CONTROLLING JENNIFER V

SPICES OF LIFE (Pt. 1)

"Your boyfriend called."

Jennifer glanced at Darlene as she walked in. Darlene was smiling at her; a taunting kind of smile, the kind Darlene gave Jennifer when she thought she knew something. Jennifer put down her bookbag and sat down on her bed.

Amy, the blonde girl from down the hall, was sitting on Darlene's bed reading a Newsweek. She looked up from her magazine to smile at Jennifer, a smile that echoed Darlenes. Between the two of them, Jennifer felt very much like she was on display. She glanced between the two of them, trying to decide who Darlene was referring to. She finally ventured a guess. "You mean Mark?" she asked. The expressions of dismay rapidly transforming to intense interest on both Darlene's and Amy's faces told Jennifer she had guessed wrong. She sighed.

"No, actually I meant Jacob. Who's Mark?" asked Darlene, her glittering eyes fixed on Jennifer. Jennifer looked down. "Jennifer, hon... you met a guy and you didn't tell me?"

Jennifer pretended to shuffle through her notebook. "I swear, you two." she murmured. "You act like a couple of interrogators."

"Of course!" chirped Amy. "We're girls! We're supposed to gossip!" She bounded over and sat next to Jennifer. Amy was always full of energy, and acted kind of ditzy; almost the stereotypical blond, except her frame was somewhat squat and she was more of an athlete than a socialite. "Come on, Jen! You're supposed to tell us everything. Whose Mark?" Amy leaned forward in anticipation.

Jennifer retreated over to Darlene's bed. "Close the door, will you, Amy?" she said.

Amy's eyes lit up, and she jumped up to slide the door silently closed. "Wow! Big secrets, Jen?" Amy plopped onto Jennifer's bed, sitting cross-legged.

"No, no big secrets." said Jennifer. If only they knew, she thought to herself, then went on. "I just don't want Jacob to burst in on me. I kinda don't want to see him right now."

"He gave me a message for you." reported Darlene. "He wants to know if you want to go to the frat party with him tomorrow." She regarded Jennifer in silence for a moment, then spoke. "Rumor has it Jacob and you are a couple." she remarked ominously. "Jacob complained to me that you are ignoring him. He sounded kind of angry..."

"What's up, Jen?" burst Amy. "You can tell us!" Amy leaned forward in barely controlled anticipation.

Jenny just shook her head. She felt like crying. "I don't need this right now, I really don't." she mumbled. She looked up at Darlene and Amy's expectant faces. "Jacob's been mad at me. I slept with him twice, and he thinks that makes me his girlfriend." "You slept with him TWICE?!?" burst in Amy. Jennifer stared at her, and Amy put her hand over her mouth. "Oop. Sorry. Go on, go on!"

"I don't WANT a boyfriend!" declared Jennifer. "I keep telling him that, but he refuses to accept it. He's being a real asshole about it. I mean, guys can sleep with girls, and it means nothing, right? But I sleep with Jacob and suddenly I'm his." She hit the bed with a fist and frowned. "It makes me mad."

"Maybe you shouldn't have slept with him the second time..." ventured Darlene.

Jennifer sighed. "No kidding. But I didn't know he would get this way. Besides...well...the first time was really good. For both of us. The second time was bad though. Anyhow, I think the first time has him a little obsessed with me. He said it was the best sex has ever been for him."

"Wow!" said Amy. "Jennifer, you slut!" Amy grinned, and Jennifer could tell she was only teasing, but the word came uncomfortably close to how Jennifer had felt about herself with Jacob.

"Men are assholes." declared Darlene. "So who's Mark?"

Jennifer sighed. What a question. Mark was a mind rapist, he was a manipulator, a controller. He was a dangerous being with far too much power. He was also a romantic, in his own twisted way, and he seemed to genuinely care for Jennifer. "Mark's another asshole." she said bitterly.

"Is it Mark Haflin?" asked Darlene. "Red-brown hair?"

Jennifer shook her head. "No, different guy. I don't think you know him."

"Where'd you meet him?" asked Amy.

"Ah...in the park one day, while I was walking to the track to run."

"You don't run anymore, do you, Jen?" Darlene interrupted.

"Ah, no. I haven't for a while at least."

Darlene nodded. "Yeah. I'd noticed you had stopped. Sorry to interrupt, go on."

"Mark." Jennifer said. "You ever have one of those guys who seems to really care about you, and does all these things for you, but he also acts like a complete arrogant bastard? That's Mark."

"Have you slept with him?" asked Amy.

"Amy!" snapped Darlene. "What a question!"

"No." said Jennifer, and that too brought up a chaotic jumble of thoughts, arguments she had gone over again and again. It all came to the same question; why not? "No, I haven't slept with him."

"That's good." Darlene approved with a decisive nod. That was Darlene; when it came to other peoples relationships, she took on the crisp mannerisms of an army general. "Makes things less complicated."

Jenny sighed. "You don't know how complicated things are." she said. "Jacob is bothering me, but at least I can understand him. I don't understand Mark at all. He's the strangest person I've ever met. Every time I think I've got him placed, he does something completely different. It's so... confusing."

"Well, I'll help you with Jacob." announced Darlene. "I'll talk to him and tell him that you aren't interested in being his girlfriend, and to leave you alone. Mark, on the other hand, you'll have to handle on your own."

"No, Darlene, don't do that. I can deal with Jacob. Just let me take care of him, okay? It'll sound bad if you tell him. I need to do it."

Darlene shrugged. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." said Jennifer.

Darlene waved her hands at Jennifer, her way of indicating she was cleaning her hands of the situation. "Fine. He's all yours."

"Hey, Jen! You want to go to a dance tomorrow night up at Borris?" asked Amy. Borris hall was a dorm to the north of the campus, known for its high freshman population. "A bunch of us were going to go, and you should, too. It'll get your mind off of things. Have some fun, maybe meet some new guys."

"Yeah." agreed Darlene. "Plus, you won't have to worry about Jacob seeing you, because he's going to the frat party."

Jennifer considered it. She hadn't gone to any parties since she had met Mark, and the idea appealed to her. She liked to dance. "Yeah, that sounds like fun. I'll go."

"Good." nodded Darlene. "We were going to hit Pizza Hut for dinner, then go to the dance around 8:30 or so. That should be late enough for things to have started up there. Dress to kill." Amy giggled, and her bright eyes danced over Jennifer.

Jennifer smiled. At least she had friends.

"The lasagna isn't bad, but the chicken...urgh!" Jennifer's eyes went wide, and she could feel herself unconsciously shrinking down in her seat.

It was the next day, and Jennifer was eating lunch with a girl in her Chinese Culture class named Ann Pajaro. Ann was a math major, an intense young lady with cold dark eyes and a mind like a computer. They traditionally ate lunch together after Chinese Culture, a class they both took to fulfill requirements and a class they both disliked intensely.

Ann, with her usual lack of subtlety, twisted around and looked to see what was distressing Jennifer. "What?" she demanded.

"Don't look! It's Jacob. I don't want to talk to him. Quick, pretend you don't see him." Jennifer covered her hand with her face, hoping he wouldn't see them.

"Too late." said Ann. "He's coming this way."

"Darn." muttered Jennifer. They watched as Jacob and some other guy wandered their way back to where the two girls were sitting.

"Hey, Jennifer." said Jacob, and he took the seat next to her. The other guy, a dark-haired man with thick muscles, took the seat next to Ann. Probably another wrestler, or a football guy. Or both.

Jennifer forced cheer into her voice. "Hey, Jacob." she said. "How are you?"

"We need to talk." he said. Jennifer fought off the urge to sigh. Talk, yeah, right. The same talk they had had before. It never solved anything.

"About what?"

"You know about what! Jen, can we go somewhere private?"

"I can't do that. I'm eating with Ann. Can we talk later?"

The dark-haired man spoke. "I'm Greg, by the way."

Jacob ignored him. "Damn it, Jen!, I'm not going to be put off this time!"

"Hi, I'm Ann." said Ann to Greg.

"What are we going to talk about, Jake? What is there new to talk about? We've had this talk before. There's nothing more to discuss!"

"Yes, there is." Jacob said, his voice hard. "Jennifer, I don't see why you have to be so stubborn!" He looked at Ann and Greg, then back at Jennifer. "Look, let's go to another table, all right?"

"No, Jacob! Don't you understand? No! I don't want a boyfriend right now. You're nice, but right now, I need you to please leave me alone! Okay? Please, Jacob." She pleaded. "I need you as a friend right now. Stop trying to complicate things."

"Oh, a friend." spat Jacob. "And do you screw all your friends, then?"

"Jacob! Stop it!" Jennifer recoiled with shock at the low blow and the hostility in Jacob's voice.

"No, Jenny, I'm not going to stop." he snarled. "I'm not going to watch you go around and act like there's nothing between us."

"Jacob, there IS nothing between us." Jennifer interrupted. The whole argument was making her sick. She wished Jacob would stop.

"The hell there isn't! Those two times don't mean anything? You just using me to get off? Fuck that, Jennifer! I'm not going to let you just set me aside like some toy." His voice was rising now. Jennifer looked at Ann and Greg, who were watching the conversation like spectators at a boxing match. Finally she stood. "I'm leaving." She said, her voice tight. She lifted her tray and walked away.

"Wait, I'm coming too!" called Ann behind her, and soon Ann was walking beside her. Behind them both, they heard Greg telling Jacob to cool down. "Wow. Some argument." said Ann. "I didn't even know you two were even dating."

"We aren't." said Jennifer. "I'm sorry you had to see that, Ann."

Ann just shrugged.

Afterwards, Jennifer went back to her room and stared at the ceiling. Why do I have so much problems? She asked herself. Why me? Jennifer put on her sad music, her recording of the Pachelbel Canon, and for the first time in a long while, Jennifer let herself cry.

And when she couldn't cry anymore, she thought about Mark.

Later that day, Jennifer went with Darlene, Amy, and four other girls to Pizza Hut. Jennifer had been contemplating skipping the whole thing, but at the last minute, Darlene had firmly ordered her to go.

"It'll cheer you up, Jen. I don't want you lying around the room all night feeling sorry for yourself. You might start getting suicidal or something." Jennifer felt left out at the restaurant. Everyone else seemed to be in such good moods, talking, laughing, carrying on. Jennifer tried to make an effort to enjoy herself, and to be good company, but she had a feeling she was doing a bad job of it.

They were done with dinner at 7, and all went to Amy's room, where Amy brought out some bottles of alcohol, and started passing out cups. Darlene tried to get Jennifer to drink. "C'mon, Jenny, it'll loosen you up, make you have more fun."

