An Act of Betrayal
Part I: Down at the Dock
© 1999 Mary Catherine Whitney
All Rights Reserved.
(f/m, semi-cons, no sex)

Late September . . . a Friday afternoon . . . down at the dock
Danielle was sitting on the edge of the dock on the Saint Francis side of the lake, her legs dangling over the edge. It was a hot, sunny afternoon in late September. In the distance she could hear birds chirping, the periodic sound of girls laughing as they walked along the lake path, and the clip clop of horses hooves as they turned off from the stables toward the head of the trail that led up Bald Eagle mountain. To the casual observer it would have looked like Danielle was simply enjoying some peace and quiet, but that wasn't true. She didn't have time to kick back and relax and even if she did, it really wasn't her style.

She'd been there about twenty minutes, skipping stones across the surface of the water when Tommy James walked up quietly behind her. "You're late," Danielle says, not bothering to turn around or take her eyes off the water. "Whatever," Tommy says sitting down beside her. "I got busy and lost track of time. No big deal." Danielle rolls her eyes and throws her last rock into the lake with a splash. "It is a big deal Tommy . . . this is business and time is money. You kept me waiting nearly half an hour and that's time I can't afford to lose. You know how hot things are for me at Saint Francis after what happened last term. I'm surprised they haven't sent out a search party for me already."

He gives her that slow, sexy grin that drove all the girls at Saint Francis wild. "Knock it off TJ, I'm immune to your charm." He moves closer to her and slides his hand up her bare leg, tracing his finger along the edge of her shorts. "You haven't ALWAYS been immune Dani . . . I remember we had some pretty hot times before you got all hung up on that mystery guy. I don't know who he is, but I'm sure he couldn't be as great as you think. If he was all that you would have let him into your panties by now." Danielle pushes his hand off her thigh and gives him a disgusted look. "Not ALL guys spend their lives thinking with their dicks Tommy and I'm interested in more than just sleeping with him. I realize you'd never understand that, but . . ." her voice dies out. "Fine Dani, but you'll see . . . someday you'll come crawling to me on your hands and knees, just begging for it again. Lucky for you I'm a forgiving kind of a guy. I might even be willing to give you another taste of the 'Raging Rocket' despite what a little tease you've been these past six months."

His hand creeps up her leg again and he leans over and whispers in her ear. "You know Dani, if I wanted to I could make you SO hot. I could have you right here, right now. Before you know it we'd end up doing it on the dock and you'd wonder how you could've ever let me get away!" "God," she thinks as she listens to him ramble on about what an incredible stud he was, "how could I have ever been attracted to someone like him?!" She twists around and suddenly throws her leg around Tommy, straddling him on the edge of the dock as she presses her body against him. She aggressively pushes Tommy on his back, his legs still dangling over the pier as her legs are bent in the air. Danielle clasps his hands over his head and kisses him hungrily, forcing his mouth open as her tongue slides past his teeth.

After a long, LONG minute she comes up for air and looks down into his hazel eyes. He's practically panting, and he can feel himself harden, his jeans becoming uncomfortably tight. She smiles at him, considering her thoughts. "Hmmmm," she says as she pushes a stray lock of her short blonde hair back behind her ear. "That's funny, I'm on my hands and knees but you're the one who's begging."

Laughing she rolls off of him and stands up, extending her hand out to help him up. "Come on TJ, let's take a walk. We've got a lot of business to discuss . . ."

They begin to slowly walk on the footpath around the lake, both of them quiet until they reach their destination, the Saint Sebastian's woodshed. It was long out of use . . . wood was delivered to the schools by truck these days. Until the 1960s though, boys who'd earned too many demerits were often given a good taste of woodshed discipline. They'd spend the day chopping firewood, stacking it in the small shed, then, once they were done with their chores, the head of school would shine their bottoms with a thick leather strap.

These days the shed was perfect for Danielle and Tommy's purposes-a private, out of the way headquarters for their business. It had a lock on the door, had no windows, and was hidden behind a thick tangle of vines and bushes-making it invisible from the footpath. Luckily it was also waterproof which meant they could safely store their inventory and equipment. It had taken a little fixing up when they'd first come across it during their sophomore year, but had been well worth the investment. They'd rigged an emergency exit in the back of the shed, a one-way door that they could use if anyone ever tried to get inside. It was small, but there was enough room to keep a vast inventory of alcohol, sex toys, condoms and a variety of video making materials. An entire wall held shelves where blank videotapes, three cameras' with extra battery packs and lights and a lock box with password protected zip disks with their client lists, account ledgers, and lists of products and services rested.

They'd added the No-Tell Motel last spring to their enterprises and so far it had been an overwhelming success. Unfortunately though, Danielle had recently discovered that Tommy was doing a little business of his own behind her back and if there was one thing she couldn't tolerate it was a partner who was a cheat. They look around, see the coast is clear, and step off the path by the big elm tree, pulling back the thick tangle of vines and slipping into a tiny clearing where the woodshed is located. Danielle pulls the key out of her pocket, slips it into the lock and opens the door. They quickly enter the shed and she locks it again behind her, replacing the key for safekeeping.

