How To Handle The Couple From Rancho Cucamonga Pt. 2
When I stepped out of my car I could have been anywhere. But I was in Rancho Cucamonga. With a name like that, I wish I could say there was some distinguishing characteristic that leapt out to me as distinctly Cucamong-ian. But all I saw were suburbs. Suburbs as far as the eye could see. Oh well, it seemed like a pleasant enough place. Let's get to it.
Gary & Rochelle opened their door to greet me before I'd even got to it. I guess they were a little eager. They also looked around warily, just a tiny bit, as if they were worried about their neighbors seeing us. By the tone of Gary's little laugh, I could tell they immediately felt embarrassed. After all, why would any neighbors even bother to notice a 50-something guy in jeans, boots and a nondescript button down shirt paying someone a visit here? There was nothing about me that screamed sex-crazed S & M maniac. I could have been an insurance salesmen, for all they knew.
I'd given this meet a lot of thought on the drive over. I had time for that, since I drove all the way over from LA. It certainly set a new limit for driving to meets for me. I usually met someone for coffee in a neutral environment on a first meet. There were many advantages to that. If one party wasn't feeling it, they could end it right then and there without any further embarrassment. The downside was that kinky talk in a crowded coffee shop was hard to pull off. But you did get to know the person beyond the kink, so there was that. Since I'd offered to come all this way rather than have them drive to LA, they'd asked if we could just meet in their home instead. I figured that was fine. This was their very first foray into kink off-line, and I knew they'd be more comfortable in their home. Also, I believe there was the unspoken expectation that by investing in the travel time, we were going to move to doing this for real after we got the pleasantries out of the way.
Let's go back to the thought I'd put into this on the freeway. We'd hit it off well enough on our two Zoom calls. They were fans of my erotic stories, Rochelle especially. She'd read them all, a few times each. But they both needed to be led in conversation, Rochelle especially. She was shy, and happy to let Gary do the talking for her. They were both clearly expecting a dominant man to walk into their home. So I figured I should give them what they wanted. I wouldn't come on strong, but I would make our dynamic clear without going overboard. If I could pull that off, and they responded, then I think we might have something. There was still the question of what to do with Gary. I had zero need for a man sexually, but they came as a package deal, and I respected that. But I started developing this germ of an idea I'd had a few days ago, and I thought I might have an arrangement that would work for all of us.
The first thing I noticed on their doorstep was their nervousness. The second thing I noticed was that Rochelle was wearing a nice new looking shirt...and blue jeans. With sneakers. I decided this was a good place to establish our dynamic.
"Rochelle, look at me."
She had a tendency to avoid looking me in the eye. She needed some focus in this respect. At my command, she straightened up and did indeed look me in the eye.
"When you are being interviewed as a prospective sub, you should have the presence of mind to wear a dress. Is that clear?"
I had never insisted on this condition in my life before. But her jeans stuck out to me, probably because every woman I'd ever met with for the purpose of possible kink had in fact worn a dress. I guess it was a kind of dress code for submissive women meeting dominant men. So I figured I'd spring this on them. It could go either way. She could respond the way I expected her to respond, or I could be back on the freeway in a few minutes.
Rochelle looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Do you have anything to say, Rochelle?" I asked expectantly.
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"Rochelle, I expect you to go change into something appropriate for our meeting. That includes your choice of shoes as well. Be timely about it, since we're waiting on you now."
Rochelle looked at Gary, who didn't have anything to offer, cast her eyes back down, and started up those stairs right by the front door. I could hear her pace accelerate. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Gary invited me in. He was probably in a bit of a daze now, as we just stood there in the entranceway.
"I feel like I should apologize," he said, with no certainty at all.
"Under normal circumstances, I'd never expect that. I'd just say it's fine and let it go. However, if we're to begin here according to the expectations of how we will relate to each other, then I think that is the proper course of action. You may begin whenever you're ready."
Man, was I laying it on thick.
"Um...well. Uh..."
"Take your time, Gary. Relax. It's just an apology. Nothing riding on this."
I'm sorry, but I felt for the poor guy. I really had come on strong. I almost expected him to safeword out of an apology. He took a breath, and then...
