This is my submission for the
Pink Orchid 2023 for Women-Centric Erotica Challenge
.
This story loosely based on my own experience with a boyfriend who took advantage of my specific desires and made them all about him instead. But when I met my husband, he let me slowly explore every single one of them with him, and replaced the bad memories with good ones. I was able to reclaim all my favourite kinks without fear or embarrassment, and put those terrible experiences behind me.
It may seem like my female character in this story doesn't actually have agency because she is submissive. But from my own experience, being able to explore my sexual desires without them being perverted into something degrading and painful was incredibly empowering, and it was a huge step in dealing with my trauma. Being able to say "yes" while knowing that a "no" would have been respected is an amazing feeling, and I wanted my character to have that.
Enjoy!
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There wasn't much left in Rye's house after Brent had disappeared, leaving his keys on the counter and the door unlocked for anyone to walk in. But Rye was relieved. She didn't care that he stole half her stuff. She was just happy he was gone. A five-year relationship was over, and yet she was happier now than she had been for more than half that time.
After confirming that it was indeed over, and that she had seen the last of Brent, she fumbled with her phone to find her best friend's number. She called it and pressed the phone to her ear, hoping that Cora had already arrived home and wasn't currently driving from work.
"Hello?"
"He's gone!" Rye exclaimed.
"What?!"
"I got home just now and all his stuff his gone. His keys were on the counter. He took some of my stuff too, of course. But he's out of my life!"
"Oh thank fucking God!" Cora shouted over the phone. "Stay put, I'm coming over with some wine."
Cora didn't even give Rye a chance to respond before she hung up. Rye shook her head and chuckled. She was used to Cora's intensity. They had been best friends since college, so they were intimately familiar with each other's quirks.
While she waited for Cora to arrive with the promised wine, Rye quickly went through each room to make sure nothing of great importance had been taken. Her safe with important documents was still in the bottom of her dresser drawer, so identity theft wouldn't be a concern. There was nothing missing from her wallet.
Her front door swung open suddenly, and Cora was standing there with a bottle of wine.
"We should give Sashelle his keys now." She declared. "That way we can both pop in without warning and drive you crazy."
"A spare key is usually meant for emergencies." Rye teased.
"This is an emergency!" Cora said indignantly, brandishing the bottle of wine. "We must get you drunk and laid! Whichever order you prefer."
"I'm so not ready to have sex with anyone yet." Rye said, shaking her head.
Cora groaned in exasperation. "And that's precisely the problem! You had such horrible sex with Brent that you have no idea how awesome it can be."
"Considering he's the only guy I ever slept with, I'll have to take your word for it."
"Not for long! I texted Sashelle already. She's on her way over too."
"Oh no, what are you planning?"
"A girl's night out." Cora said with a mischievous grin.
Rye narrowed her eyes at Cora suspiciously. "A night out where, exactly?"
"How about the Mystic Velvet?"
"No! Absolutely not!" Rye declared. The Mystic Velvet was a BDSM club. Both of Rye's best friends were members and went regularly.
"Come on! I know you're curious. You asked about it before. It's perfectly safe and healthy to explore kink." Cora insisted.
"Not when your only experience with it wasn't exactly done with enthusiastic consent."
"That's precisely why I think you should try it in a safer environment. That way you can satisfy your curiosity and not have whatever you tried with Brent be your only point of reference."
Rye bit her lip, hesitating. She had made a mistake when she suggested to Brent that she wanted to try bondage. She should have gotten suspicious when he agreed a little too enthusiastically, and seemed to know exactly where to get the necessary equipment. Instead of being a sexy couple's game, it became an excuse for Brent to take out his anger on her whenever she did something that he deemed wrong.
Brent had a way of making her believe that it was her fault he was angry, and therefore her responsibility to make it up to him. And the best way for her to do that was through sex. So she simply went along with it.
Cora was the first one to notice that something was wrong. When Rye confided in her, Cora nearly blew a gasket and said that Brent had to go. It took her a while, but eventually, Rye stopped agreeing to anything but vanilla sex, and eventually refused sex altogether. Brent nearly became violent as a result, threatening to just take it by force, but he eventually gave up and left instead.
