Chapter Eight

As Jessie found out the next morning, his confidence was justified.

“I held out for nearly ten minutes,” Angela said over the phone. “But he just kept hammering on the door until I gave in. I didn’t want the neighbours reporting me or calling the police.”
”And when you let him in?”
”I was a mess,” Angela admitted. “I’d been crying and I was feeling like shit, because I’d realised that you were right and I was trying to be as bad as he’d been. So I yanked the door open, ready to rip his handsome head off.”
”And?”
”And he just pulled me into his arms, shut the door behind him, and held me,” she said. “He held me for hours. He picked me up and carried me to a chair and sat down with me on his lap. And he patted my back and stroked my hair and hugged me and gave me his handkerchief.” Jessie said nothing. She was trying to picture Patrick doing all of that.

“And he listened while I talked about it all,” Angela went on. “I talked and cried so much last night my throat hurts today. Anyway, I wore myself out and dozed off on him. Can you believe that? I went to sleep on the man I’ve been hating for more than two years. He must have carried me into the bedroom, because when I woke up during the night, he’d taken my jeans off and he was lying in bed beside me, fast asleep, with his shoes and jeans on the floor.”
”What did you do?” Jessie asked.

“I went back to sleep,” Angela said. “And when I woke up this morning, he was frantically throwing his clothes on and racing out the door because he was late for the show. So much for romance.” She laughed, and somehow Jessie didn’t think she’d been all that offended.

The languid, casual, almost lazy King Dazzler had consistently exceeded the speed limit on the way back, doubling it in places, and had sprinted from the Institute car park to the back door of the studio at a speed that had Russ, the super-fit exercise Nazi staring, open-mouthed in amazement. Patrick was ripping his clothes off when he skidded into the dressing room, and spent an uncomfortable and frustrating few minutes trying to tug leather pants up over sweaty legs while Mim created new speed records for putting makeup on him.

When he raced out to the set, he was still zipping up his pants, his vest flapping open around his bare chest. With less than a minute to taping time, he delivered the anti-violence disclaimer while buttoning up the vest, to the enjoyment of every woman in the audience. In the last few seconds, catching his breath and laughing, he looked over at Daniel, who’d been working the audience on his own and been getting ready to take on both roles if he had to.

“Sorry Cat,” Patrick said. “You see, there was this woman.” While the audience laughed, Daniel shook his head.

“There always is,” he said.

They stayed for some time after the show, giving the audience the usual banter and fun then rather than at the start as they normally did, and they gave twice as many autographs as usual. As they headed back to the dressing room, Daniel rested his arm around Patrick’s shoulders in a gesture most people would have mistaken for friendly. It was only when they were out of sight of the audience that he tightened it around his neck. Patrick was grinning when he broke away.

“I really am sorry,” he said. “God, I should get a t-shirt that says that, so I can just point and stop saying it.”

“You’re going to be pointing for a while longer,” Daniel said, reaching out and messing up the blonde hair Mim had barely had a chance to tidy. Patrick was also sporting some designer stubble, because he hadn’t had time to shave. “But don’t worry. I did the briefing this morning. And I did your morning inspection duty. Oh, and did I mention that I did the duty roster as well?”

Patrick pretended to hang his head.

“Believe me, you are not as sorry as you’re going to be,” Daniel said, green eyes gleaming. “You are going to have some truly shitty jobs to do today, boyo. All of yours, AND all of mine. I, on the other hand, am about to take over from John, who’s been shadowing a touring university group of journalism and justice students.”
”Sure you’re up to it?” Patrick wryly. It was one of the easiest of their tasks, inconspicuously tailing the tourists, watching to make sure they didn’t do, touch or see anything they shouldn’t, and stepping in as tour guide only when necessary. It was a task normally allocated to a junior dazzler.

“I think I can handle it,” Daniel smiled sweetly.

“I was with Angie,” Patrick finally said, after they’d peeled off the leathers, given them to Mim, and were heading towards the showers.

“I guessed that,” Daniel said, knowing that the other man wanted him to ask him more. He wasn’t going to. He was still in payback mode.
”I just didn’t want you to think that Jessie had seen the light and upgraded from you to me,” Patrick added. He scored a long, cool look that had him laughing even before Daniel spoke.

“Not in this lifetime,” he said, with as much confidence in his tone as Patrick ever had in his.

………………

The last stop for the tour groups was always the studio. The university students were there now, and an argument was underway.

“Honestly, I don’t see what the big deal is,” said one of them, a small, young woman with a short, pixie-style haircut and an outfit that came straight from army surplus. “I mean, some of that other stuff we’ve seen is humiliating, I’ll grant you, but they’re all guilty and they all deserve punishment. But this - this ‘Shame Game’ thing, it’s just a show. All the women have to do is display their bodies to the public and get a few taps on the butt. Women have been doing it in Penthouse and Hustler for decades. And it’s not as if the female body is anything to be ashamed of.”

“These women don’t choose to show their bodies off to the public though,” the earnest boy who was arguing with her said. “And they’re not being paid, either. They’re being forced to do it. That can’t be easy.”
”Honestly, even the thought of a naked female addles your brain,” the girl retorted, drawing laughter from their companions. “I saw you trying not to look when we were going through that corridor.”

“Well, it was a bit much,” he said. Several of the other young men disagreed with him.

The girl shrugged. “You do the crime, you do the time,” she said.

“But did you see the looks on their faces?” the boy appealed.

“They had faces?” asked one of the others, causing more laughter. The young woman, sensing her audience slipping away, pulled the attention back.

“Take it from me, Brian. It’s just skin. And this show is just a put-on. No doubt about it.”

“You think?” a voice asked from the darkness of the rows of audience seats, and everyone turned instinctively towards it. The man who stood up from the seats and walked down the stairs towards them was dressed all in black, which made it even harder to see him as he approached. When the light finally illuminated his face, they all gasped, which meant Daniel had to swallow a grin. He strolled right through the middle of them, predictably inches taller than any of them.

“Hello,” he said. “I’m Daniel, and you’re?”
”Donna,” the girl said, straightening herself up to her full height, which placed her just below his shoulders. He nodded and looked at the boy.
”Brian, Mr Cat,” he responded, holding out his hand. Daniel shook it and smiled at him. Then he turned the smile on Donna.
”So you think it’s all a put-on?” he asked. She nodded firmly.

“Definitely,” she said. “Not even a particularly convincing one.” Daniel nodded, as if he were considering it. All around him, eyes were riveted to him, to his eyes, to his face, to his impressive body, to his butt, currently starring in well-fitting black jeans.

“In this day and age, nudity is not something that would ever concern a liberated woman,” Donna added.

“And you consider yourself a liberated woman, Donna?” Daniel asked. She looked offended at the mere thought that she might not be.

“Of COURSE I do!” she responded heatedly. The Cat was gorgeous, but he obviously wasn’t very bright.

“So you could, for example, whip off all your clothes right now, right here in front of everyone, without it bothering you?”

“I could,” she fired back. Her brain caught up with her mouth. “If I had something to gain from it, which I don’t.”
”Not even the opportunity to prove your point?” he challenged. There was laughter around him, and a smile on Brian’s face.

