Diagnosing A Fetish Ch 11

"You sure about this?" It was the third time I had asked the question in the past hour. The seventh since this morning. It had gotten to the point where Kat didn't even answer. She barely reacted; the subtle eye roll likely being missed by anyone but me.

We had been 'officially dating' for almost a month now. Which for most might not seem significant, but it was for me. Honestly, I was just surprised she had stuck around this long. I know it was my unhealthy pessimistic attitude talking - something Dr. Morse had been working with me to resolve - but I still felt like Kat was way out of my league.

From the bed, I watched her fuss with her hair in the mirror, as she had been doing for the last twenty minutes. It was cute seeing her like this. She would be the first to admit it, but it was rare Kat got overly dressed up. Don't get me wrong, she always looked

good

, but her work-from-home job and general introverted attitude meant it was rare for her to pull out nice clothes and do her hair and makeup.

The few times she had while we'd been together, though, it was always a lengthy process. In a way, it made me feel like the stereotypical man of the relationship, always waiting for their girlfriend to get ready, asking how long she was going to take, etc. In another, it made me question if I was doing enough. Back to the 'out of my league' thoughts.

"Seriously though. I know I'm being annoying, asking you so many times and all, but it's... if it's not in your comfort zone... We could always go see a movie or something is all I'm saying."

"Mallory," she mumbled, bobby pin in her mouth as her hands worked diligently to wrestle her hair into a messy bun, her natural curls spilling out the top. Her eyes met mine in the vanity mirror, a stern gaze that I had come to recognize well. "We've been over this."

It shut me up long enough to let her finish.

Snapping closed her pallet of eye shadow, she cleared the top of her makeup vanity before joining me on the edge of the bed, sinking into the mattress. Taking my hands in hers, she looked deep into my eyes. "Do

you

want to go? I get the feeling that some of this uncertainty might be a projection on your part."

I struggled to maintain eye contact with her, managing for a few seconds before casting my gaze to the floor. "Yeah, I think so. I'm not intentionally sabotaging this if that's what you mean. Maybe I'm a little nervous, though."

I melted into her as she kissed my forehead, her lips lingering only for a second before moving to my ear. "Then I do too." Her breath was hot on my skin as she whispered, an involuntary shiver running up my spine. I could feel my face turn warm with my blush as she stood.

"How do I look?" Kat asked, giving a quick spin to show off her outfit, "Appropriate?"

She was wearing a black, sleeveless halter top that cut just above her belly button. It showed off her - surprisingly toned, if I was being honest - stomach, and the low cut meant the same for her chest. Below that were loose-fitting cargo pants and some cargo boots, both of which were black. It was a common theme amongst most of her clothes, I realized.

"Better than me," I remarked, tugging upward on the collar of my shirt.

It was a struggle to find something for me to wear in my closet. I believe Kat described it as 'clothes for a sad businesswoman.' She made sure to let me know she was joking three times, but it didn't mean she was wrong. It was a fair assessment that fashion was not my strong suit, and it didn't help that I had been clothes shopping for at least a year now. Something she promised to rectify.

In turn, we came over to her apartment to find me something from her closet. Which was a good idea in theory, but reality was often disappointing. The first problem being our difference in body type. So to say, my

generous

chest compared to Kat's more modest one. Not necessarily small, but definitely

smaller

than mine.

She tried to go bulky, but the long-sleeved, off-shoulder top looked fitted, shall we say. One positive was that wasn't black, making it one of the few pieces of color in her collection. It was navy, though, so not

that

different. On the bottom, I thankfully found an old pair of ripped grey jeans she deemed suitable.

"Stop doing that," Kat slapped by hand away from the shirt. "You're already stretching it out." To prove her point, she gave a sharp poke to my cleavage.

"I think you want me to stretch it out and give you an excuse to get rid of it. It's not black, after all."

She just rolled her eyes in response, turning to take another look at herself in the mirror. "Seriously though, is this okay?"

"I don't know, I've never been to a fetish club before."

Kat turned around, her face a mixture of confusion and annoyance. "You have. You've literally been to this

exact

fetish club."

"Okay, yes, technically. But not during an event like this."

"What did the invite say? Did it make any mention of clothing?"

