Mike was feeling really down.

He’d been at university for over a month now, staying away from home and, apart from the lecturers, hardly anyone had spoken to him.

He was beginning to think it was deliberate.

It didn’t help that he was infatuated with one of the lecturers, a gorgeous woman named Teresa Riley. The statuesque brunette had this effect on most people…

Before he knew it, he was hacking into the university staff intranet. He had to find out more about Teresa…

He started building up a really in-depth file. He also discovered that she was signed up for some kind of tracking service, that reported her every movement to a remote server somewhere. Weird…

Suddenly, he received an email.

Reading it, he was sure it was some kind of a scam or, at least, a joke…

Dear Mr Andrews,

It has come to our attention that you are interested in one of our products. This item is the last one in stock, as it is being discontinued in favour of a newer model.

If you are interested in her, you can purchase her at a bargain price of …..

Please note that this offer is only open for the next eight hours.

Also, once you have purchased her you will be completely responsible for her care and upkeep. Her accommodation has already been fully paid for; you can either live with her there or have her move in with you (not recommended).

A picture of the product is included below, for reference.

Regards,

Anitronics Customer services.

The photo in the email was one of Teresa Riley…

This had to be a scam! It had to be!

Before he knew it, he had sent the money, which he could easily afford, to the bank details supplied. Calling himself all sorts of idiot, he then went on with his evening…

A few hours later, as he was getting ready for bed, there was a ping on his phone, then a knock at the door. Mike got up and opened it, glancing at his phone.

Teresa Riley was standing there, in a gorgeous red latex dress.

“That should be your purchase code”, she said. “Can I have it, please?”

“3GJZ99A1Y”, said Mike, in a state of shock.

“Thank you. Code accepted”, said Teresa, kissing him. “Now, whatever shall we do now…!”

Teresa spent the night at Mike’s apartment. Surprisingly, they spent quite a lot of time talking; they hadn’t jumped straight into bed.

“It’s so refreshing having a real conversation with someone, for a change”, said Teresa. “Most of my owners have just wanted to jump me as soon as I have turned up.”

“I can believe that, looking the way you do”, said Mike.

“What, little old me…?”, said Teresa, with a giggle, batting her eyebrows. Mike laughed with her.

“They completely seem to forget about the fact I’m a qualified university professor, with a string of PhD’s. They just take one look at me and assume I’m just here for sex.”

A tear ran down her cheek.

“It’s really hard being an attractive woman in Academia; especially since I was also owned by the organisation. Thanks for buying me, by the way; you’ve made it so they’ve got no claim on me anymore; they’ve cut ties with me completely. I can live on my professor’s salary, at least, but I can’t afford to buy these nice dresses anymore…”

“I’m sure we can do something about that, if you want…”, said Mike.

“They must have told you I was expensive to maintain. It’s because I’m hooked on latex. I have to have at least one new piece a month, or I go crazy. It’s how they got their hooks into me in the first place.”

“Well”, said Mike, “Now you’ve got to make a choice. Do you want to remain hooked on latex, or do you want to be free…?”

Gritting her teeth, Teresa decided to make the effort.

Mike also moved in with her; she had a spare room (or two) available, and her accommodation was much more suitable for two.

Mike also saw the row upon row of latex clothing that she had in her ‘special’ wardrobe upstairs…

Teresa came home from work one day to find that Mike had put a lock on the door of her wardrobe. She flew into a rage, calling him all sorts of things; she tried to kick the door down, but she wasn’t strong enough. She wailed, she fought, then ended up crying on Mike’s shoulder.

All her latex items were in that wardrobe. Every last piece…

Teresa got more and more withdrawn as the month went on. She started having time off; her hands shook almost continuously, and she got extremely short tempered.

She tried to buy some latex clothing online, for next day delivery; the system wouldn’t accept the sale. Mike had frozen her credit and debit cards. He was treating her as an addict, which she was; he had got special permission to act as her Power of Attorney for a limited period, subject to review, with complete control of her bank accounts.

Teresa really lost it, then. Mike had never been hit so hard…

It was only when she looked down at Mike’s unconscious body on the floor that Teresa realised how bad the problem was, and what she had done. With a howl, she phoned the emergency services…

Mike had to be kept in hospital; he was badly concussed and had a possible skull fracture.

Teresa had herself voluntarily committed to the mental services unit…

The doctor examining Teresa took one look at her and realised she was going through withdrawal. He had also read about what had happened to Mike.

“He was trying to help you, wasn’t he?”, she said, quietly. Teresa just nodded…

It took Teresa three days to go through withdrawal. All that time, Mike lay unconscious in hospital as well.

Teresa, looking worse for wear, recovered first. Feeling ashamed by what she had done, but at the same time grateful for Mike, she went to sit by him.

She then noticed the police officer watching her.

“I was a different person, then”, she said, simply.

At the same time, Mike stirred…

He hazily looked around the room, then his gaze settled on Teresa.

“Hi, you”, he said.

“Hi, you”, she replied.

Mike reached for her…

No charges were brought. Mike refused to hear a bad word said against Teresa.

“She was ill, it wasn’t her fault”, he said. “Now she’s better.”

“Can you do something for me?”, Teresa asked Mike, later.

“Anything, love, you know that”, Mike said.

“Can you get someone to empty that wardrobe before we go home? I don’t want any temptations around again. I don’t need them; I’ve got you…”