Carries Aerial Adventure

Carrie Underwood could hardly contain her excitement as she pulled into a parking spot, grabbed her water bottle and cell phone, and climbed out of her SUV into the oven that was known as a Las Vegas parking lot in the middle of summer. The singer adjusted her aviator sunglasses as she encouraged a chirp from the SUV with a press of a button on her keychain and strode towards the building in front of her. The sun reflecting off the blacktop quickly warmed her AC-cooled legs from her running shoes all the way up to the hem of her short, teal workout shorts as she approached the door and ducked inside.

A small foyer held an unoccupied front desk and a couple of chairs along with some modern décor, but Carrie's destination lay beyond the next set of glass doors. She shoved her sunglasses into her gym bag and made her way through the next doors. The space beyond the doors was huge. A padded floor took up most of the space and dangling from the high ceiling were a colorful array of silks. Carrie recognized them immediately as the same type of silks that were featured in part of her show at her Vegas residency. It was those silks that led to her presence in the gym that she currently found herself in.

"Carrie!"

An enthusiastic voice echoed across the gym. Carrie turned with a smile to look at the quickly approaching form of her show's aerial choreographer, Brenda Hamilton.

"Hey Brenda!" Carrie replied with a bright smile.

"I'm so glad we finally found time to meet up! And that everyone finally signed off on your idea!"

"Same here," Carrie said as the pair briefly hugged.

"I'm so excited to get started," Brenda said with an excited clap. "It's not every day you get to teach Carrie Underwood how to aerial!"

Carrie couldn't help but laugh as some of her own nervous excitement about the whole thing bubbled over. She had been so transfixed by the aerialists in her show from the very first time she saw them that it didn't take long for the idea of wanting to try it herself to take root in her mind. Her team was initially against the idea. Learning to aerial could be dangerous and no one wanted to risk her getting hurt. It had taken some convincing, and just a bit of flexing her star power, for them to finally acquiesce on one condition. The condition was that she would meet with the aerial choreographer for a fitness test and introductory lesson. If she found that Carrie had the strength and ability to safely learn an aerial routine, then Carrie could move ahead with the idea.

"Well, I'm excited to learn from the best!" Carrie said with another smile. "How do we get started?"

"Follow me. There's a smaller room this way where we can do the fitness test and try some different stuff," Brenda said with a smile as she headed towards a hallway on the other side of the gym.

The pair walked across the open space and in between the hanging silks. Carrie looked up and imagined herself dangling from the silks during a performance. She had to admit they looked a lot more intimidating when standing directly beneath them.

She was pulled from her thoughts as Brenda opened a door and held it open for Carrie to enter.

"Right in here Carrie," she said as the country superstar walked past her.

Brenda entered right behind her and let the door close behind her with a thud.

The windowless room they had entered was quite a bit smaller than the main gym, but still plenty spacious. There was an array of workout equipment along one side of the room and an assortment of pads and other equipment on the other. Some much shorter silks hung from the exposed beams in the ceiling along with a couple of pullup bars and a variety of other clips, bolts, and other attachment points for aerial equipment.

"Ok!" Brenda said with a clap of her hands. "Why don't you hop on the treadmill a bit and limber up with some stretches too?"

"Umm...yeah that sounds good," Carrie said brightly. "It's so hot outside that I've already got a good start."

The blonde singer moved as she spoke and climbed up on the nearest treadmill. Running wasn't her favorite thing to do while working out, but she knew flexibility was important in aerial work and she wanted to make sure Brenda would know she could handle it by the end of their session. A couple high pitched beeps later and Carrie was jogging at a decent pace. She hadn't been lying about being partially warmed up already.

"Excellent form Carrie," Brenda said as she watched from nearby.

Watching Carrie during her Reflection performances in Vegas had given Brenda a decent idea of Carrie's fitness but watching her work out instead of performing helped to solidify that notion a good deal. She also couldn't help but notice just how impressively sculpted Carrie's legs truly were.

"Thanks," Carrie said as she spoke between steps. "I've had lots of practice."

Carrie was grateful for the cool atmosphere in the gym as a bit of sweat began to gather at her hairline. She swiped the back of her hand across her forehead and kept jogging.

