"Do you have a girlfriend?"

The question caught me by surprise, but I managed to choke out a, "No," before the woman pushed her way into my apartment.

"Great, we can do each other a favor."

I had moved to Richmond a little over four months previous to this and had spent more time getting used to my new job than I had getting to know the neighbors. There had been a barbecue out by the pool on the Fourth of July where I never actually spoke to her but had been told her name and I knew she lived down in 1H, but that was about it. She was shorter than average and had a little extra weight, but wore it well. She had shoulder length brown hair with red highlights and wide brown eyes. Overall, I had categorized her as cute when I first saw her. She also had a few regular visitors who looked as if they could squash me with no effort and didn't look like her brothers, so this mutual favor agreement she had declared we were in had me a little nervous.

"Um, Andrea," her name was more of a question as I tried to recall it, "we hardly know each other."

"We're neighbors. In the olden days neighbors helped each other out."

Perhaps it was the humorous way she referred to the 'olden' days made me relax a little, but I was still a little on my guard. "I'm not really into one night hook-ups..." She laughed. "Well, why did you ask if I had a girlfriend if it's not that sort of a favor?" I demanded, but was more confused than assertive.

"Because my half of the favor is to help you find one. People talk and they say you do nothing but work. I'm sure you'd like to meet someone but just haven't had the time to, so I'm going to help you."

"Well..." Yes, I had the time to date if I had a girlfriend but not the time to go trying to meet anyone. "That's true," I admitted after hesitating, "but what do you expect in exchange."

"I'm going to be out of town this Halloween and you know the rule about parties." The landlord got tired of complaints about noisy parties and had decreed that, other than normal holidays, any gathering where more than eight outsiders were invited had to be co-hosted by at least two tenants. "I want to have some friends over next week to celebrate. There'll be plenty of attractive women there and all you have to do is help me and I'll introduce you to any and every girl you want."

"I'd like to, but I'm going to be pretty busy over the next few weeks." I needed to meet some women, but her method of asking had been a bit intrusive and the company I worked for was expanding which was going to mean a lot of late nights trying to get the new hires up to speed. "I'm going to be bringing a lot of work home and won't have time to plan a party..."

"You don't have to plan anything; Carrie and I have all of that under control. You just have to tell Mr. Klein that you're helping me host the party and spend a little time the day of the party helping to set up and clean up so that it looks like you're really hosting. One day and half of that will be the party itself. Come on."

It did sound like a good deal. "Why doesn't this Carrie just help you host it?"

"She doesn't live in the building. Duh! You know she never spends the night."

I didn't know who Carrie was actually, but had a slight clue now. Andrea had a friend who I'd see coming and going who I categorized as cute and spunky. OK, cut cute and replace it with gorgeous - in my opinion at least. She wasn't going to be signing any modeling contracts, but she was better looking than most women I knew. She was going to be there? She was one of the women I could be potentially dating when all of this was over?

"OK," I allowed myself to be talked into it. "I guess I can spare one day's worth of time to helping you."

"Two," Andrea corrected. "Well, one day and an hour or so. You need a costume." She put her hands on my chest and slowly slid them up to my shoulders and down my arms. "I would go with pro wrestler. That is, if you don't mind women staring at your body."

Despite my work schedule, I managed to find a little extra time to work out before the day of the party. Andrea's assessment of my body was nice to hear but vanity tends to kick in when you're about to spend an evening among strangers wearing only a tight fitting pair of shorts and your sneakers. These were safely hidden under my street clothes when I went down to Andrea's apartment and knocked on the door. There was no answer so I knocked louder.

"Kevin?" I thought I heard a voice call out.

"Yes," I yelled back leaning closer to the door.

"Oh, thank God. It's unlocked I hope. Hurry!" She sounded desperate so I tried the door handle and was thankful that it opened. "In here!" she called when she heard the door open and I followed her voice into the living room. There, kneeling on the floor with her neck and wrists in an old fashioned pillory was Andrea. "There's been a slight accident," she said meekly.

I laughed at her predicament, seeing that she wasn't in any real trouble. "What's this?" I asked as I stepped toward her to help.

"I thought it would be a fun decoration. Have the guests draw fifteen-minute time-slots from a hat and make them be a part of the scenery. I was testing it out and it just got stuck."

"Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise." Her and Carrie had done all the planning as she said, but over the past week I had found the time to get to know Andi better. She was always in control and seeing her stuck like this was amusing. The problem was that after examining the device there was no apparent means of opening it. There was a seam that told where the bottom piece ended and the top piece began but there was no latch or hinge connecting the two. I tried pulling the top piece off, but it wouldn't budge.

