow.
"You're right. Seeing how willing and able Sid is to have sex kind of overwhelms our normal reserve. I fear that we act like total idiots around him. We are so much more aggressive around men from Earth, but that is only because we can be that way," Sally answered.
"Oh," Cynthia said.
"Heroes from Earth are our fantasy males. They are strong, courageous, and virile. They are potent sex symbols."
"I guess I can understand that," Cynthia said. It seemed to her that on Earth, male sex symbols were androgynous characters rather than real men. She said, "Sid is very impressed with the women of Cassandra. I am too, but I can't quite put my finger on what impresses me."
Smiling at the other woman, Sally said, "I have noticed that you are rather demanding in how you deal with Sid."
"What?" Cynthia asked.
Sally answered, "You need to learn subtlety. You need to learn how to let Sid know every minute of the day that you desire him. You have to do it without overwhelming him."
Cynthia thought about the kinds of comments that Sid made about manners. The whole purpose of manners was to let the other person know that they were foremost in your thoughts. It was all about making others the subject of attention. The women of Earth weren't spoiled, they were selfish. She said, "I never thought about it like that."
Sid stepped out of bed feeling fresh and alert. He'd finally gotten a full night's sleep and had been able to wake naturally. As much as he enjoyed waking up with attention being given to his cock, it was nice to wake up without the demand to perform. He had lain in bed enjoying a few minutes of peace and quiet.
After visiting the toilet, he decided that it was time to see the women. He put on the robe that was on the bed and left the bedroom. Sally, Cynthia, and Harriet were seated around the coffee table drinking coffee and eating breakfast pastries. Smiling at them, he said, "Good morning."
Together, all three women chimed, "Good morning."
Sally looked up at the ceiling and said, "One coffee, please."
A cup of hot coffee appeared on the coffee table. Smiling over at Sally, Sid said, "Thank you. You always seem to know what I want."
"You're welcome," Sally said with a nod of her head.
"You look refreshed," Cynthia said commenting on his appearance.
"I feel great this morning," Sid said taking a seat in a chair across from them.
Harriet said, "We thought you could use a little rest this morning."
"I appreciate it," Sid said looking over the three women. They were dressed a little more conservatively than usual. Rather than loin cloths or transparent gowns, their outfits were classically cut dresses. He liked the change. It was a nice contrast to their usual attire. He relaxed in his chair.
When Cynthia crossed her ankles, he noticed her legs. He wondered if she was wearing real stockings. He shook his head to clear his mind of those kinds of thoughts. Sally said, "The month is almost over."
"I know," Sid said.
"Sally was just reminding me of the things that were happening on Earth when we left. It is amazing the kinds of details you forget after six weeks," Cynthia said.
Nodding his head, Sid said, "You should try to remember what is happening back on Earth after two years have passed."
"I can imagine," Cynthia said with a smile. Sid had been rather forgetful after his last visit to Crossroads. At the time she hadn't understood the reasons. She lifted a stray lock of hair with a finger and put it back into place.
"I appreciate how Sally reminds me of what was happening when I left Earth. You'll come to appreciate it as well," Sid said.
"It is my pleasure," Sally said. She leaned her head back and shook it. Her hair settled around her shoulders.
"I already do," Cynthia said, "She reminded me that we're going to have a test in our literature class this week. We should probably spend Sunday studying for it. I hardly remember what books we had read. I'm sure that you can use the refresher as well."
"The only one I remember is Don Quixote," Sid said turning his attention from Sally back to Cynthia.
"We'll have to look it up in our class notes," Cynthia said. She leaned forward and picked up her cup of coffee. Harriet smiled when Sid checked out Cynthia's cleavage. Cynthia added, "It is a good thing that you take very detailed notes."
"I had to learn to do that," Sid said with a shrug of his shoulders. He looked at the three women sitting across from him thinking that he had to be the luckiest guy in the universe. He couldn't believe how nice they looked this morning.
Sally shifted in her seat. When Sid looked at her, she said, "Cynthia is so lucky to have you in her life."
"I am," Cynthia said giving Sid a small smile.
