Chapter 1-2
1026 Words
At nine P.M. I sat in my car in front of her property. The church across the city began chiming the hour. I got out of my car, locked it, put my keys in my jeans, and walked up to her front door. As the final chime rang, I knocked on the front door as I had been told.
Shortly, the door swung open and I heard a voice say “Come in” but I didn’t see anyone. I stepped over the threshold. The voice said, “All the way,” and I took a couple steps more as the door closed behind me. I was in a large, dimly-lit entryway with doors going in several directions.
As the door closed behind me, I realized that there was a person standing behind it. I almost said “hello,” but I had been told to remain silent unless asked a question.
“Go through that door,” the person said, her or his finger pointing directly to my right. I couldn’t tell who the person was but it could have been a young woman or a teenage boy. He or she stood in shadow. The voice was soft and rather nondescript.
“Go on,” the voice urged when I hesitated. Earl said it would be like this; that I’d have to be steady and keep it together. I’d been instructed to do whatever I was told and not ask questions.
I walked to the door and opened it and went inside, closing the door behind me. That room was dark, too, but there was enough light to tell there was someone sitting further into the room.
A bright light came on in front of me, lighting my whole body. It felt like being on stage, in the spotlight. Now I couldn’t see into the room clearly.
“You’re Shelby,” the voice stated firmly. It was a woman’s voice: strong; the same voice as on the phone but with much more authority.
“Yes,” I answered. I must have been squinting, trying to see beyond the light.
A second light came on from the other side. Now I could see absolutely nothing.
“Have you told anyone you were coming here tonight?”
“Earl knows.”
“And you came here voluntarily, of your own free will? No one forced you, threatened, or otherwise coerced or intimidated you to come here?”
“No. I came on my own.”
“Kneel.”
I slowly lowered myself to my knees. This seemed strange but it was what I’d signed up and paid for.
“Do you remember your safe word?”
“Yes, Boston.”
“And your caution word?”
“Yellow.”
“Then we will begin. Take your clothes off.”
I started to get up, but the voice said, “I did not tell you to get off your knees.” Oh, right, just do what you’re told. Don’t think for yourself.
I stayed kneeling as I unbuttoned and took off my shirt and unzipped my fly. I had remembered not to wear panties or a bra. I pushed my jeans down and forced them off, one leg at a time. I had a hard time getting my sneakers off but finally, I was fully unclothed.
“Get on your feet and turn around.”
I stood and turned. I waited. I jumped when something touched my shoulders. I hadn’t heard her walk up behind me.
“The next time, you will not be surprised by anything that happens.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s yes, Mistress.”
“Yes, Mistress.” This’ll take some getting used to. My insides want to laugh it off and walk out.
“Ma’am is a polite form of address; it could be any woman. Mistress is your owner. Now, who am I?”
“My Mistress.” Yes, this was what I’d paid for but this role-playing part was hard. Could I do this? I must have grinned.
“This is not a game. It is not fun. Why are you grinning?”
“I…I don’t know.”
“You must only do what you know you’re doing, Shelby. Why are you here?”
I stopped. “I don’t want to be in charge for once,” I said softly.
“Did you know that before you came here?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, who?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Then who is in charge?” she asked.
“You are, Mistress,” I answered.
“How much am I in charge?”
“Totally.” Is she? Can I allow that?
“What if I told you to jump off the roof?”
I hesitated. “I’d have to use my safe word,” I remembered to say.
“Do you think I’d tell you to do something like that?”
“No. No, I don’t.”
“Correct. Not this time.”
I felt a hood being put over my head. There was no way I could see anything in any direction, I couldn’t even open my eyes, but my ears were not blocked. I could still speak if I needed to. I felt her tighten it onto my head. She grasped my arm.
“This way,” she said and led me away. Wherever she was leading me, I had to go. I guess this was the trust part. I had to believe that she wouldn’t let me walk off a cliff or into a wall. It was difficult to allow her to do these things to me, but at three-fifty a pop, I guessed I’d have to go along with it.
It was difficult for me to let someone move me when I couldn’t see where it was. I hadn’t put this much trust in anyone since I was a toddler.
We walked for a ways. I knew we had turned in several different directions and the flooring had changed from carpet to wood, or at least solid, and back to carpet. Now I was standing on something hard and cold. I heard a motor turn on, a door slide shut, and the room move. We were on an elevator.
Finally I felt it stop. She turned me around as another door slid open and led me out of the elevator.
She stopped me and placed something in my hands. It felt like a thick piece of wood or plastic rod. I grasped it tightly as she attached it securely to my wrists with soft pieces of cloth or leather. Then I heard another motor start and my hands were lifted up above me. I was pulled up until my feet barely touched the floor. I was on my toes.
“I’ll be back,” she said as she patted my back. I heard a door open and close. Then…nothing.
How did she do that? I never heard her move, no footsteps, no breathing, no swish of clothing, nothing. She was there and then she wasn’t. I tested whatever I was tied to, but I couldn’t move anything very far. I was dangling by my hands. Would my fingers give out? I grasped the bar even tighter.
It might have been only a minute or two, but it felt like hours.
- Writer
