by Robin Roseau
"You'll ban them?"
"Damned right." She smiled. "There are other, bigger events in town, but this one is fairly exclusive, in spite of the size. We have people fly in from out of town."
"Can I ask what the tickets cost?"
"About what your outfit cost," she said.
I gulped and looked around. Even with the party having wound down, there were still a lot of people.
"A lot of people still here are on comps," Katrina explained. "Most of the help was free."
"Oh god," I said. "I didn't tip the tip jar."
She smiled. "You don't have to. You were an hour of entertainment for a great many people. Thank you, by the way."
"You did everything."
"You were priceless. I've never had a newbie on stage before." She paused. "Anyway, the waiters and bartenders all worked for free, each taking shifts covering about three quarters of the evening. And then there were teams of people who got everything ready and who will be back tomorrow to clean everything up. I don't have to lift a finger for that."
"Where did the money go?"
"Food, drinks, rental on the warehouse, storage of the furniture until some other event, buying new furniture every year, and we have a dozen rent-a-cops we pay. You get the idea. The warehouse is the biggest cost."
I nodded. And then she tugged me to another group.
We worked the entire party, and then Katrina caught me yawning. "Bored?"
"My body is on Eastern time," I explained.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "It's nearly five AM in North Carolina." She paused. "Are you coming home with me or staying at your hotel?"
"I thought you were taking me home," I said. "If you want to," I said in a small voice.
She smiled. "Come on." And she dragged me from the party.
* * *
When we got home, Katrina made me get naked then kneel in front of her and kiss her feet. I was tired and sore and very, very ready for bed, but I did what I was told. She led me to her bed, and I was so out of it, I didn't get a good look at her house or even notice what she did to me as I fell asleep.
We slept until noon with me wrapped in Katrina's arms. I woke eventually, my bladder near to bursting, and I slithered carefully out of bed, still nine-tenths asleep, and I didn't even realized she had cuffed my wrists together and my ankles together. I almost landed flat on my face.
I sat on the edge of the bed, examining first my wrists. They were wrapped in soft leather cuffs and secured together with a padlock. I wasn't getting them off. My ankles were the same, although there was a short chain connecting the cuffs. I found that if I was careful, I could hobble to the bathroom.
When I got back, Katrina was watching me. I stopped in the doorway, looking at her.
"You're so beautiful, standing there in my collar. Are you coming back to bed?"
I nodded, and she held the covers open for me. I slipped in, snuggling up to her, asking for a kiss. We fell asleep like that, facing each other, my cuffed hands praying between us.
When next I woke, Katrina was watching me, and I realized she'd been blowing in my face. I stared into her eyes. "Good morning, my belle."
"Good morning, Katrina."
She smiled at me, then her expression grew seriously. "I have to ask this."
"No regrets," I told her. "I am exactly where I want to be."
"I'm glad."
"Do you have to go back to the warehouse today?"
"No. That's what I hire good help for."
I smiled. "I thought everyone volunteered."
"Hire, coerce, tomato, tomahto."
I laughed.
"How do you feel, Bethany?"
"Sore."
"Me, too. I'm sorry, but I'm not remotely up to games this morning."
"Perhaps we could shower together."
She frowned. "Don't try to lead."
"I'm sorry," I said immediately.
"It was, however, a lovely suggestion. Can you cook?"
"Of course," I said. "Ever had grits?"
"What's a grit?"
I smiled. "You won't have the supplies, anyway. It's made from corn flower."
"You can make them tomorrow, then."
I looked own at my hands and rattled the padlock. "When did you do this?"
She laughed. "You don't remember?"
I shook my head.
"You watched intently while I did it," she said. "Or maybe you were sleep walking. It was pretty late for you."
I snuggled closer to her, and she wrapped her arms around me, pulling my tightly against her. "Have you done this before?"
"Of course I have," she said.
"I'm just a conquest then? I didn't fight very hard."
"Everyone is special, my southern belle," she said. She began stroking my back. "You are very special."
I didn't believe her, but it was nice for her to tell me that. I didn't know how I could ever be satisfied in the future; I didn't think I'd ever find anyone else at all like Katrina. I sighed.
"Are you all right?"
"You're one of a kind," I told her.
"You are sweet," she said.
I giggled.
"What?"
I pushed away and looked at her. "Last night I thought you looked so severe on the stage. While I was watching you."
"And that makes you giggle?"
"Now here we are. You're bed tossed, and you're being so gentle and kind to me."
"You would prefer I were severe and cruel?"
"I prefer you being like you," I said. "I liked you last night on the stage. And then you were a different person when you talked to me, and a third one when you got me onto the stage. And then a fourth person this morning." I paused. "This person is like the person who talked to me. But it's all one person. I like your facets. Are there more?"
"Yes," she said, smiling. "A few. You'll see some of them. But remember, underneath all those facets is something in common?"
"You're dead sexy in each of them?"
She smiled. "You belong to me."
I returned her smile. "Good."
We kissed and petted for a while, nothing serious. It felt nice. It had been a while since I'd been treated so tenderly, and at one point I snuggled into her and sighed happily.
"What?" she asked.
"I like the way you treat me."
