Jan nodded, cocking her head toward him as though to tell him she wasn't blind.

Even though she would be, in a moment.

"Put on your mask."

Jan took one final moment to look at the man. She was too far into the game not to back out. She searched his face for some sign that she could trust him fully.

He glanced at her as he swung the car into the covered stalls at the side of the big old house.

She raised her eyebrows, asking her vague question.

Jim suddenly winked.

Jan would have smiled if she hadn't been so thoroughly gagged. Her heart racing with happiness and an unrecognized horniness, she reached into the glove compartment with both hands and pulled out her mask.

It was a hood. It covered the top of her head and pulled down over her eyes. There were two flaps that could be closed, so that she would be blindfolded. A strap went under her chin so she couldn't knock it off, and the strap had a tiny padlock. And Jim had that key too.

She waited until he shut off the engine, then handed him the helmet-like mask.

He brushed her hair out of her lovely face and slipped the hood over her head, pulling it down snugly around her ears and over her eyes. She looked out through the two narrow slits.

Jim pulled the strap down under her chin, making sure it fit firmly and wasn't twisted. Then he buckled it in place and slipped the tiny padlock through the ring, locking it down.

He showed the key to Jan, then put it in his pocket with the key to the cuffs.

"Out."

Jan fumbled at the door handle and finally got the door open. She slipped sideways on the seat and placed both feet down on the gravel. She stood up unsteadily in the six-inch high heels on her small feet and waited until Jim came around to help her walk to the house.

Jim took his time locking the car. He came around to the young woman and took the chain out of the glove compartment. He locked the passenger door, then turned to Janice.