9 comments/ 13339 views/ 2 favorites Bustin' Out By: YDB95 Laurie's chest ached and she was short of breath as she rushed down the corridor to her last meeting of the day. Having been bound in public since she was twelve -- nearly fifteen years now -- both were a fact of life that she had long since begrudgingly accepted, but of course they worsened when she had to run up a flight of stairs, as was the case now. At least, she reminded herself as she clicked down the hall in her sensible black shoes, it was nearly the end of the day. Soon she would enjoy the fleeting bliss of liberation that home offered. "Hey, beautiful," said Lawrence, the house counsel, with his usual obnoxious grin when Laurie shuffled into the room. "Get bent, Larry," Laurie grumbled. If she had to live with the discomfort of hiding her femininity as best she could in public, at least the gentlemen of the office could actually be gentlemen. But few of them were. She could only wonder if it had really been that much worse before 2019. "Uh-oh, hormones again?" suggested the other man in the room, Jordan from accounting. "Do you want to get this meeting done or not?!" Laurie demanded, gripping the back of the chair where she'd been about to sit down. "I'd just as soon go home right now." "Oh, look, we were only being cute," Lawrence protested, throwing up his hands. "No you weren't, you were being a couple of assholes, and if you don't knock it off, I will have no qualms about reporting you to OGR!" Laurie snapped. "Now are we going to get to work, or not?" "Okay, okay!" Lawrence and Jordan said in unison, and Laurie was gratified to see real fear in their eyes. Ever since 2019, when President Rick Santorum had rammed the Libido Control Act through Congress, there were two things that were to be avoided at all costs: A woman was never to be seen in public with her breasts unbound or her hair uncovered, and a man never, ever wanted to be reported to the Office of Gender Relations for treating a properly bound woman with anything resembling disrespect. Either transgression was a good way to end one's career. Some women had come to accept the law well enough. Laurie, who was both large-breasted and too young to remember life before it, was not among them. Never a day had gone by since the first time her mother had barged into her bedroom with her first breast-binder that Laurie hadn't wondered, if men in days gone by had been prone to abusing and harassing women in the workplace, why was it now up to women to suppress their natural shapes in uncomfortable, constricting underthings and keep their hair bound in kerchiefs all day long (the latter wasn't so bad on a chilly day like today, Laurie conceded, but it could be miserable in the summer)? Why not just punish the guys who couldn't keep their hands to themselves in the first place? Laurie knew better than to ask, though. Her mother, and every other adult she had dared question about it when she was a girl, had always replied with a stern reminder that "The fount ties knots that the rock cannot loosen." All Americans Laurie's age or younger -- and a bit older -- had had that lesson drilled into them from a young age indeed, and they all knew better than to rebel against it. She could not, though, deny that having OGR hanging over the guys' heads was a plus. Once she had done so, Larry and Jordan got down to work and behaved themselves well enough throughout the rest of the meeting. They wrapped up shortly before five o'clock, and Jordan stood up to stretch his legs. "So, what are the two of you up to for Halloween?" he asked. The reminder of the occasion brought another wave of intense discomfort and resentment from Laurie: nothing intensified the ache in her chest all day long like seeing other women with their breasts free and properly supported, and Halloween was one of the few times where the Flirts from the licensed clubs were to be seen that way out in public. They were always present in the clubs, of course, but at least they were easily avoided there. Laurie had been suffering with just such a sight regularly for much of the week, and it was enough to drive her to tears of vexation. But she kept her mouth shut and her eyes dry for now -- the freedom of home was nearly here, after all. "Home with the kids," Larry said with a sly grin at Jordan. Laurie detected the grin, and understood it perfectly well. "There's a euphemism for 'going to a girlie show' I've never heard before," she said, stacking up her papers. "Just trying to spare your dignity, Laurie," Larry said. Turning back to Jordan, he said, "But yes, that's where I'm heading. Of course, tonight I'll be home to greet the trick or treaters, but tomorrow's for the men of the house. You, Jordan?" "Wouldn't miss it," Jordan said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for Libido Control, but what a relief to see some tits now and then! No offense, Laurie, but life gets a little dull with all you women looking just like us guys in public." "I wish dull were my biggest problem with it," Laurie grumbled. "You try wearing a binding all day long!" "Oh, come on, Laurie, the fount ties knots that the rock cannot loosen!" Larry reminded her. "It's for your own good, more than ours. They say President Santorum said so when he introduced the bill to Congress, and his secretary of health was a woman -- Michele something?" "Yeah, Michele something," Jordan said, "I don't remember her last name either. Quite a lady, though, from what I've heard, and look Laurie, she supported the president a hundred percent on it!" "What was the line, Jordan?" Larry asked, "'Support gender equality and respect for women, vote for Libido Control'?" "Pretty sure that was it," Jordan agreed. "Believe me, Laurie, you wouldn't want to work with guys like us without that law!" "We agree on one thing, then," Laurie said, snapping her briefcase shut. "Happy Halloween." She didn't look back as she set off down the hall to head home for the evening. Decades of tax cuts for the wealthy meant now nearly everyone else lived with his or her parents well into adulthood, and often simply inherited their homes and stayed there lifelong. Laurie, an intelligent degreed woman of twenty-seven, was just as determined to break out of that mold as she was to free herself of her chest-binding one day; but as of yet she had no idea how. At the end of a busy day such as this one had been, she was content to brave her mother's judgmentalism and piousness as long as it provided for some private time in her room. Laurie tried not to concentrate on that impending relief as she stood at the transport bay outside her office building, for it only intensified the tight, itchy sense of confinement that every woman in America (except the Flirts of the licensed clubs) lived with whenever she set foot outside the home nowadays. But there was nothing to do but wait. At least Halloween was tomorrow. Tonight was for the children, and Laurie's heart broke for the little girls in their lovely costumes who had no idea what they were in for in a few more years. Tomorrow was, as Lawrence had said, for the men -- unbound women out and about everywhere, albeit under guard, for the guys to ogle as much as they liked and for women like Laurie to be intensely jealous of. But after tomorrow, to her immense relief, she wouldn't have to put up with the sight of too many more unbound women for a while. Not until Christmas, anyway, when the naughty elvettes would be out and about. As if to offer up a final twist of the knife, though, a troupe of scantily costumed women skipped across the platform while Laurie waited, whooping up a storm and looking delighted to be flaunting their otherwise-illegal appeal. "Who wouldn't be happy about that?" Laurie thought to herself. She made no effort to hide her bitterness as she glared up at the giant portrait of the late President Santorum that was posted by law over every area of public gathering. There he was, in his sweater vest with every dark hair in place, grinning down at the populace of which he had sentenced half to a lifetime of inconvenience and discomfort and absolved the other half of any responsibility to grow up. Someday, Laurie thought. Someday... Five minutes or so in the gloomy October twilight were more than enough, thank you, and Laurie was grateful for the relative cheer of the fluorescent light as she stepped onto the transporter. As was often the case, her breathing seemed even more shallow than usual in anticipation of home and the freedom of privacy. Caring little that every other woman on the transporter was feeling the same - it was a dog-eat-dog world, after all, and she suspected