"I do, too," she said. "But if we head back to my place, I have the pleasure of scrubbing your back." She leered at me, as dirty and sweaty as I was.
"Your place it is!" I said, grinning. I bustled around and grabbed my laptop and books then wondered what I would need for clothes.
"What do I need for clothes?" I asked her.
She leered again. "You don't need any as far as I'm concerned."
I laughed. "We aren't going out tonight? A party, a dinner? Do I need to bring an evening dress?"
"You left your LBD at my place already," she pointed out. "Did you want to go out tonight?" she looked disappointed, then brightened up. "Not that I don't mind showing you off."
"Am I a trophy?"
"Oh definitely," she said.
I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I decided to sit on it.
I ended up packing two changes of casual clothes, one for today, one for tomorrow. Veronica helped me carry things to her car and we set off.
"Have you collected other trophies?" I asked her once we were back on the road.
She glanced over at me to see if I was serious but primarily kept her attention on the road.
"Yes," she said. "A few. I've been around the block. You knew that. Is it a problem?"
"No." I thought about it then said in a small voice. "Am I just a trophy? Mount me on a wall for a while, then store me in the closet and find a new one?"
She actually jerked the car to a stop on the shoulder of the highway, put it in park, then turned to glare at me. She looked angry. I didn't back down but just looked her straight in the eye.
"I. Am. Playing. For. Keeps." she said. "Quite frankly, to suggest you might deserve less is insulting to you. To suggest I'd play games with you is insulting to me."
"We just met. How do you know I'm what you want?"
"I, unlike you," she said, "have been around the block more than once. I, unlike you, have had numerous lovers in my bed. Male and female, although no males for a very long time. I, unlike you, have had ample opportunity to identify the traits I like and don't like in a partner. You have the greatest number of the positive traits I value that I've ever encountered while displaying the least number of negative traits. However, you also have two large flaws that I hope do not prove to be fatal to the relationship."
"What?"
"Well for one, your utter lack of self confidence."
"I have plenty of self confidence."
"And the second is your age."
"You knew my age before you took me home last night."
"Right, but while I know what I want, you are still figuring out what you want. A few years from now, you could perhaps accurately say that I'm your dream woman. But until a few months ago, you didn't even know it was a dream woman you should be looking for. You don't know what you want."
"I know what I want," I said in a small voice. I looked away, then looked her directly in the eye. "In fact, I know exactly what I want."
She raised an eyebrow. "Care to share, oh suddenly great and wise one?"
"Don't mock me. And yes, I care to share. I want a woman." I looked her up and down in a very obvious fashion. "Check. In spades. I want respect." It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. I didn't wait for her to comment, but I think I made my point. "I want someone worthy of respecting." I felt this, too, led to the self-evident conclusion. Veronica was amazing, after all. "I want love. I want to feel safe." I paused. "I want someone who I can talk to, who will be a friend even when we're not in bed, who knows things I don't but also values hearing about the things I know." I licked my lips and caught my breath for a moment. "I want someone who takes care of herself as well as the things around her. I want someone I can trust, someone I know won't hurt me, someone I know is loyal to not only me but also her friends." I thought about it further. "I want someone who will tell me when I'm being an idiot without making me feel badly about it. I want someone who can dance and is okay if sometimes I lead. And she damned well better treat me with kindness."
Then I smiled. "None of that is negotiable. But if, after all that, she's also able to make me scream her name over and over in bed, that's a bonus."
By this time, Veronica was just staring at me.
"Now, do you think perhaps I have at least a rough idea what I want? Do you think I've described anyone in this car?"
In response, she reached over to me and pulled me into a kiss.
"I'm playing for keeps," she said again. "Now that I've caught you, I intend to keep you. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes."
* * *
We got back to her place. We did indeed shower together, but she wouldn't let me play. "If we start, you'll never get to study, and I want you this evening without any distractions."
I consoled myself by washing her. It was the first time my hands had been free to touch her so thoroughly. It was amazing just touching her.
When it was time to study, she took me next door to her company office suite, setting me up in a spare office. "If anyone comes in, just send them next door to me." I got a quick tour, which included her office. I eyed the desk.
"With all that stuff on it," I asked her. "Where are you going to throw me when we make love in here?"
"One of us is not a teenager who is unable to control her passions long enough to walk next door," she told me, laughing.
"I can control my passions," I muttered. "I just don't know why I would want to."
I studied until 3 minutes shy of 6 PM, then gathered all my things and was back in Veronica's apartment just as the clock struck 6. She was puttering in the kitchen. I walked straight to her, threw my arms around her, and gave her the best kiss I could.
"Happy one day anniversary," I told her after our tongues had played with each other for a while. "It has been exactly 24 hours since we met."
She laughed.
"It's been an amazing 24 hours," I went on. "24 hours ago, you didn't know my name. We met. We talked. We danced."
"I've been meaning to ask you," she said, interrupting me. "I know a lot of kids these days are leaning to swing dance, but where did you learn to Argentine tango? I thought I knew all the tango dancers in town."
