Auction Part 4

continues from part three

Part 4 - Luggage

'Today’s the day' Karen thought. All week long Zoe had been promising something special. In her usual cryptic way, she would not give any details, just telling Karen to keep her weekend free and her bladder empty. 'One little ‘I’ve gotta pee’ incident and she’ll never let me forget it'. This morning was even more frustrating. Zoe had practically pushed her out of the apartment insisting that she go to the gym then get some breakfast because Zoe had work to do. Could Zoe have changed her mind about today?

Coming back into the apartment, Karen immediately raced to the shower to wash off the sweat of the gym. Wrapping a towel around her body toga-style, she grabbed another towel and began drying her hair as she made her way back to her room. Walking in, she realized something was different, something was missing. Her dresser! 'That’s weird. I guess no clean underwear for me today.' Walking over to her closet she slid open the door and was shocked to discover… Nothing! All of her clothes had been taken! 'This is getting ridiculous. I guess I’ll just have to borrow something from Zoe.' Reaching Zoe’s door, the handle refused to budge. ' Locked? But we never lock our doors… Oh no!' Soon, she realized her fears were true. Zoe had taken all of her clothes and must have hidden them in her own room. Worse than that, she had snuck out while Karen was in the shower and grabbed her gym clothes too.

“Zoe!” She pounded on her roommate’s door. “Zoe! What’s going on? Are you there?”

All this activity was making her thirsty. As she wandered into the kitchen, Karen saw a note taped to the fridge:

Karen

Sorry to borrow all your clothes. Don’t worry, they’re all safe and sound in my room. Here are your instructions for your special day:

Go to the hall closet and get out my big red suitcase (the one with the rolling wheels). Open it on the floor in the front hallway. Use the towels you are wearing to cushion the handle mechanism on the bottom of the suitcase (I want you to be nice and comfy) Climb inside and use those nimble fingers of yours to zip yourself in.

I’ll be back soon and I expect to find you ready for me.

XOXO

Zoe

Karen was stunned. 'Naked? She wants me naked in the suitcase? Well, I guess it’s not that different than what I’ve done before. I mean, it’s not like anyone’s going to see me. Okay Zoe, you want it, you got it!'

Gleefully Karen pulled open the hall closet and reached up to the top shelf to pull down Zoe’s case. It was brand new, red, soft sided with a pull out handle that allowed it to be rolled easily on two wheels. It was a bit awkward to get down. As Karen stretched upward to reach it, her towel kept falling down. 'Oh what the hell. It’s coming off soon anyway.' Whipping the towel off, Karen tossed it down the hallway, then resumed her efforts to wiggle Zoe’s suitcase out of the closet. Finally, she got it free and brought it over to the front door by her discarded towel.

'This is going to be a tight fit,' she thought as she undid the zipper. 'Now how am I going to get this thing zipped up with me on the inside?' Zoe’s suitcase was quite a bit smaller than Karen’s and it seemed deeper too. Slipping back into the kitchen, Karen quickly pulled down the blinds so no one could see her naked state. Pulling open the junk drawer she fished out the roll of twine they kept there and quickly snipped off two lengths, about six inches long. Padding back along the hall to the suitcase, she fed one string through each of the zipper pulls, tying them off to make a loop about three inches long. 'That should be a bit easier to get a hold of.'

It was going to be tight but Karen was pretty sure she could squeeze herself into Zoe’s suitcase. First, she took the two towels (one from the hallway, and one from her head) and lay them down in the bottom of the case to cushion the handle mechanism. Next, she sat down in the case, and swung her feet in, then lay down on her side so her head was tucked up by her knees at the same end as the handle, and her toes were squeezed in down at the wheel end.

'Now for the tricky part.' Reaching back with her upper arm, she was able to flip the lid of the case overtop of herself. Working her other arm down between her legs, she felt along the crack until she found the first loop of twine. Slowly, an inch at a time, she was able to tug the zipper more and more closed. She could feel the lid pressing down on her toes, her feet, her calves, as more and more of the zipper was done up. Suddenly the zipper stopped. It was right at the corner.

Squirming around, Karen was able to get her other hand down too and with a mighty tug – One, Two, Three! The zipper shot around the corner and began zipping up the long side of the suitcase in front of her body. It seemed like there wasn’t going to be enough slack but by sucking in her stomach and tugging on the zipper she managed to get it up level with her face. Next, she wiggled her hand up behind her head and found the other loop. Again, tugging a few inches at a time, she felt the lid of the case pressing down on her, tucking her head even deeper between her knees. Another tug around the corner and she managed to get the two zippers lined up in front of her face with only a few inches of space between them.

