Chapter 2

Jeffness, I’m glad you liked the story, and I found time to post it for you. Thank you for your comment. This story was completed thanks to you.

The bass hammered his chest like a sledgehammer. Mark tried to roll his hips, but the heavy leather pants locked his movements, turning what should have been a dance into an awkward shuffle from foot to foot. His arms looked foreign to him — dangling like they were strung up on wires. Under the mask there was no air left to breathe; the heat of his own exhales scorched his lips, sweat poured into his eyes, stinging the lids.

“Come on, don’t fall asleep!” Samantha’s voice sliced through the music like a whip.

Mark jerked. He had to do something. He threw his arms up behind his head, trying to thrust his chest out the way he’d seen on posters, but his back felt like petrified wood. He circled the very edge of the ring, staying as far from the couch where Ellie sat as possible. Every time she leaned forward, ice-cold sweat broke across his skin.

Just don’t come closer. Just don’t look too close.

He grabbed the right cuff. The buckle jammed. Mark yanked once, twice — the leather bit painfully into his wrist, metal scraped his forearm. Someone in the room let out a short, mocking laugh.

“Samantha, did you pull this guy out of the library or what?” Ellie’s teasing voice floated over.

That laugh burned worse than boiling water. Mark wrenched the strap with all his strength. The buckle finally gave; instead of sliding off smoothly, the cuff dangled from his fingers. He shook it off in a frantic jerk, nearly elbowing himself in the jaw. The leather strap flew under the table.

To hide the humiliation, he started moving faster, sharper — but it only made things worse: jerky, ragged, pathetic. He shrank back into the shadows again as Ellie stood up and took a step toward him.

“Hey, I don’t bite!” She laughed, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Mark almost jumped backward. His heart was slamming somewhere in his throat. He fumbled desperately with the second cuff; fingers slipped on slick leather, tangling in the straps. Finally the cuff hit the concrete. Bare forearms exposed, he immediately crossed his arms over his stomach like he was trying to cover himself.

“Take off the harness!” Samantha cranked the volume; the bass made Mark’s guts vibrate.

He froze in the center of the red circle. His fingers found the main clasp on the chest harness. The metal felt ice-cold; the skin beneath it was drenched. The music grew heavier still; the vibrating bass now literally pounded the air out of his lungs. Mark forced himself to move again, but his legs in the heavy boots kept tangling. He rolled his shoulders slowly, feeling the leather straps of the harness bite into his shoulder blades and chest.