But Jennifer was not a drinker; it was not that she had something morally against it, she just really didn't like the taste. Besides, wasn't alcohol a depressant or something? She couldn't afford to get even more depressed. She refused their offers of liquor, and felt really left out as the rest of them rapidly got plastered and started laughing at silly things.

"Darlene, I think I'm going to go back to the room, ok? I really don't think I'm going to be good company."

Darlene threw her arm around Jenny. "Nooooo! No, Jennifer! You can't leave me here. Ohhh, Jen, I feel so drunk. You'll have to take care of me, I need you, don't leave...." So Jennifer stayed.

Around 9, they all decided to stagger along to the dance. "Jen's our guide!" they declared with glee. "She's the only one sober. Lead us there, Jenny!" So Jennifer put herself in control of the group of giggling, silly girls, all who were a great deal happier than they had any right to be, and she led them up to the lobby of Borris hall.

The party was going at full force, and the dance floor was packed. The music was loud and blaring, music that didn't need to be much more than a beat, and usually wasn't. Lights flashed across the ceiling, and people swirled on the dance floor.

The group of girls formed a circle on the outskirts of the dance floor, and started to dance. At first, Jenny had a hard time getting into it, but after awhile, her body started to follow along to the rhythm, and she let her mind loosen as she looked around at all the happy people on the dance floor.

That's what I like about dancing, she thought to herself. Everyone always looks so happy. Gradually, Jennifer felt herself start to loosen up, and every time she looked at Darlene and Amy, they smiled back at her, drunken, infectious smiles. Soon Jennifer started to smile back.

She let her eyes wander around the floor, occasionally seeing people she knew as they swirled and gyrated to the crushing beat that swept through them all. The group of girls started moving more toward the center as people left the middle of the floor and others appeared on the ouskirts. Pretty soon, everyone around Jennifer was in motion. She felt adrenalized, and it was a good feeling. She let the music move her body, in motion almost without conscious thought.

It was then she saw Mark.

He was sitting on the side of the dance floor, in one of the seats by himself. For once, it appeared as if she had seen him before he had seen her. He was watching the people dance on the floor. Jennifer faltered in keeping the beat. What do I do? She asked herself. Should I talk to him? Jennifer looked at Darlene and the others, swaying happily. What if Mark saw her when she was with all her friends? What would happen? Jennifer decided she would rather not have Mark meet her friends, or vice versa.

She poked Darlene. "I'm going to the bathroom." she shouted over the loud music. "I'll be back." Darlene smiled and nodded, and Jennifer made her way through the swirl of bodies towards where Mark sat.

Mark saw her approaching, and he smiled at her. A different sort of smile, a less confident, more peaceful smile than his usual. Jennifer walked over and sat next to him.

"Hi, Mark." she said.

"Hey, Jennifer." He leaned towards her to be heard. "Wow, I didn't know you were here."

She nodded. "I figured you would see me eventually." She paused; so far the encounter had been very ordinary, and she wanted to keep it that way. "Are you here to dance, Mark?" He shook his head. "I don't dance much." he told her. "No, I just like to come to these things to watch other people dance. It's so...chaotic." He let his eyes roam around the floor, and then he focused on her again. "This is where I first saw you, you know."

"It is?" Jennifer leaned forward to hear him better.

Mark looked out onto the dance floor again. "Well, not here, but at a dance. Remember that Halloween party? That's when I first saw you, dancing out there, in the crowd." Jennifer watched his profile as he spoke, watched the lights flashing over his face. His eyes had an unfocused, blurred look to them.

Then he was looking at her again. "I like the way you dance, Jennifer. There's...something about it, I can't say what it is. That's what attracted me to you. You seemed to go into it with such abandon. Like it was your last night to be alive, and all you wanted to do was to dance until you dropped. And, I don't know, it was sexual, but not openly sexual. More subtley sexual, I guess, like you were acting sexy but didn't know it, and that only made it more erotic. I really liked watching you dance, Jennifer."

"I'm not a very good dancer." she murmured, a little embarassed by his words.

Her face was hot, and she tried to keep the blush from showing. It was the intensity with which he spoke; she found it hard to believe she could bring forth such intensity in anyone.

Of course, Mark wasn't just anyone.

"Yes, you are. You're one of those that you can tell likes to dance, just be watching." He said. He stared at her; his eyes were like two glowing embers in a fire. "Jenny, want to play another game of controlling Jennifer? I have an idea."

"Game?" she raised an eyebrow. "Is it all a game to you?"

"Well...no, not really. I'm sorry, Jenny, that's what I've been calling our little sessions. Games of controlling Jennifer. I'm sorry, it's just for lack of a better term. Do you want to? I mean, of your own free will. I'm not going to use my power or anything."

Jennifer looked into his eyes, and was intrigued by the eager sincerity she saw there. And she also had to admit that she was curious as to what Mark had in mind for her. "You promise? No power?"

"I promise. All of your own free will." he said, and she believed him. For all he had done to her, he had never lied to her.

"Okay. And if I don't want to do what you say, I won't and you won't make me, okay? I'm just doing this because I'm curious as to what you want me to do. That's all."

Mark grinned and nodded. "Uh huh. Don't worry, Jennifer. If you don't want to do what I say, you don't have to. It's up to you."

Jennifer waited for him to continue, but he didn't. "So what is it?" she pressed him.

"Are you wearing a bra?"

Jennifer looked down at the white blouse she was wearing. You could faintly make out the white lace of her bra under it. She also wore a pair of tight black jeans; perfect for dancing. "You know I am. Stop teasing me." she said.

"Go and take it off." he said.

"And then what?" she asked.

"First the bra." he ordered. Jennifer watched him intently, but he would say no more. Finally, she walked over to the bathroom. It was crowded with girls putting on makeup and stank with the smell of beer and cigarettes. Jennifer waited for a stall, and once inside, slipped off her bra and shoved it into her purse. She examined herself; her nipples were slightly visible, but only if you looked for them. The blouse was pretty loose anyhow, so it was not overly apparent that she wore nothing beneath it. Satisfied that she was not too exposed, she walked out of the bathroom.

At first she couldn't see Mark. He wasn't where she had left him. She searched the room with her eyes, and finally saw him in a new seat on the opposite wall. Jennifer started to make her way over to him, and then realized she would have to squeeze her way through the mass of dancers to reach him.

As she pushed through, her breasts brushed against backs, against fronts, against arms. Once a hand, moving in some dancing motion, ran into her chest. Jennifer pushed past quickly before the owner of the hand could realize what he had bumped into.

All in all, no one else really seemed aware that she wasn't wearing a bra, but by the time Jennifer reached the place where Mark was, she herself was very aware of how free she was under the blouse, and her nipples were hard and sensitive.

She dropped next to Mark, feeling her breasts sway with the motion, and her nipples scrape against her blouse. "You did that on purpose." she accused.

"Did what?" he remarked innocently. "I had to move over here to show you what I want you to do."

"Ok, what is it."

Mark just pointed. Jennifer followed the direction of his finger to see a guy sitting against the wall. He was small, hunched over in his chair, staring forlornly at everyone dancing around him. Jennifer knew his type. They wanted to dance, but were too scared. Too self-conscious.

"See him?" asked Mark.

"Yeah. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to pick him up. Ask him to dance. Hold him tight and turn him on. You know."

Jennifer regarded the guy. "He's gonna think I'm a slut." she said.

"No, no, Jennifer. More likely he's going to think its the best day of his life. I'm asking you to make him happy, Jennifer. Let him have a fun night for once." He offered her his hand. "Come on, Jenny. Are you game?"

Jennifer shook her head. "I can't believe you're making me do this." Mark only shrugged, and kept his hand toward her. Finally, she took his hand, and they walked over to where the guy was sitting.

The guy looked up at them expectantly. Mark leaned close. "You can't see me or hear me." He told the boy, and released Jennifer's hand. The boy suddenly was staring right through Mark; he shuddered, then turned to Jennifer, staring at her with wide eyes. She noticed with distaste that he was one of those boys who looked at her chest almost as much as he did her face.

"Hi!" she said. "Do you want to dance?" She asked him.

The boy looked down and shook his head. "Uh...no thanks, I'm not really a dancer." Jennifer looked at Mark; he was urging her on with his eyes. She sighed and sat down.

"Hi!" she said. "I'm...uh...Marcie." It occurred to her at the last minute that she may not want him to know her real name. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Derrick." he smiled quickly at her, then looked away. Jennifer again looked at Mark.

"Put your arm around him." Mark said. "Press yourself against him. Get him hot and hard." Before Jennifer knew it, her arm was draped over Derrick's shoulder, and her breasts were pushing into his side. She could feel Derrick's quivering hesitation under her, his temptation.

She glared at Mark. "You said you wouldn't use your power." she hissed. He only smiled. "I didn't." he said. And with a start, Jennifer realized he hadn't. She was doing this all on her own.

Aw, what the hell, she thought. She leaned in close to John's ear. "Come on." she said. "I want to see you dance with me. I promise I'm a good dancer. Don't turn me down." Derrick's body was hot against hers.

"O...okay." he stammered. Jennifer brushed a slight kiss against his cheek. That oughta blow his mind, she thought to herself. I wonder what Mark thinks. She looked over at him.

Mark was staring at them, and the strange expression on his face caught her completely by surprise. She thought he would be pleased at her willing compliance, but instead he looked sad. She stared at him a moment.

He always does this to me, she thought. Whenever I think I've got him figured out. What's he thinking? He caught her looking, and beckoned them out onto the dance floor. Jennifer watched him a moment longer, trying to decipher his thoughts, but couldn't. Finally, she turned back to Derrick, and led him out onto the dance floor.

CONTROLLING JENNIFER VI

SPICES OF LIFE (Pt. 2)

Jennifer drifted them to the outskirts of the dance floor. She noticed Derrick was glancing around nervously, like he was going to take off all his clothes or something, and wanted to be sure no one was watching. Jennifer sighed, confident that the music would mask her sigh. She had never understood those who were embarassed to dance. What was the big deal? Why was it so frightening to dance when you were in a room full of people, all of them dancing?

She leaned in towards Derrick. "Come on, let's dance!" she told him. He just smiled sheepishly, and looked around at everyone. Jennifer shrugged, deciding she would have to set an example. She started to move her body to the beat, smiling at Derrick in encouragement, and then she remembered Mark, and abruptly she stopped.

