by Amy Valenti
He pulled out a leather paddle. Was it the same one? Amy held her breath and hoped that it wasn't.
Mimi didn't notice that she closed her eyes as J raised the paddle up into the air. Amy couldn't watch, but that didn't stop the sounds from coming. The thwack of leather against skin seemed so loud that it would come through even if she covered her ears. Each time she heard it, Amy's heart seemed to ache a little more. Her vision grew a little darker, and she was almost certain that she might fall to the floor in the middle of the crowd.
Finally, the sounds stopped. Amy opened her eyes, and the people around her seemed to be growing even more excited. Their mouths were open, and their eyes were all stuck to the main event. When she followed the crowd's gaze, her heart dropped.
J's hand hovered over the woman's ass. At first, he gave it a quick slap so that the fat there jiggled and made the crowd roar. But then he stopped. J grabbed the woman's thong and pulled it aside. Tears pricked the corner of Amy's eyes. J stuck out his finger and-
"I'm bored," Amy said. "Come on, let's get out of here."
She pulled Mimi away from the stage, but she resisted.
"No way! How could you be bored? The best part is just beginning!"
Amy didn't have enough energy to fight with Mimi. "If you don't want to come, I'll go by myself."
That made Mimi stop. Her shoulders slumped forward for a bit, and then she placed her hands on her hips.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay? I can't just let you go out there alone, I remember what happened last time I did!"
"Yeah," Amy said. "I'm sure."
It was hard to get out of the crowd. There were so many people that it seemed like the whole club must have been there, gathered around this one stage. Well, good for them. Let them get an eye full.
Amy led Mimi out of the room, and then kept walking. She didn't know where she was going, and frankly she didn't care.
"Hey, I didn't say I wanted to leave yet," Mimi said.
Amy looked around her. Somehow, she had led them right back to the front door. She dropped Mimi's arm, and her body went limp.
"I-I'm sorry…I don't know where we should go," she said.
Mimi cocked her head to the side and tapped her chin with her finger. She looked off into the distance for a while, and then grabbed Amy's arm.
"I know exactly where to go!" she said.
Since most of the club had gone to see J's scene, it was easy to move. They walked past the lingering groups of people into parts of the mansion that Amy had never seen before. These corridors and hallways were darker, less full of dancing, and more serious. Amy's gaze darted around, and she jumped each time there was an unfamiliar noise.
"So… Where are we going?" she asked.
"Well, you said you were bored before. There's no way you'll be bored here. Even I haven't seen some of this stuff."
Amy swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling tight. Just exactly what sort of stuff was she talking about? Amy didn't have time to ask, because before long, they were there. It was another room, just like the one J was in, but the feeling was entirely different.
Mimi pulled Amy over to a particular stage. She pointed to the woman there.
"That's Genevieve. Cordelia introduced me to her. I didn't know she was going to do a scene tonight!" Mimi said.
"What does she do?" Amy asked.
"Oh, you'll see."
Genevieve was the sort of person Amy had imagined before coming to The Sanctuary. She was tall, pale, with long dark hair. It was almost as if she had walked right off a movie set. Genevieve wore a leather bustier that cinched in her waist and a pin-up style bra, but somehow she managed not to look like she was wearing a costume. Amy looked up at her in awe.
The whole time, there had been something covered by a tarp on the stage. Genevieve pulled it away. Amy wasn't prepared for what she saw. Underneath there was a man. Well, Amy was only sure it was a man because his penis was the only thing sticking out from his full body latex suit. He looked mummified, covered in the shiny red material.
Then Genevieve began. She walked over to the man and sat on his face, covering his nose and mouth with her ass.
"You want something nice and hard in your piss slit, don't you?" Genevieve asked. She pressed down further onto his face.
A muffled noise came from the man, that Amy could only assume meant yes. Genevieve got up and pulled out what looked like a black tool case. She opened it up, and inside there were rows and rows of short metal sticks. Some were smaller, some were bigger. They were curved lines, straight ones, and even ridged ones. Genevieve picked up one of those.
What was she planning on doing with that? Was it going in his ass? No, that was way too small for a butt plug. Amy was fascinated, and slightly afraid. She wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
Genevieve waved the rod in front of the man's face. "Is this the one you want me to stuff in you, my little pet?"
"Yes, Mistress," he said.
Genevieve sat on his face again. There was a bottle of lube on the floor, and she poured it all over the man and the metal rod. Already, he was hard in anticipation.
"Here we go," Genevieve said.
She grabbed the man's penis and held the rod over the tip. Then, slowly, Genevieve let the rod slip into his cock. As she worked it in, the man groaned, his whole body shacking. He calmed down once the larger part was in, but then the whole process began again when the ridges swelled in size.
Amy was nauseous. She held her stomach and doubled over.
"I gotta go," she said.
Mimi turned to her with worry in her face. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"It must've been the shots," Amy lied.
"Oh no! I'll go with you," Mimi said.
Amy held out her hand and started to back away.
"No, no, you stay. I'll be fine. I promise!"
Amy darted out of the room before Mimi could react. Her feet went faster than her mind, taking her around corners and through doors. The images that she had just seen played through her head. Amy heard the man's yell, saw his skin stretch.
