“Are you fucking kidding me? Was this some kind of joke to you, Jas— Josephine?”
“Miles, no, I swear. This was the only way I could show you how much I love you. That we were made for each other. You’ve been ignoring this thing between us for six years, Miles. I’ve done everything under the sun to get you to acknowledge this attraction. To see what was right in front of you.”
“By lying to me? By deceiving me? You don't do that to someone you purport to love, Josephine. Maybe there was a reason I haven’t acted on it. What gives you the right to force someone to be who they’re not to fill some void inside yourself you need filled.”
She bristled and her eyes spit fire. “Wait a minute. I never forced you to do anything, Miles. You were fully on board with this the minute you walked through that door. Don’t you dare try to push your insecurities about your submission onto me. You said you were ready. Just because you suddenly can’t handle the truth of who I really am, don’t try to make me feel guilty. Unlike you, I don’t feel unnecessary guilt for shit I have no reason to feel guilty about.”
I flinched at her words, because I knew they were true. I was completely aware of what I was doing when I came here tonight. I wanted to submit to Jasmine. Jasmine, not Josephine. Fuck. I was so confused right now. Well, except for one thing. I wasn’t confused about my feelings at the moment. The betrayal stung. It stung to a point where I wasn’t sure I could forgive her. I had my reasons for staying away from her. And for her to take that away from me without my consent was a violation of trust.
“I may be new to this, but based on everything I’ve heard and read, trust and communication are two of the most important aspects of this whole submission thing. Without trust, you have nothing. You broke my trust tonight, Josephine. I don’t know that I can forgive this.”
I needed to get out of this room and away from her. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to not say something I might regret later.
“So, that’s it? We’re not even going to talk about this?”
I stared at her, ignoring the tears starting to form in her eyes. I refused to feel guilty about one more thing. “I can’t even look at you right now. I need to leave before I say something I’ll regret. You told me my safe word puts a stop to whatever is happening.” I calmly opened the door and turned back to look at Josephine. “Red.”
I walked out without another word.