Chapter 5
By the time that Tabitha and Bradley made their way back to studio, it was just after sunset. They came through the front door and back into the studio area. Everything looked in good order, except for the circle of chairs arranged in front of the raised platform.
Just as they were wondering why, Alison and Maria trundled down the staircase from Bradley's living space. They were just finishing up a movie and came down to start prepping for dinner. The four embraced, cracked open a bottle of white wine, and regaled each other with stories from the weekend.
Tabitha and Bradley's story elicited hugs and a few happy tears. Alison's and Maria's recounting inspired an ovation from Bradley and Tabitha. Laughter and ribbing ensued, and they moved from salads to entrees to a light dessert. As they were clearing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, they talked about the coming week. Each of them had more mundane things to attend to...work, projects, errands and general home upkeep. As such, they would all head back to their respective homes until Friday.
As there was no formal commitment between any of the four of them, they all logically felt that they probably should keep separate residences. All of them, though, were beginning to wonder if that was necessary. None spoke about this, but it was there all the same...
Before splitting up for the week, they did confirm that this weekend, Bradley and Alison would be paired up. A sharp pang hit Tabitha immediately. She might as well admit to herself, she thought, that she was in love with Bradley, and at the same time still protective of her relationship with Alison. The immediate reaction to Bradley and Alison being together was something close to panic. She looked at both of their faces, though, and sensed that it would be okay. She had had that same reaction to being apart from Alison at the beginning of the weekend. She could feel that Alison looked at her with as much passion, honesty and attachment as when the weekend began.
Bradley, astutely recognizing that that emotion within Tabitha was to be expected, looked into her eyes, with an expression that indicated that there was nothing that could quench his love for her. With a deep breath, Tabitha suspended any reservations and decided to trust it.
This also meant that Maria and Tabitha would be spending their first significant time together. Other than thoroughly comfortable and enjoyable conversations, there had been no sexual contact between them.
"Purely circumstance", thought Tabitha. She thought Maria might be the most beautiful specimen of womanhood she had ever seen. She was curvy in the most voluptuously positive way. Her full red lips, her dark eyes, her plunging cleavage. She was the ideal of beauty. She was breathtaking to look at dressed in her dominatrix outfit. She really knew how to wow an audience.
She was nice and she was funny. Of all of them, Maria kept the group laughing, with an innate sense of timing. She was emotionally aware. Seemingly effortlessly, she could read a room. She could read expressions and body language easily, which allowed her to anticipate other's needs. She was emotionally generous...she enjoyed anticipating people's needs and delighting them by fulfilling them.
Such was the case for Maria while observed Tabitha...she wanted her to feel safe with all of this. Hey, in the beginning she had been a little lost, too, with the complexity of this very dynamic set of relationships. She also noticed how quickly Tabitha became attached, first to Alison, and then to Bradley. She noticed those first reactions of fear of loss both times. Maria would have to think about the best way to establish trust and comfort with Tabitha, but was confident that she could.
During the week, Maria invited her out to lunch on Wednesday at a nearby café. It was a beautiful, sunny and warm day, so Tabitha decided to walk to lunch, which was about a mile from her uptown apartment. As she got nearer the destination, she felt some butterflies that originated both from nervousness and excitement.
With Alison, there was barely any time to be nervous before they were naked together, other than that short, breathless time on the bus. With Bradley, there were the first date jitters that were dispensed with quickly enough. Since Maria was the last of the group to get to know well, she was having those same pangs. She was mostly excited, though. The time with Maria during dinners together had been easy and enjoyable...she could tell that Maria was extraordinarily comfortable with herself and with others.
As she turned the last corner on the way to the café, Tabitha remembered in detail the vivid domination scene between Maria and Alison. Tabitha hadn't even really seen any porn like that, and for it to involve her new lover, Alison, was shocking and riveting. She had masturbated to that scene several times in the interim.
She was attracted to the submission, the welts forming on Alison's vulnerable bottom and especially to the strength and beauty of the woman delivering the punishment. Remembering this made her damp inside her pretty flowered panties and caused her cheeks to flush red. She tried to shake off the feeling as she saw Maria, who was already seated at a table on the patio facing the sidewalk.
Maria rose to embrace Tabitha with obvious warmth. Maria was excited, too. Like Alison and Bradley before her, she was enrapt by Tabitha's beauty. And so she was today, dressed in a light blue sundress with golden flowers, sandals, her trademark toe ring, with her hair done up in a ponytail. As usual, no make up was necessary...her beauty radiated naturally.
Maria had already ordered a bottle of sauvignon blanc, along with some breadsticks and sparkling water. They toasted each other and the weekend to come, which generated a shudder of excitement in both of them.
Maria noted Tabitha's glow, and Tabitha saw no reason not to admit to the cause.
She said that she had been rerunning her and Alison's scene as she was walking over. Maria feigned embarrassment and waved it off with a giggle. She did say that she loved doing those scenes with Alison, and was thankful that Alison was so turned on by being on the receiving end. She asked Tabitha if she had ever messed around with that kind of thing, to which Tabitha admitted that she hadn't and said, "but according to the state of my wet panties, I'm obviously intrigued."
"Intrigued how," Maria asked, "as the whipper or the whipee?"
"Well, I haven't been on either side of that equation," mused Tabitha, "so I supposed I'm not sure."
Upon reflection, though, she said that she was undoubtedly on the submissive side of the fence. She wasn't sure she would ever be ready for the severity of punishment that she observed Alison enduring, but she thought the vulnerability and giving over of control would be something she'd be interested in. She was also intrigued at the notion of being dominated, or being forced to perform acts under threat of swift correction.
If Maria, was willing, she'd be interested in having those experiences. Maria simply nodded, and they enjoyed the rest of their lunch without bringing the topic up again.
Shortly after lunch, though, and prior to meeting again at Bradley's place on Friday, Maria began a series of texts to Tabitha, already assuming the tone and role as dominatrix.
"This weekend, you will be treated with care, but also with strictness. If it any time you want to take a breather, you need to say 'HALT'. If you're unable to speak, you will tap your foot three times rapidly."
"You may touch yourself as much as you'd like this week, but under no circumstance are you allowed to climax. All your orgasms will be with my permission only"
"When we meet on Friday, you will neither wear a bra nor panties"
"Bradley and Alison will no doubt want to be intimate with you before they leave. You are not to succumb to their advances. You are mine and mine only to enjoy until dinner on Sunday."
"You will not question me. You will immediately and thoroughly carry out all tasks. The pleasure you are allowed to experience...or pain...will be directly related to your performance."
"Finally, you will address me as Madam."
