Circles within Circles, Ch. 6 (Tier 2+) (Patreon)

"Yes. Yes, I understand. Of course."

Anneke's grey eyes were fixed on the laptop screen in front of her, her entire body rigid in decorous and dutiful attention. The blinds of her darkened room were drawn, leaving her pale face glimmering in the digital light before her. Her lips were compressed, her head nodding mechanically and obediently to the sibilant voice hissing through her earbuds and twining through her mind…

"Yes, I already have located one." Another murmur of a voice in her ears, a shift and gleam of light on the screen revealing a masked face staring impassively back at her. "Yes. He is… promising." Her eyes flicked momentarily down to her phone, open to the contacts page and the information she'd keyed in there. "I am confident we can begin training within the next two to three weeks…"

Another murmur from her earbuds, louder this time, and her breath caught in rising fear. "You- you have my word! Please, there's no need to involve her-" She fell silent, her eyes staring fixedly into the masked visage on her screen as another hissing murmur rose and fell in her ears. "Well- no. Not yet. But I'm sure that very soon-"

A sudden chirp emanated from the phone beside her, drawing her anxious gaze to its glowing screen and the text notification upon it. From Ethan Sanderson. "Hey, I had a fun time yesterday. Want to hang out again sometime soon?"

Anneke drew a shaky breath, biting her lip as a wave of relief washed over her. She flicked her eyes back to the laptop and nodded back into the screen now with a new light in her eyes. "Actually, not just very soon. Make that tonight." Another pause, and then a more vigorous nod. "Yes, I'm sure of it. Yes, of course. Just as planned. I understand. Yes, thank you… sir."

And then the laptop was slamming shut, and she was leaning back with closed eyes and her hand on her heart, trying to calms its anxious pounding. God, those calls were always so tense. She- how much longer could she do this? Sometimes she wondered if she shouldn't just toss it all and try to fight her way free somehow…

Her eyes cracked open, and she glanced down at the glowing screen of her phone. Never mind those dark thoughts. Now wasn't the time. Ethan had just given her exactly what she needed… and she  would be a fool if she just threw it all away now…

Her long fingers darted swiftly over the virtual keyboard, tapping out the words she'd been longing to use for over a week now. "Me too! You mean like… boyfriend girlfriend?" Send. A pause, and then she sent a swift follow-up. "I'm down for that if you are." Come on, Ethan. Answer your freaking messages…

Ding. "Okay cool!"

She grinned softly to herself, fingers flitting over the keyboard once again. Nothing like twenty-first century relationships, in which one could hook up literally over text. "So… want to hang out again tonight? I promise no more Twain, lol". Send. "I want to see if we're good together" Send. And now the clincher.

"Hey, better bring a couple condoms *wink face*" Send.

She grinned and bit her lip once more, this time in unconcealed elation. Things were definitely moving along smoothly. Tonight would be the night: the time to take the plunge and show this sweet and horny young guy exactly what it would mean to be her boyfriend…

***

Ethan flopped onto his belly, staring with widening, bleary eyes at the screen before him. Holy crap. And here he'd been kicking himself ever since sending that first message, fueled as it had been by morning wood and horny boredom. But Anneke had actually responded just now… agreed… and not just agreed, but gone on immediately to ask him to hang out. Tonight.

And then told him to bring condoms! *Wink face.*

It just didn't get any better than that, did it?

His hand slipped down beneath him, eager fingers traveling the length of his hardening – and thoroughly average-sized – cock. Mmm… This was going to be interesting. What would she look like, shrugging free from those pretty European clothes of hers? Asking him to unbutton her blouse… Letting him reach back and unclasp her brassiere…

And then he sighed and half-rolled inelegantly away. No. Best not get too worked up. He had to pace himself, right? Had to wait and make sure he was in top shape for tonight. Had to show her exactly how much fun he could be… how much he liked being with her. As much as he wanted to lay there imagining what they were going to do tonight, it would be much better to wait for the real thing.

And besides, he really needed to go buy some freaking condoms – preferably before too many other people were around to see him.

He was still grinning to himself as he dashed off a quick message to Sandeep. "Hey, not gonna be able to do co-op tonight. Got-" And then he paused before continuing on with an even wider grin. "Got a date with Anneke."

Ethan could almost hear Sandeep's elated congratulations in his head as he made his way across the sunlit – and mostly empty – campus. Yeah, man – I told you! Look at you go! You're gonna have a great time, I know it!  Well, he certainly hoped so. But first, he needed to get his act together. Let's see. Condoms, condoms, condoms…

Of course, there were free condoms in the student health center, but that just seemed pretty lame. Or worse yet, anyone who saw him taking a few might think he was trying to show off or something. Nah, better head to that drugstore that was maybe ten minutes' walk from campus. He needed a couple more snacks, anyway…

Once there, and having made his way past the uninteresting displays of Halloween candy and incontinence products and bathroom cleaners, he finally found what he was looking for: an entire shelf filled with lube and pregnancy tests and condoms. Hmm… dang it, how many different kinds do they make?! Can't I just grab a basic-bitch pack and get this over with?

But then he paused, the text on one particular purple box catching his eye. "Ribbed for her pleasure," it proclaimed in bold letters. Interesting. He'd never really thought about it, but maybe something a bit more than just the basic model would be a good idea? The memory of those cuffs hanging silently in her bathroom sprang to mind, and he flushed involuntarily. Anneke certainly seemed a bit… unusual. Not that any particular kind of condom was on the level with cuffs, of course, but surely something a bit more extra wouldn't be terribly out of place. Right?

And so, as his fingers closed on the box and he made his hurried way back toward the self-checkout registers, he shivered with anticipation. Well, he'd just have to see. He honestly didn't know what tonight would bring. But then again, wasn't this kind of uncertainty the very essence of romance?