No Safeword: Matte - Happily Ever After (Safewords) Read online

  Ethan had brought their drinks, and sat in a chair across from Sam as he said, “I’ve never fucked a guy, never dated one, never held their hand, never kissed one… but I’ve received a few blow jobs from them. I don’t see how that’s anyone’s business at the dojo. Sam knows because she’s my wife and I have no secrets from her. My parents and the vast majority of my friends don’t know. Of course, I also don’t share with them my love for anal sex with my wife, so…” He shrugged.

  Sam glared at him a few seconds and then looked to Cassie. “I think what Ethan’s saying is that Frisco sees his bisexual nature as something private. At some point in the future he may feel otherwise, but right now he compartmentalizes his life — he has emotional relationships with women and sexual adventures with men. He won’t know whether his soul mate turns out to be a man or a woman until he finds him or her, and at that time I’m sure he’ll be honest with that person, as Ethan was honest with me.”

  “Cassie,” Frisco said, with compassion in his voice, “people get divorced all the time, for all sorts of reasons. I’m truly sorry you had to go through the pain your father put you through. I don’t know if I’ll ever get married, because I don’t know if one person will ever be enough for me. I’m not going to settle for someone who can’t be everything I need.”

  Cassie shook her head and Frisco said, “The only time I’m ever seen with a man is at The Diamond Club, and a few places like it in Atlanta and Florida. I don’t date men; I just play with them. That may change someday, and if it does I’ll come out to everyone, but for now it’d be a lie to tell people I date men and women, because I only date women.”

  Sam knew where Cassie’s thoughts were headed and she said, “Before you ask, he’s a stickler about safe sex, no matter which gender he’s with.”

  Cassie looked at Sam. “There’s something you know that you aren’t telling me. Some reason you’re okay with this, and I think it has something to do with the whole leash thing. You acted kinda crazy that night, and you and Cameron seemed to hit it off too good for you to have just met. Did you already know?”

  Sam glanced at Ethan and he leaned forward and touched Cassie’s hand. “Sam didn’t know before, and neither did I. For a variety of reasons, she understands the kind of adventures Frisco has with guys, so she knew how to make Cameron feel comfortable. Also, Frisco gave Cameron permission to play with Sam that night,” he glanced at Frisco, “and that night only.”

  Frisco smiled and Ethan turned back to Cassie. “I don’t think he gave Cameron permission to play with anyone else.”

  Frisco responded with, “No, I didn’t. Only Sam.”

  Cassie looked to Sam and back to Ethan. “Permission? There’s that word again. Sam said you gave her permission to fool around that night.”

  Sam pulled her feet into the chair and wrapped her arms around her legs. “Cassie, there’s a reason my friends chose The Diamond Club for my bachelorette party.”

  “Oh no,” she said, disbelieving. “You’re way too strong and opinionated to let anyone put a leash on you.”

  Sam considered a dozen ways to answer the question, but decided they were getting too far off track of the original conversation. “I’m not sharing details of my sex life with Ethan. The point is, Cameron and I have a lot in common and we had a blast dancing with each other and fooling around. So, yes, I understand how Frisco’s relationship is different with women than men, and why it’s a completely different situation than the one your father landed himself in.”

  Cassie looked at all three of them before saying, “So, I’m the only non-kinky person here? I mean, I like playing around with blindfolds and stuff, and I thought that made me kinky, but apparently not?”

  “Well talk kink later, if you want,” Sam said, smiling. “But tonight I’d like to see you and Frisco find a way to be friends again. You wouldn’t look at him during dinner.”

  Cassie seemed uncharacteristically flustered. She downed half her drink, started to say something, and then stood, grabbed Sam’s hand, and dragged her to the other side of the pool. “I couldn’t look at him because I’m suddenly so fucking attracted to him I don’t know what to do with myself. I was sure if anyone had seen me looking at him they’d have known how I felt! What the hell is wrong with me? This is horndog Frisco we’re talking about! And I’m not kinky! Why did it turn me on so much to see him with a human on a leash?”