But now that he was out of her life, she was in control of her own sexuality for the first time. Sex had always been something that just happened to her that she had to go along with. She had never felt like an active participant.
"I don't know if it's a good idea." Rye admitted. "I feel like there must be something wrong with me to want to be tied up and used. If I'm into that sort of thing, why didn't enjoy it with Brent?"
"Because he wasn't doing it right! You told me you wanted to be dominated, not hurt, belittled and demeaned. He was spanking you with paddles, whipping you, and calling you the worst possible names. A dom doesn't have to do those things to make you feel submissive."
"You think?" Rye asked hopefully.
"I know. Trust me, when Sashelle gets here, we'll get ready and take you to the Mystic Velvet. You can just check it out, watch a performance or two, and be done. Or you can go to one of the bedrooms with someone you meet there."
Rye knew that Cora wouldn't have to keep pushing much longer before she would be convinced. Was it possible for a dominant male partner to be in full control without making the other person feel hated and worthless? And without any pain?
Cora seemed convinced that it was indeed possible. And Rye trusted Cora completely. She knew she was in good hands. And with Sashelle involved, she would have two amazing women watching her back while she explored the possibilities of sex without Brent.
"Alright, let's do it."
Cora let out an ear-piercing shriek, briefly making Rye regret her decision. But then she grinned, feeling pretty good about the chance to see what another partner could offer her that Brent never managed.
Sashelle arrived an hour later, with three outfits that made Rye blush. But after two glasses of wine, wearing a low-cut, black latex dress with corset-style red lacing in the back suddenly seemed like a good idea. Cora and Sashelle even somehow managed to convince her to wear tiny, red lace panties under the very short skirt.
She allowed them to pamper her while they continued their wine-fuelled Brent-bashing. They put makeup on her that was much more dramatic than anything she had ever done for herself. Her reddish-brown hair was left loose to tumble over her shoulders. She completed the outfit with her favourite high heeled shoes, the ones Sashelle called her 'stripper heels'.
Later that night, after having finished the bottle of wine amongst the three of them, they rode up to the Mystic Velvet. It was a sex club with live performances on a large stage, private rooms, and all sorts of equipment to play with. Rye had never been there, but Cora and Sashelle were both avid practitioners of BDSM with their partners (and sometimes with each other).
The moment they entered, Rye knew that this was different than anything she had experienced with Brent. The atmosphere was strangely comforting. The lights were dim, the music was low and sensual. On stage, a couple acted out a scenario, demonstrating a complex suspended position.
The club's floor was tiered. In front of the stage was the lowest tier, which was a large empty space, most likely a dance floor. Cora and Sashelle had told Rye that there was always dancing, like one would see at any nightclub, after the performances.
On the second tier, there were tables and booths everywhere, not unlike any other pub or dinner theatre. But the people were all dressed in varying degrees of fetish gear. Definitely not something one would see in most public places.
"Oh! Lisette and Paolo are here." Sashelle suddenly exclaimed.
Rye and Cora followed her to a table where a couple were sitting together, the woman in the man's lap. The two of them were kissing in a way that made Rye think they would soon excuse themselves to a private room.
The two of them stopped making out when they saw they had company. They smiled widely.
"Sashelle! Cora! I didn't know you were coming tonight." Lisette said.
"Who's your friend?" Paolo asked, looking at Rye in a way that made her shiver, but not unpleasantly.
"This is Rye. She got rid of her douchebag boyfriend and now she needs to get herself a proper dom." Sashelle explained, no beating around the bush.
"Mr. Douche didn't understand the game very well." Cora muttered.
Lisette and Paolo both frowned.
"Safe word violations?" Lisette asked. Rye nodded, making Lisette hiss in anger.
"And hitting, too. I'm into domination and bondage. Not pain." Rye elaborated.
"Yeah, that's not how it's supposed to work." Paolo agreed. "You definitely need to try it with someone more experienced and respectful."
"That's why she's here." Sashelle declared. "So, know anyone who could give her what she needs?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Paolo said with a grin. Rye suddenly had the feeling that this conversation had been rehearsed somehow. "My friend Liam."
