2 comments/ 8449 views/ 3 favorites Dress Off: Courtney vs. Alison By: enf_cavalier I'm returning to an old series I wrote several years back and neglected to finish. Now I'm looking forward to continuing the storyline. The following is a reasonably stand-alone story that takes place between Dress Off 2 and Dress Off 3. All comments and private messages are welcome, and thanks in advance for your honest votes. ======================= Courtney's fingers drummed idly on the small wooden table of the cafe, her coffee sitting untouched and unloved, cooling under the cloudy skies. Her sole companion was a tall raven-haired woman, who looked like she might be in her forties but very carefully looked after herself. She was currently fighting back an amused smile with only limited success, and was occupying herself with texting someone while stealing the occasional glance at Courtney. Courtney's face was a patchwork of deep thought and trepidation. "How long until she gets here?" she said, finally breaking the silence that had settled over the pair for the past five minutes. Her companion shrugged, and placed her smartphone on the table. "Oh, a few minutes, probably. In a rush to get this over with?" Courtney shrugged, trying to act non-committal. This just prompted a laugh from the other woman though. "Don't worry, Alison is on her way. I suspect she's just as keen to get this over with as you are, even if..." the woman crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, a smile gracing her features, "she might have a different view on how it should finish!" Courtney snorted. There was only one way to resolve the latest impasse between her and Alison, and it wasn't going to be through any means that Alison would look back on with fondness. Courtney looked down at her right hand, and briefly stared at the ring that adorned her finger. In many ways, it was a symbol of the conflict that existed between her and Alison. She gave a small smile at the memory of receiving it, and pictured the man who'd given it to her. Shane. Courtney's current boyfriend and Alison's ex-husband. For a second, a dark mood swept over Courtney as she imagined her boyfriend sleeping with Alison as husband and wife. That then passed however when she remembered how Shane had talked about the many, many reasons he'd left her for Courtney. As far as Courtney was concerned, the brown-haired bitch fully deserved everything that Elizabeth Harrington's little game could deliver, and probably more. Courtney looked hesitantly across the table again. "Umm... Liz?" Harrington looked up from her latest bout of texting. "Yes, Courtney?" she said, with a small sigh. "This... game you've suggested..." Harrington raised an eyebrow, "Yes?" "Well, what if... what if Alison wimps out?" Harrington laughed, but it was neither warm nor friendly, and Courtney was taken aback for a moment. Harrington checked herself, and a friendlier smile then returned to her face. "Oh don't worry, I'm sure you'll both be motivated to play the game to it's ultimate finale and... well, in fact, you can ask her yourself." Harrington continued, indicating with a nod of her head that Courtney should look over her own shoulder. A tall brunette in her early thirties was walking towards them both. As Courtney turned to look, the brunette glared but didn't stop, and didn't say a word until she'd arrived at the table. Dressed in a light green floral knee-length skirt, her clothes seemed somewhat at odds to the mild winter day around them, but nevertheless she smoothly creased her clothes and sat down primly. "Liz," she said, greeting Harrington with a small smile. "Whore," she continued, far more coldly as she then deigned to acknowledge Courtney's presence. Courtney clenched her jaw, but refrained from returning the insult. Placing her palms on the table in an outward attempt at calming herself, she just happened to let Alison get a full view of the beautiful ring Alison's ex-husband Shane had given her. Harrington had to suppress a smirk as she noticed what Courtney was doing, and the way that Alison's face turned to thunder as she too saw the ring. "Anyway..." Harrington started, before the hostilities between the two women degenerated into outright bitch slapping, "thanks to both of you for coming along today." Alison looked at Harrington, and forced a pleasant smile on to her face. "Hey, Liz, it's me who should be thanking you! For, well, you know," she said, facing Courtney and pointedly ignoring the ring on prominent display, "giving me the opportunity to put this house-wrecking slut in her place!" Courtney half-rose from the seat at that latest jibe, but caught herself in time, and lowered back into her chair. Breathing deeply for a couple of moments so as to regain control, she then replied. "Liz, if I understand it correctly, you have some friends who can help settle a little feud our acquaintance here insists on pursuing." "Feud?!" Alison shouted, gaining the attention of several nearby patrons. Two old gray-haired women - probably deep into their sixties - put down their own coffees as the conversation near them became more heated. They shared a look, and settled in to enjoy the impromptu show. "That dirty whore," Alison continued, gesturing at Courtney, "is sleeping with my husband..." "Ex-husband!" Courtney interjected. "... and would probably open her legs to anyone who happened to have a wedding ring on!" Harrington held her hands out to try and placate the two women, and tried to hide her irritation at having been interrupted. "As I was saying," Harrington said, raising her voice and embedding every word with more than a hint that her two companions should now remain docile and quiet, "thank you for coming along today and, yes, I do have some friends who can help settle this... dispute." Courtney and Alison glared at each other, but nonetheless fell silent, and stiffly listened. "It's just a little game that you could play. As with most games, there would be a winner and a loser. The winner wins, well, perhaps it's more about what the loser loses that might entice you both to play." Harrington said, smiling at both of them. Alison looked again at Courtney, this time more with uncertainty than the outward hostility that had previously been the case. "Umm, how do we, well, how do we play?" Harrington spread her arms wide. "It's a pretty simple game, truth be told. There's a venue of course, which I think you'll both agree should make the perfect setting, and a couple of costumes that my friends will give you to wear. After that, it's just a case of finding some clues." Courtney fiddled nervously, and then gave Harrington a long hard stare. "And how, exactly, does this help fix the issues we have?" Courtney said, slowly and carefully. Harrington leaned back, and took a sip from her drink, letting the two women sweat on her answer for a moment. She could feel the tension rise, and the two others gave every impression that their hearts were now racing. "That," Harrington finally replied, "comes down to how many clues you solve. The more you solve, the less comfortable your opponent will be in their outfit. Trust me!" Harrington said, with a broad smile, "I think one of you will be a happy and contented winner, which ever one of you it is." Alison and Courtney eyed each other. Hesitant, uncertain of the true ramifications of what Harrington was suggesting. Equally though, each was determined not to back down in front of the other. Harrington resisted the urge to smirk, as she looked from one woman to the next, and realized that she had them exactly where she wanted. They wouldn't