About a week later, Raheem and his girlfriend Nik were at home. She was on the phone with a client, growing irritated. "No, I don't accept slut cards. If you want to kneel naked at my feet, you will pay for that service."
After she hung up, Raheem smiled at her. "Do you get that a lot, now?"
"Since the Katrine Moody video. It's a lot easier for guys to get slut cards now, apparently."
"The idea that you could try to pay a dominatrix with a slut card is hilarious. They figure they get the same thing if their number comes up or if it doesn't. And it never occurs to them that the domme needs to actually get paid somehow."
In the casual way that couples do, they continued to share their thoughts about the now-famous video. Raheem said he thought that Pines seemed like a creep. Nik agreed, but was more interested in the business than in the personality of one person. She told him that she had been thinking a lot about both the video and slut cards.
"I'm pissed off at that company, too. How could they reject T?"
"The first roll-out of slut cards was really just a way of getting attention, and they were trying to appeal to the average customer. They gave out cards to the absolute hottest people in the world, and a ratio of about ten women for every man got one." Nik said.
"But now it's easier for guys to get them? I wasn't paying attention to that dynamic value talk at the end. Did you actually understand that part of the video?"
"I was doing some research on it. By the way, I think you should get one," Nik said.
Raheem looked up from his dinner in surprise. It was his night to cook, so he had made a veggie lasagne and a side salad with dried cherries and orange slices. They were both sitting on a couch, facing the computer that they used as a TV. Nik was in a dramatic set of silky pyjamas and had her still-damp hair up in curlers. "Really?"
"I think it would be good for you. You said you've been worried about falling off the balance beam, right? You're about to graduate your fancy law school. After that, you'll spend almost a year clerking at the Court of Appeal. You're a long way from being that entertaining pervert who was poor as dirt but dressed like a Muslim version of Jimmy Stewart."
Raheem paused in consideration. "The balance beam," he mused. It was his word for an eternal question. "I dress like an accountant, but I am shacked up with a dominatrix and seek out sexual adventure at every opportunity. I have been wondering if being a lawyer pulls me over to the side of normal, boring people?"
"I think that getting a card, and using it every once in a while, will help you feel like you're still connected to your roots as a sexual outlaw. Imagine how shocked people will be to look at you, in your little khaki pants, whipping out a slut card."
Raheem smiled with a distant look in his eyes. Then he shook himself. "My problem is that I don't like taking it in the ass."
Nik smiled at him a little.
"At least, not unless it is a special occasion."
"That's the beauty of the new dynamic value thing. In the new system you can select a list of things you won't do, even if you lose. The dollar value of your time goes down, but it allows for more control."
"I'll think about it." Raheem said. "Let me get these dishes washed."
* * *
Still ambivalent, but willing to give the card a try, Nik and Raheem went to a nearby mall during its adults-only hours.
Just to remind you: this was a long time ago, so there were no adults-only malls and only a few adults-only stores. What was more common was for the regular malls banned people under 18 during Thursday nights, which allowed for people to use slut cards or buy sex in other forms. Movie theatres would show porn movies, and furniture stores wrapped sofas and beds in plastic so that prospective customers could test out fucking on them.
Raheem looked over at the stall with the Hitch logo, and then turned away. "I just remembered that I was going to try to get one of those silicon baking mats," Raheem said to Nik. "Do you think the Kitchen Stuff Plus is open?"
"I'm sure it is. Do you want to get your card first, or..."
"I said I would get the card today. I'm not using it today." He said, then looked at her with a bit of pleading in his eyes. "I'm still not sure about this."
Nik nodded, patiently.
They arrived at the large store, packed with all sorts of domestic odds and ends. Garishly coloured bath mats and oven mitts hung or racks, along with single-use gadgets like avocado slicerd or various different variations of garlic press.
Given that it was adults-only hours, it was not entirely surprising that there was also a woman prominently displayed naked on one of the central display points. A sign above her head said "Free for ten minutes with any purchase over $30. Additional time: $20/ 15 minutes. No anal."
"Well, this is a nice bonus," Nik said, her eyes predatory as she stared at the woman. "I bet I could convince them to let me try out some of the kitchen stuff on this unfortunate shopper."
Raheem, knowing Nik's love of using everyday items in nefarious ways, smiled at the thought. "It's not like you want to fuck her; just see how you like swinging a spatula against her ass. Shouldn't count towards the time limit."
The woman's eyes widened. She had pale skin and seemed to be about thirty-five years old. Her clothes were probably behind the counter, so it was hard to guess what she normally looked like, aside from the fact that she wore her straight brown hair in a simple ponytail and wore only a bit of eyeliner and lipstick as makeup.
It clearly alarmed her to hear the seemingly wholesome couple discuss spanking her with a spatula.
