I walked down the stairs from my loft and out onto the sidewalk. It was a gorgeous autumn day -- cool and brisk, but with deep blue endless skies above. Although I was weary from work, I felt invigorated. Fall was my favorite time of year, and the historic part of the city was looking its best. The trees planted at intervals along the wide sidewalks still held on to some of their bright gold leaves, while others eddied around the feet of the passersby out shopping or looking for lunch.
Shop windows held Halloween displays or touted Harvest sales. The In-Town Hardware store was no exception. The usual Fall window displays -- such as leaf blowers, rakes, and wheelbarrows filled with fake leaves -- shared space with Halloween home and yard décor. Pots of orange and burgundy chrysanthemums flanked the doors, together with packages of bulbs for fall planting.
But what caught and held my eyes was the man standing just inside the door, avidly watching my approach. Jake, the owner...who also happened to be my dom and my partner in the first non-vanilla relationship I'd ever been involved in.
Barely a month had passed since we met, but our relationship had been unpredictable in just about every particular, starting with our first interaction here, in this store. I had come in looking for supplies of a very specific kind. I'd scraped up just enough courage to test out some of the kinky longings I'd always harbored, including a desire to be restrained with rope. I had the vague idea that trying it out first on myself might be less dangerous than trusting a stranger to tie me up.
Yet that was almost exactly what had happened. Unbeknownst to me, the store's owner had sensed that I was submissive long before I was aware of him. And on that day when I'd come nervously into the store, an opportunity presented itself for Jake to act on his instincts. For which I hadn't exactly been prepared. My life had been a bit of a whirlwind ever since.
Today I was meeting Jake for lunch. On days when I worked from my apartment, we'd fallen into the habit of lunching together at the nearby deli when we were both free. We could have just met there, but Jake liked to walk with me.
When I reached the store entrance, Jake opened the door for me, drawing me inside with a hand on my arm and just enough possessive fire in his eyes to make me feel about ten degrees warmer. As the door shut behind me with a tinkle of wind chimes, he backed me up against the wall in the narrow entry and kissed me.
He was an immediate assault on my senses. I could see him, feel him, smell him, taste him. Even hear him as he murmured, "Right on time. You look lovely, little bird."
Like the pet name he had given me, I felt a bit fluttery. I buried my nose in his sweater and half-whispered, "I wouldn't dare to be late, Sir. You smell nice."
He pulled back and grinned. "Chopping firewood out back. Hopefully it's the wood and not the sweat you smell." Although I didn't reply, I begged to differ. The musky smell of Jake when he'd worked up a sweat was rather addictive. At least to me.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dylan, one of Jake's assistants, give a laconic wave. I turned toward him as Jake slid an arm around my waist. Dylan gave us a cursory look, then snorted. "Get a room, you two. It's embarrassing, Jake. And at your age."
Humorous barbs slid right off Jake. He was comfortable in his skin and didn't let what anyone else thought bother him in the least. He made a rude gesture toward Dylan, who was about half his age, and said to the room at large, "We're going to get lunch. Anyone want something from the deli?"
A minute later we were out on the street again. Jake kept that arm around me loosely, his thumb tucked into the waistband of my skirt and pressed against my flesh. I was hyperaware of it, moving up and down on my skin slightly as my hips shifted in a purposeful walk.
In a low voice he said, "Your skin is so soft and warm. I assume you read my text?"
I nodded. He'd texted me an hour ago and told me to wear a skirt and no panties. It turned out that Jake was inordinately fond of skirts. I was going to have to go shopping for more of them.
"Tell me," he said, with a gentle pinch at my waist.
"I'm not wearing any panties, Sir," I said softly, though no one was close enough to overhear. This was an area where I was still struggling to adapt. Jake could so easily switch gears on me -- one minute an affectionate companion and the next a demanding dom. It was sometimes hard to keep up. I suspected that he enjoyed keeping me off balance.
"Good girl," he murmured, his thumb stroking lower. His words resonated inside me, setting up tiny vibrations that were never far away when we were together. Not for the first time, I wondered if my response was specific to Jake or whether I'd feel a similar frisson with any dom. It seemed disloyal even to entertain the thought.
We entered the deli and got in line to order. I didn't look at the menu board; Jake knew what I liked and enjoyed ordering for me. He joked often that having lunch with me was his way of ensuring that I actually ate at least one meal a day. Which was wildly hyperbolic on his part. After all, coffee counted as a meal, didn't it?
While we waited, Jake reminded me that I'd agreed to go with him to the Halloween party at Edge in three days. We hadn't been back to the BDSM/fetish club since my first visit with Jake. My impressions of that night were clouded by the fact that I had been completely overwhelmed by Jake's presence. Still, I remember thinking that it was like an adult amusement park -- with that same exhilarating but scary feeling -- and I was looking forward to a second visit.
We picked up our order and sat down in our favorite booth. I scooched in first, making room for Jake, who sat on the outside. I'd just about learned to keep my legs open, but the tight, black corduroy skirt I'd worn today would only stretch so far. Jake made an unhappy rumble in his throat as his hand slipped down my leg then stopped.
He gave me an aggrieved look. "Am I going to have to go shopping with you, pet? This is unacceptable."
I tried not to smile. I was becoming accustomed to Jake's demands. Some of them were to be instantly obeyed, but others were open to negotiation -- or at least deserved a token protest -- when we weren't in the middle of a scene.