turn down her offer now. To do so, they'd have to agree to mutually back out, and Harrington had far too ably stoked their existing rivalry with a few carefully chosen words for that to be a possibility. No, she had them, and now the game had them too. Harrington smoothly pulled two official looking documents out of her bag and placed them precisely in front of the two warring competitors. "Now, let's get down to the legalities, shall we? Just a few matters of contract to ensure everyone's on the same page." ***** Courtney stood stock-still in the women's bathrooms on the second floor of the city's Museum. The sun was already setting outside, and in less than an hour the museum would close to it's casual patrons. It would be far from deserted though. Her nervousness exhibited itself through some nervous jiggling from one foot to the next, as she waited for the earpiece she was wearing to signal that the game had officially started. A lot was riding on the outcome of tonight. Somewhere out there, Courtney knew that Alison would be similarly dressed, similarly waiting and - hopefully - similarly nervous. Courtney's boyfriend would be at the museum later, for a big announcement to be made by his boss at a private function. He and Courtney had received their invites a fortnight ago, before this whole business with Harrington had started and right now she wanted to get this game over and done with before he arrived. She knew that the clothes she was wearing right now might provide some degree of elegant modesty, but she also had fresh in her mind the warning that had come with the clothes. Should Alison beat her to the clues, or should she try to modify or hide her clothes or body, then the penalty would be a clothing malfunction. Courtney didn't need to have that explained to her further. Nor did she want to dwell on exactly what clothing malfunctions might be planned, even if she was secretly looking forward to Alison suffering each and every one of them. Courtney smiled at the thought of that. The thought percolated in her mind of Alison being humiliated just as Shane arrived for his work function, further driving home the very obvious point that Courtney was the right woman for him and not that stupid brunette bitch. That was all the motivation that Courtney needed. She clenched her jaw in determination, and readied herself. Surely the call couldn't be too far away now. Glancing at herself in the mirror on the side wall of the bathroom, she absent-mindedly smoothed out some non-existent creases in the dress she was wearing. It was actually quite a nice dress, she had to admit. A black dress that ended half way down her thighs, with a plunging neckline and a golden sheen, with a lace-up design over her cleavage and a bodycon silhouette. It was paired with a backless, strapless black bra, clasped in the front and providing some modest support for her C-cup breasts, while under her dress she also wore a black thong with an intricate strap design. Not that, she sternly reminded herself, anyone was going to see that. An open black leather jacket ending around the belly button covered her shoulders and most of her front, while two rose gold metallic, cross-shaped ear-rings hung down near her hair. She'd already received a few messages from her discrete ear-bud, and she more than suspected that the ear-rings were playing a fairly important role in keeping her in touch with the organizers of their little game. All in all, Courtney looked quite fetching. It irritated her to think that Alison might look similarly glamorous in her identical outfit, but she then mollified herself by thinking about how less glamourous she'd appear after Courtney solved a few clues. Three clues. That's what she'd been told. First to solve three clues would win. Courtney looked up at the ceiling, and repeated a few mantras to build up her confidence. Three clues to embarrass Alison and end this stupid feud by putting that evil bitch in her place. Courtney smiled grimly, and hopped from one foot to the next. She was completely alone in the bathroom, and the silence was become oppressive. Come on, come on, come on! She thought. Then, just as her nerves were beginning to get the better of her, the ear piece finally sprang into life. Courtney let out a long sigh of relief, realizing that she'd actually been holding her breath for the past minute in fist-clenching anticipation. "Hello Miss Courtney Smith," the voice said matter-of-factly, "As of this moment, the game is live. If you'd be so kind as to step out into the corridor, you'll then receive your first clue." Breathing in deeply and whispering words of encouragement to herself, Courtney reached forward, turned the door handle, and took her first fateful step back into the museum's corridors. ***** The museum was still alive with people as Courtney practically danced along. All her nervousness had disappeared in the twenty minutes they'd been playing, as Courtney triumphantly arrived at her intended destination. "Congratulations Miss Smith," the voice piped up in her earpiece, "that's the second clue in a row that you've managed to find!" Courtney was elated. She was on a roll, and she was now only one final clue away from sweeping the game without having had to suffer a single wardrobe malfunction. She could only guess at what was running through Alison's mind right now. Was she huddled in a corner somewhere, while her clothing misbehaves and humiliates her? Had she been running through the museum in a desperate attempt to find some clue, any clue, while Courtney just strolled directly over to the tall Roman spear that had so obviously been the answer to the latest riddle. Courtney smiled, and beamed at the millennia-old weapon that stood stoically, unaware of it's own roll in winning Courtney her own private war. Looking down at herself, Courtney's outfit was the same model of elegant modesty that it had started out with. She was feeling good about herself, and even though she was attracting more than a few stares from men in the various exhibition halls, it was no more than she'd have expected given she was looking this good. "I just wish I could see Alison now!" Courtney said, more to herself than anyone else. Somehow the voice in the earpiece had obviously heard her as it quickly replied. "Well Miss Smith, this is indeed your lucky day. I think you'll find Mrs Steyn is about to round the corner. She was just a shade too late in figuring out the last clue, I'm afraid." Courtney let a broad grin break out on her face. This was going to be too good. True to the voice's words, Alison suddenly came haring into the Roman Exhibition Hall, panting and looking slightly worse for wear. The first thing that Courtney noticed was that Alison's jacket was gone, and the straps that kept her dress together over the cleavage had broken, meaning that her C-cup cleavage was now obvious and visible to anyone who cared to look. While her nipples were safely hidden from sight, Alison did look distinctively uncomfortable with the amount of skin she was showing. Despite the woman being five years Courtney's senior, even Courtney had to begrudgingly admit that her breasts were still pretty impressive. "Still a bitch." Courtney muttered under her breath, as if to cancel out any complimentary thoughts she might just have had about her opponent's boobs. She could see one of the woman's arms twitch, giving every impression of trying to cover herself up out of instinct. However, Courtney could see the agony etched on Alison's face - cover up and suffer a penalty which would probably lead to more clothing