"OK, you've had your fun. Now stop goofing off and get me out of here."

"I'm trying." I tried again to lift the top piece off, but it felt a lot heavier than it looked. "This thing won't budge."

"What?! Try again!" She was starting to panic as I tried once more unsuccessfully to free her. "Damn! The instructions warned that something like this sometimes happens."

"Did it say what to do if it does happen?"

"I don't know. Women don't read the instructions either."

"Well where are the instructions?" By now I was as panicky as she was.

"I threw them out. Check the kitchen waste basket," she added to my relief. I did not want to spend the evening going through the apartment dumpsters.

To my disappointment, the waste basket in the kitchen was almost empty and there were no instructions for the stocks in it.

"Andi, I couldn't find-"

"BOO!" She nearly gave me a heart attack as I rounded the corner heading back to the living room. By the time my heart stopped beating she had slumped into a chair, laughing too hard to stand up. "Oh, the look on your face was priceless," she finally gasped.

The stocks stood empty, the top part seeming to float in the air until a closer inspection showed that there were some sort of rods holding it up.

"Behold." Andi knelt behind them and rested her neck and wrists in place. Then she moved one knee onto a panel on the base, which I now noticed was raised higher than the rest of the base. Under her weight the panel fit back into place and the rods telescoped down pulling the top restraint into place. She rested her other knee on the base and it looked as if she were trapped in stocks with no locks. I couldn't lift the top part before because I was trying to lift her weight along with it. "There're some ankle restraints too," she said pointing to the corner of the room with one seemingly trapped hand, "but you have to adjust them for people of different heights, and it would take too long to switch guests out."

She moved her weight back off the base, releasing herself, and after standing motioned for me to take her place.

"Come on," she said, seeing me hesitate. "It's supposed to be one size fits all, but I've got to make sure. If the bigger guys can't be locked up the nobody is going to be."

It made sense and I kneeled in her place setting my head and hands in place. I moved one knee forward onto the panel and felt the device close around me.

"It's a little tight in the wrists, but I could stand it for fifteen minutes." I moved my other knee into place and noted that it wasn't too uncomfortable on my back to sit this way. "There's plenty of neck room, so nobody's going to choke."

"Excellent." Andrea perched on the edge of the top restraint, trapping me inside. "And how hopeless do you feel now?" I couldn't see her face, but her laugh was not the practical joker laugh she had given after she had jumped out at me.

"Andi! Get off!" I tried to grab at her leg with the hand that was near it, but really didn't have the reach to get a grip on her. Moving my weight off of the panel wouldn't get her weight off of the restraint.

"Perfect!" she cried jumping off and releasing me. "When you found out how it works you weren't worried, but when you thought I had you trapped you were."

"And?" Once more her thoughts were miles ahead of mine.

"If somebody doesn't know how it works, how do you think they will react? How funny would it be to put someone in and let them go hysterical not knowing that all they have to do is shift their weight and they'll be free?"

"So we aren't going to tell the guests how it works?" It seemed like a stupid idea to me.

"Oh, we'll have to tell them how it works, but Carrie will be here any minute now to help with the rest of the decorations. Now tell me, do you really think it will take three of us to hang up a few chains and set up a food table?" She was grinning ear to ear now. "Let's trap her and leave her to panic until the party really gets started. Spend a few minutes where the first few guests who arrive try to figure out how to get her out and then when everybody's really worried we'll explain the whole set up to them."

I laughed at the thought of it and we spent a few minutes deciding the best way to get Carrie trapped. She couldn't see the device in advance or she might figure it out, so we agreed that grabbing her right away would be the best plan. We continued with party preparations until we heard the front door open.

"Andi, I'm here. What still needs to be done?"

Andrea grabbed the pillowcase she'd gotten ready and ran to meet her friend. "Well, first everyone will be given their trick-or-treat bag," she said holding it up. I followed more slowly, waiting to hear the door close and for Andi to get Carrie to turn her back to me. She was dressed as a biker chick but had none of the attitude, but it was only a costume and the party hadn't started yet.

