LA Bound

“Come on Mark – we need to be at Sam’s place in twenty minutes!”

“All right Mum I’m coming,” I shouted down the stairs as I stuffed the last few items I thought I would need into my rucksack, and then picked it and my small case up, running down the stairs to find Mum tapping her foot impatiently.

“You going to be comfortable enough in that,” she said as she looked at me, in my checked shirt over a grey t-shirt, a pair of light brown chinos and trainers.

“I’ll be fine mum – it’s a six hour flight anyway,” I said as Kristen came out.

“Have fun kid,” she said as she hugged me, and waved us down the path as I put his bags into the trunk, and then climbed in. This was the first time I’d been away from home in this way, and I couldn’t help but feel excited – especially as my girlfriend was coming, and our mothers weren’t.

It still seemed like an eternity, however, before we pulled up outside Sam’s house and Regina sounded the horn. The front door opened and I watched as Sam’s mother, Linda, wheeled her case down and stuck it in the trunk. And then I saw Sam walking down, looking gorgeous as ever.

She normally prefers to wear t-shirts and shorts, and she certainly had a t-shirt with a v-shaped neckline on as she walked down to the car. Over that was a black waistcoat, but instead of shorts and trainers she was wearing a pair of grey jeans, the lower legs of which were tucked into a pair of knee length leather boots.

“Morning Mark,” she said as she got inside beside me, and then reached over so that we could kiss each other, “Excited.”

“A little, you?”

“What do you think,” she said as she squeezed my hand and the trunk of the car slammed shut. “Don’t do anything I would not do,” Linda said through the car window before we drove off, and made our way to the airport.

The two of us hadn’t thought about a lot else since winning the prize at the party – a long weekend in Los Angeles for the two of us, all expenses paid with business class flights, three nights in a top hotel, and tickets on the Saturday to see Rod Stewart at the Staples Centre. Now the Friday had finally come around, and we were heading to catch our 3 o’clock flight to LA airport.

“Now call us when you get there,” Mum said as she drove down the freeway, “and mind you both behave yourselves.”

“Come on Mum – what could we possibly get up to out there?”

She looked at us both in the rear view mirror, before we all burst out laughing. “All right, all right, I promise we won’t go wandering off and into the dangerous parts of town. I think we have a chaperone for most of the time, anyway.”

That was certainly true – we were being met at the airport by someone, and driven straight to the hotel, then left to our own devices for the rest of today. We had a meal tonight in the hotel, then the day tomorrow on a tour of Hollywood before we went to the concert. Sunday morning was free, in the afternoon we were going to Chinatown, and then a meal out before returning on Monday.

So as we drove into the parking lot, we were getting more and more excited, tapping our feet as Mum parked the car, and we retrieved our bags. Walking into the terminal, we found the check-in desk and went through the usual rigmarole of security and identity checks, before the smiling young woman handed us both our boarding passes.

“If you look over there,” she said as she pointed to the way into the departure lounge, “you will see an area marked Priority. Go through that way, and then follow the signs for the Admirals Lounge – you can wait in there until your flight is called. Have a nice trip.”

“Well, this is as far as I go,” Mum said as she hugged both of us. “Enjoy the flight, and call as soon as you can from the hotel, all right?”

“Mum, for the fifteen hundredth time, of course I will,” I said as I took Sam’s hand. “Stop worrying – I’m sure we will have a great time. I’ll talk to you later, all right?”

Mum nodded and hugged us again, before we walked towards the security check. As we did so, I moved my wallet, coins and keys into my jacket pocket.

“Why on earth are you doing that,” Sam said as we walked into the gate, and the security guard checked our ticket.

“Because we need to put all these things through a metal detector,” I said as we joined the queue, “and we need to take our shoes and boots off as well.”

“Why – are they afraid we have something hidden in our soles?”

“Something like that – on which subject, you did leave the handcuffs at home, right?”

“Kinky,” Sam said as she cuddled me, “but yes, I did. I have other things in my case that may be of use.”

“Me too,” I said as we sat down, me to unlace and remove my sneakers, Sam to unzip and take off her boots, revealing her feet in black tights.

We walked through the gate – fortunately without any alarms sounding – and retrieved our belongings, taking a moment to put things back on and sort ourselves out before finding the lift that took us to this mythical place. Coming out, we showed our boarding passes to the woman at the desk, and then went into a lounge, Sam sitting down while I went to the bar and got two cokes.

“so how long do we have before we need to be at the gate,” she said as she looked at the clock.

“About an hour, I think – why?”

“Plenty of time then,” Sam said as she took her tablet out of her rucksack, “I got something to show you.”

We shared a set of earphones and watched an episode of Archer, trying not to laugh too much, before she said “I’ll be back in a little while – I just need to take care of a personal matter.” Taking her bag with her, she headed for the toilet, while I flipped through a magazine.

“Attention please – flight AA1501 to Los Angeles is now boarding at gate A13. Will all passengers…”

I stood up and closed my rucksack up as Sam came back, smiling as she walked towards me. “Shall we go,” she said as she took my hand, and we left the lounge, walking to the gate.

The nice thing about not going coach is you get priority boarding, se we were soon in our seats, thanking the stewardess as she gave us each a glass of iced water.

“No alcohol for us then?”

“We’re minors still, remember,” I said as I sipped my water, and then felt Sam’s hand gripping mine.

“You OK?”

“Yeah,” Sam said as she smiled at me, “I just have a little fear of flying.”

The stewardess took our glasses and checked our seatbelts were correctly fastened as the plane left the gate, and taxied to the runway.

“Oh,” I said as we queued for our take off slot, “so what do you do, take a sedative?”

“No,” Sam said as she looked at me, “I tied a crotch rope under my pants to distract me, and my god it’s working.”

“Oh,” I said as we slowly turned, “then you’re gonna love this.”