  Unsure of what to do or say, Sam pulled Cassie into a hug. Finally, she said, “He isn’t into kink with women, just men. Would you be okay dating someone who whips men? Paddles them? Keeps them in chains and makes them clean his house and wash his car?”

  “Well, sure,” Cassie pulled out of the hug and smiled. “As long as he made them give me a massage when I’m sore, and wash my car, too.” She hesitated before adding, “And as long as I met all of them, and got to watch, sometimes.”

  Sam was speechless a few seconds as her brain changed directions.

  “You’ve turned him down how many times? Does he even ask you out anymore?”

  Cassie shook her head. “Not since I saw him with Cameron.”

  Sam laughed and rolled her eyes. “Figures. Okay, do you want me to stick my nose in and tell him you’re interested, or should I butt out?”

  Cassie shook her head. “I have no idea what I want.”

  “Figure it out,” Sam said with a smile. “Tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.”

  Cassie leaned forward and spoke into Sam’s ear, even though they were far enough from the men Sam was sure they couldn’t hear. “I wanted to be Cameron on the leash. Is that wrong?”

  Sam wrapped her friend in another hug. “No, it isn’t wrong. Not at all. But you need to understand that our lifestyle necessitates complete and total honesty with your partner about everything. I can break the ice for you with Frisco, but you’ll need to tell him what you told me, if you ever want it to happen.”

  “But he said he doesn’t do that with girls.”

  Sam backed out of the hug. “I’m not sure where he draws the line, to be honest. I know he doesn’t get rough with girls, but I don’t know if there’s any power play or not.”

  “Power play?”

  “The mental parts of it.”

  “How can I learn this stuff? I tried to look it up online after your party but it all seemed so mean. Not like you and Cameron looked when you danced. Or like the look in Frisco’s eyes when he took the leash off Cameron and told him what he could and couldn’t do.”

  Wow, Cassie had it bad, and wouldn’t be happy until she experienced a scene. Sam needed to get her to someone who could show her, and she hoped Frisco didn’t disappoint.

  “Most of the internet stuff is staged,” Sam explained, “so there’s no emotion. Look, if you’re truly interested I can talk to you about it, but so can Frisco. Why don’t I take you back and tell Frisco you’re turned on by the kink and you need someone to explain it. Let’s start there, so the two of you can get the conversation started. Okay?”

  Cassie fidgeted a few seconds before saying, “Okay, that sounds good.”

  The two walked back hand in hand, and Sam made a decision as they neared the men. She grabbed a seat cushion and tossed it on the ground a few feet in front Frisco.

  “Cassie, drop to your knees.” She helped her friend down and stood behind her. She looked at Frisco and put her finger to her lips to keep him from saying anything yet, and then placed both hands on her friend’s shoulders. “All Dom’s have different preferences, Cassie, but this is probably one of the more common ways to kneel. Arch your back and rest your weight on your heels. Spread your legs, push out your chest, and settle into the position.”

  She waited for her friend to settle and said, “Nice. Now you can either rest your hands on your thighs, or you can grab your elbows behind your back.”

  Cassie put them on her thighs, but settled even more once she had them behind her back. Sam kissed Cassie’s temple before she looked up to Frisco and said, “Ca
ssie was so turned on by Cam’s leash, she hasn’t been able to think of anything else. She’s been asking questions about the kink because she’s curious, not because she’s horrified. She needs someone to teach her about these feelings and show her how to be safe.”

  She kissed Cassie’s temple again and stood, gently removed her hands from her friend’s shoulders, and motioned Ethan to follow her into the house.

  Ethan stood, looked at Cassie, then Sam, then Frisco. “I’ll unlock the playroom and open the door, head downstairs and you can’t miss it. There are clean sheets on the playroom bed; you’re both welcome to stay the night.”