She tried to stop herself from glancing at him, but she was a second too late. Mark was watching her, she had almost forgotten. He was staring at her, an expression of melancholy etched on his face. His eyes were lost and unfocused. What's wrong with him? she wondered. For once I'm doing what he wants, on my own, without his power. Why isn't he happy?

Maybe he likes to use his power, she thought, and succeeded in generating a shudder down her spine. She turned back to Derrick, and thought about dancing with him. The moment was growing long, and she could tell Derrick was getting uncomfortable. He was looking back at his seat, his eyes longing for it like a security blanket. Jennifer started to dance again, drawing his eyes to her, and when she thought about herself dancing again, she almost stopped, but kept going by will alone.

The problem was, for some reason, her dancing seemed artificial. Jennifer usually danced by letting her body go, allowing the music to manipulate it while her mind floated over other things. But everytime she tried to do this, she would always think of Mark, watching her. How could she dance while he watched? It made her self-conscious. She probably felt a lot like Derrick.

Derrick had not started dancing. He would start, then stop immediately after, shaking his head and laughing at his own foolishness. Jennifer's eyes narrowed. How do I get him to dance? she asked herself. How do I do it when Mark's watching me like he is? Before, Mark had always told her exactly what to do; this was the first time she was supposed to act...well, slutty...all by herself.

Who cares if he dances, she decided. Just turn him on, Jennifer. Think if you were him, and you were faced with an attractive girl, what would you want her to do? Jennifer tried to imagine this, but couldn't think like a guy would. Only the obvious things occurred to her, and she certainly wasn't going to do them in a public place. No, she would have to be more subtley slutty. Now the only problem was, how?

Derrick was starting to dance now, which was good. It made her feel a little less silly, although his dancing style kind of reminded her of Frankenstein walking; stiff and goofy-looking. Now how to turn him on? She thought about dancing slutty, shaking her breasts to make it obvious she wasn't wearing a bra, grinding her hips into his pelvis, basically dancing dirty.

She actually gave her breasts an experimental wiggle, but it felt very false to her, and she stopped. It just wasn't a natural part of dancing for her. She continued to dance, as normally as she could with the awareness that Mark was watching her in the back of her head. The music stopped, and another song came on in its place. Jennifer danced.

During this next song, she tried something else. She danced forward, coming teasingly close, and gave him what she thought was a seductive smile. She wasn't very experienced with this, and forgot to calculate in his awkward dancing style; as a result, she came a little too close to him, and he accidently pushed his arm right against her breasts. It must have been obvious that she was braless; he stared at her and then looked away, blushing furiously, before he even saw her attempt at a seductive smile.

Oh, well, it had probably worked better than she intended. She tried this again, this time slower, coming closer and closer until he became uncomfortable and backed away. For some reason, she thought this was funny. If she came close to him, he would always back off. It was like he feared her.

Finally, her heart beating, Jennifer moved up until her face was less than two inches from his, and, her eyes locked on his, slowly licked her lips. She smiled immediately after, feeling very silly, but Derrick was hooked. His dance faltered, and he seemed hypnotized by her. Jennifer danced back from him, and, very aware that his eyes were on her, pretended to stretch.

She arched her back, trying to stretch her blouse and get it tightly pressed against her breasts. She pretended to have her eyes closed, but she was looking out through the crack in her eyelid, and she could see Derrick's eyes were fixed on her breasts. She felt a thrill spin through her stomach.

And she knew Mark was watching, too.

She opened her eyes, and overcome by temptation, looked down to see how much of herself she was exposing. Her nipples were dark circles under the fabric, and she gasped at how visible they were. She quickly eased out of her stretched position, fighting to control her blush, trying to appear cool and deliberate.

She needn't have bothered. As she continued to dance with Derrick, his eyes stayed on her breasts more than anything else, waiting for those dark nipples to resurface. It bothered her, even though she knew she had pretty much asked for it by giving him a peek in the first place. She didn't particularly like being reduced to a pair of breasts.

Determined to get him to acknowledge all of her, she slid up to him and linked her hands behind his neck. He abruptly stopped dancing, and stared open- mouthed at her. She moved up against him so there was a faint but undefined contact between their bodies; just enough to tease. "Is it just me or is it *hot* in here?" she whispered in her sexiest voice. He gaped at her.

"You have to go to the bathroom." It was Mark's voice. Mark was beside them.

"Uh...excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back though!" Derrick pulled away from her, and raced off to the bathroom. Jennifer watched him rush off, then turned back to regard Mark.

"Why'd you do that?" she asked, puzzled.

Mark walked back to the seats on the side of the room, and after a moments hesitation, Jennifer followed. He sat down, and she sat beside him, waiting.

"I thought you might need a break." he said finally, looking on to the dance floor. "I mean, you've been dancing for fifteen minutes already. I thought you might want to sit down or something."

Jennifer shrugged. "I wasn't really tired. Anyways, I could have taken a break by myself. No one was MAKING me dance. Derrick would have let me go if I had asked."

"Derrick." said Mark. "What do you think of him?" He faced her, his eyes lost in shadows.

She thought for a moment. "I...don't know." she said. "He seems kind of awkward, I guess. A little socially inexperienced. But nice, otherwise he would have probably felt me up by now." Jennifer considered this, and was surprised at how casually she reacted to the thought of Derrick feeling her up. She crossed her arms over her breasts, pressing the fabric against her nipples.

Mark turned away from her again. "I think you're doing too good a job." he said coldly. "You're teasing him too much. He's going to expect something."

Jennifer considered this, pulling the dark strands of hair from her eyes. "That's all right, isn't it?" she remarked. "After all, if he gets too demanding, you can always do some control thing to him, right? I mean, I hate to suggest it, but its an option. Anyway, I don't think he would do that. He seems like a gentleman. Too shy to go any further than I'll let him."

"And how far will you let him go?" demanded Mark.

"Mmm? Oh, I don't know....actually, it's been kind of fun so far. I suppose I'll have to stop eventually." She shrugged. "Who knows? I'll decide that when I get there." She peered at him. "What's wrong? I thought you liked me making a fool of myself in front of guys."

Mark didn't say anything for a while, and Jennifer finally decided he wasn't going to answer. Finally, he said "This is different. I don't like Derrick."

"Why not?" she ventured.

He glared at her. "I just don't." And that was all he would say.

"Hi, Jen!" Jennifer heard the voice from above her. It was Darlene's voice. She looked up to see Darlene. Darlene's dark curly hair was in a disarray, probably from dancing, and she had goofy smile that undoubtedly came from being drunk.

Jennifer was acutely aware of Mark sitting beside her. "Hi, Darlene." she said quickly. "Look can I talk to you later?"

Darlene ignored her, dropping onto the seat beside her. "Why'd you stop dancing, Jennifer?" she asked, leaning back against the back of the seat and resting.

"Oh...I just got a little tired, that's all. Where's Amy and the others?" Jennifer wished desperately that Darlene would go away.

"Oh, them. They're over there, still dancing." Darlene pointed vaguely towards the dance floor. "I guess I got a lil' tired, too. Whatcha up to, Jen?" Darlene blinked at Jennifer, her eyes unfocused and dreamy.

"Me? Oh, nothing, really..." Jennifer started. Then she noticed Darlene was looking past her. "Hi!" said Darlene.

"Hi." said Mark. He had entered his formal mode of talking again. "I'm Mark. You must be Darlene." He offered his hand, and when she put hers forward to shake it, he instead took her hand and kissed the back of it. Darlene giggled.

"Wow. What a gentleman." Darlene said. "Yes, I'm Darlene...Jen's roommate. Heh, but you probably know that already. Jen...Jennifer's told me about you." Darlene smiled and blinked.

Jennifer felt like she was in some weird dream. She leaned back and numbly followed the conversation that was occurring over her, feeling powerless to do anything but listen.

Mark's wore a carefully neutral smile. "Oh? Hopefully good things." His eyes shifted quickly toward Jennifer, perhaps looking for a clue as to what Jennifer had told her.

"Not really anything." admitted Darlene, grinning. "Jen likes to keep her secrets. She's just mentioned your name. I didn't know you were going to be here. Jen didn't tell me." She gave Jennifer a sly poke with her elbow. Jennifer ignored it.

"Oh, she didn't know. It's just coincidence that we showed up at the same place at the same time." said Mark.

"Oh. Well, I guess I'll leave you two alone then. I can sense Jennifer wants me to take off." Darlene grinned at Jennifer, and was about to stand up, when she noticed Derrick hovering uncertainly near them. "Oh, hello." she said.

"Hi." muttered Derrick, or at least his lips moved. Then, louder. "Marcie...you wanna dance again?" His voice was a little bolder now. He's gaining confidence, thought Jennifer. Oh, god, how am I going to explain this to Darlene?

Darlene looked at her confused. "Marcie...?" she started.

"I'll tell you about it later." whispered Jennifer.

Darlene grinned widely. "Damn right, you will. I'll talk to you later, 'Marcie.'" She giggled, then stood and walked off. Derrick watched them uncertainly. "Marcie?" he asked toward Jennifer, his voice uncertain and nervous.

Jennifer flashed him her brightest smile. "Ok, but why don't you get me a cup of punch first. Please?" He smiled back, and seemed almost grateful to go off and get her a drink. She watched him go.

"I had to do that." she explained to Mark. "I just know Darlene's going to be watching me now."

"I don't think so." observed Mark. He pointed over in the distance. Darlene was talking to some blonde guy, and seemed oblivious to anything but his words. "Looks like she has other things on her mind."

"Oh!" said Jennifer, watching them. "I hope she'll be okay. She's drunk, you know. I told her I'd watch out for her."

"Aw, she'll be all right." said Mark. "I know that guy; he's not the type that would take advantage of her. Don't worry, she's safe."

Jennifer looked back at Mark, regarding him openly with her dark eyes. "For a second there, I thought you were going to introduce yourself as my master or something." she said.

Mark shook his head and smiled. "No, no. Don't worry, Jennifer. I wouldn't do that to you." Then his smile faded. "Here comes Derrick." he said.

Derrick was returning, clasping a cup of punch like he held the holy grail. He held it out to her with a wide grin. Jennifer smiled in thanks as she took it, and drank it down, surprised at how thirsty she was. Dancing takes a lot out of you, she supposed.

The music had changed; the tempo had slowed down, and Jennifer could see that the people on the floor were dividing into couples. She saw Darlene slow- dancing with her blonde guy.

Derrick followed her gaze, out to the people slow dancing. Then he turned back to her and offered his hand. "You wanna dance, Marcie?" he said, smiling sheepishly, as if expecting to be refused.

