I want you

She wished her alarm clock would spoil. It was an old thing, gifted to her by her Literature teacher many years ago, so it wouldn't be out of character for it to suddenly stop working. Perhaps if it didn't ring, she would oversleep and not have to resume the boring cycle that was her life. Unfortunately, her alarm clock was working, and it rang effectively, snapping her out of her daydream. It was 5:02 am. Riley Wilson sighed and rolled out of bed, making sure not to move too much and accidentally wake up her long time boyfriend, Adam. Everyday was practically the same. Wake up at five, exercise, drink a cup of water, read the newspaper, binge read business articles, shower and eat a tiny breakfast. Then after breakfast, she would get dressed in boring pastel colours and kiss Adam on the cheek, then run off to catch the bus to work or drive and endure another car malfunction. Riley worked as an accountant, because she'd always been good with numbers, and she was great at her job. Her colleagues envied her perfect little life, her perfect little car and her perfect little boyfriend, and normally Riley basked in the glow of their jealousy. However, lately...she'd started to wonder just what there was to be envious about. Sure, she and Adam were college sweet hearts, and everyone thought they were as cute as buttons, but she couldn't remember the last time she had been excited to come home to him. She didn't dread waking up next to him, but she couldn't say she was psyched to do it. And her job was boring. She should be off somewhere doing something more important than crunching numbers, surely. Plus her car was always in the shop. It was breaking her bank account as well as her heart, and she was tired of it. She shook her head. No. She was overthinking again. This always happened when it was almost time for her birthday. Seasonal Depression, Brittany called it. It was easy for Brittany to say that though. She was the only child of her parents, so her entire life was one smooth sail after the other. The apartment she lived in, the car she drove, even the job she had were all taken care of by her wealthy parents. Brittany wasn't the exploration type, she was happy to fill any voids in her heart with Birkin bags. She didn't understand Riley's quest for more. So she shut the idea down, every time she could. Riley slung her bag over her shoulder. Any more dwadling and she would be late, and then she would lose her spot as Employee of the Month. She hopped into her Toyota, and hurried off to work. *** "What's up? You were almost late." Riley looked up to see her assistant standing by the wall with a lit cigarette burning brightly in her hands. The accounting department of the advertising agency they both worked at was still fairly empty, but both women were overachievers, so instead of Riley scoffing and saying "Late? What are you talking about? You're lucky I show up at all!" like any other colleague of theirs would have, she shrugged and stretched out a hand for a stick. "Birthday blues, as per usual. Today I was struck with a neverending curiosity about whether life was meant to be bigger than an office job." Charlie chuckled as she bent to light Riley's stick with her purple lighter. "Yeah, theres something bigger than an office job, the paycheck." Riley rolled her eyes, but Charlie could tell that there was still something bothering her. She didn't like that. Riley might've been her superior, but she was still closer to her than anyone in this workplace. She wanted to help. "Well, if you still feel down by the end of work today, how about we go for a drink? My friend's club opening is today and I'm sure it's got what it takes to take your mind off of things." Riley smiled genuinely for the first time in a while. Now that's what a real friend ought to behave like. Brittany should take some notes. "Thank you. I'd love that. I just have to ask Adam first–" "You have to ask for permission to go out from your boyfriend?" Charlie asked, apalled. She didn't really like Adam, and his traditional mindset only made her dislike stronger. "No! I'm not..asking for permission per say, just. You know, he just wants to make sure he knows where I am. He's the protective type" "No, he's the possessive type. He treats you like a glass trophy." Charlie opened her mouth to say more hurtful things about their relationship when she noticed Riley's smile slipping. She sighed. "But you're right. You've known him longer than I have and you know what's best for you. If he lets you go out, let me know." she said, just as more people started filing in. She headed over to her workstation to power on her system. Riley stared at her own computer, mulling over the conversation. It always felt like she had to prove to her friends that she was happy in her relationship. Sure he's a bit old fashioned, but he means well... right? She frowned. He'd always been like this. In college, he always brought along a jacket for her to wear when he met up with her and he never let her party too late. She thought it was considerate at the time, but now looking at it through modern lenses, he was just trying to cover her up because he didn't approve of her dress sense, wasn't he? Throughout the day, as she fiddled with her calculator and reading glasses, Riley thought about whether her relationship with Adam gave her energy or drained her energy. Something about the way Charlie looked at her with sad eyes that morning had made her question if this was how things were supposed to be. "So much for getting rid of this seasonal depression" she muttered under her breath. *** "Are you ready? Have you gotten approval from the boss man?" Charlie appeared at Riley's table at the end of work. She looked pretty ruffled, like the day hadn't been kind to her. "Why do you look like you got into a fight with a wild hippo" Riley asked as she started to pack her things. "Was there a wild hippo at work? I was so out of it today I probably wouldn't have noticed if there was." Charlie pouted. "Are you still thinking about what I said this morning? