CHAPTER EIGHT
For the next few months, their relationship grew steadily closer. The
fact that it was impractical to see each other during the week had
both good and bad effects. On the good side, they both built up
tremendous amounts of sexual energy, which they channeled into amazing
weekend performances. They spent enough pleasurable, quality time
together that they began discussing the possibility of marriage. The
bad side was that the limited time they had together was a barrier to
the further development of their relationship.
They both felt that they had found their life partner, but it was
going to take some adjustments to make things work out. The first
order of business was for Monica to move into Cole's house. They
agreed that it would be best to live together as a further test of
their compatibility. Unfortunately, with Monica working downtown,
that would create the need for a very unpleasant commute. Until she
could find other employment, they would have to continue their current
arrangement.
Sitting in a small theater one evening, they waited for a foreign film
to start. Monica told Cole about her current work situation.
"Things have been deteriorating at work lately, Howard. The board
hired a new general manager about two months ago and things are
getting a lot more stressful. Mr. Weber thinks that terrorizing the
employees is the best way to generate maximum productivity. You know
things are getting bad when there's a sudden increase in the number of
Dilbert cartoons being passed around," she said wryly.
Reaching out to hold his hand, she continued, "I don't know why he's
on my case so much. My three clients are the happiest customers we
have."
Cole replied mischievously, "I think I'm your most satisfied
customer."
"You know what I mean," she responded with mock indignation. "My
favorite client is a medium sized software company in Redmond. I have
a hunch that they might be interested in having me work as their
employee rather than going through the agency. I'm going to ask
around next week and see how they feel about the idea. It would be an
easy commute from your house, lover," she said softly, close to his
ear.
Monica met with the personal director of the software company that
week. She was responsible for the highly successful marketing
campaign that had launched their new voice-activated medical software.
It turned out that they were definitely interested in her services and
she entered into a gradual negotiating process with the company
management.
In the meantime, Cole and Monica enjoyed each other whenever they
could. He began to introduce her to his friends, one or two at a
time. Mostly, he introduced her to his kinky friends. He thought
that they would be more accepting of their unusual relationship than
his vanilla friends, since they themselves often had unusual lifestyle
arrangements.
As she absorbed the never ending stream of scene gossip, Monica was
amazed at what interesting lives the scene people led. It was better
than any soap opera she had ever watched. She was always happy to
listen when one of Cole's old friends filled him in on the latest
developments. By avoiding scene events, he fell behind on the current
status of many people and their relationships, so he always asked his
friends for an update
One weekend, he introduced Monica to his friend Ron, a very dominant
gentleman with whom he had shared many secrets over the last few
years. Ron had even been something of a mentor to Cole, explaining
the mysterious art of psychological D/S play.
Ron had one belief that Cole found rather discouraging. He felt that
it was unfeasible for a couple to have a strong D/S relationship
within the confines of a healthy marriage. It was impossible, he
said, for the spouses to effectively share the responsibilities of
running the family while the dominant partner was controlling the
submissive partner. This seemed reasonable to Cole, but he was pretty
certain that he and Monica could find a sensible compromise.
Ron didn't have much going on in his life outside his play
relationship. With no job or marriage to maintain, he had plenty of
time to think up the most fiendish, but safe, torments for his deeply
submissive partner. To Cole, he represented both the dark side and
light side of BDSM. He was a classic example of someone who became so
wrapped up in their D/S play that they allowed their other interests
and responsibilities to languish. There was a definite chance that
people could become addicted to that dominant or submissive headspace
that they craved.
On the other hand, Ron was always an advocate of carefully negotiated,
mutually rewarding and above all safe, kinky play. People often
referred newcomers to him, because they knew that the newbies would be
in good hands and get good information to start them off.
When Cole had first entered the Seattle scene, he was initially
impressed with the general atmosphere of healthy openness and
acceptance. People who had openly admitted that they were kinky
somehow seemed emotionally healthier than the average person who
feared to admit that they fantasized about something unusual. After a
few years of contact with the same group of people, he began to
realize that the scene folk were just as messed up as everyone else,
maybe more so. It took a long time, but he eventually learned the
hard way that scene people were not to be trusted any more than
non-scene people.
A popular topic of conversation was how many of the submissives had a
history of abuse. Many of the female subs had been abused in
childhood and many of the male submissives had been abused in earlier
relationships. Not all of them, by any means, so that no theory ever
seemed to apply to everyone. It made for some great email wars on the
internet along with the perennial favorite, 24/7 relationships and
TPE.
TPE, the abbreviation for Total Power Exchange, was used for couples
who agreed that the dominant partner would have total control of the
submissive partner at all times. 24/7 referred to a related concept
where a couple would stay in dominant and submissive roles twenty four
hours a day, seven days a week. There were always some couples who
claimed that they lived such a lifestyle and there were always novices
who eagerly asked questions about how they could find that sort of
bliss for themselves.
Many D/S couples put a great deal of thought into their arrangements.