Sam’s grip tightened and she bit her lower lip as the plane suddenly sped up, pushing her back into the chair as it hurtled down the runway and then rose up into the air…

Once the plane levelled off, and the lights went out, Sam excused herself for a moment and went to the toilet. When she returned a few minutes later, she was clutching her bag to her chest and sat down, in time to tell the stewardess what she wanted to eat.

“Taken it off then?”

“No,” she gasped, “I put it back when I had finished. It was a very strange feeling but I want it to continue.”

“Fair enough – just let me know if you need any help,” I said as I gripped her hand, and leaned over so that we could kiss each other,

The flight passed – well, as well as it could do, given there was no way I could do what I really wanted to without violating several air traffic rules – not to mention public decency ones. Sam watched a movie after we had eaten, my hand on her lap as she did so, and that was as close as I got.

Eventually, we heard the captain say “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are starting our approach to Los Angeles International Airport, so we need to ask that you return all trays and seats to the upright position, and switch off all electronic…”

“When we get to the hotel,” Sam said as she gripped my hand, “I want you to do what you’ve been wanting to all flight, all right?”

I nodded as we started to descend to the airport…

As we collected our bags and walked out onto the arrivals area, we saw a man in a dark suit standing with a card that had our names on it. We walked up and introduced ourselves to him, giving a greeting we had arranged so that we knew this was the authorised driver – something Mum had insisted on.

When we walked outside, the first thing we felt was the warm air and the bright sun against our eyes. We watched as he put the cases into the back of a grey limousine, and then opened the rear doors for us, waiting until we sat down before he got behind the wheel and drove off.

The car had tinted windows, but we could see well enough as we drove into the centre of the city, looking at the traffic which seemed incredible. I guess you don’t realise just how small a town you live in until you visit a place like this.

Eventually, however, we pulled up outside the hotel, getting out as a porter came and collected our cases. As we walked in, we were approached by a young woman in her early twenties, with short blonde hair, who was wearing a sleeveless white blouse and a knee length blue skirt.

“You must be Mark and Samantha,” she said as she shook out hands, “I’m Sandy, and I’ll be your escort for your stay here. Your room is ready upstairs, but would you like to get a drink?”

“Forgive me – Sandy, you said,” Sam said quietly, “but we could do with a shower and a change of clothes.”

“Of course – well, your dinner table is booked for seven, and you can meet the other couple then.”

“Other couple?”

“Oh yes – we had two winners from different parts of the country. Don’t worry – they’re the same age as you, and probably just as nervous. Anyway, come with me and I’ll take you to your room.”

She walked us to a glass elevator, which travelled at a ridiculous speed to the 30^th floor, and then she showed us to a door with “Executive Suite 2” written on it. Opening the door, she showed us in and said “here we go.”

Our bags were already in the centre of the large sitting room, and I could see two bedrooms and a bathroom leading off. “I’ll see you in the lobby at seven,” she said as she closed the door, and Sam went over to lock it behind her.

“What a roommmmmmmmmmmm” I said as she wrapped her arms round my neck and we kissed – a long, passionate, and way overdue kiss.

“Shut up, Mark, and treat me right,” she finally said as she started to unbutton her waistcoat, letting it drop to the floor as she did so. I walked behind her and put my arms round her waist, kissing her neck as I started to lift the t-shirt up and over her head, revealing the cream coloured bra underneath.

“Stay right there,” I said as I found my case and opened it, reaching into the top part and taking several lengths of thin rope out. “Hands behind you,” I said quietly, watching as Sam put her hands together and interlocked her fingers.

Kissing her neck, I ran my hands down her arms, and then tied her wrists tightly together, making sure I cinched the binding as she gasped out. “Hmmm – that feels good,” she said as I took some more rope, and began to tie her arms to her side, taking it above and below her chest. I then took it over one shoulder, under the lower band of rope between her breasts, and then back up again, tying it off behind her back as she purred.

“Now how am I meant to take my boots off,” she said as I started to gently stroke my fingers over her chest. “You’re not, that’s the general idea,” I said as I started to kiss her again, gently pressing on her breasts and nipples as I did so.

“Oh don’t stop,” Sam moaned as I eased the straps of her bra down her arms, and then the cusps down, before gently squeezing her nipples. She gasped, then turned and kissed me again, as we walked over to a long couch and she lay down, my lips moving down to her chest as they encircled and gently kissed her nipples.

“hmmmm you’d better keep me quiet,” Sam said as she writhed under me, so I told her not to move, and went to bring my bag over as well as some more rope, taking a small sponge ball out of the pocket of my rucksack and putting into her open mouth. Once that was in place, I smoothed some tape over her mouth, and tied eh rankles and legs together, her boots squeaking as she rubbed them together at my teasing.

Slowly, I unfastened and pulled down her jeans, and then saw the crotch rope over her damp panties. “Allow me,” I said as I put my hand there….

“Better?”

“Much,” Sam said as she stepped out of the shower, a bath robe over her body. “thanks, lover.” She leaned over and kissed me again, before picking up the bottle of Coca Cola and taking a drink.

“What are you looking at,” she said as she sat down next to me.

“Just flipping through the channels,” I said as I put the remote down. “I’ll go and get a shower in a few minutes. What are you going to wear tonight?”

“Thought I might put on my floral dress,” Sam said with a smile, “You?”

“I’ve got some smart chinos with me – just in case. I’ll put on a shirt as well and some proper shoes.”

“That’s my Mark – prepared for every possibility,” Sam said before she gave me a kiss and got up. “You might want to get a move on though – it’s six already.”

“It is,” I said as I looked at the clock, and then jumped up, heading to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, I emerged from the bedroom, doing up the front of my shirt to see Sam sitting there. The dress she was talking about was a green short sleeved dress, with a white floral pattern, and a short skirt. She had a thin green leather belt around her waist, and matching high heeled sandals on over her natural hose covered feet.

“Ready?”