"Ok." she said, and took his hand. He led her out to the dance floor, and uncertainly started to put his hands around her waist, swaying at least a foot away from her.

What the heck, thought Jennifer, and she clasped her arms around him and pulled him close to her. After all, she was supposed to be turning him on, and slow dancing from a distance seemed so awkward anyhow. Their bodies pressed together.

Jennifer could feel a hardness below against her waist; his erection. He's hard, she thought. Wow. He seemed uncomfortably aware of this, too, and tried to pull away, but she wouldn't let him. Instead, she started to move slightly, rubbing herself slightly against his hard-on.

Wow, she thought, I hope Darlene doesn't see me. She'll think I'm a real slut. Jennifer grinned, and leaned her cheek against Derrick's shoulder, swaying back and forth in time to the music.

Derrick was tense against her, but gradually they fell into the rhythm of the music. At first his hands fell limply around her back, but as he became more confident, he started to hold her tighter. They swayed together.

"Wow." he whispered in her ear. "You're...you're really beautiful, Marcie..." Jennifer wondered whether he was really serious or if his words were just motivated by lust. In the end, she supposed it didn't really matter.

"Thanks." she whispered back.

She felt him sliding his hands up her back. If he needed confirmation that she wasn't wearing a bra, he received it when his hands couldn't find any straps. She hugged him, the pressure of his hard penis pressing into her.

Well, she thought. I've succeeded in turning him on. The only problem was, she was a little turned on herself. She enjoyed her control over Derrick; her ability to make him hard, and to make him want her.

She knew she had to stop sometime. She didn't want to go too far. But as Derrick tightened his grip on her, and she felt the slickness develop between her legs, she hoped she would have the strength to resist her own temptation.

Abruptly, Derrick loosened his hold on her, and she looked up at him to see what was wrong. He was staring at her, his breath coming fast, and as he started to pull her to him again, she could feel his heart beating rapidly beneath his chest. He was slowly bringing his lips to hers. They were going to kiss.

This was wrong! It wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. A slow kiss while holding each other tight and slow dancing, that was a love thing, wasn't it? It was too romantic, too personal. What if it was his first kiss? What if it meant a lot to him? Jennifer didn't want to be some strangers first kiss. She twisted her head, moving her lips from their collision course with his.

She could feel his hurt, his feeling of being rejected. "I'm sorry, Marcie." he whispered. "I didn't mean to...."

"Shhh." she said, and his voice drifted away. They swayed together. Jennifer felt lost. She wasn't a seductress; she took things too seriously for that. And she felt bad for rejecting him. If only it hadn't been so perfect, then she would have kissed him.

"Derrick..." she said.

"Yeah?"

Jennifer leaned up and mashed her lips against his, pressing her body tightly against his hard-on. It wasn't a soft, romantic kiss; it was a hard, lustful kiss. A passionate kiss. How Jennifer imagined a slut would kiss. She could feel Derrick tense up like a statue against her; his lips were frozen with shock. As a final touch, as she withdrew her mouth, she let her tongue dart out and caress his lips. There, she thought with satisfaction, that should do it.

"What the fuck is this?" A voice, beside them. Mark's voice?

No, not Mark. Jacob's voice.

Jennifer recoiled from Derrick, gasping in shock, and spun to look beside them. It was Jacob, all right. His eyes were bloodshot and bulging, his muscles were tensed, and he was holding a beer bottle, which he took a chug of as she watched. He had two others with him. Jennifer didn't know either of them, but they both were big football players, and they were both obviously drunk.

"You little slut!" snarled Jacob. "You just can't keep your hands off any guy, can you?" He drank some more of the beer.

"Jacob, go away! You're drunk." said Jennifer. She wished Derrick would go away; Jacob wouldn't dare do anything to her, but he might do something to the man she had been kissing. But Derrick was frozen in his tracks, like an animal frozen in the headlights of an approaching truck.

"Drunk, damn right, I'm drunk, Jenny-fer. Fucking slut Cailly. I come looking for you, and how do I find you...fishing for another dick." He glared menacingly at Derrick.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Derrick, his voice quavering to be firm. Jennifer wanted to scream at him to shut up.

"Who am I? WHO AM I?" bellowed Jacob. People were staring now. "I'm her fucking boyfriend, is who I am! The boyfriend of the girl you were just frenching!"

"You have a boyfriend?" Derrick gaped at her.

"You're not my boyfriend, Jacob!" Jennifer shouted. She turned to Derrick. "Derrick, be quiet, ok? Please?" she pleaded.

"You fucking prick." growled Jacob, and he gave Derrick a shove. Derrick staggered backwards. Before Jennifer could react, Jacob had latched a hand around her wrist. "Come on, Jennerfer." he said. "I said we need to talk, now we're gonna talk, whether you want to or not." He started to pull her from the floor, ignoring her struggling.

Then, a shout. "What's going on here!" a voice demanded. Mark's voice. Jennifer gasped in relief. Always, always, he was there to save her.

Jacob glared at Mark. "Mind your own business, mother fucker!" he growled.

Mark took in the situation at a glance, and he smiled. He actually smiled. "I would prefer it if you called me 'master.'" he said casually.

Jacob glared at him. "I said, fuck off,...uh....master." Jacob's face contorted with confusion.

"Good." nodded Mark with a grin. "I would also like it if you would refer to yourself as 'this wretch.' I usually like things to be named as they are. Don't you?" Mark's grin was easy and confident. "Now let the girl go."

Jennifer felt Jacob's hand grow limp around her wrist. She quickly pulled out of his reach, and retreated to stand by Mark. Jacob, along with his two buddies, stared at Mark in drunken astonishment.

"Now, then. What seems to be the trouble? Perhaps we can work things out."

"Uh." said Jacob. He looked confused. "Well, you see, thas my girlfriend beside you, an' she wuz necking with some other guy, and...uh... this wretch was just gonna take her outside and have a talk with her..."

Mark whirled to face Jennifer. "You have a boyfriend?" he asked.

She shook her head. "He's not my boyfriend! He just thinks he is. Tell him to go home, would you, Mark? Tell him to go home and sleep it off."

Mark shook his head. He had a malevolent glint in his eye as he looked back on Jacob and his two friends. "No, I don't think so. Let's try and work things out. Where's the guy Jennifer was kissing?" Mark quickly spotted Derrick. "Derrick! You can see and hear me now. Come over here."

Compelled by Mark's power, Derrick walked forward. He twitched nervously, glancing at Jacob and his friends uneasily.

"This is the guy?" Mark looked at Jacob, and pointed at Derrick. Jacob nodded.

"Mark, what are you doing? Please, just let this end." begged Jennifer. She had thought Mark would stop things, but it appeared that he was having too much fun manipulating the situation.

"Quiet, Jennifer." And Jennifer felt his power catching hold of her. When she opened her mouth, her voice wouldn't work. She closed her mouth again and waited.

"Now, then, Derrick. Let's hear your side of the story. What was happening between you and Jennifer?"

"It wasn't me!" babbled Derrick. "I don't even know any Jennifer..."

Mark rolled his eyes. "I meant Marcie. Marcie is her nickname, her real name is Jennifer." Mark flashed Jennifer a quick smile.

"Oh." said Derrick, also glancing at Jennifer. Then he started babbling again. "I didn't know she had a boyfriend, otherwise I wouldn't have done anything, honest! I swear I didn't know."

Mark shook his head critically. "What kind of a loser are you?" he said, his voice edged in contempt. "Don't be a wimp! Stand up for the woman. This is Jennifer! Don't you think she's worth fighting three guys for, even guys as big as these three?"

Mark must have used his power, because Derrick's eyes became as hard as steel. He pointed a finger level at Jacob. "Hey." he said, his voice flat and dangerous. "You leave Jennifer alone."

Jacob grunted and lunged for Derrick, but Mark simply said "Freeze." and Jacob froze where he was. "Let's take this outside." said Mark. "You three, Derrick, and you, too, Jennifer. Follow me."

It was not a compulsion, at least not for Jennifer, but Mark must have known she would follow anyway, just to see what he would do. Jennifer strained against the bond he had put on her mind, but as hard as she tried she could not speak. She mutely followed them out into the parking lot. Mark walked them over to a secluded corner.

"Now then." said Mark. "I see only one solution here. You're going to have to fight for Jennifer. It's the only way to decide things." Mark peeked at Jennifer, smiling. She was trying to scream at him, but couldn't make the noise.

"This wretch against him?" asked Jacob eagerly, sizing up Derrick and apparently not finding much.

"I'll gladly fight him for Jennifer." declared Derrick fearlessly, balling his hands into fists.

"No, not you against him." Mark answered Jacob. He waved at Jacob's two friends. "All three of you against him." Jennifer's mouth fell open. She prayed Mark wasn't serious; they would kill Derrick. Derrick wilted slightly, then pulled himself together. "I'll gladly fight all three of them for Jennifer." he swore.

"Let's go, then." said Jacob.

"Wait!" said Mark. He grinned. "One more thing to make this fair." He turned to Jacob and his two friends. "You three. Every time Derrick touches you, it will feel like he is burning you. Ok?" Jacob and his two friends watched him in confusion; they did not understand. But that was all right. They would soon enough. Mark nodded. "Very good. Let the games begin!"

Jennifer was tugging hard on Mark's arm. "Urg!" she managed to croak.

"Don't worry, Jenny." Mark told her, grinning. "This'll be over soon enough." He stood back to watch, and Jennifer, helpless and silent, watched with him.

Jacob strolled over towards Derrick. Derrick lunged in with a clumsy punch, and Jacob easily avoided it. He brought his fist up into Derrick's gut. Derrick grunted as the air was forced from his lungs.

Jacob, on the other hand, screamed.

He pulled his hand away, and it was bright red, blisters forming on its surface. He staggered back in shock. Jacob's two friends stared, astonished.

Derrick recovered, and popped a blow toward one of the football player's cheeks. It connected, and the football player staggered back, clutching his cheek. Jennifer could see that it was also burnt, like Jacob's hand. The third guy backhanded Derrick, and Derrick fell, his lip split and bleeding. But the third guy's hand was also burnt.

Derrick was apparently smart enough to figure out what was going on, because his next act wasn't to try another punch; instead he walked up to the third guy and threw his arms around the guy's body.

The guy screamed, and struggled to free himself, finally breaking Derrick's grip. Instead of retaliating, he stared wide-eyed at Derrick, then turned and ran. Jacob and the second guy took in the situation, and followed their comrade in beating a hasty retreat, Jacob clutching his swollen fist. Soon all three were lost in the distance.

