Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“How are the renovations at the church going?” Laura took a sip of lemon water after they had finished eating the following Wednesday and gave James an expectant look over the rim of her glass.
After their date on Friday, they both had been busy during the weekend. Other than an extended talk on the phone on Monday and several texts between them, there hadn’t been any contact and she missed him. Wasn’t that strange? They had spent so little time together and somehow, she wanted to be with him, in his space and in his life. It was nice to have someone to talk to about their job and their day.
“It’s going well, thank you.” He inclined his head. “Our newest apprentice, Tom, is really becoming an asset. He’s worked his ass off on this project.”
Laura smiled and nodded along as he talked. She liked listening to James as he explained about his protégées and his work. His passion shone through his words. She admired this kind of dedication .
“How was your work today?” he asked her in return. “Still struggling with that website?”
She sighed. “Yes, I wish they would let us build the damn thing over. There have been so many mistakes with the architecture and design, there are virtually no tests and the frameworks used are old and have too many security issues. Every change is a nightmare.”
James held up his hand. “The only software I know anything about is the program Chris and I use for bookkeeping. Can you chop that information up into small pieces, please?”
Laura thought about her answer for a moment and tried to explain. “I know you renovate houses. But sometimes houses are demolished, right? Well, if you compare this website with a house, there would be a number of things wrong with it. For starters, it’s been built without a blueprint, what we call architecture and design, which left it with considerable flaws – like the toilet sitting in the middle of the living room, or having a bedroom between the kitchen and dining room”
He winced and chuckled. “I see what you mean.”
“A lot of software that’s been developed does standard stuff, like store information in a database, display information on a website, or interact with users. We don’t build code from scratch for everything. That wouldn’t make sense. If you’re building a house, you don’t get clay and fire bricks, chop down the tree and plane out boards, or… or do whatever you do to get sheetrock. You buy the materials you need and put them where you need them. In software development, we have frameworks that take care of the most common things and we only custom-code in special circumstances. ”
“You build the kitchen and custom-order the cabinets,” James said with a nod.
“Exactly.” She smiled, pleased her explanation made sense to him, then sobered. “Finally, their security is in desperate need of updating. Cybercrime is a big issue and is getting bigger every day. By using old frameworks and old code you make yourself vulnerable to cyber-attacks. It’s like locking the front door, but your backdoor is made of cardboard and has a really cheap lock. Hackers share information about known errors in software, so we have to be vigilant to stay ahead of them.”
“Okay, that makes sense to me. Why isn’t your company willing to let you build a new website. Is it about the money?” James inquired.
“Partly, which is a joke, because sooner or later it’s guaranteed to come back and bite them in the ass. On the other hand, it is difficult for them to get enough competent employees. There are simply not enough skilled and trained developers to get all the work done,” Laura explained. “Not for the wages they want to pay.”
“I recognize the problem. I can get enough people to work for me. But finding motivated and skilled people is a lot harder. That’s why we started the apprentice program,” James replied. He rose to collect the dishes and she joined him in the kitchen, where they packed the dishwasher and put the coffeemaker to work.
After they settled in the living room with their mugs James broached the topic of BDSM. “Have you given your feelings about domination and submission more thought?”
“As a matter of fact, I have,” Laura replied. “To be honest, I had a bit of a falling-out about it with my sister, Suzie. ”
At his alarmed expression, she held up her hands reassuringly.
“Don’t worry, we’re okay now. I’ve explained a bit and I’ve lent her some books. She’s keeping an open mind.” Laura fell silent and looked down at her fidgeting hands. “I liked what we did together. It’s obvious I’m submissive in the bedroom and maybe outside, too. I don’t know how much power exchange I’d like or how much control you want.”
James took her restless hands in his and squeezed comfortingly. “Brave girl. If I understand you correctly, you’d like to submit in the bedroom or wherever we have sex.”
Laura smiled and some of the tension left her face and shoulders.
James continued, “As I’ve told you before, I want to be able to take care of you in more ways than only during sex and play scenes. From what you’re saying, I understand you want to find out how much more you would like, too.”
At his expectant look, Laura decided to bite the bullet. “I think I would like for you to take some control over me in daily life. I’m also scared it will interfere with my professional life and the time I spend with my family.”
James acknowledged her words. “Valid concerns. I don’t intend to take over your life and I won’t isolate you – although I’d love to spend as much time with you as possible. Is there something in your life you want to change and can’t seem to do?”
“Yes, exercise. I’ve learned to change my eating habits with my group, but I want to exercise and I don't. Sometimes it’s because I had to work late, or it’s raining, or I’m tired. I have plenty of reasons. ”
James laughed. “Sounds more like excuses to me.”
