“Hello, I am at your service this evening,” the waitress was generous with a bright smile that revealed her set of white teeth. Samantha was a regular at the place and knew the waitress.

“Thank you, Ann,” Samantha courteously said to the waitress.

I kept quiet and looked around the place. Samantha, however, felt that I could do with some greetings. I gave her a knowing look, and she got the message and went ahead to go through the menu and passed the book to me to choose from.

“First, I need wine, this one here,” I indicated my preference in the menu book.

Ann disappeared and returned within a minute with my drink and two wine glasses. She unscrewed the wine bottle, and Samantha took it after she had dropped it on the table. Smiling and looking at me, she served me before pouring it into her cup.

“I am going to make this worthwhile for you,” Samantha said.

"You have always made me happy, and lately, you have made me fulfilled," I responded.

“That’s the idea, isn’t it? To put Kyle in his place so that you can have your peace. I’m sure he has learned not to ridicule you again,” she said.

“I hope so, but I think …”

“What’s bothering you? I’ve noticed your sullen face since we left home. Talk to me, Andrea. What bothers you?” Samantha asked.

“Nothing, Samantha. Nothing for you to worry about,” I responded.

“I am worried about you already, Andrea,” Samantha rubbed the back of my hand on the table and said, “You can trust me with this. You can trust me to help you. I love you.”

I stared at Samantha, not sure what to tell her and what she wanted to hear from me. Then, I asked, “What do you think of me and Kyle?”

With arms across her chest and her face squared on mine, she said, “You love him and you doubt if what you are doing to him is the right thing to do, don’t you?”

“I do,” I confessed before thinking that I should have been more careful with my response to her, "It is not that I don't believe in what we are doing, but, uh, I feel that I am moving too fast."

"That's the same thing I am saying. Your love for Kyle has made you accept all sorts of nonsense from him, and now, you doubt yourself," she said.

Samantha was right. I shouldn’t have accepted being Kyle's sub in the first place. But I loved him and believed in the idea of being submissive to the man in the relationship. With Kyle taking that literally, I had no problem with it, as the sex had always been good, and the companionship had been better until recently.

“Kyle is a good man,” I said.

“Really? I can’t believe you just said that. I mean, if he has been a good man, why the revolt against him?”

“It is not a revolt, Samantha. I wanted Kyle to treat me differently, and what I did was the only way I could think of making my point."

“And now, do you think you have made your point sufficiently clear to him?”

I paused, unsure of what to tell Samanatha. I hadn't expected the direction of the conversation. I sipped from my cup and still didn’t have an answer for Samantha.

“You know what? Let’s forget about everything. Let’s enjoy our time together and go home. I will figure it all out by myself,” I said.

“Babe, I am not going to let you do this to yourself. I am taking you to a place tomorrow,” she said.

"Where is the place and what for? See, Samantha, I have always figured things out by myself, and I am sure I will with this one, too,” I said.

Samantha stared at me for almost a minute, which seemed like an hour spent in silence. I felt she knew that I was only putting up a façade of boldness to get back to Kyle. Somehow, I missed Kyle and how he treated me. I loved him, and I wanted him back if only he could stop sharing me with his friends.

I wanted a nicer Kyle, but it was difficult to explain these issues to Samantha without drawing her anger. She had felt and even said that I was reluctant to take more decisive action against Kyle because I had obsessively loved him. But how could I stop to love him, even after he seemed to have learned how to treat me?

“You have one month to the end of your deal with Kyle, don’t you?” Samantha asked.

“Yes, one month and two weeks,” I replied.

“Why not let me introduce you to a club of like minds where you can do whatever you like in the six weeks and see if Kyle still deserves you? You are free to decide after the period,” Samantha said.