Page 23 of In Her Own Way
As people started to leave, Jessica figured she would say her goodbyes and take off, too. Once she got home, she sat in her car at the top of the driveway, stunned at the recent turn of events.
“Mistress Starr said to make friends, but holy shit. She never told me to find an entire village.”
Chapter 7
Victoria
The next Friday afternoon found Victoria sipping a grapefruit spritzer, her back to the wall in the Scarlett Dungeon, basically people watching. Even though it was early afternoon, the dance floor was pretty full. She guessed some people were starting their weekend early. A few of the couples were sure to be heading to the private rooms in the back any minute now. She had her imaginary money on the couple near the beverage depot. Yep, yep, there they go. She chuckled out loud. “Called it.”
A sudden feeling of loneliness blossomed in her chest. And she knew why. The video Rowena sent her last Sunday had hit her hard. Watching Shanice walk for the first time since that major car accident had Victoria crying. As she watched the video over and over, she cheered for the young woman even though it wasn’t in real time. A pang of loss hit her as she watched her former best friend, Rikki, hug Shanice. And then there was Bernadette, looking happy, for lack of a better word. She looked like a proud Mama, too, watching Shanice walk. In the video, Madison made everyone laugh with a crack about how tall Shanice was, even though Shanice was a small woman. The intriguing-looking woman standing next to Madison was new, though. Cute. A BBW, a big beautiful woman,and Victoria wondered if she was new to the community there. Maybe another sub for Jaleesa? Or, no, she was probably one of Shanice’s coworkers from the computer programming place. Didn’t matter. She’d never meet the woman, anyway.
As Victoria held up the wall in the dimly lit club, she took pride in the fact that Shanice had taken her setback in stride, bared down, and fucking walked on those new prosthetics. It was surreal to see her upright like that. Victoria had only known her sitting down in a chair or in someone’s arms. Of course, sometimes she would knee walk across the floor until Marta noticed and reprimanded her.
Victoria smiled. She knew she had missed something monumental. In the background of the video, Marta was crying her eyes out. She was so sensitive. How she’d survived in Afghanistan without breaking down was beyond Victoria. It just shows you that you rise to your strengths when you have to.
The music changed, the heavy bass beat bringing Victoria back to the present. She had arrived at the Scarlett Dungeon early, so she wasn’t worried that she hadn’t seen the woman from last week yet. Getting to places early helped her feel in control before allowing anyone into her space.
Someone moved closer. Victoria didn’t acknowledge the masc woman, preferring to be alone, thank you very much.
“Come here often?” the woman asked and then laughed. “I’m just kidding.”
Victoria chuckled, glanced at the woman, and said, “I just moved back.” The woman was of average height, with short, curly, bleached-blonde hair and a firm stance. She was confident, or at least presented that way. Was she competition for the trade here at the Scarlett Dungeon? Didn’t matter; Victoria always got what she came for.
“Where’d you move from?” the woman asked.
No, no. This woman was getting way too friendly. Not going to happen. She wasn’t her type, anyway. “I’m meeting someone here,” Victoria said succinctly.
“Oh, shit, no,” the woman said. “I’m Tillman. I just saw a kindred spirit sipping gin and juice and thought I’d say hello. That’s all.”
“Vic,” Victoria said, glancing at the woman again, and stuck out her hand. The firm grip was expected and returned. “No gin, though. Playtime and alcohol don’t mix. I’m glad they don’t sell it here.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Tillman said. “People become assholes when they drink, that’s for sure. I haven’t seen you here before.”
“Like I said, I just got back. I grew up in Indy, spent time in the Army, got out, and made a life elsewhere. But now I’m back.” And why the hell was she offering up that much personal information to a stranger? Even the woman she was meeting didn’t know that much, and they’d spent way more intimate time together.
“Thank you for your service, Vic.”
Victoria simply nodded. Being in the Reserves had been a lot more than she’d bargained for. Besides the physical requirements, the fear of getting deployed to Afghanistan or other war zones was petrifying. Luckily, her unit only got deployed domestically, often working alongside the National Guard. The worst was patrolling theBlack Lives Mattermarches after the Trayvon Martin murder. She felt like an ass on the sidelines. She’d felt like a hypocrite policing these furious people who had every right to assemble and have their voices heard. She wore tear gas on her belt and had a gun in her hands and gratefully wasn’t ordered to use any of it. She wanted to be marching with them, not looking like the enemy on the sidelines. Helping the flood victims in Mississippi, on the other hand, had been immensely rewarding. That’s the kind of thing she’dwanted to do in the Reserves, but you go where they tell you and do what you’re told.
Victoria scoffed. “I didn’t much like orders barked at me, though.”
“Ever deployed overseas? To the Middle East or somewhere like that?”
“No,” Victoria said. “There was talk of it just when my time ran out.”
“Lucky.”
“Yeah.”
“There she is,” Victoria said, hearing the relief in her own voice. It was one thing to be stood up when she was alone, but another when someone witnessed it. She lifted her chin, and a natural smile graced her face.
“Hey, stud,” the woman said, sidling up next to her. She ran a hand down Victoria’s face, a clearly affectionate gesture.
The woman turned to look at the masc standing next to Victoria. “Hey, Tillman.” Oh, shit, they knew each other. Former play partners, perhaps?
“Hey, Lauren,” Tillman said.
Lauren held Tillman’s gaze and said, “You have your secrets. I have mine, and I prefer them to stay that way. Deal?”