malfunctions, or leave her ample chest partly exposed, and come across as the exhibitionist that she mostly certainly wasn't. Alison spotted Courtney, and Courtney had the pleasure of seeing a look of barely contained rage sweep across her fellow contestant's face. She seemed to be out to say something as she skidded to a halt in front of Courtney, but then Courtney saw her features freeze. Evidently, the voice in her own earpiece was now relaying some bad news to Alison. Courtney couldn't help but smile. If Alison was only being told about Courtney finding the clue, that meant she'd get to witness the second clothing malfunction live. With a wink and a blown kiss, Courtney not-so-playfully teased Alison while the woman's face went white as ash. Alison visibly shook as the voice spoke in her ear, and the handful of patrons that were in the hall with them looked on with growing interest at the strange behavior of this undeniably attractive thirty-something woman. Then, a gasp escaped from between Alison's lips, and her eyes went as wide as saucepans. Even Courtney looked surprised, as Alison's latest wardrobe malfunction became plainly obvious to anyone watching. With a small shriek, Alison could sense her dress beginning to tighten and shorten. What had previously covered down to around half way down her thighs was now edging it's way up. Without thinking of the consequences, Alison grabbed at the hem of her dress in a futile attempt to keep it modest, only to find that by holding it down she was only threatening to tear the dress off her shoulders. With an impotent stamp of her foot, Alison had to let the dress continue its upward journey, and it only halted when the very bottom of her thong peeked out from under the outfit. Courtney couldn't help but laugh, and Alison seethed at the indignity of being two nil down to the woman she blamed for her failed marriage. Her seething was then interrupted by something only Alison seemed to know, and Courtney stopped laughing for a moment to try and figure out what was happening now. Alison let out a little whimper, and then turned her back on Courtney before she could figure out what new embarrassment was now being inflicted on her boyfriend's brunette ex-wife. It was hard for Courtney to escape the feeling that this was going to be a night she'd never forget, and she permitted herself a moment's gloating. "Hey Alison," Courtney called out, "one more clue and Shane's going to see you naked again! That's what you wanted, isn't it? Of course, everyone else is going to see you naked too, loser!" Getting a little carried away, Courtney even took a few steps to follow the clearly embarrassed Alison. More and more people turned to gawk, both at Alison's obvious predicament and at the vitriol being flung at her by Courtney. "You know, I hoped the world would finally get to see you for who you really were, bitch. Consider this payback for ruining Shane's life!" Alison didn't turn back to face her tormentor, but simply broke into a run to get out of the hall and far, far away from Courtney. Courtney felt like she was bursting with confidence from every pore, and had to rein herself in a little. "Easy Courtney, easy." She whispered to herself. "There's more than enough time to drive home Alison's well-deserved humiliation after the next clue." "Speaking of which," the voice in the ear-piece finally chimed in, "if you've finished your little conversation with Mrs Steyn, you may be interested in learning exactly what the next clue is." Courtney stood up tall and confident, and flexed her fingers in anticipation. "Fire away," she replied, mentally preparing herself for the final spring to the finish, "lets end this now!" ***** She was clueless. Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had a clue, she just didn't know what it meant. Her top wasn't helping matters, Courtney reflected with some measure of bitterness. The previous clue hadn't ended "it" quite as Courtney had hoped. Far from it. After only a few minutes, Courtney had been surprised to hear the voice inform her that Alison had already solved the clue and arrived at it's location. Courtney had come to a screeching halt. That bitch surely must have just gotten lucky! How else could she have stumbled across it so quickly? Courtney - who she knew was smarter - hadn't even figured out what it meant yet, let alone where it was. As she'd mulled over what could possibly have gone wrong, Courtney was suddenly made aware of a hum coming from her jacket. As she looked down at it, the first shock coursed through her body. She didn't need a second shock to know what to do. With a yelp, Courtney ripped the jacket off, and threw it to the ground, looking at it accusingly. The electric shock hadn't been overly painful, and had more caught her off-guard, but she also guessed that the first shock was probably just the warning shot. Dress Off: Courtney vs. Alison Then, as she had sniffed and turned her nose on the rebellious item, she'd felt the material at the top of her dress part slightly as the lace-up ties that connected the top parts spontaneously failed. Courtney had gritted her teeth and clenched her fists in frustration, but having seen the state of Alison's clothing as she'd come into that hall, Courtney had known what was awaiting her. Now, with a new clue buzzing in her mind, Courtney half-sprinted through the halls, hoping that she'd somehow see something that would trigger a hint in her mind and allow her to solve the clue. She had no intention of letting that brunette bitch take this to a tie-breaker clue, and felt a single-minded determination to end this now. It was still a few minutes to go before the museum would close for the night, and the regular day-time patrons were stealing the final opportunity to check out a few last displays before they'd be ushered out. There would also be a new crowd coming in shortly, for the private function that Courtney still hoped to attend at Shane's side. She just had to solve this one clue. She just had to finish this game in this next leg, and then sit back in satisfaction while the evil ex-wife was degradingly humiliated in front of the ex-husband and the woman who'd saved him from a life of married misery. "Not far to go now." Courtney said to herself, trying to pick up her spirits while she walked past two men who very obviously stared directly at her cleavage. Of course, there was the small matter that Courtney had no real idea yet where exactly it was she actually supposed to be going to. Near or far though, the thought of being so close to victory over Alison was all she needed to pick her spirits up again. "I can do this!" she said under her breath. "Indeed you can, possibly," the voice said, it's intrusion sending a sudden chill down Courtney's spine, "however it won't be this clue I'm afraid. It would appear that Mrs Steyn has more fight in her than initially thought. We have ourselves a tied game..." ***** Courtney's mind raced as the full extent of her situation closed in around her. Every time she moved, it felt like she was flashing the bottom of the thong to those around her. If she worried too much about her thong though, something happened to remind her that she was also no longer wearing a bra with a dress that clearly displayed her cleavage. After the voice had announced - with more than a little hint of amusement - that Alison had evened the scores in such rapid succession, Courtney have discovered what had made Alison turn her back on her in the hall. The clasp on her backless, strapless bra had failed, and the two cups that held snugly to her breasts and