"Good," she said. "I like the way I treat you, too. But it's time to get moving."
I offered a pout, which Katrina ignored. Instead, she rolled away from me, fumbled in her night stand for a moment, then rolled back, holding a key. I offered her my hands, and she unlocked my wrists. "Ankles now," she said, and I shimmied around on the bed, offering my feet to her. Soon my ankles were free. "On the floor," she said, "kneeling, Bethany. Right now!"
I scrambled from the bed and knelt on the floor, watching Katrina over my shoulder. She climbed from the bed, stretched, and then walked around to stand in front of me. "Kiss my feet," she ordered. I bent over and immediately began kissing her feet, taking my time.
"Good girl," she said. "Every morning when we get out of bed, you will kiss my feet, just like this. Every time we are reunited after being apart, you will kiss my feet. Every time we are about to part, you will kiss my feet. Do you understand?"
I stopped kissing long enough to ask, "In public?"
"No," she said, "only in private." She paused. "Or if we are at an event where your submission is expected."
I continued kissing until finally she said, "That's good." She offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet then tugged me towards the shower. We behaved, by and large, in the shower, although we acted a lot more like a pair of twenty-year-olds than two women twice that age.
I hadn't felt that good about life, and about myself, in a very long time.
At one point in the shower, I caught Katrina watching my neck, her head cocked and a smile on her lips.
"What?" I asked, putting a hand to my neck. "Do I have a hicky?"
She laughed. "No
. I wouldn't do that. You have a job interview on Monday."
I hadn't even thought about that. I couldn't believe how considerate she was.
"I am simply admiring your collar," she said, reaching out to finger the metal around my neck. She tugged on it playfully. "It looks good there."
I suddenly grew self-conscious, but Katrina grew crabby any time I hid from her. I stood and accepted her inspection.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," I replied.
She reached out with a hand and grabbed my face, squeezing my cheeks and forcing me to face her directly. "You know the rules about lying to me."
I looked down at my sagging body. "Why me?" I asked. "Why me in this sagging body. You had your choice of-"
"Stop it!" she said immediately. She sighed then kissed me quickly. "Self-esteem issues are unattractive, so let's see if we can put this one away for a while. Wash my hair. She handed me the shampoo and turned around. "Take your time and make sure I enjoy it."
I squeezed out a overly-healthy dollop of shampoo and began working it into her hair. "Oh, that's nice," she said. "Keep doing that. You already knew I noticed you watching me."
"You noticed lots of people."
"I looked at a lot of people. I've met most of them before. You were new."
"So-"
"Do not interrupt," she said. "You were knew, and I wanted to see who you were. And I loved your outfit." She looked over her shoulder at me. "You'll be wearing that some more for me."
I smiled tentatively.
"So I wanted to meet you," she said, closing her eyes, then she moaned a little as I massaged her scalp. "Oh, you're good at this."
"I've never done it before," I said in a small voice.
"Well, continue what you're doing. That's wonderful." She leaned against the side of the shower for a while before continuing. "I hadn't planned to play with you when I stepped to your side. I just wanted to meet you. But then you spoke. I love your voice. But I made you so nervous."
"You still do."
She looked over her shoulder at me. "Do I? Why?"
"I'm afraid you'll get bored with me. And I don't know what I'm doing. I'm such a hayseed compared to you."
She laughed. She actually laughed at me. I didn't like it.
"Oh Bethany," she said, "I'm sorry, but that's funny."
"Why is it funny?" I asked a little indignant.
"Because I grew up in Fargo, North Dakota. Compared to Fargo, you with your southern accent and southern charm are the epitome of sophistication."
"Do they really talk like they did in that movie?"
She laughed again. "Yes. Oh, they really drew it out into a parody, but yes, they really talk like that." She paused for a while as I continued to massage her scalp. "Oh, I'd keep you forever just for the hair washing," Katrina said. "Please say you'll stay."
I smiled but didn't answer.
"All right," Katrina said. "We were working on your ego. You can probably guess: guys don't really do it for me. I had actually picked someone else out to play with next."
"Should I apologize?"
She laughed. "No. She doesn't know. I was going to stop by her table next. But you were so darned intriguing, and I realized something when we started talking. Several things, actually."
"What?"
"Well, we're not that far apart in age. I liked that." She paused. "Okay, enough hair. Rinse this please, then you can scrub my back."
I used the hand sprayer and rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, then grabbed some soap and soaped up her back, running my hands all over her shoulders and back. "You're good at this," she said.
"It's not hard," I replied.
"It still feels nice."
"What did you realize?"
"Well, I could tell you were about to bolt, that if I left the table, you would be out the door."
"Yeah, I was. I felt so out of place."
"I wanted to make sure you had a good time. I thought about giving you to someone else, but I couldn't think of anyone who I was willing to let have you." She paused and looked over at me. "I was feeling rather possessive after just a few minutes talking to you. I wanted you for myself."
I smiled.
"You radiated a gentle innocence. It was intoxicating. But the two biggies are quite simple. I decided you would be fun to play with, and I really, really wanted to take you home with me." She moaned as I dug my hands into the muscles of her back. "Oh yes, that's nice. Oh, the back massage you give me later is going to feel divine."