“Think so,” I said as I picked up the room key, “Let’s go and meet the other lucky couple.”

The lift was, if possible, even worse in the other direction, with our feet almost lifting off the floor as we went quickly down. Stepping out, we were greeted by Sandy, who said “Good – all ready to meet the other couple?”

We walked into the bar area, where there was indeed another young couple sitting nervously. The bloke was maybe a year older than me, and had short black hair. He was wearing black leather jacket over a striped shirt, and denim jeans with black shoes.

His partner was the same age as me and Sam, as near as I could tell, and had long blonde hair which was pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing a grey pinafore dress over a long sleeved white top, and a pair of grey ankle boots.

“Well here we are,” Sandy said as we came over, “Samantha and Mark, I’d like you to meet Jessica and Tony.”

“Call me Jess,” the blonde said as we shook hands, “so where do you guys hail from?”

We told them, and discovered they came from somewhere in Oregon – so they were as much in a foreign country as we were.

“Well – let’s go into dinner, and I can tell you what will happen this weekend,” Sandy said, but as we walked in I saw Jess rubbing her wrist – and caught a glimpse of the red mark on her left arm.

“Did you see that,” I whispered to Sam as we sat down.

“See what,” she said back as we were handed a menu. I felt this was not the time to discuss it further, as Sandy started to talk to us about the plans and we choose our meals.

Eventually, however, once we had finished the meal she went off, and Tony said “Thank goodness for that – that girl could talk the hind legs off a donkey. What do you think?”

“She’s doing her job – we’re just not used to the West coast,” I said. “you?”

“We’re country folk – I guess it just is all new to us.”

“All four of us I think,” Sam said with a smile. “look, why don’t we grab some bottles and snacks, and go back up to our room, catch a movie or something?”

“Sounds good to me,” Jess said, so when Sandy came back we pleaded tiredness and went back to our suite, the knock on the door a few minutes later heralding the arrival of Tony and Jess.

“What do you want to watch then,” Tony said as they popped a bag of popcorn onto the table.

“Let’s find something worth watching,” Jess said as she sat with Sam, flicking through the channels while Tony and I stuck some bottles in the room fridge, and then sat on the couch beside them.

It was an old eighties movie that was on, so we sat back and laughed at the fashions, made some funny comments about the music, and were fine until a scene where the female lead and her sister were kidnapped by a bunch of football jocks from the high school in the next town, all because we they wanted her boyfriend to throw the game.

When they showed the two girls sitting side by side on a bench, hands tied together in front of them with a scarf over their mouths, I was about to give a snort of derision – only the two girls beat us to it.

“No way,” Sam said, “I could be out of that in…” She stopped and looked at Jess, then at me.

“You were going to say, within a minute, weren’t you?”

Sam nodded as I said “Look, I saw the mark on your wrist. I wasn’t going to say anything, but…”

“Oh this,” Jess said as she rubbed her wrist, “I… I…”

“It’s all right,” Sam said quietly, “I feel the same way when I haven’t had enough time for it to fade as well.”

Tony looked at the two of us, and said “Really? You both…”

“Why yes, yes we do.”

“Oh thank God,” Jess said, “I saw the lines around your ankles, and I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about them all evening.”

Sam looked down to her ankles, and saw the faint red marks. “Damn, I thought they had faded,” she said, and then we all laughed, and started to talk about our experiences.

Tony told us how he had been very shy about asking Jess at first, until one day he and Jess had been on his farm, when she had picked up some baling twine and said she could break out of it, no problem at all.

Well, she had been wearing a heavy jumper, jeans and Ugg boots, but he tied her wrists in front of her over the cuffs of the jumper, and her ankles together – and she had not been able to get out of that. She’d loved it, but unable to get out.

“Sounds like when Mark and I started,” Sam said, “Hang on – I may have some cream that will help.”

“Actually…”

I looked at Tony, as he said “Would you girls like to be secured right now?”

“Sure,” Jess said, “if Sam is happy with that as well.”

“Have you got any rope here?”

“Why don’t we use some scarves – I brought some with me,” Sam said as she went to the room. Coming back with a selection of scarves, she laid them on the table and said “Go to it.”

Like I needed to be asked twice – I selected a red bandana, folded it into a band and then tied Sam’s wrists together behind her back, hands palm to palm. Tony picked up a black scarf, crossed Jess’s wrists behind her back and tied them together.

“Sit back in the chair,” we said to them, and then we crossed their ankles and tied them together, Sam with a long blue scarf, Jess with a white one. Sitting next to them, we then cuddled them as the film continued, feeding them popcorn and giving them a drink from time to time.

“This is nice,” Jess said as she put her head against Tony’s chest, “but I’d love it if you tied me up some more.”

“What have you got in mind,” Tony whispered as I cuddled Sam.

“Got any longer scarves Sam?”

“Look through the pile.” I let her go for a moment, found a long red scarf and tied her legs together above her knees, Tony finding a blue chiffon rectangle and using it on Jess’s legs.

“Hmmm,” Jess said as she rubbed her legs together, and then reached up, kissing Tony’s neck as Sam placed her head against my chest, allowing me to gently kiss her head.

“Happy, Jess?”

“Oh yes – very happy,” she said as she kissed Tony, and I gave Sam a kiss as well.

“mmm – that’s nice,” Sam purred as I absent mindedly stroked her chest. She started to moan a little as I saw Jess and Tony looking at us.

“Oh sorry,” I said quietly, “if you’d prefer…”

“No, it’s all right,” Jess said as she looked at Tony, who slipped his hand under her dress and started to play with her chest as well. “If it’s all right with you…”

Sam looked at me, and said “I see they like to do some of the things we do. Can you untie my wrists for a moment?”

I removed the red bandana, and watched as she slowly unbuttoned the front of her dress, letting it fall down to the seat before she leaned forward and allowed me to re-secure her wrists with the scarf. She leaned back as my fingers started to dance over her bra, and a big smile appeared on her face.