“A chance to put your money where your mouth is, Donna,” he said.

“To put your butt on the line,” another girl added, prompting more laughs. Donna knew she was losing ground and support, and she didn’t like it at all.

“Oh, honestly,” she said. “Yes, alright, I could do it.”

Daniel’s smile showed his teeth this time, and several of the young women around him caught their breath.

“How old are you, Donna?” he asked.

“I’m twenty-two,” she said. “Why?”
”May I see some identification?” he asked, holding out his hand. Muttering unspecified annoyances, she slid her license from her pocket-book and handed it over. He looked carefully at it, then at her.

“You look cuter with short hair,” he commented, noting the quick flush on her face. This was going to be so easy it was unfair. “And the rest of your friends? Who’s the youngest here?”
”That’d be me,” Brian admitted. “I’m twenty. Just turned twenty yesterday.”

“Okay, all legal then,” Daniel said. “So, Donna. First of all, you need to understand a few things. All people, no matter how liberated, have some reluctance to remove their clothes in public. Part of it stems from the need to be covered against the elements, that’s probably part of our genetic makeup, but part of it also stems from the modesty that’s instilled in us from a young age. Compliance with social norms means that parts of our bodies have to be covered in order for us to be considered respectable, fit to be associated with, and so on.”
”I know all this,” she said impatiently.

“Humour me,” he said. He pulled his console out of his jeans pocket as he was talking to her, and began pushing buttons. “For some reason, possibly because they’re smaller and less able to defend themselves, possibly because their private parts are more concealed than a man’s, possibly because they’re the ones who can be made pregnant, women generally have more modesty drummed into them than men. So, even the bravest and most exhibitionist woman will feel some understandable reluctance when it comes to completely baring her body in front of more than a thousand people in here, and a viewing population of several million people.”

”I don’t think…”
”I’m not finished,” he said pleasantly but firmly, his green eyes arrowing into her grey ones. She stopped talking – something she did very rarely. “Every day, the women in the Institute are given a shame pill to stimulate the parts of the frontal lobe that causes modesty and shame. On the morning when a woman is brought here, she is given a dose, along with an injection to prevent nausea, diarrhoea and fainting and another to inhibit the tendency to cry. She’s also given another tablet that stops her bladder from functioning for about an hour. We’ve had to stop the show a few times in the past when the experience has become too much for some of our guests, so these things have been developed to prevent that from occurring in future.”

“They piss themselves?” a young man asked. Daniel nodded. Donna didn’t look as though she believed him.

“Under stress, the body does some weird things,” Daniel said. “Anyway, the combination of all of that ensures that a stripper, or the toughest, baddest bitch to come onto this stage, would do anything, give anything, to be able to keep herself covered. And we bring her out here, under glaring studio lights, with an audience baying for skin. We expose every single inch of her, we throw the image up onto giant screens so no-one misses a thing, and we make sure that she can see a monitor that shows exactly what all of those millions of viewers are watching on their television screens.”

“That’s torture,” one woman said in a strangled voice.

“You’re right, it is,” Daniel agreed, sending her an approving look. “Mental and emotional, rather than physical, but torture nevertheless.”
”Oh crap!” Donna recovered her voice. “It’s just skin, people. I could do it right now, and it wouldn’t bother me at all.” Daniel smiled again. He knew it was youthful bravado speaking, but he couldn’t resist pushing to see how far she’d go.

“Everyone, would you like to move into the front row of seats?” he asked. “Donna, here’s your chance to star in your own little ‘Shame Game’ and test your hypothesis.” Donna didn’t even flinch.

“Fine,” she said. “Bring it on. And I want this taped, so I can prove it to the world.”

“You’re sure about that?” he asked her. She nodded. “Understand that you can back out at any time,” he said, loud enough for the others to hear as they left the stage.

“Oh yes, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” she said with another show of bravado. Daniel smiled enigmatically and took one step towards her. Without even thinking about it, she took one step back, annoyed as soon as she realised it; even more annoyed when she realised she couldn’t force herself to step back towards him to recover the ground.

Daniel made a show of pressing another button on the controller. Then he turned around. “Gentlemen,” he said, and two guards walked out from the back of the stage. Donna swallowed hard. “Escort Donna to the un-dressing room and help her to get ready, please.” One of the guards was stifling a smile as they flanked the young woman and pointed the way backstage.

“Now,” Daniel said, looking around. “What else? Oh, yes. Lights.” The spotlights came on, bright, then brighter still as they reached full power. He was now bathed in a white glare. “They’re hot as hell,” he told the students who were blinking in surprise, some of them grinning. “Don’t ever let anyone talk you into wearing black leather under spotlights. Now, we’ll need a few cameramen, and some of the technology.” As he spoke, two more men came down to the front and began flicking switches and shifting positions on the cameras that were stored to the left of the stage. For about ten minutes, all of the minutiae of a television studio was dealt with, the students settled in their seats and looked around, amazed. Many of them continued to look at Daniel, just as amazed.

“How did you get the nickname?” one of the female students called out. Daniel smiled at her.

“One of the first journalists to write about us said that I prowled around the stage like a big cat,” he said. “And it stuck. Those journalism students among you take note. If you ever come up with a nickname for someone, make it a good one.” He omitted to mention that the journalist has also extolled his grace, his speed, his eyes, his physical beauty and his sleek body.

“How long have you been doing the show?” asked Brian.
”Almost three years now,” he replied. “So I know enough about the technology to get myself into trouble.” A signal on the controller told him it was time for the next phase. What it specifically told him was that Donna was naked and the guards were waiting for their cue. So she was still sticking to her guns, it seemed.

“We’ll do without a floor manager this time,” he said. “But I feel that there’s one other thing I’m missing. It’s bugging me, even though I’m quite sure it’s something totally unimportant and insignificant.”
”Oh, very funny,” said Patrick, entering from backstage. The students laughed and applauded. He walked up beside Daniel and handed him a microphone. “We have the sound technicians pushing buttons upstairs,” he lied as they both hooked the mikes over their ears. “These won’t magnify our voices to you; they carry straight to the tape.”

“As you may have realised by now, I was using the console to call a few people,” Daniel explained. “And to open up the channel so Patrick could hear our conversation.” The two big screens flickered into life as the cameramen positioned themselves.

“All ready?” Patrick asked the small audience, who cheered in response. He flashed his megawatt smile at them and walked over to Daniel.

“How far do we go?” he asked quietly.
”Just enough to prove the point,” Daniel responded. “I thought she’d have backed out by now. She’s obviously going to take some convincing.”
”We have time,” Patrick shrugged. “And you can’t buy publicity like this with justice and journalism students. Let’s have some fun.”
”Not too much,” Daniel cautioned. “She’s only twenty-two.” He glanced over his shoulder at a small monitor that showed the backstage corridor. “And here she comes now.”
”Nice little bod,” Patrick commented. He laughed softly. “Note that she’s making a point of not covering up.” Donna did indeed have a nice body. She was slim, almost skinny around the waist and hips, but she had firm, mid-sized breasts and well shaped legs. She’d just spent an uncomfortable few minutes removing her clothing in front of two male guards, who’d taken every item of clothing, put it out of her reach, and had a very good look at her. But she was proving her point. That was carrying her through.

