Monday morning Emily woke up with what she considered to be an unfortunate amount of excitement over the prospect of gassing up her car. Of course it wasn't the fuel buying that had her stomach full of butterflies, or the headdy scent of gasoline that was making those butterflies do a jig... It was the mere thought of seeing Mobil Boy and learning his name (which would really be preferable to calling him "Mobil Boy").
In the car, as she sang along to Daylight by Matt & Kim, she wondered again why she was willing to act like a giddy teen over a guy she hardly knew. This giddiness was definitely out of character for her, in most cases she was pretty chill about meeting new guys. She never got flustered, never blushed, and certianly never played silly games with them...
So what was it about this guy? Sure, he was handsome and his build was the type she usually found most attractive. And there was that chemisty energy she felt whenever their skin collided. But from what she could tell, trying to look at him and their interactions, he seemed far more smug than she liked, he was rather high-handed ("Dance with me," Indeed!), and, well, something about him just bothered her.
By the time she signaled to exit the expressway at Clyde Road she was a bundle of nerves, indecission, and annoyance. Then it stuck her- She could play this game too. He'd only said to buy gas from him, he hadn't said that she needed to come inside the store... Emily found herself grinning as she pulled her little silver car alongside pump 3, and there was a swagger in her step as she walked around the car.
Emily saw Mobil Boy peek through the window as she swiped her card and began pumping gas into her car, a second later the speaker in the pump crackled to life.
"What are you doing?"
Emily pressed the button to respond, "I'm buying gas from you, Mobil Boy. What does it look like?"
Inside the store she watched him run his hand over his head. "That's not what I meant."
"Oh? It wasn't?" she replied, "Well maybe you should have been more specific. Now, what's your name?"
Through the window he gave her the stink-eye, and it took a few moments before his tinny voice came out of the speaker again, "Fiiiiine. It's Ben. My name's Ben."
Feeling like she'd won whatever game they were playing at Emily did a very undignified jig before she removed the pump from her car and recapped the tank. Then, feeling frisky and very immature, she stuck her tounge out at him and blew a raspberry before hopping in her car and pulling out of the parking lot.
For a moment, as she merged with traffic on the E-way, she wondered if she'd blow it with her childish antics and purposeful obtuseness, but then she shook her head. No. If he was interested, then he needed to be interested in all of her- The shy, awkward, blushing parts AND the frisky, playful, contrary parts.
Smiling, she turned up the stero and felt pretty damn good about the general state of things. After 5 long years of hard work and dedication she had the business and home she wanted. She had a dog who might adore her (or was just using her to supply noms and chewies). She had a good friend who tried to do what she thought would make Emily happy. And now? She was playing the Mating Game with a guy who might have potential.
Life was pretty damn great.
3
Later that day as Emily was working her tail off to get the most recent round of wedding photos ready for the Bride and Groom to view she kept rolling Mobil Boy's name around in her mouth, like a tasty hard candy.
"Ben. Benny. Mobil Boy Ben.. Ben-ja-min..." She liked it. It felt right. And she had a bit of a thing for guys with long names, she liked how she could draw the sounds out so that they almost felt like a caress.
Clicking buttons on the screen she carefully changed the Mother in Law's hair back to the pale blonde the bride had said it was before a run in with a bad box of dye, and toned down the orange dress so it was a more subtle and flattering (and less hidous) brown with a hint of orange, which would have been perfect for a late fall wedding. Better than I'm Not A Deer Orange that hunters tended to sport this time of year, anyways.
While she was smoothing out a double chin on the Bride's grandma the door bell chimed softly behind her, "Just a moment, please!" she called over her shoulder as she finished tweaking that part of the picture so Granny's face and not her second chin was what the viewer would focus on.
Standing, she turned ready to greet whatever customer had wandered in after dinner, and was a bit shocked to find that Ben the Mobil Guy was standing across the counter from her.
Startled, she blurted out, "What are you doing here?"