Once inside she sits down on the chair, motioning for Tommy to sit on the bench against the wall. He lies down on his side instead, propping his head up with his hand. They look at each other a moment, then Tommy asks her casually, "So, you said we have some business to discuss. What's up?" She looks at him . . . he had a smug look on his face. Danielle was certain Tommy had no idea she knew what was going on with him and his outside interests. He wouldn't be looking so cocky once she finished dealing with him! Danielle decides to start casually and give him a chance to confess his sins. "Yeah, I wanted to go over our bookings and shipments for the week." "Sure thing," he says as he pulls out his pocket notebook and looks over an elaborate list of letters and numbers, his own personal code for their clients and goods. To the casual eye it looked like chemistry equations. It was perfect, he could carry all of his records around in broad daylight and no one was any the wiser! He even used them when he tutored guys who were having trouble with chemistry! He didn't understand why Danielle thought he was dumb; it was obvious to him that he was absolutely brilliant!

They quickly go over what Danielle needs to order for Saint Francis. Unlike Tommy she never wrote anything down, instead preferring to keep her orders and customers locked away in her brain. After her experience last year when Dean Michaels caught her red-handed holding a Plaid Market bazaar and he confiscated her inventory and client list she had become absolutely obsessed with security. Thankfully, he couldn't make heads or tails of the codes of her clients' names, but he had no trouble identifying the items she was currently stocking. The large backpack of sex toys, lingerie and explicit books and magazines she'd been carrying when he caught her hadn't helped. That had been enough to put her on disciplinary probation for the rest of last term, bar her from becoming a SA and running for ASB President . . . an office she was sure to win! Fortunately she hadn't received a shipment for liquor or cigarettes that day; she probably would have been expelled if he had caught her with that.

As it was the Dean had put her over his desk and strapped her bottom as he lectured her relentlessly about her impulsiveness, her disregard for rules, how she had disappointed him and had thrown away a promising future. Despite everything the Dean said that night and the strapping he'd given her, he'd forgiven her afterward and even more amazingly had spoken in her defense before the Trustees.

He'd watched her very closely since that night though, putting a real damper on her activities. Danielle had everything she loved taken away from her last spring . . . and as much as she knew that Dean Michaels wouldn't understand, her business and the Deadbeat Club was just about the only thing she had left at Saint Francis. Most of her friends had deserted her, unwilling to be touched by the scandal she'd created. Her customers were loyal . . . only because they wanted to take a walk on the wild side and she was the one who could supply the shoes (not to mention the condoms, the vibrators and the latex bras and thongs that the girls at Saint Francis clamored for) for their erotic adventures.

Transactions for the party supply side of the business taken care of, the two begin to discuss their motel reservations for the week. "I've got the Saint Francis tack room booked every night this week, the boathouse every night but Monday and Thursday, and the stone temple in the Alcove for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday," Danielle says, succinctly listing the special toys and videos some of their "guests" have requested. "Oh, and I got a special request for a pup tent and a sleeping bag for two to be pitched in the back meadow on Friday and Saturday night. Rebecca and Jason each signed up to go home next weekend but are planning to go away together." She smiles, "Bet you $10.00 one or both of them come back with poison ivy in an unexplainable location!" He laughs, "I'll take that bet, but let's make it $20.00. I could use the extra cash." "Fine, but it's a suckers bet TJ," she responds. "Now, what about you? What do you have booked for the week?" He looks over his list and responds, "Field house, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday . . . Saint Seb's hayloft every night but Tuesday, Old Bell Tower Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday."

"That it?" Danielle says casually. "Uhm, well yeah," Tommy responds, taking a quick nervous sideways glance at Dani. She was sitting cross-legged on the chair, staring at her short, blunt nails. "I really need to stop biting them," she thought as she listened to Tommy dig himself deeper and deeper. "Why?" he asks, stealing another glance at Danielle. Her head was down and she seemed totally absorbed with looking at her nails. "Oh, no particular reason," she mumbles as she suddenly looks up. "I guess Victoria must've cancelled her special request for the old gatehouse," Danielle says as casually as possible.

"No she . . ." he pauses reddening, "oh shit, how'd you find out about it Dani?" he asks, beginning to sweat slightly. "I would think the more appropriate question would be how come I found out about it from someone other than you. Want to explain that TJ?" "Uhmmm, well . . . oh hell Danielle, I was gonna tell you afterward, honest. I wasn't going to cheat you out of anything. It's just, well . . . see . . . she came to me and offered three times the going rate if I set it up without you knowing. How could I turn down profit like that?"

"Three times the normal price?" Dani asks disbelieving. "Come on Tommy, why would she do that? I mean, our prices aren't exactly cheap." "I don't know, but I can tell you she wanted the works . . . music, candlelight, silk sheets, wine, massage oil, a special herbal supplement from my private garden and a videotape to commemorate her special night." "Shit . . . any idea who he is?" Danielle asks, forgetting for a moment that she's angry with Tommy. "None, but I can't wait 'till tomorrow night to find out Dani. I'm dying to know who's going to be the lucky guy!"

