Below Deck (Anchored 5)

June

Two Months Later

It’s Christmastime in the city, and it’s Christmastime at Anchored. I finish hanging the last of the bright blinking lights and step down from my stool to admire my work. It’s beautiful. The entire club is decorated with different colored lights and Christmas decorations. Tomorrow is the annual Christmas party, and this one is going to be incredible.

There’s a stage where we’ll have a Santa Dom who will be giving out spankings. There will be a Miss Santa Domme, as well, for our members who prefer to be spanked by a gorgeous Santa in stilettos. I’ve arranged for several submissives to work as elves to help each Santa, and there are two candy cane lines where our patrons can stand while they wait in line for their Christmas spanking.

Another area has a stage set up where a guest performer will be showing off his submissive and her submissive. We don’t have too many switches at Anchored, but I try to have something on a semi-regular basis that meets their needs, too. Not everything is just about Doms and subs. Some of us don’t fit into a box.

I sit down in a nearby chair and look around the space. Everything looks incredible, perfect. I know that my Anchored members are going to love the party tomorrow night. It’s going to be incredible.

No matter what anyone else thinks, I know for a fact that tomorrow is going to be a night I never forget. No matter how long I live, I’ll never forget the way that Ryder looks at me tomorrow, and judging by the ring I found nestled in his sock drawer this morning, I have the feeling that he’s never going to forget the night, either.

Me and Ryder are forever, and there’s nothing that makes me happier than the knowledge that tomorrow night, we’re going to let the whole world know exactly how we feel about each other.

Ryder is going to propose, and me?

I’m going to say yes.

Yes to Ryder.

Yes to us.

Yes to a beautiful future together.

Just yes.

Odessa

I’m standing in the center of Anchored on the happiest night of the year, but I don’t feel happy.

I should.

I should be over-the-moon ecstatic that all of my friends and fellow submissives at Anchored are all here celebrating Christmas and now, June and Ryder are celebrating their engagement. The princess of Anchored looks fucking adorable in her tiny red dress and her beautiful smile. Ryder is just as over-the-top happy as June is, and he’s looking at her like she’s gorgeous, like she’s the only thing he needs to be happy.

And I know that it’s true.

Still, as I turn away, sipping my drink at the empty bar, I wonder if I’ll ever find that. Will I ever find someone who loves me the way they love each other? Will I ever find a love as true and strong as theirs? Will I ever be in a place where nothing matters except that we’re together?

Or am I destined to be alone?

I shouldn’t be jealous of June.

I’m not.

I’m not jealous of June.

Only, as I look at her, as I see her smile, there’s an emptiness in my heart that this glass of whiskey can’t fill. No matter how much I drink, no matter how many nights I spend at Anchored with a smile plastered on my face, nothing ever changes the fact that tonight, I am very, totally, completely alone.

“Hello,” a voice says from beside me, and I turn to see who it is.

“Oh,” I whisper, swallowing hard. “It’s you.”

THE END

Read Odessa’s story in Anchored Book 6: Crossing the Line. Join Sophie’s mailing list for updates and specials!

Crossing the Line