He looked smug. "You've been stalking me at work, I thought I'd return the favor. Are you hungry?"
Emily's brain balked at the sudden subject change, "Stalk? Food? What?" she stammered.
"I brought a pizza. Thought maybe we could share it? Talk?" He opened the lid to the perviously unnoticed pizza box on the counter and heavenly smells drifted out to assault Emily's nose.
"Ohmigod, that smells devine... But, um, what are you doing here?" She repeated, looking at Ben in amused and befudled curiosity.
"Honestly, I'm not sure." He said with a shrug. "This really isn't me, at all. I don't usually go around stalking girls at their jobs."
He looked as confused as Emily felt, so she took pity on him, "If you come around the counter, we can eat at my desk. It's kind of a mess, but I think I can make room for something that smells so good."
As they ate, Emily scrolled through the pictures so that they had something to focus on while their mouths were full. Occasionally Ben would interject a comment about the picture, or someone in the picture, but for the most part they ate in silence. She was pleasantly surprise to find that the silence wasn't awkward. It was companionable, a little expectant, decidedly exciting... But not at all awkward.
When they finished, Ben was the one to speak first. "So, now that I've woo'd you with grease and cheese... Would you like to get a drink?"
"Hmm... That was an exceptionally greasy and cheesey wooing. I suppose it does deserve a drink, but my treat. You bought the pizza."
Ben looked a little embarrassed, which was a nice change from the smugness that she'd seen recently. "Actually, it came from work so I got it for free."
"Bonus points for honesty."
"It's a fault of mine." ben said with a shrug. "I'm honest to a fault."
"I'm OK with that." Emily replied, and then paused.
"What? You're not going to tell me that you're married? That there's a Mr. Photographer at home? Or you're gay? Or that I've just made a huge fool of myself?"
"Erm... No. I was deciding the best way to tell you that your little chin beard seems to be trying to save a bit of peperoni for later...?"
"Oh! Yeah. It does that. It likes midnight snacks." Ben joked, as he ran his hand over the food hoarding facial hair.
"Anyways... Drinks? Did you have some place in mind?"
"It depends on where you live. I don't want to make you drive in the oposite direction of where you need to go. And just so it's fair, my base of operations is in Flushing."
"Linden. Does that narrow down the possibilities?"
"It does. Have you ever been to The Baron?" he asked, naming a bar in Burton.
"Once, back in the college party days." she responded. "Shall I follow you there?"
Ben nodded, "That works. I've got the black Buick Regal out front, do you need help closing up?"
"Nah. There's not much to do. Turn off the computer and the lights, lock the doors. It only takes me a few minutes." Actions followed words, and in a short time she was sharing a booth with the yummiest guy she'd seen in a long while, sipping on a tall Strongbow.
"So, Ben, you know some things about me... What about you?"
"There's not much to tell. I work too much, build stuff out of paper, cater to the demands of my evil dog. I'm a little borring."
"And maybe a little bossy?" Emily probed, recalling his demands Saturday night.
Ben looked uncomfortable and took a swig of his Labatt. "Maybe a lot bossy." He admitted.
Emily's sonar pinged and she eyed Ben speculatively. Deciding that being direct was the best course of action, as embarrassing and revealing as it felt, she gathered up her courage and laid her cards on the table, "I like bossy. Kind of goes along with the whole little "s" thing."
Burrying her nose in her pint glass she thought, Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and hoped her Domdar wasn't severly malfunctioning. Not that Domdar actually existed, but sometimes she just got a feeling about someone, and she thought that she was right on the money with this someone. And if she wasn't? Well, perhaps she'd get lucky and the Earth would open up to swollow her.
After what seemed an eternity, Ben put her out of her misery. "I was wonderinghow to bring that up." he said.
Emily looked up and raised an eyebrow, inviting him to continue.
"The Dom thing." he said.
"It's rough." Emily agreed.