A couple more minutes passed until Brenda spoke up again.

"Ok...that's enough treadmill, I think! Let's move on to some stretching just to make sure we're as flexible as can be. Can you lead us through a couple Carrie?"

"Sure...no problem," Carrie said as the moving belt beneath her slowed and finally stopped to allow her to step off.

Brenda tossed Carrie a yoga mat that she had grabbed from a rack in the corner and the pair spread them out near the aerial silks. Carrie took the lead as they ran through a few basic stretches and ended with some more advanced yoga positions. Brenda was impressed by Carrie's flexibility as well as her apparent strength.

"Looks like you got some of that fabled mom strength Carrie," Brenda said as they held the last pose.

"Hahaha," Carrie laughed. "Thanks. It pays off to be strong when you're as short as I am!"

"You are a petite little thing aren't ya?" Brenda joked back as they both finally released their poses and took a quick breather on their mats.

"Hey...it comes in handy during hide and seek!" Carrie said as she rose to her feet.

Brenda quickly followed her in rising and made quick work of tossing the mats into the corner. She'd worry about washing them later.

"Ok so you are clearly in great shape. Ready to try a couple basic aerial concepts?"

"Absolutely!" Carrie answered. "But I need to take a quick bathroom break first. Is there one I can use?"

"Oh of course. Through that door and down the hall on your right," Brenda said as she gestured towards another door.

With a quick smile, Carrie pushed through the door and quickly found the bathroom. As she exited the small but clean room, another open door across the narrow hallway caught her attention. She caught a glimpse of some equipment she couldn't remember seeing in any gym she had been in before. Always looking for new equipment ideas for her home gym, Carrie couldn't resist taking a quick peek.

She passed through the doorway and flicked on the light switch. Even with the lights on, Carrie still wasn't exactly sure what she was looking at. The room was warmly lit instead of the harsh fluorescent lights that usually lit up a gym. The floor was wooden and covered in thin mats with random cushions and pillows strewn about. However, it wasn't those things that confused Carrie. It was the wooden beams, structures, and what looked to be bamboo logs that she didn't understand.

Lengths of rope hung from various places on the beams and structures, looped lengths from the horizontal beams near the ceiling and tighter coils at various heights on the vertical bamboo poles. It had the vague notion of a gym, but also clearly wasn't one. It was then that she noticed some artistic posters on the wall to her left. One showed various knots while another had writing in Japanese. However, it was the one showing a woman bound by thin, brown ropes and tied to similar looking apparatuses as the room held that made Carrie's stomach swoop in a nervous yet undeniably curious way. She began to slowly approach the poster for a closer look when a noise caused her to nearly jump out of her skin.

"What do you think?" came Brenda's voice from the doorway.

Carrie spun around as if she had been caught doing something wrong and looked at Brenda with wide eyes.

"Umm...I...uh sorry!" Carrie sputtered out. "I shouldn't be snooping."

"Nonsense Carrie," Brenda replied as she entered the room further. "I didn't even think to close the door here before you came, but it's not really a secret."

"What umm...is all this?"

"It's my side hustle if you will," Brenda said with a smile. "I do rope bondage classes and sessions when I'm not working on aerial projects. It's something called shibari."

Carrie felt a blush growing on her face as Brenda's words registered in her mind. This was not what she expected to find on an innocent trip to the bathroom. The aerial silks and her excitement for trying them out had all but slipped out of her mind.

"Don't look so shocked Carrie!" Brenda said with a smile. "Shibari actually has a lot of benefits in meditation and trust building. Some of the aerialists in your show actually started in my ropes class here."

The blush on Carrie's cheeks remained as she tried to get a handle on her shock. Part of her wondered why she was still standing in this room she inexplicably found herself in, but there was something about it that kept her rooted in place. She couldn't help but be curious. The images on the poster were beautiful to Carrie once her initial surprise at them faded a bit.

"I've uh...never heard of...the umm..." Carried trailed off.

"Shibari," Brenda finished.

"Yes that," Carrie said with a nod and a nervous laugh.

"It's actually a great way to get ready for aerial work. If you can handle a decent amount of shibari you can definitely handle aerial training. Do you want to try?"