“Oh god,” she moaned out as I looked at Tony. “I’m sorry, perhaps we need to call this a night?”

“Yeah, I think you’re right,” Tony said quietly. “Would you mind if we borrowed these scarves and returned them in the morning?”

“Sure,” I said as I left Sam alone for a minute, and walked to the door, looking out to see if the coast is clear.

“Thanks,” Tony said as he lifted Jess in his arms. “Hey – tomorrow, after the tour, why don’t we let the girls have some time together?”

I looked at Sam, who nodded in approval at the idea. “Sure – see you at breakfast tomorrow?”

I nodded as I held the door for him, watching as they disappeared round the corner. When I closed and locked the door, I turned back to see Sam standing up, having wriggled her legs so that she could stand on her feet, and her skirt on the floor.

“You’d better carry me too,” she said as I picked her up, and kept kissing her as we went to the bedroom…

When we went down to breakfast the next morning, Tony and Jess weren’t there – we presumed they either were still sleeping or had already eaten. As we knew we’d be walking quite a bit today, I’d opted to wear a good pair of walking shoes, with black chinos and a checked shirt over a grey t-shirt. Sam was wearing a pair of denim shorts over black leggings, white socks and sneakers, and a short sleeved roll necked sweater.

We helped ourselves to the buffet, and as we sat down the waitress brought over fresh orange juice and water. The sun was shining outside, and it looked like a beautiful day to be on a tour.

“Hey.”

We looked up to see Jess standing there, dressed in a white sun dress over a pair of bright yellow leggings. “Tony will be here in a minute – he just needed to make a call home.

“Before I forget,” she said as she handed Sam a small paper bag, “thanks – I’m afraid one of them may be a bit damp.”

“I wonder how,” Sam said with a smile. “Don’t worry – I’ll give them a quick wash and hang them up to dry before we head off.”

“Great – and thanks,” she said as she sat down and sipped her orange juice. Tony eventually arrived, and over our meal we discussed what we would like to do that day. The girls, naturally, wanted to see Rodeo Drive, while Tony and I wanted to see some of the places we had only seen in films.

“Ah there you are – ready for the big day?”

Sandy had joined us, wearing a blue polo shirt and knee length skirt, with a blue silk scarf around her neck. Sitting down, she said “We’ll have the car outside in half an hour – an open jeep, seeing as it is such a nice day. We’ll start with a drive round the streets of Hollywood, and Rodeo Drive, before we visit one of the studios. If we’re really lucky, we’ll see a show actually being filmed – fingers crossed.”

“Sounds – exciting,” Tony said as he raised an eyebrow and looked at me. That earned him a swift kick under the table from Jess, which at least made both of us laugh.

“Right then,” Sandy said as she stood up, “Lobby in fifteen minutes please.”

“Gives me just enough time to do this,” Sam said as she left the table, Jess walking with her. Tony looked at me, and said “I wonder what show they’ll have us watching?”

“Knowing my luck, Two and a Half Men,” I said with a smile. Like me, Tony had gone for the shirt and chino approach.

“Do you think they’ll want to go shopping?”

“Window shopping, almost certainly. One look at the prices, though, and I don’t think they’ll be getting their cards out.”

“If they reach for them, we stop them, right?”

I nodded slowly as I thought about that idea…

“Right,” Sandy said as we walked out, all of us putting on sunglasses, “In you get.”

She was right about the jeep – it was an open topped monster, as we all climbed into the back while Sandy sat in the front with the driver. We then set off through the streets, looking at the people as we drove past on the way to Beverley Hills and then Hollywood.

As we went along, Sandy told us of some of the places we were passing, and some of the stars who lived in the houses, before we pulled in at Rodeo Drive.

“We’re going to stop here for a while – let you soak in the atmosphere, and have a look at some of the shops.”

As soon as Sandy had set that, Sam and Jess were off, Tony and I having to play catch up as they walked down the street, looking in the windows. “Got cord,” Tony whispered into my ear, which at least made me laugh – I knew Sam was more sensible than that.

Jess, on the other hand – Tony walked over and put his arm round her waist, holding her hand as he guided her away from the boutiques.

“One day, when I’m a zillionaire, we’ll shop here,” I whispered into Sam’s ear as I put my arm round her waist.

“Nah – I prefer Neyman Marcus,” Sam said before she gave me a kiss, and we walked down the street.

Eventually, we got back into the jeep, and Sandy had us driven to Hollywood Boulevard, and the Walk of Fame. We made our way slowly down, looking at the gold stars and recognising a few of them, before we stopped for lunch in the Tiago Café.

“Now then,” Sandy said as we ate, “I promised a chance to visit a studio, and we are going to have one. We have permission to see where NCIS: LA is filmed, if you would like to see that?”

“Would I? I love Chris O’Donnell,” Jess said, Tony rolling his eyes again.

“Great – well, we’re expected there at 2, so we have a little while yet.”

The set was a lot bigger than I imagined it would be, with cameras all over the place, and two or three different buildings. I recognised the set they used for their strategy room, as we stood to the side.

“Hey.”

Jess nearly fainted when she turned to see Chris O’Donnell and LL Cool J standing there, looking at us. “Oh my god,” she said eventually.

“Pleasure to meet you all,” he said, “listen, I was wondering if you two ladies would like to do us a small favour? We need a couple more people to play hostages that we rescue – think you can do that?”

Jess was almost apoplectic with excitement, and nodded only a little more than Sam.

“Great,” they said, “why don’t you two come with us and we’ll get you ready. You boys can stand over there and watch.”

“I think they just made her day,” Tony said as we moved over to another part of the studio. It was set up to look like a bank, and there were already three women dressed in jackets and skirts sitting on the floor, assistants using zip ties to secure their ankles and their hands behind their backs.

