Chapter 3: Admittance

It had been a couple of months since Katie and Tia had watched the movie that had jumpstarted Tia’s games with her brothers. She had never brought it back up, never quite sure she dared, but every time they hung out it was like a giant secret hanging in the air. For years they had told each other everything, but now there was this whole game, this whole private game that Tia dared not share.

“Your folks seem to be going out a lot lately, I mean, I don’t really care when I come over or you come over, but it hasn’t been on a Friday in like forever!.

“Yeah, guess they are having fun or something. Or just trust us to be alone more often, I dunno.”

Tia had to stifle a flush at Katie’s comment, her mind immediately going back to last night’s game, and how she had felt being completely naked in front of her brothers. She must have not been as successful as she thought, because the next words out of Katie’s mouth were quite probing.

“What? What? You are hiding something! Tell me! Oh c’mon!” Katie’s voice was not quite strident, but it was clear she was excited.

“I. I can’t”

“What? We tell each other everything. I mean, the things I’ve told you, you know, about Kevin and stuff.”

Tia nodded in understanding before shaking her head “Yeah, it’s not like that. It’s just, um, you might think I’m weird or something and then we couldn’t hang out!”

“Tia! Now you’re just being silly! There’s no way you could make me not want to hang out with you. Unless you suddenly became a criminal! Are you a hardened bad girl criminal now? Here to steal from us?”

Again, shaking her head, though she kept her eyes down, embarrassed just to be thinking about it. “No, no no, nothing like that!”

‘I know, I know, I was just teasing. I swear girl, you are being too weird now. What could you possibly be worried about?”

“Nothing I guess, I mean, well...”

Tia sat and looked at her friend for the longest time, trying to build up the courage to tell her what she was doing with her brothers.

“Tia...” Katie said, turning to look at her friend.

“No, don’t stare at me. Um, just look at the tv or something. I’ll tell you.” Tia said finally, the tension building in the air between them.

“Ok, ok, I promise it will be ok. I love you, you’re my oldest and best friend.” Katie reached over to give Tia a quick rub on her shoulder.

“I know. Sorry, it’s just.” Tia’s voice trailed off after only a second or two.

Tia was quiet a while, watching Katie staring at the television and kindly giving her the time she needed.

Finally, she spoke up “Remember that movie we watched? With Amber, the sorority girl?”

“Amber? Oh. Yeah, that R-rated one we watched while Mom was in bed?”

“Yeah. Um...” Tia again paused for a while, trying to figure how she could explain without looking like a total freak.

“Well, you know I had found a story sort of like that, online. I guess I kept, you know, reading and things. And I guess I wanted to try it.”

“Try it? You mean, you want me to tie you up like that?”

‘No! Gosh no, I just meant...” Tia said, flushing, though the idea of Katie doing to her what the boys had been doing made her giddy unexpectedly.

“OK, I mean, I guess I don’t understand then.”

Tia began to blurt it all out at once. “I. Oh mmm, you can just hate me I guess. It started a while ago, I convinced the guys to play like we used to, you know, cops and robbers or something. Where I’d be captured and they would have to interrogate me. We used to tie up with jump ropes and stuff, but I hoped they’d find something better. And they did.

“You let them tie you up?”

‘Yeah. and it was kinda fun. Not at first, but after a bit. I mean, it was kinda dumb, ya know? And I didn’t get what was the big deal. It wasn’t like in the story or anything.”

“You keep talking about that story, but you never showed me where you found it!” Katie’s eyes a glint of interest, or something.

“Oh, um, ok, but, let’s go to your room...” Tia said, not wanting to show off that website where Katie’s mom might see or overheard.

“Yeah, yeah, that would be bad, not that Mom is likely to come down again but you never know.”

A few minutes later the two were propped up against Katie’s headboard as Katie began to read about Ms. Sparrow. Tia lay there, nervous, waiting, wondering what Katie was thinking, what her friend would say, or do. She prayed that she wouldn’t freak out. It had felt so good to tell someone even the little bit she had, and she just knew that if Katie would not be all weird about it, she could get some advice. She needed someone she could talk to about all of this.

“Wow, that’s kinda, you know, naughty!” Katie said. Tia was pretty sure she had not read all that far yet, but she remembered there was one scene early on where it was clear Madame Sparrow was not unaffected by being tied up. It had been that section that had first gotten Tia thinking about trying all of this.

“I know, I wanted to show you before, just never, you know, found a good time. It’s not like I could just walk up and say ‘Hey, wanna read a sexy story I found?”

Katie giggled, “Hmm, maybe not, or, um, maybe so. I can see why you wanted to, you know, try it. The way they talk about how Sparrow felt, I mean ... ooooof!” Katie waved a hand in front of her face, mock fanning herself to cool off.

Tia blushed, flushing, her heart calming as Katie did not appear to be judging her harshly or acting strange. Though there was quite a bit left to tell her friend.

“So you let them tie you up like a spy or something, but it wasn’t that fun? Why wouldn’t you tell me? That’s not weird.”

“Yeah, well at first.” Tia got quiet, nervous again.

“At first...”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t feeling right, you know? So I thought maybe it was how I was dressed and stuff.”

“Oh, so you put on a skirt or something?”

‘No, I hate them. Though that might have been a good idea. I put on my shorts and summer t-shirt one time, so I could feel the ropes better - you know, against my skin as well as through the thinner shirt. It was a lot better. A lot.

“Really? Why? I mean ... it still seems kinda dorky to me.”

“I dunno, I think it was the feel of the rope on my legs and around my chest. I felt trapped, and I felt, I dunno, powerless or something. I mean I trusted them to behave, but still ... I couldn’t get free. Well, sometimes. Sometimes they didn’t tie me up very well, but once we started making a game of it, like if I got free too fast they had to get drinks and stuff, then they started tying better.:

“Where did you do it?”

‘Oh. In the living room. I thought maybe we’d do it in their room or something, but it was always by the television. They always used the same chair too.”

“Hmmm, ok, I guess. And you liked it or something? Still not sure what the big deal is, you are just playing kid games.” Katie seemed curious though still a bit confused as the two lay atop the covers, the tablet still clutched in Katie’s hands.

“Well, ya, um.” Tia paused, nervous as she got to the embarrassing part. “Well, if you keep reading, sometimes they do more than just, um, you know, search Madame Sparrow. They tie her up in just her underwear.” “Or sometimes less” Tia added, her voice falling ever quieter.

“Tia!” Katie gasped, putting a hand over her mouth as she stifled her surprise. “You let them see your underwear? I mean, let them tie you up like that?”

Tia nodded, blushing, not saying anything just staring straight up at the ceiling while Katie continued to stare at her.

“So that’s why ... I mean, I guess you liked it, right? Otherwise, you would have just stopped and probably never told me.”

Tia slowly nodded, answering Katie’s question, darting a quick embarrassed glance at her friend.

“Ohmygawd you are so ... I could never ... I mean, you liked it? Really?”

Tia just nodded again, not daring to look at her friend too often. She was embarrassed and excited at the same time. She still was not sure how Katie was going to react once she found out what she had been doing.