It was a warm and pleasant summer night in Miami as a crowd gathered at the house. Rose was very happy to have all of her friends around to celebrate the occasion. She could hardly believe that she had found a guy like Miles. Miles was a great dancer, he was smart, and he found her interesting. Rose was looking forward to marrying him and spending their lives together. She was exceptionally bubbly and energetic that night and she didn't think anything could bring her down from this natural high; she was wrong. She had been in the kitchen helping Blanche with some food and hadn't noticed that Miles had slipped out on to the patio to get some fresh air.
As she and Blanche were fixing up some more appetizers Miles was getting a small case of cold feet. He found himself alone on the patio with Dorothy and they started talking. Dorothy listened to Miles and tried to comfort him the best she could. When Dorothy quoted Shakespeare Miles just had to laugh as he commented "I thought I was the only one who quoted Shakespeare in normal conversation." This led Miles to the thought that some people could conclude that Dorothy and him were a more likely match then he and Rose. As he was saying this, Dorothy put a hand on his shoulder as a friendly gesture. Miles; caught up in the moment pulled Dorothy against his chest and kissed her. It was just one kiss, but a long and anxious kiss. A kiss filled with all the conflicting emotions that were going through each of their heads at that moment.
It was at that same moment that Rose came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food. "Has anyone seen Miles?" She asked some of the guests. I think he went outside on the patio someone said. Rose turned her attention to the sliding glass doors just in time to see Miles locking lips with Dorothy. Miles; her husband to be and Dorothy her supposed best friend. Rose stared wide eyed and opened mouthed at this unbelievable scene in front of her. The plate fell from her hands and food spilled and splattered all over the floor. Rose ran off into the kitchen wanting to get out of view and hide her pain and tears. Blanche noticed Rose run off and went to check on her friend. Rose insisted she was fine and just embarrassed at her clumsiness. "I just came to get some paper towels to clean up the mess," Rose explained. The two of them headed back out and cleaned up all the food. By that time it was starting to get late and people were leaving the party one by one.
Dorothy and Miles were still on the patio, but now they were involved in a heavy discussion about the horrible mistake they had just made. Miles still wanted to marry Rose and Dorothy wanted to save her friendship. "It was just a moment of weakness for me and not your fault," Miles stated. "But, I let it happen," Dorothy said. She knew she could have pushed him away, but she didn't. It had been awhile since a man had kissed her and she had in a way welcomed the warm feeling. She knew Rose would not understand any of the sorry excuses they had. So they decided to think about it more before telling Rose. They walked back inside Miles said his goodbyes and the roommates found themselves alone again. The rest of the night Dorothy fretted about what to say to Rose. She also felt like Rose was avoiding her. She wondered if perhaps Rose already knew what had happened, but she couldn't be sure. She would figure out a way to tell her soon, because Dorothy knew it was the right thing to do.
In her room that night Rose was stewing with anger and plotting her revenge. Rose felt more betrayed than she ever had before. Normally she forgave her friends for their shortcomings, but this she felt she could not forgive. Dorothy was supposed to be her friend and friends don't hurt friends like that. Rose decided she would teach Dorothy a lesson St. Olof style, with a special Rose twist. What most people didn't know about Rose was that she had another side to her, one that she kept hidden under that bubbly, semi ditzy personality that she let the world see. Rose thought it was high time that Dorothy saw the confident Rose who took charge and didn't let anyone walk all over her.
Rose slept, but woke early in the morning and began going through some boxes in her closet. She smiled as she found the one she was looking for. She pulled out a nice leather outfit and tried it on. "Still, fits," she said with a smile. She looked at herself in the mirror and a devilish look came over her. She wore a tight leather skirt that hugged her ass and showed quite a bit of leg. On top she wore leather bra and a leather jacket that she let hang open. Rose rummaged through the box until she found the riding crop. "Now the outfit is complete," she said to herself. She added some bright red lipstick to finish the look. She liked the contrast it brought to the black and the blood red image it represented. Back in the closet Rose pulled out some tools and the final piece she needed for her plan. It was a collar attached to a chain which she fixed to her wall next to the coffee table she kept by her small sofa.
She took a robe from her closet and covered herself up and sat down thinking back on how this had all started. One day back at her family's farm she caught one of he stable hands spying on her as she changed into her riding clothes in the tack room of the barn. It had angered her so she came out of the room and started hitting the boy with a crop. He had fallen to the floor in a submissive state and begged her to stop. It had made Rose feel so powerful and she loved the feeling. For the few years that the boy worked at the farm Rose had continued to dominate him secretly in the barn several nights a week. That was years ago, but she was ready to do it again. As she sat there she knew she only had to play the waiting game because in time Dorothy would wonder why she hadn't come out of her room. Then when she came in to talk to Rose she would get the surprise of a life time.
In the rest of the house the others were already moving about. Sophia was out playing cards with friends and Blanche was getting all primped up for a day of shopping and hoping to meet a man. She asked Dorothy if she wanted to come along. Dorothy declined saying she wanted to stay home and spend time with Rose. She made some excuse of wanting to have some alone time before Rose went off with Miles. The truth was that Dorothy wanted to be alone with Rose in case a scene ensued when they talked about what had happened the night before. When the house was empty Dorothy made her way over to Rose's room. She knocked on the door and said
"Rose, honey may I come in?" At first there was no response. "I think we need to talk, and I feel really bad Rose, so please," she added.
"Come in then," Rose said in a low voice. Rose refused to look her friend in the eyes at first. Dorothy had the feeling that Rose knew exactly what had happened. "I'm guessing you know what happened," Dorothy said. "I feel just horrible and want to make it up to you anyway I can," she added. Rose turned to Dorothy and said,
"I'm very hurt and mad, but there is one thing that you could do. In St. Olof when someone betrays a friend they have to get on their knees and beg for forgiveness," Rose said. Dorothy got on her feet and politely asked Rose for her forgiveness and her understanding. "The tradition also says you have to kiss my feet," Rose added.
"Rose that seems a bit extreme," Dorothy said.
"If you don't kiss my feet, I won't forgive you," Rose exclaimed.
Dorothy bent down to kiss her friend's feet and Rose was swift to make her move. In one quick move she had the collar clasped around Dorothy's neck. At first Dorothy was not sure what was happening. She went to stand up and felt something holding her back. It was then that she noticed the collar around her neck. She looked at Rose with a confused look. Dorothy attempted to unlatch the collar but Rose picked up the crop and smacked Dorothy's hand away. Dorothy cried out in pain and surprise. "No, no, no," Rose said. At that moment Rose untied her robe and let it fall to the ground exposing the leather outfit she wore underneath. Dorothy was so shocked that she was at a loss for words and her eyes were filled with fear. Rose instructed Dorothy to climb up on the coffee table and get on her hands and knees. Dorothy hesitated and Rose struck her again with the crop, this time on her side. Dorothy winced and moaned as she climbed on the table.
