A Dom Loves Their Subs

Beth scanned her keycard in the elevator and the doors slid open to Val's penthouse. A couple people were making out on the couch, but she didn't see anyone else.

"Hey, gorgeous. You wanna join us?" one of them purred.

"Where's Val?" she asked, avoiding looking at them.

"In the playroom. Or taking a shower. Not real sure. You can go back and check, though." They went back to kissing and Beth walked down the hallway, peeking into each door she passed. A door opened just as she reached for the handle.

"Oh!" Val exclaimed. Their hair was damp and they were buttoning up their shirt. "Hey, Beth. Can I help you?"

"I need to talk to you." Their expression turned serious and they nodded, leading her to their office. They gently closed the door and sat at their desk.

"What do you need? Is something wrong?"

"I, um, I have an awkward question to ask." Val nodded. "I- I want to learn about BDSM. H-How to do it, like, correctly?"

"Mhmm?" Val smiled encouragingly.

"Katie said you were, um, that you'd, like, teach me this stuff?"

"Is that what you want? For me to teach you?"

"I... don't know."

"Let me backtrack a little bit. Do you want to be my partner?"

"I think so."

"Okay. Are you comfortable with my open relationship with my partners?"

"I-- What?"

"Are you comfortable with the fact that I have sex with other people?"

"I guess."

"I need a solid yes or no, Beth. And you can say no." Beth hesitated. "Okay. We'll come back to that later. What are you interested in learning about?"

"Well, Katie said that BDSM stuff isn't about hitting each other and--"

"And she would be right." Beth bit her fingernail. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Go on."

"So... what is it about, then?"

"Well, it's- it's--" Val made a face, taking a deep breath. "There's a lot more to kink than just BDSM. It's about pleasure and- and really enjoying sex and making sure that everyone gets their needs fulfilled."

"Oh."

"Besides, BDSM is just like a little subcategory in the giant arena of sex and kink. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people with the wrong idea about BDSM. They think it's just about Fifty Shades of Grey and abusing your partner, but that's completely incorrect. A Dom should love their subs."

"Oh." Beth slowly nodded. "That-- I guess that kinda makes sense."

"Now, I have a little quiz for you. You can say 'I don't know,' you can say you don't have an answer, you can say whatever. But I want you to be honest with me, okay?"

"Mhmm."

"Do you know what a safeword is?"

"It- It's, um, a word that you say if you're uncomfortable during sex."

"And what happens when you say it?"

"Uh, you stop, like, having sex?" Beth said uncertainly. Val smiled and nodded.

"What are the safewords that I give my partners?"

"I, uh, don't know."

"That's alright."

"M-My... Jake, he- he gave me a safeword but he never let me use it." Val's eyes flashed with anger. "He'd just keep going no matter how many times I said no."

"Beth, sweetheart..." She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "Hey, come here."

They patted their knee and she slowly got up, shuffling over to them. She sat on their leg and they held her waist, smiling up at her.

"A safeword always means stop, Beth. No matter what, if you say the safeword, your partner will stop. Understand?"

"But--"

"Your safety comes first, Beth. I promise, I will always respect your safewords." She sniffed and nodded.

"Could- Could you, maybe, write the safewords down?"

"They should be easy to remember. I use them for all my subs. But, yes, I'll write them down for you. Now, I use a variation on the stoplight system. Green means go, yellow means pause, red means stop, and blue means end the scene."

"Okay..." Beth thought for a moment. "What's the difference between yellow and red?"

"Well, if you say yellow, that means I'm pushing a soft limit. I'll give you a minute to take a breath and we'll figure out how to make the scene more enjoyable--"

"Scene?"

"It's just a fancy word for when we have sex." Beth nodded. "Now, red means I'm pushing a hard limit. It means that you're not comfortable with whatever we're doing, and we need to switch to something less intense."

"And... blue?"

"Blue is for emergencies. For example, if we were doing a scene and you started having a panic attack, blue would end the scene. It means that your health and safety are directly at risk and we need to fully end the scene and skip straight to aftercare."

"Aftercare..."

"You know what that is?"

"Yeah. I just... I've never done it."

"Hmph. Anyway, does that all make sense?"

"I think so."

"Again, blue is for emergencies only. My subs rarely use it, but it's always there if you need it." Beth nodded. "I have a few more questions."

"Okay."

"What kinks are you interested in? Either that you know you like or that you'd like to learn about?"