"That it is." Ben nodded and raised his glass, "To the dating woes of the D/s crowd?" he suggested.
Emily raised her glass to his and after taking the obligatory sip of her drink asked, "Dating? Is that what we're doing?"
"Maybe." said Ben, and she saw a flush rise to color his face pink. "I haven't done this in a while. I'm not sure how it goes... I'm not sure I'm really ready for it."
"Bad relationship?" Emily guessed.
"Bad enough, and recently ended."
Emily deflated a bit. He had baggage, and she really didn't care to play the part of Rebound Girl... But she liked him, enough to be willing to see where things might go. She took another gamble, "How do you feel about FWB?" she asked.
Ben looked shocked and Emily hurried to add, "I mean, the friend thing would have to be solid before the benefit part, and I am not willing to be one of many- I do have standards- But, you know, you're not ready for a relationship and I'm not in any big hurry to find one. If it happens, it happens."
"I can do FWB... And as odd as it might sound coming from a guy, I really want the friendship thing to be solid as well."
Emily sighed in relief and gave Ben a lopsided grin, "Well then, cheers to a potential new friend who might eventually get benefits?"
Ben smiled in return, but didn't raise his glass. Instead he said, "Um, maybe we should just sort one thing out first?"
Glass hovering, Emily regarded him quizzically before he continued, "Well, I mean the benefits thing? Shouldn't we check to see if that will even work out?" Seeing her confusion Ben groaned and scrubbed his hand over his hair. "Emily... Kiss me." he finally said.
Emily's eyes widened. She lowered her glass to the table and leaned forward, rising out of her seat. Ben leaned in from his side of the booth and their lips met. Soft and tenative at first, the kiss quickly became something entirely different. When Ben's lips parted, Emily followed his lead and the bar around them fell away. She felt his chin beard rub against her chin, tasted the beer on his tounge and something sweet, the way he tasted was sweet. She felt his hand come up and burry itself in the thick hair at the nape of her neck, and proping herself up on one hand the other came up to rest on the side of his neck.
And all the while that energy she had felt before crackled between them, igniting something within her that she had never felt before- a deep wanting, a need to feel this person, every inch of him. Some inarticulate sound escaped her and Ben responded with something that sounded like a growl as he took her lower lip in his teeth...
"Get a room!"
Startled, Emily and Ben pulled apart and hovered over the table.
"Jeesus..." he whispered, slowly settling back into his seat.
"Fuck." Emily responded.
"I didn't think... I, wow. That was just, wow."
Regaining her seat Emily gawped at Ben. She noticed the pulse pounding in his neck, the clench of his jaw under his stubble, and the way his hand shook ever so slightly as he reached for his beer.
"Almost friends and making out?" he asked as he moved his glass towards her.
"Yes, please." Emily responded with aclarity.
After that they did what all people making friends in the 21st century did, they exchanged telephone numbers and the information needed to become friends on the most popular internet freind site. Emily was vastly amused when Ben pulled out his own phone and immediately hunted her down on Friendbook.
After a few moments Ben looked up from his phone, opened his mouth, closed it, and looked indecisive.
"Just tell me." Emily said, curious about what was going to come out of his mouth.
"What you said about 'one of many'?"
Emily nodded.
"There was someone that I thought might be a possibility, but I'll tell her that's not going to happen. And she's just a friend, nothing happened between us."
There are times when keeping your mouth shut is the best choice, and Emily decided that this was one of those times. So, she just nodded and changed the subject... And really, with her Friendbook stalking skills she could probably find this other chick and see what the lay of the land really was.
The evening ended shortly after that as Ben had to get up for work early in the morning, but they did manage to find time to make out like teenagers against the hood of his car, hands roaming while their tounges and teeth gently nipped and mated.
"Christ, Emily... What you do to me..." Ben gasped as they pulled apart. Looking down Emily could see exactly what she had done to him and she smirked with satisfaction at the evidence of his arousal.