A few minutes later, Jess and Sam were brought in, their wrists secured behind their backs with zip ties. They were sat down next to the other three, watching as their ankles were secured and smiling over at us, before a stage hand pressed lengths of brown fabric plaster over the mouths of all five of them.

“Now,” the director said as two men in balaclavas and combats, carrying what I hoped were fake automatics, came in, “the two men have held you all as hostages for hours, and you’re scared that they are going to kill you. I want you to act that way, and then try to huddle together when the agents come in, all right?”

They all nodded as we stood back, watching the director sit down and shout “Places… And – action!”

Sam and Jess did their best scared hostage impression, as one of the masked men covered them, the other one at the door. Suddenly the door was blown in, making all five of them give muffled screams as O’Donnell and the other cast members came in, shooting the two gunmen as they fell to the ground, and then walking over to the hostages. I think Jess was really going to faint when Chris O’Donnell removed the plaster from her mouth, and placed her head on his chest as he hugged her.

“And – cut! Thank you everyone – set up for next scene please.”

The two of us waited until Sam and Jess were escorted back to us, Jess saying “thank you, thank you, thank you” as she clutched a bag to her chest.

“Gifts – for all of us,” Sam said as we went with Sandy to complete the tour of the studio.

When we eventually got back to the hotel, Sandy said “Right – it’s six o’clock now, so you have an hour to shower, and get ready before the limo comes to pick you up.”

“A limo?”

“That’s what I said,” Sandy replied to Sam’s comment as she walked off. We all looked at each other, and headed for the lift, wondering what else was going to happen today.

In our room, I let Sam hit the shower first, while I poured a couple of cokes. Handing her one as she walked past, I got cleaned up next, coming out to see Sam fixing her make-up in the mirror. I had only one reaction to the sight before me – WOW!

Sam was wearing a silver metallic mini dress, with thin straps over her shoulders, and a pair of natural hose, with knee length black leather boots that sported a three inch heel. She turned and smiled at me, saying “what do you think? I bought it with Mum last week, as a surprise for tonight.”

“I think I need to take a second shower, if you really want to know,” I said, and I was being honest about it. I had chosen to wear an open necked blue shirt and a pair of black chinos, with my good shoes, and I was so glad I had a black jacket with me as well.

“Right,” Sam finally said as she stood up, her skirt literally shimmering as it fell down to cover the top of her legs, “I’ll be ready once I’ve got my jacket.” She went into the room, returning with a silver leather bolero jacket over her arms, before she said “Right – let’s go hear the old Brit singing.”

When we appeared in the hotel lobby, it was obvious we were not the only ones who had chosen to dress for the occasion. Tony was wearing a grey suit with a blue shirt, but Jess had on a black silk strapless dress with a velvet shrug, her legs in a pair of dark hose and short high heeled ankle boots.

“There you are,” Sandy said as she came over, “the limo is outside. Go – and have a great time.”

Well, we didn’t need to be told twice, as we escorted the girls out to the waiting car and sat in the back, the driver closing the door before we were driven off again.

“I could get used to this,” Sam said as she opened a bottle of beer from several that were sitting in an ice bucket and passed it to me, Tony getting one from Jess.

“So do you think the concert will be any good?”

“I’m sure it will be,” Tony said. “Listen – after the gig, when we get back to the hotel, I was wondering if you two wanted to join us in a game of hostages?”

“I wonder who the hostages will be,” Sam said with a smile, “but all right – I’m game if Mark is.”

“Oh I think I could be persuaded,” I said quietly as I drank my beer, watching the streets as we drove past.

The Staples Centre was lit brightly as we pulled up, and the driver allowed us to step out into a covered walkway. As we went down, the door was opened by a uniformed usher.

“You must be the four competition winners,” she said as she held the door open for us, “come this way please.” She walked us along a corridor, and then through a set of double doors, before we were found ourselves in what I think they called the “Golden Circle” – seats really close to the stage, with a little bag on each of our named seats.

“Enjoy the concert,” she said as she left us there, and we sat down, slightly in awe at who else was sitting in that area. I looked like most of Hollywood royalty were there that night – and I was petrified of saying anything.

All right, I’ll say it now – Rod Stewart may have been releasing records when my grandmother was my age, but he sure knows how to play a concert hall. It was a fantastic occasion – made even more fantastic when Sam actually bothered to look in the bags that were on our seats, and we discovered we had back stage passes to meet Rod after the concert.

That was also an experience in itself – on stage, he comes over as this amazing self confident performer, but when we met him afterwards he was actually this very shy and gentle man, with his partner sat next to him. We talked for a little while, about music and his life, before he signed our programs for us and gave us each some signed CDs as well.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was nearly eleven, but we felt as if we could stay up all night.

“Why don’t we see if we can get something to eat at the bar,” Tony said, “and then we can lay some plans for later.”

“Sounds good,” Jess said as she hung onto his arm, and we walked into the lobby bar, ordering a selection of wraps and snacks as we sat talking, laughing over some of the things we’d seen that day, and just enjoying the time together.

Eventually, Tony put his glass down and said “Well, you girls ready for a little game?”

“What do you have in mind,” Sam said as she looked at me.

“Why don’t you let me and Mark take our things up to our rooms,” Tony said with a smile, “and then you two come up to our room in say, fifteen minutes? Just come in and we’ll see what happens.”

“You’re on,” Jess said with a smile as I took the bags, and left with Tony, stopping in our suite to drop our bags off before we went to their suite.

They had just as big a room as ours, as Tony said “I managed to pick up some supplies first thing this morning, before breakfast.” He took a couple of bags from under the bed, and showed me the ropes, tape and cloths he had bought.

“So what do you want this to be?”

“They’re going to disturb us robbing the room, and – well, let’s see what happens from there,” Tony said as he took out of the bag a pair of nude nylon stockings. “You can hang your jacket up in the bedroom for the moment – and we can get ready.”