Carrie's eyes grew even wider at Brenda's sudden and unexpected offer. She glanced at the poster again and imagined herself as one of the tied-up women. Some positions more extreme than others yet somehow all striking to Carrie's vision.

"Oh...I'm really not sure Brenda. I've never done anything like this before. I thought bondage was like a sex thing," Carrie said, whispering the words bondage and sex as if saying them any louder would get her in trouble.

"A lot of people think that," Brenda explained. "And that is definitely part of it for some people, but my classes are more about the artform and testing physical limits. Although I'd be lying if I said mixing sexual pleasure in sometimes isn't a lot of fun!"

Brenda could see that Carrie was still hesitant, but the chance to tie up a world-famous superstar like Carrie pushed Brenda to work harder to convince her. She was already thinking of different ties she could put Carrie into.

"We can just start with some basic stuff and if you aren't into it, we can stop," Brenda continued. "Your combo of strength and flexibility are perfect for it."

"Would I...umm...like need to get undressed or something?"

Carrie couldn't believe that she was considering taking Brenda up on her offer, but a quickly growing part of her was curious to try. She liked pushing her limits and trying new things. Why couldn't that include this? Still, questions raced through her mind.

Do I trust her enough to tie me up? What if I can't get out? Is this cheating on Mike somehow? What if it hurts?

"Not unless you want to!" Brenda said with another laugh. "But seriously...not at all. You're dressed perfectly for it. I might lose the tank top cuz it can make it a little harder for some knots, but totally up to you."

That answer did ease some of Carrie's remaining hesitation. She was comfortable in shorts and the sports bra underneath her tank top was one she wore to work out all the time. She glanced at the smartwatch on her wrist and knew time wasn't an issue as she had nothing else planned for the day and she wasn't expected home at any certain time.

"Ok...let's do it," Carrie said, surprising even herself as she barely even realized she said that out loud.

"Great!" Brenda said with a wide smile. "It'll be a lot of fun Carrie. I promise."

With that, the aerial choreographer shut the door behind her and clicked the lock into place. She grabbed a remote off a nearby table and pressed a button. Low, relaxing music filled the room and instantly eased some of Carrie's nerves. Brenda set the remote back down in exchange for a second remote which dimmed the lights enough to be calming and warm.

Carrie remained standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. She was unsure where to go or even what to do with her hands. Her mind reached for something to do as she stood there and the only thing she could think of was to take Brenda's advice and take off her tank top.

"It's just a different type of workout," Carrie told herself as her manicured hands gripped the hem of her top which matched the shade of her nail polish. "Then why does it feel like it isn't?" she wondered as she pulled her tank top over her head.

The removal of her tank top left Carrie in a pink sports bra and her teal shorts. The sports bra's bottom band wrapped around her body just below her pert breasts and two white strips of frill bordered a slightly see-through window on the front of the bra. An enticing portion of Carrie's toned, and sculpted midsection was now on display. Her abs were apparent, and her skin was lightly tanned from afternoons around the pool with her family.

Just as Carrie started to look around for a place to set her tank top, Brenda was there to gently take it from her hands with a gentle smile.

"I'll take that for you Carrie," she said. "Can you go stand on that matted area over there?"

Carrie's eyes followed Brenda's pointed finger which was indicating a comfortable looking mat close to the bamboo poles, wooden beams, and other secure objects. Carrie just nodded before walking over and standing where Brenda wanted her to be. The butterflies in her stomach increased their fluttering as her eyes fell on the coils of tan rope that were piled off to the side.

"Ok!" Brenda said with a light clap. "I think we're about ready to get started. You just need to pick a safe word and gesture. If you say your safe word or do your gesture, I'll stop right away and see if you want to end the session."

"Oh ok...yeah that makes sense. But why a gesture too?"

"Oh, it's just good ropes practice to have both. Some people get overwhelmed or just can't say anything so having a gesture is helpful."

Carrie was happy to hear how seriously Brenda took the ropes work. It made things feel more professional and less...intimate or risky.

"Umm...ok I'll use rhinestones as my word," Carrie said as part of her latest album name popped into her head right away. "And...I guess I'll...uhh like shake my head no?"