"Please accept my apology on behalf of Rochelle and I, for our ignorance in preparing to meet with you. I pray it won't happen again."
As apologies for nothing go, that was pretty damn good. I let him sweat for a good long moment with a silent stare before I let him off the hook.
"Excellent, Gary. I accept your apology."
"Oh God, thank you, thank you."
Yes, I might have seemed less than gracious at this point. I'd decided on the long drive to try something new to bolster our dominant/submissive divide. I wasn't going to say please or thank you for anything. I was going to be polite, and as friendly as I could be. But I felt that since we were doing this on their home turf, it would help them see me as their dominant better this way. I was not going to apologize for anything either, unless I really had to. For instance, if a scene went awry, and it turned out I'd over-estimated their capacity, that would totally be on me. You can bet I'd be apologizing for something like that in a heart-beat. Now it was time to take it up a little notch.
"Gary, it seems to me that when I'm in this house, we should have some basic protocols in place, regardless of whether or not we advance beyond just a conversation."
"Oh, yeah, I mean, yes, certainly."
"Good. While I am in this house, I will expect you and Rochelle to refer to me as Sir. That will help keep you both in a proper mind-set. Do you understand?
"Uh, yes...Sir."
"Excellent. We're off to a good start. Why don't you go upstairs and inform Rochelle of this. I'm sure she'd be grateful for the chance to avoid any more faux pas'."
"Yes, Sir."
Gary said that about as fast as he could, and clambered up the stairs.
"Oh, and Gary", I called up after him, "I expect you to come right down. Rochelle can make her own entrance."
"Yes Sir" came the voice from upstairs now. It couldn't have been a minute before he came back down the stairs and finally figured out that showing me the living room was a great next step. It was a typical open plan suburban setup. The living room lead into the dining room, and that led to the kitchen around the corner, blocked by the staircase. The fantasy artwork on the walls and decent sized DVD and book collections confirmed my suspicions. They were hard-core sci-fi/fantasy fans. I'm not going to say nerds, because I liked sci-fi too, although not enough to read through multiple long YA fantasy epic series like them. I doubt they'd ever read Asimov, Clarke or Heinlein, but who cared. It meant we had a common language. People with an affinity for the creative or imaginative always seemed better suited to kinkier sexual activities.
Gary motioned to a spot on the couch for me to sit.
"How about you sit there, Gary? I'll take this chair over here."
That was fine with Gary, who sat on the couch. I took a high-backed wooden chair from the dining room, and placed it in front of the couch with the back facing out. It put me a little higher than them, and felt a little more serious to me as I leaned my arms against the back of it. I didn't want to start in without Rochelle, so we had a minute or two of uncomfortable silence. Luckily, Rochelle did not want to keep me waiting. She came right down, and stood between us before sitting down.
"Um, how is this, sir? Does it meet with your approval?"
"Yes, it does. You look very attractive in that dress, and ready for our discussion."
That was the truth. She'd picked a flowery black dress that looked right for fall, with a pair of low black heels. I suspected she didn't have anything higher, or maybe she just wasn't secure about walking in them in front of me. It didn't matter. She looked good. The dress matched her dark shoulder-length hair, and her ample curves filled it out nicely (yes, they were ample. Can't think of a better word to describe them). Much better than a pair of jeans. Although now that I thought about it, her nice round butt had looked really good in those really tight jeans as she'd hurried up the stairs. That must be why she'd picked them in the first place.
Rochelle started to sit down, but I stopped her.
"Rochelle, you should serve refreshments to Gary and I before we get started."
"Oh, uh, yes sir. Anything you'd like?"
"Why don't you select something, and we'll see how you do."
Rochelle disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a tray of ice teas. I indicated that was fine. After that was settled, I stopped her from sitting on the couch again. I took the foot-rest from an easy chair in the corner, placed it in front of the couch just to the right of Gary, and motioned for her to sit on it.
"I think that would be best for you, Rochelle."
Rochelle sat down on the foot-rest and I took my seat across from her. Gary was behind on the couch to her left. It had the effect of isolating her while also keeping her near her husband. She had to sit up straight, while he could slump a little in the couch.
