by Ana Vela
She smiled into the mirror. "Ready to play", she told herself excitedly.
Stumbling slightly as she alighted from the bus at their appointed meeting place, she hoped that she could keep this character up. She had opted for high-heeled suede boots with her dress, which may be making her legs look fantastic, but she was out of practice at walking in heels and felt slightly foolish as she tried to gain her balance; glancing around in consternation as she did so. Of course, none of the many passersby so much as threw her a glance; so engrossed were they in whatever it was that was making them hurry so much.
Reassured by their indifference, she began striding with growing confidence, looking around in curiosity to see if she could spot Edwin. Ah! There was the bar they were meeting at. No sign of him outside, though. She wandered inside, peering around the dimly lit interior. Still no sign of him.
Strange; she had been sure that she was late. She wondered whether to sit down at a table or perhaps order a drink? She took a few steps towards the bar, uncertainly.
There was a vaguely familiar man standing at the bar; a brown-skinned, powerful looking guy in loose white linen trousers and a long, loose creamy silk shirt. As she stepped closer she realised with a start that it was him.
"Oh!" she said, almost in front of him before she recognised him; "you look different without your suit!"
He laughed; an open, happy laugh that made her picture liquid gold filling them both.
"Well, you look fantastic", he replied, taking her hand and kissing her on the cheek; delicately, yet with real feeling. "It's good to see you".
"You too," she smiled, gazing at him. It was so easy to feel comfortable around him; she had forgotten all of her misgivings about her shoes and was simply drinking in his presence.
"Drink?" he asked, as if sensing how she was feeling, and wanting to provide more."Or, would you like to continue straight to our place of dinner?"
"Oh…that sounds fantastic," said Lily, eager to be somewhere where they could explore each other more in-depth.
"Then come with me," he winked, leading her out of the bar.
Opening the door, he held it for her to pass in front of him. Seeing this, Lily felt a twinge of defiance and the surfacing of some old feelings about not being a submissive woman. 'After all, whoever my character is, I need to feel good in it!' she thought. But as the memory of Eugene spanking her in total dominance flashed briefly in her mind she felt herself letting go of some old beliefs about what feels good. Letting go.
She glanced at Edwin, aware that he could sense her pausing. He was smiling, his green eyes twinkling at her sincerely and in merriment.
"Only if you want to, of course", he murmured softly; and she felt his deep voice melting her worries like butter on a hot day.
Smiling as well, she passed through the offered door.
"Of course", she agreed, feeling a new soft tingling; a small trickling of energy beginning to uncoil in the bottom of her spine.
They walked side by side through the twilit streets, peacefully ignoring the hum of worry emanating from many of the streets' inhabitants. They were somewhere close to the river and could feel the fresh Thames breeze whirling about their bodies; seeming to bring with it promises of faraway lands. Normally Lily would huddle against such a wind but this evening she found herself standing straight and inhaling deeply, invigorated by it. She even pulled open her long black coat slightly to feel the breeze playing on her skin; though only for a second or two; not wanting to actually become frozen. Edwin noticed this and also unbuttoned his corduroy trench coat; laughing as the wind whisked about him, lifting the coat right up behind him.
"Wow! This weather is pretty energising!" grinned Lily, twirling in the breeze. She faltered as her heels got in her way, and staggered slightly.
"Oops", she said, embarrassed; but Edwin's eyes were twinkling at her in reassurance, putting her at ease again.
"Yes, it's good for revitalising one's energies", he agreed. "Sometimes it even feels like the wind can blow away our old selves and - aaah!" he sighed as they rounded a corner and came to the riverbank, resplendent with glowing street lamps and the passing glimmers of boats on the water and traffic on the other shore.
They advanced to the rail and stood with their hands on it, leaning back as the wind pushed them; relishing being taken by it.
Lily could not recall the last time she had visited the river. Well, she never came to the river just to visit; only happened to look at it when she was passing to somewhere else.
They were standing now very close to a bridge, brilliantly illuminated and standing out beautifully against the black sky; in which there were fleeting glimpses of stars as the wind continued to play with the clouds. Lily gazed, entranced, at the bridge's reflection swimming below her; watching as the swirls of light beams broke endlessly into dazzling points.
“It's a powerful place to be, isn't it?" asked Edwin, interrupting her trance somewhat.
"Oh yes…" she said slowly, still hypnotised by the reflected lights.
"Sort of a mix between this huge natural energy and…"
"And inspiring beauty?" finished Edwin softly. She turned to look at him, finally breaking the spell of the lights.
He was gazing at her with immense tenderness in his deep, sea-like eyes.