'One last thing!' Fumbling with her fingers, she was able to pull each loop of twine up to her face where she nibbled and tugged until the string broke in half. ' I won’t be needing these anymore!' Karen thought, as she pushed the strings out of the gap between the zippers and let them fall to the floor. With a few last pushes she was able to wiggle the small metal pieces of the zippers that she could see from inside the case with her fingers. Gradually closer and closer until the gap was gone and she heard a little click as the padlock loops on each zipper intertwined. Karen was sweaty from the exertion of encasing herself but rather proud of what she’d achieved.

'I don’t think I could get this open again, though. Thank heavens for Zoe!'

Now the waiting began. Time seemed to float. She could feel the rough fabric of the suitcase pushing in on her bare body, the mesh pockets inside the lid of the case leaving little waffle marks on her skin. The towels, still slightly damp, felt cool and soft underneath her. Gradually, she felt herself getting warmer and realized that the sun had moved around the apartment and a beam of sunlight now fell over the suitcase, warming Karen in her cozy prison.

Suddenly, there was a rattle of keys and Karen heard the front door open.

“Look at that! My suitcase is all packed and ready for me. My, you are good at following instructions.” Karen felt Zoe’s hands stroking the outside of the case, rubbing the gentle outlines of her body.

“Just a few things missing, I think.” With a <SHOOP> Zoe whisked the two zippers from where they met around to the bottom of the case by Karen’s feet. A soft <SNICK> told her that even if she had been able to reach them, the two zippers were now padlocked together and not coming free without Zoe’s permission.

“This is really snug Zoe. I almost didn’t think I would fit.”

“Well, I had to make sure you were a little more… portable for today’s adventure. Upsa-daisy!”

With that, Zoe pulled the case upright, leaving Karen feeling like she was sitting on her bottom, hugging her knees, locked inside the suitcase. Suddenly Karen’s whole world tipped sideways and she heard the handle extend as Zoe began rolling her towards the doorway.

“Zoe! What are you doing!” Karen hissed.

“Relax. As long as you stay nice and quiet, no one will suspect a thing.”

The door creaked and Karen heard another rattle as Zoe locked the apartment from the outside, then a soft rustling as Zoe rolled her down the hallway to the elevator.

“Zoe!” Karen whispered urgently.

“Shhh! Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to happen. I’ll take good care of you”

<DING!>

“Good Morning Zoe. Going on a trip are you?”

“Hello Mrs. Petersen. Yes, just a short one. That bag of laundry looks awfully heavy. Would you like to rest it on my suitcase for the ride down?”

“Thank you dear, that’s very kind. These old bones of mine just don’t like bending over to pick things up anymore.”

'Oof! That feels heavy. I hope it doesn’t knock the whole case over. What are you doing Zoe?'

“You and that Karen are such lovely girls. So many of these students are always just yelling and shouting all the time. It’s so nice to see young people who can live together and get along.”

'Zoe, get this bag off me! It must weigh a ton!'

“Oh, we have our differences just like any roommates Mrs. Petersen.”

“Well, if she gives you any trouble, just stuff her in that big trunk I saw those delivery men bringing to your door. That’ll teach her!” Mrs. Petersen chuckled.

“You’re wicked Mrs. P!”

“Oh, that’s what we used to do back in my Sorority. In those days, all the girls used to have ‘Hope Chests’. They’d store all their linens and blankets and silverware and such for when they would get married. Well, it got to be a tradition that whenever a girl got too stuck on herself the rest of us would get together to teach her a lesson. So we’d sneak into the stuck up girl’s room and empty out her hope chest then, when she came home, a whole group of us would be waiting in her room. We’d grab her and stuff her in her own hope chest until she learned some manners!”

“Mrs. P!”

“Oh don’t you sniff at me. You young people think we were all so prim and proper in those days but we knew how to keep people behaving civilly. Especially with the ‘Key Chain’”.

“Key Chain?”

“Oh yes. You see, first we’d stuff the girl in her hope chest and turn the key. Then everyone who felt they’d been wronged by her would put their names on a list. The first girl on the list would get the key and when she felt that the stuck up one had been punished long enough, she’d pass the key on to the next name on the list. The next girl would decide when she felt it had been long enough and pass it on to the next girl and so on. The poor girl in the chest wouldn’t be let out until the key had passed down the whole chain. Sometimes one of the girls would misplace the key and the hope chest girl would be sipping soup through a keyhole for a whole week.”

“Well, if Karen ever gives me trouble I’ll be sure to put your name on our ‘Key Chain’” Zoe giggled.

“Oh, silly child!” Mrs. Petersen laughed. “Don’t give it to me. The way my head is lately I’d put it down somewhere and never see it again! Here we are. Thank you again for letting me rest my laundry.”

“I’m happy to. You have a good day Mrs. P.”

“You too, Zoe. Enjoy your trip.”

Zoe leaned down and whispered to Karen. “How about that Mrs. P? You be good or I’ll put her on your ‘Key Chain’”.

Karen giggled “Don’t you dare!”

