Regina locked the bathroom door behind her with a sigh of deep relief that felt like it came all the way up from her very soul. It wasn't that she was all that worried about being interrupted-Shaneia wasn't going to be back for hours, and even if her roommate got sent home from work or something, she knew better to walk into the bathroom when the door was closed. But locking the door made Regina feel like the space belonged to her. It made the room into a tiny little bubble of peace and quiet with the whole world on the other side. After a long day of absolutely non-stop bullshit, Regina needed that for a little while.
She began to prepare the bath, twisting the ancient taps back and forth and putting two fingers under the running water to judge the temperature. Only when she felt the perfect amount of heat against her umber skin did Regina push in the thick rubber plug and let the tub fill up at last. A drizzle of bath oil filled the room with the scent of roses, an aroma so comfortably associated with relaxation for Regina that her momentary irritation with their outdated plumbing and their cheap landlord faded away almost instantly.
She took her phone out of the pocket of the sheer pink satin robe, starting up her 'Me Time' playlist before setting the device on the counter by the sink. Slow, soft instrumental music filled the thickly-scented air, with a thrumming bass sound that practically massaged Regina's eardrums with every measure. She let out another long, deep sigh, releasing more and more tension with each breath as she doffed her robe and slid her panties down her long, smooth legs. "God, I fucking needed this," she murmured to herself, stepping out of her underwear and into the bath.
She sank slowly into the hot water, giving herself a moment to get used to the intense warmth that seeped into her skin and relaxed her muscles into soft, dreamy lassitude. Only when she was sure that she'd adjusted did she lay back against the ceramic surface and let the water buoy her body gently up until she floated in perfect, rose-scented peace and tranquility. (With some parts floating a little bit higher than others-Regina had long ago given up trying to keep her pendulous breasts fully submerged in the tub.)
This was exactly what she needed. No clients demanding status reports on work that they ordered just three hours prior, no obnoxious bosses who kept confusing her with the only other black woman in the office, no dreary commutes or uncomfortable dress codes or awkward coworkers. Just soft music, warm water lapping gently at her skin, and the scent of roses filling her lungs with every deep, lazy breath. Regina could feel the tension melting out of her muscles, the drowsy heat seeping into her body deeper and deeper. She didn't have anywhere to be, she didn't have anything to do, and she was all by herself for hours. It felt... it felt wonderful.
Regina let out another sigh, her eyes slipping shut and her forehead relaxing away furrows of stress she didn't even know were there as she melted deeper into lazy bliss. "I'm an empty, obedient fucktoy," she murmured to herself, the words coming out in a soft, breathy whisper that even she could barely hear under the gentle music coming from her phone. A slow, drowsy smile spread across her lips, the sound of her own sleepy voice wrapping her mind up in familiar and comfortable tranquility before she thought about what she was saying.
Then she did think about it, and her eyes fluttered slowly open in bewilderment as the meaning of the words hit her. Why did she just say that? Regina realized that she didn't actually know. She'd just been floating there, her mind not on anything in particular, and suddenly she'd felt this slow, insistent tug in the back of her head and that sentence had just... popped out. Like it just waiting for her to say it all along. Like the whole bath was just an excuse to lie back in the warm water and whisper to herself, "I'm an empty, obedient fucktoy."
Regina realized she hadn't just thought the words. She'd said them out loud. Again. They'd simply slipped out, like she was so used to saying them that the moment they popped into her head, her lips moved automatically and her breath went out in a slow, lazy sigh of peace and pleasure and she found herself repeating, "I'm an empty, obedient fucktoy." Exactly like that, she suddenly noticed, hearing her drowsy voice repeating the words for a third time. Just exactly like that.