Friday dawned fresh and clear. The weather forecast was perfect for a weekend outdoors. Sally wondered just what she had let herself in for. Did she really want to go through with this?
At work, there was a major problem with one of her programs that kept Sally so busy all morning that she did not even think about the upcoming weekend. She was able to get things running and caught up, just in time for lunch. As she returned from a nice lunch with some of her co-workers, the phone rang. Sally answered the phone as she was sitting down in her chair. It was Paul.
"Are you wearing your necklace?"
"Of course. I don't have a lot of choice now, do I?" Sally retorted.
"Well, aren't we the smart one. That will cost you a punishment tonight," Paul said in a stern voice.
"What?" Sally cried.
"Listen, you be at my place between 5:30 and 6 o'clock and you had better eat before you get here. You won't be in any condition to eat, after I am done with you. Sally?"
"Yes," Sally replied meekly, looking around to see if anyone could hear the conversation that she was engaged in, or notice the effect it was having on her.
"You know that you want this. And, while I promise not to do anything permanent, there will be some pain, and you will not be in control of the situation," Paul informed her.
Sally was speechless.
"See you tonight. I don't care what you wear because you won't be wearing it for long. Pack that dress, and don't be late," Paul said, and hung up.
Sally sat there for a full minute with the phone still at her ear. She was shaking with fear and excitement. She had never felt like this before. So afraid, yet, so thrilled.
"You should be careful what you wish for dear, for you may get it," her mother used to say.
She slowly returned the phone to the cradle, but sat there, staring into space. After some time, she tried to work on a new project, but her mind kept going back to Paul's conversation, and the possibilities of the weekend. Finally, after a couple of hours of this, she gave up, cleaned off her desk and headed for the door. "What the heck, I've put in more than enough hours this week." Sometimes, having flextime was nice and she was going to take advantage of it this afternoon. She was in no mental state to perform work anyway.
She got home to her apartment and changed into some jeans and a sweater. She packed some things for outdoors and put a few things in a cosmetic bag. After she finished packing, she went to the kitchen and fixed herself a chef salad. No use in fixing anything too complicated, she reasoned. I would not enjoy it anyway. Sally's stomach felt like it was doing somersaults on its own, she was so nervous. She tried to watch TV while she ate, but her mind just kept coming back to the possibilities of this weekend. All the time, she was tugging on the neck ring and enjoying the feeling of captivity.
Once she was done with supper and the dishes were stacked in the sink, she started to load the car. She went down to the car with the first load and then returned. Looking around the apartment, she closed the curtains and made sure all the things in the kitchen were turned off. In her current state of mind, it would be very easy to make a mistake. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was five, and reasoned that it was not too early to go.
It only took about 40 minutes to reach the edge of town where Paul lived. The area was just starting to be developed, though Paul had lived here for a while. It had been such a sweet deal that he had fallen into. A large farming company bought the area from a family who retired, and their children did not want to farm. They'd bought a small house in the south, where they could be near their grandchildren. The farm co-op did not want the house, so Paul had picked it up for next to nothing. It sat about a quarter mile off the road, next to a large creek, or small river, depending on the season. The surrounding ten acres was filled with trees and gullies that were not worth clearing for farming, so they had been included with the house. That made the house a very private area. Paul had spent most of the money on the house, fixing it up.
Sally turned off the two-lane highway onto a paved country road. She noticed that there were several new houses being started in the area. Soon, she approached a strip of trees that marked where the creek met the road, and she slowed down. Just before the bridge, she turned into a one-lane gravel driveway that led to the house. Before long she had lost sight of the road in her mirror, as the driveway wound back and forth next to the creek. The driveway widened out, and she could see the house and yard. About an acre had been cleared for the house. She parked on the side of the house and, as she got out of the car, Paul came around from the back of the house to greet her. They had a long hug and Paul easily lifted her off the ground, which brought a squeal from Sally. He silenced her squeals with a kiss. Paul helped her with her stuff, into the house through the kitchen.
"I just finished eating and I need to clean up," Paul said.
"Well, I'll be glad to help you," Sally offered.
"I think you just want to get started with your adventure," Paul teased.
"Maybe."