CHANNEL 497

Everyone agreed that Melissa Stanford was a good girl. Captain of the cheerleader squad, straight A student. She donated a lot of time to local charities. Everyone in Bedford Falls knew and loved Melissa.

At 18, she was a short girl, less than five-foot-two, with proportionately long legs; silky brown hair that fell to the small of her back; and a stunning figure. She had beautiful sea-green eyes, full lips, and an upturned nose. Everyone said how lucky her boyfriend must be.

But Melissa didn't have time for a boyfriend. There was the charity work and school and now that she was trying to get into college, she had to find a way to pay for things. She landed a scholarship, of course, but there were other concerns: a car was needed, as was money for meals and incidentals. Melissa lived alone with her mom, and times weren't easy. Her mom helped out as best her meager salary as a waitress allowed, but it was up to Melissa to figure out a way to earn the bulk of it.

Melissa started babysitting to help raise the funds. She was good at it and everyone complimented her on her way with kids. Still, she was taken aback when her mom suggested she babysit for the MacMurrays.

"Mom, why? Just because he's your boss?"

Anita Stanford laughed. "No, of course not. He's a nice guy and pays well."

Melissa frowned. "He's a lewd, dirty old man and if he doesn't pay you much, why would he pay me any better?"

"You just don't know him like I do."

Melissa rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe how much her mother's opinion of Tom MacMurray had changed so dramatically. When Anita started working at the Catfish Shack, she called MacMurray a tight-fisted, lecherous, old bastard. Melissa had to agree, having met the man on several occasions. At the restaurant's Christmas party, he had tried to look down Melissa's dress. The memory made her blush, furiously.

"Just do it this one weekend and see how it goes," the older woman said, smiling at her daughter. "You won't have to do it again, if you don't like it."

Melissa thought that over before finally consenting.

On Friday night, Melissa showed up at the MacMurray home at six P.M. sharp. It was a surprisingly big house, in the best area of town. Melissa felt a little pang when she got out of her mom's old, beat-up Dodge. She wasn't the type to be envious of others, but she did wish sometimes that she could live in such a house. It had been very hard for Melissa and her mom after Melissa's dad walked out. A one-bedroom apartment was all that they could afford, and teenaged girl slept on the couch. She could scarcely remember having her own room.

She had dressed down as much as possibly, choosing a formless sweatshirt and a pair of baggy jeans and sneakers. She sure didn't want to give the dirty old man another peek down her breasts!

She rang the doorbell once and it opened immediately. On the other side was a young boy, no older than eight. He looked like he was straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting and he was already dressed in his Star Wars pajamas.

"Hello," he said, bowing slightly. "You must be Miss Melissa."

Melissa smiled at him, suppressing a giggle at his formality. "And you must be Joshua."

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, a bit woodenly. "Please come in." He opened the door wide and she walked in.

If the MacMurray home was beautiful on the outside, it was downright decadent on the inside. The rug Melissa was wiping her feet on must have cost more than a year's rent on their apartment. Everything she could see was expensive and tasteful, from the furniture to the home theater system. It looked like the movie star homes you see in the magazines.

The only distraction was the distinctive smell of the little cigars that Tom MacMurray was so fond of. Melissa made a slight face. She hated smoking.

"Hello, girly!" Tom MacMurray said as he came down the stairs, drink in hand. "Welcome to Chez MacMurray."

"Hello, Mr. MacMurray." Melissa sang out. She tried her best to be friendly to the man. After all, he was her mom's boss.

Tom got close, and she could smell the alcohol on him. "So, you gonna look after little Josh, huh?"

Melissa backed away, slightly. "Uh, yes, sir."

Tom rubbed the little boy's hair "Josh is a good kid."

"I want to be just like father when I grow up," the boy mechanically added for no apparent reason.

God, I hope not! Melissa thought. She felt as if she could get drunk off MacMurray's breathe alone.

"Atta-boy!" Tom gushed, hugging the child. "Josh, go see if your mom's ready."

Without a word, the little wooden boy marched like a wooden soldier out of the room.

