Part 2
Blanca entered the townhouse, expecting Missouri to be awake. The space was quiet, almost suspiciously so. She called her girlfriend's name, receiving no answer. As she made her way down the hallway, Blanca noticed several boxes meticulously stacked near the door to the hall closet - a small nook, that had been commandeered mainly for storage. "Missy?" she called again, her voice carrying through the silent space.
A shuffling sound emanated from within the hall closet, movement beneath the storage racks sending a small cascade of hangers clicking together. Missouri wormed out from the confined space, crawling across the floor. As she moved, her cropped tank rode upwards, revealing the smooth arc of her bare back. Her short shorts left little to the imagination, accentuating her lithe figure as she struggled to maneuver herself into the hallway where she finally sat back with her knees tucked underneath.
"I guess I fell asleep," Missouri mumbled, her cheeks flushing as she repeatedly failed to meet Blanca's increasingly curious gaze. Her fingers fidgeted with the hem of her tank top, twisting the fabric into a small knot.
"What are you doing in the closet?" Blanca asked, her initial surprise quickly melting into an expression of wry amusement as she watched her girlfriend's discomfort grow.
"Well... um..." Missouri stammered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear three times in succession though it was already secure. "I heard this piece on the weather channel about how tornado season is here and the best place to stay safe is in an interior room... like a closet." She looked away, biting her lower lip as her face grew increasingly crimson. "So I was just... preparing?"
"Okay," Blanca responded slowly, fighting back a smile as she observed the almost painful sheepishness radiating from Missouri. "You know, we don't have tornadoes in this part of the country, right?"
Missouri's eyes widened momentarily before darting away again. "Um... you can never be too safe," she mumbled, then quickly added a small, nervous laugh that came out as more of a hiccup. "Climate change and all that... weather patterns are changing everywhere."
Blanca crossed her arms, allowing the moment to linger rather than immediately dismantling Missouri's flimsy explanation. The small gap of silence seemed to make Missouri even more self-conscious as she shifted her weight from knee to knee on the hardwood floor.
"But... you were sleeping in there?" Blanca finally asked, her eyebrow arched in playful skepticism.
"I just wanted to... just wanted to make sure it was comfortable," Missouri said softly, her voice trailing off into an almost inaudible whisper. "And I was testing if the flashlight batteries worked, and then I guess I might have fallen asleep?" She ran her hand through her hair, leaving it sticking up at odd angles. "Do you think that's weird? It's weird, isn't it? I'm being weird."
Blanca's gaze moved across the cramped space behind Missouri; the low shelf tucked into the hall closet's depths provided little vertical space. The meticulous stacking of the boxes offered an added layer of claustrophobia, minimizing the space further. Missouri wasn't just seeking safety from an imaginary weather threat—she was seeking refuge.
"Are we supposed to both fit in there?" Blanca asked, unable to keep the corner of her mouth from quirking upward.
"Yeah?" Missouri said, looking back at the small pocket of space she had constructed with such earnestness that Blanca felt her heart swell. "We might need to rearrange things a little. Or a lot. I was thinking maybe if we sit like this—" She demonstrated an impossible pretzel-like position before losing her balance and catching herself on the wall with a small "oof."
Blanca looked at Missouri, who was kneeling before her, her eyes moving between the floor, the closet, and everywhere except Blanca's face. She was so perfectly adorable, so perfectly submissive in her embarrassment, so perfectly Missouri with her irrational preparations and elaborate justifications.
"I love you, Missy," Blanca said, her voice warm with affection.
Missouri finally looked up at Blanca, relief washing over her features as a tentative smile formed. "Because I'm wacky?"
"You are the wackiest," Blanca confirmed, bending to kiss the top of Missouri's tousled head. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."
<>--+-
Missouri watched Blanca finish her tea. "Can I clear the dishes?" she asked quietly.
Blanca nodded, a small smile touching her lips. "Please do, love.”
"I’m going to shower and wash my hair now." Missouri began gathering the cups, stacking them carefully.