"I- I don't know," Beth blushed.

"That's okay. We can experiment. We'll start light and find what turns you on the most." Beth nodded. "Are you wanting to have sex?"

"I-- Yes?"

"Okay... I'm going to need a more confident answer with that one."

"Maybe? I mean, I- I thought that's why I was asking about this stuff."

"You can learn about kink and never actually have sex. Fuck, Drew knows more about kink than the rest of my subs, and they're asexual!" they laughed. Beth softly giggled.

"Okay. Um, can I think about it?"

"Yes, absolutely. Now, I have one last question that's sort of related to the last one." Beth nodded. "Are you comfortable watching others have sex?"

"Wh-What?" Beth blushed darkly, her eyes growing wide. "Why would you ask me that?"

"I'm trying to figure out the best way to teach you about kink. Sometimes, watching others is the best way to find what you like. You can watch my subs, porn, people in the club, whatever. We can do PowerPoints, demonstration, whatever."

"I- I don't know."

"That's fine. Think about it." Beth sighed and they gently squeezed her hand. "If you were to agree--and you absolutely don't have to--are there any of my subs you'd feel the most comfortable with?"

"I- I don't know. Katie's the only one I really know. I kinda know Drew, but not super well."

"Okay, well..." Val chuckled. "Drew's asexual, as you know. And Katie is, uh, very extreme. I don't think she'd be a great starting point for you, as wonderful as she is. Um-- Oh, you don't know my subs, do you?"

"Not really."

"Would you like to meet them?"

"Oh, sure! I love meeting people."

"Great. I make dinner for everyone once a week. Join us on Thursday?"

"That sounds great!"

"Cool. Any allergies?"

"No peppers."

"No peppers. Got it." Beth grinned and Val smiled back.

•••

Three days later, Beth got dressed in her nicest outfit, a white blouse with a long, floral skirt. She went up to Val's penthouse to find a group of people lounging around.

"Ooh! Hello, gorgeous!" Katie called. A couple people wolf-whistled and Beth blushed. "Val's in the kitchen if you're looking to fuck."

"I'm just here for dinner," Beth giggled.

"And dessert, by the looks of it," a girl purred. Beth blushed darker. "Hot damn, Mami."

"Come sit by me." Katie shoved a boy off the couch and patted the spot where he'd been sitting.

"Katie, be nice!" Beth gasped. She ran to help the boy up from the floor. "Are you okay?"

"Yep. Thanks!" He plopped down on the lap of another boy who was sitting on the chair next to the couch. Beth sat on the couch with Katie.

"Okay, Val says we're supposed to introduce you to everyone, so I'm gonna rapid-fire," Katie said.

"Okay--"

"That's Julie, Rose, Drew, Jamie, I'm Katie, you're Beth--" Katie took a deep breath "--That's Roman, and that's his Daddy, Thomas. And Val's in the kitchen."

"Oh, wow. Okay. That's... a lot of names."

"And we're missing-- Who are we missing?"

"Cherry."

"Tomás."

"Your mom."

"Drew..." several people groaned. They snickered at their own lame joke.

"And... who are Cherry and Tomás?"

"Uh, Cherry is Drew's girlfriend."

"She'll be here in an hour."

"And Tomás is at college. He was actually just here a couple weeks ago for break."

"Oh." Val came out of the kitchen in a 'Kiss The Chef' apron. Beth waved at them. "Hi."

"Hey." They smiled and leaned on the doorframe.

"Nice apron, Val," Katie said.

"Fuck off." They snorted and shook their head. She cackled as they went back into the kitchen.

"So, Beth," Julie leaned forward, "what are you?"

"Huh?"

"You know, are you a brat? Vanilla? Masochist?" Beth looked at Katie in confusion.

"She's asking what kinks you like," Katie explained. "What type of sub are you?"

"I, uh... what?"

"Like, Rose and I are slaves. Roman's a little, Katie's a freak--"

"I prefer the term experimentalist."

"Whatever. Anyway, what are you?" Beth just stared blankly. "Have you even taken the BDSM test?"

"What's that?"

"Hey." Val snapped their fingers. "She's not sure yet. Give her some space."

"Can we make her take the test? Please?"

"No." Julie pouted and they took a threatening step out of the kitchen.

"No, no, no, okay! We won't make her take the test!" They smirked and turned back to the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready."