immediately become unstuck. The carefully placed adhesives that she thought would keep her safe had dissolved in seconds, and two useless pieces of an ex-bra had slid down and fallen on the floor. As she also suffered the embarrassment of her dress shortening, she also had discovered that it was also tightening, so that absolutely every curve of her body was now outlined by the offensive item. She couldn't take it off though, because except for her thong it was all Courtney had. She merely had to settle for dashing through the museum, red-faced and risking further exposure with every second and with every movement. She staggered along, looking from side to side, trying to avoid the looks of the people around her and completely failing. Courtney could feel the men staring at her ass, or making comments to each other while ogling her boobs. Some of the comments floated over the air to her, and turned Courtney's ears red with embarrassment at their crudeness. Her mind was a mess of emotions, stress piled upon uncertainty, topped off with a dollop of fear. She couldn't afford to lose the next clue. They were tied at two-all, and the next clue would determine who would walk out of this a winner, and who would be forever humiliated. She cursed herself as Courtney realized she'd been wandering corridors and halls aimlessly, trying to avoid the stares and judgments of others rather than actually solve the clue. "Come on Courtney!" she chanted to herself, trying to will herself to uncovering what the clue could possibly mean. 'Where Bobby Lee was turned back on July 3rd.' Courtney racked her mind over and over again, as she trotted along another corridor, feeling the cool air whip between her upper thighs where only minutes ago her dress had comfortably rested. It was even worse when she had to stop and bend down to check some of the names beneath displays and items. That meant either bending at the knee, causing her dress to ride up even further and show half her panties, or bending at the waist in which case anyone behind got a complete eyeful of her ample derriere. She was damned either way. Courtney screwed up her face at the continuing indignity, and kept trying to refocus her mind on the all-important clue. "Where Bobby Lee... where Bobby Lee... where Bob E Lee... fuck!" Bobby Lee... Bob E Lee... Robert E. Lee. The southern general who fought in the civil war... Courtney stopped suddenly, and then frantically tried to remember where she'd seen a Civil War diorama. It was one level down from where she current was, she was sure of that. Turning on her heels, forgetting about trying to hide her ass, and pushing away thoughts of what her bouncing cleavage must look like with out a bra or the dress's lace-up front, she simply thought about getting to that diorama before Alison. That was all that mattered now. She only made it half way to the stairs though before Courtney's earpiece sprang back to life. Courtney froze. "No," she whispered, "no, it's not fair... I figured it out... I figured out the clue..." "Yes," the voice replied, calmly and with a sense of detachment that almost stung Courtney, "but I think you'll find Mrs Steyn not only figured out the clue, but is currently standing by that very diorama of the Battle of Gettysburg that you were undoubtedly heading too." Courtney closed her eyes. "No!" she said, louder this time, and confusing two nearby men who had been otherwise studying Courtney's somewhat odd choice of outfit. "Oh, but yes, my dear Miss Smith," came the smooth response, "and I'm very much afraid to say that this game does not reward those who come in second place." "I was so..." Courtney started to plead. She was cut off though. The breeze between her legs where her thong was so cruelly exposed was suddenly replaced by the gentlest of itches. Courtney looked around, blushing as she saw she was being watched, but couldn't resist running a hand down and giving the itch a quick scratch. A man pointed and laughed at Courtney as she pulled her hand back up guiltily. The itch returned, this time with more power. Grunting in deep embarrassment, Courtney was forced to scratch her crotch again, and she could see in the expressions of those around her just how undignified she must look. Courtney started to try and find somewhere more private, half-knowing already where this was leading to even as the itch returned for a third time. This time, no amount of scratching could relieve the agony of that itch. As she dashed into an empty side-corridor, Courtney had to finally surrender to the torment that the manufacturers of the panties had built in. Looking around and finding herself mercifully alone at least for the moment, she gripped the panties in both hands, let out an inventive curse against the game's rules, and yanked the offending item down her legs until they pooled at her ankles. The itch mercifully disappeared, but a moment's relief was all Courtney was afforded, before the consequence of her actions struck home. She kicked away the useless thong, and then tried to pull the dress down at least an inch or two. Anything to protect her naked pussy, and hide the fact that she was cleanly shaved. The dress wouldn't budge though, and it was as she was trying to eek out even half an inch's worth of modesty out of her sole remaining item that the full terror of the latest clothing malfunction manifested itself. Before her very eyes, the material of the dress turned from black with a gold sheen to be semi-translucent. Holding the very edge in her fingers, Courtney's mouth dropped open in horror as she realized she could see her fingers through the very material she was counting on to hide her otherwise naked body. "Oh no!" Courtney swore. The entire dress faded. Not entirely invisible, possibly still visible enough for someone at a distance to still think she was wearing something. Anyone close up though... Courtney shook her head trying to wake up from what must surely be a nightmare. Anyone close up would see her naked body through the semi-sheer material. Her nipples, her tummy, her crotch... everything! "The good news," the voice in her ear said, choosing that moment to continue, "is that the museum is closing for any casual patrons that might have wandered in to check out the exhibits. The halls and corridors are probably beginning to empty even as I speak. The bad news is... well, your boyfriend does have a private function on tonight, doesn't he?" "Please," Courtney begged, "don't let him see me like this!" "Well, that all depends on just how much you want to avoid that. Firstly, how about you join Harrington for a... ahem... debriefing?" Courtney trembled slightly at that thought. "How... but... I don't know where she is!" For the first time, she heard a laugh through her ear piece. "Oh, don't worry, we've been sending you her location for the past thirty minutes, you just weren't listening to it consciously. Relax, you know where she is, you just don't know that you know, yet." As if triggered by something the voice said, and without any conscious effort to do so, Courtney found herself propelled forward. Her own legs took on a life of their own and were carrying her out of the relative safety of the empty side-corridor and back into the hall beyond. On robotically marching legs, and utterly overwhelmed by the degrading state of what little was left of her clothing, a hapless Courtney was led helplessly deeper and deeper into the museum. ***** Courtney could feel the hot flush in her face as she walked down the long corridor, the tight sheer dress clinging to her body in a way that accentuated her