Derrick looked proudly at Jennifer. "I've won you." he declared, his lip bleeding onto his shirt. Jennifer felt like crying, but she managed to keep it in. Why me? she asked herself. Why always for me?

"No." Mark told Derrick. "Jennifer is mine. You will go back to your bedroom and go to sleep. When you wake up, you will remember all of this as a distant dream." And with that, Derrick's eyes blurred, and he turned and staggered away.

And then it was just Mark and Jennifer, alone in the darkness. Mark turned to her. A tear had succeeded in making its way down her cheek, and Mark wiped it off with a finger.

"Don't cry, Jennifer." he sighed. He took her in his arms; she was powerless to resist, and now the tears were spilling down her cheeks, staining his shirt, as she cried soundlessly. "It's not you, it's me." Mark whispered to her. "Sometimes I'm a twisted bastard. The power... well, it makes it easy to hurt. Far easier to hurt than to help." He hugged her. "Speak, Jennifer. I can't stand it when you're quiet."

And she could speak again. She could hear herself cry, hear herself sobbing like a child. She suppressed her tears, pushing them away and reducing them to sniffles and stained cheeks. "Why'd you do it?" she whispered. "Why'd you make them fight?"

"I don't know." he said back. "I don't know. Jennifer..." and pulled away from her, staring down into her eyes. "Kiss me, Jennifer." But she could only stare into his eyes, helplessly. She couldn't kiss him.

"Kiss me, Jennifer." he said again, and this time his power washed over her mind. Compelled, she stretched up and pressed her lips to his. After a couple seconds of contact, she pulled back again. Staring at him wordlessly, waiting for his next order.

Mark sighed. It was a deep, lonely sound, like the howl of a wolf in the distance. He pulled away from her, shaking his head. "Jennifer. Close your eyes and count to twenty." he ordered.

It was his power again, and she closed her eyes, counting as ordered.

And when she opened her eyes, she was all alone. CONTROLLING JENNIFER VII

TAKING IT EASY (Pt. 1)

It was the day after the dance. Jennifer hadn't really intended to go running; she hadn't even set her alarm to get up in the morning, thinking she would sleep late after the events of the previous night. However, come the next morning, she found herself wide awake at eight, and she really had nothing planned to do. So she decided to run.

Jennifer hadn't gone running since the first day she had met Mark. At first it had been fear. Fear and shame. She hadn't wanted to risk bumping into Mark again, and even more, she had been afraid she would run into the student with the notebook and the disheveled hair-do, or the man with his dog, the ones she had seen that day. The ones that had seen her that first day, when Mark had her going around the park acting like a wanton slut.

"Damn Mark." she muttered as she pulled on her shorts. Sometimes, she wondered how she had ever come to stop hating him. He had made her do so many things she hadn't wanted to do. He had turned her life completely upside-down. At times, he had made her life a living hell. "I think I still hate him a little bit." she said to herself. "I'm just not scared of him anymore."

Jennifer felt like running. That had been her time to think, while she was running, and if she ever needed to think, it was then. The night before seemed more like a dream than anything else. When confronted with the daylight, it hardly seemed real. So much had happened. She had so much conflicting emotions to resolve.

As Jennifer was lacing up her shoes, she glanced at Darlene lying comatose in the opposite bed. That was another reason to go running; eventually, Darlene would wake up, and from experience, Jennifer knew that Darlene usually had very bad hangovers. It was better to disappear and come back after she had recovered somewhat. Jennifer tightened her shoelaces, and quietly slipped out the door.

It was a nice day to go running; cold, but not too cold. Despite the time, Jennifer felt very awake, and full of energy. The dorm was empty, as it usually was early in the morning, and Jennifer slipped out without seeing much of anyone. Someone was in the lobby reading the morning paper, and he glanced at her as she walked by. Jennifer didn't know him, so she just smiled and walked past.

It was about a five-minute walk to the track, and she spent the time taking in her surroundings. It really was a nice day, and it made her feel a lot better over what had happened the night before. She listened to the birds chirping in the trees, and watched them fly overhead. The sun felt nice on her skin; it was still kind of cold, but that only seemed to make the sun feel warmer.

She reached the path that made its way through the park area of the campus, and took a quick look around for anyone she might want to avoid. The park was fairly deserted; she saw more squirrels than people, and didn't see anyone she knew. Jennifer strolled down the path, humming a slow song she had heard the night before.

She thought about the last time she had come this way, when she had first met Mark. I never actually did make it to the track, she reminded herself. Her mind idled on a squirrel jumping from branch to branch, almost following her.

Deep down, Jennifer knew she was pushing back what she needed to think about, but that was all right. It could wait until she started running. For now, she would just enjoy the simple beauty of early-morning nature. Carefree, without human interference.

Before she knew it, she had walked through the park and was on the track. A couple other runners were running laps, and they all looked faster and more serious than she was. "Just take it easy." she reminded herself. "You haven't run for awhile, Jennifer. Let your body get used to it." She moved over to stand behind the line that usually determined the beginning and end of her laps, and did a few token stretches. "You know, Jennifer." she said. "You sure talk to yourself a lot more now." She laughed, and started to run.

Her pace was fairly slow, but she planned to make it up in distance. During the first half of the first lap, she could feel her legs readjusting themselves to the exercise. It felt good. Her body settled into a nice pace, and soon her mind was free to wander.

And as she had expected, her mind drifted to the night before, and Mark. The whole thing was losing its reality now; it seemed more like a bad dream than anything else. She hoped she would never see Derrick again; the image of him with his lip bleeding and an expression of complete devotion on his face was burnt into her mind. Jennifer knew that if she ever saw him again, that image would flash before her eyes.

She would undoubtedly see Jacob again, with his burnt hand, and she wasn't looking forward to that either. He was becoming so different; Jennifer remembered him earlier in the year as just a nice guy, always saying hello to her, always ready to give her a hand. He had accepted it before, when she had gently told him she wasn't looking for a boyfriend.

"It's amazing what a little good sex will do." Jennifer murmured. There was no doubt Jacob was obsessed with her now. The way he had acted the night before, with a little alcohol thrown in...it was insane. HE was insane. Jennifer had never had to deal with a guy like that before. She didn't know what to do.

Maybe Mark...? She had asked herself that question over and over before, but had never really considered it. Before, she had thought Jacob was something she could deal with herself. Now, she wasn't so sure. And after all, it would be child's play for Mark to use his power...

Morally, she wasn't quite sure where she stood on the whole thing. Would it be wrong to have Mark use his power on Jacob? It seemed like it should be, but Jennifer couldn't see how it would be that wrong. After all, Mark had saved her from being almost raped by using his power, and she certainly didn't find anything wrong with that. How was this any different? Jacob was becoming more and more demanding of her, and he might eventually become dangerous. Jennifer was just watching out for herself, right? Anyhow, Jacob would be better off to just forget her; there was no way she would ever be for him what he wanted.

Unfortunately, all this just sounded like justification to Jennifer. Could she justify using Mark to take away someone else's free will? Was it right? She couldn't decide.

Mark, as usual, remained an enigma. He was always mysterious to her, his motives incomprehensible. Whenever she felt like she was getting a feel for the way he thought, he would turn around and do something completely opposite to what she thought he would do. At the dance, it seemed like he should have liked it when she started doing what he wanted without him using his power. Yet, he had turned cold, and had taken a complete and irrational dislike to Derrick. What was wrong with Mark? Jennifer wished she could understand him.

Mark had said she was doing too good a job, but what did that mean? Why was that a bad thing? Shouldn't that have pleased him?

Jennifer found her mind lingering over the images of dancing with Derrick, pretending to seduce him, and she found the images very tantalizing. Though she hated to admit it, even to herself, she had enjoyed herself. It was like Mark said, it wasn't like she was really truly being a slut. After all, sluts were sluts because all they wanted was sex, right? But that hadn't been Jennifer's motivation at all. She had just been giving Derrick a night to remember.

"Making his dreams come true." she grinned. It was true that she had enjoyed acting the role of a seductress the night before, and she discovered she was actually looking forward to her next experience with Mark, her next 'game of controlling Jennifer', as he referred to their sessions together. This was probably the strangest thing to realize about the previous night. She had given herself to Mark's control of her own free will, and she had enjoyed it.

For a moment, she actually thought of doing it all by herself. What if I just choose a guy, and try to pick him up? she asked herself. Just like Derrick? As soon as she realized she was thinking it, she disposed of the idea. It wouldn't be the same without Mark. It really WOULD be slutty. Plus, she didn't want to get into another mess like Jacob.

Jennifer realized that she had lost count of how many laps she had run, and she was getting tired. Oh, well, that was probably enough anyhow. She ran to the next line on the track, and stopped, breathing hard. Sweat dribbled down into her eyes, and she pushed her hair back to keep it from dripping on her face. One more time around the track, this time walking. As she walked, she thought about Mark and his power.

The one thing she worried about him was that sometime he would get mad at her, and use his power against her like he had used it against Jacob and Derrick. He seemed to genuinely care about her, but that didn't mean he wouldn't lose his temper and make her do something awful.

The sun was beating down on her as she walked along the track, and she started to long for the shady trees in the park. Finally, she left the track, took a drink of cool water at the nearby water fountain, and made her way into the park, walking under the trees instead of on the path.

It seemed as if Mark was expecting her. He waited, sitting on one of the benches, watching her as she approached. He said nothing, and his expression was unreadable.

When she was almost to his bench, he spoke. "Hello, Jennifer." he said.

"Hi, Mark." she stood uncertainly next to the bench, acutely aware of how sweaty she was, waiting for him to speak.

"Can we talk, Jenny?" he asked.

Jennifer nodded. "Okay." she said, and she sat next to him on the bench. A cool breeze blew through the shady group of trees, and she shivered. "How did you know I would be here?" she asked.

He smiled slightly. "Oh, you always used to come through here at about the same time on saturdays, to go running. I used to come down here and watch you go by, before I first came up to you." He lapsed into silence again. Jennifer watched him for a moment, waiting to see if he would say anything more. When he didn't, she contented herself with looking at the other people in the park. Some others had arrived while she had been running: a student reading a book, a lady walking her dog, another group of students sitting on the grass talking.

"Jennifer..." Mark finally spoke. "Do I scare you?"

The question startled her, and she looked at him to see if he wore his confident grin, to see if he was playing another game. He didn't seem to be; his eyes blinked distantly at the grass. He seemed to be deep in thought. "Not you, really..." Jennifer finally answered. "I'm a little scared of your power, sometimes."

