Welcome to my A to Z Challenge Blog! Like or comment on this post, or vote at the end of the week for your favorites and I’ll continue the top four stories next month! (For details, see my Theme Reveal.) For the last week, each story has an element of non-consent or reluctance. Without further ado, enjoy Z is for Zoo.

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She went to the zoo on a Sunday afternoon for a stroll. It was a local zoo, and she had a membership, so it didn’t cost her anything. It was beautiful. The animals were well cared for. Some of them weren’t even ‘on display’ because they were actually there for rehabilitation, not so much as exhibits. She loved walking through. It was great exercise, and the scenery was beautiful. She was a young, single woman, and had nowhere else to be, so why not?

When she got to the far end of the zoo, one of the guys who worked there caught her eye. He was feeding some sheep. “Hey,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied. She was used to seeing him around and didn’t think anything of his friendliness.

“Do you want to come feed the sheep?”

Me? She mouthed to him, pointing at herself, looking around to see if there was anyone else he could be talking to.

“Yeah, you,” he laughed. “Come on.”

“Yeah, okay,” she replied, and she approached the fence.

At the back of her mind, she knew that it was late. The zoo would be closing in about half an hour because the sun was starting to set. She wasn’t sure how much longer she was allowed to be there, but if an employee was with her, she couldn’t see the harm in it.

He stopped feeding the sheep and gestured toward the gate to the area. She met him there, and he opened it for her. “I’m Vito.” He extended his hand for her to shake.

She did, and said, “I’m Simone.”

“Hi,” he said again, and something passed across his face that she couldn’t identify.

“Hi,” she echoed with a giggle.

“Come on,” he said, and he took her over to where the sheep were grazing. He showed her how they were gentle and how to pet them. He helped her feed them the special food he had. Before she knew it, it was twilight, and no zoo patrons were wandering around.

“I—” she said, feeling unsure of herself, looking around.

“What?” he asked, his eyes intent on her.

“I don’t think I should still be here. Isn’t the zoo closed?”

He didn’t take his eyes off of her. “It’s okay; you’re with me.”

She nodded, but she felt unsure.

“Come on, let’s go wash our hands,” he said, and he put one hand on the small of her back to propel her toward a small building nearby that had an office and some bathrooms in it.

“Is this your office?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said, “though most of it is just storage for the animal feed and supplies for them. Plus the bathrooms.”

“Cool,” she said, trying to smile brightly, but feeling more and more uncomfortable by the moment.

“Go ahead in,” he said, indicating the door to the building. She stepped into the darkness and pushed the bathroom door open. He smiled at her and opened another door that said Men on it. She went into the bathroom and washed her hands, feeling like she was being ridiculous for worrying about Vito. He seemed like a standup guy.

But when she opened the door to the hallway, the feeling returned full force. “Vito?” she called out softly.

“In here,” he called from the third door along the short hallway. She looked in and saw that he was in his office, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“Oh!” she gasped. “I’m sorry,” and she spun around.

“No!” he called back. “I’m sorry, I just had to change my shirt. You were quicker than I thought,” he said, but as he came around the desk to the doorway, he wasn’t putting his shirt on.

And when she reached the door to the outside, she found that it was locked, and she couldn’t figure out how to get it open. She turned around to ask Vito’s help, and he was standing right behind her.

“Don’t scream,” he said menacingly. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.”

Her eyes were wide, and she felt like her whole body was in shock. “Hurt me?” she asked in a squeaky voice.

“I won’t hurt you,” he repeated, and he took her hands in his and pulled her away from the locked door. “Trust me?”

She didn’t trust him, not for a moment, but she felt frozen. She let him guide her to the office. She wasn’t sure how she could get out of the situation if she wanted to, but she wasn’t entirely sure she even wanted to. Vito was cute, and despite the fact that he had her locked in a little building with no one else around, she was intrigued by what he was going to do with her. She felt more than a little turned on, even if what he was doing was wrong.

She had been quiet so long, he repeated, “Trust me?”

She nodded, despite herself.

He took her into his arms and kissed her. She expected to feel repulsed, but instead, she just felt more turned on. He was a good kisser. Really good. His tongue probed her mouth as his hand slid under her shirt. She felt a flutter of panic, but mostly she was aroused. He was going to take advantage of her, and she wasn’t going to fight it, at least not too much.

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