This is the last chapter in my real life story of meeting my online Dom. Thank you for taking the time to read, vote, and send feedback. It's greatly appreciated. To Kunal, this story is but a small token that I give to you, in appreciation for all that you've given to me.
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Just now I've started to fall for you,
Don't talk about being upset with me now.
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When I woke up, the apartment was still filled with light. I felt the warmth of Kunal's chest against my cheek. I looked up at him and let out a soft laugh. He was busy texting on his phone.
"Hello. It's about time you woke up," he smiled as he reached over to ruffle my hair.
I smiled back at him and stretched, working out the kinks. "What time is it?"
Kunal checked the time on his phone. "It's 7:30. You've been asleep for an hour."
"That late?" I groaned. "We missed dinner. And we were going to go to the Eiffel Tower tonight. You wanted to see it at night, didn't you?"
"Yes. We can still see it tonight."
"Should we eat now or after," I asked.
"Let's get something to eat afterwards," Kunal said.
We got up to dress and freshen up before heading out, opting to take a taxi for the trip to the Eiffel Tower. At 8:30pm when we got there, the sun was still shining brightly in the west, illuminating the graceful skeleton of the tower. The sinuous line to get tickets for the elevator to the top was so long that the walk from where the taxi had dropped us off to the end of it was barely fifty feet.
The place was teeming with people, both in line and mulling around. The base of the Eiffel Tower and the large, open-lawn park in front of it is one of the social hubs in Paris with people not only there to see the tower, but also to spread out a blanket and have a picnic, visit with friends, relax and enjoy themselves.
The line inched forward bit by bit. I was not used to eating so late and my stomach reminded me of it when I spotted a refreshment stand up ahead.
"Kunal," I turned to him in line. "I'm going to get something at the stand up there. Would you like anything?"
"No," he said. "I don't want anything."
"Are you sure? We haven't had anything since lunch."
"No. I am okay."
"Not even a drink?" I asked. "Anything?"
"Fine, I will have tea," he finally relented.
"Great." I strode off in the direction of the stand, leaving Kunal to hold our place in line. I decided to skip the premade sandwiches in the display case, figuring that we would be eating as soon as we were done seeing the tower. I went with a water instead, but the choice for Kunal was not so simple. They had cold tea, no hot tea, which was what I knew he liked to drink. I stood there for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. Rather than assuming he would want the cold tea and risk him being upset that I had gotten that for him, I decided to relieve him of his place in line and let him get exactly what he wanted. I paid for my water and headed back to Kunal.
"They had cold tea, but no hot tea, and I didn't know if you'd want that so I thought you could go and decide what you wanted," I rambled incessantly.
"You said
you
were going to get something for me," Kunal said. "Why didn't you at least bring me a water."
"Because I didn't know if you'd want that," I said. The tension level immediately escalated as Kunal's displeasure became apparent. My heart started racing. "What would you like me to get you? I'll go back and get you whatever you'd like."
"Don't worry," Kunal said stiffly. He was looking everywhere but at me. The sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, the one that I got whenever I had not met his expectations or done something wrong, was growing.
"Here," I held out my water. "At least have this."
"No. I don't want it."
"Okay," I said. There was nothing else to do. I had disappointed him. I should have been more proactive in choosing something he would like to drink if they didn't have his first choice. Instead I just shrugged off the responsibility because I was fearful of making the wrong choice. What I failed to realize until later was that to Kunal, making any other choice would have been better than doing nothing. It would have shown initiative. Instead, to show his disappointment in my behavior, Kunal was choosing to ignore me.
Here I stood in Paris, waiting to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, one of the most iconic, romantic spots in the world. I wasn't expecting romance, but to be with someone who was purposely ignoring you was not how I pictured this moment. The minutes dragged on as we slowly moved forward in the line. I snapped pictures of people and the interesting design elements of the Eiffel Tower. Every so often I would talk to Kunal and see if his disappointment with me had thawed. His resolve was as strong as the steel beams of the tower itself. He would answer me in short, clipped answers or with the smallest hint of an acknowledgement. He did not look me in the eye. I pushed down the feelings of anxiousness that kept trying to creep in; the panic that he still wasn't talking to me; the worry that I would never return to his good graces. I focused instead on trying to have a good attitude.
We were almost to the ticket counter and it was ten o'clock, an hour and a half after we had first joined the queue. I could tell Kunal's patience was wearing thin. He didn't see the benefit in waiting in line to go up to the top of the tower anyway. For him it was good enough just to see the Eiffel Tower while standing on the ground. I had convinced him that he had to go up; had made him wait in line all this time, only to promise more waits for elevators as we ascended; and I had made a huge error in judgment with the tea.
As we stood under the tower, a collective sound of excitement went up from the huge crowd gathered on the lawn in front of the tower. It was at that moment that we realized that the the Eiffel Tower had started to "twinkle." Every night after dark, at each hour, for just 5 minutes, millions of tiny lights on the tower light up, creating a breathtaking sight. I looked at Kunal and he gave me a hint of a smile. I smiled big in return and breathed a sigh of relief.
I can't say it was easy from there. It was still an ordeal to take the elevators and wait in the other lines to go up and then to come down. Kunal was still not letting me off. He was still rather terse and kept to himself. I quietly enjoyed the views and took pictures, making sure I watched him to see when he was ready to go. But he was more solicitous of my well-being, making sure I was okay and asking if I needed to sit or rest as we waited.
By the time we finally got back to the base of the tower it was just before midnight. We waited the few minutes to see the tower sparkle. Up until that point we had been under or on it the two times the light show had occurred.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said as the millions of lights danced on the tower.
"Yes," Kunal answered. We just stood there, each lost in thought as we watched the spectacle. As the twinkling lights dimmed for the last time that night, the crowd applauded one last time and thoughts turned to home.
"It's so late," I said, looking at the time. "What are we going to do about dinner?" There were no restaurants that were open in there area.
"Don't worry about it," Kunal said. "We'll figure it out when we get back to the apartment. There might be a place open near there."
We waited in yet another line that night to get a taxi, but this time it was very different. The silence between us wasn't one imposed by a Dom upon his sub, but a comfortable one of peace and reflection on the shared experiences, both trying and tremendous, that we had just had. When we got back to the neighborhood, there were no restaurants open. Too tired to care, we went straight to the apartment, changed to get more comfortable and lay in bed to talk about dinner. It had been a long day. Kunal put his arm around me and we drifted off to sleep, both exhausted from our excursion.
It was one thirty in the morning when I woke up, got out of bed and went to get some water. Kunal started stirring. "You haven't eaten anything, Kunal. Do you want me to fix you some dinner?"