I thought about it then realized I had no memories of learning to dance. I had images of dancing, but nothing solid. So dance wasn't a Shane skill, and it was a carry over from my earlier life. "Remember I mentioned last night someone who told me to be myself?" Veronica nodded. "It's wrapped up in the same story. I promise I'll tell you some day."
"So, where was I? We danced. We kissed. And then you wrapped handcuffs around my wrists." I paused, savoring the memory. I hoped it wasn't too long before she did it again. She was looking at me with a hungry look, which may have been a desire for food but I hoped was a desire for me.
"You drove me wild. And wild. And wild. We slept, we touched, we talked. And we made some serious promises. All in the first 24 hours."
"Too much?" she asked.
"Hell no," I said. "I'm wondering what we're going to do in the next 24 hours to top it."
"Well," she said slowly, eyeing me up and down. "Last night was pretty tame by my standards but full of new experiences for you. I'm not sure you're ready for me to spice it up."
In response, I unbuttoned the top button of my blouse. Her eyes followed my movements.
"Are you sure?" I asked in a breathy voice as I unbuttoned the second button.
"Dinner is ready," she said in response. "The table is set." She started setting things on the counter. "Please take these to the table."
I picked up a basket of bread and muttered underneath my breath, "Chicken shit."
"I just spent the last two hours cooking," she said quietly. "I don't do it very often. I'm trying to impress you. I want us to eat while the food is hot."
I looked back at her. "I love you." Before she could respond, I retreated to the dining room with the bread.
"What!?" I heard her say from the kitchen.
"You heard me," I said
when I came back, then scampered away with a plate of asparagus and set it on the table.
"That's lust you're feeling," she said after me.
I came back again. "You're suggesting I can't feel both?" I asked before taking a platter of roast chicken to the table.
"You're a very cheeky girl," she told me when I fetched the salad. When I returned for the bottles of dressing, I had unbuttoned two more buttons of my blouse. She noticed. I came back and there wasn't anything else to fetch except her.
"What are you drinking?" I asked her.
"Water," she replied. I fetched two glasses of water and took them to the table. When I came back she was still standing at the counter looking stunned.
I walked around her, got behind her and started pushing her to the dining room table. That got her moving, but that didn't stop me from pushing. It was fun pushing her around.
"Cheeky girl," she said again as she sat down.
"True," I said, thrusting my chin out. I grabbed the salad bowl and served both her plate and then my own. I did the same with the vegetables and the chicken. Then I took a piece of bread, buttered it, and set it on the edge of her plate before buttering one for myself.
I took a bite of my bread then began cutting up my chicken. I then spread the chicken over the top of the salad before taking a combined bite. It was really good!
She was watching me.
"Will you teach me how to cook?" I asked her. "Or should I ask Victoria?"
"Of course I will," she said. "But who do you think taught me? I can teach you the basics, but you'll need to go to Victoria for more than that."
She began eating. We ate quietly for a while. I ate slowly, savoring the food. Veronica ate slowly, clearly lost in thought. "Do you really?" she asked me eventually.
"I think so. I'm not sure." She looked sad at that. "I can't stop thinking about you. That was the worst study session I've ever had."
"I'm sorry," she said. But I don't think she was.
"I can't wait to tell you everything about me, but I'm so worried you'll get bored with me if I do. And I want to know everything about you. I want to understand your business, and what you were like as a little girl. I want to talk to you about my thoughts for the future, and ask your advice. And now I'm thinking about the first time I make a really good meal for you. You'll come home thinking we're going to have to eat take out Chinese or take me out, and I'll have spent the afternoon right here, cooking for you."
I took a breath. "That doesn't even consider the things I hope you'll do to me, and teach me to do to you. And don't think I didn't hear what you called me last night. You were subtle, but you called me Love. I also remember what you tried to get me to tell you last night, but I couldn't." I thought about it. "I don't know what it means, what it implies. But I know this. If you put any effort into it at all, you'll have me begging to say that to you, and when I do, I'll know what it means, and I'll never want anything more in my entire life."
I looked down, speared my mixed chicken and salad, then waved it at her.
"And then you said you worked hard to impress me, and I was overcome with another thought. You care how I feel about you." I ate the chicken, enjoying it. I took a drink of water, then looked at her again. "So I don't know. What do you think? Does all that sound like love to you?"
She nodded then opened her mouth to say something, but I interrupted her. "And I'll tell you something else. I intend to remain a cheeky girl. I am going to be a complete, total handful for you. You told me to be myself. Well, that's who I am going to be. I'm going to love watching you tame me, but I'll never be tame."
This time I let her answer. She'd been smiling for a while. "Tonight. The things I am going to do to you." Then, so I knew it wasn't just an accident, she added, "Love."
I smiled back and returned to the dinner. But the next time she looked over at me, I'd unbuttoned another button.
"Cheeky girl," she said.
"You better believe it."
We finished the meal with small talk. I cleared the table. Veronica tried to help me, but I told her, "You cooked." I cleared the table, put all the leftover food away as best I could, then rinsed the dishes and started the dishwasher. I exited the kitchen saying, "Is there any desert?"
"Oh yes, there most certainly is," she said in a sultry voice. She was sitting in her chair, but had turned it sideways to the table and was dangling a wrist cuff from one finger. "Come here, cheeky girl."