  Ethan followed Sam into the house, closed the door, and turned to watch the couple through the glass. “This isn’t how I saw the evening ending.”

  “I know, I totally read Cassie wrong. I was seeing judgmentalism when in reality she was turned on and curious.”

  They watched Frisco lean forward and caress Cassie’s cheek as he talked to her. Cassie nodded, and Frisco stood, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her.

  “Come on,” Ethan said about fifteen seconds into the kiss. “Let’s give them some privacy.”

  “To be honest, I was hoping to head to bed soon.” Especially after watching Frisco kiss Cassie had her own pulse beginning to race, but she decided Ethan would be better off without that particular piece of information.

  “Go on up,” he said. “I’ll hang out and lock up when they come in. They might go home, or might take me up on my offer.”

  Sam’s exhaustion trumped her arousal, and she fell asleep soon after crawling into bed. She didn’t know how long she slept before Ethan joined her, but he woke her and took her from behind before snuggling in and going to sleep.

  * * * *

  Frisco and Cassie were gone when Sam awakened the next morning, and Ethan told her they’d gone to the playroom the night before, but he didn’t know what had happened afterwards.

  Sam texted both Cassie and Frisco with, “Call me.”

  It was nearly eleven when Frisco texted her to see if he could meet her for lunch. She had him bring take-out from the Greek deli around the corner to her office, where they could talk in private.

  “I told you I don’t do that stuff with girls, Chica.” Frisco said as Sam closed her office door behind him.

  “No, you said you don’t get rough with girls. You can do the D/s without the S&M, you know.”

  Sam followed him to her conference table, accepted her food, and began unwrapping it.

  Frisco didn’t say anything and Sam said, “Just tell me she’s okay today, Frisco.”

  He nodded. “She’s good. I made it good for her.”

  “Was it good for you?”

  Frisco glared at her and she said, “If you’re this conflicted it must’ve been incredible.”

  He rolled his eyes and she chuckled. “I think you’ve been raised on a good helping of Catholic guilt, and your primary role models were women. Your mama taught you women are to be treasured and you’ve taken her words to heart, which is a good thing.”

  “Men aren’t supposed to hit women.”

  “Not unless they consent to it, and get off on it, but your mother and grandmother aren’t going to tell you that part of it.” Sam wrinkled her nose. “Parents and kids aren’t supposed to have those kinds of conversations.”

  “What exactly did Cassie say to you last night?”

  Sam ran the conversation through her mind. “She told me she hadn’t been able to look at you during dinner because she was afraid everyone would see how much she wanted you, and what she wanted from you. She said she wanted to be Cameron on the leash.”

  Sam took her first bite, swallowed, and added, “She’d looked some stuff up, but thought the online scenes looked mean. I think she was a little starry-eyed over the way Cam and I danced, too. Apparently some part of her psyche recognized Cam and I are the same, but she couldn’t figure it out.”

  Frisco nodded and she continued. “I asked her if she’d be okay dating someone who whips men, and paddles them, and makes them clean his house and wash his car. She said that’d be great as long as she got to watch. She also liked the idea of them being ordered to give her massages and wash her car, too.”

  Frisco laughed and shook his head and Sam said, “You’ve never considered the idea of a woman who might be okay with knowing who you truly are?”

  “No. What kind of a woman could like…”

  He trailed off and Sam answered, “I could probably introduce you to a half a dozen off the top of my head, more if I put some thought into it.”

  When he didn’t respond, Sam took a breath and continued. “I think she said something about needing to know she’d meet everyone you played with, and could watch sometimes. I got the idea she’d want to do more than watch.” Sam raised her eyebrows. “How do you feel about playing with a submissive man and woman at the same time?”

  He rolled his eyes at her and Sam said, “I pointed out she’s turned you down so many times you may never ask her out again, and she said you hadn’t flirted with her since my bachelorette party.”

  “Did she tell you to put her on her knees in front of me?”