Missouri’s hair was a defining part of her. Thick, waist length, the color of chocolate, and just as smooth. It held an almost unnatural shine, catching the light with every subtle movement. It was a comfort, a source of silent pride, and honestly, Missouri’s favorite thing about herself. Blanca understood this, constantly encouraging Missouri to let it grow, making a point to compliment its luster whenever possible.
The drying process, however, always took forever. So, Blanca had designed and built a fancy bonnet-style dryer to make it easy for Missouri to dry her hair.
Missouri simply had to tuck her wet hair into the bonnet which was shaped like a sculpted, ventilated cap. It nestled comfortably over her head, the curved edges brushing her shoulders, a technology as sleek and elegant as all of Blanca's creations in hardware. The device was silent beyond a gentle whoosh of warm air circulating throughout, a constant hum that always made Missouri drowsy. The low drone would lull Missouri into a near trance; it often induced sleep during longer sessions.
The plates clattered softly as Missouri stacked them, her fingers instinctively winding strands of hair behind her ears. Blanca's words, "Wait! Remember? You promised me that you would give me a music lesson today!” caused her to stop abruptly. A flash of confusion, immediate and startling, crossed her face.
"I did?" she murmured, her voice unusually hesitant.
Blanca's expression remained carefully neutral. “Yes! You were going to teach me about augmented and diminished chords."
Missouri's face softened, a smile playing on her lips as the earlier confusion receded. "Oh, good!!” Relief warmed her skin, banishing the disquieting blankness where that memory should have been.
She hadn't remembered, that much was undeniable, but now the prospect of sharing her passion felt inherently joyful. Taking Blanca’s hand, she tugged gently, practically reeling her towards the living room and the expectant promise of the piano.
Before they had even sat down on the bench, Missouri was pounding out chords which should have sounded painful, but somehow she knew how to string them together or perhaps hold them for the appropriate length of time to create a story in music with rising tension and release.
"Wait! Let me get my phone set up before you begin," Blanca smiled. "There's no way I'll be able to remember all this in one take."
Blanca opened an audio app on her phone and hit the record button.
Missouri spent the next half hour exuberantly describing not only how to identify these dissonant chords, but how to use them effectively in a musical composition. Finally, Blanca declared, "Enough! You are overwhelming me now." And Missouri bounced off to the shower humming to herself while Blanca collected her phone and went to work on her computer.
An hour later, Blanca found Missouri wrapped in a towel, lying on the bed, snoring softly. She had all her hair tucked into the bonnet hair dryer, which was making its quiet hissing hum. Perhaps Missouri had asked in the past why a hair dryer would require a USB connection. If she did, she had forgotten both asking and the answer. Regardless, Blanca pressed a small thumb drive into the connection, took one satisfying look at her beautiful girlfriend, and quietly slipped from the room.
Missouri would be asleep for the next half hour and awaken completely refreshed.
<>--+-
That night at precisely 9pm Pacific Time, Missouri and Blanca logged in as "FreemontGirl" to start a roleplay chat with "Shavanna".
SHAVANNA: Hey! Before we start the scene... And let me know if you are uncomfortable with me asking... But, I was wondering if you actually own a chastity belt... Or ever thought of getting one...
FREEMONTGIRL: I don't own one, but have thought about it...
"Oh shit, Missy!" Blanca said. "You answered that question?"
Missouri frowned and looked down at the keyboard, perhaps, suddenly nervous or ashamed. "It doesn't hurt does it? Wait! Look! Shavanna's typing..."
SHAVANNA: I came across a company that builds chastity belts called the Love Trust Chastity Company. They make a belt called the One Love Chastity Belt. It's supposed to be the most secure and most comfortable belt on the market... Awesome for long term wear... But it is REALLY expensive...
FREEMONTGIRL: Ooo! Cooool!
"What are you doing?" Blanca asked. She grabbed the laptop out of Missouri's hands. "We don't know anything about this 'Shavanna' person! Odds are, they are a catfish! Probably some teenage boy getting his rocks off."
SHAVANNA: I'd be willing to pay for half if you wanted to get one...
