Victoria sat on the bench, overlooking the park, and took a bite from her pizza slice. "Thanks," she muttered. "I've not had a dreadful evening."
"Is that code for you enjoyed it?"
"It's possible." She swore as she dropped pizza topping on her white rubber dress and rubbed the red stain. "I did like you running off to the toilet after the film to put your butt plug back in, just because I suggested it would make me happy." She grinned. "But I'm off to Amsterdam for two weeks on Monday. And then on holiday. When I get back, you'll be in Exeter, won't you?"
"Yeah, and you'll be in Manchester."
"Probably." Victoria looked away and watched a swarm of birds swoop over the lake. "The money worries me, but Anne-Marie is insistent. She wants me to get a degree. I just want to beat up rich men. It's a valid job, although it's not on any career advice we got from the college!"
"I know. But I'll see you at Christmas though, right?" Victoria sighed at the question, but before she could utter a sound, he spoke again. "Not as a partner, or love interest. I know my place. It's just there is the new Hunger Games film due out in November, and I'd want someone to go with. I thought you might want to go with me. It's about a woman being the hero and vicious, so it's well up your street."
"Look Stephen, I like you but I don't do ..."
"Relationships? I know. As a quid pro quo. I'll do another one of your tasks, and you come out with me to the cinema. You've enjoyed tonight, haven't you?"
Victoria smiled. "Yeah, but I am really not interested in a relationship. With you or anyone. I don't do relationships. I like sex, but I don't enjoy being emotionally vulnerable."
"And I don't want a relationship with you. I'd never be able to keep up. But I really want a friendship. Perhaps with some mutual kinky benefits. I'll do whatever."
"I am not very good with friends either. Not with men anyway."
"You're better than you think," he said with a smirk. "I'm still going to ask you in December. I really like spending time with you. Will let you do whatever you want in your dungeon to me. You love being in control and making men cry." She picked up another piece of the huge pepperoni pizza they shared. "And I meant it. I think you are a brilliant girl. I have learnt a lot since I stumbled into your life. I'll miss having these tasks and having you torment me."
"You weren't supposed to enjoy it," she hissed. "I never set out to dominate perverts in my school, y'know? I went to that big party at Billy's last year. And it was just awful," she looked wistfully over the green hills towards the sunset. "Drunken, sweaty, clawing hands kept grabbing my thigh, desperate to poke my ... pussy. And so I confronted one of them in the kitchen and spanked him. Hard. Pulled his pants down. And he got a fucking erection. I used his belt to tie his hands to a dining chair and started going through his phone, reading out his dirty messages to and from his friends describing girls in the year. I caused so many breakups that night. But I found out how many macho guys in our year have the hots for dominant women." She glanced at Stephen. "And some not so macho guys."
"And Hugh?"
"Hugh was one. I had a date with him and, you know what happened. I saw he sent you links to female domination porn, and stories, when I went through his phone. I remembered your name when I heard you come into the house with Anne-Marie. And I was bored, so I looked back through the stuff I'd scraped from his devices and it was all there. The messages you sent to Hugh showed you were more into it than he was. And you raved so much about anal toys and prostate. So, I thought I'd see how much of a desperate twat you were and walked in to dinner naked. You ogled me so you were clearly ripe for being taught a lesson. And you were."
"Any man would have had a lingering glance at you," Stephen snorted.
"You still needed to have an attitude adjustment. Women are superior to men. Some men can fuck well, and they are good for an evening or even as a fuck buddy, but the rest of you need to know your fucking place." She grinned at him. "So I put you through a bit of a hell. Reality isn't fantasy. It was supposed to be a few days of pain and then you'd cry off and I would tell you never to ogle women like that again. It was supposed to be nasty and horrendous and ..."
"It wasn't," Stephen interrupted. "It was a positive, amazing experience, on the whole. And you never know, you might actually find someone you want to share your life with. To take a risk and be vulnerable to them. Because I did, and you massively enriched my life. I'm never going to have what I think is great sex ever again, without my partner donning a strap-on. Two weeks ago, I fantasised of ploughing Madison Ivy in a hot-tub. Now, my dreams are me bending over for a wonderful woman with a fake cock. Or taking a beating. Or drinking their pee. Or so many other disgusting things. Even touching my bisexuality."
Victoria giggled at him and sighed. "C'mon. I got to get back. I need to pack tomorrow." Stephen nodded and held out his hand. She looked at the setting sun and took it. "You know, Anne-Marie is out tonight. Bankers' party in the Square Mile. We've got time for a quickie. See if you can take one of our larger strap-ons."