“Wow, the traffic is heavy already,” Dave snorted from behind the wheel of his old Chevy. It was a clunker, but it had gotten him through college. Now that he and Sharon had both graduated and had halfway decent jobs just under way, maybe there could be something better in the not too far distant future.

“Weekend traffic,” Sharon said absently from the passenger seat. “What did you expect?”

“I suppose,” Dave sighed. “Oh well, we might have some fun with your sister and brother-in-law.”

“I doubt it,” Sharon frowned, and shook her head making her long brunette hair wave. “I mean, there wasn’t an easy way we could turn them down, and they’re offering to pick up the tab, but I’d just as soon be spending the weekend at home and in bed having fun.”

“You’d wear me out,” Dave snorted. “But it would be fun while it lasted. And then what would we do?”

“Rest up and do it again,” she grinned. It was still a new enough experience to actually be living with him. She’d gone through a number of boyfriends in her years at Western, but last fall, in her senior year, she’d come across Dave, and somehow the two had stuck. He was far and away the best boyfriend she’d ever had, but both of them had enough bad experiences in the past that they thought maybe they should live together for a while before they did something serious like getting married. Her folks were less than happy about the arrangement – they were kind of churchy – but they also knew she’d been through a lot of boyfriend trouble, so nobody pitched too serious of a serious shit fit. A big smile crossed her face. “I’ll bet we do it a lot more than Helena and Andy.”

“How would you know?” he laughed.

“Oh, it stands to reason,” she smiled. “I mean, they are both as straight as straight can be. Pretty churchy, and all that. They tend to be sort of formal.”

“I know,” Dave sighed. “Remember, I met them back at graduation. Andy is sort of a square, a suit from the word go, and your sister is kind of Miss Prim and Proper. I don’t want to say stuck-up, but, well, maybe reserved would be better.”

“I agree with that,” Sharon agreed. “I mean, she’s a nice person, and all that, and they’re both making good money, but yeah, straight, square. I’ll bet neither of them have ever done anything wild in their lives. They probably have sex once a month, missionary position, whether they want to or not. They’ve probably never seen each other naked.”

“Oh, maybe not,” Dave grinned. “You don’t know what goes on behind closed doors. Still waters do run deep, you know.”

“Not that deep.” She shook her head. “Back when we were growing up, Helena was always pretty straight and churchy, goody-two-shoes, you know. I haven’t seen her a lot since she went to that goofy Christian college, but it seems she just got straighter.”

“We’re just going to have to be on our good behavior and try not to let on how bored we are,” Dave agreed. “Besides, we might as well get to know them.”

“I suppose,” Sharon sighed. “Oh, well, we’ll at least get some beach time and have fun on the rides.”

“There is that,” Dave agreed.

It was a good three-hour drive to Helena and Andy’s house from their apartment, made longer by the fact that the Chevy’s air conditioner had given out a long time before. It was nice to drive with the windows down, but it got oppressive long before they reached Sharon’s sister’s house. It took a little finding; Sharon had never been there before, even though her sister and brother-in-law had moved in right after getting married. Still, Andy had sent them a detailed map of how to reach the smallish house, located out in the country, and that made it possible. It was a relief to pull into the driveway.

Before they could get out of the car, Andy came out. He was tall and sandy-haired, if a little plain-looking, dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, sort of offsetting the blue jeans and t-shirt that Dave wore, and Sharon’s cutoffs and tank top. “Hey, you two made pretty good time,” her brother-in-law smiled as they got out.

“Better than I expected,” Dave admitted. “Just running with the traffic, but it was running way over the speed limit.”

“Everybody’s in a hurry to have fun,” Andy smiled. “Helena’s in using the bathroom, she’ll be out in a minute. You want to throw your stuff in the Buick? I’ll get the air conditioner running.”

“Air conditioning is going to feel nice,” Sharon agreed. It was only the work of a couple minutes to throw their one suitcase and their overnight case over into the trunk of Andy’s car.

“You guys have dinner?” Andy asked.

“No, we haven’t,” Dave replied. “I take it you haven’t eaten?”