Torn between being the "good girl" that it seemed men wanted for long term involvements, and a woman who knew what she wanted and went for it, she finally pressed herself against him and laid her hand over the bulge in his jeans. Ben groaned and she felt him twitch under her palm.
"Isn't making out awesome?" She asked.
"It's beyond awesome." Ben stated into her hair as he stood with his arms around her.
Pulling away slightly Emily said to him, "And now you need to go get your beauty rest."
"Am I that hideous?" He joked, raising his hands to half cover his face.
"You're turning into a pumpkin as we speak." Emily said, putting on a concerned face.
"In that case, I'll say good night." Ben responded, but he seemed reluctant to let go of the hand that he had grasped.
Emily gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and said with a light tone, "We'll have to do this again, some time."
"Definitely." Ben said with a big grin.
And so they parted ways. Driving home Emily wondered if she'd played her cards right, she wanted to keep things light and fun, but she didn't want Ben to see her as an easy lay or a Wham-Bam Ma'am. She was sure that she liked Ben, and fairly certain that she could probably like him a lot, he was one of the easiest people to talk to that she'd ever met and the chemistry between them? That was astounding... She smiled widely at the memory and beat a happy tattoo against her steering wheel.
At home she appologized profusely to Hol for abandoning her for so long and being the worst puppy parent ever. Appeasing the dog with a bone she'd picked up at the deli she switched on her computer and logged into Friendbook. Having accepted his friend request at the bar, Emily wasn't expecting to see anything else from Ben so she was pleasantly surprised to see a message in her inbox.
From: Ben Roth
Subject: Tonight
Was amazing. You're pretty awesome. Want to do something later this week? Maybe a movie?
Emily thought for a moment before hitting reply-
From: Emily Taylor
Subject: Later this week
Sure. How about bowling on Thursday? Movies are great, but you can't talk during them. I like to talk to you, cause you're pretty awesome too.
She hit send and logged off the site. Pausing to pet Hol on her way to the bathroom she said to the dog, "Mama's met someone who's pretty interesting. And he has a dog too. Maybe you can have a play date?"
Holl, as usual, looked les than impressed and Emily left her alone to finish her bone. After her shower as she brushed her hair in the miror, Emily was a little surprised to see a faint purple mark on the side of her neck... A hickey? She hadn't had a hicky in, well, ever. It was slightly embarrassing, but there was something a little hot about it.
Crawling into bed, she realized that for the first time in a long time, she was pleased with all the aspects of her life. The realization felt good, and after she'd pulled the blankets up around her shoulders she fell asleep with a smile on her face.
The next few days passed in a blur of excitement and anxiety. Emily couldn't help but worry that perhaps the amazing electricity she and Ben created was a one off and would fail to show up the next time she saw him. They'd made a plan to meet for beer and (as ben called it) Bad Bowling on Thursday, and Emily had to keep reminding herself not to get her hopes up too high- This was just their second outting together, and they still didn't know each other that well. Hell, they hadn't even discussed thieir kinks to see if they were compatible in that way.
She sighed as she realized that she didn't even know how he voted or what his religious affliliations were. For all she knew, he could be a raging conservative Republican and fanatical Christian... She shuddered at the thought. Not that she had anything against those folks, but she didn't think those views would mesh well with her own.
On Wednesday she shared a frantic call with Trace about the perfect outfit for the next evening. It was agreed that she wanted that "I'm trying, but I'm not trying too hard to impress you or be obvious" ensemble, and it was decided that her favorite Lucky jeans, a vintage-inspired V-neck Tiger's tee, and a smoking hot white leather jacket would strike that perfect cord. Trace also suggested hoop earrings to "Draw his attention to your neck and make him think of nomming you" might be a good idea.
The next evening she decided that Trace, as usual, had been right about what to wear. The jeans and tee said, "I'm laid-back and relaxed." The V-neck showed enough cleavage that was a little sexy but not skanky. And the white leather was just kickass. Emily pulled her hair back into a tail and added a few bangle braceltes to one wrist so she'd have something to fidget with that wouldn't be too obvious, and called it good.
