"Wow it's really packed tonight." Danny said after both they and Ashley stepped through the large wooden doors of the bar that was called, "Ric's Bar & Grill" and saw the place crowded with students. It was the only place cheap and close enough to campus for students to hang out at. Ashley and Danny had just finished finals before the Thanksgiving break and decided to spend a night together before Ashley went home to visit her family. Danny was not looking forward to it because they were going back to their parents which meant four long days of being away from Ashley.
"Want to sit by the window?" Ashley asked as she saw a booth open up in the corner that was lit by the street lamp outside. Danny nodded and two of them walked hand in hand together to their seats. It wasn't long before a waitress approached their table and took their orders. Danny ordered a Guinness while Ashley ordered a glass of wine. Once the waitress left, Ashley looked around the bar in awe of the fact that there seemed to be no room left to sit down. .
"Busiest drinking night of the year." Danny commented, "You excited to see your family again?"
"Yes." Ashley said, "I miss them. Do you look forward to hanging out with your family?"
Danny's lip curled at Ashley's question. Family events were something Danny lever looked forward to and it was always awkward talking about that with others. "Eh, I'm mixed. Our Thanksgiving dinner's aren't always kittens and puppies."
"Why what goes on?"
"My grandparents and cousins come over, my cousins are a few years younger than me and they aren't the most open minded of people. They call me names just like the Three Furies and neither their parents or mine really do much about it."
"Oh that sucks." Ashley says, feeling a pang of guilt for bringing up what she imagined to be a painful experience for Danny. "Then this weekend is going to be hell for you?"
"Nah not really." Danny said with a wave of their hand. "I get numb to it after a while. Right now I keep telling myself that my cousins are still in high school my hope is that they'll eventually understand queer identity. Overall my family is pretty conservative so I guess it's to be expected that the children would be too."
"That's still no excuse for them to say prejudice bullshit like that." Ashley said as she felt her face get warm. "How do you deal with all this crap from people? I don't know how I could."
Danny smiled at Ashley's attempt to understand the experience of being queer and took another drink. "I just try to prioritize who is worth my time and who isn't. My cousins, even though they can be pains in the asses, are just angry teenagers like I was in high school so when they get older if they want to engage me about my life, I'll do it but until then I have no problem ignoring them or telling them to fuck off." Danny's eyebrows raised as they drank again and continued, "For the Three Furies, well I know there's no hope reaching out to them. Normally I'd avoid them like the plague, but-" Danny smiled and flashed their teeth at Ashley, "Since they fucked with my partner, then I'm going to have to fuck back."
Ashley giggled as she lowered her eyes. It still felt strange to hear that she was Danny's partner, not because it was Danny but because she was already in a relationship after being in college for three months. "That sounded so naughty."
"It seems like our whole relationship was started based on naughtiness." Danny said, sliding a leg against Ashley's. "Speaking of which, that demonstration was interesting huh?"
"Yeah it was." Ashley said, rubbing her arm as she looked down at her drink.
Danny could see a shift in Ashley's mood and was surprised that this was the first time that she conveyed ambivalence about seeing Natasha. "Did it weird you out?"
Ashley sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Yes and no. No, because part of me felt like it was a show we were watching that Natasha agreed to perform in but yes because of some of the things people called her, like "bitch" and "slut." It was just hard for me to see a friend get degraded like that, but then again I guess that was the point. I just don't think I could be comfortable having sex and talking dirty in front of that many people."
Danny sipped their drink as they listened, nodding on occasion in agreement but choosing to remain silent before adding their two cents. "But really what I think bothered me the most was that part of me felt self conscious being there." Ashley added, "Like it wouldn't be too hard for someone from school to see us there and tell others. After we left I thought about that and that's why I'm uneasy about it now."
"Why is that?" Danny asked.
"I guess it's because I worry that one of the faculty might find out about it. Mistress Victoria said that this is a conservative town and I guess I'm afraid that by going to that place it might hurt my academic reputation."
"Because you're studying to be a teacher?"
"Yeah..." Ashley said, scratching the back of her head as she averted her gaze from Danny. "I know I should be more open minded and not care what others think, but part of getting a job will be based on getting good recommendations. I don't know if my teachers are open minded enough to look past the fact that I went to a BDSM club and not judge me for it."
Danny bit their lip as the reality of Ashley's situation set in. For Danny, as a technology major, the idea of ethics and professionalism just never entered their minds but for Ashley it made perfect sense to be self conscious about her professional image. Anxiety rose in the back of Danny's mind as they wondered just how much of Ashley's reputation mattered to her. "We could stop going if you want, I never thought about that before but I get why you'd be concerned."
Ashley tilted her head and smiled, "I appreciate that Danny and I feel bad telling you that because I know that's something you find interesting. I do too, it's just that I worry sometimes about going to these events and it coming back to haunt me later once I look to do student teaching."
Danny returned a smile and touched Ashley's hand. "I understand. If I want to go to an event I'll ask but if you feel like it's not a good idea than I can go alone or not at all. Either way, I don't want to pressure you in seeing something you don't want to." Looking away for a moment, all of the sudden Danny felt pressure in their chest and stomach, knowing exactly what it was. It was a fear that often came true in previous relationships and Danny was too much in love to let this bother them for the entire Thanksgiving break. "Do you ever worry about how dating me might affect your career?"
Ashley was taken aback by the question, stunned as Danny's smile faded and looked at her with sad eyes. Instantly, she gripped Danny's hand tight with both of hers, "Oh no. It's never crossed my mind. Who I date is my business it's just that the whole BDSM club stuff is hard to explain to people, I'm not even sure if I understand it all. But no Danny, I don't care about what others feel about you or I."
As the weight in Danny's chest lifted, they almost got out of their seat to sit next to Ashley and kiss her. Inside, Danny knew it was silly to worry about it, but the fear of a partner breaking up with Danny because of how others perceived their relationship was a common theme in Danny's past, forcing them to check and make sure that they were on the same page just so they could avoid being hurt when they least expected it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you by talking about how image effects my career on campus." Ashley said.
"It's okay Ash, I know you and I have different career paths so it's understandable. I'm just glad that you're happy with me." Danny said as their face brightened again and looked into Ashley's eyes.
"Yeah I am." Ashley said, "If it weren't for you, I might not even be on campus right now because I would've been caught streaking in public."
Danny laughed and slid back in their seat as the image of seeing Ashley outside, arms over her naked body made their pussy warm. "Easy now." Danny said, "It's too early to be thinking about stripping you again."
Ashley mimicked Danny's wicked smile and played footsie under the table. "We still have time to drink." she said, "Besides, there's going to be a lot of stripping once we get done with Madison's fashion show."
******