Halfway to the lobby, Jenn’s knees buckled. The cuffs dug into her wrists as she stumbled, forcing the guard to steady her. Gasps and laughter rippled through the crowd.
She couldn’t take it anymore.
“Please!” Jenn’s voice cracked through the gym, trembling and loud enough for everyone to hear. Her wet hair clung to her red cheeks, her bare chest heaving as she tried to speak through sobs. “Please don’t take me out there like this. I’ll do anything! Just don’t make me go outside naked!”
The room went still for a beat, then erupted.
Phones angled closer. Some people laughed outright, others whispered in shock, and a few muttered pity under their breath. But no one looked away.
The guard frowned, his grip firm on her arm. “Ma’am, I have my orders. You can’t stay in here without clothing.”
Jenn twisted, ****, her eyes darting between the staff desk, the crowd of gym-goers, and the cold glass doors ahead that led directly to the parking lot. Beyond them, the outside world loomed. A place where her humiliation wouldn’t just be contained to the gym but would spill into public.
“No, no, please!” Jenn wailed, tears welling. “Don’t! Don’t take me out there. I’ll mop the floors, I’ll scrub every toilet in this building, God, I’ll do anything! Just please don’t parade me outside like this!”
Her words only fed the spectacle.
“Anything, huh?” someone shouted from the crowd, earning a roar of laughter.
“Let’s see if she really means it!” another man called.
Jenn squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could vanish into the ground. Her heart hammered so violently she thought she might faint, but she **** herself to stand tall, even as her chest, hips, and every inch of her bare skin betrayed her to the sea of gawking strangers.
The guard sighed heavily, looking to the front desk, where the manager, Rhonda, had appeared, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Jenn swallowed hard, her voice breaking into a whisper meant only for Rhonda.
“Please,” she begged, trembling. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just… just don’t let them see me out there.”
Rhonda tilted her head, lips pursed in thought. And Jenn, stripped, cuffed, and surrounded, felt her fate teetering on the edge of one woman’s choice.
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