All three girls looked really good, and Malcolm and I were, for the first time in our lives, the subject of some envious glances from our fellow stude...ts.What a change a year makes! I hadn't even bothered to go to the Department party at the end of my first term; I had no-one to go with, I hated parties anyway, and I had been happy enough to go out for a few beers with my housemates instead. This year I had a proper girlfriend for the first time, and I really enjoyed myself.Both Malcolm and I. It was a hot summer day in the south, she had dressed in her normal tube top blue jean shorts. Laying the seat back she closed her eyes, as she listened to the music.She must have fallen asleep, she woke up to the sound of the door slamming.A tall man was now sitting in the passager side of the car. She screamed as she awoke, and tried to get away from the large man. He covered her mouth with his hands speaking sternly to her, "You had better not make a sound, YOU WILL DO AS I SAY, or else do. ”“Including Alexa!” I chuckled. “I’m glad they’re happy.”“Me, too. How are things with you?”We were interrupted by the waitress who came to take our orders.“OK,” I said. “Things at home are really good, though I’m having a bit of a struggle with my health issues.”“The metabolic problems?”“Yes, and the possible emotional effects.”“You seem pretty upbeat.”“Yes, though part of it is just my personality and my tendency to keep my emotions private.”“You were always a bit of an ‘ice man’ at times,. And there, in the very middle, as if pointing at the door, lay the pride of her collection: Long John Silver. She called it that not only because of its outstanding length but because of its shining mirror-finish. It looked like a long, slim silver bullet, and she loved to use it and loved even more when He used it on her, no matter where He put it. Something about the texture of the warm metal, which was etched with fine grooves, combined with the unique frequencies of its vibrations,.