The Opposite

[drshok]

Originally Posted by Brynn

Jenny was sitting on her doorstep waiting for the cab to arrive. It was nearly 10 am and she was late. Anxiously, she checked her watch every two minutes.

Her stress level was going through the roof so she flipped open her PDA to see if it was possible to reschedule the meeting. Lo and behold... the meeting was actually for 11:00, and she was early! Immediately her shoulders relaxed, her breathing slowed, and she stopped biting her lips. She decided that since she had time to spare, she would ask the cab to let her off a block away from the lawyer's so she could grab a latte.

A latte, what the hell was she thinking, a latte, how easy it was to let herself slip back into her old habits. It had been 3 months since the doctor told her to lay off the caffeine and she still wasn't over the habit. No wonder her stress level was fluxuating so badly lately. She decided to ask the cabbie to drop her off at her therapist's place instead of the lawyers...and god could she ever use a ciggarette right now.

She'd given up cigarettes, they made her anxious, even if the cravings came back to haunt her from time to time. Instead she slowed down her pace, took longer breaths and slowly opened the door to her therapist's office. As she was treading up the stairs, voice heavy, she called her lawyer.

"Hi, Beale? Yeah, I'm just going to be a little late, hon, sorry - it's been one of those mornings... what? No, I stopped drinking lattes... why don't I get a decaf? Holy shit. That's why I pay you the big bucks, my friend. I'll see you in half an hour!"

Suddenly energized, Jenny stretched luxuriously until her spine unkinked and her muscles worked out the knots. Then she made her way out into the sunshine and looked around for the nearest coffeehouse.

She soon reached the place. She'd been coming here for years. She started to push open the door when she realised that something was not right. She stepped back and saw that the place was completely unfamiliar. It was no coffeehouse but a rather decrepit looking dry-cleaners. There was no way that this had appeared overnight. It looked as if it had been there for years. She felt dizzy and had to rest against the nearest wall. She had no idea what was happening.

Looking up, she realized that she was actually one storefront over from where she was supposed to be. Laughing with relief, Jenny left the dry-cleaners, giving the bored-looking attendant a flirty smile before closing the door. Latte, latte, latte. Dying for a latte! Maybe, she thought, I will *even* have some sugar in that bad boy.

Quickly she walked to the cafe and pulled open the door. A blinding white light met her eyes, much like in Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters. She felt herself being pulled forwards, as if she were metal attracted to a magnet. Faster and further she went. Soon she was moving so quickly that she could not remain consious. When she came to, she found herself sitting in some kind of couch, in a brightly lit cavernous space. Where the light was coming from she could not tell. She pinched herself to see if she was dreaming. It hurt. This was no dream. Suddenly, at one end of the space a door seemed to open. Bright light flooded in again She could see strange shapes moving in the light. Were they speaking to her?

As they approached her she felt a force, like a large soft warm hand, pushing into the couch. It was so strong that she could feel the springs giving under her back and thighs. It didn't hurt, it felt more like the acceleration just before takeoff. Even though the pressure made her feel as though she couldn't move, she could breathe easily and her senses seemed to be sharpened. The figures approached and she could see them clearly. They were speaking to each other, and seemed to be discussing her. The lights went out at that point, and she

realised they were waiting for an answer. "A large decaff latte please, no cinnamon." The lights came back on. This can't be real. Where the hell am I? Jenny started gasping for breath, she stood up and looked around for a door or a window. She pulled back some long curtains, found a window and opened it into a starry night. Night? What happened to the city? She took in several deep breaths but her head continued reeling. She suppressed a giggle as a perfect latte was pressed into her hand by a distinctly human, half-naked waiter. She stirred in some sugar and slurped to drink it quickly, it'd been so hard to come by, if she didn't drink it pronto, it might disappear. MMMH, that was delicious. I wonder if that waiter is a bad boy?

A small shock sent shivers through her spine. She reached into her purse quickly and pulled her Bible out to find the verses to combat her sinful thoughts. Her heart thumped loud and desparately with the recent infusion of caffine. She pulled her long hair into a quick bun and donned her retro horn-rimmed glasses to read by.

She looked at the book in her hand and...wait, this wasn't a bible at all. It was a trashy dime store novel, with some half naked, long haired, god-like man on the cover. How did this get in there? She found the page with the turned down corner and began to read the page she must have stopped at.

She didn't read for very long however, for she soon found that the words were decidely Spanish. "I must have picked have picked up Carlos' book by mistake." she thought. Carlos was her new boyfriend, but what was he doing with a trashy paperback with a half-naked man on the cover? She pulled out her phone and dialled Carlos, she was going to get an answer to this one.

Ring, Ring..."Hola?". Hi it's me Jenny. Jenny, came the reply. I never heard of you lady. But perhaps I can interest you in our services. We supply half naked guys, directly to your own home. They will help you with any "chores". Jenny thought "It sounds good but can I afford this? After all I spend 80% of my income on coffee". She just could not decide.

Her mind was made up quickly when she realised she had dialled Carlos' number, but accidently had dialled his work number that he had said to phone only in case of extreme emergencies. "Do you have any guys that are... umm... Latino?" she asked. "Oh, yes, we have several!" was the answer. "Do you have any that are... umm... called Carlos?" "Oh, yesssss! Carlos is our number one half naked guy! I'll send him right over!"

Jenny's head danced with multiple images of writhing, handsome half-naked Latinos named Carlos, but those began to morph into balding, pasty-white Wall Street drones in dark navy suits doing the chicken dance.
"You grab her arms and I'll grab the coffee!" Jenny got the vague impression that she was very chilly - perhaps naked, even, and that many eyes were watching her.
"You're under arrest, ma'am. Hey guys - check it out! I think her coffee's laced with something."
"B-b-but it's decaf!" she sputtered. "I want to call my lawyer!"

She awoke in a darkend room. It was spinning slowly. There was latino music playing in the background. The door opened a crack and a man's head peered in. He stepped fully into the room and switched the light on. It was carlos! He was wearing a French maid's frilly ultra mini skirt with a small frilly white apron. His chest was bare apart from a large gold medalion. He grinned at her and waved the feather duster he was holding. "So you finally found out about the day job!. Well now we're here, is there anything you particularly want polished?".