Chapter 17
Lanie
“Idon’t get why this is a Christmas movie.”
“It happens at Christmas,” I explained. “That makes it a Christmas movie.”
Celia frowned as the credits ran. “I feel like I’ve heard people talking about this before.”
“The status of Die Hard as a Christmas movie is a debate for the ages,” I said in a serious tone. “Long after we’re all dead they’ll still be discussing this.”
She made a little sound that was part laugh and part huff. “Should we walk Arthur before we all go to bed?”
“Are we sleeping over?” I teased.
“I hope so.”
“Okay then.”
The streets were silent as we walked around the neighborhood.
It was drizzling outside, because this was Seattle and it was pretty much always drizzling, but our way was lit with a variety of holiday lights hung along the houses and businesses that we passed.
The rain gave it all a romantic, hazy appearance, although I wished every now and then we’d have a white Christmas like they had back east.
I held Arthur’s leash in one hand, Celia’s hand in the other. We took our time, enjoying the quiet streets while Arthur got his fill of sniffing and peeing on as many things as possible.
“He’s really a good dog,” Celia said as we walked back to our building.
“Yeah, I’m going to miss him when Amy and John get home, and I go back to my own place.”
I’d also miss their giant walk-in shower, their dishwasher, and their ample supply of wine, but I didn’t mention that.
Celia muttered something that sounded like, Maybe you won’t have to, but I pretended like I didn’t hear her.
I didn’t know what to make of her declaration of love. I mean, I felt the same way, but it was crazy. So crazy I could scarcely admit it to myself. We were grown women, not impetuous teenagers. People didn’t really fall in love in a few days, did they? Not sane people anyway.
Yet it felt right for us.
I’d texted a little bit with Amy after Celia came over to invite me for dinner. wanting to update her on the latest developments.
“Remember how quick I fell for John?” she asked. “I told you after our first date I was going to marry him, and you told me I was crazy. But the thing is, when you know, you know. And things have worked out fine for us.”
It was true. John had asked her to marry him after only two months together, but my friend had insisted that they wait to talk about marriage until after the one year mark.
She wanted to be sure. They were married soon after their one year dating anniversary and I’d never seen my friend so happy.
John was a great guy, and he clearly loved her.
But could I have the same thing with Celia?
Only time would tell. But while I was waiting to figure it out, why couldn’t we be together?
“You’re thinking awfully hard over there,” Celia noted, giving my hand a squeeze.
“Maybe you should punish me later,” I teased.
“Don’t tempt me.”
As we walked back, I realized I wanted to learn a little bit more about Celia’s affinity for BDSM. I decided the best plan was just to ask her.
“Tell me more about this Club Surrender you go to,” I said.
She sent me a surprised look. “What do you want to know?”
“Why do you go there? What do you like about that… uh, activity?”
Her expression turned thoughtful. “As a kid, things were… rough. As an adult, it’s felt important for me to be in control. I think that’s why I naturally gravitated towards being a domme. But to be honest, I’ve always been a soft domme.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“I like to help my subs get out of their heads. To leave behind worry or anxiety so they can connect with their bodies and learn how to walk the line between pleasure and pain. But my particular brand of pain is not very intensive.”
“Meaning?”
“I like to give a spanking or play with ice or candle wax. Light flogging or bondage. I don’t like anything that’s hard enough to make people go into full-on subspace. I never whip people or gag them or do anything that will leave a mark for more than a couple of hours.”
“But you don’t get off on it?” I asked, trying to figure out what she got out of it.
“I do, sometimes sexually, but most of the time, it’s the control I like.
I get off on it mentally, if that makes sense.
I like teaching people about their bodies and how to push their limits.
It’s like a stress release for me, I can focus on them and let my mind just shut down from its usual nonstop chatter.
But that’s different from some people in the lifestyle. ”
“And if we’re together, what happens then?”
“Maybe you’ll come to the club with me sometimes,” she said. “I have some friends there and when they got into serious relationships, they all pretty much stopped having anything sexual in their play sessions, at least sexual for them.”
“I don’t know if I’d like you getting someone off sexually if we were together,” I said honestly. “I’d have to think about that.”
I figured I should get that out of the way. If we were dating exclusively there was no way I’d want my girlfriend to be touching another woman’s pussy or worse yet, eating her out. I mean, if she did that stuff at the club. I still wasn’t really sure.
She nodded. “Everything is negotiable and open for discussion.”
“You know, there are a few things I’ve wanted to try. In the bedroom, I mean.”
Her gaze shot towards me. “Like what?”
I lowered my voice, even though we were the only two people on the street. “I always wanted to try being fully tied up, like laying on my back, wrists and ankles secured to the bed while someone makes me come.”
She knocked her shoulder against mine. “We can arrange that.”
“And now that you’ve mentioned it, wax sounds interesting. I think I read that in a book once.”
Celia pulled me into her arms, giving me a quick kiss. “I’ve got a lot of things we can try, if you trust me.”
“I do,” I said. “For some strange reason, I do.”
“I trust you too,” she said. “Now let’s go home. I want to give you my Christmas present.”
“Is it sex?” I teased.
“Maybe.”