most of the other women didn't have quite as much to bind as she did - she helped herself to the last seat in the female-only front section and did her best to tune out her confinement as it finally approached its end for the day. Laurie had grown up with her mother insisting that she would understand if only she knew. "The good old days were horrible, dear," Mother had told her again and again when she was growing up and out and learning every day that she needed to hide both. "Harassment, women being hooted at in the street every day, even rape was all too common - it's for our own good! Men simply can't be trusted to control themselves. We're the ones with the power, it's our responsibility to control that power. You'll understand when you get done with school and you have to work - you'll get a lot farther when you don't give men anything to stare at and treat you like a piece of meat." Now that she was a grown professional woman, Laurie couldn't deny that entirely. But she would never stop wondering just why it was that the responsibility had fallen to her rather than to the men. Couldn't they have learned to keep their lewd stares and inappropriate comments to themselves?! As if to answer her question, Laurie heard a round of whoops and hoots from the crowded male section at the back of the transporter. Looking back to see what the commotion was about, she saw them all staring out the window on the left, and following their gaze she saw another troupe of Flirts on the sidewalk outside one of the city's many licensed clubs. Looking chilly but flashy in their dancewear, they smiled and waved at the passing gawkers, who didn't shut up until the transporter had pulled out of their sight. Okay, Laurie admitted to herself, she didn't care for the idea of being treated like that in the workplace, or anywhere else. It was also none too appealing to think of being outside in the chilly autumn air in such skimpy clothing. But, she mused, it sure must be nice to never wear a binding. She quickly tamped down her self-pity; there was nothing to be done about it but look forward to removing hers for the night. Most women longed for that event, Laurie had known that from whispered ladies-room conversations since she was too young to need a binding herself. But her mother was not most women, and as usual Laurie found her still fully clothed and bound in her usual shapeless pantsuit when she arrived home. "Are those Halloween harlots still out and about?" she asked Laurie with no greeting, the ice in her drink clinking as she shook the glass in annoyance. "The women from the clubs were out, if that's what you mean." Laurie knew perfectly well it was what Mother meant, but she couldn't abide by her prudery no matter the cost. "Don't play stupid with me, Laurie," Mother said. "You know perfectly well that's what I mean, and if you had a lick of sense you'd be outraged too. Tonight when there are children out and about -- the whole point of having trick or treat one day and Men's Night the next was to keep the two separated." "Yes, Mother," Laurie said. "Heaven forbid any children should know the natural shape of a woman's body. Then they wouldn't stand for bindings, and then where would we be?" "Laurie, I know what you think about these things, and I also know you'd see it very differently if you were old enough to remember what it was like for women before." "Respectfully, Mother, I think you would also see it very differently if you had my breasts." Laurie knew from the rare sightings of her mother without a binding that she had far less to bind than Laurie did. "We all have our crosses to bear, dear," Mother said. "It's your father's damn fool genes that gave you those two burdens, and I do feel sorry for you. But not as sorry as I would feel if you had to do your job with the men at the office staring at your chest all day long. The fount ties knots that the rock cannot loosen!" Laurie nodded and forced a straight face, and ignored the wave of discomfort the conversation was bringing on. Just a few more minutes...but before she could make her escape, the doorbell rang. "Trick or treat!" sang out two princesses and a pirate. "Well, hello there!" Laurie said with a smile that wasn't forced for once. As lousy as adult life was for a woman these days, it was nice to see the kids enjoying it while they could. She picked up the candy bowl from the table by the door and held it out. "Enjoy!" "Thank you!" they sang out in unison, and left. "Dinner will be at seven-thirty, and Laurie," Mother said from the kitchen door as Laurie turned back into the living room. "I would appreciate it if you would be fully clothed for it for once, especially since there will probably be more children coming by." On that note, Mother turned and was once again lost in the kitchen. Laurie hid her knowing smirk as she continued on her way to her bedroom; no need for either woman to acknowledge that "fully clothed" meant "bound", or that Mother gave that order every night, or that Laurie never obeyed it, or that tonight would be no exception, trick or treaters or not. Alone in her room at last, Laurie almost tore her blazer and blouse off as usual in anticipation of the blissful relief that was finally here. One day she would tear the straps off the binding in her haste to undo them, of that she was certain; but tonight once again she got them undone with no actual damage. Beaming with relief as the binding fell to the floor (where she once again vowed she would leave it for good one day), Laurie enjoyed her first deep breath in over nine hours and rubbed her newly-liberated breasts as they fell free. "Ohhhhh, yessssss," she sighed. The ache of confinement did not vanish immediately as usual, and her bare flesh showed the cruel red marks of the seams in the binding -- but they were free. She was free. Still gulping in the air gratefully, Laurie unbuttoned her pants and pushed them down with nearly as much gusto as she had done with the binding, and last but not least she tore her panties away and stood defiantly naked in the warm light of her bedroom. As she always did at the end of an especially frustrating day like today, Laurie pranced to the window, where the curtains were drawn, and fantasized about tearing them open to flaunt her unabashedly female body for anyone who happened to look up from the street. She had never actually done any such thing, of course, since only licensed women could appear in public in any state of undress, never mind complete nudity. Licensing was strictly for exotic dancers and Flirts in the clubs, whose owners had lobbied long and hard for an exemption on the grounds that with no feminine charms on display all day in the workplace, men would have to let off the steam somewhere. And so some exemptions had been allowed, with ironclad guidelines about grooming and breast size among other things. In the name of keeping up standards, no woman with C-cup breasts or larger needed apply at any club, and all body hair was to be removed whether on display or not. Laurie, with her generous bosom and heavily forested pubic area, was doubly cursed. But that had only made her defiantly proud of her body, and one day, she vowed, she would open the curtains. Tonight, though, she was content to enjoy the gifts she was forced to hide all day long. Standing before the window, she imagined it wide open and her feminine charms on full display for all who cared to admire them. "Behold!" she imagined herself proclaiming shamelessly. "It's only breasts and hair, and if it makes you lose control, I feel quite sorry for you. But I'm not sorry for being who I am!" Removing her one remaining article of clothing -- her kerchief -- Laurie shook out her red curls and closed her eyes, and imagined an audience of male admirers outside the window, free to gaze upon the beauty she was free at last to display. Breathing comfortably at last and enjoying the dissipating pain in her breasts, Laurie began rubbing the lingering tender spots where the imprints of her binding still had their red marks, and imagining it was men she had chosen from the crowd outside doing the rubbing. "Oooh, thank you," she whispered. "That's right, they're to be celebrated, not bound, isn't that right! Feel free to kiss them better! Yes please!" With the pleasant fondling of half a dozen imaginary hands or more working their magic on her breasts, Laurie moved her own hands down to her pussy and began rubbing in tight squiggles. "That's right, boys, have your fun in my forbidden garden of love," she murmured. "You won't see anything like this in those clubs, will you? Not with those bald coots! Come enjoy a