“No, we figured on stopping somewhere along the way,” Andy smiled. “We can make it sooner or later.”

“Doesn’t matter, it’s still early,” Sharon said.

“Sharon, why don’t you ride in back, and Dave can sit up with me?” Andy suggested. “That way you and Helena can talk sister stuff a little easier.”

“Sure, sounds like a good idea,” Dave agreed. Andy opened the door for Sharon and stood beside it as she got in. That still seemed just a little strange; what little she knew about Andy in the few times she’d met him was that he was always assertively polite – which was nice; it was something Dave wouldn’t have done. She was just getting settled in when Helena came out of the house, carrying a purse and a small duffel bag. Andy hustled around to the far side of the car and opened and held the door for Helena. She sure has him well trained, Sharon thought.

Her tall sister with the short, neat bouffant hair got in the car, set her bags down on the seat, and turned to her. “Hi, sis,” she smiled. “Long time, no see.”

“Just a couple months since graduation,” Sharon laughed. “The way we’ve been going the last few years, that’s a short time.”

“You’re right,” Helena grinned. “So how’s everything going?”

“Just fine,” Sharon smiled, glancing over at her sister as Andy got in, and started the car. She was wearing a summer dress, short, with a halter top, looking good as usual, and, as usual, overshadowing her own sloppiness. Even when she was casual, Helena was always a sharp dresser, and today she was wearing a wide necklace and a couple of large bracelets, almost bangles.

“Well, let’s get moving,” Andy said, dropping the Buick into reverse and backing away from the garage. “Watuga Lake, here we come.”

“This will be fun,” Sharon said. “I haven’t been there since Helena and I were little kids.” There was something about Helena’s bracelets that caught her eye, didn’t quite make sense. She took a closer look – and couldn’t help but let out a gasp. “Helena!” she cried. “What are you doing wearing handcuffs?”

“You like them?” Helena smiled, holding her hands out so her sister could get a better look. “They were a birthday present.”

“Helena!” she gasped again, wide-eyed at the sight. “Andy gave you those for your birthday?”

“No, silly,” Helena smiled. “I gave them to him. Aren’t they pretty?”

David twisted around in his seat to look at Helena, who was sitting behind him. “Those are some serious handcuffs,” he commented, his eyes wide, too.

“They’re very nice,” Helena said smugly. “Soliel Lightweights, made in Belgium, just about as good and secure a set of handcuffs as you can get.”

“They’re not cheap,” Andy said, pulling out onto the highway and getting up to speed. “I think Helena went way overboard on my birthday present, especially when she bought them for me to put on her.”

“That was why,” Helena smiled. “I knew it would please you.”

“But… but… but… what are you doing wearing handcuffs now?” Sharon said, jaw still agape.

“Oh, we have a little bet,” Helena said. “I’m going to wear them all weekend.”

“Bet?” Sharon asked, confused.

“It involves doing dishes and mowing the grass,” Andy snorted. “Sharon, did anyone ever tell you that your sister is just a little bit on the weird side?”

“You’re actually planning on wearing handcuffs all weekend?” Sharon said, shaking her head and brushing her hair back. “Helena, what’s this all about?”

“Like I said, a bet,” Helena grinned demurely. “It’s no big deal.”

“But… but…” Sharon struggled for words. “Does Andy put those handcuffs on you very often?”

“Oh, now and then,” Helena smiled. “Come on, Sharon, you heard the story.”

“Story? What story?”

“Of the second time I met Andy,” Helena replied casually. “You remember, I told everybody at Christmas two years ago.”

“Well, yeah, but…” Sharon said, still not quite able to believe her sister.

“I don’t think I’ve heard this story,” Dave commented.

“Oh, it was pretty simple,” Helena said. “We have this Halloween party at work every year, and my roommate Acacia and I wanted to make a splash. We talked her boyfriend into helping out. He had on this Phantom of the Opera suit and mask, and he brought us into the party wearing evening gowns and weird makeup, along with handcuffs, collars and leashes.”

“What?” Dave frowned. “That must have been a pretty weird party.”