"I'm the lucky one," Sid said. Harriet leaned forward to pick up a little of the pastry. Her top was a little looser than Cynthia's, but she was turned away a little. He licked his lips and smiled at her.
Poised with the pastry an inch from her mouth, Harriet said, "I can't imagine what it would be like to have you in my life every day. This past month has been like a dream come true for me."
"Thank you," Sid said not knowing how to respond. He didn't want to say that it was like a dream come true for him with Cynthia sitting there. He didn't think she would appreciate it. He watched Harriet take a little bite out of the pastry. He didn't know how she managed it, but she made the act look sexy.
Surprising him, Cynthia said, "I'm sure that Sid enjoyed every minute with you. You're a very beautiful woman. There was a very famous woman on Earth that looked a lot like you. She was a sex symbol."
"Really?" Harriet said with a smile. She rather liked the idea that she would be a sex symbol on Earth. She used a finger to push her hair behind her ear.
"It is true," Sid said shifting slightly in his chair. All three women looked really sexy that morning.
Sally asked, "Are you hungry?"
"I could use a little bite to eat," Sid answered.
Sally said, "Let's move to the diner table."
"Okay," Sid said. He watched as all three women stood up. With simple little gestures, they smoothed their dresses. The hemlines of their dresses came to just below their knees. Their high heels gave their calves a nice sexy shape. He stood up and followed them into the dining room. It was hard to believe how nice they looked as they walked to the dining room in front of him.
Harriet came out of the bathroom with tears of joy in her eyes. Looking at the other three, she said, "I'm pregnant."
Sid rose from his seat and said, "Congratulations."
"I'm so happy for you," Cynthia said. She knew how much Harriet wanted a child.
"Great," Sally said. She went over and hugged Harriet.
Sid hugged Harriet and said, "I'm going to miss you."
"I'm going to miss you," Harriet said finding it difficult to see through her tears. She had waited for years for this moment. It was hard to believe that it was here.
Cynthia looked over at Harriet thinking about how the woman must be feeling and said, "You'll make a great mother."
"I hope so," Harriet said as her hand moved down to her belly.
Sally said, "You have to go now."
"It has been nice knowing you," Cynthia said.
"Good bye," Sid said feeling sad at watching another Damsel leave.
"I love you all," Harriet said just before fleeing the room.
As soon as she had left, Sid felt the tightening sensation in his stomach that heralded the need to leave Crossroads. Cynthia frowned and said, "I don't feel good."
"You have to leave now," Sally said.
Cynthia and Sid went over to the portal. Sid turned back to Sally and kissed her. In a soft voice, he said, "I'm going to miss you."
"Me too," Sally said. It was always hard to watch her Hero return to Earth.
Giving Sally a hug, Cynthia said, "We'll be back."
"I'm looking forward to it," Sally said with a huge smile. She was overjoyed that her Hero had a Hero Companion. She slowly closed the door.
Stepping out of the closet of Sid's house, Cynthia turned to Sid and said, "It must be painful for you to watch the Damsel leave like that."
"It is," Sid said.
"I couldn't believe how sad I was to see her go," Cynthia said. It amazed her at how close she felt to Harriet. The shared adventure through Chaos had created a kind of bond that she had never experienced with another woman. The month in Crossroads, with the close quarters of the apartment, had given her a chance to really get to know the woman.
"I know what you mean," Sid said thinking that it was even harder for him. Harriet was carrying his child.
Cynthia looked down at her clothes and said, "I was able to bring the outfit I was wearing back here."
Sid smiled and said, "It looks good on you."
"Sally has wonderful taste in clothes," Cynthia said spinning around to make the dress billow out. There was no way that she could have afforded a silk dress of this quality.
"Yes, she does," Sid said.
"You're in your bathrobe," Cynthia said noticing what he was wearing for the first time.
Sid looked down at himself and said, "I know. I lost a pair of pants the second time I went there. I've got a feeling that I'm going to end up with a collection of bathrobes and no pants before too long."
"Maybe you should wear a bathrobe the next time we go to Crossroads. I'm sure that Sally would appreciate it," Cynthia said.
"You might be right," Sid said.