And then she turned the corner and saw the studio lights. Her step faltered, but a strong male hand on each shoulder kept her walking, right out onto the stage and into the glare of the spotlights. The audience, her fellow students, cheered, hooted and applauded, while she fought to keep her arms at her sides and her head high. Again, she swallowed hard when she saw Patrick standing beside Daniel. Two tall, muscular, handsome hosts were somehow much scarier than one.

“Well, what do we have here?” Patrick’s voice was silky as he approached her. “You’ve brought me a young, nubile wench, Cat. How nice of you.”

“You have to share,” Daniel reminded him, his voice deeper now as he got into role. “She’s mine too. And I found her first.”

“Oh stop it!” Donna said, not impressed. “And you two, get your hands off me. I can stand up on my own.” She caught a glimpse of herself in one of the big screens and paled as the guards stepped back. Patrick pretended to shudder.

“I do love it when they have spirit,” he said to Daniel. “It just makes it that much more fun.”

“You don’t scare me, you know,” Donna sneered.

“Then you’re not paying attention, sweetie,” Patrick smiled wickedly as the audience laughed. “Cat, can I have her first?”
”All yours, King,” Daniel said, but they both stepped towards her even as the guards retreated. The guards had been taller than her, but the two dazzlers, now on either side of her, made her look miniscule.

“She’s very small,” Daniel commented.

“Hardly worth the effort?” Patrick suggested. Daniel walked casually around Donna, making a point of having a thorough look at her bare bottom.
”No, I wouldn’t say that,” he said. He put his hands on her shoulders and spun her round, so the audience could see the back view as well. She didn’t have time to struggle before he’d spun her back again. That quick little display of strength unsettled her, and she watched him warily out of the side of her eye as he stalked away a few steps.

“Do you know the display position, little Donna?” Patrick asked.

“I do,” she said, having witnessed several women in it that morning. “Do you…do you want me to do it?” He smiled.

“That’s the general idea, pet,” he said sarcastically. Flushing, she lifted her hands to her neck and moved her feet apart. “Yummy,” he said, dragging the word out, bringing more laughter from the students. Daniel set the chair down. He was amazed that the girl had held out as long as she had.

“Nice tan lines,” Patrick commented, taking his turn in walking around her. Then he startled her by putting his hands on her waist from behind and drawing her backwards, making her walk awkwardly towards the chair. “Keep your hands where they are, Donna,” he said. “Everyone likes to be able to see as much as possible, after all. There – turn your head and have a look at the screens and see just how much they can see, sweetie.” Now bent over his lap, Donna did so, and the flush in her face faded to pale. Patrick looked up at Daniel. “How many, Cat?”

“Twenty,” he said. “She’s not really a criminal, remember?”
”She insulted my show,” Patrick disagreed. “For that alone, she deserves a hundred.” He laughed as Donna stiffened on his lap. “Only joking, pet,” he said. And then he brought his hand down in a loud, stinging, but not hard spank that had her protesting immediately. One hand on the small of her back, he held her easily as he delivered the rest, and the audience was treated to the sight of Donna wriggling, kicking her legs, and protesting the indignity. Patrick was too skilled at this to actually inflict pain, but he made sure he covered every part of her bare backside.

Daniel walked over as the twentieth spank landed, and he didn’t even wait for her to stand up. He just put his hands on her waist, scooped her up off Patrick’s lap, spun her round as soon as her toes touched the floor, and threw her over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” Donna protested loudly, unsettled as much by how far it was to the floor as she was by the continuing indignity. Again, she caught sight of herself in the screens, and was instinctively shocked to see that more than just her bottom was being displayed to her friends and fellow students. She reached back with one hand.

“Settle down,” Daniel said, brushing the hand away. “You’ll be showing a lot more soon, Donna.” He flipped her onto her back on the bench, and bent to quickly secure her wrists. “I’m not going to put the collar on you, little one,” he said. “It makes you feel much more helpless, and I like you feisty.” That was enough to put a bit of steel into Donna’s spine, and even when he lifted her feet, then her legs, holding them straight up, she managed to keep breathing steadily, if a little faster than normal. Her bottom stung from Patrick’s ministrations, and she had a hard lump in her stomach that was making her question the wisdom of her actions. But she was still holding it together…just.

Daniel looked down at her face, then, very deliberately, down at what only he could see, with her legs drawn right up. He didn’t want to do this bit. So far, she’d shown only what she’d show if she went to one of the many nudist beaches in the area. If he put those Velcro straps on her ankles and drew them apart, it would be a different story entirely.

“Want me to tell you what comes next?” he asked quietly. He looked down again, a low, insolent look as he drew her feet apart, just slightly. She looked resolutely up at the monitor above her head, seeing one of the images that was going out on the screen. Then she looked at Daniel,

so tall, so unbelievably good-looking. He was stroking his fingers down the back of her calves. He smiled, the teeth-bared smile that had contributed so much to the fame of ‘The Cat’. Donna finally came to her senses.

“Stop!” she said, tears springing to her eyes. Daniel nodded, and the spotlights died immediately, along with all noise from the students. In semi-darkness, Donna felt her legs lowered. Patrick was freeing her wrists at the same time.

“It’s okay,” Daniel said. He helped her up into a seated position on the bench, one arm wrapped around her.

“That’s horrible,” she sniffed. “You shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”

“You’re not the first person to tell us that,” Patrick said, sitting down on the other side of her. She put her hands over her face.

“I can’t believe I volunteered,” she said.

“Insisted,” Brian corrected. He’d walked up from the audience. A few other students were trailing behind him. Daniel pulled his t-shirt off and tugged it over Donna’s head. She slipped her arms into the sleeves, then turned into his bare shoulder. If it was incongruous that she was now seeking comfort from the person responsible for what had just happened, it didn’t seem to matter, and when Daniel picked her up and cradled her on his lap, she burrowed closer.

“Oh, it was all just a clever ploy to get close to the Cat,” Patrick commented, drawing laughter from the now tense students. Several of them were feeling ill at the thought of how they’d been cheering and laughing. Even if she had insisted on doing this, Donna was one of their own.
”You’re a brave girl,” Daniel said quietly, holding her close. “With the courage of your convictions.”

“Foolhardy,” she hiccupped. “Don’t patronise me.” He laughed and patted her back.

“I’d better get back to the Institute,” Patrick said, standing up. “Are you going to let that girl get dressed, Daniel, or do you intend to cuddle her all day?”
”I could think of worse things,” Daniel said. “But yes, I’ll let her get dressed. That was Patrick’s unsubtle way of telling me to get back to work, by the way.” He stood up, Donna in his arms, and walked towards the corridor.

“Can we destroy the tape?” she asked as he walked. He smiled down at her.

“There never was a tape, honey,” he assured her, and looking into those green eyes that had looked so hard and unfeeling before, she knew he was telling the truth.

Rather than heading straight back to work, Patrick hung around in the dressing-room while Daniel made sure that Donna was alright, that the guards didn’t tease her while she was getting dressed, and that he got his t-shirt back. He came into the dressing room holding it in one hand.