“Well, the idea was to be noticed,” Helena grinned.

“And were they ever,” Andy said, shaking his head. “Wade looked just like the Phantom of the Opera, and was extremely pompous all evening. I remember him saying stuff like – his voice got very deep and gruff and bombastic – “‘I am acting as her protector in lieu of her father in his absence. He is a Marine, sir, and he would be most angry with me were she to run wild and take up with cads or dockwallopers such as might be found in these surroundings. And yet, sir, I tell you these are wild women, sir. Wild, indeed! Should they set their fancy on some unsuspecting lad, I dare say whips would not drive them off.’” He let his voice go back to normal. “He’d get very huffy if someone wanted to dance with Helena or Acacia, say some of the most absolutely outrageous things, then unlock the handcuffs and hand them the girl’s leash. They had to bring them right back to the table when the dance was over with, and he’d cuff them again.”

“Wade made it work,” Helena agreed. “How about, ‘Women, like horses, sir, perform much the same to the crack of the whip. Whip! I say, sir!’ He was acting so stuffy and bombastic that you could hardly believe it. It was all Acacia and I could do to keep from breaking up all evening, but he said he’d bring us only if we could stay in character. It worked, we got the ‘most convincing’ award.”

“I remember,” Sharon shook her head. “I never quite believed the story.”

“Tell the truth, I didn’t quite believe it, either,” Andy grinned. “But I was there, and it really was pretty cool. I was breaking up all evening, though. I’d been out with Helena once maybe six months before, but we didn’t quite hit it off. I asked her out again at the party, and we went out the following Sunday, and we still laughed ourselves silly. That was kind of where we got to going with each other.”

“Because Helena was wearing handcuffs?” Sharon asked suspiciously.

“It did get my attention.” Andy shrugged. “Of course, that was the point.”

“Of course it was,” Helena agreed. “It was fun! And I’ll have some fun with it this weekend.”

“Fun?” Sharon frowned. “How is there any fun in wearing handcuffs?”

“Lots of fun,” Helena grinned. “You can have a ball with it. Come on, Sharon, you like doing stuff that draws people’s attention. It’s fun to be a little outrageous, to yank someone’s chain, so to speak, just to watch their shocked reaction. I mean, like yours.”

“Hold on,” Sharon shook her head. “You’ve been putting me on, right?”

“Well, no,” Helena sighed. “But it has been fun watching you dither. This was nothing. Not long after Andy and I were married, he and Wade took Acacia and me to a stock car race, in handcuffs, collars and leashes.” She shook her head with a smile. “You would not believe the reactions we got. For months I’d be sitting at my desk, remember something that happened, and break up laughing.”

“A stock car race?” Dave frowned.

“The big ones, a huge crowd,” Andy smiled. “I’m told we were on TV a couple times. You can come up with the most outrageous excuses to have your lady love in handcuffs, collar and leash at a deal like that. Don’t want to get separated in the crowd, have to keep their hands off Michael Waltrip, like that.”

“Helena,” Sharon shook her head. “You’ve got to be out of your mind. Do the folks know you did that?”

“Of course,” her sister smiled. “They thought it was a heck of a joke. Of course, after the Halloween party, they’ll believe that I’ll do something off the wall once in a while.”

“But it can’t be very comfortable to wear handcuffs all weekend,” Sharon protested. “You’re not really planning on doing it, are you?”

“Sure,” Helena said. “It does limit your motion some, and that’s the point. You have to get used to it is all. It’s really no big deal, and I’ve done it enough to be comfortable with it. It’s kind of fun to work out how you’re going to overcome the limitations.”

Sharon shook her head again. She’d been doing a lot of that for the last few minutes. The last thing she could have believed was to find out her sister not only was wearing handcuffs, but did it fairly often – and liked it! This was her sweet, demure, straight, square sister? What the hell happened? “I can’t see how it could be comfortable,” she said in confusion.

“It’s really not that bad,” Helena smiled. “It’s all in the attitude. You have to want to do it.”

Once again Sharon shook her head. “Not that bad? It must be hideous! I can’t imagine what it would feel like!”

