I stood naked, looking in the mirror. The dark circles had been a permanent feature around my eyes for some time now. Lots of tears shed; lots of late nights; a lifestyle that had come about from a feeling of being utterly lost.
I turned my back to the full-length mirror. The angry welts on my bum would take some time to go down; even now, they looked angry, little areas of broken skin. Aty the time I wanted the cane to cut me open, I wanted to bleed, I wanted to show him what he had caused me. Now I felt numb.
"You ok," Joanne said as she walked in, never bothered by nudity.
"I don't know," I said, looking back at her, "hopefully a bath will make me feel better."
She smiled and gave me a hug, "I won't cop a feel of your ass, it looks like a fucking damaged tomato," she said, smiling and pulling away from me.
I climbed into the bath, the water warm, moderately soothing, though a moment of stinging to remind me of my wounds. I lay back, the tub long enough to do that in, mainly thanks to my five-foot height.
I looked up at the ceiling, the fluorescent stickers that Joanne had put up there glimmering a little in the dimly lit room. I closed my eyes, relaxing a little, picturing Jon sat there, waiting for me, giving me a little.
"Do you still think he's the one?" Joanne asked. I heard her put the toilet seat down, then the creaking of the plastic as she sat on it.
For a moment I let the question hang, filling the air, I breathed, then opened my eyes.
"We were only dating for a month," I said, "in that month, we just spent time together mostly, but in that time, I felt closer to him than I had anyone else."
"You then went on your naughty holiday," Joanne said, giggling like a schoolgirl.
"I was so excited about that, I had pictures in my head of intimacy and magic."
"As well as adventure."
"I guess," I said, sitting up, the sound of water moving about momentarily filling the room, "you told me about what you two had gotten up to all those years ago, and that stuff I was ready to try. I had no idea what it would be, but it didn't phase me in my head. It was the feeling of rejection afterward, that aloneness I struggled to deal with that."
Joanne moved towards the side of the bath, she knelt, locking her eyes on mine. She reached out and gently strokes my cheek, I felt her thumb stroke the tear that had formed in the corner of my eye.
"You've always been strong, Ginny. As long as I have known you, you've been a pillar of strength. Then along comes this guy, and you are broken. All that strength has gone, and instead, this lost girl is wandering around. What is it you're looking for?"
I lent into her hand, eyes looking back at her. "There was a feeling I had when I was in the moment; that was so magical. I don't know what it was, I just know it felt great. I thought it was letting myself be spanked, be told what to do, giving in to someone just like that."
Joanne looked at me, listening, a look of love and protection on her face. She had always been like a big sister to me. At times she too had seemed lost, but she was my protector.
"I have not felt that feeling again, despite the spankings, the submission, the letting myself be. It's all just made me feel more empty."
Joanne stood up, smiling down at me. "I'll start on dinner, you get yourself relaxed, tonight we eat, drink wine, and say fuck off to all men."
I bit my lower lip smiling as I lay down in the bath once more, feeling safe and warm.
****************
I stood by the tree and looked over at Jon and Joanne as they sat on the bench. After two days, he was still sat there. Joanne had taken him food and water each day. She sat and talked to him for a while. He was already starting to look like a homeless person, his hair scruffy, his eyes tired. Joanne said the smell wasn't pleasant, either.
I watched her stand up, give him a handshake, and start to walk back towards me.
"I'm not sure how much longer he can hold out," she said as she got up to me, "he seems happy enough, it's obvious he believes you will come."
"Not yet," I said, "I'm still not there."
We walked along the Thames, the air bitingly cold. I pulled my coat closer to me, leaning my chin into my scarf. The sky was gray, the trees stripped bare, no signs of life in them. Occasionally jogger went past, their breath visible as they exhaled, steam filling the air. Only the heartiest of buskers plied their trade, the weather scaring off most. It was the heartier eastern Europeans playing their mournful songs on piano accordions and violins. You ahd to give them a little change just for their effort.
****************
Four days had passed. The weather was even more biting now, snow was forecast for the weekend.
I sat beside him, there was silence. There had been silence for what seemed like an eternity, but in truth, it was probably only ten minutes.
"I wasn't sure you'd stay the distance," I said.
"I believed you'd come," Jon said, his voice tired, his coughing chesty.
"You sound like you've spent the last few days smoking," I said, smiling as I turned to face him.
"If I had a lighter, the last thing I'd be doing with it is setting a cigarette alight, I'd be burning this fucking bench to stay warm."
"I cried the whole trip home, I felt lost, I felt alone," I said, once again looking out across the river.
"I'm sorry," Jon said, sincerity in his voice.
"I searched for what we had, I wanted to feel it again, what you made me feel. What I felt when I was walking naked around your car, what I felt when you chastised me for feeling pleasure without you. It took me a long time to figure out what it was I felt."
"And that led you to get naked at clubs and being spanked by all comers?"