embarrassment rather than doing anything to alleviate it. Her footsteps echoed in the wide passageway, and with every sharp ring of her heels on the cold floor, she agonized that she'd bring dozens of patrons rushing to see what all the commotion was about. Courtney squeezed her eyes shut. Somehow, without even looking where she was going, her body moved on, never breaking stride or walking into some obstacle. It was if her mind had taken a mental snapshot of the museum's layout while she'd been rushing around and now her exposed, humiliated body was responding to some other deeper instruction. She clenched her fists, and willed herself to stop, turn and dash into a side room somewhere. Powerless though, she merely had to silently rage as her legs marched ever onwards. She couldn't even bring herself to cover up. Couldn't drape an arm across her nipples that poked so prominently through the see-through top, or strategically place a hand where the sight of her bare pussy shimmered in and out of view beneath the translucent material constituting her outfit. As she rounded another corridor, Courtney re-opened her eyes and was immediately greeted with the terrifying sight of an old lady admiring an exhibit of old porcelain plates. "Oh God, no!" the humiliated woman whispered to herself, as she mechanically strode on, directly on a path that would take her right past the white-haired senior citizen. Courtney grimaced, and prayed that her movements would silent enough that the old woman, seemingly fixated on the display in front of her, would ignore the display that was about to pass her. As tonight's game had so harshly proven to be the case though, this was no longer Courtney's lucky day. She was less than ten feet away when her footsteps finally alerted the woman to Courtney's presence. The old lady initially just gave Courtney a cursory glance, before focusing back on the display, but as Courtney tried to speed up and get past her, the woman's head began to swivel back to face her. Courtney could see a look of shock on her face, and the old woman's eyes went bug-eyed behind her thick-rimmed glasses. "Young lady!" she exclaimed, indignity radiating from her, "do you realize what you're wearing?!" Courtney was all to aware of what she was wearing. Her nipples were diamond-hard at this point, and would have been visible through the tight material even if the dress hadn't gone translucent so that people could see her body from close up. She was still moving forward, and she could still feel the tight dress slide between her thighs, hyper-conscious of the fact that her bald shaven pussy was not particularly well hidden the sheer clothing. With face-burning embarrassment, Courtney could feel the woman's eyes run down her body, linger with disapproval of her breasts, and then trace a line down to her crotch. Courtney tried to ignore the expression that flashed across the other woman's features, but she knew that the fact that she'd shaved a few days ago had not escaped attention. "Girls today!" the white-haired senior said with a snort of derision. Courtney's face went even redder than it had been before, and she could feel the beetroot burn of her cheeks. Mercifully her legs didn't seem to have any intention to stop and give her a chance to chat, and Courtney marched on past, feeling the old lady's eyes follow her. As she felt eyes pour over every inch of her exposed bottom, Courtney stumbled jerkily onwards, and wondered if things could possibly get any more embarrassing than this. "Young lady," a voice called out behind her, "there is such a thing as dignity, and you'd be well served to remember it!" Courtney groaned at that latest jibe. Dignity was in pretty short supply around here she reflected, bitterly. ***** Courtney had already paraded past at three other people before she reached the non-descript door in the unremarkable side-corridor that her legs had propelled her to. Each time, there had been the same humiliating sequence of events. The other person would glance at her in passing, and then the realization of what they'd just seen would seep into their brain. Then they'd take a much longer, harder look at Courtney, and the sheer dress began to feel practically invisible. Courtney would feel the eyes touching every part of her body, checking out her breasts, a raised eyebrow or open-mouthed gawk at the shape and size of her boobs, before the inevitable gasp as they realized Courtney's crotch was also visible from close range through the misbehaving dress. Courtney would keep walking past each of them, and hadn't uttered a word of response to the various cries of outrage or pick-up lines that she'd so far had to suffer through. Instead, she'd solely focused on reaching her final destination, wherever that proved to be. Now she was here. She was confident of that, even though she knew that practically she had no way of knowing on a conscious level what the subliminal message had told her. Still, there was something about the door, black and unmarked as it was, that gave the suggestion of a certain finality. Her hand moved to the door handle, and the handle twisted easily in her grasp. As the door pushed open, a low-lit room was revealed, which seemed to stretch out a fair distance, with a wall on one side and a huge curtain on the other. Courtney started to in without a second thought. Once in, the door swung shut slowly, and the light coming in from the corridor was cut off. The room was darker than the corridor behind her, even though there was a dim light coming from a couple of light fixtures high up in the ceiling. Straight ahead, standing bemused with her arms crossed, Courtney could see Harrington waiting for her. Glancing around, wondering about the room, Courtney could see a mix of equipment piled up against a far wall, and a stage that had been setup near the large, heavy black curtain. Without proper light, Courtney couldn't quite make out what was on the small stage, but nonetheless she got a sense of trepidation just from looking at it. Harrington gave Courtney a cold, hard smile, as the near-naked woman presented herself in the dark-lit backroom, her hands forced down to her sides so as to give maximum exposure of her body beneath the sheer dress. "Hello Courtney. Glad to see you made it here, I was beginning to wonder if you'd stopped to show yourself off to absolutely everyone in the museum." Harrington beckoned Courtney forward, and even in the semi-darkness Courtney could see that her friend Elizabeth Harrington had been replaced by a far more sinister figure. Her features were cold and calculating, and far removed from the Elizabeth that Courtney remembered. "You suit that dress," Harrington said, "but I think I have something that'll suit you even more." The tall raven-haired woman - who was radiating a sense of regal, poised control - indicated the stage with one outstretched finger. Courtney gulped, and then closed her eyes again as she heard the door open behind. "Oh, Alison, good of you to join us," Harrington said, her smirk audible even with Courtney squeezing her eyes shut. It was embarrassing enough to be betrayed by her own body, exposing herself in front of Harrington. But to do it in front of Alison as well?! As Courtney tried desperately to think about other things though, she belatedly came to the conclusion that the issue of her clothing might only be one small aspect of her humiliation. She could hear Alison cross the distance from the door to where they were standing, and sensed movement as Alison walked past her and positioned herself near Harrington. With a feeling on impending