By now, Melissa had managed to find the sofa, and was setting down her schoolbooks. She had to twist and maneuver like a snake to get away from MacMurray, but he didn't make a move to stop her.

"So," Tom asked, lighting one of his little cigars. "Your mom says that you're trying to earn enough to get through college, huh?"

"Yes, sir," she sang out, not looking up from her books.

"It's good that a girl your age is interested in money."

It was an odd statement, and Melissa looked quizzically at the man. "Sir?"

MacMurray had a far-away look in his eyes; almost misty. He was looking at the expensive TV that dominated the room. "You'd be surprised what money can buy."

"I'm sure," Melissa agreed, looking back at her books and her homework assignment.

"But you're going about it all wrong. A pretty girl like you could find easier ways to make money. Big money"

Melissa's eyes shot up and she glared at him. His tone didn't suggest anything untoward, but he was leering at her, again.

Mom's boss, mom's boss, mom's boss, mom's boss, she thought, her eyes almost watering at the pain caused by her own teeth clamping down on her tongue. Then, through clenched teeth, "That's very... sweet... of you to say."

"I mean it," he continued, as if she had just gushed at a compliment. "A new outfit, some makeup and you'd be a big draw down at Pony Tails."

Melissa almost lost it at the mention of the local topless bar. Fortunately, Mrs. MacMurray chose that moment to arrive, saving the girl from saying something her mom might regret.

Melissa had never met the woman, and didn't know what to expect. What she saw was a surprising mixture of class and trash. At 35, Mrs. MacMurray was a beautiful woman and obviously well-bred. The way she moved, everything she did, hinted at a cultured upbringing. Still, it was buried beneath the gaudiest, low-cut dress Melissa had ever seen and a clearly bottled-blond hairdo.

Now I know where the money comes from, Melissa thought, dryly. And who buys the clothes.

"Joan, this is Melissa," Tom said, stepping back a bit from Melissa and hugging his wife.

"How do you do?" Joan MacMurray asked, her voice as cultured as her aura. Still, she had a glassy look in her eyes, as if she wasn't all together there.

Tom MacMurray smacked Joan on the butt and the cultured/trashy woman giggled. "Let's get a move on, mamma. Them steaks aren't gonna wait forever!"

He looked back at Melissa and winked. "Josh is playing in his room; bedtime's at eight. There's a snack in the fridge, and the emergency numbers are on the fridge door. Watch the TV, if you'd like. We've got a satellite dish."

Melissa watched the two leave the house and lock the door from the outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the Saab pull out of the driveway. She would see to it that this was her last night babysitting for that horse's ass!

Melissa checked on Joshua a couple of times, only to find the boy deeply engrossed in some TV program. When bedtime came, he went to bed without a fight. She was beginning to suspect the poor boy was mildly autistic, from the wooden way he crawled between the sheets.

About nine o'clock, Melissa was through with homework and found the remote for the TV. The TV came up on channel 497. The first picture that popped on the screen was a talk show of some kind, but nothing like Melissa had ever seen. There were two lingerie-clad women on a talk-show set. The redhead behind the desk was asking the blonde in the chair something which Melissa had just missed.

The blonde replied, "Only in the backseat of a Rolls!"

This got a large hoot from the studio audience, who started applauding wildly.

"So, where can we see you next, Cyndy?" asked the hostess.

"I'll be at Caligula XXI in Dallas, the week of the fourteenth," said the blonde, "and at Heartbreaker's in Houston the twenty-first."

Melissa was shocked. The "guest" was some sort of stripper! And she seriously doubted if the "hostess" was anything else, herself. Obviously, Mr. MacMurray watched the Playboy Channel a lot.

The young girl's hand shot out for the remote. It was far more complex than any she had ever seen, and the power button didn't seem to work, anymore. She tried every button on the unit, and the best she could do was display the channel number and the time. She wanted to get up and try the buttons on the front of the TV, but was afraid to touch it. It looked even more complex than the hand-held unit. She managed to turn the sound down, slightly. (For some reason, it wouldn't go all the way down.) Finally, she gave up and just opened up her English Lit book to read one of the stories.

