I watched her for years.
We met at a professional conference. I remember how stunning she was. The perfect almond shape of her eyes, the half-moon of her hips, the brilliance of her face when she smiled. At first I couldn't place what was so special about her- I meet many beautiful women in my profession but rarely feel an attraction as strongly as what I felt toward her. We traveled in the same circles so I saw her often (though not as often as I wished) and gradually got to know her. I learned that she was married and resigned myself to never getting to know her as more than a friend, albeit a desirable, seductive friend. But my fascination persisted.
As the years passed we became more and more comfortable with each other. I got to know about her personal life- her successful husband, her talented daughter, even her love of animals. She always was friendly and open, quick to engage with eye contact, a flash of her secret smile, a fleeting grab of my forearm. I made it a point to greet her whenever we attended the same functions or meetings. I would secretly delight in watching her move. She kept herself so fit and trim that she looked half her age. She knew how to wear clothes. Not just how to coordinate her outfits- she seemed to take particular care in how her clothing would fall over her body to accentuate her essential femininity. I found her entering my thoughts unbidden and looked forward to those times every couple of months when I knew I would spend a few hours in her presence. I would sometimes question myself why I found her more appealing than almost any other woman I knew, but just dismissed it as a somewhat random enchantment. Until one day when I looked at her as she stood before me and suddenly realized from a quick glance at her stance-
She wanted to be dominated.
She wanted a man to command her. Command her how to please him. Reward her for her obedience, punish her for her rebellion. Own her body as his property to use as he wished. Restrain her at his whim. Release her from her responsibilities. She yearned to submit to another's will.
It came to me in a flash as we talked in a crowded hallway during a break at a conference. She was looking up at me almost pleadingly as we made small talk about our families (we had known each other so long that I had gotten divorced and re-married since our first meeting), holding her arms down by her sides with her elbows behind the plane of her back. I could see in her posture the perfect picture of a rope-bound woman. Suddenly so many things clicked in to place that I could feel my heart skip. Time seemed to dilate around me as I realized that I could make her mine. That she wanted me to make her mine. That she couldn't summon the courage to speak it, but that she desperately longed for me to take control of her.
Over the next two days of the conference I began to flirt with her. Little things at first, but she rapidly upped the ante. In no time we were sending incredibly suggestive texts back and forth. At one point, she approached me and began to apologize. She was concerned that her behavior would lessen my opinion of her. I told her to think nothing of it, that flirting was just harmless fun, that we had known each other so long it was almost like just guys' locker room talk. Even so, I could tell from the intensity of her gaze when we spoke or caught each other's eyes across the room that she was excited and aroused.