The Trap

A Story by furlong

alternate version of "The Innocence"

The Trap

No one had ever referred to Janice as sexy. This wasn’t a surprise for while Janice possessed the common traits of beauty there was always something about her that screamed innocence. In her youth Janice prided herself on this vocal trait, but as she grew into her twenties and continued to be seen as only cute and innocent she began a great resentment for it.

“It’s because you’re a virgin.” This statement, uttered by a co-worker and close friend, came as a surprise to Janice. Later, when she reflected on it, it didn’t seem so illogical.

“I want to shed this image of innocence I’ve got trailing me,” she told the same co-worker and friend.

“Well, then find someone to have sex with.”

In theory this was not a difficult task. All that was needed was a willing man and a willing woman. Janice was already halfway there, but the problem arose in finding that second half. Like I said, Janice was blessed with all the traits of beauty but the predicament was her inability to find men attractive. It was easy for her to look at a celebrity and be physically attracted to him, but she had not felt that way about a man in real life since she’d hit puberty. Her post-puberty romantic history consisted of her first love, Larry, with whom nothing had developed because he did not reciprocate her feelings, and her first and only boyfriend, Rob, who she met at work and had dumped because he talked too much.

There had been many other men who showed great interest in getting to know her better, but Janice was ever amused with them past the first date. She held a torch for Larry and, having remained close friends with him, considered him to be the first candidate for popping her cherry.

Janice was just very good at moving past her feelings but her feelings often proved to be stronger than she gave them credit for. Usually she was right in pushing her feelings aside in an attempt to forget them for they would go away more often than not. But in the case of her feelings for Larry Janice felt like she was failing at all costs. She tried burying her feelings for Larry by dating as many guys as she could tolerate, but of course none of them lasted past the first date. Realising her feelings were too strong to just be buried, she opted to put Larry on the back burner. This was he was always around but never in the way.

So far this solution had worked fairly well for Janice but constantly seeing him made it all the more difficult to get over him. It ended up becoming so hard, in fact, that she gave up completely and allowed her heart to flirt and flutter whenever he was nearby.

But Janice hated the picture of the girl so hopelessly in love with her best friend that all she could do was moon after him in private. She needed a plan and the perfect plan hit her around the same time she decided to get rid of her virginity and the annoying air of innocence that tagged along with it. It seemed farfetched, even to her, in the beginning but once she warmed to the idea and figured out the details of the aftermath she went for it with a bag full of confidence.

“I just want to get rid of it,” she told him one day, “and I want you to get rid of it for me.”

Larry, after the shock wore off, said he’d be more than happy to.

Janice never knew it but the request had pleased Larry beyond words. He had never felt any romantic feelings for Janice but, being a warm-blooded man, he knew an attractive girl when he saw one. He’d always privately considered Janice the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and had been flattered when she had admitted her feelings for him. He saw it as an honour that this object of the highest beauty wanted him to deflower her and vowed to treat her with the same care one would treat a priceless work of art.

Janice didn’t mention her great plan to anyone but shortly before she lost her virginity to Larry she had a recurring dream. In it she was in labour and Larry was watching nervously as their child effortlessly squeezed out of Janice. With the umbilical cord still attached the child, screaming and slippery, circled Larry and plopped itself in his arms. As soon as Larry’s eyes met the child’s Larry’s entire disposition changed and he suddenly wasn’t nervous anymore but was ecstatic to have his child in his arm. As if using her mind, Janice tugged the umbilical cord that encircled Larry and the child until they were all standing together as one big happy family.

Janice always woke from this dream with a feeling of utter confidence and urgency that she felt only Larry could satisfy.

***

Larry stared down at Janice’s semi naked body in a moment of awe. He leaned over her and ran his hands over the warm, smooth surface of her torso, wallowing blissfully in the fact that he was the first to ever tread there. He didn’t rush anything and took his happy time enjoying the body he had known of for years, but had never seen so openly. He’d often imagined what Janice might look like naked, but even his most vivid or favourite interpretation didn’t come anywhere close to the reality that was lying underneath him at that moment. Though Janice’s body was nowhere near an ideal body Larry loved it at first sight. It was the body of the average young woman complete with occasional overly soft bits, random birthmarks and even a few scars from the chicken pox. Larry couldn’t remember when all his senses had been so thrilled before.

Janice lay under him, watching him as he tenderly devoured her body with his hands, eyes and mind and sighed with boredom. Her own undying feelings for Larry were the only thing keeping her turned on.

“Hurry it up will you, Larry?” she whispered wriggling under him.

Some weeks later found Janice sitting on the edge of the bathtub with puffy, red eyes as she stared down at the results of a home pregnancy test.