Chapter 22: The First Step Toward the Future

When the morning arrived, I was nestled in a warm cocoon of blankets but seemed to be alone. Thinking that Dani and I may have rolled away from each other in our sleep, I reached out an arm without opening my eyes. All I felt were cold sheets, and that concerned me enough that I opened my eyes. There was no Dani with me, and that discovery woke me up all the way.

I sat up in the bed, looking around the bedroom, but still no signs of Dani. As enough brain cells started to function, I realized that there were delightful smells coming from somewhere, and faint noises coming from the kitchen. I decided to investigate, and slid out of the bed, then padded to the kitchen in my bare feet, and of course, my bare body.

I finally found the love of my life working at the stove. Unlike me, she was wearing a long t-shirt that didn’t quite cover her pert rear. Being dressed made sense as she was frying something in a pan, and hot grease splatters were not pleasant on naked skin.

I moved up behind her and wrapped her in my arms, cupping her breasts and squeezing them as I kissed the back of her neck. She dropped the spatula she was holding, then spun in my arms and grabbed my rear, pulling me in tight for a long kiss. When the kiss ended, I breathily said, “I missed you. You weren’t there when I woke up.”

She looked down at my nudity, and said, “This is what I’d like to see every morning when I wake up. You in all your delectable glory.”

I grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “If you want the slave rules about skin when indoors to stay in force, I will have no objections.”

She grinned back at me. “From here on, we are equals, so if you have to be naked then so do I.”

“Works for me.” I cupped one of her breasts and squeezed it. “Makes it a lot easier to get at the interesting parts.”

She patted my rear, then said, “I need to get back to cooking or breakfast might burn. Why don’t you get some juice out of the fridge and pour us some coffee?”

I stepped back and saluted, saying, “Yes. Mistress mine. By your command.”

She winked at me before turning around and I heard her say, “I can just see a lot of spankings in your future.”

“Oooh! Lots of fun. I can see it now. Kinky sex!”

The two of us were giggling as we sat to enjoy breakfast. Dani had made wonderfully fluffy omelets with ham and hash browns on the side, and some great rye toast. I was halfway through mine before I slowed down, not realizing how hungry I had been. I gave her a smirk when I saw the expression on her face as she watched me. “Well, you can’t expect a girl to have a dozen orgasms without getting hungry. And besides, it’s all delicious. You can really cook.”

“I guess this would be a good time to ask whether you know your way around a kitchen.”

“Oh, I love to cook. My mother always said she wouldn’t raise kids who couldn’t fend for themselves, and I was always allowed to explore in the kitchen, so I got to try all kinds of things. She used to say, ‘Cook whatever you want, just clean up after yourself’.”

Dani smiled at my enthusiastic reply. “Well, I guess I can stop worrying about whether I found someone who’s domesticated.” I stuck my tongue out at her and then couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped from me. I was just so deliriously happy to be here with her.

When we had finished our coffee, she stood up and said, “Let’s clean things up, then get dressed. We have shopping that needs to get done.” When I looked at her quizzically, she sighed theatrically and held up the ring finger of her left hand. When I realized what she meant, I couldn’t help the sob that came out of my mouth. I threw myself into her arms and felt the tears running down my face. She really had meant what she said last night!

“Are you going to be this weepy all the time? I told you last night that we’d be shopping for rings today. Did you not think I meant it?”

I pulled back and looked at her through tear-blurry eyes. “I know you said it, but it was just too much to hope that it really would happen.”

She used her thumbs to wipe the tear tracks from my face, then cupped my head in her hands. “I don’t say things that I don’t mean, and generally when I say I’m going to do something, I make it happen.” She kissed me quickly, then added, “Rings or no rings, I’m yours forever and I hope you feel the same. However, the rings will tell the world that we are one, and I do intend to add another ring to your finger when we get married.”

I really couldn’t help the crying jag that her statement caused, and I threw myself at her, wrapping my arms around her so tightly that I could hear the breath go out of her. She made soothing noises for a minute or two, rubbing my back, then I heard her mutter, “Damn! I really did find a weepy one. I whip her and she doesn’t cry, but just tell her I love her and the waterworks start. What the hell have I got myself into?”

