IOU (MF, rom, slow) {3/6] IOU Chapter 3 Ellie woke up the next morning with a surprisingly mild headache considering the amount and variety of drinks she had consumed the previous night. She made her way downstairs to find that her supposition had been correct; both her parents were engaged in making breakfast in the kitchen. "Good morning Elizabeth. Would you like some bacon?" her mother asked, for all the world as if this wasn't the first time she had seen her daughter in over a year. "Morning Mother, Father. No thank you, I'll just have some cereal." "Very well." "Oh Elizabeth," her father called. "Have you any plans for this evening?" For a moment Ellie hesitated, tempted to say, 'Yes, I'm, going to seduce my best friend's little brother,' but prudence triumphed and instead she replied, "Not really, nothing I can't cancel. Is there something I can help you with?" "Well, yes actually. We're having an informal get together tonight of the M.R.C. and some of the council members." He clucked impatiently when he saw Ellie's puzzled face. "M.R.C., the Middleton Restoration Committee. I wish you would pay attention sometimes to what is happening in the adult world. The caterers are coming to set everything up but they can't stay to serve, so I was hoping you might be able to help out there." "Of course. That's not a problem. After all, I've done it before." "Have you dear?" her mother queried. "That's good. We thought you might like to ask one of your little friends to help you." "I think Lizzy is working but I'll give Beth a ring to see what she's doing. I'll ring her right now in fact. Excuse me." Ellie hurried into the hallway and dialled Beth's number. Despite the early hour she was quickly answered. "Hi, it's Ellie. Is Beth there, please?" "Hi, Ellie, it's Carl here. I'll just get her for you." Ellie heard him give a muffled yell, then he came back on the 'phone. "Um, Ellie," he asked hesitantly, "you haven't changed your mind about tonight have you?" "I've not changed my mind, but we're going to have to do some rescheduling. My parents are back." "Oh." His voice held a wealth of understanding. "It's up to you, but we could use my brother Nick's place. He's taking his wife and kids to Euro-Disney next weekend so I'm house-sitting for him." "Suits me. What time?" "Well, if you come round about seven on Friday night I'll cook you a nice tea," Carl offered. "Oh, only if you want to. You don't have to." "Hey don't sound so worried. I'm not that bad a cook. I can make your favourite," he said temptingly "Really? What's my favourite?" Ellie asked. "Toad-in-the-Hole with lots of gravy. Correct?" "Correct," Ellie confirmed, slightly surprised that he had known that. "So unless I hear otherwise, I'll see you on Friday." "It's a date. Here's Beth. See you then." It didn't take long for Ellie to talk Beth into helping with the catering. She hardly had chance to put the phone down before the caterer arrived and the rest of the day passed quickly as she helped her parents prepare for their visitors. Judging by the level of noise the party seemed to be going well. The buffet had been rapidly decimated and the majority of the guests were now tucking into their desserts. Ellie and Beth circled the room discreetly, filling wineglasses and collecting discarded plates. Ellie's father was at the centre of an animated group, which was discussing various schemes to celebrate the opening of the new Town Hall. When Ellie approached them her father he was expounding on the desirability of a talent night. "It's something which would get all the community involved. There would be no age or sex limitations, so anyone could enter. That's what we need to heighten awareness of the M.R.C. Otherwise we won't get the contributions and support we need to start Phase Three." "What kind of prizes would we offer? They would have to be good to get people on stage to make fools of themselves," someone pointed out. "I'm sure we can get some firms to donate something suitable," Ellie's father replied. "It sounds like a lot of work. I prefer the beauty contest myself. Lots of pretty girls in swimsuits will get us plenty of column inches." "They'd freeze to death in our weather," Ellie's father muttered as she refilled his glass. "Besides Elizabeth here would be guaranteed to win, so no one else would bother to enter." "Too true. Your daughter has grown up into a beautiful young woman, Fred." Ellie's father beamed proudly as his cronies admired Ellie. "Don't know where she gets it from," he declared. "We sometimes wonder if there was a mix-up at the hospital. She looks nothing like Margery or I and she certainly hasn't inherited any of our brains. Not got two brain cells to rub together, have you Elizabeth. So it's a good job she's so pretty really" "But surely she's just back from University." "Oh yes, but it was one of these throwaway degrees they have nowadays, not a real one. What was it again Elizabeth?" "I studied English and Media Studies." Ellie replied meekly. "And what are you planning to do now?" one of the councillors asked kindly. "I have a job interview on Thursday with a local TV company," Ellie told him. "Have you really?" her father asked. "Well that's amazing." "Well good luck," the kind councillor offered. "Thank you." Ellie responded politely. "We will be making coffee and tea in a few minutes if anyone would like some." She collected their orders and thankfully retreated to the kitchen. