White and silver. That was Bella’s first impression of the inside of Charlotte’s house, the second was just how high class it all felt. From the outside, Bella could see through the living room, and dining area from outside, which sort of betrayed how large and elegant these areas were. White carpet for the living room, and wooden floor for the dining area. Glass tables, white sofas, what had to be an 80 inch or more TV. Beautiful artistic pieces here and there.

The kitchen, which sat out of view from the outside, was dead ahead of the short hall leading to the front door, which also featured stairs going both up to the second floor, and down to the basement. 

A beautiful granite countertop and island dinette sat as the centerpiece of the kitchen, with tall silver chairs facing their backs to the living room and dining area. 

“You can put your backpack on the counter, here.” Charlotte said, as she put her black purse, keys, and phone on it herself. 

“And please, dear, take a seat.” Charlotte motioned towards the chairs at the kitchen island. Bella did as she was told, as she hopped up unto a chair, she put her backpack on the countertop. 

“Oh, and please kick off your shoes. I should have mentioned it before you sat down.” Charlotte said, as she came around the island, and stood near the girl expectantly.

“Oh, right.” Bella tried to bend over in the tall chair to reach her feet, though it was far too awkward a position. Realizing it would be easier to quickly hop out of the chair, she went to do so. Instead, she found a firm, but gentle grip from Charlotte on her shoulder. 

“Oh don’t worry, dear. I can take them off for you.” Charlotte didn’t wait for a response, she bent down and gently grabbed the girl’s ankles, removed each shoe, and then each sock. Bella stared with a blank expression. She wasn’t really processing what was happening. 

“God damn…” Charlotte noted to herself, looking at Bella’s feet closely, trying not to stare too long.

“And your socks, too. It’s more comfortable that way, I’m sure.” She took the shoes and socks back to the front door, and put them on the shoe rack there before taking her heels and socks off herself.

Bella had hardly said a word since she’d entered the house. Charlotte liked it that way, it meant the girl was nervous. It made her feel powerful. In control. She walked towards the fridge, opening it, and looked at the contents. She then swung her head around and asked Bella if she was hungry. 

“A little bit, yeah. It’s been a while since I ate. What time is it anyway?”, she checked her phone. 

“Holy shit! It’s 10:14 already?!” Bella exclaimed.

Charlotte laughed, “Yes, dear. Group ended at 8:00, after all.”

“Well, I’m not too hungry, but I am hungry. Do you have anything snacky?” Bella asked, seeming more at ease now.

“I have some pretzels and hummus. You like hummus?”

“Hummus is rich people food.” Bella remarked without thinking. She looked mortified.

“Hummus? Rich people food? Oh darling, I’m not sure what strikes me the most, the fact you think I’m rich, or that you consider hummus to be rich people food!” 

“Uh… Sorry.” The girl looked awfully embarrassed. Charlotte let her continue to be so, while she grabbed a bowl to pour pretzels in, and grabbed the container of hummus from the fridge.

Once the food was in order, Charlotte could move onto more important matters. She led Bella over to one of the pristine white sofas in the living room, and told her to have a seat. Charlotte put the bowl of pretzels and hummus on the glass coffee table, and sat beside her guest.

“So, what do you want to know?” Charlotte asked as she got comfortable.

“A-about what?” Bella replied, suddenly very nervous. She knew what Charlotte was talking about, she was just afraid to ask.

“The bottom surgery process, silly.”

“Oh um… Yeah, I guess I wanted to know how long the waitlist for a consultation would be, more than anything…” Bella shied away from asking anything more explicit. She felt vulnerable. Anxious.

“Well, right now, I’d say about 7-10 months.”

Charlotte froze.

“7 - 10 ten months?”

“Well yes, we only have one surgeon at the moment.”

“I- I…” the girl stammered, “I’m not even sure I want the surgery. I just wanted a consultation to learn more about it. I’ve been thinking about it over and over, I can’t make up my mind. It’s driving me crazy. I don’t want to wait 10 months! God, I’m counting on a consultation to finally make me make up my mind.”

Charlotte put a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder. She appreciated the way Bella was wearing a tank top, it meant Charlotte could feel her soft skin.

“Listen…” Charlotte seized her opportunity while the girl was distressed, “I can’t give you the full run down, but while we’re here tonight, I can give you as much of a consultation as I can.”

Bella looked up at Charlotte, noticing the woman’s hand on her shoulder. It felt good to be touched, as much as it felt frightening.

“Yeah… Sure. I’m just nervous, you know. I wasn’t prepared to be doing this today.” 

“Well, it is a sensitive thing, I understand that, but that’s the nature of the matter. I promise, you’ll do fine.” Charlotte was leading the girl where she wanted her. Faster than she thought she would, too. This poor thing was desperate, and Charlotte smelt the blood in the water.

“And here’s the thing, Bella. It’s not like we’re at the hospital. I’m not on the clock or anything. If you want something to loosen yourself up, I have wine in the fridge.’ 

