“And are you telling me that she’s never had a boyfriend in the time you’ve known her?”
“Never.”
“Girlfriend?”
“No.”
“So she’s been single as long as you’ve known her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I ask, shaking my head.
Perhaps more importantly, why didn’t she tell me this? She made it sound as though it had been awhile since she’d been with anyone, but I assumed she’d still been active with people at the club. If she hasn’t, and she only plays sexually with people she’s romantically involved in, then that changes things a little.
I’ll need to be even more careful and gentle with her to make sure that she feels appreciated, respected, and loved.
Perhaps more importantly, I’ll need to make sure that I’m not doing anything that makes her feel like she’s not being valued.
“I have no idea,” Everest says. “It’s not for lack of offers. She’s beautiful, and she’s funny.”
“And she’s kind,” Brooke adds. “We all notice how kind she is. She used to babysit for us, and she was always doing extra special little things for us.”
“Things like laundry, vacuuming, and the dishes,” Everest shakes his head. “Once the kids were tucked in bed, she’d clean the whole damn house.”
“I miss having her around,” Brooke says with a sigh.
“She stopped babysitting once we invited her to the club,” Everest explains. “We felt it would be best to go with someone who doesn’t know where we get off to.”
“I guess that makes sense,” I say. “Plus, this way, there’s no conflict when she wants to go to the club on an event night rather than babysitting.”
“Exactly,” Brooke agrees. “Our new sitter knows we run a club, but she doesn’t know which one or where it is, or what type of club it is. We’re all happy with the arrangement.”
“It sounds like Mallory was great with the kids, though,” I say.
The food arrives then, and the server asks if he can get us anything else. Brooke and Everest each order a second soda, and I order coffee. Then we start in on our food.
I try not to lose myself too much in my thoughts. It’s harder than it sounds, though. It would be easy to get swept away in a daydream about her. I have so many questions about Mallory and if I’m not careful, I’m going to spend all of my time thinking about her and not about work or my other responsibilities.
“You’re really crazy about her, aren’t you?” Everest asks.
“I am,” I say.
“Oh, you Doms,” Brooke grins. “That’s my favorite thing about you: the brazen honesty.”
“Honesty has a lot of perks,” Everest says.
“You know, I’ve been in the lifestyle so long, that I can’t imagine living my life any other way,” I tell them. “And beating around the bush or dancing around what I really want just sounds terrible.”
They both know I’d like to find someone to settle down with: someone to love. Like Everest, I want someone I can take care of and pamper and worship. I want someone I can love and cuddle and treat with kindness and wonder.
I don’t want someone to tie up and beat. Yeah, those things can be fun, but long-term? I want someone like Mallory.
No, I don’t want someone like her.
I just want her.
“So you’re going to ask her to be your subbie, are you?” Everest asks.