"Let's bring out our next guest," the redhead droned from the TV. "You've all seen her on the cover of Big 'Uns, and she's causing a real stir with her new triple-x video. Say hello to Breasty Cleavage!"

Melissa tried to concentrate on the Mark Twain short story she was reading, but her ears kept picking up the talk show. Her attention was drawn back to it, again and again. At some point, the book was forgotten completely and slid quietly to the floor as Melissa became completely absorbed in the TV show she was now watching.

Her eyes opened wider and wider, as if drinking in an incredible sight. They even started to water, for she was no longer blinking. Still, she couldn't bring herself to do it or to look away. Her jaw hung slack and she lost all sense of time. Everything seemed to take on a surreal appearance, and Melissa felt as if the TV and room were gone, and she was sitting in the studio where the show was being broadcast. She could almost sense the people on either side of her.

"What does your boyfriend think of your success, Breasty?" the redhead asked.

"He's very excited," the big-titted blonde gushed. "He's having a hard time keeping it from his wife!"

Breasty laughed.

The audience laughed.

Melissa laughed.

"Thanks for your time, Breasty," said the hostess. "And good luck with the video."

Everyone applauded, including Melissa.

"I've been saving the best for last," the redhead said slyly, when the cheers had died down. "Let's say hello to someone we all admire. She's a straight A student who went on to fame and fortune at the famous Pony Tails in Bedford Falls. Please welcome Melissa Stanford!"

Melissa watched without surprise as someone looking remarkably like herself came from behind the curtain. This Melissa was far more poised and confident than her watching counterpart. She exuded an air of sexuality that came off of her in waves. She was dressed in a powder-blue teddy and impossibly high-heeled shoes. Her hair, unlike the student Melissa's, was cut short and dyed a platinum blond. She had glamour-length red nails and about a pound of makeup on her face. Melissa had never seen a girl so slutty... or exciting!

The audience was applauding wildly as this oddly familiar girl walked up and kissed the hostess lightly on the cheek before sitting down in the nearby chair. The Melissa watching from the audience began to smile as she watched the other Melissa slip down into the chair with a practiced ease and cross her long legs. Her soft, white skin billowed out from above dark stockings.

"So, Melissa," asked the redhead. "How have you been?"

"Horny as fuck," stripper-Melissa snorted. This brought a deluge of laughter, and no one laughed harder than student-Melissa.

"Melissa?" the redhead asked with incredible sincerity. "What do you think makes a girl attractive?"

"Oh, no question, it's the whole package," stripper-Melissa purred. "Makeup, clothes, shoes... If a woman's not dressing to please her man, he may just as well go back to his wife!"

The audience hooted, and so did student-Melissa.

Click.

The TV went off. Melissa looked up dreamily from the set to find Mr. MacMurray leering down at her.

"We're home, Melissa."

Melissa smiled at him. Tom-that is, Mr. MacMurray-looked different, in some way. Cuter.

He looked at her intently. "How do you feel, Melissa?"

"Um, uh, okay, I guess, Tom-um, Mr. MacMurray." Melissa adjusted her blouse, which had mysteriously ridden up her body.

MacMurray didn't seem to notice. "Well, thanks for watching Joshua for us," the older man said, slipping two hundred-dollar bills into her hands.

Melissa felt as if she was coming out of a strange dream that she couldn't remember. She looked down at her hands for a long time before what was in them registered. "Wait a minute, Mr. MacMurray. This is far more than we agreed to!"

"I know," he said, shrugging. "Hey, you're trying to earn some money, aren't you?" He walked toward the front door.

"Yes, but this is unacceptable. It's too much!" Melissa got up and followed him, after scooping up her books.

"Don't worry about it, Melissa," he assured her. "I want to see that you get a chance to follow your dreams.

"By-the-by, we need someone to watch Josh tomorrow night, too. I know it's a Saturday and short notice, but can we count on you?"