She arrived at the bowling alley in Flushing before Ben did and sat down to wait in the lounge. A few minutes passed before she decided to order a beer. After a few more minutes she started to get anxious. Did he remeber they'd made plans? Was he blowing her off? She was well on the way to getting really worked up when her phone chirped at her. It was Ben,
My dog got loose and I can't find him
Emily looked at the message skeptically. A lost dog? Really? She thought for a moment and then responded,
Want help finding him?
His responce was lightning fast,
Yes! 111 7th st. Flushing.
I'll meet you at the clubhouse parking lot.
Thanks!!!
"Huh. I guess his dog really did get loose." Emily muttered to herself. Leaving a dollar on the bar she entered Ben's address in her GPS and learned she knew exactly where he was, she'd grown up less than 2 miles from where he lived.
In 5 minutes she was pulling into the parking lot he'd mentioned, and Ben greeted her with a maglight and a hug.
"Thank you for offering to help. He's old and half-deaf and an inside dog..."
"Not a problem." Emily said. "I have a dog too, and I know I'd be frantic if she ran off. What's his name?"
"Skip. He's black with a white chest and tan dots above his eyes. He's friendly, so you don't have to worry about him biting you or anything."
Emily looked around. "I know this park, I grew up near here. But I don't remember, is it fenced all the way around?" she asked, gesturing to the chain link fence she could see spanning the front of the property.
"I think so. And I totally owe you a beer for this."
"Two beers." Emily said before grabbing the extra maglight he carried, Hol's spare leash from her car, and a handful of "Keep the dog happy during car ride" treats she had stashed in a rubbermaid container. "Let's go find Skip."
They set out in opposite directions and as Emily looked for ben's wayward dog she figured that this might be one the the oddest outtings she'd ever had with a guy. From the other side of the park she could hear Ben's worried voice calling for his dog and Emily felt a pang in her own chest at the thought of Hol wandering lost. Not bothering to call out herself, the dog was half-deaf and didn't know her, she just methodically swept the beam of her flashlight from one side of the street to the other, pausing occasionally to listen for the jingle of dog tags.
Eventually, the listening paid off and Emily crossed an empty lot to search behind a blue doubblewide. At first all she could see was eyeshine and eyebrow dots, but then the dog moved and she saw his white chest. Shaking the treats she called, "Skippy?" and was rewarded with a wag as the dog waddled over to her.
"Good boy!" she said, giving him a treat and clipping her dog's leash to his collar. "Let's call your dad so he stops worrying."
Call made, Emily headed back to where her car was parked, pausing every so often as Skip marked most everything he came across. When they reached the clubhouse there was much wagging and general happiness. Ben made the suggestion that she could come over if she wanted and have a free beer (she reminded him that he owed her two) and play a game.
Curious to see his home, she agreed and after squeezing fat Skippy into the nearly nonexistant back seat of her car he directed her to his little single wide. She felt a pang over her earlier "trailer park" assessment, but shoved it aside. The trailer itself was nice on the inside, someone had put some thought into the color scheme and flooring at some point, but the ammenities were a bit lacking.
As she looked around Ben explained, "I was supposed to get more of the furniture when my ex left me, but I guess she changed her mind."
Emily shrugged. "Exes happen." she said philosphically. "So about that beer?"
A few hours later, after a rousing game of Two-person Uno (which was interesting and highly competitive), Emily leaned back on the couch and took a sip of her beer. "Ben, "she began, "there's a few things I'm curious about..."
Ben looked nervous, but nodded for her to begin the inquisition. Emily continued, "What is your zombie survival plan?"
Ben, expecting some serious ex baggage, or other equally not fun topic snorted. "My zombie plan?"
Emily nodded. "Everybody should have one. I mean, it's only a matter of time before the dead rise and come to eat the prain out of the pretty skull of yours."