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you question your entire relationship. I'm sure Adam's a...great guy." "No no, it's not your fault. I already had these thoughts way before you mentioned them. I don't remember the last time we really talked to each other, you know? We don't go on dates anymore either. I'm always so tired during the week and he's busy on the weekends. We don't have a proper love life, not to talk of se–" "Stop! I do not want to hear about that" Riley laughed at the horrified expression on Charlie's face. "You're such a prude." "I'm not, I just would rather not hear about my supervisor's s*x life" They giggled as they entered the elevator. Charlie's phone buzzed nonstop with texts and notifications. "You're quite the social butterfly aren't you?" "Me? No way. These are just my friends talking about how the opening has been a success so far." "Oh. Speaking of which, they won't mind that we're going to the party in our office wear, will they?" Charlie stared at Riley as though she had sprouted an extra ear. "We're not going to the party in these. We're going to my house to change. Did you really think I would let you go out with me in those slacks?" Riley burst out laughing. "Okay, fine. You can stop looking at me like I commited a terrible crime now" The elevator dinged as they reached the ground floor. Riley went to her car and tried to start it. As she had suspected, it wasn't working. It was a Toyota Akis, a discontinued edition. She'd gotten it because she thought it would be exclusive, but now it dawned on her that there were probably one too many complaints about its services, and that's why it was discontinued . "Cheer up, sport. I plan to get you so wasted, you wouldn't have been able to drive anyways!" Charlie says as she hails a cab. They pile into it and while Charlie is preoccupied with giving the driver instructions to get to her house, Riley is preoccupied with dealing with the messages on her phone, or the lack of messages thereof. I texted Adam about going out four hours ago, and all he responded with was, "Kay. See ya." She sullenly thought. That's not proper boyfriend behaviour, is it? Her best friend Brittany didn't have much to say about it either, claiming she was busy with work. Both of them had been acting off for a while, actually. She had seen less and less of Brittany this year, and they rarely texted except she initiated it. It didn't feel like they were best friends anymore. Maybe it was selfish of her to think that adulthood was kind to friendships. She decided to put all of that baggage on hold and enjoy the evening. Charlie had dozed off beside her. She stared at the girl. At first, Charlie wasn't the friendliest assistant she'd had. Blunt, closed off, and never eager to mingle after work. She'd soon found out that the girl was just scared, as this was her first job since graduating college. They were close in age, so Riley took her under her wing. Now she could boast of an office friend and subordinate all in one. The car stopped at a small pink house. "We're here" the driver grunted. Riley gently shook Charlie awake and paid for their ride. "This is my first time at your place, now that I think about it." "Yeah, we mostly hang out at work or a coffee store. Make yourself at home. Or you can go through my cupboard for an outfit. I'm going to go put the kettle on." Riley drifted through the sitting room and headed for Charlie's bedroom. It wasn't hard to tell which was hers. The door was ajar, and her clothes were strewn all about the place. There was a pair of fishnet leggings on her bed, a pair of furry handcuffs hanging on the wall, and a sign that read purgatory just above her bedframe. Riley was shocked, but not surprised at the contents of the room. Charlie has always given off a sort of domineering vibe whenever she was pissed off at work, or worked too late for her liking, barking orders at supervisors and colleagues alike. She felt her feet take her closer to the handcuffs, and a voice in her head was softly asking her to try them on. The redhead popped her head in to ask what flavour tea Riley wanted, and Riley screamed, dropping the cuffs in guilt. "I wasn't! I was just looking!" Charlie smiled, her eyes shining with amusement. "It's okay. I said you should make yourself at home. I don't mind you snooping." Riley looked around the room, her eyes picking up more weird tools and devices. There was a collar peeking out from under the bed. "Um.." she swallowed. Not sure how to word the question. "Charlie...are you into...BDSM?" By now Charlie was rifling through her cupboard for outfits for them. Her response was a mumbled "yeah, every now and then" Riley blinked. She felt the familiar stirrings of curiosity take root in her stomach. "And...and you're like, a Dom?" "I prefer the term Dominatrix. But yeah, sometimes. Aha!" She said, pulling out a black dress. If you could call it a dress.