“Make yourself comfortable.”
He sat down in his chair, got his tattoo machine ready and started pouring the colored ink in little containers. Rebecca removed her shirt but kept her bra on, as she had before. She positioned herself on the chair, taking a deep breath to calm her raging nerves.
“Did you tell Caine I said hi? Last time you were here, you said Neely and Caine were out of town,” he said as he turned on his machine, dipped the tip into the ink, and moved into position to begin.
“I told his wife. I haven’t seen Caine. I told Neely that I was going to tell Caine to spank her for sending me to a spanko for a tattoo.” Oh god, why did I say that? She glanced over her shoulder to see if she’d insulted him.
He chuckled. “Oh, really?” He put his fingertips to her cheek and pushed her head forward. “That’s not a very nice thing to do to your friend.”
She released a nervous giggle. “Well, it’s not like he really would or anything.”
“Oh yes, he would. He has to. It’s the DD law. Don’t you know the Domestic Discipline list of conduct rules? If someone requests that a spanking be given, then rule number twenty-one clearly states that a spanking must be delivered with a paddle, panties down, bent over the bed. It’s the rule.” He continued giving the tattoo as if he hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary. “In fact, if I remember correctly, the dictate clearly says that sixty swats must be given. You really are going to make Neely pay for this one.”
“What? You are kidding, right?”
“I’m sure it will pain Caine to do it. But the Domestic Discipline doctrine cannot be broken.”
Rebecca turned her head to look at Sawyer in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? There isn’t some doctrine somewhere?” Was this for real? She couldn’t read his face.
He shrugged his shoulders. “I feel sorry for Neely.” He stopped tattooing and winked at her. “Or more sorry for her ass. And then, after Caine whips Neely, he has to sacrifice a goat.” He gave a wicked smile and chuckled. Once again, he placed his fingertips against her face and positioned it forward.
“Ha ha, very funny,” she replied. “Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was some doctrine. Who knows with this whole DD thing.”
“No, there is no doctrine. If anything, there may be list of rules the couple comes up with. You really don’t know anything about DD, do you?”
“No, why would I?”
“Because you judge it. I’ve always believed that if you are going to be so strongly against a belief or a lifestyle, then you should be fully educated about it first. But that’s just me.”
“I don’t judge it,” she snapped, feeling defensive.
“You do,” he countered.
“Well…” She paused, realizing he might be right. “Maybe I have judged… a little.”
They sat in silence for a while, as if neither knew what to say next, or whether they should even continue this conversation. The only sound was the buzz of the tattoo machine. Rebecca noticed that there wasn’t any music playing today, and she sort of missed it. Sawyer began to run the gun over her ribs once more, over and over and over again. She hissed in pain.
“Sorry,” he said. “This spot’s a real bitch.”
“You’re telling me,” she said through clenched teeth. “All my organs are vibrating.”
Rebecca needed to get her mind off of her pain. They weren’t even an hour in, and she wasn’t going to make it at this rate.
“So educate me,” she blurted. “Educate me on why my friends have chosen to live in a DD relationship.” She didn’t like being called out the way Sawyer just had, but he had a point. She was judging, and she didn’t know much about the lifestyle.
“I’m not the one to do that. I don’t know what makes your friends do what they do.”
“Fine. Then tell me why you believe in it. Give me your viewpoint.”
“It’s simple really,” he began. “I grew up in a household with a lot of screaming, slamming doors, fists in the walls, cussing, anger, you name it. Dysfunction with a capital ‘D’. My brother and I got into our fair share of trouble… my brother more than me. My mom, as much as I loved her, drank a lot, and usually passed out on the couch with a cigarette still in her mouth. My dad was just an asshole, and we will leave it at that.” He dabbed the gun in the ink and paused for a moment before continuing. “Anyway, relationships were not something I ever wanted. Hell no was I going to live a life like my parents.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rebecca offered, right before she hissed in pain. Color hurt!
“Yeah, well, I was giving Caine a tattoo and, long story short, we somehow got onto the conversation of Domestic Discipline. The idea made sense and I ate that shit up. Any way to be different than what I knew sounded brilliant. At the time I was on course to just repeat history. After the tattoo, I went home and researched the hell out of it. When I had my next session with Caine, I pumped him for every single detail. I guess you could say Caine was my mentor.”