"Oh, can I see your sunglasses?" Andi asked, interrupting her own string of lies. She looked at them briefly and set them aside before continuing. "Anyway, we take the trick-or-treat bags and-" and with the risk of breaking her friend's glasses gone, she put the pillowcase over Cassie's head. On cue, I grabbed her from behind in a bear hug, pinning her arms to her side and lifting her off the ground. Andi grabbed her legs to keep her from kicking and we carried her to her prison. There was an awkward bit where we had to maneuvered her around Superman style without dropping her, but I managed to still hold her body up while keeping her hands in front of her while Andi stood behind me keeping her legs pinned together. We got her head and hands in position and Andi stepped on the panel locking her in place before we lowered her into a kneeling position, careful to set her knees in place so Andi could move before removing the pillow case.

"What the hell is going on here?" Needless to say, she had been yelling all sorts of protests up until now, but we were too busy trying not to hurt her to listen to them too closely. Now she struggled, or at least tried to as much as she could, and fumed at her friend. "Andi! You let me go right now!"

"Carrie, Carrie, Carrie." Andi leaned forward and kissed her friend on the nose, making her try to turn her head away. "That's no way to behave in front of strangers. Carrie, this is Kevin. Kevin, this is Carrie." I waved cheerfully, but let Andi continue her taunting. If Carrie didn't have a sense of humor then my chances with her were sunk, but right now my biggest regret was that the jeans jacket she wore kept me from seeing her breasts jiggle as she struggled. "Anyhow, I've decided that I don't need two people to help me and since he got here first that means that you get stuck there. Haven't I told you about being late?"

Carrie walked away and continued to set up for the party. Not knowing what to say, I 'gallantly' removed the bandana that Carrie had tied around her forehead but had become crooked during her capture and hung it over the side of the stocks. She continued to swear at us for a few minutes before turning sulky.

"About a half hour till go-time," Andrea announced after a while. I was really starting to worry about Carrie and what she might think of me as she glared at us while we worked and this was a welcome relief. "Need to go change?"

"I've got it on under here," I said giving myself a light spank as a joke. "I just need to use your bathroom."

"OK, I'll guard the prisoner."

All I had to do was remove my outer clothes and I transformed into Captain Havoc pro wrestler. Why I needed privacy to do this I'll never know other than it's just a social thing, but I caught the approving look on Carrie's face when I returned into the living room and am glad that I didn't fumble about in front of her getting ready.

"Very niiiiiiiiiiice," Andi said eyeing me up and down. "I knew you'd look good. It'll take me a little longer to get ready, so watch her." She stopped to squeeze a bicep before going to her bedroom to change. Carrie realized she was staring at me and looked away as if hoping I didn't notice.

"Don't worry," I told her as gently as possible. "This is all just a joke. Do you really think we could keep you locked up for long when the other guests get here?"

"Other guests? You idiot. Do you think I want everyone else laughing at me all night?" I hadn't thought of that. Now I was trapped. I wanted Carrie to like me but knew that Andi would be mad if set her free early. Carrie was the one I wanted to impress, but for some reason I just couldn't go against Andi.

"I'm sorry. It's just a joke and I'm sure you'll look back and see how funny it is when it's all over."

"Don't count on it," she scowled and went back to sulking.

I looked around trying to find some last detail to attend in order to keep my mind off of this until she called to me again.

"Kevin is it?" I looked back at her and her expression had changed. Like I said, my first thoughts of her were cute and spunky and no longer was she glowering and sullen but she had that mischievous spunk in her eyes. "If I could make it worth your while would you let me out?"

"What?" Her flirtatious tone made my voice rise a half octave. "What do you mean?" I said after a brief recovery.

"Well, I'd do just about anything to keep any more people from seeing me like this." She seemed to draw out the word anything or perhaps that was just my imagination.

"What do you mean?" I repeated. This must be what Medusa's victims felt like as they turned to stone.

"How about a blow job?"

"What?" My voice must have jumped two octaves on that one.

"I'm in the right position. You're almost undressed for it... I admit that I thought about it as soon as I saw you dressed like that." She licked her lips and smiled as if she did this sort of thing all the time. "I believe the words you're looking for are 'Hell, yes'."

"Hell, yes," I said in more of a gasp than an eager affirmation.

"Me-owwhatthehell is going on here!" Andrea slunk around the corner dressed as a cat just before Carrie's lips made contact. I stumbled back, falling over with my shorts down around my knees. It was easier to grab a cushion to cover myself with than pull them back up. By the time I got myself decent (if that word can be used) Carrie was free and Andi was glaring down at me like the cushion was the only thing stopping her from trying to give my a vasectomy with her foot.

"It was her idea," I pleaded.

"It was," Carrie agreed.