"Something like that…" she mused, as they stared at each other. Then a huge gust of wind caught them both by surprise, and she stumbled into Edwin. He gripped her for a few seconds as they stood, laughing. Then he held her at arm's length, and looking with amusement into her face he suggested:
"I think we'd better retreat to somewhere indoors!"
He took her up a back alleyway and through an unmarked door, which led, surprisingly, to a large, irregularly shaped room, full of tables and chairs, and whose walls were covered in brightly painted murals of flowers, birds and trees. As she stepped further into the room she noticed that one whole side of it was a huge window; a lot like Eugene's flat. However, instead of a view of skyscrapers and banking logos, this window looked out onto…the river again; commanding a fantastic view of quite a long extent of the Thames' winding path through the city.
She gasped in pleasure at this, and began to make her way through the mainly empty tables towards the window.
As she walked, she noticed the decor more; tables covered with multicoloured fabrics and flowers in little pots; softly chatting groups of people in scruffy or casual clothes. She looked down, noticing her own smart outfit, and felt distinctly out of place. This place seemed fantastic; yet she didn't fit in here. The lampshades were papier mache vegetables and here she was dressed for Michelin-star dining! She paused briefly, breathing deeply. Edwin stopped behind her and she tried not to show him her discomfort. He stepped around her, coming to the table with the clearest view of the vista, and spread his arm to her in a gesture of welcome.
"Care to join me?" he enquired gently, and she mentally shook herself, feeling foolish. Of course it shouldn't matter what she looked like! 'I'm here to enjoy', she told herself, and sat opposite him at the colourful table, whose centrepiece was a miniature pot containing what looked like a jasmine plant.
*******
Later; much later, she fumbled her way into her flat, tottering slightly in her now quite painful boots. Without even bothering to take them off, she lay flat on her back on her bed, feet hanging from the end.
'What a night!' she thought. A great many confusing emotions were vying for her attention as she replayed the evening's events in her mind. Dinner had been absolutely fantastic; probably some of the best food she had ever eaten; and Edwin's conversation had been intriguing to say the least. No, more like mesmerising, she thought, recalling those hypnotic green eyes and shivering happily at the effect they had on her. So what exactly had made her act so cold at the end, leaving him on a street just outside the restaurant? Frowning, she attempted to pinpoint this. She knew it had felt like the right decision at the time, but now, thinking back, she wasn't so sur
e (this feeling was more difficult to define).
Whenever they were together; wherever they went, Edwin inspired a natural ease in her which was like nothing she'd ever felt before. His presence seemed to create an atmosphere of magic around everything they did, like constant hum of excitement, in which anything was possible. So why didn't she feel comfortable enough to open up to him?
Partly she worried that it was only because of his wealth that he was able to project this feeling.
Surely it's not necessary to be rich to live a magical life…
Money had always made her feel a bit uncomfortable, because it seemed so unfair that some people are able to live a good quality life while others can't.
Their food had arrived that night while Edwin was in the toilet. Lily was gazing out of the window again at some tied-up yachts she had noticed on the water below. The waitress, a plump, middle-aged woman with messy hair and an air of confused busyness, noticed this and commented, "Nice aren't they? Mr Waterman has quite a collection."
"What?" Lily started, confused.
"Those pretty boats. They all belong to Mr Waterman. He's got more I'm sure in other locations. Of course, he lets other people ride in them too…"
She smiled jovially as she finished placing their meals on the table. The aromas emanating from them were intensely pleasing, and Lily had to close her eyes and breathe in, savouring the sensation.
"Smells fantastic!" she heard Edwin comment as he retook his seat opposite her. "Here they only use the best ingredients; organic where they can get them, and always local and fresh…"
From there had begun a sensuous verbal exploration of what constituted high-quality food, punctuated by a delectable mix of tastes; and she had never got round to finding out more about the boats.
But for Edwin to have so much - is it right that any person's hands should hold so much… power?
She experienced a flash of Eugene spanking her, for some reason. Shaking her head as she finally began to pull off her boots, she continued considering Edwin.
'Despite him being in command of a great deal of wealth he doesn't act like he's above everyone else', she admitted.
Of course, Edwin clearly respected her as a person. He also seemed genuinely supportive of her artistic ambitions. It was like he knew how to ask those questions which would touch her most deeply. Stirring some of her most profound, and almost forgotten, dreams. She remembered one comment which had touched her deeply. Edwin had asked "Are you doing what feels right to you to be happy?"
It seemed such a simple question, but no-one had ever asked her anything like it before. She did not know how to answer; yet she could feel his words penetrating into her very centre; opening parts of her which she had half-thought were lost.
Somehow, though, something inside her was still resisting him. He had insisted on paying the bill, and she felt an old twinge of fear of becoming simply some kind of trophy, to be paid for but not respected. They had left the homely little restaurant in silence, and Lily, looking up into Edwin's golden-skinned face as they exited to the street, felt a yearning to reach him; but a distance between them that now seemed insurmountable.