We had sorted a few things out when we heard the door open. Tony put his finger to his mouth and handed me the stocking, both of us pulling our masks on as we heard Jess say “that was an incredible night – got time for a drink before you turn in?”

“I think so,” I heard Sam say, and then they walked into the room, their backs deliberately turned to us as Jess opened the mini bar. That gave me the perfect opportunity to grab and hand gag Sam, her mmmphs thrilling against my hand as I held her tightly.

“Shit,” Jess said as she saw me holding Sam, and Tony beside me, grinning under the stocking as he said “Well now – seems the ladies came back before we had a chance to leave. What do you think we should do Ernie?”

“Gee I don’t know Bert,” I said as I go the tone, “Maybe we should stop them from telling anyone else we’re here?”

“Now that’s an idea Ernie,” Tony said quietly. “Why don’t you close that bar, put that drink down and come over here, little lady?”

“Why? What are you going to do to me?”

“Tbfffs,” Sam mumbled under my hand, as I grinned before saying “You’ll find out – now get over here, unless you want your friend to get hurt.”

“No – no it’s all right, I’m coming,” Jess said as she walked slowly forward.

“Take the jacket off,” Tony said as he picked up a length of rope, “and then turn round, facing the wall.”

She slowly slipped the velvet jacket off her arms, and then turned round, staring straight ahead as Tony wrapped some rope around her arms and pulled them together just below her elbows, Jess gasping as he made them touch, and then tied it round her body below her chest to keep them locked in place.

“You’re not going to scream when I take my hand away, are you,” I whispered to Sam, who shook her head as Tony handed me some more rope. I let her go, and slipped her jacket off before I tied her arms together in the same way, almost making them touch before I wrapped the rope around her body.

“OH god,” she whispered as my hands stroked over her belly, before I tied her wrists tightly together, her fingers interlocked as I used the rope around her waist to keep them against her back. Jess was breathing a little more heavily as well, as Tony secured her wrists to each other.

“Please,” Sam whispered, “you don’t have to do any more, just leave us and take out stuff.”

“Do you hear that, Ernie,” Tony said with a laugh, “She wants us to leave them and go.”

“Not yet, Bert,” I said as I kissed Sam’s neck, “I think we should make sure these ladies are really comfortable.”

“What are you doing,” Sam whispered as I put my arms round her waist, and started to gently kiss her neck and shoulders.

“Oh I see what you mean now,” Tony said quietly as he started to kiss Jess as well, the two of us slowly circling our fingers over the bellies of our captives as we did so.

“No – please,” Sam said as I lightly brushed over her chest with my fingers, “Don’t do that…”

“Me thinks they doth protest too much,” I said as I looked at Tony, “What do you think we should do about that Bert?”

Tony looked in a drawer, and took out two pairs of panties, one of which he threw to me as Sam watched, licking her lips. “These first – then tape,” he said as he kissed Jess, using the opportunity as she gasped to stuff the panties in, and then hold his hand over her mouth as he reached for the roll of white tape on the bed.

“You really don’t have to do this,” Sam said, but her eyes said yes, as I said “open up sweetie” and pushed the folded panties into her mouth. As she closed her lips over them, I gave her a tender kiss, and then smoothed the white tape over her mouth, before I slowly slipped the straps off her shoulder and lowered her dress, my hands embracing her covered breasts and gently squeezing them as I kissed her shoulders and neck.

Tony had pulled Jess’ dress down as well; the velvet falling over her waist as he gently caressed and kissed her. She had her eyes closed, and she was moaning gently. Sam was responding in kind as well, as we exposed their chests and started to tease them there with our lips.

Laying them down on the bed, we then took some more rope and tied their ankles together, before we continued to kiss and arouse them, both women writhing under us as we kissed them, caressed them, and made them feel incredibly special.

Their moans were getting louder as well, as their bodies responded to our touches, and they looked at both of us, eyes open and heads nodding as our hands moved between their legs. They closed their eyes again and moaned even more loudly.

Their skirts were now up around their waists as well, as they separated their knees, their bodies calling to us as Tony and I looked at each other. We then turned back to the girls…

It was about three in the morning when I woke, my arms round Sam as we lay on one side of the bed. Looking over, I saw Tony lying on his back, Jess with her head on his bare chest as she breathed in and out through her nose.

Slipping off the bed, I went and checked that the corridor was clear, before lifting Sam in my arms and carrying her back to my room, laying her down on the bed. Leaning over, I gently kissed her forehead and then lay beside her, watching her in the dim light, a smile on my face as I remembered what had happened.

I must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing I knew there was a gentle pressure on my neck, and I opened my eyes to see Sam nuzzling against my neck. I peeled away the tape and eased the silk wad from her mouth, before she reached up and kissed me passionately.

“Morning lover,” she said quietly, “some night…”

“Yeah – did you enjoy it?”

“You bet I did,” she said with a smile, “but how did I get back into our room?”

“I brought you back – I’m sure Tony and Jess would appreciate some alone time together before breakfast.”

“Well, we don’t have to go down too early,” Sam said with a smile, “why don’t we play a little game as well?”

“Oh – what did you have in mind?”

Sam grinned, and then started to kiss me again, working her way down my body as I lay there. Her lips touched my neck, my chest, my belly and arms, my legs and then…”

“Oh,” I said as I looked at her, “I see what you mean now.”

“I know – I can see that as well,” she said before her lips caressed me again, her tongue stroking me as I lay there, and let it all happen.

When she looked up at me again, I smiled and said “You naughty naughty girl, you know I’ll have to punish you for that?”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” she said as she wriggled round, so I untied her wrists from her waist and eased her dress off, before I picked some rope from the bag and created a rope harness, enclosing her breasts above, below and between, and then started to kiss her again, making her moan before I ran another length of rope between her legs, and placed her in a hog tie.

