Chapter 4: Understanding

"I don't even know why I'm here," said Catherine over the salads she and Rhonda were sharing at a small cafe two days later. "By all rights I should be furious with you and never want to speak to you again."

"Okay, okay, I set you up and you have a right to be angry."

"Have a right? After what she did to me?"

"Come on now," smiled Rhonda wryly, "even though I left before the fun began..."

"Fun?"

"Now Catherine, even though I wasn't there, I have a pretty good idea of what happened. I'm one of Alexandra's toys too you know."

"But, she..." Catherine's voice went to a whisper, "raped me."

"Mmmmm, if you want to call it that. And yes, I know there was some pain, especially at first. I've been on the receiving end of Alexandra's "gift,"

but I also know to what heights of ecstasy she can take you as well. I'm willing to bet you had more orgasms last night than you've had with your husband in the last six months."

More like a year, Catherine thought. "You could have warned me."

"Let's be honest. If I had told you even a little bit about what was in store for you, you wouldn't have gone -- and you would have missed out on the night of your life. Am I right?"

"She--he, whatever Alexandra may be, is attractive, I'll give you that -- and sexy and..."

"And hung like a horse," smiled Rhonda.

"But she wants to ... to..."

"Dominate you?"

"Yes, I guess that's the word I'm looking for."

"But Catherine, be honest -- that's exactly what you want."

"What? You must be kidding."

"Not at all. Remember in college how I always got us dates, how I always made the plans, how I..."

"Okay, I get the picture. I just don't see how..."

"Deep down, Catherine, you WANT someone to control, to dominate you."

"That's silly."

"Is it? Ask yourself -- have you ever wanted your husband, just once in a while, to get rough with you, maybe even slap you around a bit. Oh, I don't mean beat you and really hurt you, but maybe tie you up, tell you you're a whore and then fuck your brains out?"

"Of course not," was her reply while realizing that she had indeed fantasized those very things -- and more.

"I'm betting you have. I got to know you pretty well while we were roommates, Catherine. That's' why when i saw your picture i knew you'd be a great match with Alexandra."

"But how... ?"

"One of Alexandra's toys, Katrina, moved to the west coast recently. Normally she would never have left Alexandra for anything, including her husband and children, but Katrina was careless. Her husband became suspicious and hired a private detective. The only photos he ever got were of Katrina going into and out of Alexandra's apartment but he did find some incriminating e-mails that Katrina had sent Alexandra professing her love and undying servitude. The husband threatened divorce and taking custody of the kids unless Katrina agreed to make the move and start fresh in Portland. If it were only the loss of her marriage and kids I think Katrina would have stayed, but the husband also threatened to make everything public including Alexandra's identity and drag it all through the public courts. To protect Alexandra, Katrina agreed to make the move. As a result Alexandra was left one toy -- that's what she calls us -- short and gave me the responsibility of finding her a new one. Running across your photo was indeed simply a bit of serendipity, but once I remembered how you had been in college, I knew you'd be perfect. Alexandra gets her toy and you get the time of your life."

"Who is Alexandra? Where does she come from? Is she a she?"

"Alexandra's a very private and mysterious person and prefers to keep it that way. None of us know much about her, but I'll tell you what I do know. She was born somewhere in southeast asia. Her father was a black American, her mother Thai. They moved to this country when she was a baby and she was raised back east. She's a hermaphrodite, but not a true hermaphrodite."

"What do you mean by that?"

"A true hermaphrodite is born with both male and female sex organs, often possessing a mixture of other male and female characteristics. Alexandra was born female in every way except for her reproductive organs. She is simply a woman who was born with a penis instead of a vagina."

"But that ... that..."

Rhonda laughed. "That ax handle she has between her legs? Some guys, one in a million, are blessed with one as large as hers. I guess it was the roll of the dice. She was born with a penis and the gods must have smiled on her."