I walked slowly to her, casually unbuttoning the sixth button of my blouse. There was only one more to go. I stood in front of her with my hands on my hips, looking down on her as she was sitting in the chair.
"Turn around," she ordered.
"Isn't this a better view?" I asked. My shirt wasn't exactly falling open, but my breasts were peeking out. If I could have, I would have removed the bra when she wasn't looking, but it was too late now.
"It's a very nice view," she said. "Turn around."
I did, but left my hands on my hips. I resisted the urge to wriggle my ass at her.
She reached out and wrapped a cuff around one wrist. I heard the lock click shut. She did the other wrist, then pulled my hands from my hips and locked the two cuffs together with my hands behind my back. Then she put her hands on my hips and turned me around to face her again.
"Kneel down," she ordered. "And kiss my feet."
I looked down at her feet. They were lovely. I imagined myself kneeling in front of her, kissing them. I rather liked the image. I looked back to her and said, "no."
"What?"
I thrust out my chin. "Make me."
"Kiss them now or I will punish you."
"No."
She sprang to her feet, spun me around before I could react, and grabbed my wrists by the cuffs. She lifted my arms, which caused me to bend over, then began dragging me backwards into the bedroom. I had little choice but to follow along obediently, although I tried struggling feebly. But struggling hurt and following her didn't.
She dragged me that way to her dresser, picked something up off the top, then started pushing me forward and onto the bed, where I fell forward face down. She followed me, never releasing my wrists. Soon she was sitting on my ass, pushing me into the bed, with my wrists lifted away from my back enough that I couldn't get any leverage.
Then she lifted my wrists further. It hurt. Not a lot, but the threat was there.
"I can tie you like this then get a scissors to cut off your clothes. This is a pretty blouse and I'd rather not ruin it. Or you can lie still. The choice is yours."
"I'll behave," I told her. I liked this blouse, too.
She released my hands slowly, ready to reassert control if I suddenly struggled. But I'd promised to behave. She crawled off me slowly just enough to reach underneath me and unbutton the remaining button of the blouse. She tugged it out of my jeans and pulled it off my shoulders so it bunched around my wrists. She unclasped the latch of my bra then stretched the front of it to pull it over my head so she could slide it down with the shirt.
Then I felt her fumbling at my arms. She reached through the sleeves of the blouse in order to clip a restraint to the cuffs, first one side then the other. She tied the right one off to the bed frame so it was taut. The other tether went around the bed frame, but she didn't tie it off.
She unclipped my wrists and they sprang apart. She immediately pulled on the left tether, drawing my arm away from my side before I could react. She had more leverage than I did, and she was able to tie it off with my arm pulled straight away from my side. Then she did the same to the right. She climbed off of me, but stood where I could see her while she folded my blouse and bra. She set them aside before moving behind me. I couldn't raise my head from the bed, so I couldn't see her except barely out of the corner of my eye, but I felt her reach underneath me and find the zipper of my jeans. She slowly worked my jeans off of me, then my socks, and last my panties.
She folded everything, then disappeared from view. When she came bac
k, she climbed back on top of me, pinning my legs to the bed. She wrapped a cuff around each ankle, then used a pair of tethers to pull my legs apart as wide as they would go.
She admired her handiwork, then climbed on top of the bed and stretched out along me, draped partly over me with one leg through over mine. She ran a hand idly over my skin for a few moments before speaking.
"Shane," she said. "I'm spicing it up. Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"Is this too much?"
"No, Roni." My heart was pounding. I wasn't sure what she was going to do next. "Although I think I'm a little scared."
"This is all in fun, Shane. You know that, yes."
"Are you mad I wouldn't kiss your feet?"
"You didn't think I could do this to you, did you?"
"I'm stronger than you are."
"Yes, you are, and if it's ever a test of strength in a fair contest, you will completely win. But I had all the leverage." We lay like that for a moment while she continued to caress my skin. It felt nice. "Shane, I don't like being overpowered. I will completely freak out. Don't ever do it."
"Okay," I told her. "Are you mad at me?"
"No, Shane. I enjoy your spirit. I am about to have fun making you squirm like crazy." She patted my bottom. "You're sure you're okay?"
I considered offering her a taunt, I really did. But something told me she'd rise to the challenge, and I wasn't sure I was ready for it.
"Make sure you stop before I wet the bed," I told her.
She laughed and patted my bottom again. She climbed back off of me and her tone turned back to demanding. "You have a choice," she said. "Ice or the pinwheel."
I had no idea which would be worse. The ice seemed harmless, but I wasn't sure it was. "Roni," I said, begging a little. "Please don't make me pick."
I think that surprised her. "You want me to pick for you?"
"Please, Roni."
She caressed a foot gently. "Okay, Love. Tonight it will be the pinwheel. That will be a newer experience for you than the ice, I think." She went to the dresser and promptly came back, then sat down on the bed beside me where I could see her. She showed it to me.
What she had looked like some sort of surgical instrument. There was a gleaming metal handle attached to a thin metal wheel. The wheel had spikes, sort of like a starburst. She ran it over my arm so I could watch and feel.
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