“Now,” I said as I looked at her, “are you ready for your punishment?”

“Yes, sir,” Sam said as she looked up at me, my hands reaching and stroking her sides and chest as she bit her lower lip…

“Hey – how are you feeling this morning?”

“Absolutely frigging fantastic,” Sam said as she and Jess hugged. It was about eleven, and we had decided it was probably about time we showed our faces for Sunday brunch.

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Jess said as she winked at me, and Tony returned with an omelette and some potatoes.

“When did you leave the room,” he asked me as Jess and Sam went to the buffet, and I began to drink some orange juice.

“Early hours – I thought you two may appreciate having the room to yourselves for a while.”

“Considerate – and it gave you some privacy as well, correct?”

I just nodded as Tony smiled. “That looks good – do they cook it fresh for you?”

“Sure – ask at the counter,” he said as I looked over.

“Some fruit first I think,” I said as I headed for the cold buffet.

We sat, ate, drank, talked before Jess said “How long do you think it will be before the irrepressible Sandy shows up?”

“GOOD MORNING!!”

“About ten seconds,” I whispered to Sam as Sandy appeared, wearing a green polo shirt and wrap round mini skirt.

“And how are you feeling this morning,” she said as she sat at our table.

“Still waking up, if truth be told,” I said as I drank some coffee. “So when do we head off to Chinatown.”

“One o’clock,” Sandy said, her teeth gleaming, “I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

“We could do with losing her for the rest of the day,” Jess said as she watched her walk off.

“I’ve got a much better idea,” I said quietly, “I saw a leaflet when I went to the restroom.” I placed it on the table for the others to see, and they just smiled in agreement.

“Hey Sandy – would it be possible to fit in a show in Chinatown this afternoon?”

She looked at the four of us – me in a white shirt and jeans, Tony in his chinos and t-shirt, Sam in a vest top and shorts, and Jess in a crop top and mini skirt.

“What sort of show,” she said as she looked at us.

“Traditional Chinese magic – it’s at 3.30 in the theatre there.”

“All right then,” Sandy said as she looked at her iPad, “Let me see if I can get some tickets sorted out here before we go…”

We watched her as she walked off, and then smiled at each other…

Chinatown is an amazing place – very different from what I expected it to be, if truth be told. Sandy was very careful to explain this was not as big as the one in San Francisco, but it was still a different world to the four of us.

We stood on the street and watched as a dragon parade went by.

“At one time,” Sandy said, “this was actually part of what was called Little Italy, but it has changed a lot over the years.”

“So I can imagine,” Sam shouted out over the cymbals and drums.

Eventually, we found ourselves outside a small theatre, Sandy saying “Well, this is where the show you wanted to see is. Let’s go inside.”

There was only room for a few dozen people, sat round an open area in the centre of the room, so we took our seats and waited for the act to begin.

“When does the show start,” Sam whispered to me, but as if in answer to her question we heard the sound of silk unfurling, and four acrobats descended from the ceiling, wrapping the silk around themselves to control their fall, as a man in a dark suit and a collarless white shirt walked into the centre of the floor.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said in a loud voice, “welcome, welcome all, to the world of Chinese magic. Today we hope to astound, to amuse, to entertain, but most of all, to open your eyes to the world beyond your normal sight.”

For the next hour, he performed with the help of the acrobats a number of tricks and illusions, helped by two glamorous assistant swearing red silk cheongsams with gold embroidery. He was good, I granted him that, but the best was yet to come.

“For our final illusion,” he finally said, “I wish to show you the dangers that lurk behind our society, if you only wish to peer behind the curtain. I seek three volunteers – brave young women – from the audience.”

That was the cue we had been waiting for, as Sam and Jess hooked their arms under Sandy’s and hauled her to her feet with them.

“We have three brave volunteers,” the man said as the others clapped, Tony and me most of all. “Come forward and stand with me.”

Sandy’s face was a picture as she was escorted into the centre of the open area, while the man said “We need to meet these young ladies.” Holding the microphone, he put it in front of Sam, who said “I’m Sam, and this is Jess and Sandy.”

“Welcome ladies,” the man said as his assistants stepped forward, “and thank you for volunteering. Now, I want you to feel what my assistants have in their hands.”

Sandy looked nervous as she felt the rope that was held out in front of her. “The rope is soft, is it not? Does it feel like something you should be scared of?”

The other two looked at Sandy, as she slowly shook her head from side to side, staying very quiet.

“Good,” the man said as he walked behind them, along with his assistants. “Look at the audience, focus on them, and relax – you will come to no harm.”

Tony and I watched as the three of them took a length of rope each – a long length – and doubled it over, making a small loop before they draped the rope over the shoulders of all three of them. Sandy was shaking a little as the magician stood behind her, her assistants behind Sam and Jess.

“The Chinese authorities, during the Sino-Japanese war, developed a way of securing those they took prisoner in a quick and efficient manner,” the man said, and then they moved like greased lightning, wrapping the rope down the arms of all three women and pulling them behind their backs at the same time. I took five minutes, but at the end of those five minutes all three had their arms secured and pulled up behind their backs, and their upper arms and chests enclosed in a tight trope harness.

Sandy looked as if she was in shock, as I heard Jess whisper “Relax, Sandy – it’s all part of the trick.”

“All… All right,” she said as she wriggled round, and the assistants brought forward three chairs, sitting one of the girls in each chair. “Once they had their prisoners secured,” the man said, “they would take them into a room, sit them down, and make sure they could not run off by securing their legs.”

The two women knelt and bound the legs of all three of them, starting around their legs above their knees by pulling them together and passing the rope between their legs, and then taking it down and binding their ankles together. Sandy was getting redder, but I noticed she was not shaking so much.

Indeed, she was watching with interest as the two assistants stood up. “Of course, they may not wish their prisoners to talk at that moment, but they may have had other intentions in mind. If they were to stay silent, they used a simple, crude but effective method. Ladies, open your mouths please.”