“She okay?” Patrick asked. He nodded, half-smiling.

“She’s already insisting that she could have done it all, she just chose not to,” he said. “And was being feted as a hero by the other students, I might add.”
”Well, she survived an attack by The Cat and King Dazzler,” Patrick pointed out, straight-faced.

“So, are you visiting Jessie tonight?”

“I am,” Daniel said.
”Hmmm,” Patrick said. He walked over to the make-up table and picked up a pot of something, tossing it from hand to hand. “There’s nothing major happening here tonight, is there?”
”Nothing Russ or Eric can’t handle,” Daniel said. “Planning to visit Angela?”

“I am,” Patrick echoed his words with a grin.

“She still punishing you?” Daniel asked. “Is that why you were late?”
”She’s stopped punishing me now,” he replied. “She was planning another attack on my ego, not to mention my body, but your Jessie talked her out of it.”
”Why did she do that?” Daniel managed to sound disappointed. Then he matched Patrick’s grin. “She’s a good woman.”

“She is,” Patrick agreed. “How serious are you about her?”
”I’m going to marry her.” Patrick dropped the tub with a clatter on the counter.

“Marry her?” he repeated. Daniel nodded.

“She doesn’t know it yet. But yeah, I’m going to marry her.”
”Dear heaven,” Patrick said, blinking. Then he smiled, a wide, genuine smile. “That’s going to make things very complicated, but…that’s great, Daniel.” He held out his hand and Daniel put his into it. Patrick looked at their linked hands.

“Oh, what the hell are we doing?” he laughed, and tugged him closer, into a tight hug, their arms around each other.

They only held each other briefly, but it was long enough for Donna, walking in unannounced, looking for a photograph souvenir of the experience she had already almost managed to reframe as a triumph on her part, to gape, then raise her camera to her eye and snap off two quick pictures. Then, as they turned to look at her, she eschewed her usual ‘stand and fight’ position and turned tail and ran. Daniel burst out laughing.

“Are you going to chase her?” Patrick asked.

“Can’t be bothered,” Daniel said. “What about you?”
”I had enough exercise this morning,” Patrick replied. “She can have her pictures.” Daniel pulled his t-shirt on, and they went back to work.

………………………….

When Jessie opened the door to Daniel that afternoon, he scooped her straight up into a full-body hug, turning around on the top step with her legs swinging out. She laughed delightedly, and kissed him.

“Where’s your car?” she asked as he carried her in and kicked the door shut.

“Patrick dropped me here,” he said. “He’s gone on to Angela’s. Enough about them. Tell me everything. What’s been happening with you? Have you started the suit against the School Board? Why are you dressed?”

“Let me guess which one of those is most important to you,” she said, still laughing.

“I have my reasons for asking that last question,” he admitted, setting her on her feet.

“I’ll just bet you do,” she said. He smiled, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a slim black leather case.

“What’s tha… No! Daniel, no!” she took off, and he let her go a few steps before he chased her, caught her, and carried her, wriggling and trying to protest between laughs, into the bedroom.

He dropped her gently onto the bed, and dived after her when she tried to scramble off the other side.

“Uh uh,” he shook his head, grinning. “You, Jessie Porter, are about to be played with by The Cat.”

“I don’t like The Cat,” Jessie protested.
”You don’t?” his eyebrows went up. She shook her head.

“He’s sexy and funny, but he’s scary, too,” she said. She smiled. ”But I love Daniel,” she finally admitted. His returning smile was slow and beautiful to see.

“We’ll lock The Cat up for the night then,” he said. He kissed her lips softly. Then he grinned. “But the brushes stay out.”

Angela arrived as Daniel left the next day.

“Damn, you’re dressed,” she commented as she passed him in the doorway.

“Just what I was thinking,” he returned, bending to kiss her cheek on the way past. She watched him run down the stairs to where Patrick was waiting in the car.
”Grade A butt!” she called. He grinned back as he opened the car door.

“You’re up early,” Jessie said, bleary-eyed and dressed in mismatched sweat pants and top.

“I had no choice,” Angela said. “Patrick had to wake up for that horrible show. And he woke me up too.” She smiled in a very meaningful way.

“Ohhhhh,” Jessie said. “That sort of wake-up, was it?” Since she’d had one of those wake-ups herself, she had no difficulty in interpreting the look on Angela’s face. “So I take it he didn’t just hold you and sleep innocently beside you last night.”

“You may take it that way,” Angela said airily. She made it as far as the kitchen, on a search and consume mission for coffee, before the overwhelming desire to share her news made her spin round with a broad smile.

“God, I feel like he took a warm, soft stamp and just left his mark all over me,” she said. “Everywhere. It was the most sensuous, most complete, most romantic experience of my life.” Her voice actually broke as she finished that. Jessie thought about mentioning the brushes, but decided against it. Angela was talking romantic. Daniel’s application of the brushes hadn’t been romantic. It had been uncomfortable and endless, and unbelievably erotic - particularly the loving, teasing look in those green eyes of his as she struggled and begged and laughed under his skilful application.

In the interests of fairness, he’d grudgingly given her equal time to retaliate, and she’d enjoyed herself immensely applying all of his soft, nasty little brushes to his most ticklish parts. Especially after she’d convinced him to let her tie his hands to the headboard with some scarves. She shivered just a little at the pleasure of that particular memory. She dragged herself back to Angela. She was interested in this, too.

“That good?” she said encouragingly. Angela groaned and pretended to fold at the knees.
”You know, I used to think that the Institute had ruined me for any decent man,” she said. “But I can honestly say that one night with Patrick has ruined me for ANY man. Well, one night and one morning.”

“Hmmm, I’m trying to remember some of the detail questions you asked me,” Jessie teased. “Like, ‘which of these words describes him as a lover?’”

“All of them,” Angela replied promptly. “All of those and hundreds more.”
”And longevity?” Another mock collapse at the knees.

“He made love to me for ninety minutes,” she confided. “Ninety minutes!”
”How many times was that?” Jessie asked, knowing it was tacky, but enjoying herself anyway.

“Once,” Angela said, beaming. “He took ninety minutes to build up to it and do it the first time.”
”Oh very good,” Jessie approved. “He definitely earns points for that.”

“To think of those two ten minute screws he put me though in the Institute,” Angela shook her head while she flicked the coffee machine on. “Criminal, that’s what those were, once you know just what he’s capable of.” Jessie was stunned to hear Angela talking about her experiences in the Shame Institute like that, and her surprise must have shown on her face. Angela looked at her and shrugged.

“I know,” she said. “And I’m not pretending that I’m over it. I honestly don’t think I ever will be completely, but I have to say that I’m feeling a lot better about things, about life in general.” She sighed. “There’s definitely something to be said for the therapeutic effects of mind-blowing, record-breaking sex.”

“With a mind-blowing, drop-dead handsome man,” Jessie agreed, a smile spreading on her face.

“Oh yeah,” Angela agreed, smiling back. Jessie got the whole story out of her over coffee.

