‘We haven’t put you off?’
‘Quite the opposite.’
‘Oh, I’m so glad.’ She clapped her hands and sat down beside me on the bed. ‘You’re really a born submissive. I know so many doms – male and female – who would just love to play with you.’
That wider scene thing again. Was I ready for it? Could I consider it?
‘And I can’t believe you’d never gone down on a girl before,’ she babbled on. ‘That was awesome! Right up there with the best.’
‘Wow, thanks.’ I was genuinely flattered. And it was true, I had enjoyed it.
‘It’s us that should be thanking you,’ said Justin. ‘Another outstanding scene. Listen, it can be hard to come down from intense sex like this – we’ll stay with you as long as you like, OK? Maybe run you a bath. Put on a DVD.’
I wanted to cry again. It felt like an age since anyone had considered my needs. Gareth, the selfish fucker, had been one for rolling over and snoring immediately after his substandard version of The Deed. These people were like sex fairies, granting my every wish.
‘I’m so glad I went to that Munch,’ I yawned.
Later on, all curled up together on the sofa watching some Friday night nonsense, the talk turned to the Big Event in London.
‘So what is it? Do you think I’d like it?’
‘You might,’ said Justin. ‘You might not. But it’d be interesting to find out, don’t you think? Besides, you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to. If you just want to watch, that’s fine.’
‘There’ll be all kinds of people there,’ said Maz, ‘into all kinds of different versions of kink. Some of them live it as a lifestyle, others just play now and again. Some are into big group scenes, others strictly couple-focused.’
‘Hang on,’ I said. ‘You said some of them live it as a lifestyle. What, you mean, they have kinky sex all the time? How can that be?’
Justin lifted my wrist and kissed it. ‘Of course they’re not having sex 24/7. But they’re living a Total Power Exchange lifestyle.’
Total Power Exchange? It sounded like a hair metal band.
‘What’s that when it’s at home then?’
‘A master/slave dynamic,’ said Maz.
‘Really? Like, real life master and slave?’ I was fascinated. ‘That would be …’
‘Would you like to do something like that?’ asked Justin.
‘No. No, I couldn’t, could I? How could I work, or just, you know, go to the shops or … anything?’
‘I guess people work things out in their own way,’ said Maz with a shrug. ‘I’ve got a couple of full-time slave friends. One of them sleeps in shackles in a cage, every night. She loves it. Each to their own, right?’
‘Of course. It’s just, well, hard to imagine.’ But interesting to imagine. And to fantasise about.
‘You seem to like obeying orders,’ commented Justin.
‘Well, yeah, in role play. Not in real life, though. I have to give orders all day long …’ I trailed off, not wanting to reveal my real job. ‘And if I’d had a piano lesson like that for real, I’d have called the police.’
Maz laughed.
‘I’m quite drawn to a 24/7 contract, to be honest,’ she said. ‘But it’d never work for me. Like you say, it just wouldn’t fit around work. And I’m usually so knackered from working shifts, I’m playing scenes less and less.’ She sighed. ‘That’s why tonight was such a great release. Not having to be a nurse. An “angel”, as we get called. If only they knew exactly how angelic I really am.’
‘You’re my angel,’ said Justin gallantly, stretching his neck behind me to kiss her.
‘Aww, honey,’ she said. ‘So! The Gathering! Are we all going together or what?’
I bit my lip and considered it for a moment.