Another Time - 4. Alice

The Abbermills had invited. And when the Abbermills invited, it turned into a lavish party. Alice didn't care one bit. There was still time before the big barbecue, and until then the children played a mixture of tag and hide-and-seek, with the older ones eager to use the game to secretly make out somewhere. If she was honest, she had no idea whose turn it was to search, but it didn't really matter. She ran across the courtyard, accompanied by the happy chatter and laughter of the adults, and darted into one of the warehouses. Squinting into the twilight, she inched forward, climbed onto the false ceiling, and crouched to the alcove from where-

"Hey, that's my hiding place!" someone hissed.

She squealed in fright, jerked back and bumped into a shelf, something clanked, and then hands reached for her. She squealed again, but at least now she was no longer in danger of falling down through the shelf.

"If you break something we have a problem."

"Tom?" Oh great, him of all people.

"Yeah. Shoosh..." He sighed in annoyance and let go of her. "There's no room for two up here." he whispered, as if the Seeker was just around the corner.

"How was I supposed to know you were already here?" she returned in the same venomous whisper. "And you're not so awesome that I'm following you to kiss you." Kissing, admittedly, wasn't one of the things she wasted much thought on either.

He snorted. "Don't underestimate me. But you're right: I don't want to kiss you either, so get out of here, that's my hiding place."

Briefly, she wondered if he had intended to use the time to touch himself. She'd heard enough talk and jokes to know what was meant by that, and after accidentally seeing Pa do it- and especially seeing his face- that had to be something really nice. She could think of a better place to do it, but hey, unlike girls, boys could pee standing up too.

"You're just going to-" she started, though she knew better than to argue with Tom of all people, but the main door of the warehouse was yanked open and she broke off.

"No, sir, please don't!" stammered a voice, obviously a slave.

"Come on, get in there." another voice grumbled. "My sister said I could have you, so I will."

"Sir, please, I don't want-" the slave started again, but the other man merely grunted.

"Pants down."

A startled gasp escaped Alice's lips as it smacked like a slap, and while the slave cried out, Tom pressed a hand to her mouth and her to him. More out of habit, she resisted.

"Shut up!" the man hissed. "I don't want to hear a sound!"

"Be quiet, please." Tom whispered tonelessly in her ear, his slender arms holding her relentlessly. "Please, Alice, we'll get in a lot of trouble if you don't."

Trouble she definitely didn't want, so she held still.

"But sir..." the slave began again at that moment, little more than miserable sob, followed by another loud slap.

"You obey, do you understand? Be quiet."

The slave whimpered and she began to tremble, suddenly glad that Tom was holding her. In fact, she even turned and pressed her face against his lean chest as the slave made an audible effort to be quiet, which he didn't do very well.

The sounds of pain, the slapping of flesh on flesh, the aroused grunts... It was disgusting. It was wrong.

Eventually it was over and after a few snide words the man left, leaving the slave sobbing.

Tom was still holding her, his smell of wood and deodorant somehow soothing.

Only when the slave had also left the warehouse did she lean back.

"He said no," she whispered choked up.

"He's a slave," Tom returned dully. "He has to obey."

"But Ma said sex is a nice thing. That didn't sound like something nice." It had sounded terribly painful.

"Sex should be a nice thing, yes," Tom murmured. "But he's still a slave, he has to obey. Slaves serve, Alice, you know that." He was trying to sound sober, but she heard how much he disliked that, too.

"That's not right. He hurt him, just like that, at something that was supposed to be nice," she protested further.

"If you order a slave to scrub the floor and he refuses, then what?" Tom began, but she shook her head.

"You can't compare that at all."

"Why not? Slaves serve, Alice, plain and simple. Even for sex."

"But sex is supposed to be nice and if he says no and still must have sex and gets hurt then it's not nice anymore. Scrubbing the floor doesn't hurt." Tears came to her eyes, angry tears.

"I didn't make the rules," Tom said uneasily.

"You're not a slave, you could just use him too." The sudden anger had to come out somehow, found a first outlet in tears, a second in words.

"I could." He nodded. "But I won't." Despite the twilight, she saw his deep frown. "Because you're right, sex is supposed to be nice. And personally, I don't think it's really nice if only one person feels that way."

