I nod slowly, trying to make sense of that. My voice is quieter when I ask the next one. “What if… what if you change your mind? Like you say you’re okay with something, and then you’re not?”
“Then we stop.” His answer is immediate and firm. “Doesn’t matter when you say it. Doesn’t matter why. If you change your mind, it stops. That’s the whole point of limits and safewords, Red. You don’t have to explain. You just say the word, or drop the signal, and everything stops right there.”
I feel the knot in my stomach ease a little more, but there’s another thought pressing in now. “What if someone… ignores that?”
His jaw tightens slightly, just for a second. “Then they don’t belong in this world. And they don’t belong near you.”
That answer is simple, but it lands heavier than anything else