It was popular to have a written contract between the two partners
describing, sometimes in great detail, which rights and
responsibilities each partner would have. The contracts were legally
worthless at best, but it made a great topic for endless discussion.
In reality, the number of couples who were able maintain a
relationship of this type was extremely small. Almost invariably, the
requirements of maintaining one's job and family prevented them from
achieving their goal for more than a short time. The more intense the
D/S, the quicker it burned itself out. Cole and Monica talked about
this on several occasions.
Monica seemed to crave submission more than Cole needed to dominate.
Perhaps it was just his greater age and maturity helping him to
moderate his inner urges. They rejected the idea of attempting a 24/7
lifestyle relationship. There was just too much going on in their
lives to think that such a venture could be successful. They both had
demanding careers and of course they were trying to build a strong
healthy relationship that would hopefully lead to a successful
marriage. Simply indulging their kinky desires whenever they both
felt like it seemed like the most practical approach.
Because of their age difference, Cole felt a responsibility to allow
her to live her life with as much freedom as possible. He made sure
that she had time to visit her friends and to stay in touch with her
family in Idaho. Unfortunately, her family was not pleased with her
selection of a man so much older. Most of the time they had little to
say to each other.
Monica usually had her weeknights free, so she always managed to see
her friend Jennifer at least once a week. They would meet at a bar
downtown or relax and chatter endlessly in each other's apartments
until midnight or so, when they remembered that they both had to work
the next morning. Jennifer was a secretary in one of the giant office
towers downtown. She frequently complained that she was hired for her
exotic looks rather than her abilities, which were considerable.
The two women were at least a little bit in love with each other.
Perhaps because of her own poor body image, Monica was attracted to
Jennifer by her very thin body. Occasionally they would tease each
other with a little kiss or a hint of future lovemaking, but they also
discussed their mutual need to submit to a strong, caring man.
Jennifer had grown up a bit confused about her goals. Her father's
Chinese relatives expected her to marry a nice Chinese boy and have
many babies. Her mother's French relatives who had migrated from
Quebec several decades ago, felt that she should follow her heart.
She believed that she had received a double dose of submissiveness
from her parents. Her father was influenced by the old fashioned male
dominant Chinese culture that his own parents had practiced. Her
mother must have been naturally submissive, because she seemed to
thrive in that culture and always deferred to her father.
Two years older than Monica, at twenty eight, Jennifer still hadn't
had a satisfying relationship with a man. The Chinese-American men
she had dated were shocked when she hinted that she might like to be
put over their knee and spanked. It was very embarrassing. The white
guys she went out with wanted to treat her like a little princess and
wouldn't even think of getting rough in the bedroom. It was very
frustrating.
Her envy of Monica was strong, but her delight at seeing her friend
find happiness was even stronger. She could hardly wait for their
weekly dates to hear the latest details of the rapidly developing
romance. Finally, she was invited to meet Howard. The three of them
arranged to meet for dinner one Saturday night at his house.
Jennifer arrived at seven o'clock and found them cooking dinner
together in a most domestic fashion. They did not seem to be in role
at all, she thought with some disappointment. She did find Cole
attractive, perhaps conditioned by Chinese culture to accept older
men. Perhaps it was just the fact the she knew he was dominant
sexually. He was actually quite fit and handsome, if you liked the
beard and mustache. She noticed that he had a hint of gray in his
dark beard and she could see the love in his eyes when he looked at
Monica.
Cole was impressed with Jennifer. She seemed very intelligent, but
he could see why she might have been hired for her looks. Her face
was a very exotic combination of European and Asian qualities. Her
large exotic eyes and sexy jawline combined with her silky black hair
to create an eye-catching, delicate beauty. The only thing that
spoiled the effect for him was her lack of womanly curves. She wore a
loose fitting sweater and baggy jeans that did nothing to enhance her
small figure.
After an excellent dinner and a few glasses of wine, she worked up her
courage and asked politely if she could see the dungeon. Cole and
Monica looked at each other with slightly raised eyebrows. "Do you
think she's ready for that?" he asked.
Monica looked closely at her friend and asked, "Jenny, are you sure?
You'll have to promise not to tell anyone else."
"I promise. Please, I'd really like to see it. It's something I've
been thinking about for a long time."
They led her down the stairs and allowed her to explore the dungeon as
long as she wanted. She asked several questions about the specialized
play furniture, which Cole answered as honestly as possible. She
seemed to know what the bondage gear and various striking instruments
were for. When she had seen enough, she simply said, "OK, thanks, it
looks really great."
They went back upstairs and chatted for the rest of the evening.
After Jennifer had gone, they both noted that her behavior was a bit
strange.
As they straightened up the kitchen, Cole said, "She was certainly
feeling some kinky urges downstairs. Did you notice her sniffing the
leather play furniture?
"I didn't see that, but I could sure feel some erotic energy when she
bent herself over that spanking bench. I guess we're really lucky to
have each other. There must be a lot of people out there who don't
have anyone to share their kinky secrets with."
That night, they held each other a little longer than usual before
drifting off to sleep.
