Melissa looked up as Serena came down the path, into the courtyard. She walked barefoot, carrying a pair of strappy heels and wearing a light colored sundress. Despite her grumpy mood, Melissa smiled, knowing that Serena must have taken off her high-heeled sandals as soon as she was safely past Erik. Looking more closely, Melissa could see that the lightweight fabric of the dress’s shaped bust only partially masked the darkness of Serena’s areolae. Then Melissa looked down to the flirty short hem of Serena’s dress swaying as she walked. While the hemline wasn’t quite short enough to reveal a lack of panties, Melissa had no doubts. She shook her head, doubting that Erik had any idea how much the women around him tried to conform to his preferences.
Serena walked up, then flopped down on the bench. Dropping her shoes onto the patio flagstones, she turned to face Melissa and leaned back against the far armrest, lifting a leg onto the bench to get comfortable. The hem of her sundress slid down, confirming Melissa’s assumptions.
Melissa flicked a finger in the direction of Serena’s exposed sex, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you.”
Serena grinned coyly, “Hey, you’re the one sitting there with no top on – but looking ever so grim – I just figured I tweak you a little bit.”
Melissa replied with an ironic, “Thanks.” She sighed, saying more seriously, “It hasn’t been a great morning so far.”
“I heard. Sounds like your chat with Mistress Amy wasn’t so peachy keen.”
“Wow, news travels fast.”
“Yeah, well Erik saw her storming off. He mentioned it to me on the way in.”
Melissa nodded. After gathering her thoughts for a moment, she replied, “You were right – about Mistress Amy being in love with Erik.”
Serena sighed, nodding. “Well duh. It sure as hell wasn’t fair of Erik to ask her to help train you, but then again, I’m also pretty sure he doesn’t know how she feels about him, so I can’t really blame him. Probably, Mistress Amy should’ve known better than to say ‘yes,’ but my guess is she wanted to be close to him. So the result is a big kaboom. The thing is, Amy really isn’t a bad sort. Sure, she’s kind of closed-off, but you’ve only seen the worst side of her.”
“Maybe. Every once in awhile, I got glimpses of something more, but then – like you said – kaboom!”
“So, what happened?”
“Um, did you know she’s a sadist?”
“Sure.”
“And that she thinks I’m a masochist. Maybe not a big time masochist, but at least some.”
“Makes sense.”
“You know – that’s not very comforting.”
“You’re a big girl. You’ll cope.”
“Um, is this your ‘tough love’ routine?”
“Sure. But believe me, being a little bit of a masochist – that’s not the worst thing in the world for a sub.”
“But, I thought you agreed with Erik that I wasn’t a ‘pain slut.’ What changed?”
“Nothing. Look, I don’t know that anyone’s saying you’re a hardcore masochist – you know, somebody who’s whole sexual experience revolves around pain. Cause I tell you, that’s a hard way to live. I mean, I’ve known some wonderful people who are full-blown masochists. The only way they can get off is through heavy pain. It takes a really skilled dom to get them there safely. On the other hand, little bit of masochism? That’s not so bad. I mean, look at you. You cum like a banshee when you get spanked or whipped. Most subs don’t, even though a lot of doms would really like it.”
“Yeah, Mistress Amy said something like that.”
“So, you still haven’t told me what your blow-up was about.”
“Okay, so… it’s weird. Mistress Amy has this fantasy thing, where she and Erik are together – they’re lovers. And they have this stable of slaves – I’m one of them.”
Serena nodded thoughtfully. “Sounds about perfect, from her point of view of course.”
“Well, it sounds creepy as shit from my point of view.”
“Might be a tad judgmental, but yeah, living that way would, for sure, never work for you – or Erik, for that matter. So yeah, Amy’s deluding herself, but you know what? That’s what unrequited love does to a girl.” Serena smiled ruefully, then continued. “We get stupid. Anyway – I’m guessing that you said ‘no.’ But what happened to set her off? Did you freak out or something?”
“No. Nothing like that. I didn’t freak out. I just told her that I couldn’t give up school, and career, and all that – to be a slave in a stable.”
“Okayyy…”
“And then I told her that I didn’t even think I could stay with Erik, the way we’re living now, past the end of the summer.”
“Oh.”
There was a long, silent pause. Serena stared at Melissa in disbelief, until Melissa’s head dropped down in embarrassment.
Serena said, “So you’ve got Erik – gorgeous, rich, smart Erik – who, for the first time ever, that I know about, at least, has said ‘I love you.’ And you love him. So… you’re going to toss that all away? Plus, you’re telling all of this to the poor woman who’s been hopelessly in love with him for years and years? And you’re telling me that she’s the one who’s a sadist? Not you?”
“Oh God, that was really mean, wasn’t it.”
“Well, were you the kind of kid who liked pulling the wings off of flies?”
“No! Oh, shit. I feel sick.”
“Hey, I’ve got news for you. The way you feel now – that’s going to be nothing compared to how stupid you’re going to feel if you really do walk away at the end of the summer.”
“Oh shit, not you too?”
“Hey, I’m not being angry. But… I’d be very, very sad to see two people who I love hurt themselves like that.”
“I didn’t say I was going to leave for sure. Besides, Erik doesn’t think it’ll work out long-term either. He told me. We talked about it.”
Serena shook her head sadly. “How can two really smart people be so fucking dumb?”