Patrick had arrived at her door, dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, with a box of expensive Swiss chocolates in one hand and a smile on his face.

“Can I come in?” he’d asked.

“Only because you brought chocolate,” Angela had said, opening the door and stepping back, noticing again as he went past just how tall he was. It always disconcerted her, because she wasn’t short, but he made her feel little. “Normally, I wouldn’t let you in the door when I’m writing.” He’d put the chocolates down on her coffee table and turned around. Angela was waiting for his reply when he put his hands on her arms, stepped closer, bent down and kissed her.

“Oh, that man can kiss,” Angela said, moving out of the narrative to drool for a little while.

“I know,” Jessie said without thinking. She recovered quickly, not wanting Angela to know that she had first hand experience. “I saw him kiss you the day before yesterday, remember?” Angela scoffed.

“That was nothing compared to this,” she said. “He just does stuff, I can’t explain it, but within minutes, I was just about climbing up him. But he wouldn’t let me.”
”He wouldn’t?” Jessie asked. Angela shook her head.

“No. He sat me down on the sofa, opened the chocolates and sat down beside me. And then he fed me chocolates. And after every one, he kissed me again. He said he was sampling the flavours.”

“Ohhhh,” Jessie could imagine that. In fact, she was giving serious consideration to buying a box of chocolates before Daniel visited next time.

“Anyway, eventually I was feeling so stuffed full of chocolates and so tingly from his kisses that I stood up – climbed off his lap by that point, actually, and went into the kitchen. I don’t know how I walked, because my legs felt very funny, but I wanted to make some coffee. And he followed me.”
”And?”
”And kissed me some more,” Angela smiled. “It took forever to make that coffee. And then we took it back to the sofa, where…”
”Let me guess,” Jessie grinned. “He kissed you some more?”
”Gee, how did you work that out?” Angela said. “For hours, Jessie. Well, maybe for an hour, he just kissed me and kissed me. We never did get to drink that coffee. I forgot it about the time I started unbuttoning his shirt and running my hands all over his chest while trying not to break contact with his lips.”

“Tricky move that,” Jessie empathised.

“Very. He didn’t stop me from doing it, but at one point, he moved back and said ‘You want to talk for a while?’, and I told him no, and tried to drag him back again. And then he said ‘Are you sure you don’t want to? I don’t mind listening. Honestly, I’m all ears’, at which point I plastered myself to him and started kissing him myself.”
“What did he do?” Jessie asked, smiling. Honestly, the man was an incorrigible tease.
”He laughed and kissed me back,” Angela said. “And then he slid a hand up under my t-shirt and undid my bra. And he actually asked me if I minded if he took my shirt off.” Angela sighed. “By then, I’d have done him on the front doorstep if he’d asked.”

”You always have had a romantic soul.”

“I know. It’s such a trial to me. Anyway, more kissing, lots more kissing, not all of it focused on the mouth, and then I noticed that his jeans appeared to be quite tight at the front, and…well, you don’t need the rest of the details.”
”You made it to the bedroom?”
”Amazingly enough,” Angela said, grinning. “And I was expecting a quickie, hopefully followed by a longer session, because he was so hard it had to be difficult for him to hold back, but…”
”Not quick,” Jessie said. Angela moaned.

“God no,” she said. “He has such patience, and his mouth is…and such good hands, and…” she groaned and put a cushion over her face. “And that body!” Jessie laughed.

“For a writer, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with words,” she said.
”You think I’m bad now. I was completely incoherent last night,” Angela said. “He was saying all of these clever things about how I looked and felt, and I was having to concentrate hard to remember how to breathe!”

“Clever things or nice things?” Jessie asked. She liked Patrick, but wasn’t inclined to trust him completely, particularly not with her friend, who’d been bruised enough.

“Lovely things,” Angela admitted. She sniffed. “Such lovely things. Although he teased me about my red hair, you know, down there.”
”Teased you?” Jessie repeated. “Patrick? Dear me, how out of character.” Angela laughed and swung the cushion at her.

“He wants me to go back to being a redhead,” she said. “He said he likes my hair this way, but he thinks I’m meant to be a redhead and I should go with my nature.”

“One night and he’s trying to change you already,” Jessie shook her head, indulging in some teasing of her own.

“One night and he HAS changed me already,” Angela amended. She stretched. “It hurts to move, Jessie, and oh God, it feels good.”

…………………

The next morning, having spent most of the night talking and drinking, to the point where Angela abandoned plans to go home and just spent the night in Jessie’s spare bedroom, they woke up to a surprise on the doorstep. Well Jessie did. Angela woke up to it being brought into her in bed, with breakfast on a tray.

“A couple of people we know are in the paper,” Jessie commented, trying to keep a straight face.
”They are?” Angela asked, reaching for the neatly folded paper under Jessie’s arm. She opened it up, already folded to the correct page, and gave a shout of laughter. Donna, the journalism student, may have lost the bout with Daniel, but she took a good photograph. Right in the centre of the page was a large print of the two men embracing, Daniel bare-chested, their arms wrapped tightly around each other. The headline read “Say It Ain’t So!”

“There’s a story behind this,” Angela said, chuckling.
”Read the story that’s there,” Jessie recommended, so Angela did – aloud.

“Normally a picture of The Cat without his shirt would be cause for celebration for the female half of the population. But not in this photo, in which he and King Dazzler are engaged in an extremely friendly embrace. Body Language experts who have examined that photograph claim that the placement of hands (King Dazzler’s are palm down, flat out on the bare skin of The Cat’s back; The Cat’s left hand is perilously close to King Dazzler’s butt!) argues a degree of closeness, even intimacy, that might put paid to the dreams of many little (and not so little) girls around the country.

It’s hard to imagine that The Cat, or “testosterone on legs”, as he has been referred to, could be anything other than the lady-killer he has been portrayed as over the three years of the phenomenon that is ‘The Shame Game’. His prowling, growling, dangerously smiling presence on the show is a huge drawcard. King Dazzler, for all that he is six feet two and built, is easier to consider as a new member of the “Queer Eye” team, with his occasional mince about the stage.

For three years, people have been saying that King Dazzler and The Cat were too good-looking to be straight. I for one, sincerely hope they’re wrong!”

Angela was almost screaming with laughter by the time she finished reading the article, and Jessie, also laughing, had to put the tray down before she spilled the orange juice. The story aired several times on the radio during the day, with speculation running rife on talkback programs in particular. Opinion seemed to be split two ways: one, that those boys always were too pretty, and two, that it was that King Dazzler one who was the gay – you could see in the photo that The Cat was actually fighting him off.

Daniel rang that afternoon to confirm that they were visiting later.

“Ah, the pinup boy,” Jessie had teased. “Having a good day?”

“Don’t ask,” Daniel groaned, but he was laughing – just.

When the Jaguar turned into Jessie’s driveway, Angela opened the door and watched them get out.

“And here he comes, mincing up the path,” she said.
”Please do go on,” Patrick said wearily. “I mean, it’s not as if I haven’t been ribbed about that every two minutes for the entire day, after all.”