"Ask who would be the keyholder," Missouri requested, resting her chin on Blanca's shoulder.
"No fucking way!" Blanca said, holding the laptop out of Missouri's reach. She opened a browser window and did a search on the company's products. After a moment, she whistled in disbelief. "Holy shit! This belt IS expensive! Okay... Shavanna is not a teenage boy, jacking off, but probably an old divorced man... Still... Getting his rocks off."
Blanca started typing.
FREEMONTGIRL: Definitely will check it out! But, generally, I'm kind of a paycheck to paycheck type of person...
"No, you're not!" Missouri says over Blanca's shoulder.
"I'm not going to tell someone who's online that I have money!" Blanca said, pointing at the screen. "Besides, I'm not FreemontGirl. WE are catfish!"
"Yeah," Missouri responded. "Now Shavanna thinks that we are probably a teenaged boy jacking off. Maybe I should send a close up picture of my vagina just so she knows that we are girls..."
"What?!" Blanca says, smacking herself in the forehead.
"I'm joking!" Missouri laughed, wrapping Blanca's torso in her arms.
SHAVANNA: Okay, cool! Well, check out the company anyways. It's pretty hot! And if your situation ever changes. Let me know!
Blanca was continuing to browse the website. "This company DOES have some pretty awesome stuff..."
<>--+-
The next morning, Blanca was working on her computer in bed as Missouri was dozing next to her.
"Do you know what 'serendipity' is?" Blanca asked, sliding her hand over Missouri's torso.
Missouri began to stir, stretching and yawning. "Sarah Dipity? Is that someone you went to school with?"
"No, silly," Blanca laughed. "Serendipity. It means the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way."
"Okay," Missouri says, closing her eyes again.
"Well," Blanca said, sliding her hand along Missouri's naked arm, threading her fingers through her girlfriend's. "I was looking at this One Love Chastity Belt that Shavanna told us about last night. In order to even get fitted for one of their belts, they require you to get imaged..."
"Imaged?" Missouri asked, opening her eyes again.
"Yeah... Like, they have to make a 3D model of your nether regions... Inside and out.."
"Inside? Like an x-ray?" Missouri asked.
"More like... a transvaginal ultrasound, I think," Blanca said.
"Wow. Intense." Missouri closed her eyes again.
"Well... by serendipity... Lindsay wanted me to ask if you would be interested in modeling for our company," Blanca said, lifting Missouri's hand to her lips and gently kissing her knuckles.
"Your CEO wants to pay me to model?" Missouri asked. She had never modeled professionally, but was interested none-the-less. "What would I do? Stand around in a lab coat with a bunch of computer screens looking really nerdy?" She asked, smiling.
"This isn't for photos," Blanca explained. "She wants your form factor."
"My what?" Missouri asked, confusion creasing her forehead.
"Your form factor. You know, it's, like, the shape of the box that holds the computer hardware. Lindsay thinks that you have the ideal shape to house our next generation of humanoid robots."
"Lindsay wants to make robots that look like me?" Missouri asked. "How did she decide that?"
"Well... Number one... You are the most beautiful woman in the world." Blanca punctuated her statement with a quick kiss on the top of Missouri's head. "And... heh heh... I also might have shown her this picture..."
Blanca turned the computer screen so that Missouri could see the image.
"Oh my god! You showed her that?!" Missouri exclaimed.
The photo had been taken as a joke one morning after Missouri accidentally spilled half a bottle of shampoo on the bathroom floor. She was only wearing a bra and bikini bottoms using a sponge to clean the mess.
"You are so sexy!" Blanca said. "Besides, these robots will be marketed for their ability to do domestic tasks."
Missouri just pulled at her lip and looked at Blanca with a confused stare.
"It turns out, though, that Lindsay wants to take an image of your entire body and the results will be in the exact same file format that is required to design a One Love Chastity Belt!" Blanca said, smiling. "Basically, you will be earning enough to get a chastity belt and more!"
Missouri stared at Blanca for a moment. Slowly, Missouri's right hand slipped down under the sheets until it was covering her sex like a shield. A small smile began to creep onto her face.