"You know I would never hurt you, Jennifer. Not even with my power." he said

"I know." she answered simply. "Not intentionally, anyway...but what if I do something to make you mad? How do I know you wouldn't use it on me then? You might..." She let her voice trail away. "Oh, Jenny. I won't get mad at you. You have to trust me."

Jennifer watched a jogger go past them. "You say that, Mark, and probably you mean it, but how do I know? You have so much power...how do I know you won't lose your temper and use it on me?" He answered this question with silence, and Jennifer sighed and waited.

Finally he spoke. "I wish I could get you to trust me." he whispered.

Jennifer felt something within her leap. Was this the same guy she had thought a monster? She couldn't help but smile. If he was an ordinary guy, she would have thought he was being incredibly sweet. But he wasn't ordinary, and she still didn't trust him completely. She still remembered the fight from the night before, and how Mark seemed to enjoy making them fight over her. "Mark." she said. "In order for me to trust you, you'll have to show me that you trust me."

Finally, she got him to look at her. "How?" he asked.

"Tell me who you are." She said, her voice becoming intense. "Tell me about yourself. I know your name is Mark, but that's all. Let's just talk, okay? I want to find out about you."

Mark turned away from her. "No." he said. "All you need to know is my name is Mark, and I'm your master."

"Darn it, Mark!" she burst, startling both him and herself. She forced her voice down. "Mark, if you're going to be stubborn about this, then we aren't going to get anywhere. You say you want me to trust you, but you won't treat me like a human being. Please, Mark. Enough of this master/slave thing, okay? At least not today. Let's just be friends today, all right?"

She waited for him to answer, but he only stared silently at the ground. Finally she sighed and stood. He looked up at her. "Come on, Mark." she said firmly, and picked up his hand. "Let's go play one of your games, okay? And while we're doing that, we can talk, all right?" She tugged at his hand, while he stared at her, looking at her as if she had gone mad. Finally, he shrugged.

"All right, Jennifer. Another game." As he spoke, she noticed that his confident grin was appearing on her face. That meant he had an idea. She waited, hoping it would be something she would be willing to do. "Here's what we're going to do, Jennifer." he said, starting to lead her through the park. "You want to know more about me. Okay, I'll answer your questions. But here's the deal. First you have to kiss someone here in the park." He seemed to consider this for a second, then nodded his approval. "For each person you kiss, I'll answer a question."

"Anyone?" she asked. That didn't sound too bad. She looked around at the others in the park. She saw a couple guys, but didn't know any of them.

"Anyone." he said. "Even girls."

"Ew." she grimaced. "I'll stay with guys, thank you."

He frowned. "It's your choice. I haven't finished the rules, though. You can initiate the kiss, but you can't be the one who breaks it. If he holds the kiss for an hour, you'll have to keep kissing him for an hour. And while he's kissing you, you'll let him do anything to you that he wants. He can run his hands all over you if he wants. But once he breaks the kiss, you're free again. All right?"

Jennifer nodded, feeling the fear and excitement build within her. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to do it, but the idea intrigued her. "I'll try. But you have to be there to help me if anything goes wrong, okay?"

"Of course, Jennifer." he said. "Shall we begin?"

"All right." she said. "First question: what's your full name? The truth."

He grinned, and shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Jennifer. First you have to kiss someone. Remember?" Then his eyes went wide as Jennifer put her arms around him and pressed her lips against his. He broke the kiss fast, faster than she had expected. She couldn't help but smile at his look of shock.

"I'm disappointed." she murmured. "You could have done anything you wanted to me while I was kissing you. You just wasted a good opportunity."

He pulled away from her. "I can do anything to you anytime I want, slave Jennifer." He snapped.

She just grinned. "Your name? Come on, Mark. You can't say that didn't count."

He scowled at her, and for a moment she thought he would refuse to answer. Finally, he growled. "Mark Robert Antonio." He turned away from Jennifer's triumphant grin.

Mark started to walk again, and Jennifer followed him along. "Mark Robert Antonio." she said, smiling at him from behind. "So that's what it is. Mark Robert Antonio. Mark Robert Antonio."

He turned around. "Yes, that's it. That's what it is. Jennifer, kneel down, take my hands and kiss each of my fingers. After each finger, bow and say your full name." He was using his power, and Jennifer felt it sweep over her and block out her will to resist.

She fell to her knees, and took his left hand in hers. After she kissed each finger, she prostrated herself on the ground and said her name. "Jennifer Anne Cailly. Jennifer Anne Cailly." First the left hand, then the right. Finally she looked up at him. He was grinning.

"That oughta teach you to act too triumphant. Remember, Jennifer, that no matter what information you get about me, I can always still control you."

Jennifer ignored his words. She sat down on the ground, and turned away from him. "This is what I meant." she said, her voice cold. "You lost your temper, and you used your power on me. This is exactly why I can't trust you."

"What?" asked Mark. He knelt down beside her. "Oh, come on, Jenny! I didn't hurt you, now did I? Come on, look at me. I really wasn't that mad." He tried to put his arm over her shoulders, but she shrugged it off.

"No, you didn't hurt me, but you could have." She said, her voice still icy. She thought about whether she should pretend to start crying, but didn't think she would be able to do it convincingly.

"Oh, Jennifer." he sighed. "Please...I promise...I won't use my power on you anymore today, all right? Does that make you feel better? Come on and stand up, let's play the game some more."

She reluctantly allowed him to turn her head, and then allowed him to take her hand and help her up. Meanwhile, she fought to keep from smiling, fought to keep the reluctant, hurt expression on her face. I can control him, too, she thought to herself, and a small smile creeped unbidden onto her face. They started walking along again. Mark started talking, saying what a nice day it was, and how it was nice that the sun was shining. Jennifer wasn't really paying attention, her mind was swept up in thoughts of Mark, thinking of what questions she wanted to ask him, and enjoying her small triumph over him.

After a while, she noticed a man sunbathing in the middle of a grassy stretch. He was fairly attractive, a tall man with dark eyes and a firm, athletic build. And best of all, he was alone. "I see someone." she murmured.

"What?" asked Mark, glancing at her, then followed her eyes to the man sunbathing.

"Wait here." said Jennifer, and she released Mark's hand. She explained "It'll make it harder if he sees me with another guy." She didn't wait for Mark's answer, but started to walk over to the man. Her stomach was flip-flopping, and she really had no idea what she was going to do. She wondered if she would really have the guts to go through with it.

"Time to improvise." she said to herself, and then she was standing beside the guy. She shifted nervously, not sure how to start.

She didn't need to. The guy looked up at her. "You're standing in my sun." he said.

"Sorry." breathed Jennifer, and she sat down beside the guy. "I'm Marcie." she said. She didn't like the way the guy smiled at her, and the way his eyes wandered over her body in frank appraisal. His eyes had a predatory look about them, and he seemed to like what he saw. Jennifer couldn't help but feel like she had just jumped into his spider web.

"Hi, Marcie." he said. "I'm Greg." He shifted onto his side to face her, his muscles flexing even with this simple motion. "What can I do for you?"

Jennifer had no idea what to say. "I just saw you here...sunning yourself..." she began, trying to come up with something. "I thought it looked relaxing." she finished lamely.

Greg smiled, an easy, casual smile. Mark had his power, but this man had a power of his own. It was in his confidence. "Want to join me?" he asked. He pulled something from behind him. It was a bottle of sun-tan lotion. "I have plenty of extra sunscreen." he said. "Uh..." Jennifer tried to think of an appropriate response. "I was jogging..."

"Oh, don't worry." His voice easily slid in and interrupted hers. "You're not really dressed for it, but you can tie your shirt off...that'll give you a little extra tan on your stomach. It's very relaxing, Marcie...here, let me help you." Before she knew it, she was on her stomach, and he was inching her t-shirt up her body. His touch was very methodical and gentle.

"Just sit back and relax." he said, and something about his hands made her feel more relaxed. He lifted her shirt to the point where her back was exposed up to the black lycra top that bound her breasts. Then he was massaging sun- tan lotion into her lower back.

"You have a beautiful body." he murmured. His voice had a gentle, hypnotic quality to it, and Jennifer felt herself relaxing under his touch. She idly wondered how many women he had seduced. What was funny was that she was supposed to be seducing him.

"You don't mind me telling you how attractive I think you are, do you?" he whispered near her ear. "It's not a come-on or anything...I just think you have a very attractive body."

"No..." she sighed. "I don't mind." She felt him gently prod her with his fingers, and she sensed he wanted her to turn over. She let him push her over, and he started rubbing sun-tan lotion on her stomach.

"Your stomach is so firm." he said. "I can tell that you exercise." His massaging was more of a caress now, and he was slowly inching up her body, until he was rubbing sun-tan lotion just below her breasts. She waited, wondering if he would actually touch her breasts, but he didn't. She felt his hands move away, and then his hand brushed her cheek. She opened her eyes.

His face was so close to her, she could smell him. There was something sexual about his scent, and Jennifer felt overpowered by his closeness. "You really are gorgeous." he said. "Can I kiss you?" She could only nod.

At first she told herself, all she had to do was wait until he pulled away, and then she was done. She could go back to Mark. But Greg kissed her in a long, lingering kiss, and as he did so, his hands ran up and down her back and sides, making her feel weak. When he finally broke away, she could only sigh in pleasure, and lay back as he started to press his lips against her neck.

His arm enveloped her, and pulled her to him, his hand roaming up and down her back. Finally he let her lie back in the grass, while he leaned over her and smiled. His hand creeped like a spider up her side, and slipped almost imperceptibly over her left breast. A shiver of pleasure and excitement raced through her at this forbidden touch.

"Want to go to my place?" he murmured. His other hand was tracing circles on her leg, drifting up her shorts and sliding over her thigh.

"Ooh." she said. Then she remembered what she was supposed to be doing. "Oh! I'm sorry, I can't..." She sat up quickly, and pushed him back. He did not seem particularly shocked, only displeased. "I'm really sorry, Greg...maybe another time, okay?" She blinked at him for a moment, trying to shake free of her desire, and rushed off before he could answer.

"Suit yourself." she heard him say behind her. When she looked back, he was on his back again, eyes closed, sunning himself.

Jennifer looked around for Mark. She finally saw him sitting under a nearby tree, waiting. She walked over, and he stood just before she reached him. His eyes appraised her.

"You seemed to enjoy that." he said, his voice very neutral, and he took her hand. Jennifer mutely allowed him to lead her away.

CONTROLLING JENNIFER VIII

TAKING IT EASY (Pt. 2)

Jennifer let Mark lead her, waiting for him to say something. They walked across the grass and finally stopped in a nearby copse of trees. Jennifer took a quick glance backwards to see if the guy was watching her with Mark, but he had settled back and was leisurely tanning himself. She felt a little disappointed.