Bella froze and looked at Charlotte. Her expression was hard to read. She didn’t say a word. 

“Fuck. I came on too strong.”

For the first time tonight, Bella second guessed herself. What the fuck was she doing here? In a stranger’s house at 10:30 at night. In the middle of nowhere. No one knew where she was. Not that anyone cared… And this older woman, whom she’d just met hours ago, was offering her alcohol? Didn’t she know Bella wasn’t old enough to drink? This woman was beautiful, hot even. She was successful. She was kind. Bella felt compelled to interact with her. Charlotte seemed trustworthy enough, right? She was a PA for the only bottom surgeon in 100 miles at least, who had a great reputation. But this was all so weird. Why was she doing this?

Bella felt sick. 

“Are you okay, dear? Hey, look at me. You look pale. Please, lay down.” 

Charlotte stood up,  grabbed the girl gently, and leaned her back onto the couch, pulling her legs up. 

“You just take a moment, okay?” 

The girl nodded distantly.

“Too much, Charlotte. Too fucking much.”

Charlotte rushed to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. As she approached the couch, and looked at the girl, she realized something: this piece of meat was lighter than her, weaker than her, scared out of her mind, and isolated in Charlotte’s own home. To top it off, no one would be looking for her. If Charlotte fucked this up too badly, she could also subdue the girl the hard way. Of course, that wasn’t fun. And it often resulted in bruises, blood, and sometimes broken coffee tables. Charlotte didn’t relish the idea.

“Just take it slow, you’ve got her where you want her. Just make her feel at ease.”

“Here, have some water.” Charlotte decided not to call her prey “dear” this time. It may have been too much before. 

Bella sat up a bit, and sipped at the water. 

“How’re you feeling?”

“I…. I’m fine. Sorry. I just realized that this is all so weird. I shouldn’t be going home with strangers. I’ve never drank before either. You seem very nice, and you’ve been extremely kind to me. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, I just think I got ahead of myself here.” Bella started to tear up.

“Oh damn you, stupid bitch. Don’t get wise up to how clueless you’ve been now!”

Charlotte knelt beside her prey laying on the couch. It’s body shaking, scared, disoriented. 

Crying.

“Shhhh, shhhh. Here now, you’re safe with me.” Charlotte put one hand on the girl’s shoulder, and the other on her forehead, ” And I promise you’ve done nothing wrong Bella. You just wanted to learn more about potential medical transition. That’s all. It’s not like we could have had this discussion in the library, so we had to go somewhere. Given the sensitive nature of the topic, I figured the privacy of my own home would be suitable enough. And I only offered you wine because that’s what I do with all of my guests. I forgot you’re only 20. Please don’t feel pressured.” 

Of course, Charlotte wanted to pressure her prey. She just didn’t want it to know it was being pressured.

Another 30 or so seconds of tears, and Bella started to regain her composure. Charlotte was right, there was nothing to worry about. Adults drink alcohol, it’s just something they do. You see it in movies all of the time. Someone enters another’s home, and they’re offered a drink. Just pleasantries...

“Yeah…. Yeah. You’re right Charlotte. I’m just being silly.” Bella laughed, while wiping away her remaining tears.

“I’ve never had alcohol before. But I’m willing to try it. It calms people down, right? Makes them more talkative? I think I could use that right now.” Again, she giggled, trying not to be a killjoy.

“And you’ve got to be hungry too. You haven’t touched your pretzels.” Charlotte helped the girl sit all the way up, and handed her the bowl and hummus. 

“Eat. I’m still wearing my work clothes, I desperately need to change out of them. Here, I’ll throw on some music, and let you eat while I go get changed. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.” Bella said with a smile. She seemed to be in better spirits now.

“Good. Just relax and I’ll be right back with some wine, and we can talk about anything you want.” Charlotte walked back to the kitchen counter, and used her phone to turn on some soft instrumental jazz. Her prey hadn’t bothered to look back at her as she walked away. Perhaps now would be a good time to confiscate its phone…. No, it might want to use it while Charlotte is getting changed.

“Again, play it slow.”

Charlotte headed upstairs. In her bedroom she changed from her business casual get-up to a far more comfortable matching set of a soft pink tank top, and soft homewear short shorts. But most importantly, she knelt down and peered under her bed. There she found a small wooden box with a golden latch. Undoing the latch, and opening the box revealed a number of small plastic bags with various powdery substances. She picked one out and looked at it.

Charlotte liked her prey to be at least semi conscious, but adequately sedated to be usable. It wasn’t fun if her toys were completely unconscious, which of course meant they wouldn’t feel the pain. They wouldn’t struggle. They wouldn’t cry. They wouldn’t beg.

Of course, if they could be entirely conscious, that would be preferable. Charlotte may have been a wolf amongst sheep, but she wasn’t a warrior, so she had to make do. 

“The alcohol should be enough for this little minx, but if it’s not…”

She closed the box, and slid it back under her bed before getting up and making her way back down to her prey.