I pulled up the email Lucy had sent me on my phone. It was ironic. Two months after my bender from going to RAE, I was now returning with my girlfriend in tow. And it was the request of Dr. Morse, no less. She had asked Lucy to invite me, though Dr. Morse assured me she wasn't attending herself.

"Just says 'Fetish night for like-minded women. 10:00 pm to 3:00 am. Invite only.' Nothing about clothing." I tried zooming in on the picture but found no secret text that disclosed a dress code. "I'm sure what you're wearing is fine. You look hot. If not a little stereotypically gay."

"It's a lesbian fetish party," Kat snorted, "I think that's the point."

"Well, you're killing it, then." Standing from the bed, I gave her ass a quick smack before wrapping my arms around her waist. The smell of her rosemary shampoo filled my nose as I buried my face into the back of her head. "Thanks for coming with me," I muttered into her neck.

"Of course." Turning her upper body, she planted a tender kiss on my lips. "Ready?"

"Yes. I've been ready for an hour because I was planning on arriving

on time

."

"Fashionably late is how you want to handle these things. Besides, I had to spend all my time getting you ready before I could get started on myself. Maybe if you-"

"Just... let's go," I cut off the tangent that I knew was inevitably coming, instead grabbing her hand and leading her to the door. I put on my winter jacket and Kat her leather jacket which, much to my annoyance, made her look somehow cooler and hotter. I didn't let her know that, though. I had to pretend like I was a

little

annoyed with her.

The drive there was, overall, uneventful. Something I could not say about our arrival. The last time I had gone to RAE - well, the last time I had gone to RAE while it was open - it had been at nine o'clock on a Tuesday. Or, in simpler terms, not exactly peak business hours. Tonight - ten-forty-five on a Saturday with an event going on - was an entirely different story.

The party may have been invite-only, but the commotion around the entrance indicated otherwise. Two women whom I assumed to be employees of the bar, though none I recognized, were standing outside the doors, directing in the women who lined the sidewalks.

Along with the neon sign lit prominently above the door, spotlights and lasers danced outside the building and I could hear music from inside as we pulled up. It seemed like Eve had put on quite the show.

"Okay, I know I gave you a lot of shit about asking me if I wanted to come here but are you sure about this? I'm still on board, but it seems like it might be..." Kat looked towards the building, flashing lights escaping the front door every time it opened, "A lot. Especially, y'know..."

Her face turned, something between pity and sadness coming across it. She didn't need to finish the sentence for me to know what she was talking about; my experiences at the bar so far hadn't exactly been the highlights of my life. I didn't want to think about that now. I had been trying to move on from my past for a long time, first with Dave, and now all this, it didn't seem like the time to give up.

Giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, I continued forward, joining the back of the line. "I'm sure. Just- Obviously I'll control myself, but if anything happens, make sure I don't drink. Sobriety has been good for me."

"Of course, you don't have to tell me that." I knew Kat had my back, but it didn't hurt to make sure. The fact that it made me a little warm inside when she went into protector mode was just a bonus.

Fortunately, since I was freezing my ass off outside, the line was orderly and moved fast. It was maybe less than a minute before we were faced with the two guards of the club. Whom, I didn't realize until we got close, were wearing perhaps the most stereotypical fetish club outfits you could think of.

Latex was the first word that came to mind, followed by leather. The former covered their entire bodies up to their necks in a skin-tight catsuit while the latter was strapped across their more

prominent

features. Like I said: stereotypical. I can't lie, though; it was

maybe

doing something for me.

"Hello, do you have your invitation?" the one on the left - a blonde with her hair pulled up in a tight ponytail - asked. I don't know why I expected a European accent (more stereotypes, maybe), but she sounded the same as anyone else from the area.

I held up my phone, open to the email I had received. After studying it for a couple of seconds, she nodded her head and turned to the second woman. "Red," she said, before turning back to me, "And this is your plus one?"

"Yes, this is Kat." The name was likely unnecessary I realized. But before I could correct myself - which was maybe for the best - her partner had returned.

"Hands please," she smiled, gesturing with the stamp she was holding.

