Cecilia had reached a turning point in her new relationship. She had been dating her most recent boyfriend for slightly over four months and, all things considered, things were going pretty well. He was young, handsome, in excellent physical shape, and apparently either rich or at least very well off. He drove a new expensive Italian sports car-very stylish. He was always impeccably dressed when he picked her up at her apartment to go out to dinner or to a show. Unlike many of her previous boyfriends he never appeared distracted while they talked over a candlelight dinner or as they quietly strolled through downtown or her neighborhood as he escorted her home. Anthony seemed very interested in Cecilia's opinions and experiences, listening much more than speaking. He was always opening doors or lifting chairs for her; in short, he was a perfect gentleman. No, Anthony was perfect period.
Cecilia was pretty close to perfect herself. At 26 she was uncommonly good-looking, a bit on the tall side, 5'9" or so, exquisitely proportioned, and a natural blonde whose long tresses reached halfway down her back. Cecilia had an excellent position as an executive secretary for McCowan, O'Donnell and Stevens, a major in-town law firm specializing in real estate law. She pulled down an annual salary just shy of six figures but to earn that salary she had to work long hours which left her precious little time to cultivate relationships. Sometimes she went for as much as two weeks without spending any time together with Anthony. She had ended previous relationships because her boyfriends wanted more of her time than she had available to give and, when push came to shove, she could not give up the security that her hefty salary provided to her. As the only child of deceased parents, she knew that she was on her own. In the current economy the chances of her finding another job like the one she currently held were slim and none and, as her father used to say, "Slim was out of town." Her job came first and any man in her life, at least for the time being, had to both understand and be willing to carry on a relationship within those constraints.
This was not a problem for Anthony who seemed content to see her when she was available. Cecilia, who had gone by the nickname "CC" since she could remember, was grateful for Anthony's patience and understanding. Nevertheless, she felt a certain internal dissonance over this. On one hand she was relieved that he understood the demands of her career and how important it was to her. On the other hand, maybe just a little bit, she secretly wanted him to be a little more jealous of her commitment to work, but he never showed any signs of it. They never even discussed the issue. Somehow it was just understood that they would see each other when they could and enjoy each other's company.
Although their dates were infrequent, CC and Anthony's relationship was definitely not platonic. After the first few nights out together CC and Anthony had developed a healthy, if sparse, sex life and virtually every date ended with sex at her apartment. As they discovered each other's bodies and needs CC and Anthony grew more comfortable, more intimate, but by the fifth or sixth time making love together each had introduced one or two little "twists" in order to keep their love life fresh and interesting. Anthony had a thing for white blouses and encouraged CC to wear white whenever she was willing. He even bought her two or three expensive satin and silk tops which she wore to please him. He said that he liked the way that it clung to her skin and accentuated her figure. Moreover, he said, he liked the way that it felt to the touch, soft, silky smooth, and yet substantial. When they talked about it he confided to her that he liked her to go braless under the blouses so that he could gauge the extent of her arousal by the way her nipples protruded from the inside.
For her part, Cecelia was into role-playing. One night she would want to pretend that she was a famous actress and he was her chauffeur. He would call her "Madame" and purposefully tone down his manner, speaking only when spoken to and letting her take the lead. Another night she would be a farm girl and he would take on the persona of a cowboy drifter who'd been hired by her father to "work the ranch" during the harvest. He would arrive at her place, they always met at her place, in boots, denim, a cowboy hat, and three or four day's growth on his chin and face. He would become just a little more aggressive and she would play the innocent country girl. They both enjoyed the role-playing and the sex was out of this world.
One evening, while sipping wine over dinner at Figarello's, an expensive restaurant in the financial district near CC's law firm's offices Cecelia asked Anthony whether or not he had ever done a role-play involving bondage. He said "no," and that he had never "fancied being tied up."
She laughed out loud and then leaned across the dinner table, taking Anthony's hand in her own. "I don't want to tie you up, silly," she whispered with head bowed as if everyone in the room were listening to their conversation, "but ... I wouldn't mind it if maybe you wanted to tie me up. Helplessness is kind of a turn-on or at least I think that it might be. To tell you the truth, I've never been tied up, but when I see it in the movies it... I don't know... it kind of rivets my attention." Cecelia lifted her head and looked at her handsome date. "Before you ask, no, Anthony, I do not watch, nor do I have a secret stash of bondage-filled smut movies tucked away in my closet. I'm not talking about those kinds of movies; I'm talking about, I mean, you know, movies in which bad guys break in and tie up a housewife, or the heroine gets captured and ends up gagged with her arms tied in the air over her head, or in a chair or in a bed until the hero comes along and saves her- damsel in distress stuff. She lowered her head to whisper again. "The women always look so helpless and scared. It's definitely arousing." Finally, Cecelia slowly lifted her eyes to meet Anthony's whose own eyes were staring directly at the blonde beauty on the other side of the table-for-two. "Wanna try it?"