Darknet by John R. Little

and snuck out the door, ashamed and afraid of running into her anonymous lover.
    The next day she quit the university. She eventually enrolled in a correspondence course to finish her degree.
     
    * * *
     
    Now she was scared again, but not for the same reason as before. She could talk to Tony. There was something about him that eased the corners of her mind and allowed her to talk. It wasn’t easy, but it was possible. She figured it was his smile. He wore the gentlest smile she’d ever seen, and she knew he’d treat her well. With selective mutism, trust was everything.
    “Beer? Wine?” He walked to the hotel mini-bar and glanced back at her.
    “Whatever you’re having,” she said.
    He pulled out two cans of Coors Light and popped the tabs on them, handing her one.
    “I’m celebrating,” he said.
    “Yeah? Why?”
    “I finished a new song today. My best since that one I sang for you.”
    “ Summer Drive . I liked that.”
    “Everyone likes it.”
    “Can you sing me your new one?”
    He gave her a smile and said, “I thought you’d never ask.”
    He’d brought his guitar into the hotel room, and now she knew why. He picked a few strings to tune them and said, “This is kind of a follow-up. It’s called Summer Swim .”
    She nodded, tried to smile, and took another drink of her beer.
    The song was supposed to be fun and light and summery and full of joy. She could tell that, but as Tony sang, she had trouble not cringing. The words were silly, and he seemed to have trouble singing the song in key. Or maybe he’d just written the wrong notes. She wasn’t an expert but it just sounded off .
    Part of her wondered if this was a test, to see if she’d be honest with him.
    What do I tell him?
    When he finished, he looked expectantly at her, and she knew he was hoping for praise. She could read it in his eyes.
    “Well?”
    “I loved it!” She tried to sound convincing.
    His smile drooped a bit, and he put the guitar aside. “Maybe it needs a bit of work.”
    “No, it’s perfect.”
    He went to her and grabbed her chin with two fingers, squeezing hard.
    “You don’t ever want to lie to me, girl.”
    He forced her to look into his eyes, the eyes that weren’t smiling anymore. She felt a shudder run through her and for the first time she wondered if she’d made a mistake.
    Then Tony smiled again, and the mood fell away. He let her chin go and leaned down to kiss her. He forced his tongue into her mouth and she tried to respond, but it was so sudden . . .
    He stopped and grabbed her Seattle Mariners T-Shirt at the waist and pulled it up over her head, tossing it on the floor. She wore a pair of high-end jogging pants, and he lowered them from her body, helping her to lift each leg as he undressed her.
    She couldn’t seem to decide what to do, and the easiest thing was to go along with him.
    Within another minute, he’d taken off her bra and panties. She was naked.
    “Lie on the bed.” It wasn’t a request.
    She did as he asked, and he undressed himself.
    He climbed on top of her and pinned her arms above her head. She felt like he was just using her but . . . she didn’t want him to stop.
    He leaned over her body and she felt his erection pressing down on her. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine being in love with this man, who she barely knew.
    Then he licked her nipples, sucking them until they became erect. She could feel her body starting to respond to his actions. But then he bit her right nipple, hard.
    Deb couldn’t help but yell. He stared at her and said, “No noise. Nothing.”
    She bit her lower lip as he rolled her over on her stomach. She didn’t know what he was going to do until she felt the sharp stings of his hand slapping her ass. She wanted to cry out in pain, but she knew she wasn’t supposed to, so she sucked it up.
    He slapped her again and again, and then rolled her onto her back and pushed her legs apart.
    He forced two of his fingers deep inside her pussy. She was