Does it seem like it's been a month, kitten?
Grey was comfortable in bed with her back propped up against pillows. Her bedsheet was pulled up to her waist with the laptop resting on her legs. She was topless; her nipples erect and eager for attention.
She slowly trailed her fingertips over the exposed flesh of her breasts, avoiding her nipples out of habit now. She knew the ways Robert wanted her to stroke and tease herself and even after a few short minutes it was having the arousing effect he desired. She always spent their chats in a state of sexual hunger, wet and flushed and increasingly needy. Perhaps tonight he would permit her the first orgasm of the week.
Hard to say, Sir. In some ways I hardly know you and in some ways it feels like you've been with me my whole life.
I wish I had known you that long. You've made the past month my best one ever.
Thank you Sir.
We've come to the Second Gate, kitten.
Yes Sir, I know.
Grey had been anticipating the Second Gate with equal parts dread and excitement. The idea that she would have to agree to his terms or lose him seemed unfair and coercive - naked emotional blackmail. A part of her still resented him for forcing her in this way. But a much smaller part than before.
Before we get to that, how do you feel the First Gate worked out for you?
Receiving texts from you throughout the day has brought me SO much joy, Sir.
So you feel your life is better for having passed through the First Gate?
Yes Sir. No doubt.
I'm glad to hear it, kitten.
Would you please tell me about the Second Gate, Sir?
She didn't want to delay the inevitable; the upcoming task had been hanging over her for the last couple of days. He had told her that each Gate would be scarier and more exciting than the one before it, and she was eager to get it over with. She was almost certain she would agree to whatever terms he set out; to have him absent from her life after four blissful weeks was painful to imagine.
The Second Gate is this: you will turn on your webcam. From now on you will be a treat for my eyes as well as my heart and mind.
A chill of horror washed over her as she read his words. The webcam would reveal her identity in stark detail. She would be exposed like never before in her life - exposed in ways that could be compromising and dangerous. She would be revealed in a manner that could damage her reputation, her career and her relationships with her family.
And she didn't want Robert to see her.
She wasn't pretty by conventional standards and she knew it. Too short. Too fat. Small-breasted. A plain face with a spotty complexion. Thin lips. Unattractive nose. Thick thighs. Big ass.
Since adolescence she'd compiled a complete list of her physical shortcomings and kept it up to date with an almost religious zeal. She knew very well that she wasn't a treat for anyone's eyes. And when Robert saw her, he would realize this. He'd see that she wasn't the sexy, flirty girl he'd come to know through text but rather an unattractive, undesirable fraud. He'd be turned off and disappointed. And then he'd leave.
She was close to tears as her fingers moved over the keyboard.
Sir may I please ask you to choose a different task for the Second Gate? Please not this.
There was a long pause before he responded.
Tell me why you're asking that, kitten.
It was Grey's turn to pause. How to respond to such a loaded question? Forcing her fingers over the keys was agony.
It's a great personal risk, Sir. But more than that, I'm not sure that you would be pleased by my appearance. I'm not especially beautiful. Much less than beautiful, actually. I'm so sorry.
The Complete Truth was soul-crushing to type and to send, and she couldn't hold back a sob. She took deep breaths so Grandmother wouldn't hear her crying and come to investigate. She considered just powering off her laptop and going to bed. There was no way she could pass this Gate.
His reply was so long in coming that she started to wonder if he had given up on her entirely. Would she blame him if he had?
It's your right to refuse if that's what you really want. But I don't think it is.
I don't want to lose you, Sir. You're the best thing in my life. But the webcam is an impossible request.
Why am I the best thing, kitten?
Because you're funny and caring. You're attentive and you devote so much time to me. You make me feel warm and important and loved. I could go on...how many reasons do you need?
Am I handsome?
I have no way to answer that, Sir.
True. I could be ugly. I could be REALLY ugly. How would that change what you feel?
It was an obvious argument. He was trying to get her to admit that she wouldn't care about his appearance. And she wouldn't. But everyone knew that there were different standards for men and for women.
I see your point, but I think you'd change your tune if you saw me.
Both of us need you to pass through this Gate, kitten. Turn on your webcam.
She typed her response. 'No Sir. I'm so sorry. Goodbye.' She paused without pressing the ENTER key and stared at the words in the text window. Could she do it? Goodbye? Was the webcam really more painful than a return to her stifling, lonely, pre-Robert life?
She glanced at the tiny webcam lens built into the top of her laptop. Maybe she could turn it on but only show her face? Or maybe everything BUT her face? She could wear a disguise of some sort. Or switch the lights off in the room to obscure her image.
No. Robert wouldn't allow that. He never allowed her to hide from him, even with words. If she was going to do it, she would have to give him everything. Or refuse and leave them both with nothing.
She hit the DELETE key, wiping out the message.
She took a deep breath, and then another. Her hands were shaking as they moved - on their own - to open the webcam settings and enable the webcam. They HAD to be moving on their own - surely no part of her heart or brain could be leading her down the road to humiliation and rejection?
She stared in morbid fascination as the blue light next to the webcam lens illuminated. A real-time video image of herself appeared in the bottom right of the screen. Only her face was visible, and it looked wide-eyed with panic and disbelief. She closed her eyes for several moments, trying to understand what had happened. When she opened them, there was a message for her in the chat window in blue 14-point font.
You've passed the Second Gate, kitten. I thank you with all my heart.
She didn't know whether to cheer or cry. She was elated that she had pleased him and that she had secured their relationship for another two weeks. She was angry at him, resentful for making her feel this way and for practically forcing her into an area where she was so uncomfortable.
Yes Sir.
Please go and get your ear phones and plug them into your laptop. There's something I need you to hear.
She set the laptop aside and got out of bed, only then remembering that she was naked. Her first instinct was to shield herself from the webcam but she resisted the urge. She had passed through the Second Gate; she knew he'd be seeing her naked frequently. She quickly retrieved her ear phones from her desk and returned to bed and plugged then in.
