A friend I hadn't seen since St. Patrick's Day called earlier in the week and asked me to dinner, " ...ya know, just to catch up..." My telephone rang early the morning of our dinner; it was her offering some coffee and an Egg McMuffin she picked up from McDonalds.
That's when she brought up her idea, and said she wanted me to think it over during the day before making any reply whatsoever. That was fine with me - I finished my coffee and headed out the door to go to work, blinking and shaking my head.
As you might imagine, I was absent-minded and distracted all day, and I realized at about 4:00 that I had forgotten lunch entirely. I called her up and asked if she would mind having an early supper, and she agreed.
We made some small talk during supper, but I was really focused on getting some food in my stomach. Between skipping lunch and drinking too much coffee during the day, I was thoroughly wired.
"So," she said as the waiter left the check and walked away, "have you given any thought to my proposal?"
"Yes, I've been thinking it over." That was an understatement.
"This party you want to go to - you're pretty sure no one there is going to know who I am?" I asked.
She nodded. "I can virtually guarantee that no one at the party will know you. This is a pretty eclectic group, no one will show up uninvited, and everybody involved has a vested interest in as much discretion as can be reasonably exercised. That's why the whole "masquerade ball" idea caught the interest of the group - everyone will be masked, and we won't be taking the masks off at midnight."
"Sounds a bit like 'Eyes Wide Shut,' if you ask me."
"Not at all! If anyone steps out of line to the slightest degree, there will be no shortage of people lining up to pitch the offender out into the street. A little naughty pleasure and a touch of thrilling fear is one thing, but abuse and coercion are right out."
"Do you trust these people?"
"Without a doubt, all of the attendants will be somehow involved in the arts and that community, either as artists themselves or benefactors maybe..."
"Why not just go without me?"
"No, John - I couldn't, they wouldn't let me in the room without a partner, the purpose of the whole event is to play as couples, exploring boundaries in a safe environment with your partner."
"But we aren't partners, not that way anyway!"
"We've both been curious about BD/sm for a long time, that's what you and I will explore. We come up with a stop word, to have safe boundaries."
I stared off into space for a few minutes, then grinned.
"All right, why not? When is this party?"
"Grab a quick shower at your place, our costumes are in my car, there."
"What? Right now?" I sputtered.
"Right now! I thought it would be best if you didn't have a lot of time to worry over it." I had to admit, she had a point.
I showered and toweled off while she got into her costume, and soon we were off to the Halloween party. She tossed the keys to the valet, and we found a dark nook in the entryway of the house so that she could make the final adjustments to my costume.
I felt like Batman when she slipped the black leather half-hood over my head, and zipped it down the back. After a few more minutes of fumbling and adjusting my overcoat, she led me by the elbow. She knocked twice, quietly, and I heard the door open.
"Come in, come in! May I take your coats?" The voice seemed friendly enough.
"Not just yet," she replied. "Ah, certainly. Right this way!"
He led us into a large living room. The party was alive with the murmur of conversation and the clink of glasses.
"Ah, here's another pair of friends," a voice called out from across the room. The conversations grew quiet.
"Come up here, then, and let's see your costumes. I've got a pretty good idea what you're going for, but this strapping gentleman presents a bit of a mystery!"
My knees trembled a little as she led me across the room and everyone's eyes seemed to be upon me, but I kept my head up. This was gut-check time - I could always cry "Uncle!" and run away, but I decided to tough it out. My friend turned me to face the room, chuckling.
"Well, as you might have guessed, I'm dressed as the Master." I heard a few titters pass through the group, and I smiled as I imagined her standing there in her leather gear.
"And what Master," she continued, "is complete without a slave?"
As she spoke, she peeled my overcoat apart from top to bottom and dropped it on the floor behind me. Everyone in the room gasped, and I heard a couple of drinks go down the wrong way - someone was coughing while another pounded him between the shoulder blades.
My heart took off like a jackhammer, and I felt a blush pour across every inch of my skin. The room was totally silent. My nipples hardened, and I shivered briefly.
My Halloween costume consisted of a pair of silk shirt cuffs (with black buttons) around my wrists, a snug leather hood that covered the top half of my face, and the back of my head. The hood ended at a black leather collar (with a white bow tie attached) dangling a long chain. Around my trunk I wore a black fishnet g-string.
That's it.
She handed my coat to someone beside her, took my chain in her hand, and said, "Ta-Da!" as she slowly turned me around in a full circle.
Someone approached us, "My word," the feminine voice offered "The guy deserves a drink after that, if I may be so bold."
"Definitely," agreed my friend, and just like that, my hand was holding a glass of excellent white wine.
"I'd like to sit down," I whispered, feeling very vulnerable and exposed.
"Just a second - someone's fetching a towel for you to sit on, like they do at nudist colonies." I filed that tidbit away for future reference. She gave me some more wine, then led me over to a couch. Someone put the towel down, and more than two hands, from behind, guided me down to it. I clenched a fist, wondering who else was touching me.
After another glass, I told myself to stop worrying so much about the people around me. There were probably twenty or so people at the party, and no one tried to engage me in conversation. I felt a little self-conscious at times, but the hood helped - everytime my thoughts about sitting there naked on the couch crept up. I began to wonder if my friend had not gone a little "over the top" with my costume - perhaps the whole room was shunning the both of us for our display of bad manners, or some such.
"Don't overthink this," she whispered in my ear. She was reading the set of my mouth and my body language perfectly.
"No one is upset, horrified, or aghast. More than a few are openly admiring your courage, in fact - mostly wishing they could get up the nerve to do something like this themselves."
"If you're ready, a few Dom's in training have asked for my slave's services."
"Like what kind of services?!," I said a little to loud, as I felt several heads turn our way.
"How would I know? Well I can guess, you see not many women see the male body. So much about guys remains a mystery to us. They probably just want to take advantage of an opportunity to explore. Besides we both wanted to explore this ourselves, that's why we are here. Think about it, I'll go get us a drink and some munchies."
After a minute or two had passed, I felt someone settle into the couch beside me. A small, warm hand patted my shoulder.
