Page 17 of James

“I’m so glad you’re free. I’m so proud of you. Anyway, let’s get back to something more interesting.” Suzie leaned back to make eye contact and gave Laura a chin lift. “What about James the hottie and this BDSM stuff? Do you want him, specifically, or are you just interested in the whole ‘scene’? You need to decide what you want.”

Thankful for the out, Laura told her about getting onto Fetlife and how overwhelming it had felt while Suzie watched her with a critical eye. But when she started to explain about some of the local things she’d found, Suzie’s demeanor became more thoughtful.

“They have these things called ‘munches,’” Laura mentioned, “where you can meet people and talk. It’s usually in a normal venue, like a hotel or a restaurant. Everyone is in normal clothes and there’s no play. You just… greet and eat.”

“Now that sounds like a good way to find out more.” Suzie nodded her approval. “How do you go about finding one? And do you think you might run into James there?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Laura, as if the possibility had never occurred to her and wasn’t making her heart pound right now. “He’s much more advanced in the, um, the lifestyle. I doubt he bothers much with munches anymore.”

“Unless he’s looking for a certain newbie. Think about it, you walk in and there he is. Your eyes meet across a crowded room, and you…?”

“Run screaming from the room.” She shrugged. “At least it would get his attention.”

Suzie shook her head and threw a dishtowel at her.

Laura caught it and started wiping down the table, saying, “But there’s a munch next Wednesday night at the Smokehouse. It’s right on a bus route so I could work a little bit late and then go straight to the munch. Is your computer on? I should RSVP before I lose my nerve.”

Suzie nodded, amused. “Sure, go ahead. Is it just me or is the thought of a kink club asking for RSVPs like it’s a wedding or a baby shower really, really funny?”

“I told you, it’s at the Smokehouse. The host has to know how many people are coming to make the reservation.” She hovered the mouse over the button. “Here’s the notice. It looks like the host is someone called ‘LadyKatetheSadist.’” She took a deep breath and clicked. “Okay, then. Here I go. One RSVP sent out.”

“Now clear the browser history, because while I am happy that my big sis is reclaiming her sexuality, I am not prepared to explain to my children that ‘FetLife’ is not a fun new game they should be playing. And can I just say, ‘LadyKatetheSadist’ does not sound like a nice person to me,” Suzie cautioned.

“No, I don’t think it means anything bad,” Laura hurried to explain. “It’s a way of announcing what you like. Sadism isn’t necessarily a bad thing. There are plenty of masochists around looking for good sadists, at least from what I can tell.”

There was plenty more she could have said and Suzie seemed to be a bit more open-minded about hearing it, but just then, the kids came running in, asking if Laura would stay and read them a bedtime story, and the rest of the night passed in a flutter of Harry Potter pages.

CHAPTER TWELVE

On Wednesday, Laura went to work and was unusually productive despite spending all day mentally preparing herself to go to the munch. She went to the ladies’ room a dozen times to check her clothes in case she had accidentally spilled something on them during the day. She practiced smiling in the mirror and friendly greetings with her coworkers until one of them asked if she was okay. Her nerves jangled as the hours ticked by, but when her shift actually ended, a strange calm fell over her. With a wave at the doorman, she left the building and took some fortifying deep breaths as she walked to the bus stop.

The munch was at the Smokehouse, which wasn’t really in her budget, but she could get by with an appetizer and water. She was too nervous to want to eat anyway. Once she stepped off the bus, the butterflies she’d had off-and-on all day started up again, and she almost climbed right back on the bus. But she had decided she wanted to know more about BDSM and what the people involved were like, so in she went.

The first person she noticed was a woman about herheight with gorgeous auburn hair. She walked up to Laura as soon as she caught sight of her and said, “You must be HoneyLamb42. I’m Kate and I’m playing host this month.”

“Hi Kate, I’m Laura. How did you know who I was?” Laura inquired.

“It was pretty obvious since we didn’t have any other new people RSVP this month.” She must have read the panic in Laura’s eyes, because she added, “Sometimes half the group is new to us, sometimes it’s just a few. Personally, I like when it’s just one or two, so I can give them individual attention and answer questions. Come on in, I’ll introduce you around.”

Laura wasn’t quite sure what to make of this. Obviously, this was LadyKatetheSadist, but she looked so normal. She was wearing jeans and a nice sweater, but there was nothing special about it, nothing even slightly saucy.

Laura glanced at the woman’s face, noticing a glimmer in her eyes.

Her tone laced with a touch of humor, Kate spoke, “Munches are strictly vanilla affairs. I leave my floggers and cuffs at home.”

“Oh,” was all that Laura could manage in response.

Giving Laura little time to feel embarrassed, Kate introduced her to the loose crowd of people around the bar. “This is Laura, she’s new, both to us and the scene. Laura, over here we have Mitch and Julie, who are something of an item right now, although both insist it’s just for play. Peter, Janet, Scott, and Sonja. I know it’s a lot of names to keep straight, but most of us aren’t good with names either, so don’t worry if you forget.”

Mitch was wearing jeans and an old sweatshirt fromMizzou. The vivacious Asian Julie was in jeans and a t-shirt that said,My password is the last 8 digits of π.

Laura felt a little over-dressed in her work clothes. As a rule, she wore a skirt and nice blouse so she would look professional, even if some of the men showed up in jeans and t-shirts like Julie’s.

Sonja, at least, had a dress on, but she looked pretty relaxed. No one looked scary. Janet was as overweight as Laura had been before she slimmed down, and Peter was downright fat, but neither appeared self-conscious. He looked like a laughing Buddha with his bald head and protruding belly, and she was cute in a babydoll dress and glittery tights that emphasized, rather than hid her curves. Laura started to realize people who were into kink and BDSM could look perfectly normal. There was nothing obviously odd about any of these people.

There was already a large platter of appetizers and small plates on a table by the bar which Kate told her was for the whole group, so when the bartender strolled over and asked what she would like, Laura splurged and ordered a glass of white wine, hoping it might help her relax.

“So, Laura–” Mitch's voice took on a tone of genuine interest. “— how long have you been in the scene?”

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