“Poor baby,” Angela said, smiling but sympathetic. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he stepped up towards her. “Anything I can do to help?” she asked suggestively.
”I’m feeling better already,” he said, kissing her hard, right there on the doorstep. His hands claimed her backside. “Oh yeah. Feeling much better.” Daniel cleared his throat behind him.

“Molest the woman inside the house,” he said. “Or at least move to one side so I can molest Jessie at the same time.”

“Always thinking of himself,” Patrick complained, but he backed Angela up anyway, smiling at Jessie as she edged past them and welcomed Daniel with a hug.

“I didn’t think you’d want me back now you know my dreadful secret,” Patrick said.

“Honey, after last night, you could have come hopping up the path dressed like the Easter Bunny and I would still have opened the door,” Angela said. He grinned.

“I had that outfit ready to wear, but Daniel talked me out of it,” he said. He swung her up off her feet and carried her over to the sofa, sitting down with her on his lap. “Feeling even better now,” he said, kissing her.

“I could have sworn this was your house,” Daniel commented to Jessie.

“I don’t mind sharing,” she smiled at him.

“As long as it’s clear that the bedroom is ours,” he said, shutting the door and kissing her just as thoroughly as Patrick was kissing Angela.

“Shouldn’t there be a drive-in movie playing while we’re steaming up the windows like this?” Patrick asked. “Not that I have any objection to necking all night, of course.”
”Why do we need a movie when we have the best show in town right here?” Jessie dimpled. “All we have to do is turn on the news and I’m sure we’ll hear all about the questionable sexuality of the two hosts of ‘The Shame Game’.” One of them was currently kissing her neck, which made talking difficult.

“I just don’t believe the injustice of it,” Patrick complained. “He was the shirtless one, his hand was almost on my butt, but somehow I was the aggressor in this hot and heavy romance we’re supposed to be having.” He sighed.

“Women just don’t want to believe that The Cat’s gay,” Jessie pointed out, making a half-hearted attempt to wriggle out of Daniel’s arms.
”But it’s okay if I am?” Patrick said.

“No,” Angela assured him. “Definitely not. So – been plagued by the press all day?”
”Non-stop,” Patrick answered her. “Apparently, there’s a major magazine article coming out.”
”Poor choice of words,” Daniel said, leading Jessie over to sit down on the chair. He sank down on the floor in front of her and leaned back against her. “Our sexuality is going to be dissected in great detail. Ex-girlfriends are being interviewed and psychologists are being consulted as to whether our ‘conflicted feelings towards women’ contribute to the ease with which we do our jobs.”

“Sounds like a top read,” Angela commented. She tried to ease herself off Patrick’s lap onto the sofa beside him, but he held her where she was.

“Jake has been really thrilled about it,” Daniel said.

“Oh yeah,” Patrick agreed. “Couldn’t be happier to have his front men now featuring as newspaper fodder for all the wrong reasons.”
”You don’t seem all that concerned about it yourself,” Jessie pointed out. He grinned.

“Why would we be? We know we’re not having a love affair.” He kissed Angela on the nose. “At least, not with each other.”

“You’ll be gay pin-ups now,” Jessie added.

“We’ve been gay pin-ups for years,” Daniel assured her, tilting his head up to smile at her.

“There is only room for one king-sized ego in this room,” Angela commented, shaking her head at him. “And Patrick has the title, remember?”

“So what is Jake doing about it?” Jessie asked.

“Apart from ranting and raving?” Patrick asked. “He’s considering letting us co-operate with the magazine. He also very unsubtly suggested that we ask one of the women in our lives to take part as well. Stop trying to get off my lap, woman. I’m not letting you go. I’ve had a horrible day and I need to cuddle you.” Angela laughed and gave up.
”He knows about us?” Jessie asked, surprised.

“He always seems to know everything,” Daniel said. “He didn’t mention names, but there is no doubt he knows about you, at least.”

“And he wants ME to take part in the magazine interview?” she squeaked. “I’d be too scared to say anything.”
”I’ve never seen you scared of anything,” Patrick said.
”I was scared of him,” Jessie said, pointing at Daniel. “And, although it pains me to admit it, I was scared of you as well.” He smiled.

“There was never any need to be, as long as you were outside of the Institute,” he said. He stroked Angela’s hair as he spoke. “I’m only a bastard to the prisoners.”

“I could deal with any questions about Daniel, but I’d be worried that they’d ask me questions about the Institute itself,” Jessie went on.

“You could answer questions about that if you had to,” Daniel said.

“No, I don’t feel qualified to talk about it,” she argued. “There are so many parts of it I don’t know anything about.”
”Like what?” Patrick asked. She thought about it.

“Well, like what happens once the women arrive from the Display Yard,” she said. She stopped and looked at Angela. “Is this upsetting you?” Angela shook her head.

”If it does, I’ll say so,” she said. “From memory, once you arrive, you’re assigned to a particular dazzler.” Patrick nodded.

“We assign dazzlers to prisoners as soon as we know who’s coming on each day,” he said.

“Had you assigned one to me?” Jessie asked, curious. Daniel tilted his head back, grinned and waved at her. “No!” she said, horrified. He nodded.

“Yes,” he said. Jessie shut her eyes for an instant and let herself remember how scared she’d been of The Cat.

“I’d have died on the spot,” she said.

“I’ve had medical training, I’d have revived you,” he said, still grinning.

“Why was I going to get you?” she asked. “What had I done to deserve one of the top two? Do you do that often?” Daniel shook his head.

“I haven’t taken a new arrival for more than two years,” he said. “And neither has Patrick. But Jake was concerned about you, so he asked one of us to get directly involved in making the assessment.”
”And Daniel saw your photo and volunteered,” Patrick said. “Very quickly, I might add.”

“Assessment?” Jessie asked, deciding it was better to move on. Patrick took up the conversational baton this time.
”After we’ve told them about the points system, impressed upon them the need for obedience, spelled out the consequences if they’re not, all of that sort of stuff…”
”I remember that bit clearly,” Angela interrupted him. “There were three of us, and we were standing there, naked, while one of the dazzlers seemed to drone on and on forever. And then you strutted in,” she nodded to Patrick, who looked offended.

“Strutted?” he repeated.

“He does that a lot,” Daniel said.

“I do not!” Patrick said. “I stroll, I stride, I may even saunter occasionally, but I do NOT strut. OR mince.”
”You strut,” Daniel disagreed.

“Was it me who was, gee, what’s the word? Oh, I know - strutting about in four inch heeled- boots a few weeks ago?”
”Coming dangerously close to hitting my head on the overhead lights,” Daniel growled. “It’s not like I asked for them. With the makeup, the leather and those things, I looked like I was trying out for a part in a KISS revival. And I wasn’t strutting. I was staggering.”

“Patrick strutted in,” Angela said to Jessie, ignoring them. “And wandered down the line, surveying us all like the lord of the manor. And this woman beside me said ‘Oh good. There you are. Look, I’d really prefer it if you were the only one I had anything to do with, King Dazzler.” Or words to that effect.” Jessie stared, and Patrick and Daniel both grinned.

“Hard though it is to believe, that’s actually happened a few times,” Patrick said. “Women assuming that they can just order up whichever one of us they want. There was one woman, who on her first night, told a dazzler to go fetch The Cat. She said she’d like his company for the night. That’s how she put it.”

