Lisa was not an outgoing person, at least not until she got to know someone. She was shy, quiet and kept to herself. Her life was mundane at best. She was a born giver, taking care of those she loved. It was a gift she was honored to have and made her proud that she so easily gave of herself unselfishly. The only problem was, she was left in a pile of tears more than she was smiling. These experiences gave her a lot of insecurities.
Lisa could never understand why her love and devotion never seemed to be good enough. No matter how hard she tried, there always seemed to be someone better, someone more desirable. Why was it so difficult to find someone who could appreciate her heart, someone who didn't use her or abuse her? Too often she was left with the feeling of just inadequacy. She had just accepted the fact she would never find anyone to be as devoted to her as she were to him.
One day, while over at a friend's house, she was feeling down about life. Of course, she always turned it inward. What could she do differently? How could she change to be a better person for another person? Her friend could see on Lisa's face that something was troubling her. She saw the usual sparkle gone from Lisa's beautiful eyes.
"What's wrong Lisa?" Mary asked.
Lisa, looking up at her, smiled faintly and simply said, "Oh, nothing. Sorry, I'm not much company. Maybe I should just go."
Lisa stood up and Mary quickly, in a slightly stern voice, "No. You're not going anywhere. I can SEE there is something troubling you, now spill it." Lisa looked at her, took a deep breath and let it all out.
She told Mary how depressed she was because it felt like no one loved her, how often she felt insignificant. Other times she felt invisible. She was convinced she was only around to cater to the needs of others. And as much as she loved helping, nurturing, and loving others, it was draining her. "I don't even want to leave my house. I mean, I know I don't like to leave my house anyway, but it's worse. I just want to lay in bed. I must force myself to even shower. I cry constantly...I just don't know what to do," she stopped. The tears were burning her eyes and soon, they were flowing over her cheeks.
Mary sat down right in front of her. She wrapped her arms around her best friend and let her cry. And Lisa did. Her body shook and the emotion poured from her heart. It was almost violent. Mary could feel her own tears sting her eyes. The pain she was receiving from Lisa was powerful. She just held on. They stayed like that for a bit. Eventually, the tears and shaking began to subside. Lisa slowly pulled back and looked at Mary. Lisa noticed she had left Mary's shirt soaked with her tears. "Oh my gosh," She put her face in her palm, "I am so sorry Mary, I..."
Mary quickly interrupted, "Nonsense. Don't you dare apologize to me. I hugged YOU. It's a shirt. You're my friend. The shirt is replaceable, but you my dear friend, you most certainly are not." Lisa smiled. She was so thankful for Mary.
They had been friends since high school. They met freshman year and became inseparable. Mary was strong, confident, she was everything Lisa wished she could be. But most importantly, she valued Lisa. Mary never once took advantage of Lisa and was always there for her. It was a beautiful friendship, a perfect example of give and take.
"Lisa, you need to stop beating yourself up. You do this so much and I pray one day you can see yourself the way I do. The way a lot of people do." Mary paused, she had said this so many times before, but was determined to say it until Lisa listened. "You are this rare combination of inner and outer beauty. People are literally drawn to you because your light is like a beacon. Yeah, it draws in the assholes too, but that is to be expected. But the one thing you should never, absolutely never do, is doubt yourself. You have so much to give and offer. Any man should be on his knees daily worshipping you!"
Lisa laughed at this idea. "A man, on his knees, worshipping me?! Riiight! I could never see that happening."
Mary's eyes narrowed and she got serious for a moment. "It's because you don't demand it. Any man I am with will always worship me if he wants to be with me in any capacity. I will accept nothing less than a man giving himself over to me completely."
Lisa just looked at her. All these years they had been friends, and she still didn't understand how Mary did it. She was a Dominatrix and damn good at it from what Lisa could see. Men didn't dump her, she dumped them. They looked to her for everything and worshipped her completely. Whatever she wanted, she got. But Mary wasn't like some of the Domme's Lisa had seen before, Mary didn't take advantage of it. She took care of her subs. She would say, "A well taken care of sub is a loyal sub."
"Oh Mary, you know how I feel about that." Lisa's cheeks flushed red, "It's really not my thing. It's not natural for me to demand anything from anyone. I just want them to want to do things for me."
Mary giggled at this, she said, "In my experience, you get further with demanding what you want than waiting for them to think of it on their own." She winked at Lisa, "Just remember, if you ever want to try your hand at it, let me know."
Lisa laughed and with wide eyes and a silly smirk she said, "SURE!"
They had the best night. They ordered pizza, played card games, then just sat up late into the night talking about old times, present times and the future. Lisa was a widow, with a daughter and Mary was divorced with a son. Their kids were more like siblings. Mary had been there to force Lisa back to the land of the living when Lisa's husband passed away. Even though secretly, Mary rejoiced that he was gone. As horrible as it is, the fact was, he was a horrible husband. In their short 5 year marriage, he constantly and consistently cheated on Lisa. He took advantage of the love she had for him and their daughter. Mary hated every minute of it. She never told Lisa this, but the night he died, she went out and partied. Hadn't been to a bar in years, but that night, she celebrated the fact her best friend was free from the slavery of that man. Mary worked overtime to get Lisa over his death. She's pretty sure that the process was sped up when Lisa also finally realized she was free from the torture of that marriage.
Likewise, Lisa was there when Mary felt destroyed after finding her husband with another woman. In their bed no less, while their son napped in another room. Mary had been careful all these years not to fall in love with her subs, it was a no no. But he was different. He won her over, then almost destroyed her. But Lisa was there, she was there to remind her about the badass she was. She'd never looked back.
The next morning the women slept in. Lisa was the first to wake. She got up and made coffee. They weren't as young as they use to be. Being in their 40's, 'Rise and Shine' took a bit longer than it used to. Lisa was in the kitchen making two cups of coffee when Mary came stumbling in. She looked at Lisa as she took the cup and smiled. The two women sat in a comfortable silence on the couch watching the news. Lisa in her shorts and t-shirt, bundled in a blanket while Mary had on a thick cotton robe. No one spoke until the second cup was in hand. Mary, a serious look on her face, "Let me teach you about the ways of being a Domme. I mean it Lisa. There are different levels and styles. We can find one you're comfortable with. I know a lot of subs you could practice with."
Lisa looked at her sideways, she wanted to believe this was a joke, but she saw the seriousness on Mary's face. "I don't know Mary" she said, slowly shaking her head. "I couldn't degrade someone. I've seen and read about this stuff. And the..." her voice dropped "the whips and spankings and such, I just don't know."