natural woman for a change!" Deliciously aware that her hairy pussy could cause all sorts of legal troubles for herself and any man who appeared to approve of it, Laurie thrilled to the idea of dozens of horny male eyes gazing upon it just outside the window and a lucky few she would welcome to caress it. "See just how wonderfully corrupting it is, gentlemen!" she imagined herself bellowing out to the crowd, who roared back their approval. As her own strokes grew more intense along with her imagination of her guests somehow knowing just how to touch her, Laurie retreated to her bed and plopped down joyfully on her back with her legs spread wide. "That's right, fuck me!" she whispered as loudly as she dared, half fearing and half hoping that her mother might hear her if she said it out loud. "Come drink of my full breasts and my hungry pussy, and look upon them without any shame!" She saw herself somewhere free and uninhibited, unashamed, an unabashed earth mother at one with nature and utterly unapologetic about her body, and sharing it with all the men she liked -- but only those who shared her lack of apology and shame. Hard bodies and harder cocks abounded, and she saw herself partaking of each of them in turn as she rubbed herself harder and enjoyed the warm wetness that her fingers were eagerly spreading throughout her big bush. One of those lovely hard cocks in her pussy, another in her mouth, and some others being rubbed reverently up and down her torso, each of them worshipping her feminine beauty in its own way, enveloping her in delightful sensation until she couldn't hold back from bursting into orgasm. As the real world came back into focus after she came, Laurie struggled -- as she always did -- to stay in her little cocoon of fantasy just a little bit longer. As always, it was no use, and she found herself back in the narrow little bedroom that had always been the only place where she didn't have to apologize for her body at best and hide it at worst. As always, the joy of her imagination left her just a little bit more committed to one day escaping to a place where she'd be free, or at least freer. With plenty of time left before dinner and no desire to hide in her clothes again just yet, Laurie got up and drew a bath. The hot water felt marvellous, but as usual the aftermath of her fantasy was bittersweet as she came to realize just how farfetched it was. Once again she was overcome with stories and rumors she'd heard of other countries. The one that always bubbled up for her at a time like this was the love-hate relationship so many women had with their bras: what a drag it was to find a pretty one that fit, how they resented having to wear it at all times in public, what a blessed relief it was to take off at the end of the day. Laurie believed all of that, but what a delight it would be for all that to be her biggest problem when it came to her breasts! How she longed to have any cause to complain about finding the right bra or needing to wear it to work! Bustin' Out Someday, she vowed to herself, looking down at her body. But when? "Couldn't you be decent for us tonight of all nights?" Mother snapped when Laurie arrived dressed but unbound at the dinner table. "All those harlots prancing about out there for Halloween, setting such a horrible example, and you with bigger breasts than any of them!" Before Laurie could respond in any way, the doorbell rang. Laurie began to stand up, but Mother shrieked "Don't go out there, stupid!" at the top of her lungs while Father got up to attend to the latest group of trick or treaters. "You think we want you flaunting yourself with children?!" "I'm not out flaunting anything, am I?" Laurie grumbled, helping herself to some mashed potatoes. "You're flaunting them for your father if no one else, and I don't appreciate that," Mother said. "Now, hold it right there!" Father snapped, having just retaken his seat. "Just what are you implying about me?" "There is only one pair of breasts you have any business seeing, and it isn't hers," Mother insisted. "Good Lord, what sort of pervert do you think I am?! She's my daughter! "George, you know the way of the world!" Mother replied. "But you're also a man and that means there are some things you'll never appreciate. The fount ties knots that the rock cannot loosen!" "Not if the fount is the fruit of my own rock, it doesn't!" Father roared back. "For heaven's sake!" "Oh, you vulgar, disgusting bastard!" Mother jumped up from the table and burst into tears of rage. She trotted across the room and slammed her glass down on the mantelpiece, where it sloshed a bit. "President Santorum was supposed to put a stop to all this!" she roared between sobs. "He understood that a woman's true power is in her ability to give life, and that it must be respected, and that a man simply isn't able to control his prurient instincts when it comes to women's bodies! Laurie, you've got a responsibility in this life! Being a woman is a precious gift, and it must be treasured appropriately. When you give yourself to your husband, you can share the gift of your body with him all you want, but until then, great power brings great responsibility, and you've never shown any willingness to accept that! We've been telling you all your life, you mustn't give any man -- not even your father, in fact especially not him -- any cause for lustful thoughts! And you certainly shouldn't be having any of your own!" "What on earth makes you think I am, home alone with only the two of you?!" Laurie demanded. "Because of the way you let your figure slop out all over the place like that!" Mother retorted. "It's abominable! It's vulgar! And your father and I should never have to see it! Why else would you make no effort to keep your breasts under wraps where they belong?" "Because I like to breathe normally in my own home!" Now Laurie felt herself about to cry as well. "Don't you dare make this about yourself, dear!" Mother roared. "I raised you to understand a woman's place, and yet you've got to go out there and act like a man every day, working in a ghastly office when you should be settling down with a family and raising them to the light, like I tried to do with you and your brother -- at least I got it right once out of twice!" She paused to genuflect at the photograph on the mantelpiece of Laurie's brother, Frank, in his military regalia, and went on. "That's bad enough, but then you've got to dress like a slut in our own home on top of that?! In the presence of your father?" "Mother, do you have any idea how uncomfortable that binding is for me?" Laurie retorted. "Father and Frank certainly wouldn't know, and really neither do you, but you would at least have some idea!" She cupped her breasts unapologetically in her hands. "Look at me! How would you like having these smashed into your lungs all day long?! Damned if I'm going to put up with that in my own home as well!" "It's MY home!" Mother roared. "I'm a decent, God-fearing lady, and I've got standards! Besides, it's Halloween! But you think it's just dandy if the trick or treaters see you unbound?!" "Then they might appreciate what women like me have to live with all day long?" Laurie suggested. "Pardon me if I don't think that's a bad thing!" "You're a disgrace to our family and to our sex, Laurie! I've had it with you!" Now crying uncontrollably, she stormed out of the room and up the stairs. "Congratulations, Laurie," Father said. "She's your mother, it wouldn't kill you to humor her." Without another word, he got up and followed her up the stairs. Laurie sat back down and ate her dinner. She saw no reason to even pretend she felt any remorse. Her only regret was that there was no one to witness her vindication when three more groups of trick or treaters came to the door and none of the kids paid any mind to her breasts. Putting on her binding in the morning was never easy, and many had been the day Laurie was quite sure was the hardest yet. The following morning was yet another of those. Defying Mother so openly had been damn refreshing, and to once again sentence herself to all those hours of discomfort after all that broke her heart. But there was nothing to be done about it just now, she reminded herself as she enjoyed one last deep breath and exhaled it slowly while she laced up the binding. Slowly, painfully, she pulled the strings tight and watched in the mirror as her curves disappeared into legal androgyny. The first shallow breath was always the hardest, and with that out of the way she had just enough resolve to put on her blouse and face the day. In the nasty excitement last night, though, Laurie had forgotten it was