Helena smiled serenely. “Would you like to find out? I mean, just to try it out?”

“You want to put those handcuffs on me?” Sharon asked in shock.

“No, silly,” Helena grinned. “I said I’m going to wear these all weekend, and I intend to. But I thought this might come up, so I came prepared.” She reached in her purse, and pulled out another pair of handcuffs.

“Helena, no!” Sharon almost shouted. “You’re not putting those on me!”

“I don’t intend to,” Helena smiled enigmatically. “Do you know anything about handcuffs, Sharon?”

“Not really,” she said suspiciously.

“These are rather unusual ones,” Helena replied. “These happen to be the handcuffs I wore to that Halloween party. They’re actually handcuffs that magicians use for escape tricks.” She held up one side of the handcuffs, and closed them around her wrist. “They close, and lock like any other handcuffs. But do you see this lever here?” she asked, pointing at a little tab on each side of the handcuffs. “If you push the tab away from the wrist, the handcuff latches so it can’t be closed tighter, and risk injury. Push it the other way, and they open instantly.” She did so, and the handcuffs fell from her wrist. Deftly, she snapped her hand downward and caught them. “Would you like to examine them?” she said, holding them out to her sister.

Sharon would rather have grabbed a snake – but there was something there that made her reach out and take them from Helena. She played with them for a minute, closing one side on thin air, locking it, and pushing the lever to release them. “You want me to wear these, right?” she asked.

“Just to see what it’s like,” Helena grinned. “As you see, if you feel threatened or panicked, you can release them in an instant. I’m just suggesting that you might like to wear them for a few minutes and get a taste of what it feels like. All I ask is that if you don’t feel threatened or panicked, you leave them on, despite how uncomfortable or clumsy you feel, until Dave or I take them off.”

Sharon sat staring at the shiny chrome handcuffs for a moment that might have gone on for minutes. She looked over at her sister, and all of a sudden, her curiosity was greater than her fear. While that lasted, she thought silently, and then said quietly and in a tone that hinted at defiance, “All right. I’ll give it a try.”

In spite of the fact that she knew she could take the handcuffs off – Helena made her try it out – they felt incredibly strange. The handcuffs drew her arms together not uncomfortably, but awkwardly enough to remind her that they were there. But the feelings that were bouncing around in her skull were hard to describe, as she wondered why she didn’t feel more uncomfortable about wearing the handcuffs than she did. Maybe it was the fact that she knew she could take them off, or maybe because Helena was so blasé about it.

“The best thing to do,” Helena told her, “Is to not focus on wearing the handcuffs. They’re just there. Get used to it, put them in the background. To help you with that, let’s just change the subject and talk about something else. I’m not real clear about this new job of yours. What’s that all about?”

“It’s sort of what I spent all that time in school learning to do,” Sharon replied, trying to get the thought out of her mind that her wrists were more or less secured eight inches apart by the shiny steel bracelets. “It could be better…”

The next hour was filled with some serious catching up. Dozens of times, she went to move one hand, only to be reminded that it was shackled close to the other one. She couldn’t believe she was really doing this! But yeah, it would take some getting used to, at least to do it the way that Helena seemed comfortable with.

Sharon hardly noticed when Andy pulled the Buick off the highway. “I’ve stopped here before,” he said. “It isn’t a bad little roadhouse, the prices are pretty decent, and they have a good salad bar.”

“Yeah, I was about ready,” Dave agreed, as Andy found a parking spot.

“Me, too,” Sharon agreed. “Can I take these handcuffs off now?”

“Oh, leave them on,” Helena said. “Believe me, it feels weirder when I’m the only one in handcuffs. With the two of us, it’ll be more of a joke. Besides, the deal was that you’d keep them on till Dave or I took them off you.”

“You really want me to wear handcuffs into a restaurant?” Sharon protested.

“I’m going to do it whether you do it or not,” Helena said. “Come on, let’s have some fun putting people on.”

“Why don’t you leave them on?” Dave told her. “I think it’ll be more fun to watch the two of you.”

“You’re weird, too,” Sharon snorted. “All right, I’ll give it a try, if only to give you your jollies. At least nobody here is likely to know us.”