"I don't care. It was only supposed to be a joke and he was going to take advantage of you. You don't do that to a girl."

"But I wanted to," Carrie said on my behalf.

"Because you were embarrassed and didn't think that you were further humiliating yourself. I should call the cops on him."

"Wait! Don't do that. I'll do anything." Two against one, there was no way I was going to get dressed before the cops got there and that wouldn't help my story any.

Andrea was crossing the room to the phone but stopped. "Anything?" She glared at Carrie and then at me. "OK. Pants off and into the stocks."

"What?"

"Get undressed, get into the stocks, and Carrie gets to take your picture." Her brow furrowed as if telling me to keep my mouth shut. "Tomorrow you're going to be running around telling everyone you know that you were going to have some poor woman give you a quicky blow job. If you do then she posts your picture on the internet. Quid pro quo - you don't ruin her reputation and she doesn't ruin yours."

"Mmmm, why would I want to share that picture with anyone," Carrie said. Andi glared at her, but it was all I needed to convince me. Carrie couldn't keep her eyes off of me as I undressed. Andi rolled her eyes at the attention her friend gave me as I positioned myself in the stocks and locked myself in.

"Help me get his feet. You agreed to this way too quickly so we're going to give you a little extra. And it will look more convincing for some of the sites I've got in mind to post your picture if it ever comes to that." With Carrie's help she moved the other section of the stocks behind me and secured my ankles in it. Carrie took the opportunity to stroke my leg. "Put that thing back down," Andi said when she saw my cock react to Carrie's touch. Nobody else wants to see that."

"Nobody else is going to see it if you keep your end of the bargain. I wasn't going to tell anyone what Carrie and I were doing."

"And I really wasn't going to take your picture." The evil grin was back on Carries face as she took off her cat ears and whiskers. "You see, there's going to be a party, but it's got nothing to do with Halloween." She removed the fur collar that formed a V-neck on her and I noticed for the first time that she was wearing a tight-fitting cat suit. "You see, Carrie and I belong to what you would call a fetish club and this is going to be a party for the members." She put on a pair of leather gloves as she explained. Carrie had removed her jacket to show that she had a leather bra on to match the skirt and boots she was wearing.

"What?!" But then I calmed down. I knew that this was just a trick and how to get out of it. Neither of them was close enough to hold the top bar down before I could...

I couldn't move my knees off of the panel that kept the stocks locked. The ankle restraints were too rigid for me to move either leg alone and I couldn't move them both at the same time.

"Having problems, dear?" Carrie smiled down at me. "Don't bother fighting it. Andi kept me like that for two hours when we were testing this out and I couldn't budge it at all. The leg stocks just make it too hard." I now realized that just a minute ago she had freed herself without Andi having to tell her how the stocks worked. "I wanted to be the party display, but Andrea wouldn't let me."

"No, I wouldn't." Andrea rubbed my butt and then squeezed. Her gloves had plastic tips in the fingers like claws and I started to cry out, but Carrie was ready with a ball gag. Their movements against me were as well orchestrated as our movements to trap Carrie. "You see, Carrie has sub leanings. Now, subs have their place in the world, but I can't stand their weakness outside of recreational uses. But Carrie's been my friend since childhood so I've been cutting her a little slack." I was shaking my head, but it didn't stop her friend from getting the gag strapped in. "But I can only cut her so much slack. The good news is that she has some potential as a switch and them I can tolerate."

I looked up at my captor as best I could. She talked as if this were the most natural thing in the world to her.

"And then you moved in. Big office manager, a nice dominant personality one would think, but I watched you and, like her, I think you've got switch potential. Relax, no man likes to be told that he's submissive, but think about the past week. I said jump and you jumped. I think you enjoy it a little bit. So I got this brilliant idea to get the two of you together. For the rest of the night she owns you. Now, some of our friends like to take what isn't theirs, so her sole job is to establish her dominance over you well enough that none of them try to take control of you. If she succeeds then I'll be convinced that she can be trained to be a good domme and we won't have to end our friendship. By the end of the evening I'm willing to bet that you'll be enjoying this and willing to start your sub training, which she will handle under my tutelage until you're a nice little switch couple. I keep my friend, she gains a boyfriend, you gain a girlfriend, and I get a new toy to play with. Everybody wins, but most importantly I win twice."

"Now nod your head in agreement, slave," Carrie ordered me.

"Oh, nice start," Andi told her.

And that is how I was introduced to my new friend, my new girlfriend and my new lifestyle.