When I heard that, I finally stopped crying and started giggling. I pulled back and said, “If you try to get rid of me I ‘m gonna find out where you keep the handcuffs and I’ll cuff us together forever.”

She gave me a swat on my bare rear. “More kinky sex? Is that all you want out of life?”

“Well, it certainly keeps the fun factor going.” I started giggling again, and Dani took advantage to steer me toward the bathroom. She pulled her t-shirt off and started the shower going, then we both spent an enjoyable twenty minutes using too much hot water while we washed and fondled and caressed and made each other slippery and then squeaky clean.

When we were dried and dressed, we headed downtown to where the best jewelry stores were located. We browsed in a couple of them, but didn’t find anything that really grabbed us. We wandered into another somewhat upscale store, and started perusing the displays of rings. There was one particular ring that caught both of our eyes at the same time. We each pointed to it and said, “That one!” at the same time, then started laughing as we realized what we had done.

A rather officious-looking older lady came over behind the counter where we were looking at the ring. “Found something you like?” she asked.

Dani spoke first. “Yes, the ring in the third row, second from the left. Could we take a closer look at it?”

The woman opened the back of the display case and removed the ring, then brought it out and laid it on a piece of velvet on top of the case. As Dani picked it up for a closer look, the woman asked, “Which of you is the bride?”

Dani gave her a bit of a smirk, and said, “We both are, so if we decide on this one then we’ll need to have two the same.”

The woman’s expression changed in an instant, and what almost looked like a snarl crossed her face. She snatched the ring out of Dani’s hand and had it back in the case in the same motion. “We don’t deal with your kind in this store. This is a respectable establishment and I would ask you both to leave immediately.”

My mouth dropped open in shock, but I could see Dani’s face cloud over and her anger start to come to the fore. “I don’t appreciate your attitude, and you have no right to treat us this way. Same-sex marriage is fully legal in this country. The matter was settled by the Supreme Court and applies throughout the country.”

“That may be, but the courts have also ruled that I can refuse to do business with you if your relationship offends my religious beliefs. Now please leave before I call the police.”

Dani seemed prepared to smack the look off the woman’s face, so I quickly put my hand on her arm. “It’s okay, Dani. Let’s just leave. We’ll look somewhere else.” I turned to look at the woman and said, “You realize you just lost several thousand dollars in income, and I imagine it will be a lot more once word gets around in the LGBTQ community about how people are treated here.” I pulled Dani after me as I turned and practically stomped out of the store.

On the sidewalk, I impulsively wrapped Dani in a hug. I could feel the stiffness in her body as the emotion of the moment came to the surface. I could hear her murmuring something, but couldn’t make it out. When I moved her back a bit and looked her in the eye, she said, “I so wanted to punch her lights out and wipe that look off her face.”

“I know. So did I, but that’s why I dragged you out. I want to find a ring, not get arrested and thrown in jail.” She sighed and I felt the tension going out of her, then she kissed me quickly and took my hand, turning me to head down the street toward another shop.

We didn’t have to go more than a few storefronts further before we found another jewelry store. I was a little surprised at how many stores we were seeing and I wondered for a moment how they could survive each other’s competition. I did notice one small detail about this new store, and I said to Dani, “I think we might find something here. I know we’ll be treated better.”

Dani gave me a somewhat puzzled look, and asked, “What makes you say that?”

“Just wait and see, my little Mistress. I have a hunch.” I grabbed her hand as we approached the door, and we came through hand-in-hand. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Dani still looking at me with that puzzled expression, and I smiled somewhat mysteriously as we approached the first display case.

My eye caught sight of something in the case, and I squeezed Dani’s hand tightly. “They have the same ring!” I was practically squealing in my excitement as I pointed to it.

Just then one of the sales clerks came wandering over. “I take it you’ve seen something you like?”

I was still sounding overly excited as I said, “That one! We would like to see that one.”

Dani suddenly held up our linked hands, and with a somewhat sharp look on her face, and an even sharper tone to her voice said, “That is if you’re willing to deal with people like us.”

The woman kind of stared at us for a second, and then understanding crossed her face. “Ah, something tells me you were just dealing with the bitch a few doors up the street. Did she say something?”

Dani lowered our hands, but still held onto mine. “Yes, she threw us out of the store and threatened to call the police. I couldn’t believe it.”