“Did you go?” Angela asked. Daniel shook his head.

“Not that night, not any night,” he said. “But she was a very popular girl with lots of the others.”

Jessie cleared her throat.

“Back to the assessment,” she reminded them. Patrick continued.

“After all of that has occurred, always with no strutting involved,” he added for Angela’s benefit. “The assigned dazzlers take the women off to individual cells to assess them, emotionally and physically. They engage them in conversation about how they felt about going through the Display Yard, the admission procedures. They ask them questions about how they’re going to cope with the month, that sort of thing. And while they’re doing that, they inspect their bodies, front and back and all places in between.”
”And offer them ten points to have sex with them,” Angela finished. Jessie froze and turned to face her fully.

“After they’ve gone through so much already, they force them to have sex with them?” she asked, horrified.

“Not force,” Angela said. “They offer them points. Straight after the big talk about how important it is to get three hundred points, and straight after they’ve had their hands all over them.” She was using the word ‘them’, Jessie was pleased to note.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a refusal at that point, has there?” Daniel asked Patrick, who shook his head. Jessie looked at Daniel.

“Would you have made me have sex with you?” she asked. He pulled a face.

“I’d have offered you points,” he admitted. “And yes, I’d have had sex with you. But I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.” Patrick coughed.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Jessie said. “Just like you didn’t enjoy it with all of the other women in the Institute.”

“I haven’t had sex with an inmate of the Institute in more than two years,” Daniel said simply. Both women looked stunned. Angela looked at Patrick.

“I can’t say the same,” he said honestly. “But I can say I haven’t for some time, and I won’t in future.” He sounded sincere, and from Patrick, that was a big promise. Angela almost smiled.

Jessie wasn’t smiling.

“What about Sienna Mallow?” she demanded.

“You watched that show?” Daniel asked, surprised. She shook her head.

“Jake showed me part of an episode – the one where you demanded thirty points to have sex with her.”
”I wonder why he showed you that,” Daniel said, shaking his head. He sighed.
”So you have had sex with an inmate in the last two years,” Jessie said, wishing she wasn’t proving him a liar on this point. Perhaps he’d just forgotten? Yeah, right.

“Tell me, Jessie, did you actually SEE me having sex with Sienna?” he asked. Jessie thought about it.

“No, because you turned the lights off. And they stayed off for forty minutes,” she remembered.

“There was a reason why I turned the lights off,” he said. “Scoring all sorts of lectures from Jake later, I might add.”
”Of course there was,” Jessie said. “You didn’t want to be filmed having sex.”

“Do I seem the shy type to you?” Daniel asked with a grin.

“No, but no-one would willingly be filmed having sex for a television show,” she said. It was Patrick’s turn to raise his hand and wave it. Of course. He’d done exactly that, even if he had been sitting down on a chair with nothing on show, just as the dazzlers always did it. All of the other dazzlers had been filmed having sex with Sienna as well.

“So, why?” Jessie asked Daniel.

“I turned off the lights and I turned off my microphone and I lay down beside her and held her for forty minutes,” he admitted. “And we talked about what life was like outside of the Institute, and what she was going to do when she got out, and I apologised for being so mean to her on the show, and patted her back and stroked her hair until she went to sleep. With a smile on her face.”

”You ticked her card to show you’d had her,” Patrick said, eyes gleaming. “You lying bastard.” Daniel shrugged.

“She paid thirty points for the privilege of a hug and a chat,” he said. “The least I could do was let her get onto the damned ‘Carlton Show’.”

“Where she said you were the best lover she’d ever had,” Patrick added, laughing.

“You didn’t know he’d only pretended?” Angela asked him. Patrick shook his head.
”I know he hasn’t had sex with them for some time, but I thought he’d made an exception in Sienna’s case. He did make an exception once before, just over two years ago. He’d stopped having sex with the inmates before that, but there was one he broke the pattern for.”
”Elmer…El something,” Daniel said. “I’m so bad with names.” He looked at Jessie. “She was a little woman, not just height-wise, but in terms of her figure. She was pretty, but in that almost boyish way, slim hips, hardly any breasts, and none of the dazzlers had ticked her card. With all of the lusher bodies around, they weren’t approaching her, and she was getting desperate in terms of points. So, yeah, I made an exception. Strange though it seems, the other dazzlers tend to follow where Patrick or I lead, so I thought I’d lead.”

“Of course, he didn’t mention this to me,” Patrick said. “And I’d had the same thought about the woman. I didn’t bother to check her card, because no-one had been near her in over a week, and I…how did you put it, Daniel? ‘made an exception’ with her as well. The next night.”

“And then the rest of them saw that we’d both visited her,” Daniel said. “And her dance card was completely full by the end of her stay. And she made it onto Carlton’s show.”
”Where she also said you were the best lover of all of us,” Patrick finished bitterly. Daniel laughed.

Jessie turned to share a meaningful look with Angela and saw that her friend was looking at the floor.

“Angie?” she asked, using the shortened name without even thinking. Patrick tightened his arms around her immediately.

“What’s wrong, babe?” he asked. “All this talk too much for you?”
”Just the talk of ‘being had’, I guess,” she admitted. “Brings it back a bit. I said no to almost all of them, but I said yes to a couple of them. When I think about it, I feel like such a slut.”
”Why?” Daniel demanded. “The place is set up to encourage you to have sex with the dazzlers. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t earn enough points, which would just be silly. And you’re not silly.”
”I had sex with one man who didn’t give me points,” Angela pointed out. “Twice.” Patrick sighed.

“If that’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine,” he said.

“I know,” she said. He smiled ruefully and ran his fingers through her short, soft hair.
”And if anybody is a slut among us,” he said. “I’m afraid you’re all going to have to take a number and stand a loooong way behind me.”

“I’d like to hear your take on the experience, Angela,” Daniel said. “Not on sex with Patrick, I don’t want to know about that, but on the whole Institute experience.” Patrick was shaking his head.
”It’s not a bad idea,” Angela said after a short silence. “Really, it isn’t, Patrick. I’d like to give you both some idea of the experience. I’ve thought about it lately, particularly in the last few days. But I need two things.” Patrick raised his eyebrows.

“I need to not talk about it in the first person,” she said. “And I need you to let me get off your lap, Hercules.” He grinned and let her get up. She settled herself down on the sofa, his arm around her.

“Okay,” she said. “To make this real for you, I’m going to change some things. Daniel, what’s the most important thing in your life?”
”Jessie,” he said without thinking. Angela nodded.

“Good answer,” she said. “What if, in order to impress Jessie, or to make sure that you were never going to lose her, you did something that you knew was illegal. No, don’t answer yet. You knew it was wrong, but you believed that if you didn’t do it, you were going to lose her. And you got caught. By getting caught, what you most feared happened. Jessie would have nothing to do with you.”