"It's too late." Ben replied. As Emily cocked her head in confusion he continued, "I'm already a zombie and I feel the sudden urge to bite you!" and then he pounced.
Emily, caught unawares squeaked in alarm as Ben landed on her and began nomming her neck (good call on the earrings, Trace!). Finding that this vigerous nomming was also an effective tickle tool he began attacking her ribs as Emily squealed and squirmed, trying to dislodge his busy fingers. "Ohmigod, ohmigod, Ben, Eeeeeeeee! Stoooop!"
"Say 'Uncle'! Ben laughed as Emily poked and prodded him, trying to determine if he was ticklish.
"Never!" she squeaked, changing tactics and delivering a criplling purple nurple.
"You fight dirty!" Ben protested, pausing to rub his offended nipple.
"You jumped on me!" Emily defended. "And plus, I won."
From above her Ben's eyes lit up. "And the winner gets a kiss." he said.
"Wait, shouldn't the winner decide what she gets?" Emily parried.
"Fiiiine, what does the winner want?"
"A kiss."
Ben snorted but obligingly delived a chaste peck on Emilys up-turned face.
"That was a weak kiss." Emily pouted. Then she squinted her eyes and ventured, "You're being difficult on purpose."
Ben smirked and looked pleased with himself over Emily's frustration over his lack luster smooch and his contrary behavior.
"You are!" she exclaimed. "You're so smug that I can see it oozing out of your pores. Nobody likes a smug man." she grumbled at him.
"Oh, I think somebody likes a smug man." he said with a leer.
She protested, "I do not. There is nothing attractive about a smug man who is too pleased with himself."
Ben moved one hand and placed it on Emily's breast, lazily rubbing his palm lightly across it to make the nipple stand up. "What about this then?"
"It's stupid. It doesn't know what it wants. And it's cold in here." Emily muttered mulishly.
"Uh huh." Ben responded, not sounding convinced, at all. "So if I do this-" he tweaked the upright nipple and pinched it, "it doesn't have any effect on you?"
"Nope." Emily replied, sounding slightly strangled.
"Or this..." His hand moved to her other breast and repeated the action, but then rolling the hard little nub between his fingers. "Still sticking with your original story?"
"Mmm..." Emily hummed.
"Or maybe this," he asked, dipping his head to place a series of light nips on her neck and ending with a harder bite under her jaw. Settling back on the far end of the couch he looked at Emily. "You like it." he said.
She sighed. "Fine. I like it. You happy now?"
"Almost. Come here and kiss me. Then I'll be happy." Muttering about "damn difficult men" under her breath she sat up and moved to where he was and pecked him on the cheek.
"That's not what I meant."
"Turn about is fair play." Emily quipped.
"I didn't think you were interested in fair play." he retorted.
"Touche. But I don't think we're at the part where unfair play enters into things."
"No? My grandmother always said to start like you mean to go on..."
"I doubt your grandma was refering to kink when she said that." Emily stated, brow rasied.
"Well, no. But it seemed apt. And honestly, if it's what we're both looking for...?"
"Point taken." She sat silent for a moment, thinking, before she began speaking again. "The thing is... It's a really hot fantasy, but I don't know that I could be submissive. Not like in the books and websites anyways. I like giving up control eventually, but I like the struggle..."
She looked at him, "I don't think that I'll ever be the perfect, obedient little subby."
"Who says that's what I want?" he responded leaning closer to her. "Maybe I like the struggle too because it makes the surrender sweeter. Perhaps I want you to complain and huff when I tell you to do something, knowing that you'll do it anyways. The perfect, obedient subby has never done much for me."
"Really?' she questioned, doubtful. Didn't every Dominant want the perfect, obedient subby? That's what was in all of the books, and that idea had to come from somewhere.
"Yes, really. Now, will you kiss me? We can talk about this more, but I think it should be somewhere neutral and durring the daylight hours."
