Page 9 of Theirs

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, looking over at him.

“Was it too much for you?” he asked hesitantly.

“Not at all. I’m just glad it wasn’t like that video,” I said chuckling.

“Far from it,” he said, furrowing his brows.

“Did you like it?” I wondered why he looked so serious.

“I did,” he said, turning into our building's garage.

“You don’t look like you did,” I said, wondering if he hadn’t liked it.

I could have sworn he was hard a few times.

“No, I did,” he said, pulling into our parking spot, and putting the car into park.

“So…” I prompted.

He rested his elbow on the window, leaning his face against his hand, looking out.

“I don’t want you to do this because you are just doing it for me,” he said. “I realized when she was talking about communicating that just because I want this, doesn’t mean we have to do it. I won’t say I’m not disappointed, but also?—”

“Whoa, I’m going to stop you right there,” I said. “I want to do this because I’m willing to explore this side of you. This is a compromise, maybe I won’t like it, but if we don’t try, how will we know?”

His shoulders sagged, instantly turning towards me. I smiled hoping to ease his worry.

“I mean, I’m not going to lie and tell you I’m not nervous or it wasn’t a little overwhelming,” I said, grabbing his hand. “I want to do this because maybe we will find a little bit of ourselves in this journey, and maybe it’s one step closer to healing us.”

“I feel like I might have done the opposite,” he said, taking a deep breath.

“No, if we can’t be honest with each other, then what's the point of being together?” I squeezed his hand. “So, enoughpouting, let’s go get a drink and talk about how hot our instructor was while we take our tests.”

Luke laughed, leaning over to kiss me. I ran my hand through his hair pulling him closer. He sucked on my bottom lip before rubbing his nose against mine.

“Come on, darlin’, let's get a drink and do our homework from our sexy teacher,” he said, opening the door and getting out of the car.

He rounded the car, opened my door, and grabbed my hand as he led me to our building and into the elevator. He pulled me against his side, so my body was flushed with his. He tilted my head up, studying me before kissing me softly. It was times like these I wondered if I could be the one in charge. The elevator dinged when we arrived on our floor and I sucked his lower lip hard. I guess there was no time like the present.

I grabbed his hand, taking the keys from his hands and opened the door. He walked in first, looking back at me with a quirk of his brow. Closing the door, I leaned against it, getting the nerve to do what Genevieve had said to do.

Dominating someone isn’t just bending them to your will, it’s about the trust you have between partners. The Submissive trusts them to take them to new heights and the Dominant trusts the Submissive to be able to communicate. The Dominant is also a caretaker, they control the scene and they need to learn what their Submissive needs.

I shivered, remembering her walking around the class exuding what she taught. Fake it till you make it right?

“I want a Manhattan and you will get yourself a Mexican Mule,” I said walking past him, swaying my hips a little. “I’d also like a dessert.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said, waiting until I disappeared behind the wall before getting our drinks.

I sat at our dining table, feeling nervous and weird demanding things. Years of being a “woman” was ingrained in me. Don’t raise your voice, don’t be demanding, don’t be smarter than your husband, serve your man, and be quiet, but smile because if you don’t, people will assume you're a bitch. Sue me for having RBF.

Growing up, my mother taught me that boys were more important—of course, not in so many words—that as women, we took care of the house, we did the “girly things”, like cooking and cleaning. It was strange now because Luke was pretty independent and loved to cook for us. My brain couldn’t fathom that a man was doing women's work, but going to college really opened up my eyes to a whole new world.

Cue in the Disney song except I would be singing about finding myself and learning that I was as important as a man. A couple should work together and no job is masculine or feminine.

I knew we were equals. There was a role I felt like I had to fit into sometimes, and it seemed that if Luke wanted a dominant woman, I would have to push all of my upbringing aside and take control.

“Your Manhattan,” Luke said, setting a glass in front of me.

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