Chapter 18: Marcy

Thursday, August 16, 2023

I regretted my decision to have dinner with Phoebe and Diane the moment I stepped inside my old house. Awkwardness oozed out of the walls and floor. It was in their smiles. It was in their hugs. It was in their voices. It was in me, too. So much awkwardness that every nerve of my body was on edge. These were not my parents. These were therapists wearing suits of skin to look like my parents. These were people who had been reading books about helping adult children deal with issues, determined to regurgitate every talking point they’d read until they stumbled upon some catchphrase to solve all my problems. Meanwhile, I sat in my chair, deflecting and defending their arrows of hypocrisy.

They intentionally made the meal last as long as possible. Salad, then lentil soup, and finally, the main course, pasta casserole. Phoebe made all my favorites, which made the evening so much worse. They were unabashedly trying to soften me up with food. It was during dessert that the anvil dropped.

“We were wondering if you wanted to move back home,” Diane said. She looked so pale when she made the suggestion I thought she was physically ill. Phoebe seemed strained, too. Were they both this worried about me?

“I’m fine,” I blurted out. “I’m better than fine. I’m making more money than I ever thought I would. I’m doing really well. I’m in a healthy relationship with Kitty—er, Gina.”

Phoebe started to speak, then stopped when Diane touched her arm.

“That’s great,” Diane said without an ounce of enthusiasm. “You should bring Gina next time. Phoebe and I want to get reacquainted with her. We would love to see you more often.”

“I know,” I said, “but I’m so busy. I work every weekday and every other Saturday. Plus, I’ve been taking dance lessons again, so I have rehearsals on top of all that.”

“You’re dancing again?” Diane asked. “That’s great. What are you rehearsing for?”

“The dance,” I answered quickly. I hadn’t meant to say I was rehearsing, but it had slipped out along with the dancing. My rehearsals were always with other members of Black Velvet for upcoming events.

“We’d love to watch a performance,” Phoebe said.

I nodded, my mouth full of pasta. “I’ll let you know when it is.”

The atmosphere in the room was such that we all knew I wouldn’t do that, but no one said anything. I had never wanted to leave my parents’ house so badly.

“So, what else are you planning on doing while you’re in town?” Diane asked.

“After I leave here, I might stop by Robin’s house.”

My mothers exchanged a look.

“Robin?” Phoebe repeated. “Robin, your ex? That Robin?”

“She’s not my ex. We were never a thing.”

“Because she’s married?” Phoebe asked. “That could make things sticky.”

“She has some of my stuff. I’m going by to collect it and, you know, catch up. Her husband was okay with her seeing people on the side because that was their arrangement. He does the same thing. It’s called an open—”

“We know what an open marriage is,” Diane said quietly.

I hadn’t told the whole truth. Over the last few weeks, Robin had been messaging me more and more, saying she missed me and wanted another chance at a relationship. It reminded me of Kitty’s pleading, which had gone on for years. But things were going so well with Kitty that I was now curious to see if I could recapture the same magic if I rekindled a relationship with Robin.

What was better than having an obedient pet? Having two obedient pets. Or three.

Perhaps taking a woman back when she came crawling and begging was something I was good at. Maybe one day, it would be Jade ... The thought of Jade becoming my pet like Kitty made my cock stir.

“You’ve changed so much since high school, Marcy,” Diane said. “It’s a little scary. Maybe we need to get used to you growing up. But I never expected things—you—to change so dramatically. You’re not the same girl you were a year ago.”

“I like who I am much better now,” I told her. “I hope you like the new me, too.”

“We love you,” Phoebe said. “We will always love you.”

The subtext was obvious. They may love me, but that didn’t mean they would always like me. And I got the impression that some dislike was exactly what was happening now. But it surprised me to find I wasn’t bothered by it. A year ago, their approval had been essential to me. That wasn’t the case anymore.

“When is your next trip?” I asked, changing the subject.

Diane and Phoebe exchanged a second look. These little glances made me want to scream.

“We were supposed to follow up our trip to Ireland with a trip to Scotland in a week or so,” Phoebe said, “but your mom has a doctor’s appointment in early September that coincides with our trip, so we pushed it back to the end of September.”

“Scotland. Wow. Sounds great.”

Diane put down her spoon. “Are you mad at us for sending Jade to check in on you?”

“A little.”

“We did it because you won’t talk to us,” Phoebe said. “You avoid us.”