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stop her father's careless indifference to her life from hurting. * * * With one thing and another the week passed quickly and Ellie had managed to push to the back of her mind exactly what she had committed herself to do on Friday evening. However when she awoke on Friday morning she knew she could no longer close her mind to the situation she had got herself into. She couldn't believe how confident she had been when talking to both Lizzy and Carl. Although she had never had any complaints from her boyfriends she was hardly an expert on sex. Nor did she have any real idea of what Carl was expecting. Feeling very nervous she decided to do some last-minute research. She tried the library first. There was no way she was going to ask the librarian for help, but she was hoping she could find something by herself. After an hour or so she gave up. Either she was looking in the wrong places or an ancient translation of the Kama Sutra was all they had. She had found it under Health and Medicine, which seemed a strange location, and it was more confusing than helpful. Next she went into W.H. Smith's on the high street. She picked up a copy of every magazine that had the word sex on the cover, including all the 'lad mags'. The book section at the back was slightly more helpful than the library. She found a manual on sexual massage and another on aromatherapy for lovers. There was also a big glossy book that called itself "A guide to more active lovemaking for you and your partner". Flicking through she found a step-by-step guide to doing a strip tease, complete with pictures. It seemed to be the closest thing to what she was looking for that she had discovered so far. Her heart dropped as she approached the till and recognised the shop assistant on duty. She was a close friend of her mother's and renowned as a gossip. Everything else Ellie was buying could be passed off as an interest in massage and the magazines had lots of other topics besides sex advertised on their covers. The book however, was without doubt about one thing only. Suddenly it seemed even bigger and more colourful than before. In desperation Ellie quickly tucked it inside her coat under her arm. Her face was bright red as she paid for everything else and she was sure a security guard was going to arrest her at any moment. Somehow she managed to pay and politely answer the shops assistant's chit-chat. Pausing only to shove a twenty-pound note in the newspaper honesty box to quiet her guilty conscience, she almost ran out of the shop and hurried away as fast as she could. She spent the next few hours expanding her education. In her room she was safe from interruptions. The cleaner had learned long ago not to enter it and Ellie couldn't remember the last time her parents had knocked on her door. The magazines were quite helpful as they gave her some idea of what men fantasised about. There was also plenty of information about what men considered sexy. The book was the most helpful though. She skipped all the sections about sex being part of a close, loving relationship and the exercises for better sex as neither had any relevance to the evening's encounter. She didn't bother with the information about contraception either. Her previous boyfriend had insisted on regular check-ups at the campus clinic so she knew she was clear. As Carl was a virgin she didn't have to worry about him. Since she had been on the pill for years everything seemed to be covered. The chapters on diet, vitamins and minerals and 'making love without intercourse' she also ignored. She was left with about ten chapters that covered everything from different positions to exploring fantasy. Everything was clearly described with accompanying pictures, diagrams or photographs. Some of the things Ellie had already thought of but she picked up some new ideas also. When she had gleaned what she could from the literature she sketched out a plan of action. When she had completed it, she realised she would have to make another trip to the High Street to collect some accessories. By the time she returned it was after five and she had to start getting ready. She took a long shower and, after some deliberation, used some cream to remove all of her pubic hair. Her previous boyfriend had liked her to trim it but from her research she had discovered that the majority of men preferred women to shave it all off. After she had dried herself she made up a blend of the oils the aromatherapy book recommended as aphrodisiacs. She smoothed the compound all over her body. It made her feel decadent, like a courtesan of centuries ago, rubbing expensive perfume into her skin to entice a man. She took her time piling her hair on top of her head and carefully applying her make up. She chose her cosmetics carefully, making sure they were all long lasting and guaranteed not to rub off. Her previous boyfriends had taught her that males did not like to wake up to find either themselves or their sheets smeared with mascara and lipstick. She got dressed and made sure she had everything she might possibly need in her bag. At last there was nothing left to do and she could delay no longer. She left a note for her parents and drove across town. When Carl answered the door the stunned expression on his face told her that her preparations had not been in vain. She hoped he would be just as impressed with everything else she had planned. She was determined to pay her IOU in full.