dread, Courtney could feel a tingle in her crotch that signaled something even more embarrassing that being naked. Courtney was now turned on, and the clinging material of the dress couldn't hide the slight dampness that she was now sporting between her legs. "Okay, okay, you win Alison, well done." Courtney said nervously, hoping that all the two women had in mind was some teasing. Alison didn't smile as such, but her face wore a hungry expression. She looked sideways at Harrington. "Well," Harrington continued, catching Alison's look and smiling slyly at it, "we now reach the, ahh, climax of our little game." Harrington then strolled slowly over to where the red-faced Courtney stood rooted to the spot, hands forced down to her sides, the small patch of wetness around her crotch slowly growing on the material that did nothing to hide her shame. Placing an arm over Courtney's shoulders, Harrington turned to face Alison. "Of course, I suppose some might argue this is an end to your feud. Alison is clearly the winner; Courtney is clearly... well... clearly so many things!" "Stop making me turned on!" Courtney half-shouted, some measure of defiance still in her. Harrington just curled her lips into a sneer. "Oh, my dear Courtney, my subliminal message merely got you here. That wet patch is entirely of your own making!" Alison laughed at that, and the sound of the laughter burned Courtney's ears. "But," Harrington continued, "I also like to make sure that there is no ambiguity, and just as you both chose to play this game, so must one of you choose to end it." Courtney had enough control over her body to turn her head to look at Harrington, uncertainty written large in her features. Dress Off: Courtney vs. Alison "I... I don't understand." Courtney said, simply. Harrington gave the embarrassed woman a squeeze of the shoulder that might have been interpreted as being supportive, if it weren't for the mocking look she gave the hapless loser at the same time. "What I mean, dear Courtney, is that Alison here has one final decision to make." Harrington then let go of Courtney, and whispered in her ear. Without warning, Courtney's legs began to move again and in a matter of seconds, a clearly confused Courtney found herself next to the small stand facing the heavy black curtain. The stand consisted of a pole, and now that Courtney was sufficiently close to it, she could see what it had attached to it in the murky light offered by the room. With her eyes wide in horror, the helpless Courtney could see that atop of the pole, which itself was just under half of Courtney's height, sat a large, black, ribbed dildo. A cable ran down the dildo to what looked like a small sleek battery pack by the side of the stage. Without giving her too long to contemplate the significance of the dildo, Courtney found her body stepping up on to the stage, and then humiliatingly mounting the dildo. "Fuck!" Courtney said, in a squeak. She looked at the two women, and Alison seemed stunned by this turn of events. She hadn't moved a muscle, but her mouth hung open at what was happening to the woman who she blamed for breaking up her marriage. For a second, Courtney impossibly hoped that Alison would snap out of it and come to her aid. Harrington laughed at Courtney's expletive, "Yes, well, that's sort of the idea!" The amusement was evident in her voice. Harrington now turned her focus solely to the silent Alison, who had been drinking in the sight of her nemesis humiliated, letting every second of this exquisite embarrassment seep into her memory. "Well, Alison, we now come to the final choice of the night. Forgiveness, or retribution." Alison dragged her eyes away from the sight of Courtney, standing on the stage, her legs slightly parted and her crotch partly obscuring the now penetrated dildo. Harrington walked slowly over to Alison while she spoke, each footstep serving to emphasis her words. "You can choose to forgive Courtney, the woman who sleeps with your husband..." "Ex-husband!" Courtney objected, plaintively. "... and you can ask me to let her go. I will, I promise..." Courtney threw her head back as she tried to ignore the sensation of the dildo in her wet pussy. The dildo was just sitting there, doing nothing, but even the touch of it was threatening to turn her on even more. "... you can have the satisfaction of winning this feud, and I'm sure Courtney will be looking at moving cities soon." Harrington stopped directly in front of Alison, and then turned to observe Courtney. "... Or, you can make sure that you never have to see her slutty face again. Make sure you never have to think about her grinding against Shane. Make sure that she knows her place." Harrington's eyes had fire in them now. "You can walk over there, tear the dress of her body, handcuff her hands behind her back, secure her feet to the stand, and throw the switch! Throw the switch and set that woman one last humiliating challenge!" The words came rapidly, in a jumble, and both Courtney and Alison gasped in shock at what Harrington seemed to be suggesting. "Give her one... last... reminder of you." Harrington paused and strode purposefully to where the dark curtain sat closed in front of Courtney. "You see, that dildo doesn't just have the ability to make you climax," Harrington said, addressing Courtney, "it has the ability to detect when you've climaxed. And if it does, when it does, then it'll send a signal to the computer that controls the curtains, and those curtains will part. There's an audience growing behind there even as we speak." Harrington smiled cruelly. "Remember how you were all invited to hear Shane's boss speak at the museum tonight? On that very important announcement?" Courtney shook her head numbly as the realization of what was behind the curtain struck her. "Well, Shane's boss might be surprised at just what kind of exhibitions they have at this museum!" "No!" Courtney whispered. "Oh, don't worry, they can't hear us at the moment. The curtain is heavy, and the classical music playing to our gathering audience right now is more than enough to drown us out." Harrington threw a sharp look at Alison. "Time to choose!" Alison stood still for a few seconds, uncomprehendingly absorbing the full intentions that Harrington had just laid out. Then, hesitantly, she took a few steps towards where Courtney stood, shaking. The hapless Courtney looked on as Alison came ever-closer. There was a look of conflict in Alison's face, and Courtney knew she had only seconds to convince the woman to take the merciful route. "Alison, please, I didn't mean..." Alison stopped in front of Courtney, and then looked at her with an expression of sudden clarity. "Didn't mean to what? Sleep with Shane? Make him not want to come back to me?" Courtney nodded, trying to agree, trying to look sorry, trying to eek out any semblance of sympathy that Alison might have for her current predicament. "Did you not mean to call me a bitch, tell everyone who knew me what a terrible wife I'd been?" Courtney tried to babble out an apology, but Alison cut her off. "Are you sorry?" she said, leaning in. Courtney looked at Alison, and for a split second saw an opportunity to escape the dildo with the last shreds of her dignity still intact. "Yes," She whispered, dropping her head in contrition, "yes, I'm so, so sorry." "Well," Alison said, a strange look on her face, "I'm not sorry." Courtney looked up, confused, her mouth opening to say something. Alison acted before she could get the words out though. With one swift movement, Alison grabbed the top of Courtney's sheer dress, and tore it