She had made her excuses and said goodbye; telling herself she was doing what made her happy. Yet as she was turning to walk away Edwin made one last comment to her:
"I don't expect anything from you, Lily. But you are free to expect as much as you want from yourself…"
She drifted fitfully to sleep with these words ringing in her head.
*******
The next few days at work seemed different from usual. Lily still felt very confused by her interactions with Edwin, but for some reason, everything that she did was getting easier and easier. She found herself sliding through her tasks at the bar with an abnormal levity, and could not shake the feelings awoken inside her that night by Edwin; that many different little parts of her were slowly opening up. It was an intriguing feeling and she sensed herself changing as she actually spoke quite happily with some of the customers; not her usual tactic. With one regular, a large shaven-headed businessman whom she had previously instinctively marked down as some kind of 'city wanker', she found herself sharing her frustrations over the London public transport system, and to her surprise he instantly remarked,
"If you don't want to get public transport anymore, I've got an old bike you could have."
"Oh…Really?" asked Lily, not entirely convinced. "But what about getting home from work? Isn't it dangerous to cycle late at night?"
"Oh, don't worry about that," assured the guy, whose name, she vaguely recalled, was probably Fred, "I've got loads of old bits of fluorescent clothing lying around at home. I'll bring them in for you too. And the bike has a light", he added, smiling.
"Hmm", pondered Lily, somewhat taken in. She remembered how liberating it had seemed for Eugene to be zipping around the city, not having to worry about paying to go anywhere.
"But how much do you want for it?" she asked.
"It's just sitting in my house not being used by anyone right now", said Fred. "Tell you what, you can just give me a tenner for it. It works perfectly, I'm pretty sure".
“Well…"
“How about I bring it in for you in the next few days and you can take a look at it?" Fred had suggested, and a few days and the exchange of half of her evening's tips later she found herself instead of waiting again for the night bus at the end of her shift, proudly, if slightly nervously, making her way home through her own power. It had all fallen into place so easily. 'And it's even really fun!' she thought as she zoomed along a road where normally the bus had an achingly dull number of stops. The next day was her day off, and she resolved to take the bike out exploring.
She checked her social media networks again to see if there was something as interesting as that exhibition which she could cycle to. She found a post about a free interactive cinema somewhere by Shoreditch. She wasn't quite sure what 'interactive' could mean in this sense but found it sufficiently enticing. Packing a bottle of water and her new fluorescent kit, she set off to see the show; only realising about halfway through the journey that she had forgotten to check a map. But she knew roughly where the place was; sitting up and breathing deeply, she felt confident that she would find it.
The ride took a lot longer than anticipated and Lily was sweating and sore-legged by the time she found the right address. She locked the bike up with the D-lock (another gift from Fred) and staggered towards the entrance; only to be greeted by a crowd of people coming the other way.
“Is this the free cinema show?" she asked a smiling blonde lady as she approached the group.
“Oh! Yes, it was, love - but I'm afraid you've missed it", explained the lady.
Lily's heart sank. She had come all this way, only to miss the very thing she set out to do!
"So much for expecting things from myself", she grumbled. Now what was she going to do? She badly needed to sit down before she could think about cycling again.
"Good evening, madame," said a familiar voice behind her. She turned to find a broad grin flashing at her from beneath a formidable moustache.
"Eugene!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Well I was just on my way home to relax", he smiled, looking her sweaty body up and down, "but things don't have to be too relaxed, if your plans were to coincide with mine…"
He had been very impressed with her control of the bike as they made the short journey through the packed streets to his place. This made her feel much better about missing the show, and she was breathing deeply again as she felt her confidence increase minute by minute. This feeling continued through their companionable sharing of a snack and was still filling her with a glow as they sat together on the bed, eyes flashing lustfully at each other.
"I really enjoyed our experience the other night", Eugene was saying. "Especially seeing such different sides to you. Why don't we explore more…?"
She looked deeply into his chocolatey eyes, wondering w
hat treats he had planned now.
"It was nice surrendering all control for a bit", she admitted in a soft murmur.
"Ah! Yes," agreed Eugene, softly caressing her thighs and moving his hands up her body; stroking every part of exposed skin he could find with delight. Her chest was still sticky from the bike ride and he moved his hands slowly inside her top, sliding them around on her slippery boobs.
"You can let go completely, Lily", he said, putting his hand behind her back and pushing her down onto the bed,
"I'll take care of all of your - needs".
"Ooh, well, ok then," agreed Lily, sinking back onto the bed. She was surprised by how good it felt to relax into Eugene, feeling his manly power. He unstuck her top from her chest and whipped it off, then grinned down at her wickedly.