Sandy looked at Jess and Sam, who both nodded, and as all three opened their mouths a rolled length of cotton was placed inside, all three closing their lips over the stuffing.

“Anything to say,” the man then said as he held the microphone to all three of them, all mumbling as they tried to talk.

“It was only when the prisoners were bound and silenced, that the real terror would begin. The interrogator would look at each of them, in the eyes, and then give the nod, and they would be either blindfolded or else covered.”

We could hear their gasps as white cloths were draped over all three of them, covering their bodies and the chairs they were sitting in. The magician smiled at the audience as he said “they would then inform the prisoners that one of them would be executed – by being shot.”

One of the assistants handed the man a pistol, which he primed and then fired into a bale of straw, the three girls jumping when he did that.

“The terror was in not knowing who it was going to be – often one of the prisoners would speak immediately. Of course, sometimes no one would speak – and if their interrogator was feeling really cruel, then all would be shot.”

There was a gasp from the audience as he turned and fired at all three cloths, only for them to fall flat to the ground – the chairs, and the bound women sitting in the chairs, had disappeared.

“Amazing,” Tony said as we stood with the rest of the audience, clapping and cheering as the magician took a bow, and then held up his hand.

“Today, of course, has been all about illusion – but this last trick would not have worked without three very brave volunteers, and they should be applauded as well. Ladies?”

The two assistants wheeled out a laundry basket, opening it and helping to step out Jess, Sam and Sandy, the last of those looking round in a daze as we all applauded and cheered.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your time today, and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.”

“What – what just happened,” Sandy said as they came back over to join Tony and me. “How did they – how did we…”

“Don’t ask – just accept,” Sam said as she took Sandy by the arm. “Was it terrifying?”

Sandy nodded.

“And was it also exhilarating?”

Sandy nodded again as she started to smile.

“Good – now, what’s next?”

“Well,” Sandy stammered, “we have a couple of hours before we have dinner booked…”

She kept looking back at the theatre door, so I said “Is there something you want to say Sandy?”

“Did you know he would do that trick?”

I nodded as she looked at me.

“You both remained so calm as they tied you up – is that the first time you’ve been bound or gagged that way?”

“That way, yes,” Sam said, and she was telling the truth – but Sandy picked up on the way she emphasised her words.

“Do you – do you think you could tie me up again? I want to feel that helplessness.”

“Well, only if you really want us to,” Jess said as he and Sam took her by the arms. “Boys, do you think you can amuse yourselves for an hour or two.”

“I think we can manage – see you back at the hotel,” Tony said as we waved them off.

When we made our own way back an hour later, I texted Sam to find out where they were.

“Our room,” I said to Tony, so we headed up in the elevator and I let us in – to the sound of panting and moaning from the bedroom.

As we walked into the lounge area, Sam and Jess came out, embracing and kissing both of us.

“So where’s our host,” I said as I brushed Sam’s hair away.

“In the bedroom,” she said quietly, “go and have a look.”

We looked in to see Sandy lying naked on top of the covers, wriggling round as the rope between her legs moved back and forth. She was tightly hogtied, with a silk scarf that had a large knot in it lodged between her teeth, and another folded and tied tightly over her eyes as she groaned in delight.

“Fast learner,” I said as we closed the door.

“Hardly – apparently an ex used to do it, but went too far. We drove the fear away today.”

“We’ll give her another twenty minutes before we release her,” Jess said with a smile, “that will give her enough time to change before we head out to dinner.”

“It’s a pity you can’t stick around any longer – we could have had some fun this morning.”

“I know,” I said to Tony as we checked out, “but we’re not going to get home until nearly six tonight as it is. Hey – maybe we can meet up again someday?”

“We’d like that – Sam and I have already exchanged contacts,” Jess said with a smile.

“Well – we need to get going. Safe journey.”

“You too, mate,” Tony said as we shook hands, and I hugged Jess while Sam hugged both of them. We then waved as we set off in the taxi to LAX…

Kristen and Jennifer were at the airport to meet us, waving as we came through the doors. Kristen was in her jeans, brown leather bomber jacket and knee length boots, while Jennifer had on a red jersey, black leggings and red ankle boots.

“Good flight,” they said as we hugged them.

“Yeah, we had a great time,” I said as I looked at my sister. “Where’s Mum?”

“Oh, she and Linda stayed at my place,” Jennifer said as she looked at both of us. “Come on – you can tell us all about what happened.”

“Why didn’t they come?”

“Erm – we’ll tell you when we get there,” Kristen said, Sam and I looking at each other and shaking our heads as we headed for the car.

When we got back to Sam’s place, we all went in, Sam putting her case by the front door.

“We’re back,” Jennifer called out, only for there to be a muffled greeting from upstairs.

“You’d better go up – they want to see you,” Kristen said, “We’ll get supper sorted out.”

We both went up the stairs, hand in hand, and looked in her mother’s bedroom, finding her and my mum lying on the bed, facing each other with their arms around the other’s waist, their wrists tied together behind the other’s back and then tied to rope between their legs, pressing against their shorts. As they moved their arms, the rope rubbed to and fro, each of them looking at us with eyes full of feeling over the knotted scarves in their mouths.

They also had their legs wrapped around each other, their ankles crossed and tied with ropes going down to the foot of the bed.

“They wanted a little quality time,” Jennifer said as she looked in. “We’ll cut them loose for dinner. So come on – how was the trip?”

“Hey there handsome.”

I looked up as Sam sat on my lap in the cafeteria, and planted one right on my lips.

“Hey – recovered?”

“Just about – I didn’t get to sleep until about two, but I should be okay. I just wanted you to know I had a text from Jess – she and Tony got back safely as well.”

“That’s good.”

“She also said we can expect something in the post – any idea what?”

I shook my head – but whatever it was, it might be fun…

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