with all of her strength. The material gave way easily, with only three further tugs required to completely open it up to the point where it could slip off her body without further resistance. Courtney gasped as her body was stripped of what tiny, insignificant cover the sheer material had offered. Suddenly, with the clinging material torn from her body, Courtney felt the full impact of being completely naked in front of these two people. She was powerless to resist, and the thought of herself just standing there while Alison stripped her naked was both humiliating and - oh God no! - arousing at the same time. Harrington laughed, and out of the corner of her shocked eyes, Courtney could see Harrington pull three pairs of cuffs from a small bag that had been left in the room. Tossing them to Alison, Harrington looked on with maniacal glee as Alison went about her work without any further instruction. Courtney found her hands cuffed behind her back, not that they had been much use to begin with, and then just to ensure that she wouldn't be able to move - had she any control over her legs - her feet were cuffed to the stand. Courtney was naked, degraded, and completely at the mercy of the dildo. Alison panted, not so much at the exertion, but at the sheer amazement at what was happening. "Well done!" Harrington laughed, clapping. "I knew there was hope for you! You know, I think I might just have an opening in my organisation for you..." Alison looked at Harrington quizzically, but then shrugged her shoulders and turned back to face Courtney. She leaned in, so that only Courtney could hear her next words. "You know, our friend there started giving me the answers to the clues half way through..." Alison stared deeply into Courtney's eyes. "... apparently this was some sort of job interview. Strange, huh?" Courtney's eyes flew open as it dawned on her that she'd been tricked. "... you never really stood a chance, you know. Still, some would call that karma I suppose." Alison smiled and then backed away for a moment, while Courtney started to protest. She seemed to look around for something, and then her eyes lit upon the torn up dress she'd just discarded on the floor. Picking it up and then feeling the material in her fingers, Alison seemed lost in a trance for a moment. Then, without further words necessary, she moved back up close to Courtney and shoved part of the dress into the restrained woman's mouth. Bringing two parts of the top around the back of her head, she then tied it into a knot, forming a crude gag that muffled Courtney's objections and pleas. "You know Courtney, since this is the first time I've seen you naked, I'll say what everyone out there in the audience is about to think," Alison hissed, leaning in close so Courtney could practically taste the venom in her voice, "your breasts are misshapen, and you look like a stupid little girl with that shaven crotch of yours!" Harrington applauded, "I love a woman with a little initiative!" Then, as Courtney felt the dildo begin to start its gentle vibrations, Harrington beckoned Alison to follow her out of the room. "Come on, I have some seats reserved for us at the big announcement, and its seconds away from starting." Courtney continued to protest through her gag as the two women turned to leave. As Harrington was about to pass through the door, she turned one last time to look at Courtney. With a smile, she simply said "home wrecker." At the sound of the word, Courtney felt her body suddenly revert back to her own control. Her legs, previously locked and straight, sagged slightly, driving the dildo deeper into her crotch, and causing her to tremble slightly as the machine continued to increase the power of it's vibrations. She tried to twist and turn on the stand, now that she could move of her own free will, but her restrained hands were useless behind her back, and her feet were firmly cuffed either side of the pole. The dildo continued it's merciless teasing of her shaved pussy, and Courtney closed her eyes again to summon one last final effort. If she could resist the climax, if she could avoid having the machine send her over the edge, then the curtain would stay up. If the curtain stayed up, then all of Shane's friends wouldn't have to see her like this. Wouldn't be witness to such a humiliating finale to her feud with Alison... She was already turned on though, and the thought of being exposed in front of all of those people was causing her to become even more turned on. No! She begged her body to remain calm, avoid the primal urges being thrust upon it by the vibrating dildo, ignore the desperate need that she felt to climax. She knew she was being betrayed by her own body, and as a low moan escaped through the improvised gag in her mouth, Courtney felt the first wave of a massive orgasm sweep over her. Sweat was pouring down her body, as she felt her body quiver and shake. Then, another sound pierced through the low hum of the dildo, and her own ragged breathing. It was the mechanical sound of a pair of curtains being drawn back. Courtney turned as redder than she ever been in her entire life. Light from the large hall beyond streamed in as the curtains parted, and Courtney's first sight was that of the back of a tall, tuxedo dressed man. Even with her mind drowning in a sea of sexual and embarrassing emotions, she recognized the back of Shane's boss. The curtains parted further, and as she did a second moan escaped through the gap, as a second powerful wave from the orgasm swamped her body. The dildo was not relenting, as the curtains gave way to reveal a large audience beyond. For a moment, the audience just stood there in shocked silence. Shane's boss seemed to sense that the audience's mood and attention had shifted somewhat, even though he had his back to what was making the commotion. He hesitated, then paused, and then turned slowly to see what was behind him. Courtney shook her head, willing him to turn away and not look. It was too late though. Shocked, his mouth hung open as he laid his eyes on the restrained, naked woman climaxing noisily in front of him, riding a dildo for all it was worth. "Ex... Ex... Excuse me!" he said, struggling to find the right words. "What, exactly... do you think you're doing?!" Courtney couldn't reply, but as she turned her head away, she caught sight of an equally shocked Shane sitting near the front row. "Fuck!" Courtney mumbled, seeing in his eyes the embarrassment that he now also felt. Looking away again, she then saw two women at the back, smiling, relaxing, enjoying the show in a way that no-one else in the audience was. Courtney wanted to call out, ask for security to get them, but as Alison and Harrington looked on, security seemed more intent on making their way down the aisles to get to Courtney instead. As she rode the third wave of one of the most powerful orgasms of her life, sharing one of her most intimate experiences with a crowd of people she half-knew, Alison stood up and cried out loud enough for the stunned crowd to hear, "My God, she's even shaved her pussy!" Courtney threw her head back in final surrender. The guards were only twenty feet away from her now, and converging fast. She had no idea how she was going to explain this away. She could blame Alison. She could blame Harrington. Who would believe her though? It was as she tried to futilely fight back the fourth wave that suddenly, without warning, the lights went out in the room. A further commotion broke out, as the audience was thrown into darkness. The sound of chairs being knocked over, confused questions being asked, and