Relieved, Emily leaned in to place her lips over his. As she tingled everywhere with that exciting current that raced through her, she followed his lead. When his lips demanded her surrendered, as he moved to trail kisses and nibbles down her neck, she obligingly tilted her head. Her back arched to press her breast more firmly into his hand before his moth came down to cover hers again. She was slightly amazed that although they didn't know each other that well yet, their bodies seemed to have been made for each other.
After a long while they paused, "We should stop now." Ben said although she could hear the longing in his voice. "If we don't stop now I'm going to want to have my way with you, and I don't want that yet. I want to get to know you better."
Emily was disappointed, because she wanted Ben just as much as he seemed to want her, but she knew that waiting for a more solid foundation than mutual attraction was a better plan. So she nodded, and they pulled apart.
As she pulled on her coat and grabbed her keys he spoke, "So how does lunch on Sunday sound? Are you free?"
Emily ran through her calendar in her mind, "I think I have an eleven o'clock for a glamor shoot, but those usually don't take more than a coupple of hours... So, maybe one-thirty ish? Mancino's in Fenton? It's right off the highway to the west."
Ben licked his chops, "How did you know I love mancino's?" he asked, before grabbing her hand to walk her to her car (So gentlemanly!). At the car, another round of making out, high school style, ensued and it was another 5 minutes before they parted breathless.
"Go," ben laughed, "before we start doing that again and I can't wake up for work in the morning." He watched as she started her car and drove off before going beck inside and Emily made undignified "squeee" noises to herself once she was out of sight.
4
Emily spent the next day thinking. If she and Ben were going to talk about incorporating D/s into their... Whatever it was, she actually needed things to talk about. She knew that starting slow and simple would probably work best, but she didn't know what that might entail. Would he want a title? Those rituals and "poses" that many D/s couples seemed so enamoured of but she found kind of silly? How the hell was she supposed to know what she was willing to do when all she had done was a bunch of reading?
Eventually she found a checklist online, and for lack of anything better to do she began filling it out. At the end she was a bit dismayed to see how many things she'd marked "not interested." Maybe she was interested and she just didn't know it?
Going through the list again she used a Sharpie to mark the things that she knew she had no interest in doing, ever. The things she might be willing to do, somewhere down the line were highlighted in orange. Yellow was for things she was a little iffy on, but might do if the stars aligned correctly or she felt like it.
It made her feel better to have the list in hand and a more concrete idea about what she was thinking. But then she worried that if he had a list too, that their lists would be so incompatible as to make any sort of relationship an impossibility. Finally deciding to print a new list, and talk about each activity with him, Emily tried to be logical about the whole thing. If it wasn't meant to be, wasn't it better to find that out now?
It didn't feel better.
She shoved the lists in one of her desk drawers and turned her attention to editing her photos. After a few minutes of concentration she was able to lose herself in the process, and it seemed like in no time at all she had finished with the wedding shots from last weekend. She sent the bride an email to tell her that the photos were ready to be picked up, and turned to a picture that she had been saving for last.
It was one of the pictures she had taken of Ben at the reception, and in it the spotlight harshly lit up one side of his face while leaving the other in shadow. His lips were slightly parted and in the bright light the iris of his left eye glowed a shocking green. She studdied his face on her computer screen and tried to pinpoint the expression she saw on it. Greif. It was subtle, but it was there.
Emily sighed as she closed the picture. Of course he was greiving, he was at a wedding shortly after his own marriage had ended- And not ended well by the sound of things. Not for the first time she wondered why she was getting involved with this guy. He had relationship issues, that alone was usually enough to send her running for the hills. She wasn't good with bagage or people who carried it around. They tended to want there-there pats on the head and kid glove handling, while her own philosophy was "suck it up and move on."
Pulling her hair tie out she ran her fingers though her hair over and again, finding the repititious feeling soothing. Maybe she'd just go with it anyways. She wasn't invested, yet, and knowing that there might be landmighes would keep her feelings in check- IF he was able to commit, then she'd start thinking about it. Until then? No point borrowing trouble. She'd have fun and enjoy his company (and touch) and that was as far as it would go.