“I’m not liking this already,” he said.
”No, I didn’t like it either,” Angela said. “So, before the punishment even starts, you’ve lost the thing that matters most to you, and you have no hope of ever regaining it. Then, you’re put into a special place, where the sole aim of everyone concerned is to humiliate you, degrade you and shame you, and remind of what you’ve lost. Even though you are already feeling like dirt.”
”I have an objection,” Patrick said.
”Your objection is that most of the women who go into the Institute feel no remorse?” Angela guessed. He nodded. “I’ll get to that,” she said. “So anyway, you arrive. They’ve taken all of your clothes and they’ve put you in something that makes you look ridiculous. Maybe a pink tulle tutu and ballet slippers.” Patrick’s lips tightened as he bit back a smile.

“When you get out of the truck they’ve transported you in, you have to run through some crowds, the tutu bouncing about, and all of your bits bouncing about under it. People are taking photographs of you and calling out cutting comments about your legs, about how different you look to the way you did when you were in leather.”

“It’d be a lot cooler than that damned leather,” Daniel said unwisely. Jessie cut a look at him and he mouthed a silent apology at Angela.

“You can imagine the Chute experience for yourself,” she said. “People on both sides, laughing and jeering and doing everything but baying for your blood as you go up there, embarrassed, your genitals hanging down below the silly tutu. And when you get inside, there is a pack of men waiting for you.”
”Men, for us?” Patrick queried. She nodded.

“Gay men, big, muscular, aggressive gay men, in fact. And they look at you with such lust in their eyes, and there’s not a thing you can do about it when they tie you up and start playing with your body.” Daniel shifted in his seat. “They’re not just running their hands all over you, either. They’re kissing you, exposing you to the crowd outside, and tormenting you with words. Things like ‘I wonder what Jessie would think if she could see you now, Danny boy’, and “Not so tough now, are you Patty?” and things of that nature.”

She took some time to pour herself a glass of water from the jug on the coffee table and to have a drink from it.

“We’ll skip over the admissions procedures and the Display Yard, because I can’t bring myself to even think about them, and we’ll put you right in the Institute, in a glass room, where you have no privacy, not one second of privacy, for twenty-four hours a day.” Jessie thought about all of the times Angela locked herself away to think, to write, to just dream, and her heart went out to her. She reached across Daniel, across the table and squeezed her hand.

“You shower, sleep, eat, clean your teeth, go to the toilet, scratch, burp and yawn with the knowledge that someone is always watching you, sometimes lots of people at once,” she said.

“During the day, they take you out and, I don’t know, make you wear little girl’s clothes, frilly things that leave your dicks hanging out, and lacy socks and mary-janes, maybe bonnets, and silly makeup on your face and ribbons in your hair. And they parade you in front of thousands of people who laugh at you and take photographs of you, to make sure that no-one ever forgets how stupid you looked. And at night, they bring in people from your past, people you dislike or fear, and they tell you that you have to do whatever those people want, or else they’ll make the whole experience last twice as long. And all those people want to do is hurt you, degrade you and humiliate you some more.” She took another drink of water. There was total silence in the room.

“Sometimes, the guards come to your room as well. They’re all very handsome, and even though you’ve always been the sort of person to keep control over your own body, to not sleep around, when they offer you points to give yourself to them, you’re tempted, because you’ll do just about anything to not have this hell extended. So sometimes, occasionally, you agree, and they don’t even give you the courtesy of being friendly or polite. They just undo what they need to and then smile smugly while you make even more of an idiot of yourself trying to please them. Some of them…” She paused for a second. “Some of them don’t even offer you points. But they’re so good-looking, and they give you just a hint of friendship, of human interaction, and you’re desperate for someone to treat you like a person again, and before you know it, you’re making a damned stupid fool of yourself yet again, and you’re realising that he didn’t care about you at all. And then he does it again the next night, and you fall for it yet again.” Her voice broke at that.

“Angie,” Patrick said, standing up. “You’ve made your point.” He put his hands on her shoulders and dropped to his knees in front of her. “You’ve made it very well.”

“I haven’t even got onto the nationally televised show yet,” she said.

“You don’t need to,” he said. His face was grim.

“Probably not, but I do need to mention those women, the ones who had no remorse,” she said. She looked up from her own clenched hands, straight into his blue eyes. “As Jessie says, two wrongs don’t make a right, and do you honestly think that by treating them like that, by taking away all of their self-esteem, you change them in some way? You change their lives and you maybe take away the central core of their belief in themselves, but do you really think you rehabilitate them? Because if you don’t, then all you’re doing is punishing them. And if that’s what you’re doing, then you might as well let them go to prison and stop pretending that this is anything other than a hugely successful money-making venture.” She stood up, drawing away from Patrick.

“I’m going to go for a short walk now,” she said. “On my own. I’ll be back.” Patrick caught her hand and held it lightly, standing up too.

“I care now,” he said.

“I care too,” she said. She reached out and stroked his cheek. “Which is why I’d love to see you use your clever brain and your gorgeous face for something other than this obscenity, Patrick. Maybe then, we’d have a chance to care for each other in a real way. I’ll see you soon.” She left, the door closing behind her. Patrick was still standing. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“She doesn’t pull any punches, does she?” he said.
”Why would she?” Jessie responded.

“No reason at all,” he said. He exhaled loudly, strode over to the seat he’d vacated and sat down again. He looked over at Daniel. “So,” he said. “What do we do?”

“Quit?” Daniel suggested. Jessie blinked in surprise. It was the first time he’d even mentioned that option.

“You know it’s not that easy,” Patrick said. “We’d be letting Jake down very badly.”
”Are you under contract for the show?” Jessie asked. Daniel nodded.

“But we could be replaced on that if Jake wanted to keep it going,” he said. It was his turn to exhale loudly. They both looked so serious.

“As things stand, he’ll release us from those contracts when hell freezes over,” Patrick said. “We’re really going to have to think of something special to convince him.”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but the two of you should really think about this,” Jessie said. “You don’t want to over-react. Angela painted a very clear picture for you, but you don’t want to make some sort of knee-jerk response that you’ll regret later.”
”It’s not knee-jerk. We’ve talked about it before,” Patrick said. Again, she looked at Daniel in surprise. He shrugged.

“There have been times when we’ve both felt like Nazis,” he admitted. “You know, the ‘it’s not our fault, we’re just following orders’ defence. We’ve asked ourselves how we’re going to be judged twenty years from now.”

“And?”
”Loyalty to Jake has kept us there,” Daniel said. “Whenever we’ve raised the idea of our leaving, he hasn’t taken it well.”

“Words like betrayal have been used,” Patrick agreed. “We’ve been with him on this from the start, and he’s not in any way open to the suggestion that one or both of us could withdraw.” There was silence for a while. Jessie was just about to suggest coffee when Daniel made a sound that was almost a laugh.

“I’ve just had an idea,” he said. He looked at Patrick.

“Let’s hear it,” he said. Daniel hesitated.

“It will involve shooting ourselves where it hurts, right in the machismo.” Patrick grinned and shook his head.

“Not even to get out of the contract am I going to pretend that I’m sleeping with you,” he said. Daniel laughed.

“That’s not quite what I had in mind,” he said.
”Well, lay it on me, brother,” Patrick encouraged.

“Funny you should say that,” Daniel grinned back.