He wouldn't take "no" for an answer, and before she knew it, Melissa had agreed to watch Josh again. She walked out the door in a bit of a daze. When it closed shut, she was standing outside with her books, two hundred dollars richer.

The next day was Saturday, and Melissa got up early. She begged off a charity event for the church, for some reason she didn't understand herself, and went to the mall. She stopped in front of the hair salon and looked at her own reflection in the glass. She wondered what she would look like with shorter hair. She almost went in, but decided to look around the clothes stores, instead.

She saw some clothes she really liked. They were a bit more daring than her usual outfits, and she didn't have the nerve to buy them. Still, Mr. MacMurray had given her all that money, and she figured she could buy herself a little something, if it wasn't too expensive.

She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she saw a pair of boots in the window of a shoe store. They were thigh-high, white, and made of fine leather. They had tassels and gold chains. They were gaudy and trashy and Melissa suddenly had to have them! Before she knew what she was doing, she was trying on a pair. She rushed the right size to the counter and let the salesgirl ring them up. They were more than the $200 that Tom-Mr. MacMurray-had given her, so Melissa wrote a check.

When the clock struck six, Melissa was knocking on the MacMurray door. She adjusted her left boot slightly, and admired her legs in the shiny, white leather. She had to admit that she looked really good in them. She couldn't find anything that really went with them, so she settled on a pair of denim cutoffs that she had worn when she was a bit smaller. They were tight, but really showed off the boots. So did the blouse she had tied in a knot under her tits-breasts.

Joshua opened the door, as he had the night before. If he was surprised by the girl's sudden change in footwear, he didn't let it show. He simply bowed and said "Hello, Miss Melissa. Won't you come in?"

"Thanks, Josh," Melissa said, walking past the boy. She looked around the beautiful home. I wish I had things like this at home. Some people have all the luck!

"Hey, there's my girl!" Tom MacMurray came from the living room and smiled at the young girl.

Melissa couldn't help smiling back. "How are you, Mr. MacMurray?"

"Please," he insisted. "It's Tom!" He put a little cigar to his lips and pulled out his lighter.

Melissa quickly took the lighter from him. She turned it on and held it up for his smoke. "Here, let me do that... Tom." MacMurray blew a plume of smoke right into Melissa's face. She inhaled deeply, savoring the rich smell.

"Hey, we're out of here," Tom said as his wife walked past them and out the door as if on a cloud. "Same rules as last night, kid. Have a quiet evening."

In less than a wink, he was gone. For some reason, that bothered Melissa slightly, but she shrugged and walked into the living room.

The night went by quickly enough. Melissa seemed to get the hang of the TV remote a bit better than last time. She watched a few shows that were her favorites and at eight o'clock sent the wooden boy to bed.

Around nine o'clock, Melissa got a bit fidgety. She was watching a really good movie, but suddenly got very bored with it. For some reason, she wanted to watch something else. She put it on channel 497. Some kind of cop show was on.

No talk show this time, she thought, a bit disappointed. Still, she decided to watch this new program, instead.

It was a fairly standard police drama, with two knockout police women looking for a rapist. They were told by their captain to go undercover in a topless bar.

Melissa really started to get into the show, especially when the cops started their undercover work at the bar; a place called Pony Tails.

One of the cops was trying to pump one of the dancers for information.

"So tell me, Melissa," the undercover cop asked the stripper. "Do you enjoy dancing at Pony Tails?"

"Who doesn't?" stripper-Melissa gushed. "I mean, you've gotta admit, it's a bit of a turn on."

"Bit of a turn on," student-Melissa echoed.

"Yeah, it is," the cop agreed. She adjusted her garter. "The guys all seem awfully nice."

"Oh, they're super," stripper-Melissa quickly responded, "especially the married ones!"

"Cigarette?" the cop asked.

"No thanks," stripper-Melissa replied, pulling out a pack of little cigars. "I have my own."

Click.

"We're home, Melissa."

Melissa looked up at Mr. MacMurray-Tom-and smiled. Maybe it was the lighting, but he sure was handsome! "Oh, I'm sorry, Tom. I must have dozed off."