Halloween. She was promptly disabused of that oversight on the transporter into downtown. Even at that early hour, licensed costumed women were out and about everywhere, waving at the men on the transporter and teasing them. Worst of all, there were a few on the transporter, with armed guards standing at the edge of the female-only section so that the men could look but not touch. The women, of course, were free to mingle among them; but few did. Laurie noted most of the other bound women were doing just what she felt like doing: giving the Flirts dirty looks and trying not to stare enviously at their liberated breasts. Laurie did her best to pay them no mind. But one other woman was less reticent. "Bunch of sluts," she hissed under her breath. "That's 'sluts who can breathe normally' to you," shot back one of the Flirts. "You're just jealous." "Why wouldn't she be, though?" asked another Flirt. "Don't you remember the bad old days before you got your license?" "Nothing stopping them all from doing the same," said the first one. Laurie had had enough. "Oh yes there is!" she snapped at them both. "Don't you remember the size limit?! Some of us are over it!" Both Flirts gawked at Laurie's flattened chest in sympathy. "Oh, my," said one of them. "I'm -- I'm sorry, and how on earth can you breathe if you're that big?" "I feel sorry for you," said the other, "But that's still no excuse for calling us sluts." "I didn't, did I?" Laurie reminded her. "I did!" said the woman who had started it all. "And I'm not the least bit sorry for it. The fount ties knots that the rock cannot loosen, and sluts like you are only tying them tighter!" The transporter pulled to a stop outside Laurie's building just then, much to her relief as she suspected a riot was in the making. She was nearly in tears of vexation as she stepped out into the October morning, but at least she wouldn't have to look at the Flirts up close again until that night. But then what? Laurie found the question weighing heavily on her mind as she got in line to go through the women's entrance to the building. (All public buildings had been quasi-segregated under the Libido Control Act, and the women's entrance was less conveniently located on the side of the building and understaffed, meaning longer lines at security every morning; but everyone agreed it was for the ladies' own good that now men couldn't harass them in line.) She'd been struggling to ignore that question -- then what? What next? -- all her adult life, and she had never come up with a satisfactory answer. Today that answer seemed more elusive than ever: if she made it through Halloween with her sanity intact, it was a precious few weeks to the Christmas season, where the Flirts would be out in their cute elf and reindeer costumes, and then just another month and a half to Valentine's Day, when...Laurie couldn't even bring herself to summon up that image just then. It was the security guards who proved to be the last straw. As Laurie drew near the head of the line, she heard one of the pair telling the other, "I don't see what the big deal is with the Flirts." "Me neither," said the other. "I mean, the ladies should be grateful! With the Flirts all over the place, who's going to bother with a bound woman?" "It's for their own good," agreed the first one. That, Laurie resolved, does it. As she flashed her badge and kept her poker face while being scanned and allowed into the building, she knew what had to be done. She had no idea what would happen to her as a result, but she had at last reached the point where she didn't care. Up she went in the elevator, excruciatingly aware of her binding as she always was when she had to stand still in an enclosed space, but all the more so now that she knew one way or another, this was it for the binding! As soon as the doors opened, she bounded out and turned left instead of right, to the ladies' room instead of the office. She almost locked herself in a stall before getting down to business, but decided it would be even better to have an audience with any other woman who happened inside. Maybe Laurie would even be able to enlist a partner in crime that way. She set her briefcase on the sink and took off her blazer, hanging it on the nearest stall door, and unbuttoned her blouse. Once it was off, she ripped off the binding in the most unceremonious, cathartic manner she could muster. The well-made garment did not tear as she had always imagined -- no doubt the manufacturers had taken into consideration what most women would think of the damn thing -- but Laurie didn't care. She pulled off the hated binding and threw it against the wall, and pulled her blouse and blazer back on over her gloriously free breasts. Not willing to leave it at that, she fished a box of matches out of her briefcase, a souvenir of a recent visit to a bar now that smoking was once again legal there, and set the binding in a dry sink. She lit a match and tossed it onto the binding, where it soon caught and burned a tiny hole that quickly grew large. Laurie watched and enjoyed the sight for a few minutes. Then, enjoying a deep breath in public for the first time in her adult life and then some, she opened the ladies' room door and strode fearlessly down the hall toward her office. She only passed one person in the hallway, a man whom she didn't know, but she could see from the look on his face that he could see she was unbound and that he feared for her. "Don't worry," she told him with a grin. "It's my problem, not yours." "Uh...okay!" he said, and rushed off down the hall. Laurie hoped that creep Lawrence might be present when she came into the office. And she wasn't disappointed; he was chatting up the receptionist, Annette, who of course was bound. "Morning, Laurie," he said, barely looking up at first, when she entered. Then, a double take and a gasp. "Laurie! Didn't you forget something?" "Nope," Laurie said. "If you don't like it, don't gawk at my breasts. I'd rather you didn't anyway." "What's up?" asked Eddie, the cute intern Laurie had been privately admiring for weeks - his gaze was welcome, but Laurie kept her poker face as she drank in his admiration. "You can see what's up!" Lawrence snapped. "Laurie's unbound! In public! You can't do that, Laurie, you're not licensed. With those tits, you can't even be licensed! What the hell are you thinking?!" Lawrence's caterwauling brought most of the office to the front room, and soon there were half a dozen women eyeing Laurie enviously and eight men -- all except Eddie -- sharing Lawrence's outrage. "Geez, Laurie, I know we gave you a hard time last night, but rules are rules!" Jordan intoned. "Yeah, where's your respect?" Demanded Josh the accountant. "I can't work with those on display," grumbled Jim the office manager. "Since when do you work that hard anyway?" asked Alicia, Jim's understudy, whipping around to look at him. "And how are Laurie's breasts putting a stop to you doing your job?" "Yeah, Jim!" snapped Annette, who without another word stood up and reached under her blouse and undid her binding. In no time it was on the floor and she was free like Laurie, who beamed in solidarity with her. "Isn't that a relief, Annette?" she asked. "Maybe for you!" snapped Jordan. "But what about us? The fount ties knots that the rock cannot loosen!" Laurie had been asking herself all her life, and at long last she asked the question out loud. "What in hell does that even mean?!" "It means you ladies have a responsibility to dress presentably!" Lawrence said. "You know that!" "Yes, but what does that have to do with founts and rocks?" Laurie demanded. "The men get it," Josh piped up. "Speak for yourself, Josh!" Eddie snapped, stepping up fearlessly to look the older man in the eye. "I don't get it either! I never got it, and I've never understood why anyone thinks we men can't control ourselves! Why do we need the government forcing women to look more like men at all costs? It isn't fair! It's never been fair!" "You snotty little bastard, you watch your mouth!" Josh roared, grabbing Eddie's coat lapels. "I ought to..." "You ought to pick on someone your own size!" Laurie said, pulling them apart and taking Eddie's spot before Josh. "Out of my way, bitch" Josh said, and with that he punched Laurie in the jaw, sending her sprawling on the floor. With her out of the way, he lunged at Eddie. "See what you made me do?!" he demanded as he chased Eddie around the office. "You want respect from men, you wear your damn binding!" "Now, look here," Lawrence said, jumping up on Annette's desk while several of the others struggled to keep Josh and Eddie apart and Laurie rubbed the spot