Insomnia - Chapter 1

Insomnia - Chapter 1

The bedroom clock showed 2:36 AM. The red numbers glowed brightly, as if to mock her. It seemed hopeless to even try to sleep. She had tried everything but all the effort just made her more tense and restless. She just finished reading the novel that she expected to last over the coming week. The old sure fire sleep aid, a hot cup of tea hadn’t even worked to make her sleepy. The whole lot of recent events in her life seemed to be working against her at this particular moment. Having the car breakdown on the highway was bad enough, but to miss an important management meeting yesterday morning left her with new problems; All this at a time when things seemed to be coming apart at the seams. She found herself re-living the events of the day and worried about the new problems of tomorrow.

Carol crawled out of bed to got a drink of water. Walking to the kitchen, she noticed the glow of light through a window behind the shrubs at the new neighbor’s house. She had never seen a light in that basement before, .The shadows moving through the light made it flicker behind the shrubs. She thought nothing of it as she filled a glass of water from the tap at the kitchen sink. On her way back to the bedroom, she noticed the faint glow of candles through a corner of one of the basement windows. She paused to look as she sipped the water. A slight view of the basement was visible through the gap where the curtains came together. The sight of a woman who appeared to be naked caught her attention. The breeze had parted the small curtain just enough for her to catch a better glimpse of a figure bound with thick rope coiled neatly around her arms. As she stared at the mysterious figure the woman bent down and vanishing out of sight. She set the glass down on a nearby end table and stepped outside onto the deck for some fresh air and a better view. She had never been one to peek through windows but this was too curious to disregard. Once on the deck, she could feel the heavy air movement, suggesting an approaching storm. The sky was star-less as she glanced up, noticing the billowing storm clouds. She felt a little chilled in just her nightgown as she peered over the railing at the house next door.

At first she thought the sound she heard faintly was just the wind, but then she realized that the rhythmic whooshing sound was too regular to just be the breeze. The sound was punctuated with soft whimpers. Without even thinking about how she was dressed, she found herself on the grass, sauntering closer to the neighbor’s yard and the open window. The sod had just recently been laid in the new yard, making the grass feel spongy beneath her bare feet. All she really knew about him was that he was a single professional man, perhaps in his mid-thirties. He had caught her attention when she first saw him as he was strikingly handsome and seemed charismatic in that brief moment. The flickering shadows of an individual moving about could be seen against the far wall. She moved closer until her face was nearly against the window screen. One of the sounds clearly was that of muffled moans. The other sound seemed to have stopped. She tried to see more but could only see the shadows of a vertical figure holding something resembling a multi-stranded whip, dangling from one hand.

The rumble of distant thunder could be heard. Feeling embarrassed to be peaking in the window, she decided to quietly return to her own home. She noticed the “3:10” on the clock as she returned to bed. Her mind was racing now in spite of the utter exhaustion of her body. She fantasized about how it might feel like to be dominated by a man like her new neighbor. She ran her hand over her bottom, wondering how it would feel to be spanked or whipped. She hoped to meet him soon to get a better read on what he was really like.

The buzzer of the alarm was merciless when it came alive at 6:30. She struggled to remember which button was for snooze. Still in a dream state, she returned to the control of her master. The cloaked figure stood over her with a menacing look. She was unable to move…

The drone of the alarm eventually freed her from the grip of her master ten minutes later when it sounded again. Crawling out of bed she headed for the shower. The images from a few hours ago remain firmly etched in her brain. She waited at the front door for her lift to work. The skies looked ominous, ready to open with a sudden morning downpour. Glancing next door, she noticed a woman leaving the house. The woman opened the door to a car parked in the driveway then gingerly lowered herself into the driver’s seat. Carol’s surveillance was interrupted when her friend, Barb arrived to give her a ride to work. They chatted on the way to the office but her mind continued to drift to her unusual night. It was not until they pulled into the parking lot at work that her thoughts returned to the more urgent matters of the workplace. Lacking vitally needed sleep; she took a deep breath before entering the building. The rain began to beat against the large office windows as she arrived at her desk.

Tired from the start, Carol somehow managed to make it through the dreary and non eventful workday. The gloomy skies and steady rain seemed to bring out the worst in everyone at the office. Just as she was about to leave for the day, Barb called to tell her that she had to stay at work another hour or two. Fortunately, there was a city bus whose route was somewhat convenient for getting home. She decided to take the bus home rather than wait for her girlfriend.

The unrelenting rain beat against the bus windows at times on the drive home. Riding the bus felt somehow more secure in this weather. The quiet on the bus allowed her to relax a little and mull over the events of the past week. Her thoughts returned to the sights from early that morning. The man next door intrigued her. Perhaps she should introduce herself to the new neighbor?