“That’s the spirit,” Helena grinned. “Just sort of go along with the joke, and see if we don’t have some fun. Andy, let’s do something off the wall, not just use the excuse of the bet.”

“Can do,” Andy grinned. “I’ll think of something.”

“I don’t know,” Sharon said dubiously. “My God, what would Mom and Dad think?”

“They’d think we’re doing something a little odd,” Helena grinned. “But play along, and see if you don’t have some fun telling them of the good times you had. Believe me, they get a kick out of it.”

Sharon was still extremely reluctant, but couldn’t see how she could get out of doing it and still be a good sport. “Well, all right,” she said, as Andy got out of the car and opened the door for her – and Dave provided the same service for Helena! “I’d rather not die of embarrassment, but I guess we’ll find out if I can.”

The restaurant was fairly busy, but they were able to get to a table right away. In a couple minutes, a waitress appeared, carrying menus and glasses of water. Helena had her hands on the table, cuffs and all, and Sharon didn’t see any way she could avoid doing it. “I see they caught up with the two of you,” the waitress smiled.

“Yeah, I guess they did,” Helena said. “Since these officers are paying for it, I think I’ll have the most expensive thing on the menu.”

“Hey, the state budget isn’t that big,” Andy snorted. “I said you’d get a decent meal, not an expensive one. It’s still better than you’ll get in jail.”

“What did you do?” the waitress frowned.

Helena shook her head. “Overtime parking,” she sighed. “These guys are being real jerks about it, too.”

“Overtime parking?” the waitress cocked her head. “I never heard of someone being taken to jail for overtime parking.”

“It was only five lousy minutes,” Helena protested. “But they’re making a big deal out of it!”

“Five minutes?” the waitress smiled, realizing a put-on.

“They’re real bad about it,” Helena said. “Officer, if I gave you a big kiss, would you let us off?”

“That’s bribery,” Andy grinned. “That’ll just make it worse.”

The waitress shook her head. “I’ll be back in a few minutes for your orders, but if you decide you want the buffet, just go right up.”

“Sounds good to me, I guess,” Andy said.

“Me, too,” Sharon said, realizing that it might get them out of the restaurant more quickly. The rest of them said they were up for it.

“Dave,” Andy said. “We’ve reached one of those points where we’re running into a problem. One of the things the ladies can’t do very well in handcuffs is carry a tray. Since they’re wearing handcuffs at our pleasure, it’s only the gentlemanly thing to do to assist them first, then go back and serve ourselves.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Dave nodded. “Hadn’t thought about that.”

“Since they are pleasuring us with this,” Andy said. “The least we can do is to pleasure them. Come, ladies, we’ll accompany you.”

“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, officer,” Helena smirked as she got up; Sharon just shook her head. This whole thing was unbelievable…

Up until now, Sharon had gotten along fairly well in handcuffs, but eating was another issue. Now, she felt clumsy as hell. It was hard to learn that her left hand had to follow her right gently, to keep from spilling stuff all over the place. That meant that she had to eat carefully, and that meant slowly. But as she watched Helena she realized that her sister had the activity down fairly well… yes, she’d worn handcuffs enough to be comfortable with them. She would never have believed it!

And she would never have believed the center of attraction that they were around the restaurant. Other than the waitress, little was said, but there were a lot of stares and whispers – only made worse by the continuing repartee around the table, mostly involving teasing about overtime parking and how much worse jail food was.

“You were right,” Sharon laughed when they got back in the car. “Eating was a pain in the ass, but God! It seemed like we had our own private joke there, and everybody else was just amazed.”

“It’s just a warm-up,” Helena giggled. “Think about what it’s like to do it at a stock car race, with collars and leashes, too.”

“That seems just a little wild,” Sharon said, shaking her head. “But yeah, I guess if you’re used to it.”

“It comes with practice,” Helena grinned. “If it’s OK with you, we’ll leave those on for a while yet, so you can get some more practice.”

“I guess,” Sharon sighed. “In a way, it’s not as bad as I thought.”

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