Danielle thinks for a minute, "You can go ahead with it under two conditions . . . no, make that three," she says. Tommy sits up, listening intently. He knew Danielle was giving him a break, she could've easily said to just cancel to get back at him. "Ok, you' got it," he responds. "What's the deal?"

"One, no 'herbal supplements'. Tell her things were too hot and you couldn't pick anything up. I've told you before I don't want that crap filtered into Saint Francis or any of my enterprises. You do what you want on your campus with your guys, but I'm not gonna get nailed shifting that shit. I catch it 1,000 feet of any of my business ventures or on any of my girls and we NEVER work together again, got it?"

Red-faced he nods, "Yeah, fine . . . I think you're making a mistake, there's a ton of money in it, but if you want to pass up easy cash it's your loss." "You're right, it IS my choice and my decision's final. Now, second, I want to be there. You said she bought the works. I'm guessing she wants you operating the camera from outside the room. You're setting up in the space between the bedroom wall and the closet, right?" He nods. "Good. Bring an extra camera, I want to get a good look at precisely what or who she doesn't want me to know about." "You got it Dani," he says.

Tommy's actually dying of curiosity himself. He'd made some subtle inquiries around Saint Seb's and none of Victoria's normal group of guys admitted to being her date for tomorrow night. He was starting to wonder if it wasn't a teacher, though for the life of him he couldn't begin to imagine which one would be willing to risk their career on Victoria. "You know it could be one of the priests. That would be twisted enough for her," he says and Dani considers it. "Possible, but knowing her she'd ask for that room in the Saint Francis chapel . . . it would appeal to her warped sense of humor. The scene she's set up, I'd say she wanted to seduce someone. My money would be on one of her sisters' boyfriends. They're always trying to top each other and that would be something she'd be afraid would get around."

"Yeah," he says, "and she'd have good reason to be afraid, especially if it was one of Vanessa's guys. Vanessa would probably pound her skull in, sister or not. Since you know anyway, how about you set up the room, say around 6:00 pm? You're much better at it than me Dani. The girls all go wild for those romantic things you do, the flowers, the candles, all that crap. I'll bring the camera's over around 7:00 pm and we can set up, settle in for the entertainment. Victoria and her date should be there at 8:00. Listen, I've gotta get going, I've got a meeting with the Head about the freshman mixer in two weeks."

He springs to his feet, ready to make a quick getaway. "Uhmmmmm . . . hmmmmppppphhhhhh," Danielle huffs, "if I recall correctly I said you could go ahead with your plans under three conditions. That was only two TJ." "Oh yeah right. What's condition number three?" he asks. She looks at him, then looks behind him at a hook on the wall. "I think perhaps you need a reminder why it doesn't pay to lie to or cheat your friends and business associates," she says as she looks at the strap on the wall. It had been hanging there since the days the woodshed had been used for more practical purposes and with a little oil it had become soft and supple and still provided a fiery kiss when properly wielded.

Tommy turns bright red, his eyes widening. "You . . . no you wouldn't Dani," he says as he looks from her to the strap and back again. "You should've thought about the consequences before you tried to cheat me Tommy . . . and don't say you didn't because I know every last dime would've gone straight into your pocket if you hadn't gotten caught in the act."

He mentally curses himself as he watches Danielle stand up and take the strap off of the wall. He'd agreed to this way back when . . . they'd needed a way to keep each other honest. Neither one of them truly trusted the other, particularly when it came to money. Tommy was the only one who'd ever been caught with his hand in the till and each time Danielle took the payment back with interest on his bare bottom. His erection, which had been fueled earlier by Dani's teasing, grew limp as he unfastened his jeans and let them fall around his ankles and any feelings of desire were crushed when she yanked his boxers down, baring him completely.

"So much for the 'Raging Rocket' huh stud?" she asks, as he looks him over critically smirking slightly. As he curses himself, then her, he decides that Danielle had gotten the best of him for the last time. As he bent over and readied himself for the first lick of the strap he says to himself, "Someday she'll pay for this. Who cares if I wasn't going to tell her? Victoria came to me for the booking, not the other way around."

Suddenly a sharp whistle rushed through the air. "Swishhhh . . . SPLAT!!!!!" "One . . ." "Swishhhh . . . SPLAT!!!!!" "Two . . ." Tommy groaned all the way to 12, silent tears running down his face. "Yes," he thought, "someday she'll be sorry she tried to get the best of me . . ." Afterward he pulled up his boxers and jeans and they walked out of the woodshed, locking it behind them and cautiously making their way back to the path in silence. Tears still in his eyes, Tommy mumbles goodbye and turns at the fork in the path, going back toward Saint Seb's as Danielle walks back to her dorm. "Tomorrow night," she thinks to herself, "I have a feeling it's going to be a night I won't soon forget . . ."

© 1999 Mary Catherine Whitney, All Rights Reserved.

See what happens next in Part II: The Saturday Night Special!

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