"Great! Those should both work."

Brenda could see that Carrie was still feeling apprehensive. She approached her friend and client and placed her hands on the singer's bare shoulders as she looked into her eyes.

"There's nothing to be too nervous about Carrie," Brenda soothed. "And there's nothing wrong with wanting to try this. I've never had someone not thoroughly enjoy their experience with ropes in my classes. I know you like pushing your limits in workouts so let's do that here and see what you can do. This is nothing next to aerial work!"

Carrie took in Brenda's words and allowed them to ease her nerves. She took a few deep breaths before smiling back at Brenda and saying ok. It didn't hurt that Brenda had somewhat challenged her. It was true she loved to push her limits in the gym, and she was a naturally competitive person.

"Perfect," Brenda replied as she ran her hands down Carrie's shapely arms and down to her hands which she briefly squeezed.

"The first step is binding your wrists behind your back," Brenda explained as she bent over and grabbed a coil of rope.

Brenda came up behind Carrie.

"Arms behind your back."

With one last deep breath, Carrie put both her arms behind her back as instructed and immediately felt Brenda take hold of them firmly and gently all at the same time. The first touch of the slightly rough rope against her skin made Carrie jump slightly, but she didn't have much time to think before more and more rope wrapped around her. Brenda had clearly not been lying about being a pro at tying ropes. Almost before she knew it, Carrie felt Brenda tugging at her now bound wrists to make sure they were secure.

"Feel comfortable? Not too tight?"

Carrie flexed her wrists and wiggled against the ropes. It was an intense sensation for Carrie as the fact that she was being tied up began to set in. However, she was surprised at how comfortable it felt in a way and that is exactly what she told Brenda.

"Good, good," came the reply. "I'm just going to add another length of rope to make sure it holds you safely."

Brenda expertly and carefully wrapped another section of rope around Carrie's lower arms to hold her wrists more securely and pull her forearms together more snugly. She had to keep reminding herself to focus on her knots and rope work instead of allowing herself to be distracted by the knowledge of who she was tying up. With the second arm rope done, Brenda put a finger under part of the ropes and gave it a tug. Pleased with the snugness, she stepped back to grab more rope.

"Off to a good start Carrie," Brenda said. "Now let's get you into a bit of a pose and see what you think."

"Umm...yeah...ok," Carrie replied with a bit of nerves still detectable in her voice.

"Here go ahead and kneel down," Brenda said as she approached Carrie with another coil of rope in one hand.

Brenda placed her hands on Carrie to help her ease down onto her knees. Carrie's lower half wasn't restricted, and she would have had no problem on her own, but touch was important to the process and Brenda was also not going to miss a chance to start getting her hands on the toned and petite body of Carrie Underwood. She had been admiring Carrie's body and physique since the first time she saw her rehearse for her residency, but never thought she'd get to tie Carrie up.

The change of position unnerved Carrie a bit, but she swallowed back her hesitance. She wanted to give this a real try and knew whining about every new thing would only slow the process down. Plus, Brenda's challenging words about Carrie liking to push her limits in the gym were still bouncing around her head. She did like to do that and for reasons she didn't quite understand completely, wanted to do that in this place as well.

Brenda fastened one end of the coil in her hand tightly around the knots already surrounding Carrie's wrists. She then tossed the other end over the bamboo post running horizontally above the matted floor. Without explaining what she was doing, Brenda applied forced to the rope. The pressure caused Carrie's tied together arms to rise at an angle towards the bamboo post. Her chest thrust forward at the sudden pressure in her shoulders, and she let out a yelp of surprise.

"How does that feel Carrie? Think you can handle a little more pressure?"

Despite her current lack of control over her own body, Carrie still couldn't turn down a challenge like that. However, her voice did not relay that same confidence. In a meek voice, she assured Brenda she could take more.

Brenda didn't hesitate. She pulled on the rope again and watched Carrie's arms angle up even more. The fit, blonde singer let out a low groan. The type of groan that Brenda had heard dozens of times in that very room. It was the groan of someone who relished the type of dull pain brought on by shibari and Brenda intended to deliver plenty of that by the time she was finished with Carrie.