Sleeping with a Friend

Madame Sanguin

When in college, I studied sociology and psychology. I became intrigued by the behavior of people. When I was a research assistant I wrote my thesis paper on a dominatrix that I met through an agency. Her name was Madame Sanguin. She always dressed in black, but her lips and nails were always a bright shade of red. I asked her if there was any significance, and she told me, "Sanguin, young one, translates to blood". That woman had some stories to tell.

She started off as a burlesque dancer. Madame told me that it had used to be a comedic aspect of an informal striptease, but by the 1930s the comedy portion was foreshadowed by the striptease itself. But, by the 1940s burlesque had lost its popularity. Madame decided to change her image and her line of work. She had posed for magazines and became a pin up model in the 1950s. Her prize possession, still after all of the things she had done in her life, was a picture of her and thee Bette Paige. It wasn't anything fancy, just of the two of them, normal, on the beach, jumping in the air. Bette had been one of her dearest friends, but one Madame started in the dominating business they had lost touch.

It was in the late 1950s when Madame first was intrigued by bondage. It was unladylike for a woman then to be associated with such unspeakable things. There was a photographer who said that she had the appeal for a new kind of subculture that had been demanding for photos. And that's when she was introduced to world of bondage. She had said that she was able to read people, and the people in this subculture had been some of the most complex and intelligent she had met in her life. Doing everything in her power she wanted to learn more about this bondage thing. She told me it was divided up into different types, depending on its motivation. There was bondage for purpose, decoration, torture, film, and meditation.

She didn't realize just how many people were interested in this subculture. This mad eher one of the best in the business. She had so many men and women as clients. Many of them were doctors, lawyers, teachers, athletes, couples, and politicians.

Madame had once told me that I reminded her of herself at my age. A little wet behind the ears, but willing to learn and willing to grow. That's when she started telling me how her business worked. She told me to always take safety precautions, and if I didn't feel comfortable with doing something, then I shouldn't be doing it, until I learn how it should be done. Even on how she kept all of her clients organized. She had given them pseudonyms, it was apparently easier to categorize them. She had gone to college and studied the same as I had, but branched off into the other areas to gain knowledge of pleasure and torture.

She became my mentor, especially when I graduated, fired from the research facility, and undecided on what to do with the rest of my life. But, as in life, one door closes and another door opens. She bestowed me with some of her juiciest secrets, her guidelines of the business, and even some of her clients before she bowed out and retired. I owed her everything. After studying her I have been able to double her numbers, and learn a few extra things myself. She told me to take up dancing, cooking, painting, and even elocution classes. Wear a mask, to always hide you identity, leading your clients into your mysterious persona, and to be bold. Madame told me, "Darling, there is never a time to stop learning. We all learn something new every day".

Madame has kept in touch with me over the years, receiving post cards from all over the world. She checks in to see how her favorite pupil is doing and whether my love life has changed or been spiced up.