Of course, some things are easier said than done and while enjoying a grinder (Italian Combo) and some good conversation with Ben Emily found herself annoyed with whoever was blowing up Ben's phone... Damnit! Didn't they know that he was busy? Wait... Why wasn't he telling them that he was busy? Come on, set the damn phone down already. Geez... Rude much?
Fixing a pleasantly interested but hopefully not too curious look on her face she said, "Must be important" with a nod to the incessantly chirping phone.
"No. Just a friend." said Ben, finally shutting the damn thing off and stuffing it in his pocket.
PING! said Emily's radar... Friend? Hmm... Later. Focus, Em.
"Anyways, now that we're here and it's daylight and there's no couch in sight we were going to talk about things?"
"And stuff. Can't forget the stuff." Emily replied, setting down her sandwich. "so, um... Have you done this sort of thing before?"
"No. Well, not unless you can count the Yahell chat rooms circa 2002... And I was pretty clueless back then."
"Well... I have a list that I found online. I thought maybe we could start there? Unless you have a better idea?"
"Always Organized Emily." Ben said with a small laugh, "The list is fine. Where does it begin?"
So they went through the list. Parts of it were mortifying, parts were hillarious, parts required extensive Google Fu to learn that yes, people actually did do that, but in the end, other than a few minor differences, they found that their kinks were very compatible.
Blushing, Emily mustered up the balls to ask, "Er... Do you want to be called some silly title?"
"Em, your wording makes me think you're not too fond of titles?"
She shrugged, "They just seem contrived to me. I mean, I could probably manage to use one without laughing too much, but I'd want to laugh. Though maybe I'd get used to it." She shrugged again and gave Ben an up from under look.
"I kind of like it. Makes me feel important and powerful. Like I'm not someone to be trifled with." Ben responded, and then shrugged. "We can try it both ways, see what works..."
"What?" emily asked, noticing his pause.
"Try it." he said with a grin.
"Here? Now?" she felt herself blushing.
"There's nobody here. Just say 'Sir', maybe even 'Yes, Sir.'"
Her blush intensifying, Emily glanced around to be sure the coast was clear and whispered to her leftover sandwich, "Yes, Sir."
Feeling slightly mortified she didn't notice when ben got up and sat beside her until his hands were on her shoulders and she was being kissed. Her embarassment over the silly word fled and was replaced with those joyous tingles and electric zings until Ben pulled away.
"What was that?"
"Positive reenforcement." ben said with a smirk, "I think good behavior ought to be rewarded."
"And bad behavior?"
"You're ticklish, aren't you?"
"Oh, unfair!" Emily protested. "You can't go from kissing to tickling just like that!" then she paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Plus, we're still at the almost FWB and making out stage... We're not quite to the point where punishment for bad behavior comes into play."
Returning to his seat Ben nodded. "I know, but it's fun to make threats I might eventually get to carry out. It's just play."
Emily nodded. "So what do you want to do now? I don't want to get back to work right away and I'm using you as an excuse to procrastinate."
"I can't." When Emily's face fell a bit he hurried to add, "It's not that I don't want to, I just have other plans. I'd definitely like to do something later this week... When is the last time you went roller skating?"
"Skating? God, I don't know. High school? And really, you want to go skating?"
"Why not? It's too cold to do anything outside, and the usual stuff is just so usual..."
"OK. We'll go skating. But if I fall on my ass and you laugh I'm going to set my dog on you, and you don't want tha. She's vicious."
The date made, Ben walked Emily to her car, making sure that she was all set to go before walking off. Plugging her phone into the adapter and starting Pandora Emily started the drive home, reminding herself that she wanted to see if her "Just A Friend" radar was malfunctioning or if there was something that might make cutting her losses early a good idea.
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