Our love life had been a bit stale as of late. Not too surprising--when you've known a girl for eight years and lived with her for four, you're bound to hit a few dry spells now and then.
The night before, as I turned out the lamp on the nightstand and slipped into the sheets, Gretchen told me that she had something planned that would get us out of our doldrums. She refused to tell me what it was, saying only that I'd have to wait until the next evening.
Needless to say, I had a hard time concentrating throughout the next day. Gretchen can be one hell of a tease, and even after eight years she still manages to surprise me. I counted down the hours, waiting for my lover to come home.
After we had dinner, Gretchen told me to go take a shower and clean up while she cleaned up the kitchen. I went back into the bedroom and stripped out of my work clothes, then into the bathroom where I turned on the shower and got in. My body was nearly shaking with anticipation, wondering what Gretchen had planned for me.
When I finished and got out, Gretchen was there waiting for me. She toweled off my body, sensuously but not too slow. With a brush she combed through my hair, leaving it straight and still wet. Finally, she produced an emerald green satin robe and slipped it on me from the back. It was a robe I hadn't seen before, and it was so short that it barely reached mid-thigh.
"Where'd this come from?" I asked.
"It's a gift," was all she said as she reached around my front to tie the sash around my waist. "Do you like it?"
I turned my neck around to look at her. "I love it. It feel so smooth on my skin."
I moved my mouth towards hers for a kiss, but she pulled her head back, denying me the taste of her luscious lips. I arched my eyebrows questioningly. "Not yet," was all the explanation that she offered. "Go into the bedroom and wait for me."
Gretchen closed the bathroom door behind me as I exited. I heard the shower turn on, but with the door closed I could only imagine her getting cleaned up for me. With nothing to do but wait, I looked around. The bed had been stripped of nearly all the bedding, leaving just the bottom sheet and the two pillows. I also noticed that Gretchen had placed a candle and a pack of matches on the dresser. I picked the candle up and brought it close to my face, inhaling the fragrance: vanilla, one of my favorites. Striking a match, I lit the candle, watching the flame as it began to burn and fill the room with the warm, sweet odor. The window was open and a light breeze lofted through, causing the flame to dance with the wind.
I was so mesmerized by the tiny fire that I hadn't noticed that Gretchen had finished. In the mirror over the dresser I saw her come out of the bathroom behind me, wearing a robe identical to the one she had given to me a few minutes before. I expected her to approach me, but instead she walked over to the window.
"I see you found the candle," she said as she turned the rod on the blinds. She didn't close them all the way, leaving enough of a gap to let the setting sunlight come partially through, causing the room to be bathed in a warm orangish-yellow glow.
Silently, Gretchen came over and took me by the hand, leading me over next to the bed. We were facing each other, standing so close that our breasts were nearly touching. She had a very serious look on her face and looked straight into my eyes, her deep blue eyes peering to the very bottom of my soul.
"Do you trust me?" she asked.
The question hung there for a minute. My first impulse was to blurt out: 'of course I do!', but I could tell that she wanted me to seriously consider her words. Did I trust her?
"Yes," I replied, that one simple word saying volumes. I would trust my life, my very soul to this woman.
Gretchen nodded her head. "Good," she replied. She reached into the pocket on the front of the robe and pulled out a black fabric blindfold. I wasn't all that surprised, as just the evening before we had read a story involving a blindfold and Gretchen had had a wicked little grin on her face. So I was somewhat expecting this part. What I didn't know was what she had planned after she put the blindfold on me.
She smiled slightly as she lifted the blindfold up over my eyes. I couldn't see a thing; it was pitch black. I could only feel her forearms on the side of my head as she tied the blindfold in place.
Next I felt her hands run over the smooth silk of my robe down to the sash, which she slowly untied. She pulled the robe back off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor in a pile at my feet.
Completely naked, I now stood before my lover. Gently, she ran her fingers over my body, gently tracing circles around my breasts. "You are so beautiful," she told me, speaking barely above a whisper. "You are so very special to me." She kissed my lips, briefly and only once.
"Lay down on the bed," Gretchen instructed me. With her arms she guided me down on my backside. The cool cotton of the sheet contrasted with the low heat that was beginning to build inside of me. "Lift your arms above your head," Gretchen said, even as she was folding my arms above me herself.
I felt Gretchen get up and move away. "Stay just like that," she said. "Don't move." I heard her walk over to the dresser and open a drawer, then she came back over to me. The next thing I knew I felt a silk scarf being wrapped around my wrists. That surprised me. On rare occasions we'd played around with restraints in the past, but never blindfolded. I started to say something, but then remembered Gretchen's question, hearing it within my head: 'Do you trust me?'