The bus came to a stop on her corner. A gust of wind blew rain into her face as she struggled to open her umbrella at the bus step. She headed for home at a brisk pace to get out of this weather as soon as possible. A gust of wind caught her umbrella as she headed up her sidewalk, peeling the fabric of the umbrella away from one side of the frame in one sudden burst. She hurried to the front door. The rain seemed to have intensified, blowing sideways and soaking her even under the overhang. She searched through her purse for the house keys. To her horror, she realized that she neglected to bring them since she wasn’t driving. She raced to the back door just in case it was unlocked. She was drenched to the skin by the time she found the back door locked as well. Her cat stared helplessly at her through the patio door. She thought about her options. She headed back toward the boulevard to see whether her neighbor across the street was home. Just as she passed the front of her house, a voice called out,
“Hey there! Were you locked out?”
Turning, she saw that her new neighbor had just pulled up his driveway and stopped along side her.
“Yes,” she admitted, feeling somewhat embarrassed to meet him this way.
“Come on in,” he gestures toward the opening garage door.
She followed him into the attached garage as he stepped out of his car.
“My you look soaked! How long have you been standing in the rain?”
“Not long, I just got here,” she answered, feeling very self-conscious as water dripped from her dress onto the garage floor.
“First, let’s got you dried off. We could figure out how to break into your house later. By the way, I’m John. As you probably knew, I just moved in last week.”
“Hello. I’m Carol,”
They shook hands awkwardly as he led her into his house. She could see that he was as gorgeous as had been her first impression, and so nice to her too.
“I don’t have a lot of clothes in your size but I think we could find a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt that you could wear,” he offered as he left her standing alone in the mudroom.

He returned quickly with a large towel and a few articles of his clothing.
“You could throw your wet things into the drier there if you’d like. I’ll make us some coffee while you change,” he said. “I’ll leave you here for some privacy while you change. Come on in when you’re ready.”
He closed the door on his way out of the small room between the kitchen and garage.

She was too cold from the water-soaked clothing to argue. She looked around the room as she dried herself and undressed. The smell of new construction permeated the room. Thoughts of what she saw in the basement early that morning raced through her mind. She noticed a pile of bedding in a clothesbasket on top of the washing machine. She opened the door to the dryer as she stepped out of her dress. His gym shorts were a little loose on her but they would do for now. She chuckled at the logo on his Minnesota Moose hockey jersey that covered her legs down to her knees.

She wandered into the kitchen when she had finished changing. He was just pouring two mugs of steaming coffee when she walked up to the snack bar between the kitchen and great room. He smiled at her when he saw her wearing the new outfit.
“You make a lovely Moose,” he chuckled.
She curtsied as it the jersey was her dress.

She sat at the snack bar while he stood on the other side. They flirted and got acquainted as they sipped their coffee along with some stale Danish he had on the counter. The more she saw of his personality and charm the more confusing the activities from the night before seemed. She could feel herself being drawn to him. Maybe she would invite him over for a nice dinner soon. Before they knew it, it had become dark outside. Looking at the clock on the microwave oven she noticed that it was already after 9:00. She expressed her appreciation,
“Thank you very much for your hospitality, but I better be going now.”
“Have you forgotten that you’re still locked out?” he mentioned.
Looking out the window, they could both see the steady rain still falling.
“Why don’t you sty here until morning and we can everything taken care of then?” he suggested. “I have a guest bedroom. Besides, I haven’t given you the grand tour of my new house yet. We can call a locksmith in the morning unless you know someone with a key.”
She noticed him smiling at her and smiled back. Tomorrow was Saturday so she didn’t need to worry about getting to work in the morning.
“Well okay, if you’re sure it’s not an imposition,” she replied. “I haven’t given a spare key to anyone so I guess we’ll need a locksmith.”
“No trouble at all. In fact, I was hoping to have some friends over this weekend. Now I can scratch that off my to-do list. If you’ll excuse me for a few minutes, I’ll straighten everything up and make sure the bedroom is ready first.”