where Josh had hit her. "We're not getting anywhere beating up on one another. Let's all take a step back -- " "Screw your steps back, Lawrence!" Annette snapped from behind him. "It's time we stepped forward instead of back! And Josh, shame on you getting violent over this!" But no one was paying attention to her or to Lawrence. Amidst the scuffle between Josh and Eddie, two more of the women had torn their bindings off and the entire room had dissolved into anarchy. Jordan proclaimed that he had called the police, but even that did not bring the situation under control. It did, however, catch Laurie's attention. Sufficiently recovered from the blow, she got back on her feet and pulled Eddie away from the clutch of colleagues trying to keep him apart from Josh. "Come on, we've got to get out of here," she hissed in his ear. Eddie was too caught up in the excitement of the moment to make any sense of what she had said until they were out in the hall and she was directing him to the stairwell. "Laurie, I'm so sorry he hit you!" he finally said. "I never imagined he'd do that, I swear!" "It's not your fault, Eddie, and thank you for taking our side!" Laurie said, ushering him into the stairwell. "Come on, the cops are coming! We've got to get out of here!" "Why'd you save me?" Eddie asked. "I should've tried to save all the women along with you, I know," Laurie admitted as they rushed down the stairs, actually enjoying the discomfort of her jiggling breasts -- at least they weren't bound. "But there wasn't time, and I was touched that a man stood up with us. You said just what I've always wanted to say about that stupid proverb. Thank you." "I have always wondered just what it really meant," Eddie said. "I still don't get it." "I think that's the whole idea," Laurie said. "If anyone ever really questioned it out in the open like we just did, the whole silly house of cards would come crashing down. Let's hope that's going to happen now." "Cool," Eddie said with a romantic flair. "We're revolutionaries." "Yes, and we're probably wanted by the law for it already," Laurie said. As they were now only one flight of stairs above the ground level, she paused on the landing. "How do we get away from the police?" "Join the Halloween parade?" Eddie suggested. He laughed to show he meant it as a joke, but Laurie turned to him and grinned. "You're a genius, Eddie. It is coming right by this building!" With that she unbuttoned her blouse, welcoming Eddie's shocked admiration as she did it, and even gave him a moment to admire her bare breasts. "Go ahead and enjoy the view," she said, rolling her blouse into a sort of tube top. "I'm enjoying having them out for a change." "I'll bet," Eddie said. "But, what..." His voice trailed away as he watched Laurie tie the blouse around her bosom, covering it but leaving no doubt that it was unbound. She then bent over and rolled her pants up as far as she could, so they resembled capri pants. "Now," she said, "Take your shirt off and put your coat and tie back on with out it. You'll look like my pimp." "I will?" "It'll have to do!" Eddie saw no alternative, and did what he was told, grinning shyly as Laurie admired him as he had just admired her. "You have a lovely body, you know," she told him. "Thanks," he said. "You're the first woman to see it, so that means a lot." "Tsk, such a shame that no one has had a chance to stroke that lovely chest," Laurie said. "If we get away, I hope you'll allow me." "Allow you!" Eddie gasped, putting his coat back on. "Of course I'll...but where are we going to go, anyway?" "We'll cross that bridge when it collapses," Laurie quipped. Then, several floors above, she heard a door open and a whistle blow. "Come on!" she hissed under her breath, and she took his hand and they rushed down the last flight of stairs. She had, of course, taken the women's fire escape, which opened into the alley -- less convenient, but more private at a time like this. Despite the flash and wail of police sirens at the front of the building, they were able to escape undetected thanks to President Santorum's long-ago dictum that women were not to serve in such traditionally male pursuits as the police force, meaning no officer was allowed into the vicinity of the women's exit. Hand in hand, Laurie and Eddie ran down to the side street and up the way to the parade route, where spectators were lining the street. Owing to their bizarre dress, they were allowed out into the street, where to all spectators they looked like paraders gone rogue. They even received a round of cheers as they stepped into a clutch of women in racy dance costumes, and quickly they blended in with their own impromptu dance steps as they made their way up the block. Word didn't filter down from their office in time for the police to reach the parade route until they had made it three blocks up the street. The crowd of spectators was thick as ever when Laurie spotted a police car parked in the next cross street, and its driver struggling to make his way through the crowd to look for her and Eddie. The car stood nearly half a block back, its lights still flashing and its driver's side door wide open. Laurie saw her chance and grabbed Eddie's hand. "Don't say anything until we're in the car!" she whispered as they leapt out of line and into the crowd, where a number of men shamelessly grabbed at her breasts and several other men pulled them back and even smacked them for their impropriety. The ensuing scuffle caught the cop's attention, and his order to everyone to knock it off scared the crowd straight, enabling Laurie and Eddie to duck down and escape into the sparser part of the crowd undetected. Bustin' Out "What car?" Eddie finally asked. "I told you not to say anything!" Laurie hissed, dragging him toward the police car. Eddie saw where she was headed and his eyes nearly popped out of his head, but he said nothing. Several of the lingering spectators saw as Laurie jumped into the cruiser and unlocked the passenger door for Eddie, but most of them thought it was part of the parade and only laughed and cheered. A few thought otherwise and called out for them to stop, but it was too late for anyone to do anything about it. Laurie swing the wheel around and ran the car up on the sidewalk, sending half a dozen pedestrians leaping to safety, and roared away up the street. She was aware of the cop running after them with his fist raised, but of course he was powerless to do anything but radio for help. That he undoubtedly did, and Laurie saw and heard the other sirens several blocks behind her as she gunned the stolen car toward the nearest interstate ramp. "We'll never make it!" Eddie said. "Not with that attitude we won't," Laurie said. "But where are we going?!" "Canada." "That's a day's drive at least!" "It'll be worth it, don't you think?" Laurie asked. Eddie looked over at the scantily clad woman who had praised his own seminude body back in the stairwell, and nodded. "Panic in the downtown area today, as an illegally dressed woman caused a disturbance at her office," intoned the announcer. "It seems the woman, identified only as Laurie at this point, encouraged several of her female colleagues to follow her lead, causing a riot in the office. Police arrived on the scene amidst already-circulating rumors of what had happened, and numerous other women throughout the building followed her lead, causing further disturbance and distracting the police. Laurie and a male accomplice escaped into the Halloween parade and then stole a police cruiser; they have yet to be apprehended. Meanwhile, Laurie's act of disobedience seems to have tipped off a domino effect throughout the city, where at last count nearly a hundred women had been apprehended for appearing unbound in public. On that note, we take you to our correspondent on remote, Roger Jenkins, in the central business district. Roger, how's the real life Halloween parade?" "Absolute Pandemonium, Peter," Jenkins reported, two blocks from where Laurie and Eddie had escaped. "The parade has long since come and gone, but as you can see behind me, women are tearing off their bindings left and right now, others voicing their support for it without actually joining them, and even some men are shouting out their approval. We're looking at near riot conditions, and the police are powerless to contain it all at once. But we did get a word here with one of the rebels, who has asked that her face not appear on screen. She's given her name as Janet. Janet, what has inspired you to join in the rebellion?" "It was well past time someone asked why!" declared the woman, who was visible only from the neck down. "Two