“I don’t—”

Phoebe raised an eyebrow at me.

“Fine,” I admitted. “I avoided you ... a bit.”

“We know about the nature of your relationship with Gina,” Diane chimed. “Jade told us everything that happened. You don’t see anything disturbing about that?”

“What’s disturbing about a domme/sub relationship with Kitty?” I laughed darkly. “Good God, you two! It’s the twenty-first century. This is normal. It’s consensual.”

“It’s not that,” Diane said. “Phoebe and I aren’t prudes, you know.”

“Okay, but don’t act like you know anything about a dominant and submissive relationship. You two are as vanilla as they come.”

“Excuse me, young lady!” Diane snapped. Her sudden anger made me stiffen in my chair. “Don’t you ever talk down to us about our relationship. You don’t know a damn thing about our sex life, and we’ve preferred to keep it that way. I may not walk around with Phoebe on a Slutty Kitty leash, but it’s not like we have our heads buried in the sand. The things we know might surprise you.”

Phoebe peered timidly at Diane before returning her disapproving gaze to me. “It’s about power, Marcy. Just because Gina has chosen to give you power over her doesn’t mean you get to abuse and humiliate her.”

“Who says I’m abusing her? You two don’t know anything about it.”

“Because you don’t tell us anything!” Phoebe responded. “Involve us a little more.”

“I think it’s dessert time,” Diane said, getting up.

Once again, my moms had prepared one of my favorites: homemade chocolate ice cream with peanut butter swirls. Our conversation, however, was sparse and awkward. I offered to help clean when we finished, but Phoebe said she would handle the dishes.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, getting up and readying to make my exit. “This was ... nice.”

Phoebe and Diane both smiled at me, but they wore sad smiles.

“We just miss you,” Phoebe said. “We would love to see you more.”

“I know. Me too. It’s just hard to get down here often.”

“Please try,” Diane said. “We love you.”

They both hugged me, and we said our goodbyes. Relief hit me as soon as I walked out the door, hurrying to my car so they couldn’t call me back. As soon as I got on the road in my truck, I texted Robin to tell her I was on my way.

I pulled up to Robin’s house and parked on the street, the same way I always had when I’d pretended to work inside her house as a plumber. Back when we’d fucked like rabbits. Parking on the street was a habit. I did it because it looked more like what a worker would do, whereas a guest would park on the driveway.

It was a hot, dry summer night. I wore tight jeans and a blouse. My style of clothing had dramatically improved since my time with Robin. She had been the one to convince me that despite my tall, Amazonian body, I could still rock femininity like a boss-ass bitch. I liked the clacking of my black platform shoes as I walked up the drive.

It took Robin less than ten seconds to answer the door after I rang the bell. Had she been waiting near the door for my arrival? Our eyes met, and she gave me a nervous smile.

“Come in,” she said, stepping aside for me.

Robin wore no shoes, loose black slacks, and a matching black top. It made her red hair appear even more fiery than usual. At 5’6”, she looked tiny next to me in my platforms. I already stood at a hair under 6’0” but I was almost five inches taller in these shoes. When she hugged me, her face went right between my tits.

“I’ve missed you so much!” she said. “Thank you for coming.”

I didn’t say anything right away. I wanted to make her squirm. She pulled away and looked up at me with a fake smile. Subtle changes had crept into Robin’s appearance since last I’d seen her. She was skinnier and paler, and I spotted a sadness behind her eyes I didn’t remember.

“Can you believe it’s been since the end of March we last saw each other?” she asked.

I took her by the chin and lifted her face to mine; then, I planted a long, deep, soulful kiss on her lips. She kissed me for several seconds before breaking it off.

“I’m not home alone,” she whispered.

Then she took me by the hand and led me to the main floor guest bedroom. It was a simple room with a king-size bed, closet, desk, and nightstand. She closed the door behind us and turned on the lights. Then she sat down on the bed and patted the mattress near her.

“My husband is upstairs on the phone, and Josh is in the basement with a girl who I think is his newest girlfriend.”

“Josh is still here?” I asked skeptically.

“He moved back in a month ago.” Robin looked at me guiltily. “I haven’t—we haven’t—not since that one day at the beginning of March. I felt so horrible, Marcy. I cut off everything with him. He was angry, but I stuck to my guns. I am willing to do whatever it takes to fix things between us, Marcy. I mean that.”