Mark pulled at her, turning her back around to face him, his hands settling around her waist. He was smiling, and the shadows of the leaves above them played across his face. "For a moment there, I thought I would need to go in and rescue you." he said. "You were supposed to be seducing him, Jennifer, not the other way around."

She looked away and smiled in embarrassment. "He was very... persuasive..." she murmured.

"Uh huh." Mark grinned.

Her eyes flickered back to Mark's face. "I get to ask you another question." she reminded him.

"All right." he said. "Let's sit down." He released her and sat down, his back against the trunk of the tree they were under. Jennifer settled down beside him, folding her knees in front of her and wrapping her arms around her legs. She squeezed them to her chest, feeling the leftover excitement from kissing Greg sparkle in her stomach. It made her feel restless.

"I want to know how you got your power." she said to Mark.

"I already told you, first time we met." he said. "I just got it one day. Wished for it so hard that it finally came to me."

Jennifer sighed. "Yeah, but there must be more. Tell me the whole story." she pressed. "Tell me all about your power, Mark. I want to know. Tell me how you knew you had it. Tell me what you did. Tell me about the other women you've controlled."

He was silent, and his smile faded rapidly. Jennifer watched him, curious at his strange reaction. Finally he spoke. "I can't tell you that, Jennifer. Not yet. Maybe someday, but not right now."

If anything, this made Jennifer even more curious. "Come on, Mark." she said, leaning against him. "Tell me. I really want to know."

He shrugged her away. "No." he growled. "Ask something else, Jennifer." Jennifer pulled away from him, and turned her head to silently observe his profile. He was frowning, and his eyes were dark and scowling.

Jennifer decided she shouldn't push the issue any more, and quickly came up with another question, one that had also been on her mind.

"Am I the only one?" she asked.

Mark's eyes returned to reality, and he looked at her, surprised. "Only one what?"

"The only one you're controlling right now." she said. "Your only 'slave.'"

He turned to watch a lady walking in the distance. His nod was almost imperceptible, but Jennifer caught it. "Of course." he said quietly. "There's only one of you, Jennifer."

"Good." she said.

The silence grew between them. Jennifer watched Mark, waiting to see if he would say anything, but he seemed to be retreating into his own thoughts. Absent-mindedly, he picked up a leaf and started to shred it in his fingers, methodically picking it into tiny portions.

Jennifer watched him do this until her eyes wandered away, and she found herself watching a squirrel scurry up and down a tree off in the distance. It seemed to be dancing around the trunk with no purpose.

As she watched, it scurried around, and then froze. It remained suspended for a moment, then scampered up the tree. She lost it in the leaves, and then saw it again, running like mad toward the end of a branch. It took a flying leap, soared through the air, and landed evenly on a nearby branch. Jennifer gasped, waiting for it to lose its balance and fall, and then laughed when it didn't.

"What?" asked Mark.

"Squirrels are funny." she said. "I was just watching that one over there."

"Squirrels are crazy." Mark observed, as the squirrel tore through the tree at lightning speed.

"I'd like to be a squirrel." Jennifer said. "It looks like fun."

Mark nodded. "Jumping from branch to branch, looking down on everyone from above, being able to run up trees."

"It just looks like it would be a rush." she said. She turned to grin at Mark. "Can you make me a squirrel?"

"I can make you think you're a squirrel."

Jennifer shook her head, smiling. "Not the same." she told him. She looked over to find the squirrel again, and saw two little boys standing under the tree. They both looked to be about six or seven, and the bigger blond one was instructing the dark-haired one to gather a pile of rocks.

"Look at those two boys." Jennifer poked Mark with her elbow to get his attention. "What're they doing?"

"Gathering ammo." Mark observed. Sure enough, the blond one picked up a pebble and happily whipped it at the squirrel. He missed completely, but Jennifer was still annoyed.

"Those stupid little boys." she said. "Come on, Mark, let's go talk to them." She stood and brushed the grass off her shorts. Mark stood uncertainly next to her and followed her as she walked over to the boys.

"What are you planning to do?" he asked.

"I don't know. Talk to them?" Jennifer glanced back at Mark as she walked. "Maybe you can use your power?"

"I will if I need to."

Jennifer thought about this, and decided he was probably right. She could handle a couple of little kids by herself. The blonde kid turned to look at them as they approached; his face was covered with freckles, and his smile held a happy arrogance that made Jennifer instantaneously think he was a brat. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Foolin' around." he answered, and as if to emphasize it, he hurled a rock up at the squirrel. He turned back to them and grinned widely.

"Stop that!" said Jennifer. "Stop throwing rocks at that poor squirrel!" The child only sneered. "You ain't my mother." he told her, and threw another rock. Jennifer felt the urge to smack the little brat.

Mark spoke. "Why don't you throw rocks at your little friend instead? And he can throw rocks back at you!" The child's eyes flickered blankly, and then he grinned and picked up a particularly big rock. The dark-haired kid was running towards them with another load of rocks.

Jennifer hit Mark. Her fist connected with his shoulder, hard enough to hurt, and Mark turned to look at her, more surprised than actually hurt. "Stop them." she told him, and although she didn't say anything else, the threat in her eyes was perfectly clear. Stop them, or I'll hate you forever.

"Stop!" said Mark, and the blonde-haired kid froze in mid- throw. Both kids turned to look at Mark. "Don't throw rocks, both of you. Don't throw them at anything. Find some nicer way to have fun."

The kids stared at Mark and Jennifer for a moment, then they both grinned, and started to run off. "Wait!" called Jennifer. Both kids stopped, and Jennifer walked over to the dark-haired one. She knelt down beside him. "I'm Jennifer." she said. "What's your name?"

The kid only blinked at her. "He's Jeff!" the blonde one chimed.

"You're very cute." Jennifer told him. "Can I kiss you?"

"Ewwww!!! Gross!!!" said Jeff, squirming, and he started to turn away, but before he could, Jennifer threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his tiny lips. He pulled away quickly and ran away from her. "Gross! Gross! Gross!" he howled.

"She kissed you! She kissed you!" taunted the blonde. "Now you gotta marry her!" There was more, more childish teasing and name- calling, but Jennifer turned her back on them and looked at Mark.

"How dare you." she said, glaring at him. Her voice was low and cold. "They're just children. How dare you use your power on them."

He only nodded, his eyes holding hers. "Uh huh. Don't take the moral high ground with me. You wanted to wipe that smile off the kids face just as much as I did. Only difference, is that I had the power to do something about it." As Jennifer looked into his dark, unrepentant eyes, she was torn by conflicting emotions. Half of her wanted to kick him right in the balls, to see him crumple to the ground in shock and pain. The other half of her, for some reason, wanted to cry. It was all the same with Mark, every time she talked to him. It was always him with his power, and his lack of any scruples in using it.

Jennifer knew she shouldn't be surprised anymore by what he said and did, but it always managed to catch her unawares. She always fell into the trap of thinking of him as a regular person, sometimes even as a friend. But he was not a regular person, and he had no regard for other human beings. Including her. Jennifer felt like something was ripping her in two inside.

Mark must have seen it in her face, because his expression immediately became one of concern. "Are you all right, Jenny? What's wrong?"

"You." she said simply. "You're wrong." And she turned and started to walk away. Her face felt like she was going to cry, but she felt completely empty inside. Devoid of tears.

"Jennifer!" she heard him call. He ran up next to her. "Jennifer, please... listen to me, huh? Look, I'm sorry...I'm so used to having the power, I just use it without thinking. Look, Jennifer, would you stop?"

"You'll never change." she said as she walked. She didn't look at Mark, and was talking more to herself than to him. "You'll always be Mark. Mark, with the power to have anything that he wants. Mark, who doesn't care about anyone."

"Jennifer!" he said, and he stopped in front of her. She angled to go around him, but he put his arms around her. She felt herself caught in his embrace, and tried for a moment to resist. But it was weak resistance, and after a moment, she let herself collapse in his arms.

Now's the time to cry, some distant part of her mind said. If you cry now, you'll hold him in your palm forever. Play games of controlling Mark. But it all seemed pointless at the moment, and that made her feel more torn up than before. She wondered why she felt so much comfort from being in his arms, when he was the one that had made her feel this way in the first place.

Mark was speaking. "I know it seems like I don't care about anything... like I'm the worst person in the world. It's the way it's always been for me, Jennifer. I had my power, and that power put me above everyone else." "Try to understand how it is for me. I've never had to play the game...all I ask for is mine. Life has always been a joke for me. I can have anything I want. It...it just makes it easy to think about only yourself. I'm trying, Jennifer, really I am. Please, just give me time."

"You can't have me." she whispered, her chin resting on his shoulder. "I'll do whatever you want, with your power, but it won't be me."

"I know." he said. He hugged her fiercely. "Ask me a question, Jennifer."

"Huh?"

"You kissed that little kid, so I'll answer one of your questions. But little kids don't count anymore, okay?"

"You're changing, Mark." she said. It was only after she said it that she really came to realize it was true. He was changing.

"So are you." he answered.

Am I? Jennifer supposed she was. She knew she had done things with Mark she would have never considered doing before. It was all very strange. They were both changing each other, and who knew when it would stop.

"Why me?" she asked.

"Is that your question?"

"Yeah. Why me, Mark?"

"Because. I saw you dancing at one time, and I just couldn't stand not knowing who you were. I couldn't stand not owning you. Felt like it would be a capital crime to let you get away."

Jennifer felt the tightness of Mark's embrace, and felt her arms around him. "Life with you is an emotional roller coaster, Mark." she sighed. "I haven't had this many ups and downs since the first time I fell in love."

Mark said nothing.

They held each other for a moment longer, then Mark finally loosened his hold on her. Jennifer pulled away, feeling happier, and feeling even more displaced with the realization that she was happier. My life really is an emotional roller coaster, she thought.

"What do you want to do now?" she asked.

"It's getting close to lunch time." Mark said. "Want to go over to Mcdonalds? It's right across the street. I'll treat."

"Okay." said Jennifer. She checked her watch, and felt even more disoriented realizing how much time had passed. It was indeed almost lunchtime, and she had gone running four hours before.

They went to Mcdonalds. Jennifer wasn't very surprised when the manager waved aside the cost of the food. "Free for Mr. Antonio!" the portly man trumpeted. Jennifer had a cheeseburger, small fries and a coke.

