Page 13 of Dared
I arrived at Zelda’s house a little before five o’clock with a bottle of wine and a hopeful attitude. I’d dressed casually for the barbecue but with an eye towards looking good, donning skinny jeans, ankle boots, and a light baby blue sweater with a low neckline that highlighted my minimal cleavage. A girl had to play up whatever assets she had, that’s for sure.
I chatted with Zelda and her girlfriend Mariah while we waited for the others to arrive. I knew these two had a complicated history. Mariah and Zelda had gone to high school together, and Mariah had been a queen bee bully whose frequent target was Zelda. But somehow when they ran into each other at Club Surrender they’d been able to work through the pain of their past and now the two women were happy and very obviously in love.
It made me happy. I’d known Zelda for a long time and seen her run through a string of women who were only interested in the fortune that she’d amassed as a real estate developer. She wasn’t the asshole she apparently was in high school, not anymore, and I was glad that Mariah had been able to forgive her for the pain she’d caused in the past.
When the rest of the guests arrived, Luisa didn’t look at all surprised to see me, telling me that she knew I’d be there and was okay with it. It soothed the lingering anxiety I had about seeing her again.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a few minutes?” I asked once everyone had exchanged greetings.
“Sure.”
Luisa looked adorable in black leggings, knee high black boots and a clingy red tunic that hugged her curves. I had the strongest urge to bite my way down her body, but instead I led her into the guest bedroom, closing the door behind us and keeping my hands – and my mouth – to myself.
Luisa looked around curiously before taking a seat on a bench that was set against the bottom of the bed.
“I’ve never been here before,” she noted. “Zelda has a great house.”
I nodded. “Listen, I wanted to apologize for freaking out on you last night.”
Luisa patted the bench next to her and I sat down.
“Why did you?” she asked. “I couldn’t have been more clear that I loved everything we were doing. Did you not enjoy it? Because you seemed totally into it at the time.”
She cocked her head with the question, her eyes watching me carefully.
“I loved it,” I answered honestly. “I just had, well I got overwhelmed with emotions. I, um, well I’m struggling a bit to reconcile my urges to dominate people with my strong desire not to turn into an abusive asshole like my father.”
I held up my hand as she opened her mouth to respond. “I know, it’s a totally different thing but there’s an added complication.”
“Added complication?” She got a little crinkle between her brows at my words.
“Yeah. It turns out I like you,” I said. “Like you like you I mean. I got freaked out because I realized that it wasn’t just that I didn’t want to hurt someone, I didn’t want to hurt you. Hurt you beyond what you like, I mean.”
“Well your running away hurt way more than you spanking me,” she said tartly. “I liked the spanking part. You were tentative at first, but once you got into it, you were fine. The thing I like about spanking is it does a nice job of clearing all the chattering in my brain.”
We were both silent for a few seconds before I got the courage to speak again.
“I’d like to see you again, Luisa. Not at the club. I mean, I’m not opposed to hanging out with you at the club again sometime in the future, but I was hoping you’d agree to go to dinner with me sometime and do something else.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?” she clarified.
I couldn’t tell what she thought about that.
“Yeah. I am. I’d like to get to know you.” My eyes bounced between hers, gauging her reactions. “If that’s okay with you, I mean.”
Suddenly her face broke out into a big smile. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”
She threw herself into my arms and kissed me until we were both breathless. We pulled away reluctantly when we heard someone banging on the door.
“Quit fooling around and come get some food,” Zelda called through the door. “You need to keep your energy up.”
Luisa
Four weeks later...
Paula and I had been dating for nearly a month now, seeing each other three or four times a week and texting every day. It was perfect, except for one thing: Paula refused to touch me.
Well, she touched me. She held my hand. Put her arm around my shoulders when we watched a movie. And we made out like teenagers every time we saw each other. But Paula refused to move past first base. The second a hand touched a boob, or fingers slipped beneath a waistband she pulled back.