He left her at the snack bar as he departed. She noticed a bookshelf in the great room serving somewhat like a divider between the rooms. She walked over to browse through his books. A drawer below the shelving was partly open. She noticed what looked to be a leather handle stuck between the drawer and the frame. Opening the drawer just enough to tuck the device back in, she was surprised to see a neatly wrapped length of thick rope also in the drawer. Looking more closely, she realized that the leather device in the drawer was some kind of ornate riding crop. Looking around to see whether he was returning, she opened the drawer further. Tucked neatly in the middle was a leather harness of some sort with a bright red ball attached. She felt a chill run through her body as she picked up the bondage headgear. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she quickly stuffed the harness and crop back into the drawer and closed it firmly but quietly.
“Come with me and I’ll show you the place,” he said as he approached her.
She nervously joined him, wondering whether he saw her snooping in the drawer.
“This of course is my great room where I expect to spend a lot of my time when I’m here. I have a vast collection of live recordings from concerts that I was involved with producing. I really enjoy listening to them when I unwind after a hard day at work.””
She pondered what other clues might be discovered about the activities of the early morning. She had just recently read a popular book about bondage and had become interested in the idea, but had never actually done anything like that before. She was very curious about how it would feel to be dominated and felt herself becoming aroused at the thought. She wondered how one would broach the subject, especially now that she was in the home of a man who practiced the art – her own neighbor! His descriptions about his possessions seemed to drone in the background as she imagined being bound and dominated by this man. She imagined how his touch might feel on her bare skin as he restrained her helplessly.

The house was not overly large, but was finished off very nicely with many built-in features. A huge stone fireplace flanked the two-story great room. The furniture all seemed relatively massive. His bedroom was just around the corner. The first thing to catch her eyes was a king-sized four-post bed with stout posts. She spied two cords, possibly drapery ties coiled on one of the night stands. He didn’t spend much time showing her the bedroom and quickly moved to the master bath. Plants surrounded a large whirlpool tub. She noticed the beautiful ornate tile. The tub was adorned with large ornate handles around the platform. They proceeded to the guestroom where she would be spending the night. This room was more modest yet somewhat lavish with a queen-sized bed, dresser and couch. She noticed this bed had four posts too.
They came back down the stairs to the main level and returned to where they began in the kitchen.
“What about downstairs?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing but junk and the furnace down there,” he replied nonchalantly. “Would you like something more substantial to eat? Or we could watch a movie and have some wine with crackers…or popcorn,” he offered.
“Oh, a movie would be fun,” she answered. “What movies do you have?”
He opened a door with several racks of DVD’s in holders on the doors and inside the cabinet itself.
“Take your pick while I make some popcorn to go with our wine.”
She saw many titles of popular films that she recognized. The collection was more recent than she would have expected. She chose a suspense thriller that sounded familiar but she wasn’t sure whether she had ever seen it. Lifting it from the storage slot she read the back cover to see who was in that movie. It sounded promising. They settled in together on the large stuffed couch, sitting close but mostly watching the movie. She was becoming more comfortable with John. He seemed so nice despite the clues that she had uncovered. She snuggled under the blanket to cover herself with its warmth. He rubbed her leg as she sat close but separated by the blanket.

When the movie ended, she crawled out from under the blanket, stood to stretch and noticed that it was past midnight. He could see her yawning and suggested that maybe it was time to get some sleep. He showed her to the guestroom again. She thanked him for all his help and the nice evening.
“I’ll have breakfast ready when you wake up so we can get you back into your house tomorrow morning. I’m sure your cat is missing you.”
She kissed him goodnight on his cheek before he left her alone, closing the door on his way out.
She felt exhausted after the sleepless night and all of the extra commotion of the past week. Slipping out of her temporary clothes, she crawled under the covers and fell asleep almost immediately.

Waking in the early morning to a loud clap of thunder, she was confused at first by the unfamiliar surroundings. Lying still, listening, she could see brilliant flashes of lightning followed by loud crashes of thunder. She watched nature’s light show through the blinds that covered the windows for a few minutes before rolling over and closing her eyes. Between the noise and the unfamiliar bed, she found it difficult to get back to sleep. After tossing and turning for a while, she decided to visit the restroom and get a drink of water. Slipping into the jersey, she left the bedroom.

A nightlight was on in the bathroom, making it easy for her to find the way. She could hear the drone of his snoring coming from behind the doors of the master bedroom. The sound of snoring in concert with the steady rain made an interesting concert. She smiled as she headed into the kitchen area in search of a glass. Passing the door to the basement, her curiosity was rekindled. The images that she thought she saw last night remained fresh in her mind. Opening the door slowly, she spotted the light switch to the basement. All that was visible when she flipped the light switch were the stairway walls and railings that made a sharp turn to the right. She glanced back toward the bedrooms upstairs before slipping down to the landing. She was just planning to take a quick peek. The basement was dark except for the light offered by an occasional flash of lightning. A wall was visible at the bottom of the stairs, but nothing else. Venturing a little farther, she turned the corner into the open expanse of the basement. A collection of boxes and miscellaneous exercise equipment could be distinguished in the darkness. Reaching for the string on a pull-chain light fixture, her arm brushed against something dangling from the ceiling. Fumbling in the darkness, she was finally able to locate the string. The scene was quite different than she expected as the single bulb cast its illumination.

To be continued