Page 19 of Lies You Told
Chloe: I’m spending some time on myself. Some self-care.
Kate: That sounds great. Do you want some company? I understand if you want to be alone.
Usually, I’d have found some excuse to be alone. But I like Kate, and she knows what it’s like to work in a male-dominated environment. Mike and she seem to find the perfect balance. Maybe I need somebody like her, somebody who understands the lifestyle to talk to.
Chloe: Okay, I’d like that.
Kate: Great, pin me your location.
I send her my location and sit on one of the benches in the park, drinking my coffee. I do something I’ve not done in forever, and I sit and people-watch. I’m always on the go and always busy. I never take the time to re-group and take in the world around me. I love this city. I always have. Even as a kid, I used to love coming into the city when my mom allowed me to meet and see her at work. We lived in Jersey growing up, unable to afford the prices of even a small two-bedroom apartment in Manhattan.
“Chloe.” A familiar voice shouts, pulling me from my thoughts.
I’m surprised at how quickly she gets to me when I hear her call out my name. I turn to look at her, keeping both hands around my coffee cup. I’m not a hugger. Kate seems like a hugger!
“I’ve been itching to go on a spending spree since we opened the club.” Kate smiles at me.
“Okay, then I’m your girl,” I say, meaning every word. “I thought you’d be flying back to L.A., though.”
“No, Mike wanted to spend a couple of days here this time. I’m not complaining. I love the city. I’d never visited until we came to check out the club months ago. He wanted me out of the way for a couple of hours, so I thought I’d check and see how you're holding up. I was worried about you last night.”
“Wow! I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” I say as we leave the bench I’ve been sitting on.
We spend hours shopping before we decide to grab food. I’ve forgotten how much fun it can be hanging around with someone when you have so much in common. We get seated by the window, again great for people looking. The waitress brings us a bottle of wine and pours us a glass, leaving the wine on the table between us. I nod my thanks.
“So why did you really want to meet up?” I ask. I smell bullshit with the whole ‘girl time’ hang she mentioned while we were shopping.
Kate gives me a knowing smile. “That’s what I like about you, Chloe. A spade is a spade with you.”
A smile back. I like that Kate takes me as I am. I’m just me. “Is it legal…?”
“No, though I do have a meeting with you next week. I don’t want to discuss that now.”
Adam didn’t mention anything about a new client meeting.
“No, this is about Tuesday night.”
I run through my calendar in my head, and nothing comes to mind.
“We’re trying a new thing. I think you’d benefit from it.”
I take a sip of my wine.
“Jacob came up with an idea,” she says. “He thinks it would be good for the submissives to meet up without the Doms.”
I remember Kieran mentioned something similar when we met up for coffee.
“After last night, I agree even more,” she says. I can feel her eyes on me.
I gulp, even though my mouth is dry.
“I think it would be good for the newbies and those of us who’ve been in the lifestyle for a while. It would be a place for us to talk.”
She’s right. She’s making a great point. “People who understand our dynamics,” I offer her.
“Exactly. Some of the girls have been wanting something like this for a while. We were going to open it up to everyone. Jacob said he knows one or two guys have already said they’re coming. Mike and I want this place to be a safe space for everyone. We want to expand. We’re looking at expanding but still keeping the place we have.”
“And it will be a Dom-free zone?” I ask.