Was that safe? It couldn't be. Things weren't supposed to go in there like that. No way! What was wrong with these people?
Finally, Amy found herself in a room that had no more doors. She looked around her mirrored and tiled surroundings. The bathroom. For a moment, she listened, but there was silence. Good, she was alone.
Amy went into a stall and slammed the door behind her. She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. Today wasn't supposed to be like this. It was supposed to be easy. It all started out so great. She was dancing, and having fun… So how did it come to this?
Her head slumped forward into her hands. Amy laughed. Well, at least it couldn't get any worse.
The door burst open with a big bang. Amy jumped, but tried to keep quiet. She heard moaning, the sound of hands on clothes, lips smacking. Great, someone decided to take their make-out session to the toilets.
"You've been such a good little slut tonight," one of the couple said.
It was a man's voice. For a moment, Amy was frightened that she had gone into the wrong room, but then she remembered that there was no marking on the door. It was a unisex bathroom.
"Do you want a reward?" he asked.
Amy peeked out of the crack between the door and the wall. They were two men. One of them, the one that was talking, wore stiletto heels that even Amy couldn't pull off. He pushed the other one onto the ground.
Not again. Amy braced herself. After everything today, was she also going to have to see somebody get peed on?
Soon, she wished that was the case. The first man took his stiletto and ground it into the other's hard dick. Amy clamped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She was very certain things were not supposed bend that way.
Next, he pulled out what looked like sewing pins, the kind with the colorful round heads.
"Everyone out there thinks this is too extreme," he said," to
o dangerous. But I know what you like. We don't have to listen to them."
He brought the pin closer and closer to the other man's cock. Amy tried to control herself, but she couldn't do it. Before anything happened, she burst out of the stall and ran out the door.
After that, everything went by in a blur. Amy vaguely remembered Mimi calling after her, and charging out the door. After that, everything went black.
Chapter 18
When Amy woke up, she was still wearing her little black dress. Her lipstick was smeared all over her pillow and her body ached. She held her head. It was throbbing.
It took a while before she felt like moving, but she couldn't just lay there. She was too gross.
Amy dropped her clothes and walked into the shower. The hot water felt good, and as it cleaned her skin she started to wake up. Her mind raced with a million thoughts.
Those people, they were abused. Or if not abused, they were abusive! They shouldn't call it The Sanctuary, it was just an excuse for a bunch of sick people to get together. Amy thought she understood, she really did. She thought she had learned a lot since that first day. But she was wrong. She could never understand them. She was nothing like them. She was nothing like him.
Amy jerked the water off. She wrapped a towel around herself and stomped out of the shower. She only had one thought in her mind as she slipped into her sweats. That was it! She was done! Finished! Over!
Her stomach growled. Okay, so she was finished, but she still needed to eat. Amy went into the kitchen and pulled the old pizza box out of her fridge. She plopped it on the table in front of the TV and took out a slice. Who needed plates?
Water dripped from Amy's hair onto her shoulders and the couch, but she didn't care. She just flipped through the channels, munching on the cold melted cheese.
In her pocket, her phone rang. Without even looking at who it was, she silenced the call. Amy didn't want to talk to anyone, not even Robin. She went back to watching TV, but then she was disturbed by the phone again. This time, she turned it off. There was no way they were going to bother her now.
Amy got more comfortable on the couch. She leaned back, sinking into the cushions. That's right, today was the day to veg out. And no one was going to bother her.
***
It was only five minutes after she called for Chinese that the door rang. How did they manage to get there so soon? It didn't matter. Amy rushed to the door.
"Just give me a second to get out some cash…"
Amy started speaking as soon as she opened the door, but her voice stuck in her throat as she saw who it was. J was standing there in the doorway with a basket in his hands. Amy slammed the door shut.
Or, at least she tried to. J pressed the door open with one hand and walked inside. Amy watched as he calmly walked over to the kitchen and started to set up shop.
"What are you doing here ?" she yelled. If he was going to beg her to come back, she wasn't going to hear it. She already had a witty retort prepared.
"You didn't come to your session today, so I assumed that you were ill," J said.
Okay, so that wasn't exactly what she was expecting. Amy relaxed a little. Maybe it was better not to argue about it right now.
She watched him pull bunches of fresh vegetables out of his basket. Lime, cilantro, mint, scallions. There were strange, long noodles and a thermos that he poured into a large pot.
"You can cook?" Amy asked.
"Can't you?"
Amy was silent. J looked around the room and his eyes landed on the old pizza box.
"Thought not," he said. "No wonder you're sick."
She wanted to shrivel up. Amy raced over to the empty box and threw it in the trash. She looked down at herself and remembered that she was only wearing her sweats. It was no big deal if the delivery boy saw her looking like a mess, but J? He'd even brought an apron to cook with so that he didn't stain his shirt.
Amy shuffled in the direction of her bedroom. "I'll be right back!"
She slammed the door behind her and looked for anything that she could wear. After a bit of searching, she found a T-shirt and jeans. Okay, not the most flattering, but it was something. Amy quickly pulled a brush through her hair and stood in front of the mirror. She looked significantly less like a crazy cat lady. Good.