"How do you feel?"

Melissa stretched and smiled a dopey smile. "I feel delicious!" She had a funny taste in her mouth, and her throat was a bit scratchy. It was a pleasant feeling, though.

She looked down at the coffee table. The cigarette case on it was open, and the butts of several little cigars were in the ashtray. She had thought that the ashtray was empty when she came in. She shrugged at the mystery and stood up, almost floating to the door.

"Oh, your money," Tom said, bringing her only slightly back down to Earth.

Melissa didn't even bother to count the bills he handed her. "Thank you, Tom," she said in a sexy purr.

"Could you do it again tomorrow night, Melissa?" he asked.

The girl readily agreed and left the home in a hazy cloud of dreams and cigar smoke.

The next day was Sunday. Melissa skipped church and slept in late. Midday found her back at the mall and she was shocked to find that Tom had again given her two hundred dollars! She decided to splurge on herself.

At one store, she saw those clothes that she had admired the previous day. Before she had even registered what she was doing, Melissa had tried on and purchased a red, low-cut, spandex mini-dress. She bought stockings and a garter belt, which she had never worn in her life, at Frederick's of Hollywood, a store she had never visited in her life. The girl bought lingerie and makeup and stood for the longest time in front of a tobacconist's shop, staring longingly at some little cigars in the window. On an impulse, she bought a pack, a long, white cigarette holder, and a very expensive lighter.

Melissa had her nails done, picking out a very tawdry pattern for the glam-length false nails she bought. Before she knew it, the money was gone, so she wrote a check at the nail salon.

On the drive back home, Melissa felt as if she was waking up from a dream. She looked down in shock at the packages on the passenger-side seat. What the hell had she done!? Why did she buy all this junk? Why had she drawn on her bank account? She needed that money for college. Worst of all, her mom was going to go ballistic when she saw all this trash!

Oddly enough, when Melissa got home, Anita Stanford just smiled at the bags and said "Did you have a good time at the mall, dear?"

"Oh, um, yeah, mom." Melissa noticed her mom seemed a little out of it; like she wasn't all together there. It reminded Melissa of someone, but she couldn't recall who it was. "How was work, last night?"

"It was very pleasant," Anita assured her. "We had to watch a safety video before the shift started. After that, time just flew by.

"Don't you have to babysit Joshua MacMurray tonight, dear?"

Melissa looked at the time. "Yeah, I'd better get ready."

At six P.M., Melissa was waiting nervously at the MacMurray door. For some reason, she felt like a junkie in need of a fix. She had already smoked half of the little cigars she had purchased. She tried to wait patiently for Joshua to come to the door, but he didn't open it as quickly as the last two times. She tapped the metallic heels of her boots on the doorstep, impatiently.

"Come on, come on, come on, you little prick!" Melissa muttered. She sure hoped that Tom liked her new dress and new hairstyle. Short and bleached blond seemed to appeal to her, for some reason.

Finally, the little boy opened the door. He bowed. "Hello, Miss Melissa. Won't you come in?"

"Thanks, squirt," Melissa said, smirking. She looked around the beautiful home. This should all be mine, she thought, enviously.

"Hey, Melissa," Tom said, walking up to the door and grinning.

"How's it going, tiger?" she asked, putting a little cigar into her long cigarette holder and lighting it. She could smell the alcohol on him. It made her thirsty.

"Like a drink?" Tom asked as if reading her mind.

"Does a fish like water?" she responded, accepting a glass he already had poured for her. She pulled down the strong liquor in one gulp. "Shit, I needed that!"

Mrs. MacMurray came up behind her husband, again dressed much like the previous two nights. Melissa really admired her dress sense.

"How are you, dear?" Mrs. MacMurray must have meant Melissa, but seemed to be talking to no one in particular.

"Horny as fuck!" the girl said, and all three of them laughed.

"Well, we're off," Tom said, noting the very disappointed look in Melissa's eyes. "Same as before, Melissa. I've put the TV on your favorite channel."

"Thanks, Tom."

Melissa wandered into the TV room.