mounting outrage echoed around the pitch black room. As suddenly as the lights went out, they came back on again. Courtney had disappeared, the stage now empty, with the dildo still vibrating away by itself. Shane stood up as pandemonium broke out around him. He looked around, trying to see where his naked girlfriend could possibly have disappeared too. Then, remembering that he'd seen Alison enter the room with a strange woman moments after his boss had started talking, he turned to see if she had any better idea of what had happened. Alison and the stranger had disappeared too, the doors at the back of the room still ajar. "What. The. Fu..." Shane started to say, as he saw his boss march towards him, a look of thunder on his face. ***** Courtney sat on the couch in the hotel apartment, her feet resting on the edge of her seat, and her knees pulled in close to her chest. She wore a long, loose t-shirt and a pair of slacks, with nothing on her feet. Courtney sat quietly, reflecting on the humiliating experience that she'd just suffered at the hands of her nemesis. Another woman walked into the lounge from the single bedroom that the apartment possessed. Courtney looked up briefly, and smiled weakly at the attractive blonde woman who had rescued her from being so embarrassingly exhibited at the museum. The other woman had appeared from nowhere as the lights had gone out, and made surprisingly short work of the restraints that had held Courtney in place. She'd even made time for a brief apology for being late as she'd carried Courtney out in the pitch darkness. "You okay?" she enquired, putting her phone down on a table and collapsing in a seat opposite Courtney. Courtney nodded bravely. The blonde woman gave her a calculated look, and then leaned over the side of her seat to fish out a card from the bag that had been left on the floor. After a small amount of grunting and fumbling, the woman triumphantly extracted the card and flipped it casually at Courtney. Courtney caught the card, and glanced at it. It was simple enough, and just had the words "Decider Enterprises" blazoned across it. On the reverse was a name: "Brittney Barecat" "So, I'm sorry to say you never really had much of a chance in that game. I'd have found you sooner, but Harrington's pretty clever at creating diversions." The woman rubbed her face in her hands as she reflected back on the amount of time it had taken to learn of the location Harrington would use for her next recruitment drive. She'd only been a few minutes too late, but the woman also knew how significant those minutes could be. Harrington and Alison had escaped, and Courtney had been thoroughly humiliated. "I know." Courtney whispered, grimacing at the thought of being tricked so mercilessly. "Your so-called friend, Elizabeth Harrington, is a major player in an organization that... well... let's just say that I and my colleagues are on less-than-friendly terms with." Courtney looked up, but didn't say anything as the blonde woman leaned forward and gave her another look over. "So," she continued, seemingly wondering if or how to exactly phrase the next question, "out of curiosity, if the situations hadn't been reversed... would I... would I have to have rescued that other woman from the dildo?" Courtney considered this for a moment, opening her mouth to answer a few times, before closing it again and giving it more thought. Finally, she just shrugged. "I don't know... I just... I just don't know." Courtney's companion snorted and then sat back, before replying to Courtney's shrug with one of her own. "Well, good answer I suppose. Who can know how they'll react to such provocation until they're actually in that situation, right?" The blonde woman looked idly out of the apartment's window, as moonlight streamed in and the anonymous city slept outside. Courtney looked at the card again. "So you're Brittney?" she asked quietly, as she considered the name on the card that the woman had thrown at her. The blonde looked at her and laughed, although it was a friendly one unlike the laughter she'd experienced earlier in the evening from Alison and Harrington. "No, sweetheart. My name's Bree," Bree leaned forward and held her hand out to Courtney, "Bree Carson." Courtney looked at the offered hand for a few seconds, unsure what to do. Then, for the first time in over an hour, she let her feet slide back on to the floor, and she leaned forward herself, delicately taking hold of Bree's hand. Bree smiled, shook hands, and then let go, relaxing back into her chair. "No, 'Brittney' could be nobody. Or..." she shrugged and tilted her head, "she could be you." Courtney let her near-permanent look of embarrassment slide off her face for a moment, and it was replaced by a look of confusion. "I... I don't understand." Bree smiled. "Well Courtney, I don't know that you have too much left to go back to, not after tonight." Courtney grimaced at that, as the raw memories flooded back again, but she let Bree continue. "And Harrington's organization isn't the only one recruiting. If you're interested... well, I'm about to leave this apartment. My partner is downstairs waiting in a car. In..." Bree looked at her watch, "... ten minutes she and I are going to leave. You can stay here. The hotel room is paid up for the next two nights. Stay here. Relax. Recover. Or..." Bree let the sentence linger on the air for a moment, "... you can come downstairs and 'Brittney' can join us in the car. I can't promise anything. 'Brittney' would need to prove herself of course, but... well, Courtney doesn't have much left to lose, does she?" With that - and cutting off any further conversation - Bree stood up. She smiled kindly at Courtney, picked her phone and bag, and then confidently walked out of the room. As she passed the door, she turned to look at Courtney, who was still sitting on the couch. "Ten minutes," she repeated, before disappearing into the corridor beyond. ***** Bree Carson sat in the passenger side of the sleek black car, while her partner read a book in the driver's seat. The car waited outside the hotel, and Bree idly looked at her watch. Dress Off: Courtney vs. Alison "We'll leave in two minutes," she said, and her partner nodded without breaking her concentration on the book in her hands. Bree closed her eyes to get a few seconds rest after a hard week. She didn't bother to open them at the sound of the curb-side back door open, but she did smile. "Good to have you join us, Brittney." At that, Bree turned to look at her partner, who had now finally put down her book and had twisted in her seat to greet their new companion. "Monica Fairchild, meet Brittney Barecat," Bree said, by way of the briefest of introductions and with a casual wave of the hand at her two companions, "Brittney, meet my partner Monica." Brittney smiled shyly, and waved at the driver. "Hi... so... umm... what exactly happens next?" "Well," Bree replied, pulling the seat belt over her and clicking it in, "right now we have a flight back to headquarters to catch, and Monica here has about fifteen minutes to get us to the airport... so..." Bree grinned at Brittney and winked, "buckle in!" Monica threw the car into gear, and the anonymous black car pulled out from the hotel. Within seconds Monica had the car purring and a pair of anonymous headlights powered on towards the distant airport, leaving the final, discarded remnants of Courtney Smith's old life far, far behind. **** Thanks for reading - the main Dress Off storyline will continue shortly, and I'm always appreciative of constructive comments, honest votes and friendly PMs.