Kat and I both obliged. 'Red' I quickly realized, was to notify the woman of which color of ink we were to receive, as was evident by the bold, red 'RAE' logo that was stamped on the back of our hands. What it meant, however, I had no idea. The fact that the people both in front of us and behind received blue didn't make matters any clearer.

There was no time to dwell on it, though, as - with a smile from both women, now - we were directed to enter the club. I believe the blonde whispered something about enjoying ourselves fully and I'm sure I caught her wink, but the whirlwind coming from inside the establishment gave me no time to process.

Given how loud the music was outside, I was expecting it to be worse when we got in. Surprisingly, however, it wasn't

too

extreme. I could hear myself think, and most people were able to converse with the people close to them without shouting. It wasn't

quiet

, though, and it was still a little overwhelming.

Inside there were a minimum of thirty women. Fortunately, there was enough space to move between them, but it was still packed. A few were standing around the bar, while others mingled and danced in the open area in the middle of the room.

As I looked around somewhat stunned, I couldn't help but let my eyes linger on a few of them. Risque was the word I would use to describe most of their outfits. So to say, there was no shortage of cleavage and ass - or just skin, for that matter - showing. Everything was cut low and short and was skin tight.

Fortunately, Kat was there to shake me out of my stupor and lead me towards a relatively less crowded section of the bar. Here, I was met with a more familiar face.

"Mallory," Lucy smiled as she nodded her head at me. As I had come to expect, her blonde hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail, but her outfit was noticeably different than our previous meetings.

Her once simple black t-shirt was replaced with something between a tube top and a corset, leather straps sinching her midsection and making her already decently sized chest all the more prominent. It was less extreme than the two bouncers outside, but still certainly fit into the category of a 'fetish party' outfit.

I was, admittedly, delayed in my response as I forced myself to pull my eyes away. A common theme for the night, it seemed. "Hello Lucy, how are you?"

"Busy," she replied earnestly. "I wasn't sure if you would come. After our last interaction, I have to say getting an email from Dr. Morse requesting that I invited you to this was a little strange."

"Things have changed a bit. Getting better, slowly."

"I can see that," she turned her attention to Kat, briefly looking the woman over before looking back to me. "Glad to hear it. Drinks?"

"Seltzer? Non-alcoholic, that is."

"Is grapefruit okay?" I nodded my response. "And for you?"

I could feel Kat's eyes on me, a hesitance echoing in her silence. "It's okay, you can drink."

"A dark and stormy, then."

"Sure, one sec." Lucy grabbed a glass from behind her, pulling down a bottle of rum before getting to work.

In the meantime, I turned to Kat. "You don't need to ask me permission to drink, you know. I'm the only one who's supposed to be sober."

"I know, I just felt bad. Maybe if I drank, then you would want to."

"That's sweet, but I'm not an alcoholic. You're good."

"Not

anymore

," she smiled, giving me a quick side hug. "Just kidding."

"One dark and stormy, and one seltzer." Lucy put a coaster down in front of each of us before setting our drinks on top. Kat's a professional-looking cocktail, and mine a simple can. Although, even when I was drinking, I was never the cocktail type.

"Mallory!" A voice - a quite

loud

voice - suddenly filled my left ear, an arm wrapping around my waist shortly after. "Who's this with you? Is my baby gay growing up?"

Lucy's previously friendly face turned sour. "Tina, leave her alone. And you met her once, stop treating her like your best friend."

I knew the voice was familiar. Turning, I was once again face to face with the tattooed mess of a woman I met on my first visit to RAE. In the couple of months since, she had changed her hair, the burgundy replaced with a mix of blue and purple. Although, it was hard to make out in the flashing lights of the bar.

"But it was a hell of a first impression." Despite her reply being directed at Lucy, I noticed that Tina hadn't taken her eyes off Kat.

"Hey Tina." I couldn't deny that I felt a little uncomfortable - likely noticeably so - with her unexpected arrival. As she had alluded to, our first - and only - time meeting was a lot, and a night I would rather not think about. Don't get me wrong, she seemed like a nice enough person, all be it a little intense sometimes.

When she leaned into my ear, my body involuntarily tensed, preparing itself for whatever was coming. I noticed from the corner of my eye that Kat, too, seemed to ready herself in case she needed to intervene. The preparation was unnecessary, however.