generations of women have been forced to pretend they're not women because of some stilly archaic law, and all anyone ever has to say as to why is 'the fount ties knots that the rock cannot loosen.' Finally someone finally said enough and, by the way, that saying makes no sense, which we all knew all along it doesn't, God bless her!" "Aren't you worried about going to jail?" Jenkins asked. "One, it'll be worth it if we're free in the end, and two, they can't throw every woman in America in jail!" Janet replied. "To anyone who's listening out there, I implore you, join us! You've got nothing to lose but your misery!" "That little bitch," Laurie's mother said through her gritted teeth in front of the television at home. "How could she?" Turning to her husband for moral support, she demanded, "Don't you agree, George?" George took a deep breath. "Quite frankly, no," he said. "I'm actually rather proud. Wish I knew where she was, though." "Who cares where she is?!" snapped her mother. "You think I'd let her back in my house?" "No, I don't," George said. "Which explains why she hasn't come back here." He allowed his manly façade to slip for a moment as tears came to his eyes; he rather doubted he would see his daughter again. "I only hope she and that boy escape to safety somewhere." "You would." The anonymous "Janet"'s entreaty was already well on its way to fruition as Laurie gunned the stolen police car up every northern route she could find. By nightfall, the radio was reporting rebellions in cities nationwide. It was also reporting that Laurie and Eddie were public enemy number one, and that the police were roughly aware of their location. "The two fugitives are unarmed but desperate, and must be considered extremely dangerous," intoned the announcer on the only station Eddie could find on a particularly empty stretch of country highway, still several hours south of the border. "Extremely dangerous," Eddie repeated. "Well, I certainly feel that way, don't you?" "Just extremely tired," Laurie replied, not daring to take her eyes off the road. "We've got to stop somewhere. The battery'll run down, if nothing else, and they'll be looking for a cop car at the border anyway." "I wonder how they didn't catch us already?" Eddie said. "That's just short of a miracle!" "I'm betting someone out there is helping us," Laurie said. "Or many someones." She was proven right just a few miles up the road. A flash appeared in the road, looking like a deer at first. As they drew closer, they realized it was a person. A woman. A topless woman, shivering in the night but smiling at the car and holding up her hands in welcome. "It's a trap," Eddie said. "It must be." "If it is, we'll just peel away," Laurie said. She slowed down the car and lowered the window. "Laurie and Eddie, right?!" asked the woman, who leaned in to talk to them. "It's a pleasure! My name's Becky and my sisters and I want to help you. We have a farm up the road, you can stay there for the night and then take one of our old jalopies up to Canada." "How do we know you're not a cop?" Eddie asked. "You don't, I guess," Becky replied. "But do you think you're going to get over the border in a stolen cop car?" "We were just discussing that," Laurie admitted. "Listen, we --" A siren split the silence in the distance, and Becky stepped back and tore open the backseat door. "Now you've got no choice but to trust me!" she said. "Take that dirt road on the left!" Laurie, reasoning that Becky was right, did as she told. They were out of sight before the police car they had heard could see them, and in a matter of minutes they found themselves parked outside what Becky identified as her family's farmhouse. "Mom and Dad finally took a vacation after all these years, thank God!" Becky said. "They're in Hawaii. It's just my sisters and me. Sandy here is the daredevil, she'll get rid of this car for you." "Welcome," said the sister introduced as Sandy, shaking both their hands. "That's the baby over there, Mary. One of the local deputies has a crush on her, so she'll sweet talk him out of coming in the house if they come by. In the meantime, I'll get rid of the car." Eddie nodded hello to them both. Unlike Becky, Mary and Sandy were both fully clothed; but none of the three was bound. "How are you going to get rid of it?" Laurie asked. "Better if you don't know," Becky said. "Oh, quiet, you!" Sandy said. "There's a canyon near our property where locals have been trashing their cars for decades. For insurance. If the cops hear the explosion -- and they won't -- they'll just figure it's someone else trying to cheat the insurance companies." Before Laurie or Eddie's heads had stopped spinning, they were ensconced safely upstairs in what appeared to be the girls' parents' bedroom. Becky, who by then had put her shirt back on, presented them with sandwiches and hot chocolate, and at long last Laurie had a chance to ask what they were both wondering. "Why did you help us?" "Why wouldn't we?" Mary exclaimed. "It is so very long past time someone did what you've done! That's why it's spread so quickly. All the entire country needed was one woman to say 'enough'. And it was you! When we heard on the news that you were believed to be heading this way, we thought, well, they've got to stop somewhere and change cars at least if they want any chance at getting away." "And we've got half a dozen junkers out back, but they do run," Becky went on. "So we took turns going out to the main road and simply taking our top off when a car came by. We figured you'd get the symbolism." "We certainly did," Eddie said. "But what would you do if the car wasn't us?" "That did happen several times," Mary said. "Then we just ran off into the woods and waited for the next car. A couple of times the driver actually stopped and came around looking, but we've lived here all our lives and we know every tree. They never even came close to finding us. "It's awfully nice of you to help us," Laurie said. "But I guess you know we can't pay you, at least not much. We only have what we had in our pockets when we split from the office this morning." "And I guess you know we don't want a nickel from you!" Becky said. "Listen, if you look online or listen to the radio, it's all over the country now. Women everywhere are following your lead. They'll never get us all back in the binding now! If we could help in any way, hell, Laurie, we'd pay for the honor!" "I'm...touched." Laurie was feeling near tears, but she was pleased to realize they were tears of pride. In any event, they didn't quite come. Mary stood up. "Look, one of us ought to stand guard downstairs. Sandy will be back soon, and we'll make it look as normal as we can in case Danny comes by." "Danny?" Eddie asked. "The cop who has a crush on her," Becky said, also standing up. "If they're looking for you, he's the one who'll come by. And she's right, we should all be downstairs. I'm sure the two of you would like some privacy anyway for the night. Don't worry, we'll wash the sheets after you leave." Becky grinned at the taboo joke, but noted that neither Laurie nor Eddie objected to it. As soon as the sisters had taken their leave, Laurie looked at Eddie and dissolved into nervous laughter. Eddie got up from the floor and sat on the bed. "You know, we don't have to do anything," he said. "I could even sleep on the floor if you want me to." "For heaven's sake, Eddie!" Laurie stood up as well and took both his hands in hers, drawing him back to his feet. "After the day we've had, and knowing what might well happen tomorrow, do you think I'd want to miss out on making love to you?!" "What?!" Eddie made no effort to hide his surprise. "Look, Eddie," Laurie said. "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. Neither of us knows. We could get through and live happily ever after in Canada, or we could get caught and thrown in jail or worse. I'm an optimist at heart -- that's why I was able to throw off my binding -- so I have to believe sooner or later we'll be set free if we're caught. But it could be a while. Years, even! If we are locked away for years, I want one memory of a beautiful night together to tide us both over. Wouldn't you like that?" She broke contact to take off the t-shirt Becky had given her, and placing his hands on her breasts, she added, "And really, now that these are finally free, we both ought to enjoy them!" "I certainly am enjoying them right now," Eddie admitted, caressing Laurie's forbidden fruit reverently. "Oh, who am I kidding, I'm dying to make love to you!" He followed her lead in taking off the blazer and tie. "If I weren't dressed like this, I'd have