Karen felt a gentle rolling motion as Zoe towed her through the carpet of the lobby then a bump and a change in sound as they went outside. Now there was a constant rumble as the case moved along the concrete sidewalk.

“Zoe, where are we going?” Karen whispered.

“Don’t you worry, little one” Zoe smiled, giving the suitcase a pat. “I’ve got quite a day planned for you.”

While Karen had been out that morning, Zoe had changed into her outfit for today’s adventure. A knee length white sundress with bright red cherries printed on it was set off by a wide red sash which came together in the back to form a perky bow. She’d pulled her blonde hair back in a ponytail tied with a matching bow and on her head, a cute round brimmed straw sunhat. Red framed sunglasses and strappy red sandals completed the picture of a happy young student off for a weekend away. She smiled at people as she passed: little old ladies, hunky student boys out for a jog, a young mother pushing her toddler along in a stroller.

'I wonder what they’d think if they knew I had a beautiful naked girl, tucked away in my suitcase', she smiled to herself.

Karen could feel herself getting warmer, like when the sunbeam had passed over her in the hallway and in the distance, she heard the gurgling of running water. Soon, the gurgling sound grew louder and mixed with the sounds of ducks and children playing.

“I thought a picnic in the park would be a nice way to spend our day.” Zoe said. Karen felt the suitcase tip upright as Zoe parked her next to the bench where Zoe settled down to enjoy her lunch. With a quick, SNICK, Zoe pushed the handle back down into the suitcase, then reached into her tote bag and took out her lunch. Delicately, Zoe spread out her sandwich, bottle of water and small bag of grapes on the top of the suitcase, using Karen as a makeshift table.

“This does look yummy! Too bad you can’t have any. Or maybe not…”

Zoe bent down and fished around the bottom of the suitcase for the tiny padlock, which held the zippers sealed together. Using it as a handle, she tugged the zippers up the side of the suitcase and up to the top, next to her little picnic. Lifting the gold chain with its very precious key from around her neck, she snapped the padlock open and gently slid the zipper open a couple of inches. Slipping her finger inside, she could just reach far enough to tickle the back of Karen’s neck and twirl her fingers in Karen’s hair.

“Mmmmmm…” Karen purred, trying to push her head up against Zoe’s gentle, stroking fingers.

“Yes, that’s my good girl.” Zoe said, softly stroking Karen’s head with her fingers. “Would you like a grape?” Zoe smiled as she felt Karen’s head nodding vigorously as much as the tight confines of the suitcase would allow. Zoe slipped her fingers out of the opening and pulled the zippers back together. Pulling the zippers together, she slid them down the side of the case until they were level with where she guessed Karen’s head lay. Sliding the zippers apart she plucked a grape from the bag and gently poked it through the opening. She giggled as she felt Karen’s greedy mouth nibbling at her fingertips. “Very hungry, aren’t you?”. Zoe smiled as she continued slipping grapes in to Karen in between taking bites of her sandwich.

Once their lunch was complete, Zoe quickly pulled the zippers back together and slid them back down to the bottom of the case. Deftly, she hooked the padlock back through the zippers and snicked it shut.

“It’s so beautiful out here in the park.” She leaned down so Karen could hear her better. “I’m glad I brought a book along to enjoy it.”

For the next several hours, Zoe sat on the bench reading her book, reaching out from time to time to gently stroke the suitcase beside her. Karen felt the warmth shift as the sun passed gradually overhead and heard the muffled sound of children playing, birds chirping, and ducks splashing in the pond. At last, Zoe closed her book, stood up and stretched. She tucked the book back into her tote bag and slung it over her shoulder, then pulled out the handle on the suitcase and began towing Karen behind her again.

Inside the case, Karen could hear the rumble of the suitcase wheels rolling along the sidewalk and the gradually fading sounds of the park. Soon, she could hear more traffic noises as they came to a major street then, with a bump, she was tipped upright again.

<ROAR-PHISHHHH>

“Hello driver.” Zoe said sweetly. “Could I possibly use the wheelchair lift? I’ve got kind of a heavy suitcase here.”

With a soft whine Karen felt herself rising up and realized they were boarding a bus.

“Thank you, driver”

* * *

“14th Street! Miller Parkway! Grand Central!”

“Thank you driver, I’m getting off here.”

Another whine as Zoe and the suitcase were lowered to the pavement. Though muffled, Karen could hear the hubbub of activity, the sound of buses and trains and tinny indecipherable PA announcements.

“Zoe! What’s going on?” Karen whispered.

Zoe stopped and bent down to pretend to adjust her shoe, allowing her to lean right down to the suitcase. “Remember how I told you I hadn’t decided how I would pay you back for locking me in the trunk that day?”

A wicked gleam crept across Zoe’s face as she looked around the depot. “My dear little Karen, your adventure is just beginning.”

 

12.12.05