Almost immediately, she got caught up in the sitcom. It was one she'd never seen before, but quickly caught on to the story. It was all about the wacky MacMurray family and their next-door neighbor, a stripper named Melissa. Mr. MacMurray had come to see her at Pony Tails, the famous strip club.

"Just relax, Tom!" stripper-Melissa purred as she gently pushed the married man into a chair in the private room of the beautiful gentlemen's club. "What's your wife got that I haven't got?"

"At the moment, you've got more," Tom stammered.

The audience roared with laughter. It was the funniest show student-Melissa had ever seen!

Stripper-Melissa fitted her little cigar into a long, white cigarette holder and let Tom light it for her. "We could have a lot of fun, Tom! She would never know...."

She let her hand rub against Tom's swollen member. "Just put yourself in my hands, baby."

Tom looked down with wide eyes at his crotch. "I think I already am!"

Click.

"We're home, Melissa."

"Wha-?" the girl stammered. Damn, he's hot! she thought.

"My wife went on up to bed."

"Oh, really?" she said, throatily. "How interesting." She winked at him.

"Here, I took the liberty of buying you a little something," he said, holding up an obviously expensive bracelet.

"You shouldn't have," she purred, her eyes suddenly glued to the jewelry. She was never that interested in jewelry before. Now, it was suddenly very important.

"I insist," Tom said. "I bought it just for you."

"But Tommy," she said in mock concern. "What about your wife?"

He smirked at her and she smirked back. "Forget about her. I have."

"You make me so happy, Tommy," she whispered, her hands going around his neck. She pulled him to her with a surprising strength and pressed his lips hard against hers. Her tongue slipped between his teeth as his arms went around her slim waist.

He pulled her tight against him as her hands went to his shoulders, the nails digging slightly into his skin. He slipped down beside her on the couch and their lips parted as Tom MacMurray began leaving a trail of hot kisses down her face before burying himself in the nape of her neck.

"Ho, ho, hoooo!" Melissa warbled, enjoying the feeling of his teeth nipping playfully on her skin. "Lover, you are hot, tonight!"

Tom's rough hands slipped between her thighs and began massaging her swollen pussy through the silky panties she wore. She gasped in excitement as she felt his thumb insert into her cunt, stopped halfway by the panties.

"Tear 'em off, daddy!" she husked, spreading her legs to allow him access. His strong hands tore at the thin fabric, and she thrilled to the sensation of the panties being ripped from her mound.

Melissa was in a dream-world. Erotic images were flowing freely through her mind as her hands undid her lover's pants with a will of their own. She couldn't wait to get him inside her. Tom MacMurray was the sexiest man alive, and he was all hers! Once he'd tasted her, she was sure he'd forget all about his wife.

His cock was huge! Why, it must be almost four inches! she gasped. She had never seen such a monster in her life! Oddly, she couldn't remember ever seeing a cock before, but she was sure this one was the largest possible.

Tom was breathing hot upon her now naked chest as she slid her leather-sheathed legs over his shoulders and prepared herself for her man. When his cock lightly touched her pussy lips, skyrockets went off in Melissa's head, and she almost fainted from the orgasm. Soon, he was inside her, thrusting his massive tool in and out of her like a piston!

Melissa was experiencing orgasm after orgasm as she thought about who she was and who he was and how much she wanted him to be hers and hers alone. She didn't care if he was married. In fact, it was a big turn-on! She just wanted him to fuck her behind his wife's back, forever! Forever! FOREVER!!

When he finally came, Melissa was so far gone, she didn't even notice.

Melissa never did make it to college. She even quit high school with only two months left to go. She got a job at Pony Tails with her mother's blessing. She saw Tom every weekend and tried every trick in the book to get him to leave his wife. He wouldn't do it, but she didn't mind, as long as she got to fuck that massive stick of his, every weekend.

She made enough to move herself and her mother into a nice house. Maybe not as nice as Tom's, but she knew that she would have a house as nice as that, one day.

Tom even bought them a beautiful TV for a housewarming gift. With a satellite dish, of course!