thought it was days we were on the run, not hours!" "Already feels like weeks since I was bound," Laurie agreed, holding her breasts at attention as she awaited his hands' return. "I can't believe I lived with that misery for so long." "You never will again," Eddie said, as he stood up and unbuttoned his pants. Once he had them off, he took her in a nude embrace and pushed her pants down with one hand and resumed playing with her breasts with the other. "I promise." "You can't promise that," Laurie reminded him. "I can promise I'll do everything I can to make it happen!" "As will I!" Laurie vowed, and she kissed him as she kicked her pants and panties off. They fell together on the bed. Eddie, feeling a bit self-conscious, rubbed Laurie's bruise gently where Josh had punched her. "It broke my heart watching this happen," he said. "Never mind that!" Laurie said, pulling his hand away. "Eddie, here I am naked for you! Why worry about what's done with when you have all my body to explore, and you're knowing I'm dying to have you do it? Besides, it's a badge of honor for both of us, isn't it?" "Good point," Eddie admitted as he lay back on the pillows and admired Laurie's body. "You are beautiful," he murmured. "What a horrible shame they'd try to outlaw this." "Thank you, and I couldn't agree more! But are you really only going to look at me?" "Well, Laurie...I don't know just what to do! You know what it's like with the morality laws. All we ever hear is that you shouldn't do it until you're married. Well, I've never been married, so I haven't got a clue." "Neither do I," Laurie admitted. "But isn't that part of the fun of it all? That's what I've always heard in the whispered conversations in the ladies' room and so on." On that note she wrapped one hand around his erection and began stroking gently. "That's it," she said as Eddie began gasping and groaning in pleasure. "Admire my illegal woman's body to your heart's content, and understand it's going to ravage you! Happy Halloween, dear!" Eddie laughed through his intense sighs, and Laurie joined him. At last Eddie overcame his shyness well enough to run his fingers through Laurie's bush. She spread her legs for him, and soon he was stroking her lips with an awkward but eager touch. He leaned in and kissed each of her breasts gently in turn, earning her encouragement along the way. "Yesssss, Eddie! Lovely!" "How did you hide these away?" Eddie marvelled at their size. "It wasn't easy. But this is! Kiss them some more!" And Eddie did. It took some time before the two virgins were brave enough for the next step, but Laurie had little trouble guiding Eddie inside once she'd coaxed him into climbing on top of her. "Lovely," she said as he pushed into her. "Not so hard, is it?" "I'm pretty sure it's as hard as it gets," Eddie quipped. They laughed together, and then he set about making love to her. Slow and deliberate, inexperienced but patient with one another, they went at it for the next several minutes with the dim light betraying nothing of the enemy outside, and the comforting din of Mary and Becky washing dishes and puttering about downstairs. Laurie was self-conscious about the noises she felt like making at first, but as she recalled Becky's adoration for her and reasoned that they couldn't be heard very well downstairs anyway, she let go of her inhibitions and thrilled Eddie with a stream of heated consciousness as he brought her to a hard-won orgasm. "Beautiful," he said, pausing to admire the look of intense joy on her face as the moment passed. "Now you," she said. "Go as fast as you like. I want to see you come. Let's have this to remember just in case!" And in a few more hard pushes, she had her wish. Sandy banged in the back door. "No one saw me," she announced to her sisters at the kitchen table. "How can you be sure?" Becky asked. "I'm here and not down at the police station, that's how!" Sandy protested. "I mean, maybe the cops heard the explosion, but they'd have gotten there too late." "But then they're going to come here if they did hear it," Mary said. "They won't find anything here, will they?" Sandy insisted. "Besides, it's Halloween night. It could just be some pranksters. That's what it usually is at the canyon, really." "Shhhh!" Becky pointed in turn at both of her sisters. "They could be right outside for all we know!" she reminded them in a harsh whisper. As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and Becky gave them both an angry look. "Coming!" Mary knew her cue. She went out into the hallway, where the front door could be seen. Sure enough, it was just as they had feared. "Oh, hi, Deputy Danny!" she said in her best flirtatious voice. "Want some leftover Halloween candy? You know we get so few trick or treaters here!" "No thanks, Mary," said the young police officer. "May I come in, though?" "Well, of course," Mary said, opening the screen door. "But whatever for?" "Are your parents and sisters here?" "We're here, Mom and Dad aren't," said Becky, who was now standing in the kitchen door. "How can we help you, Dan?" "Well, ladies, this is a big awkward, but I'm sure you've heard the news about what happened all over the place today. Women everywhere are rebelling, and heck, it looks like the both of you are, too," he chuckled. "We're in our home, we don't have to be bound here," Mary reminded him. "True, you don't," Danny admitted. "It is recommended but not required. In any event, the woman who started the whole thing, and her male accomplice, their car was sighted not far from here, and I'm afraid there were reports of a young woman who looks a lot like one of you three standing naked from the waist up out in the road. I was sure it was just some silly Halloween prank, but I do need to ask you if it was." "Danny, you know I would never go outside unbound, never mind topless!" Mary said, forcing a laugh. "Don't be silly!" "I believe you," Danny said. "But listen, just to be completely safe, I ought to search your house. For the fugitives." "Is that really necessary?" Becky asked. "You didn't see a cop car in our yard except for yours, did you?" "How did you know it was a cop car they were driving?" Danny asked. "It was all over the news, that's how!" Sandy piped up, having now joined her sister in the kitchen doorway. "Danny, I know you've got a job to do, but this is ridiculous. You've known us all our lives, and you haven't got any reason to think anyone is hiding here. If you did, you'd have said what your reasons were by now." "I told you we'd heard reports!" Danny said. "And how do I know you heard on the news that it was a police car?" "Where else would we hear it?" Becky demanded. "That doesn't matter," Danny said. "Ladies, I'm sorry, but I must insist." He pulled his radio out of its holster. "I'm calling for backup, and we're going to search this house." "Danny, would you put that radio away?!" Becky called out, praying she was loud enough to be understood upstairs. "You're being absurd!" "Orders are orders," Danny said. "These two caused a nationwide panic, rioting everywhere, disrespect for the law, and all I want to do is mark your house off our list of where they might be." Becky had no way of knowing, but her desperate ploy had worked. Upstairs, Laurie and Eddie were snuggling under the covers in their afterglow when they heard her. Laurie jumped up and gathered up her blouse and slacks from the floor. "We'd better get out of here," she said. "At least step outside until they've searched the house, if that's what they're going to do." "But where will we go?" Eddie wondered out loud, though he did follow Laurie's lead in getting his clothes back on. No need to bother with the tie, anyway. "They didn't give us any car keys yet." "I'm sure they'll let us back in once the cops have been through here." Laurie pulled on her shoes and turned to open the window. The sisters all watched helplessly as Danny reported his suspicions on the radio. Once he had switched it off, Mary stepped forward for a last-ditch effort. "Danny," she said, "What's the harm in what this Laurie has done? Even if she were here, and I'm not saying she is." Bustin' Out "She broke the law, Mary." "By being herself and choosing not to hide? What's the harm, Danny?" Putting on her best conciliatory smile, Mary continued. "Danny, you're a good guy, you know how unjust the Libido Control Act is, don't you? I've seen how you look at me with pity when I'm bound in public!" "Be that as it may, the law is the law, Mary." "But the law is a silly, stupid one!" "The fount ties knots that--" "You don't believe that, Danny! You've known us all your life! You know better than to think that way