"I hope you're doing okay. I talked to Lucy a bit after you came last time - don't worry, nothing personal. But it sounds like you were going through some shit." Her voice was softer than normal, and I could tell from her tone that she was being sincere.

Seeing such a different side of the woman for the first time, I didn't know how to respond. Fortunately, I didn't have to, as Tina pulled away and all at once her boisterous personality returned. "You still haven't answered my question, by the way. Who'd you bring? A new girlfriend perhaps?"

"I'm Kat, nice to meet you." By the way she spoke and the look on her face, I could tell that Kat was still apprehensive about Tina. Although, I think most people might be upon first meeting her. "And yes, we are dating." She seemingly wanted to add 'so don't get any ideas' at the end, but the implication was enough.

"I'm proud. You picked a good one," Tina winked at me, a grin creeping across her lips. I had to question how much of this persona was an act and how much was the real her. "Don't worry though, I've got my own plus one tonight."

With a quick wave of her wrist, an unfamiliar woman appeared through the crowd on the dance floor and made her way over to us. Almost immediately, Tina released my waist in favor of this new woman's, pulling her tight to her hip.

"This is Mavis. Isn't she sexy?"

Mavis was short - especially so standing next to Tina, with almost a foot difference in their height. Her blonde hair was pulled into two braids, each resting on one of her shoulders, and her face was done up in surprisingly professional-looking makeup. In terms of her outfit, it was somewhere between hyper-feminine 'princess and unicorn' girl, and rave chick. The tight pink top, body glitter, rainbow nails, and black fishnets were all a strange dichotomy.

All that being said, I wasn't surprised to learn that this was Tina's type. Even with my limited knowledge of lesbian dating, I assumed she was the more masculine, dominant type who liked to seek out feminine - and in my case, inexperienced - women.

"Nice to meet you, Mavis." I accompanied my greeting with a wave of my hand, only to get stopped as Tina grabbed my wrist.

"What the hell, you got access to the back? That must've been expensive."

Two questions came to mind at that response, but I tackled the more pressing - and I guess mysterious one - first. "What do you mean the back?"

"Red stamp," Tina said, seemingly confused that I didn't understand what I meant. "You know, you pay extra and get the red stamp to let you in the back. Get to have some

real

fun."

And there was my second question again. "What do you mean pay?"

"Wait, you didn't pay?"

Lucy, who had been relatively silent so far, interjected. "Someone paid for the two of them. Now, leave them alone."

"You mean you?" Tina directed her attention towards the bartender. "When I asked you said you couldn't give out free tickets."

"No, not me," Lucy rolled her eyes.

I guess it made sense that people had to pay to be here. Why else would Eve throw such a seemingly expensive event? Until Tina brought it up, however, it wasn't something I considered. It didn't take much thinking for me to realize that it was Dr. Morse who had paid for my tickets. The fact that she paid more for all access and - according to Tina - a

lot

more, did make me unsure how to feel.

"Well, lucky you. I guess Mavis and I will see you back there then." Tina smiled, sliding her arm lower on the short blonde woman. From the way Mavis was squirming, I could only assume that Tina was groping her ass.

"No, you won't." Lucy, again, spoke from behind the bar. "You didn't pay, and I know there is no one out there who would pay for you. Besides, you were banned from the back after all the problems you caused last year."

I expected Tina to argue or be upset at the accusation, but a glint in her eye made me believe that she was at least semi-proud of whatever it was that caused her ban. "Killjoy," she smiled, her voice dripping with insincerity. "I guess we'll just have to have our fun in the bathroom."

"You know that's against the rules, too." I could tell that Lucy was already sick of the forced back and forth, her tone more tired than angry.

"We'll see. For now," Tina stepped back and blew an overly dramatic kiss in our direction, "It was nice meeting you, Kat. And very nice seeing you again, Mallory. If you ever feel like helping a girl sneak into the back, let me know."

With that, she and Mavis left, dissolving back into the crowd of women filling the dance floor. I had to admit that it almost felt as if a weight was lifted off my chest. Again, nice girl, but with a personality very opposite to my own.

"Sorry about her. If she wasn't one of the few people keeping this place open with her incessant need to drink and pick up women, she likely would have been banned a long time ago."