“You’re right.” She took a sip from her coffee, enjoying the scent as much as the taste. “I want to do it and I know it’s good for me, but I’m lazy sometimes. I don’t know. It’s confusing.”
“Sounds to me like you need some encouragement and maybe some discipline. You’ve set your goal; you know why you want it. Those are important steps. Let’s try something for, say, the next month.” James stroked his chin. “For the next month, I will give you a schedule to do your exercises. We could do some of them together if you’d like. You’ll be held accountable for keeping your schedule and get rewarded or punished according to how well you keep it. Also, I want you to check in with me on a daily basis. In the morning when you wake up and at night when you get ready for bed. Sometimes I’ll give you extra tasks, but this is mostly to check in and for me to be sure you get enough sleep. After a month, we’ll evaluate our arrangement.”
“What kind of tasks and punishment?” Laura wanted to know.
“First of all, the tasks will be fun, because I think and hope you want to please me. They will also serve a purpose. For instance, if you find it difficult to ask people for help, the task might be to go on an errand and ask assistance from someone. It’s role play, meant to make you stronger, a better version of yourself. Punishments are different, of course. They serve to motivate you to keep your promises.” He took her hand in his and ran his thumb over the back of it. “Although your nature is to please, some tasks will be difficult to fulfill. I’ll be pushing your boundaries.”
Laura followed the movement of his thumb with her eyes before lifting them. “Could you give an example of what I could expect? I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself in front of my family and friends.”
“Of course you don’t, and I wouldn’t ask you to do something that would compromise your vanilla life. It’s hard to come up with something off the top of my head, because the punishment and the infraction have to be balanced.” He paused and his eyebrows narrowed. He stroked a finger over her make-up-free face before tapping on one of her neatly trimmed but unpainted nails. “For example, if I asked you to wear nail polish for me, I suspect you wouldn’t want to do it.”
Laura grinned at that. He was right, she wouldn’t.
James continued, “For punishment, I might ask you to talk to at least two women about how cosmetics make them feel and write a report about the benefits and downsides of it.”
She poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue. “Sounds like something I can do. What about work and family?”
“We’ll arrange allotted time for you that’s off-limits to me,” he replied. “Don’t forget you can always use your safeword. Yellow if we need to discuss something and red if you’re not able to keep the agreement or perform the task. “
Okay, she did like the sound of that and yet didn’t. “How would that work and how would you know I wasn’t using my safeword as an excuse?”
“Laura!” He grew stern. “Either you want my guidance and dominance, or you don’t. All I ask from you is for you to be honest and open. Don’t overthink it, experience it. ”
“Yes, Sir.” She felt the telltale tingle and heat in her face at his admonishment.
“Submission isn’t forced, Laura. It is freely given.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“As with scenes, we discuss boundaries and limits. I’ll give you a limit list. It will give us both a general idea of the things you like, would like to try, or want to avoid. We’ll do something similar with exercising. For instance, do you want to do only physical exercise or mental as well?”
Laura blinked. “What do you mean by mental exercise?”
“After our college graduation, Chris and I went on an extended backpacking trip in Asia. We spent a month in a Buddhist Temple in Thailand and stayed in India with a Hindu family. It was an amazing experience. I’m not a Buddhist or a Hindu, but I’ve adopted some of their customs. One of them is meditation or mindfulness, which I learned from the monks. It helps me relax and focus. I would like you to practice it, too.”
“Okay. I haven’t done meditation, but if you’re willing to teach me, I’m open to trying. Did you adopt more ideas?”
“Yes, I did.” James smiled. “I’m not a strict vegetarian, but I follow the Hindu custom and don’t eat fish or meat on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday.”
They talked a bit more and decided about the lists they wanted to fill out and the exercises. They also agreed on getting blood tests done. Since Laura had stayed on the pill to regulate her period, they were protected from pregnancy. If their blood tests turned out negative, they could drop the condoms .
All too soon, Laura needed to go, since she had to work the next day.
James drove her home, his protective nature shining through as he insisted on accompanying her to the entrance of her duplex. Side by side, their footsteps created a harmonious rhythm and matched the beat of her racing heart. When they reached the door, James pulled her into his arms with a gentle yet unwavering hold.
Their bodies melted together in a dance of desire. The world around them faded into the background as their lips met, igniting an inferno of passion that consumed them both.
The intensity of their kiss sent waves of pleasure cascading through her, making her toes curl in response. Her head spun with the heady mix of desire and surrender, only James and the intoxicating connection they shared could evoke from her.