They sat down in a relatively isolated booth, and talked of very ordinary things. Mark told her he was a business major, a transfer student from a small college in Texas. He was majoring in business because he figured that with his power, he could make a fortune in business and still look pretty legitimate. Jennifer in turn told him she was hoping to go to law school and become a lawyer.

All in all, the conversation was very pedestrian, and they avoided any topics that concerned Mark's power. Jennifer was surprised with how free Mark was being with information; it was safe to say that she learned more about him in that conversation at Mcdonalds than from all their previous conversations.

Afterwards, they walked back to the park area of the campus. "Kiss one more person, Jennifer, and I'll let you go." Mark said as they across the grass.

"I don't understand you, Mark." Jennifer said. "Why do you like it so much when I do things with other guys? Why don't you ever want me to do things with you?"

"That's a question." he pointed out. "I'll answer it after you kiss another guy."

"That was TWO questions." she said. "Answer me at least one, okay?"

"Okay." he said. "I'll answer your second question. The reason I don't have you do things with me, is because it doesn't really mean anything to me. I can have any woman I want, any time I want. I could have Hilary Clinton if I really wanted her. Sex isn't really that big a deal for me."

For some reason, this bothered Jennifer. "How many woman do you have sex with, anyway? Lots?"

"That's another question." he said. "You still owe me one."

Jennifer scowled at him, then shrugged. "All right. Where's a guy?" She looked around, and saw a guy sitting on a bench, reading. He was in an overgrown area of the park, and Jennifer thought it was likely that no one would see her if she kissed him. Plus, he was fairly attractive, with a lean body and a friendly face. Jennifer nodded, this would be her target.

"I see someone. Stay here?" Mark saw the guy, too, and nodded his assent. Jennifer started her stroll over, and once again felt the bubbling excitement in the pit of her stomach. The I-can't-believe- I'm-doing-this excitement. Finally, she reached the guy. He was intently reading a calculus textbook, and didn't notice her approach.

"Hi." she said. He continued to read his book. "I'm Marcie." she continued uneasily. He still didn't notice her, and she stood awkwardly, trying to figure out what to do.

Then he looked up. "Oh, hi!" he said, and reached up to his ears. He pulled out two tiny black discs attached to wires: earphones. She hadn't even noticed them. "I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you...I had my walkman blasting."

"That's all right." Jennifer said. She stared at the wires trailing down into his sweatshirt. Assumedly, he had a walkman down there somewhere. "I didn't even see those earphones!"

"Yeah, they're pretty small. Great for listening during class." he grinned. "I'm Francisco."

"I'm Marcie." Jennifer said. "Can I sit down?"

"Sure...I've never been one to deny a pretty lady." he grinned again.

Jennifer liked his grin; it was very open and friendly. Not like Greg's seductive grin, but a grin without expectations. Jennifer sat next to him. "So, what's up, Marcie?" he asked.

"Can I be completely frank with you?" she asked.

"Sure, go for it."

"I hope you don't think I'm being too forward...but I noticed you over here...and, well, I just want to kiss you. Can I?"

Francisco looked surprised, but not unhappy. "You want to kiss me?"

Jennifer couldn't believe what she was saying, but the excitement was still building within her. "Yes. Can I?"

He shook his head, still grinning. "Ok, what is this, a joke, huh? Where's the cameras?"

"No joke." said Jennifer. Rather than trying further to convince him, she decided to just go for it. She craned forward and pressed her lips against his. He was hesitant at first, but rapidly got into it, pressing back. His lips parted, and his tongue pushed into her mouth. His arms enveloped her, and she was startled by the firmness with which he held her. Finally, he released the kiss, and Jennifer gasped.

"Wow!" she said.

"Was it as good as you expected?" he grinned.

"Yeah. It sure was." And they kissed again. This kiss lasted longer, and his hands slipped up and down her back, pushing her body tight against his. His tongue once again slipped into her mouth, and this time she reciprocated, shyly darting her tongue against his. He smelled wonderful.

Finally, they parted. Jennifer gasped again. "Still good?" he asked. She nodded. "Want to do more?"

"More?" she asked. In reply, he started his way down her neck, sprinkling light kisses on her neck. He pushed the neckline of her t-shirt over her shoulder, and pressed his lips against the exposed skin. Jennifer felt a shiver creep through her, and she lifted her chin to give him easier access to her neck. "Oh, wow." she said.

"More?" he asked. Jennifer was about to nod, but then a thought occurred to her. Excitement spilled through her, and she could hardly control her voice when she spoke. "All right...but I have to do something first, okay? I need to borrow your walkman. Is that okay?"

He became suspicious. "What for?"

"Please." she said. Before she knew what she was doing, before she could think enough to stop herself, she had pulled off her t-shirt and sports bra. Francisco stared in shock at her exposed breasts. Jennifer felt deliriously exposed, even though they were in an isolated area of the campus and probably no one else could see her.

Jennifer let Francisco eye her breasts for a moment, then she pulled her t-shirt back on, and dropped her sports bra in his lap. "You can keep this as hostage until I return your walkman, all right?" He gaped at her, nodded as he scrambled to pull out his walkman.

Jennifer quickly had it set up. The walkman was tucked in the back of her shorts. The wires wound up under her t-shirt, then came up disguised in her hair to the earphones in her ears. Mark would see nothing. Jennifer grinned.

"I'll be right back." she said, and she turned and started walking towards where she had left Mark. He wasn't there, but materialized out of the trees as she neared.

"You did it." he said. "I thought you were going to do more...why did you take off your shirt?"

"He wants to do more." she said. "So do I...but I couldn't, Mark. I just couldn't bring myself to! Mark...I want him to touch my body...but I can't make myself let him! I keep getting nervous. Could you...could you use your power? Tell me to do it? Please?"

Mark arched an eyebrow. "You WANT me to use my power on you? Are you sure, Jennifer?"

"Yes!! I'm sure. Tell me to let him touch my body. Please, Mark? I want him to so badly!"

"Okay, if you want it." he said, sounding a little dazed. Then he opened his mouth, and Jennifer could see his mouth moving. But at that moment, she had snaked her hand behind her back, and pressed the play button on the walkman, and her ears were bombarded with guitar. Mark finished speaking, and stood watching her. Jennifer took an evaluation of her mind. Nothing. His power hadn't worked on her. Jennifer smiled. She had figured it out. She had beaten his power.

Then she let her eyes appear to go vacant, and walked back to where Francisco waited. She managed to conceal the walkman, and turned it off before she reached him. "What was that about?" he asked her.

"I was talking to that guy...he's a friend of mine." Jennifer explained as she sat beside him. "He was the one who dared me to kiss you. I just told him to get lost."

"What did you need the walkman for?" asked Francisco.

"Be quiet and kiss me." Jennifer said, and she leaned into his Francisco's waiting lips. They kissed fiercely, and this time, Francisco slid his hands under her t-shirt and slid them over her breasts. Jennifer felt a tingle as his fingertips brushed her hard nipples, and felt herself start to get wet down below.

At first his touch was tentative, but after she offered no objections, he began to press his hands against her breasts, firmly fondling them. Jennifer slipped her hands under his shirt, and felt his bare flesh. She liked the feel of his muscles; they were tight and firm.

Francisco started to push her back, and Jennifer let herself be pushed down onto her back on the bench. Francisco lifted her t-shirt and took her left nipple in his mouth, letting his tongue play along the hardened tip, making her gasp. She felt exposed again, and thought about making him stop.

But the pleasure was too much, and it felt so good to just lie back and let him kiss her. She gasped again as he began to circle her nipple with his tongue; it was a wonderful, hot, tickling sensation. She lost herself in the feel of his mouth, his lips pressing against her breasts.

Then he lifted his head and spoke. "How far is this going to go, Marcie?" he asked.

Jennifer sighed, closing her eyes. "Not much further, I'm afraid. Not here anyway."

"Want to go to my room?" he asked.

Jennifer considered it. "No." she finally said. "Maybe another time, but not right now." She sat up, letting her t-shirt fall back over her breasts.

"Too bad." Francisco was grinning. "You almost made all my fantasies true."

"Mmm." said Jennifer, noticing the lump in the crotch of his shorts. She touched it with her fingers, and watched the contented expression that passed over his face. She slid her fingers down the front of his shorts, encountered the head of his penis. Enraptured by the arousal on his face, Jennifer took his hard-on in her hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Ooh. That feels good." he sighed. Jennifer started to run her fingers over it, exploring it. She slipped up to the head, pressing her fingertip against the tiny hole at the tip, then ran her fingers down the bottom of the shaft, circling around where it attached to the rest of his body. He was fairly thick, and wondered what it would feel like to have him inside of her.

She started to stroke him, and he stifled a moan. She continued to pull him up and down, when finally he stopped her. "Quit it." he said. "I'm gonna come."

"So?"

"So I don't want to come all over my shorts!"

"Stand up and pull down your shorts." she said. "We're all alone here, and besides, I want to see what you look like." She started to stroke harder, and he groaned. He stood, and she pulled his engorged organ out from his shorts. It stood out straight from his body, a thick purple snout, and Jennifer stared at it as her hand ran up and down its length.

She hadn't seen many penises in her life, and was always amazed at how fleshy and lumpy they were. Not the perfect cylinders she always expected. He was dripping a few beads of pre-come. Finally, he moaned, and his penis started to tense and pulse. He started to spurt, and Jennifer watched amazed as the blops of sperm launched from his body and dropped onto the sidewalk. She just couldn't imagine being a guy, having an organ that you pulled and prodded and that finally granted you satisfaction by spurting white syrup out of its hole. It was just too strange to think about.

Francisco was breathing hard. Jennifer sat back onto the bench, and waited for him to get recomposed. She watched his organ droop. Finally, he pulled up his shorts again, and sat beside her.

"Wow." he said. "You're unreal. Can I call you sometime?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm sorry...but maybe I'll see you another time, all right?" She handed him back her walkman, and took her sports bra.

He kissed her again, and she let herself melt into this last kiss. "This has been the weirdest experience I've ever had." he said. "Thanks, Marcie."

"Thank you, too, Francisco." she smiled. "You're wonderful, too. I have to go. See you later?"

"I hope so." he said.

"Me too. Bye!"

"Bye."

Jennifer stood and walked towards where she had last seen Mark. She felt the slickness between her legs, and dreamed of how Francisco had kissed her, wishing they could have done more. He had been so nice, and hadn't treated her much like a slut even though she was pretty much acting like one.

He had been slow and gentle, just the way Jennifer liked. She sighed happily, and waited for Mark to materialize. She waited, and he did not appear.

She looked through the park. He was nowhere to be found. Mark had disappeared.

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