She looked at him for a minute thinking about how she had changed while in Crossroads. She was almost afraid that her reaction to sex might have returned to normal. Licking her lips, she said, "You look really sexy in that bathrobe."
"Stop! You're killing me!" Cynthia shouted as her excitement rose towards an orgasm. She had lost count of how many orgasms she had achieved that afternoon, but each one was better than the previous one.
Nearly on the verge of coming, Sid thrust his cock into her in a rhythm that would bring him to a climax quickly. She let loose with a scream as she and Sid came. The scream had just died on Cynthia's lips when Sid became aware of a pounding on the front door. Getting out of bed, he grabbed a robe while he said, "Let me see who's at the door."
Cynthia just nestled into the bed feeling very satisfied. She replied, "Ummm."
Sid put on his robe as he walked to the front door. He opened the door and looked at the three police officers standing on the porch. A fourth officer was heading around to the back of the house. One of the officers said, "We had a call that someone was being killed over here."
"Huh?" Sid asked wondering what the officer was talking about. He noticed the elderly woman who lived next door watching from her driveway. She was staring him with a terrified expression on her face.
"We heard some screams. Would you mind moving out of the way?" another officer said.
"Screams?" Sid asked realizing what had happened. He shook his head and said, "That was my girlfriend."
"We had a call that a woman was screaming that you were going to kill her. We have to check it out," the officer said.
Sid found that he was being pushed out of the way by one of the officers. He stepped back rather than resist. There was no reason to allow the situation to escalate. Knowing that if he tried to leave the room that they'd have him in handcuffs before he managed three steps, Sid shouted, "Cynthia! Cover yourself. We have company!"
The third officer remained to question Sid. The officer stood right in front of Sid in an attempt to intimidate him. Sid wasn't intimidated and gestured to a chair. He was angry, but in a calm collected tone of voice said, "I'm going to have a seat while you're searching the house."
"You don't seem upset that we're here," the officer said looking at Sid suspiciously. Usually people started protesting when they started searching a house. It didn't matter if they had probable cause or a warrant; people protested having their houses searched.
"I figure that you think you have probable cause. I doubt there's a judge in this city who would expect you to accept my explanation that it was my girlfriend," Sid said taking a seat. In Chaos, he would have been able to handle the situation very differently. At the least, he'd be able to hold off the police until Cynthia had a chance to get dressed.
"You can say that again. I heard that scream," the policeman said. It definitely sounded like someone was getting hurt. He'd never heard a woman scream like that under any circumstance that was good.
"It was my girlfriend," Sid said thinking that he was going to have to get some sound proofing installed in the bedroom. Then he recalled that he had opened the windows to take advantage of the nice weather. It might be December, but the weather felt more like September.
Sid noticed one of the officers heading towards his study. He glanced down and noticed a ring with a blue stone on the man's hand. He asked, "What kind of ring is that?"
The officer looked at Sid with a frown and went on into the study. Sid watched him go with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sid looked at the first officer and said, "You can have a seat."
"Why don't you tell me what was really going on?" the policeman asked stepping over to where he was standing over Sid. He had to admit that the kid was cool; almost too cool.
"I've already told you," Sid answered. He glanced at the name plate on the policeman. He said, "Allow me to introduce myself, Officer Daniels. I'm Sid Jones."
A few minutes later, there was a scream from the bedroom. The first officer returned to the room red in the face. He said, "There's nothing here."
"What do you mean?" Officer Daniels asked.
"It was his girlfriend," the officer answered. He had stepped into the bedroom and found her sprawled out on the bed.
"That was a pretty loud scream."
"She screamed when she realized that I wasn't the boyfriend," the officer replied.
"No. I mean the scream we heard outside."
Sid shrugged his shoulders and said, "She's a little loud when she gets excited."
The first officer had thought that she might have been unconscious either through violence or drugs. About the time he reached the bed, the woman touched herself and praised Sid's sexual prowess. When she opened her eyes and saw that it wasn't Sid in the room with her, she had let loose with a scream. It wasn't quite as loud as the one they'd heard outside, but it was close. Even while she was screaming, she had jumped up from the bed and grabbed a lamp. He said, "It was her. A woman doesn't have that look on her face when she's been assaulted."
