Erica Marshall was in town for three days.
It was just supposed to have been another stop on the road for the professional wrestler. Just another city, another crowd of screaming fans, another opponent, another match...
But then she had seen him sitting by himself on a bench. She had been out for a walk after lunch, preparing to head back to her hotel room and rest up before that night's show, when she suddenly realized he was watching her. Looking over his shoulder, he didn't even seem to notice her staring directly at him, not really paying attention as she passed by.
She had kept walking, but she found herself glancing behind her every few seconds. The man was still there when she got to the end of the next block, so she turned around and walked past him again. He gave no sign that he had noticed her either way this time.
After circling past him twice more, she finally stopped in front of him. "Can I help you? Is something wrong?"
"Oh!" His eyes moved rapidly between hers, the ground, hers again. "No. No ma'am."
Something about him fascinated her. Maybe it was his posture: shoulders hunched slightly forward, avoiding eye contact, a general air of submission that was somehow both humble yet desperate for approval. Or perhaps it was his clothing: loose fitting jeans and an unremarkable black polo shirt, the collar buttoned tight. It looked like what one would wear to work in an office. And yet it was Sunday afternoon.
She decided to try a different tack. "Well, I'm sure there are some other parks around here that don't get much traffic. You shouldn't let me bother you." She started to turn away from him, trying to sound dismissive, but hoping he might react differently.
To her delight, he stood quickly. "I didn't mean to disturb. I apologize if I did." His voice was soft, and she could tell from the tremor in it that he was nervous.
He seemed to realize how anxious he appeared, because he took a deep breath through his nose to steady himself. Then he smiled slightly, clearly determined not to let a brief encounter ruin his day. "My name's Ben, actually. I was just enjoying some sunshine before heading home to take care of some laundry."
His attempt to sound cheerful made Erica want to see whether she could knock him down again with a single word, just to watch him squirm. "Well," she said casually, "my name is Erica Marshall. I guess we're neighbors for now since I'm staying at the Marriott."
The effect of her name dropping was immediate and remarkable. First his jaw dropped open; then he stammered out a weak apology, "oh sorry." But he recovered almost immediately. Before Erica knew what she wanted to do next, the words were already coming out of her mouth.
"Maybe you could show me around the neighborhood sometime -- if your schedule isn't too busy with housework, that is."
What was she doing? It wasn't often these days that Erica met someone new outside the business. As soon as he saw who she was, he probably expected her to ask him to dinner at a fancy steakhouse and then take selfies of them together while they drank champagne. Was that what she wanted, though? That kind of thing was fine with her manager, and it certainly helped promote her brand. But she was tired of being that person, especially when she wasn't working. If anything, she wanted to find the exact opposite of that life tonight.
As she explained to Ben why exactly he needed to meet her back at the park in two hours (and yes, it would involve dinner), he seemed increasingly confused. He asked her several times what she meant by all this. When they parted ways, he was clearly worried that she wouldn't show up later, but promised to wait anyway.
Back at the hotel, Erica couldn't concentrate on reviewing her match strategy or going over her pre-match ritual. This entire conversation had come completely out of left field for her. In fact, it felt amazingly refreshing to be caught off guard for once. After she spent the first hour pacing around her room, unable to focus on anything else until she confirmed that he hadn't emailed or texted her anything (he hadn't), she finally gave in and decided to embrace the adventurous feeling that had seized her earlier.
With only minutes before she needed to leave, she hastily scribbled instructions on a piece of paper she pulled from the stationery drawer and stuffed it into her pocket along with her phone and credit card.
When Ben saw Erica approach across the grass, he tried to stand up straight and look less awkward than the last time he had seen her. Still, she greeted him sitting on the bench where she had found him three hours before.
Her plan had come together quickly. She wanted him to drive her somewhere -- she wasn't entirely sure where yet -- so she had called her assistant and told him to bring her car to their original rendezvous spot after the show. For now, she simply wanted to sit quietly with Ben for a minute and study his reaction to everything.
Finally, she broke the silence herself. "You know, Benjamin, I am pretty famous in my line of work. Do you have any idea who I am?"
Still looking down and avoiding direct eye contact, he muttered, "yeah, I've heard of you." His tone suggested that maybe people hearing that response usually followed it up with something uncomfortable or embarrassing, but Erica wasn't done studying his behavior yet.
She nodded approvingly. "Good. You can call me Mistress from now on."
Before continuing, she paused a few seconds to savor his confusion and uncertainty. It was fun watching him try to decide whether to continue responding respectfully or ask clarifying questions.
Then she pulled the note from her pocket and handed it to him. "This has instructions on how to serve me for the rest of today. Are you ready to start?"
A look of shock crossed his face before he answered, "yes Mistress." The moment the words came out of his mouth, however, he realized he had spoken without being directed, and he started fumbling through possible corrections.
Erica held up one hand to stop him. "Just keep reading, Benjamin. We'll see what happens when you finish."
Most of the note described the restaurant she had selected: its location, parking details, and even how to order. At the bottom was a list of rules for how to behave throughout the evening. They wouldn't have been terribly unusual for someone who knew the protocols of BDSM. However, she also wrote in several specific expectations for Benjamin: no eye contact unless given permission; always refer to himself in the third person and her in the second person; never speak without direction, and so on.
By the time he got to the end, his hands were shaking noticeably, which delighted Erica. She loved the power trip she got during matches when fans cheered wildly, but it rarely happened to such a satisfying extent in her personal interactions. Watching him struggle with basic tasks like holding onto a piece of paper excited her more than she wanted to admit.
Once he finished, she took the slip of paper back from him. He looked relieved, thinking his ordeal might be complete.
However, Erica noticed something important about his body language that intrigued her. Even though he trembled with nervous energy, he didn't run away. Instead, he waited hopefully for what might happen next. That sparkle of desire made her realize she could go further than she originally planned.
"Benjamin," she said softly. When he failed to answer, she repeated herself louder. "Look at me, Benjamin!" This time, he forced himself to comply slowly and stared directly at her feet as instructed. "I think you want to follow my orders because you know deep down that it will make you happy to do so."
His eyes darted between hers and the paper she still gripped tightly in one hand, then returned to the ground. His head hung low. Finally, he spoke quietly, barely above a whisper.
"Yes, Mistress."
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