This train will shortly be arriving in York. York, your next station stop."
Marta jolted, suddenly aware she was still on the train.
She looked at her watch: 21:07. These late evenings at work really had to stop. Her stomach growled loudly. And yes, she thought to herself, her diet had to get better than strong cups of coffee all day long. "Next week" she promised herself. Just as she had on too many late Fridays for too long.
Her body ached with tiredness and as she rode the escalator up to the overhead pass and she sighed deeply knowing she was heading home again to an empty flat and an empty fridge. The day dream that a few moments ago had seemed so real, suddenly felt further away than ever.
She'd begun chatting to Him online, only a month ago. When, after another long, stressful week she finally dared to sign up to a BDSM dating website she'd seen advertised. She'd known for years that she wanted something different to the very sweet and gentle boy-men she'd always dated and run rings around. But her conditioning ran deep. To even admit to herself the things that turned her on had taken many years. To admit them to someone else? She'd never genuinely thought it possible. She had only hoped it would be.
She remembered again the thrill of first seeing his profile. The way he'd described himself and what he was looking for. She'd physically walked away from the laptop three times before she dared herself to type "Hello" and then held her breath as she saw him begin to type his reply: "Well done, you've taken the first step in a great adventure". And in truth, the last 4 weeks had been thrilling.
Desires that she'd suppressed for years came tumbling out of her. He only had to ask her a question and the truth would spring from her. She'd surprised and shocked her own self more than once when answering his direct questions.
They'd met up after only a week, in part because she was scared she'd lose her nerve if she didn't do it soon, and in part because he was due to work overseas for the rest of the month.
That first afternoon they'd met, had been only intended to prove to each other they were real. However brave she'd become in that first week, he knew she was still skittish and could retreat at any moment if he took her too far, too fast. And she could barely countenance the fact he'd see her face in real life after all she'd confessed to him already.
But they had met. And the easy back and forth chat they'd enjoyed online, extended perfectly into the real world. To get her to agree to meet, he'd had to faithfully promise her he would not mention anything kinky out loud whilst they were in public on their first date. "And you can't even think anything either. Because you'll look at me and I'll know. And I'll go red. And then everyone will know!" she'd typed. He'd laughed out loud at her hysteria, but there was never any danger of him making that promise.