I had never been with someone who was so verbally effusive with her praise. I realized I deeply coveted that praise.
"So far," she said. "You have been everything I imagined, and then more so." She looked over her shoulder. "There is absolutely no one else I would rather have with me right now, Bethany. All right?"
"Really?" I asked, finding it difficult to believe.
"Really. All right, switch places. I'm going to wash your hair, then we're done in here. This is California, we're supposed to be conserving water."
We finally stepped out of the shower, drying each other off, then we faced a small problem. The only clothes I had were the ones I had worn last night. In her bedroom, Katrina watched me in her mirror while I realized my dilemma.
"Katrina?"
She turned around to face me. "I was wondering when you would figure that out."
"I don't have anything to wear."
"Sure you do. You look great in that outfit."
"I can't play tourist in these clothes."
"Why not? You did it last night."
I sputtered. "I wasn't playing tourist!" I smiled. "I was a participant."
She laughed. "Yes, you were. Bethany, this is San Francisco. Other than to admire you, no one is going to look twice if you dress in those, and it would please me a great deal."
I eyed her. "What will you be wearing?"
"Jeans and a white blouse," she said with a grin.
"Can you please bring me to my hotel so I can change?"
She sighed dramatically. "All right. But Jasmine gets to see you in those clothes first."
Slowly, I dressed in my clothes from last night. Katrina watched me the entire time, smiling at me. "God, you look good. Turn around." She stepped behind me and cinched my laces for me.
* * *
When we called, Jasmine was still feeling poorly.
"Did you have a good time?" she asked me.
"Amazing. I'm going to bring you some soup. What else do you need?"
"You don't have to do that," she protested.
"Nevertheless," I said. "I am not taking 'no' for an answer."
She laughed feebly, and it turned into a cough. "Ibuprofen and cough medicine, and I think I'm out of tissues."
We bought far more than the items on Jasmine's list before driving to her house. She opened the door and stared at the two of us. She was in her jammies and had a bright red nose and puffy eyes along with a serious case of bed hair. I didn't like her pallor. Slowly she raised an eyebrow. "I take it you had a really, really good time, Bethany?"
"Best of my entire life," I said. "I take it you two know each other."
"Oh yes," she said. "How are you, Katrina?"
"Step back," Katrina said. "We came prepared to feed an army."
Jasmine stepped back, and we carried the groceries in. Katrina directed, ordering me to bring everything into the kitchen and to make the soup. Katrina sent Jasmine back to her couch and then covered her up, and I trooped back and forth a few times with the supplies we had purchased.
"Bring the ibuprofen and a glass of water," Katrina said. "And the cough syrup. Put everything else away and make the soup."
"Yes, Katrina."
"And make noise when you come and go," she added, "so we can pretend we weren't talking about you."
"Yes, Katrina," I said with a grin.
I stomped heavily the next time I returned to the living room. Jasmine was curled up on the sofa, a bla
nket pulled up to her chin, and she looked miserable, but it was clear she and Katrina had been deep in conversation. I stepped to her and handed her the ibuprofen and a fresh glass of water. Then I collected her used tissues and other detritus, noticing her box of tissues was nearly empty.
On my next trip, I brought a fresh box of tissues and a glass of orange juice.
"You guys don't have to do this," Jasmine said, but she took the glass gratefully and seemed even more grateful to have fresh tissues.
"Nonsense," Katrina said. "Don't burn the soup, Bethany."
"Of course not, Katrina," I said. "A southern belle never burns the soup."
About five minutes later I heard a loud exclamation from the living room. "You did a SCENE with her? Jesus, Katrina!" I didn't hear the rest.
I made the soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I didn't make anything for Katrina and me. She had promised to take me to her favorite restaurants. When they were ready, I took Jasmine's lunch into the living room, stomping obediently so they would hear me coming.
It was clear they had still been talking about me. I crossed the room and set everything down on the coffee table. I knelt down so I was on Jasmine's level. "I've never had a better evening, and I've never been happier than I am this morning. I was terrified, but I wouldn't trade away a single second."
Jasmine looked at me for a moment, then nodded. "I can't believe you finally come to visit me, and I get sick. Life isn't fair. And I didn't get to watch!"
"Maybe she'll stick around for a while," Katrina said, and I glanced over at her, trying to hush her. Jasmine didn't know why I was in town. "She might miss her flight out or something. You never know how someone can get tied up trying to get to the airport."
There was a pregnant pause and then Jasmine and I both chuckled together.
"Oh, you both think I'm kidding?" she asked. "I'm not sure I am." She stood up. "Keep Jasmine company, Bethany. I must use the facilities."
Jasmine checked out the food I had brought then dunked the sandwich into her soup, took a bite, and ate it slowly.
"Thank you," she said, gesturing to the food. "I won't eat it all."
"Even a little will help," I said. "May I ask you one question?" She nodded. "Can I trust Katrina?"
"Yes," she said. "She has the reputation of pushing hard, but she also knows what 'no' means, and there's never been even a hint of a rumor she's ever abused anyone." She paused. "I have no firsthand knowledge, though.