When she walked out of her room, Amy was hit with the smell of something delicious. J was sitting at the table with two bowls in front of him.
"What's that?" Amy asked.
"It's pho," J said.
"Pho?"
J sighed. "Think of it as a Vietnamese chicken noodle soup."
Amy sat down and the fragrant scent of the soup curled around her. It was warm and inviting. Already, her mouth was watering.
"Go ahead," J said.
He started to eat, using chopsticks to bring the noodles to his mouth. Amy watched, but was afraid to move.
"You can use a fork," J said, "I brought two pairs of chopsticks, but I don't think they're necessary."
Amy's ears burned as she picked up the fork, but all of her thoughts of revenge disappeared as soon as she tasted the soup. It was delicious! But of course, she wasn't going to tell him that.
They ate in awkward silence. Not a single word was spoken, and the two of them barely looked at one another. It wasn't until J drained the last drop of soup from his bowl that the silence was broken.
"I didn't think I'd need to explain to you again that we aren't all abused children," he said.
Amy dropped her fork. Suddenly, her appetite left her.
"You're sick," she said.
"What about you?" J asked. "I seem to remember you liking being bound up, hoisted into the air, and spanked."
Amy's face flushed. Her hands shook and she grit her teeth.
"Fuck you!" she yelled.
Her voice was loud enough to fill the room, bouncing off the walls. Amy strained her throat enough that it hurt, but she wasn't done.
"I'm not like you," she said. "I don't go from one girl to another, tying her up to get my kink. You know, everyone thinks that you're so great. I almost believed them! But I know better. I know the truth. I know that you're a fucking bastard!"
It was hard to breathe. Amy panted, but J didn't look disturbed at all. He was calm, as fucking always.
"Is that what you really think of me?" J asked.
Hot tears came to Amy's eyes. She wasn't sure how she felt. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into her palms. He was a bastard. But that wasn't all. There was something else, something pulling her close to him…
J's fingers pressed against her skin. He brought them underneath her eyes and wiped away the tears. Amy let him. She didn't have the energy to struggle.
When he pulled her close, Amy felt calm. Her body rocked with the pulse of his heart. Her tears stopped, and he dried them with his shirt.
"You're so very close," J said. His voice was so low that Amy wasn't sure if he was talking to her or himself.
Then, after a long while, J pulled away.
"You should come tomorrow," he said simply.
"Why should I-"
"Not for me," J said. "For you. You could learn something."
Just like that, J stepped out of the door and left. Amy sat at the table, watching the door in case he would come back. He never did.
Chapter 19
How many times had Amy showed up in front of these doors? The club was already busy and she was the only one hesitating to go inside. Mr. Farrow called out to her.
"Miss Lopez!" he said. He gestured for her to come near.
"You have to hurry," he said, "everyone is waiting for you."
Everyone? Who was everyone? Mr. Farrow pushed Amy through the door before she could ask, and the valet on the other side pulled her along. He dragged her in the direction of the stages and left her when he found J.
He was not alone. J was standing with a small girl who looked at Amy shyly.
"This is Rebecca. You are going to working with her on this
scene."
"Scene?"
"Yes. It is a spanking scene. She will be the submissive, and you will be the dominant."
Amy couldn't believe the words she was hearing.
"But I have no experience! I can't do that!" Amy turned to the girl for support. "Right?"
Rebecca only gave her a sorry look.
"She already agreed," J said. "Look, I'm not going to force you, but remember what I told you yesterday."
The words came back to Amy. You could learn something. Like what? How to utterly fail in front of a room full of people?
Amy turned back to Rebecca. Didn't she have anything to say?
"It looks like we're stuck together," she said, "I'm looking forward to it."
Amy couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was everyone totally crazy? How were they all fine with this? Finally, she threw her hands up into the air.
"Fine!" she said. "I'll do it."
Then she turned to J and pointed a finger at him. "But not for you, for her."
After that, it was settled. Amy and Rebecca made their way onto the stage, where Rebecca positioned herself over a padded bench. There were handles that she grabbed onto, lifting her bottom towards Amy.
Once the crowd saw them, they cheered. Amy hadn't expected that. She staggered backwards a little and blinked under the spotlight. For a moment, she had forgotten what she was even supposed to be doing. Fear seized her, and she wanted to run.
"I'm ready, Mistress," Rebecca said.
Her words brought Amy back to reality. That was right. She was here to put on a show, and that was exactly what she was going to do!
There was just one problem. Amy looked down at Rebecca, who was just waiting for her to begin. But the problem was, she had no idea where to start!
Was there some kind of protocol? A step-by-step guide to being a Domme for dummies? It seemed so easy when J did it, but now Amy was drawing a complete blank. Every second she stood there, it felt like the whole crowd was judging her. Her body broke into a cold sweat.
No. That was not how this is going to end. She had enough of running away from her problems. And if Amy ran away this time, it wouldn't only affect her. It would affect Rebecca. She'd be all alone, nearly naked and embarrassed on the stage. That was terrible. And that wasn't something Amy was going to let happen.