She sniffled. "Have you ever had sex?"

"No." he admitted, a little hesitantly. "I mean, I could if I wanted to, we have enough slaves, but... No. I don't want. Slaves have to obey, don't they, and what if he merely says yes because it's his duty? Then I'd still hurt him, and it wouldn't be nice."

As little as she liked him, she believed him. Also, because just like her, he had a little brother who was a slave. The thought of someone hurting Frank like that made her angry and scared at the same time, and if Tom was half the big brother Matthew or Val were, he would feel the same way.

~

Nick's breath was hot on her throat, his hands hot on her thighs. He gasped as she unzipped his jeans and smoothed her flat hand against his arousal.

His hands disappeared from her skin, but his mouth returned to hers. She tasted the tart alcohol and her own cherry lip gloss and bit his lower lip gently, but there he leaned back.

"Damn."

"What?"

"I don't have a condom."

"So what?" She tried to pull him back against her, but he shook his head.

"No way. I'm not taking any chances."

"And you think of that now." She pouted, staring at him for a moment before sorting her panties.

"Sorry about that, I don't usually go to parties with the intention of fucking anyone," he returned, wrapping up again.

"Nick, no one is going to believe that. Because you've been doing just that for years." She smoothed out her dress and raised a brow, and Nick began to grin.

"Caught. So what?" He shrugged, then the grin shrank to a wry smile. "But I usually screw guys, and they don't get pregnant."

She sighed, but before she could say anything, he looked at her meaningfully.

"I don't want to get into what happened between Paul and Louisa."

"Do you really think I would withhold a child from you or anyone else?" The story between Paul and Louisa was admittedly really ugly, but then again, Louisa was one of those women Alice would have thought capable of anything.

"I like you, Alice, but not enough to risk that kind of thing," Nick replied seriously, avoiding her question a bit, but she didn't blame him.

"I like you too," she said instead, smiling wryly.

He raised a brow. "Enough to risk it?"

"No." she admitted. "I'm just frustrated."

That made him laugh, and he put an arm around her shoulders before leading her back into the main room of the club. Of course they got the looks they deserved, but Alice didn't care and Nick even less. He wasn't a handsome man, he really wasn't, but he had a hell of a lot of charisma. He knew what he wanted. He voiced it. He followed those wants. She liked that and frustration or not, but she respected him for his clear no.

"Speaking of who likes who... There's someone who really likes you a lot," Nick murmured to her then- insofar as one could speak of murmuring with the music- and nodded over to a group of guys, one of whom was looking over at them with a slightly pained expression. Matthew.

"And I was talking about frustration, Nick," she returned. "What am I supposed to do with someone who's vowed chastity until marriage?"

That made him laugh out loud again. He let go of her, patted her on the shoulder, then said: "A character after my own heart. There's a reason I don't belong to that silly brotherhood."

She returned the gesture- though in the form of a pat on his lower back, anything else would have looked absurd given their height difference- and then they parted ways. While Nick headed in Matthew's direction of all places, Alice strolled over to the bar.

There, Val just accepted a beer and nodded at her. "You haven't even said if you're coming to my birthday party."

"Is that up for debate?" she wanted to know, nodding to the barmaid, who wordlessly slid her a beer as well.

"Well, you may prefer to spend your time with Nick now." Val shrugged and sipped his beer.

"Nah, I don't think so. That being said, Ma will kill me if I don't go to your party..." She rolled her eyes and took a sip as well. Beer wasn't exactly one of her favorite drinks, but whatever.

"And I thought you were coming for me," Val said, exaggeratedly hurt, and then they both laughed.

"It's a farm party. You know one, you know them all." She nudged him amicably.

"I know what you mean." Val chuckled and took another sip, letting his eyes wander.

Alice liked family parties, it wasn't like that, but like Val, she also really enjoyed an evening at a club. Only it wasn't suitable for the birthday celebration of a farm heir like Val, at least not in the eyes of his mother and many other farm women. She was about to make a comment reflecting that very thought when his gaze landed on her again.

"Maybe it won't be as dull as you think." He brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, twitched a brow, and sauntered away.

The bottle already halfway to her mouth, she paused and watched him go. Val certainly knew how to make himself interesting.