I looked at Robin for a long time without answering. She looked back at me for a few seconds, then averted her gaze.

“The thing is, Marcy, no one has ever made me feel as good as you did. The things you do to my body ... You’re the only person who has ever satisfied me. I’ve had orgasms with other people, sure, but with you, it’s so much more. They are more intense, more frequent, and more satisfying. And more than that, I had a real bond with you. I didn’t appreciate it at first. I took you for granted, Marcy, and I don’t want to do that again. I’ll prove that to you if you give me a second chance. I don’t know why you ghosted me the way you did, but I will make sure you never want to again.”

“I had to get out of town,” I told her. “I had to get away from everyone I knew. That included you. I went to Denver and rediscovered myself. I’ve become more comfortable with who I am. I know exactly what I want out of this relationship.”

“What do you want?” Robin asked, sliding next to me on the bed. “Tell me.”

“I want obedience. I want women willing to give themselves to me wholly and without reservation. Everything I say, everything I want, everything I need, they supply it.”

“Women?” Robin repeated quietly. “Do you already have other women in your life?”

“I have one so far. Her name is Kitty. She is my pet.”

Robin leaned away from me so slightly that the motion was almost imperceptible. “A pet? You mean like a cat?”

“Sort of.”

“And she’s okay with you being here tonight? With me?”

That question threw me off when a pang of guilt hit my stomach. I hadn’t told Kitty where I was going. But a madam didn’t need to tell her pet where she was going at all times. That wasn’t how the relationship worked. Kitty knew I was non-monogamous. So was she. She had an obligation to serve anyone I brought to our apartment, and she knew that. She even enjoyed it.

However, I hadn’t fucked anyone without Kitty being present since she had moved into the apartment as my full-time pet. We knew and accepted that Black Velvet events would bring sexual encounters for both of us, often separately, but that arrangement was explicitly understood. That was part of our job and how we made money.

When I went out to lesbian bars or clubs, I took Kitty with me, and she always wore her collar and leash. My friends had gotten used to being very handsy with her because they knew I wouldn’t mind letting them touch or use her. Sometimes Kitty had to rely on the mercies of my friends for an orgasm if she wanted to cum. But why hadn’t I told Kitty where I was going tonight? I’d known about this meeting with Robin for almost a week, and I’d said nothing to Kitty except that I would be having dinner with my mothers, and I didn’t think it was the right time to bring her with me.

“Marcy?” Robin repeated. “Is Kitty okay with you being here?”

“Does a cat tell its owner where it can and can’t go?” I asked Robin. “I don’t ask her for permission. I tell her things, and she does it.”

Robin considered my question. “No, I guess not.” She licked her lips and rubbed her palms on her slacks as though nervously awaiting her cue to perform on stage. “Marcy, I miss you so much. I’ve been miserable since you left. I regret so much anything I did to push you away.”

“You didn’t push me away!” I reiterated to her. “I left because I was tired of this town. The people in it. The life I had. I wanted something better for myself.”

My red-haired friend deflated a little. “Does that include me?”

“Not you specifically, but everything in my life. I just left it all behind.”

“I just ... I came to a conclusion soon after you left.” Her trembling hand slipped into mine. “I married my husband because he was wealthy and good-looking. Then I found out about his secret male lovers and stayed with him for our arrangement. But I don’t want it anymore. I would rather openly be with you even if my old friends don’t accept it. I don’t care. And I have my own money so I wouldn’t be a burden on you. But I want to try being your girlfriend and making you happy. If you’ll give me a chance.”

I slid my hand from her grasp. “Robin, I don’t do the whole girlfriend thing anymore. I haven’t had a real girlfriend for almost a year. I have pets. So far, I have one. A very good one. So my question to you is, do you want to be pet number two?”

Robin leaned away from me even more. She didn’t like the idea. I didn’t care. I stood and took a step toward the door.

“Wait.”

I stopped and looked back at her.

“At least tell me what it means to be your pet.”

I stepped closer to the bed until I loomed over her.

“It means you are mine as long as you want to be with me. It means I control what you wear, what you eat, what you do, who you are with, and everything else I want to control the same way I would a dog, cat, or fish. I will care for and look after you, but you must do what I want. You would be welcome to leave whenever you want, and I would be free to end our relationship if you aren’t obedient and loyal.”

Robin took a deep breath. “And you already have someone like this?”