Epilogue.
I cocked my head to the side, to insert the pearl stud earring. So many things had changed over the years.
I could hear Derek breathing deeply, still sound asleep in our bedroom.
One thing had not changed. I still walked around the apartment naked. I knew Derek loved me that way, though the first time was quite a surprise. I smiled at the memory. He didn't know that Teryn and I rarely wore any clothes at home for years. It was totally natural for me at this point.
Not always in 5-inch heels, however. Those days with Teryn were special, but high heels also do damage to your Achilles. I loved biking, even some wall climbing, and shortened tendons as a result of wearing heels all the time were problematic. But if I wanted to impress, I could walk-the-slut in 5-inch heels whenever I wanted.
Sigh, those were good years, to say nothing of good money. Not much remained of my physical transformation, except for the butterfly, of course. Gone were all the piercings, removed one by one during my senior year and after graduation.
Master. Teryn. Joel. Such good times.
I still talked to Teryn once in a while. She had moved back to the Bay area. She was living with a guy she knew from high school.
I had not spoken with Master since the day we parted, now nearly 9 months, but still thought of him often. All good thoughts. I wondered if my photo was still on his wall and if new models looked up and wondered about that Asian girl in the "breeding leather harness."
Joel. When he and Teryn broke up following the summer of our junior year, I never saw him again. By then, both Teryn and I had been given more piercings, Teryn got her hip tat, and we had shared an uncountable number of photo sessions. Teryn said that she heard that Joel opened his own shop in Orange County.
I thought of those days often. But things change and my life as a bondage model had to end at some point. I had the support of both Master and Teryn to let my hair grow out during my senior year. Girls with spiked hair and facial piercings had two strikes against them in job interviews, at least in the conservative world of international business.
I already had one strike as a result of my less than stellar grade point average. Bondage photo shoots and A grades did not go well together. But the confidence I gained over the years made up for it and I interviewed very well.
I now worked for an international shipping company, and often sat in on financial negotiations. The southern California manager seemed to be training me for bigger and better things. I never sensed he expected sexual favors in return.
Derek and I met my senior year in a business seminar. We dated a few times, and he knew nothing of my experiences with Master and Teryn. By the time we met, I had already begun to grow out my hair, had removed the tongue stud, and did only about one photo session a month with Master. He had a new girl and I helped train her, as Vanessa had helped in my career.
When Teryn moved north, I knew I could not swing the monthly rental payments alone, and so Derek moved in the week after she left.
He was pure vanilla. I taught him everything about sex and its joys. I laughed when he questioned how I knew so much. When I was with Master and Teryn I often wondered how I could ever be satisfied in a puritan-like relationship. The answer was simple. I could not. But I found it entertaining at this point to share all my knowledge and creativity with Derek. Last weekend, I taught him how to bind me with rope; the week before I shocked him by handcuffing my wrists behind my back when he arrived home. I still had a box of toys hidden away. I figured they would extend our relationship several months, if introduced one at a time.
My parents, well, I suppose they were still disappointed in me, but masked it well when we were together. They never saw me with the septum ring, nor the nipple rings. The spiked hair and tongue stud were shocking enough. Nevertheless, they were pleased with my current job and especially happy about the $53,000 starting salary, plus potential bonuses. They didn't know that I had well over $75,000 in an online bank account, all tax free payments from Master and royalties of selling the videos to certain adult sites.
I kissed Derek on the lips, and said goodbye. I had to be at the Port Authorities by 8 am, while he only worked part time, trying to finish his Masters program. So many word plays made me smile. Master vs Masters. Training with Vanessa vs training with the current job manager.
I loved my mini-Cooper and just got on the 405 freeway when I heard the arrival of a text. Looking all around for a highway patrolman, I picked up my phone, expecting a message from the office, perhaps a change of venue for the meeting.
Instead, my heart skipped a beat. I stared at the message, set down the phone, and a mile later picked it up and stared again. The message was short, and from Master. "One more time?"
I had just passed the LAX bottleneck, and continued to drive along in the fast lane. But mile by mile I moved to the right, slowing speed and time. I thought of many possible responses, as various emotions spiked within me. That part of my life was gone; he knew that! I couldn't believe he would send such a message.
I reached down and picked up the phone, and thumbed my reply. In the end, it was not a difficult decision. Not difficult at all.
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I hadn't really been certain what her response would be till I read her incoming text. Just a simple, "Y E S". I sent one more text trying to make it sound like a command. "Be here. 8PM tonight. I have a surprise for you."
