Ashley smiled. “I’m sure he still remembers you.” She leaned against the counter. “But I bet what you wanted was to see if he was posting anything about me and him.”
Jess nodded. “Yeah, I guess. Not that I thought he’d be overt about it, but he might say something. And maybe there’d be some clue about other relationships. And photos.”
Ashley smiled. “So you wanted to see if there are any hot pictures of him.”
“Guilty.”
“And I think you’re being a bit of a softy. I bet you were hoping there might be some photos with him and Helen, or her mom. Or maybe that they’re talking on Facebook.” Ashley grabbed another plate and dried it. “Even though you claim that it doesn’t bother you that we’ve lost touch with Helen, I think you were hoping to see how she’s doing.”
Jess unplugged the sink and as the water drained away, she started putting away the dishes Ashley had set on the counter.
Jess pursed her lips. “If that’s the case, then why don’t you think I’d just friend Helen?”
Ashley squeezed her arm and smiled. “Because I know you and I get that you don’t want to be the first to break the silence between the two of you. Requesting to be her friend would make you vulnerable if she refused.”
Ashley realized that Jess had also made herself vulnerable to Dare’s rejection.
“Oh, Jess, is that what happened with Dare? Did he refuse your friend request?”
“No, he actually accepted.”
“That’s good.” Ashley was glad Dare hadn’t rejected her friend. She grabbed a cloth and wiped the counter as Jess put the leftovers in the fridge.
“So did you find anything interesting on his page?”
This time Jess smiled. “You mean, did I find anything about you?” She laughed. “No, not a thing. So that’s good.”
True, Ashley was glad he wasn’t spreading it around that she was being his submissive, or that he was training her—that would be so embarrassing—but of course he wouldn’t. But it would be nice if he’d mentioned something about having met an interesting woman or started an interesting project, or anything at all that referred to what they were doing.
But, of course, she was just being silly. Saying nothing was the best course.
And she knew Darien Gallagher was a very private man. In a way, she was surprised he even had a Facebook page. But in this day and age, of course he would.
Jess grabbed a second bottle of wine and opened it, then poured two glasses. Ashley followed her into the living room and sat down.
“The thing is,” Jess said, “shortly after that, I got a friend request from Helen.”
Shock shimmered through Ashley.
“Really? That’s surprising … but it’s great that she’s in touch with you again. It’s quite a coincidence.”
Jess lounged back on the couch, the full wineglass in her hand.
“Actually, I don’t think so. I think she saw that I became friends with Dare and that prompted her to contact me.”
“Contact you?”
“Well, yes. After I friended her, she sent me a message.” Jess sipped her wine.
“What did she say?”
“She told me that she’d heard Dare was in town for a couple of months working on a business deal and asked if I’d run into him. I told her no.”
A chill ran through Ashley. “You didn’t say anything about the fact that he and I … uh…” She bit her lip. “Well, of course, I know you wouldn’t.”
“No, I didn’t say anything about you and him. Not even that you’ve seen him. Especially since I don’t know why she was so interested in whether I’d seen him or not, or that I’m connecting with him at all.”
Ashley plumped up the pillow behind her, then leaned back.
“I think you’re reading more into it than there is. She probably just saw that he friended you and it made her think it would be nice to connect with you again.”
A part of Ashley was jealous that Helen hadn’t thought to contact Ashley, too. Helen and Ashley had been best friends for years before Jessica moved to town when they were in their early teens.
Ever since Ashley’s mom had died when she was eight, her dad had always pushed her to watch out for herself. To keep her emotions in check and deal with them on her own. Not to depend too much on anyone. But sometimes, she’d needed to talk to someone about her feelings. And Helen had always been there for her. She had understood Ashley’s pain.
But when Jessica showed up, suddenly Jessica and Helen had been best buddies and Ashley had felt like an outsider. Not that they didn’t include her, but the two of them seemed to share so much more. Jessica was always willing to try new things and push the limits, getting them all into trouble more than once. That fascinated Helen, who wanted to break free of her nerdy, smart-girl image and become more popular. Then the year before graduation, it was Helen who seemed to be the one looking for trouble. Near the end, she seemed to pull back from both of them. That was when Jessica and Ashley became closer.
But now that Helen was in touch with Jessica again, Ashley felt really left out.
* * *
Dare parked his car, then walked to the bench facing the small pond in the park where Ashley had asked to meet him. She was already sitting there, throwing small chunks of bread to some ducks. She glanced up as he approached.
She’d told him on the phone that she wanted to talk to him outside of their sessions. He suspected she wanted to end their mentoring. She probably found dealing with her newly discovered arousal at being punished a little too difficult to deal with.
He was determined to talk her into continuing.
“Thanks for coming,” she said as he sat down beside her.
“Of course. What did you want to talk about?”
She compressed her lips. “You’re always very direct, aren’t you?”
“It keeps things simple.”
She nodded and threw a few more crumbs to the birds, then put the bag on the bench beside her.
“I wanted to talk to you about … uh … well, when we’re together, there seems to be…” She bit her lip, then drew in a breath. “You remember that first time when I said that there shouldn’t be anything sexual between us?”
“Yes, I do. And I’ve been using that to push you to set limits so you understand the power you have even as a submissive.”
“But the result is that…” She fidgeted with the tie on the bottom of her jacket. “Well, you could tell that what you were doing was … exciting to me.”
He smiled. “Yes, I could.”
“So, I’d like us to find a way to continue the role-playing but stay away from anything sexual.”
“Why?”
She started, gazing at him with wide eyes. “Uh … It would make me more comfortable.”
“Ash, you’re not doing this to be comfortable. You’re doing it to explore something new and different. Something that excites you.”
“It’s just research for an article,” she stammered.
“No, it’s more than that. You’re curious about what it would be like to be in a Dom-sub relationship. A sexual relationship. And that scares you. Because it pushes you outside your comfort zone.”
He reached his hand in front of her and she leaned back against the wooden bench, clearly thinking he was going to pull her into his arms, but he picked up the bag of bread and threw some to the ducks lingering near the bench.
“Ash, it’s not my fault that you’re aroused by the Dom-sub situation. If you weren’t, I wouldn’t push in that direction, but you clearly are.”
“But that doesn’t mean we have to go in that direction.”
He chuckled. “We don’t have to. But you want to. And you want me to push you.”
“No, I don’t.” Uncertainty laced her words.
He turned to her, locking his gaze with her wide blue eyes. “Ash, I told you not to lie to me.”
She straightened up, gazing at him uncertainly.
“I believe the idea of exploring a sexual relationship with me…” he continued, “where I dominate you completely … exhilarates you. I think you want to pursue it more than anything.” He leaned in closer. “Where I command you to do sexy things to me. Like telling you to strip off your clothes and kneel in front of me. To pull out my cock and take it in your mouth, then suck it until I come in your mouth.”