"Are you sure?" Officer Daniels asked.
Nodding his head, the policeman answered, "Very sure. Where's Mike?"
Officer Daniels answered, "He went in that room over there."
The first officer stuck his head in the door and said, "He's not here."
Sid grimaced and looked over at the clock. He wondered how long the man had been gone. It was time to distract them from the absence of the other officer. He asked, "Would you care for some coffee, gentlemen?"
The officer turned and looked at Sid thinking that he was way too calm and collected. He had a feeling that the guy was hiding something, but he didn't know what it was. He was about to suggest that they search the house a little more thoroughly in case they had overlooked something. Maybe there was another woman in the house. He didn't have a chance to answer.
Cynthia stormed into the room wearing her dress from Crossroads. She was furious about having a stranger enter the bedroom and looking at her when she was naked. Turning to the policeman who had entered the room, she shouted, "What were you doing in my room?"
"Ma'am, calm down," the first officer said holding up his hands and backing away.
"Don't tell me to calm down. What were you doing in my room?" Cynthia shouted shaking a finger in his face. It didn't dawn on her that it wasn't her room.
"We were told that a woman was getting killed," the officer said trying to calm her down.
Rising from his chair, Sid said, "Cynthia, calm down. I called out to you."
"Haven't you ever heard a woman have an orgasm?" Cynthia asked with her hands on her hips. She didn't want to calm down. There was nothing worse than basking in the warmth of a delicious orgasm and then realizing that some strange man was ogling you.
Officer Daniels said, "Ma'am, it sounded like someone was getting killed. We had to investigate. You would want us here if something bad had been happening."
"Well I wasn't getting killed," Cynthia said glancing over at Sid. She recognized the look on his face. It was the same one he got when he was faced with a situation that could quickly change from something bad into something worse. His lips were in a smile, but his eyes were watching everything. She went over to him saying, "Oh Sid, it was horrible waking up and finding that man looking at me."
Sid hugged her and said, "It'll be okay."
"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked in a whisper.
Sid whispered, "I think one of the policeman stepped through the portal."
"That's not good," Cynthia said looking over at Sid wide-eyed. She could just imagine getting hauled away to the police department to explain what happened.
"We need to stall them five or ten minutes more," Sid whispered.
"Why are they here?" Cynthia asked.
"The little old lady next door called them. She thought I was killing you," Sid said.
Cynthia said, "The poor thing. She must be scared to death."
"I guess so," Sid said. She had looked at him with a terrified expression on her face.
While Sid was whispering to Cynthia, the two officers were having a private conversation of their own. The first officer was explaining the condition that Cynthia had been in when he had discovered her. The evidence that she had just had sex was very obvious.
Officer Daniels looked over at Sid wondering what he had done to get a woman to scream like that. Shaking his head, he said, "You've got to love this job. Stay on it long enough and you end up seeing everything."
"So what do we do?"
Officer Daniels answered, "We take down their statements, write it up, and, unless something else comes up, we leave."
The third officer returned to the room and looked over at Sid. Turning to the other two officers, he said, "There's nothing here. Get Harry and meet me out at the car. I need to talk to Mr. Jones for a minute."
The other two officers looked at each other with surprised expressions on their faces. Mike was a junior officer on the force and didn't have the authority to tell the two senior officers to leave. Officer Daniels asked, "What's up, Mike?"
"I'll explain it later," Mike answered. He rolled back his shirt sleeve to show a scar on his forearm. While he rubbed a finger over the scar, he said, "I need to talk to Mr. Jones."
"Sure," Officer Daniels said knowing that Mike had gotten that scar while he was in the service. He glanced over at Sid and recognized that look of calm assurance that he could handle any situation. It was the same expression that Mike had when things went bad. All of a sudden, he didn't want to know why the kid had been so calm.
Sid had no idea what the scar meant, but he understood that Mike had decided that it was an easy way to get rid of the other officers. Feeling that it would be best to go along with the ruse, he smiled and winked at the two officers.
Mike Radford waited until the other two officers left the house. Once the door closed, he turned to Sid and said, "Tell me what I just experienced was true."
"I take it you've been to Crossroads," Sid said.
"Yeah."