(You really must start by reading both Ch1 and Ch2 to understand this story and enjoy it. Trust me, it's worth the effort. As a reminder, in the tale I am 23, and Phil is in his late fifties. And you will recall that at the end of the last chapter, I held off masturbating until 7 am Saturday, as instructed by Phil. At 7:30 a grand bouquet of flowers arrived at my apartment, to the astonishment of my girlfriend Lori, who had returned from a trip the night before.)
At 7:45 a.m. that fateful Saturday morning, a text arrived from Phil. His formal tone, including his complete sentences even when texting, always made me smile: "I do hope you like the flowers, dear Jameson. They were sent with great affection. Do you have time for a bit of shopping today? I'd like to buy you some very expensive clothes."
I looked over at Lori as she made one of her enormous batches of oatmeal, prepared to take her through three meals and a full day of serious painting. Across the room stood a huge unfinished canvas (purchased with money borrowed from me, as I recall), depicting a series of large gray walls broken by only one straggling dandelion. She had been away from her work for nearly a week, and she had a grumpy look as she stirred the oatmeal and studied the canvas.
"Do you think it's cliché, the dandelion?" she asked me. "I think I hate the dandelion now."
"Not at all, Lori. It's not cliché as long as it's not too heroic of a dandelion."
"Good point," she replied. "Still, maybe I should lose it. Gawd, but art is painful!"
As she spoke, I texted back to Phil: "I would love to go shopping with you, dear man." I put the phrase "dear man" into the text because I could not decide between writing "Phil" and writing "Sir." This was a compromise, and if I had written "Sir," as I truly desired, it would have given me an erection. No kidding. But from that moment, "dear man" became my special greeting to him.
"Excellent," came the immediate reply. "Downtown coffee at Blue Bottle Cafe at 10, then I'll take you straight to a very special boutique. Dress in your tan slacks, light green polo, and brown loafers. We'll upgrade soon enough."
Already I was getting used to the idea that Phil would tell me exactly how to dress every time we were to meet up. I fingered the golden chain bracelet on my left wrist, which Lori had not yet noticed—if she ever would. Already, she seemed like someone I used to know long ago, rather than someone I currently shared a bed with.
"You're right," I said. "Lose the dandelion."
.................
Promptly at 9:55, my taxi dropped me showered, shaved, and dressed precisely as requested outside a hip little coffee shop downtown. I stood outside nervously. How would we interact? Would we act publicly as lovers? Would it be evident to others that he was, well...you know...
Phil's BMW pulled up seconds later. He had an actual chauffeur this time, a middle-aged Black man in casual clothing. Phil hopped out of the back seat and placed his hand possessively on my shoulder.
"With Carl at the wheel, we won't have to worry about parking all day," he grinned.
"Hello, Carl," I waved, trying to act nonchalant.
"Hello, Jameson. It's delightful to meet you," said Carl, leaning across with a friendly, even warm smile. I saw his eyes go to the golden chain bracelet, and I realized he knew what it meant. Then again came his warm smile.
"Give us about 40 minutes, Carl. I'll call."
"You got it, Mr. Phil," said Carl.
"He knows I hate it when he calls me 'Mr. Phil.' It's like an old movie," laughed Phil, as the car pulled away. Then he turned to look me in the eye, leaving his hand on my shoulder.
"Happy?" was all he said.
"Yes, I'm happy," I replied, amazed that our words echoed my very thoughts at 7 a.m.
"I'm so glad, Jameson. Let's sit and talk a bit before we go shopping."
"Sure thing, Phil."
"I will not embrace you in public until you say it is okay, dear boy. But it will be difficult for me to resist. In private, it will be quite different."
"I appreciate that, Phil."
"And I appreciate that you wore exactly what I asked, Jameson. Did you enjoy doing that for me?"
"Yes...yes, I did, Phil."
He smiled a broad smile now. "Perfect! And you look terrific in green. We'll have to see if we can find you a nice green jacket. Nothing too loud, but still green."
"Okay," I laughed.
"That's it, relax my boy. We're here to enjoy life together, Jameson. That's part of the human mission on Earth. To enjoy one another's company. We must all find ways to do that. This will be ours."
"I'm sure I'll relax, Sir."
"Ah," he said and smiled, for we both knew how that word "Sir" sounded in the bright sun of a Saturday morning. Another understanding passed between us. We went to sit down.
The coffee came, and we chatted a bit about work and architecture, comfortably as always. A major prize had just been awarded and Phil was full of disdain. "I completely object to this notion that architecture is about creating a piece of art to look at, regardless of how comfortable or practical it may be! Why can't we have both?" As always, I learned a great deal.
After refills, the subject returned to our impending relationship, and Phil made a bit of a speech.
"I need to make a couple of things clear, Jameson, before we continue—and again, I am thrilled that you have decided to continue. The first is that this is truly an 'affair.' I am far too old for you in the long run, and indeed, I may encourage you to have young lovers even now—as long as you are fully honest with me and I have full veto power over your choices. I am, after all, both your 'Sir' and your mentor."
"I...I guess I get that," I stumbled.
"Like everyone, you should eventually find a mate your own age, male or female, with whom to share life. For a time, I want you and I to deeply enjoy our relationship, and I hope we form a lifetime friendship—so I never want you to feel trapped—or ever think that you wasted any of your youth on me. As you know, I have already vetoed Lori. She sounds loathsome, and as I said Thursday, you shall never sleep with her again. We will discuss new living arrangements for you later this afternoon."
"Um ok, Phil," I replied, dazzled by this speech—and by the certainty and confidence with which he said everything. "That's a lot to process, but I think I'm good with it."
He smiled. "That was speech number one. Here's number two: I am a highly sexual being, Jameson. You know that already, and I believe you are highly sexual as well—certainly based on your ready responses Thursday night. Many times I have recalled you naked there in front of my picture window, opening your ass to my gaze and allowing me to hold you by the testicles...so wonderful! Well, I intend to make sure there is an erotic edge to almost everything we share. Let me lay out how that will work."
He called it the Obedience Game.