  She ignored his grumpy attitude and answered with a smile. “Nope, I gave her the speech about the lifestyle requiring you be completely and totally honest with your partner, and told her if she wanted to be Cameron on the leash she’d have to tell you. I got the impression she wasn’t likely to tell you — ever — so I told her I’d see if you’d explain the kink to her, to get the conversation started.”

  He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You have a helluva way of getting a conversation started.”

  “Why hasn’t Cassie returned my text? Should I be worried?”

  He looked at his watch. “I haven’t been to sleep yet. She went home and crashed.”

  Sam took a breath. “Okay, don’t provide details you aren’t comfortable giving, but please at least give me a rough outline of how things went?”

  He shook his head again. “It’s like she was just waiting for someone to come along and give her orders. I stuck to mostly sensation play, and since she’d already talked about the blindfold…” He shrugged and continued. “When I thought the scene should end, I brought her back slowly and then took her to Waffle House around three this morning. We dropped her car off at her house and drove up Lookout Mountain, and were on the View Trail in time to see the sunrise.”

  “And you talked there until you took her home and put her to bed?”

  He nodded. “Her phone died, and when you texted me I called one of my managers to get them to go in for me, and let her use my phone to call in. We talked a few more hours before I took her home, tucked her into bed, and locked the door on my way out.”

  “What did the two of you talk about?”

  “I got a complete rundown of how she felt about every aspect of our time in your playroom — the parts she loved, the parts she’s not too sure about. We talked about her mom, her dad, her therapist, the relationship she has with both parents now.”

  “Did you talk about your mom, your sisters, how you felt about the scene?”

  “No, this was about her, not me.”

  Sam rolled her eyes. “Men can be such idiots.”

  “Such language from a submissive,” he smiled.

  “Hey, I’m submissive to Ethan, not you.” She grinned and took a drink. “Seriously, this is about both of you. She needs to know what’s going on in your head just as much as you need to know what’s going on in hers. Relationships are a two way street.”

  He shook his head. “Relationship? No, this is purely me showing her the ropes. Nothing else.”

  Sam raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure she knows this? I certainly get the idea, from the way you’re talking, that you’re beginning something emotional.”

  He looked down a few seconds and said, “Okay, maybe I don’t know what it is, but I’m not planning on a relationship.”

  “Not plannin
g on it, but if it happens, will you let it?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I need time to think.”

  “I’ve never seen you this serious, so at least I know you’re thinking about it. The big thing is to be open and honest with Cassie, though. Right? You need to tell her about yourself, too.”

  “Yeah yeah.” He rolled his eyes, shook his head, and leaned forward. “She asked if she could watch me with Cam. I told her I’d have to think about it. Do you think she’ll freak if she sees us in action?”

  “Are you worried about her freaking because of the guy-on-guy action, or because of the BDSM parts?”

  He thought about it a few seconds. “Both?”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about the first. She’s been around her dad and his partner a lot. In fact, she has this idea that gay partners are more likely to stay together than straight, married people.”

  Frisco thought a few seconds and said, “Because her mom’s on her third marriage, and her dad is still with the man he left his family for.”

  Sam nodded and Frisco looked pained. “I really don’t want to get caught up in someone’s neurosis.”

  “You’ll have to deal with history and baggage no matter who you end up with, Frisco. It’s part of forming a relationship with someone. What are Cameron’s triggers?”

  “His stepdad used to lock him in a closet in total darkness — not even any light around the doorframe. He’s fine in a cage with a nightlight, but he can’t be put somewhere there isn’t light, and can’t be blindfolded.”

  “Have you ever taken on someone to train who didn’t have at least one thing you had to sidestep and work around?”

  He thought a few moments, opened his mouth as if he’d thought of someone, then closed it when he remembered their issue. “No.”

  * * * *

  Sam saw clients the rest of the day, and when Cassie finally called she had to let it go to voicemail, but managed to text her between clients to let her know she’d call when she left work.