about us! You could just tell the other cops you've searched the house and couldn't find anyone." "They are here, then!" Danny drew his gun. "Danny, please!" Mary was reduced to begging, in vain she now knew, as the flash of a siren roared through the dark out on the porch. "You know it's an evil law, Danny, you can help put an end to it!" Danny looked long and hard at the young woman he had adored for so long. He gazed into her begging eyes even as he was aware of his two colleagues standing at the door. "Danny?" one of them asked. Danny turned around. "Guys, I think they're upstairs." Mary stood back helplessly as one of the other cops came inside to follow Danny upstairs. Before the third one could enter, a sound of gravel being disturbed rang out from just beyond the house. "We got someone here!" he exclaimed. Danny and the other officer came rushing after him, and the sisters after them, in time to see Eddie picking himself up off the ground. Dazed, he tried to run, but the officer who had spotted him easily tackled him. "Where do you think you're going, buddy?" he said. "Lemme go!" Eddie squirmed about beneath him, but it was hopeless. "Where's the girl?" Danny demanded. "Up here." They all looked up to see Laurie standing on the porch roof. "If you want to take me, fine," she said. "But let him go." "That's not your decision to make," Danny called up to her. "You're both wanted." "Danny!" Mary tried again. "Can't you just --" "Shut up!" Danny snapped. In the heat of the exchange, both of the other officers took their eyes off Eddie for a moment, and he managed to wriggle out. Danny whipped around and called out, "Freeze!" Eddie did not freeze. He continued running for the woods at full speed. "Stop or I'll shoot!" called the cop who had subdued him. Eddie did not stop. The cop shot him, and caught him cleanly in the back. Eddie staggered and fell to the ground. "Nooooooo!" Laurie shrieked from the roof. "You bastard! You wanted me, not him!" In a rage, she jumped off the roof and lunged at the shooter. He easily stepped out of the way, but Laurie managed to land on her feet and she took another swipe at him. "Hey, calm down!" said the third officer. "No need to make this worse than it already is!" Laurie responded only with a rageful swipe at him as well. This time she did make contact, and got her hands tight around his throat. The cop gagged and flailed at Laurie, but she had no trouble fighting him off and continued to squeeze the life out of him. "You fucking murderers! What's it to you what I wear anyway! What did he do to you?! What did --" A shot rang out, from one or the other of the deputies, who both had their guns drawn, and Laurie joined her true love on the ground. All three cops and all three sisters stood stock still, looking in disbelief at the two bodies, and they held their poses as the curtain fell. The audience looked fairly stunned at the ending, as they usually were, but for the third night in a row they burst into heavy applause as the deputies, the sisters, the officemates, Laurie's parents and finally Laurie and Eddie came out to take a bow. As usual, Jess got the loudest cheers of all from her portrayal of Laurie. She was gratified to see even many of the men in the audience on their feet and cheering for her. Jess waved the audience to silence. "Thank you," she said. Observing the wild variety of outfits the audience sported for the campus Halloween bash later that night, she added, "Nice costumes. Listen, I don't want to hold anyone up from the party later on, but I am pleased to announce there'll be a discussion group in the lounge upstairs to discuss victim blaming and the dangers of asking victims to change their behavior, and the risk that a story like this could actually happen in the future. I'll be there to share my insights on what I've learned playing Laurie, and I hope you can join us. All are welcome, even in costume -- in fact, especially that! It'll make the whole topic a bit more lighthearted, and we could use that. Hope to see you there, and yes, there will be candy. But, sorry, guys, I won't be wearing these!" She squeezed her huge fake breasts, drawing a laugh from the audience, and ducked back behind the curtain. As usual, not all of the men were impressed. Jolene Adams, who was proud to be known as the most controversial writer for the college newspaper, was not surprised to hear the half-dozen or so guys from the Campus Men's Rights Resource Group pipe up a few rows behind her. "Fuck feminiazis! Fuck feminazis!" they chanted. Jolene, whom the men's rights group called "our sweet li'l Lois Lane wannabe," ignored the epithets and approached them with a painted-on smile. She noted without surprise that the mostly upper-middle-class suburban boys were all dressed as a biker gang for Halloween. "Guys, have you got a comment for me that could actually be printed?" "Yeah!" snapped one of them -- Jolene thought his name was Mike something. "Just 'cause some of us don't want to turn men into pansies doesn't mean we're monsters, and it doesn't mean you've gotta outlaw tits. Just wear your fucking bra in public and don't expect to be a tease with no consequences, and real men will leave you alone!" "And Republicans don't want to punish women like that, neither!" called out another, whom Jolene hadn't seen before. "We're the ones who actually respect women, not like those feminazis who want to tell them what they can and can't think. Just 'cause I support traditional values doesn't mean I hate anyone. Except feminazis." "And your name is?" Jolene asked the young man, jotting down on her pad that he was wearing a t-shirt with a German phrase on it that, based on her memories of high-school German, appeared to read "I'm not sorry for anything." "Don't tell her, man!" Mike snapped. "She's a reporter for the paper, all the chicks on campus'll know what you just said!" "Is that a bad thing?" Jolene asked. "I mean, if you're big enough to come here and chant against the play, don't you want people knowing where you stand?" "Course we do, but we don't need you putting words in our mouth, Jolene!" Mike said as the other guys nodded their agreement. "Once you put your spin on it, Pete won't be able to get laid to save his life!" "Pete is your name, is it?" "Aw crap, I'm sorry, Pete!" Mike said. "But look, he didn't tell you, that means you can't quote him! At least not by name." Jolene looked at Pete. He seemed a bit greener and less hardened than the others; maybe there was hope for him. "I'll tell you what," she said. "If you go to the discussion group Jess mentioned and listen to the other side of the story, I won't quote you by name." "I --" Pete began, but Mike cut him off. "He's not here to make deals with you, bitch!" "I didn't say he was, but I believe he had something to say." "I-" "Shut your mouth, Pete!" "Mike, I can handle this myself!" To Jolene, Pete continued, "I already was going to the discussion group. I kind of have to, 'cause I'm dating Jess. She'd never go out with me again if I didn't show my face up there." "Are you going to tell her what you really think?" Jolene was beyond surprised that Jess would date a guy like this. "Course not!" Pete said, triggering guffaws and laughs from the other guys. "But she doesn't need to know, does she? I'll play Mister Nice Guy like I know I have to do, and see if I can't talk some sense into her later on as we get to know one another better. I figure women always see the light when they mature." "I...see," Jolene said, taking down notes. Jess was a close friend of hers, and keeping her cool was tougher than usual at the moment. "Tell me, how do you feel about Jess doing the sex and masturbation scenes in the play?" "Why the fuck do you think he comes here at all?" Mike interjected. "Or any guy in the audience," Pete added. "But it's okay, she's an actress and she's already told me what she thinks of the guy who plays Eddie. Think he's a faggot anyway, which says a lot about why he'd play a part like this." "Remember, Jolene, you can't quote him by name!" Mike reminded her, and Jolene was pleased to see real fear in Pete's eyes. "Quite right, I can't," Jolene said, bringing an unlikely look of gratitude from Pete. "Enjoy the Halloween party, guys." Jolene walked off to get other quotes from the audience while waiting for the discussion group. She already had Pete's quote mapped out for the article, complete with no name attribution as directed. He would simply be "a student wearing a biker outfit replete with a t-shirt reading a politically incorrect comment in German," and he could wait and see if Jess recalled who was dressed like that at the discussion.