Monday afternoon moved at a brutal crawl by for Dave, who try is as he did, was unable to focus on his work. The image of Amber's brave steps towards something he never expected from her. If ever his daughter Haley were to find out that he had slept with her best friend, there would be hell to pay. This he knew for certain. Still, thoughts of her body, her movements, and her eagerness drifted continuously in his thoughts, and he was unable to push them away.
Their time together had been intense, but far too brief and constrained by both time and the need to keep nearly silent. Despite how much Dave had enjoyed it, he continued to circle back to these points. It had been wonderful, but the constraints weighed upon him. They floated at the forefront of his thoughts. As Monday passed him by, and soon it was time to leave the office and head to the gym, he focused on why it was this in particular that stuck out to him.
At the gym, he worked on his core, never wanting to be the middle-aged guy in the office with a sore back who could barely stand. After his sets, he laced up his shoes, looser on the ankle than normal, and began running around the track.
As it often did, the run cleared away the thousand distractions that blocked true perspective. All projects from work ceased to come into his mind, and instead, only his breathing mattered in that time. The familiar feeling of the run took over, with his breathing becoming steady, and letting his stride feel even. It dawned on him then, all at once, without having put any more effort into it. Dave remembered when he was married, long before his wife had gotten sick. She loved the slow burn, the gradual tease that built the tension towards her inevitable climax. He in turn loved and was aroused by dominating her in this way. It worked both ways and was always enjoyable. For the past many years after her passing, Dave had not bothered to date, as he was focused only on raising his daughter. Until the surprise encounter of last weekend with Amber, Dave had put such thoughts almost out of his mind completely. What nagged at Dave was how despite being pleasurable, the constraints on them in that place, in his own home, were alien to how he remembered his sex life.
And with that, the issue resolved, and he put the whole thing out of his mind. On one level, he considered what he did wrong. Amber was certainly a consenting, capable adult, but the connection to his daughter was too great to be ignored. He ate alone again that evening, as Haley was out with friends, enjoying her well-deserved time off at the beginning of summer break from university. In his study that evening, he found himself considering his earlier thoughts. Maybe it was time for him to consider dating again, now that his daughter was all grown up and beginning a life of her own.
A quick online search revealed a wide range of options. There were general dating sites, others that were for Christians only, or for Mormons, or same sex. He saw one named Tinder, read about how it functioned, and promptly laughed at the general idea. There were certainly no lack of options, he thought to himself. Before he could choose one, the front door opened, and laughter filled the hallway as his daughter walked inside.
Dave went out to meet her, and saw that she was walking up the stairs to her bedroom, while Amber stood at the door waiting.
"Hey dad," Haley called, "I needed to grab my jacket, it's supposed to be cool tonight and we're going to the pier with some friends."
Dave watched as Amber gave him a long stare, finally responding, "That's nice, honey."
Amber smiled, somewhat shyly, and approached Dave once they were alone. Whispering into his ear, she said, "I had such a good time with you," she slipped him something small, from her hand to his, before stepping back towards the door and looking away, almost embarrassed. Haley was coming back down the stairs, her jacket in hand.
"Night, dad," Haley said, and the two were out the door once more.
Dave remained in place, dumbfounded at how a young woman like Amber, inexperienced in the world, could disarm him so readily with hardly a few soft-spoken words. Unclenching his fist, the small piece of paper unfolded. "Text me" was scribbled in messy shorthand, with a phone number afterwards.
He paused in the hall, staring at the bit of creased paper. He walked back to his office, moving slowly with a light step. Back at the computer, Dave stared at the tabs on the screen. Reaching out, he took the mouse and hovered over the most recent tab. One by one, he closed each of the dating sites, and put the computer to sleep. With the slip of paper still in his hand, he walked out of the office and into the living room.
He poured himself a glass of scotch, and stepped out onto the deck. Sitting in the same lounger from only a few days before, when he shared the afternoon with Amber, he sipped at his drink, and though about how it had been years before.
The question came back to Dave: What did he enjoy most, before Natasha had passed away?
Years of fantasies ran through his mind. The preparation. The wait. The execution. Soon his glass was empty, and his mind filled with certainty and purpose. He stepped back inside and was back at the computer, having found a website that had everything he needed, and would ship overnight. He began researching the location as well. The weather. Finally, the chauffeur.
In less than an hour, everything was set. Finally, he set down the piece of paper from his hand, having held it ever since she had slipped it to him. Dave took out his phone, and sent Amber the message.
"This Friday, are you free?"
The message went out, and not even thirty seconds later, the reply came in.
"Yes!"
Dave appreciated her enthusiasm, and moved to the pertinent questions at hand.
"Do you remember when we were on the couch, and I pinned your arms down? I felt as though you enjoyed that. The feeling of being held down, unable to move."
The reply was not as immediate this time. A minute passed, and then:
"I did. I really, really liked it"
Dave nodded. This was no surprise. He remembered the feeling. He recalled how some of his past girlfriends, but not all, craved the domination, the feeling of being totally and utterly dominated and restrained. He wrote again.
"This Friday, I know that my daughter is going up North to visit her cousins. I have a meeting with a client I cannot miss on Sunday, so I won't be going. For Friday, you'll need to do two things."
"Two things?" came the reply.
"You'll need to have a friend cover for you, to say you'll be staying at a friends house."
"Got it! What else?"