"Hell, yeah!" Everyone got up from the couch and Beth followed. She ended up standing next to Roman and Thomas in the crowded kitchen.

"Thanks for being nice to me," Roman squeaked, tapping her arm. Beth gave him a confused look. "When Katie pushed me off the couch?"

"Oh, sure." Val handed her and Thomas plates of food.

"Where's mine?" Roman whined.

"I'm getting there, Princey." Val handed him a plate and a sippy cup with Disney princesses on it.

"Thank you, Sir!" He skipped out of the kitchen and Thomas followed him, looking amused.

"Sorry," Val said. "I know it's a lot of people at once."

"It's fine. They all seem nice."

"Ask them whatever you want. That's what we're here for."

"Thank you, Val."

"Of course. Go eat." She went back out to the living room. There was now a dining table in the center of the room and everyone was sitting around it.

"Sit here, Beth!" Jamie pointed to an empty seat at the end of the table.

"That's Sir's seat! Sit here!" Julie pointed to the empty seat next to her.

"Sit at the end," Val said from behind her. She nodded and sat down. Val sat next to Julie.

"Oh! This is Cherry, by the way." Drew said, waving to a black girl with red dreadlocks who was sitting across from them.

"Hello," Beth said. Cherry looked up and nodded to her.

"So, Beth, are you gay?" Rose asked. She paused, stuffing a forkful of food into her mouth. "Don't worry. We don't judge. Ninety percent of us are queer."

"Yeah, I'm- I'm gay."

"Dope."

"But are you, like, bi-gay or, like, full pussy lesbian?" Julie asked. Beth blinked in confusion. "Are you strictly into girls or...?"

"I- I don't really... know? I've dated both."

"Cool, cool." It was quiet as everyone ate. Beth smiled, looking around the table. She noticed that Jamie was eating out of what looked like a pet-food dish.

"Um..." She gently tapped Jamie's wrist and he looked up at her. This was the first good look she'd gotten of him. He was wearing a cat-ear headband and a collar, along with a hoodie and sweatpants. "I- I don't mean to be rude, but--"

"Yes, I'm trans," he mumbled.

"Oh. Really?" Beth frowned and shrugged. "That's not what I was going to ask."

"Oh, whoops."

"It's fine, hon. I- I was gonna ask why you're, um, wearing cat ears?"

"Oh! I'm a pet!" He smiled proudly. Beth slowly nodded, confused. "I act like a cat and Master calls me 'kitten' and I get to wear my pretty cat ears all the time!"

"Very cool," Beth said, smiling even though she barely understood anything he'd said. "You're a boy, right?"

"Yep! He/him. Sometimes he/they."

"Sounds good." Jamie smiled and went back to eating.

"So... is she staying all night?" Katie asked Val. Beth glanced at them, assuming they were talking about her.

"It's up to her."

"Can I ask now?"

"After dinner." There was another long silence, with only a few whispered conversations interrupting. After a while, everyone's plates were cleared and taken to the kitchen.

"Beth," Val called, beckoning her over. She followed them into the hallway. They lowered their voice. "I should warn you, the rest of the night will include some... sexual activities."

"Oh."

"You're welcome to leave. I don't expect you to stay, especially being as new to kink as you are."

"Do- Do I have to join in?"

"No, you don't," Val chuckled. "But it will be... a little extreme. It always is."

"How extreme?"

"Well, it's essentially an orgy. Everyone does as they please, and sometimes that includes some more hardcore kink stuff."

"Can I, um, do this another night?"

"Sure. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm just... full."

"I understand," Val laughed.

"And, um, I like Roman."

"Oh, everyone does."

"No, I mean, I- I want to watch him. For whatever, like, kink stuff--"

"Oh! Oh, okay. Yeah, we can arrange that. Do you have a second option in case Thomas says no?"

"I- I don't know."

"Okay. I'll ask."

"Sir! Hurry up~!" someone whined from the front room.

"We'll talk about this later. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She hurried to the elevator as people started stripping.

"Wait for me!" Drew ran and jumped in the elevator as the doors started closing. Beth giggled as they panted. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I get it."

"At least someone does," they snorted. "No one ever leaves and then I just feel awkward about leaving, so I lock myself in the kitchen and eat snacks until they're done fucking."

"Why? Isn't Val's motto, like, you should always be comfortable?"

"Yeah. But I still feel weird leaving alone." The elevator dinged and they stepped off. "See you later."

"Bye."