I can’t keep my hands off of her.
She tilts her head against the seat. Her eyes are filled with this mirth that makes my heart flip in my chest. It’s the feeling of being kids at a sleepover together—nothing but a fun night ahead of us.
“I can’t believe I’m wearing overalls to the club.”
“Does it matter? I’m ripping them off you the second we get inside.” She twists her mouth at that. I back-peddle: “But we can stop at your place first. If you want.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s…what do they call it?Cozy kink? I’mliterallycozy kink.”
“You look great.”
“I look like I’ve just been fucked for four hours.”
“That’s what I said.”
She bites on her lip. “When we go inside…are you going to be my dominant or my submissive?”
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”
“Mm. Sounds like a submissive answer.”
“I’ll be your dominant.”Don’t tell me what to do.
She looks amused by that. “Do you prefer one to the other?”
I shake my head. “What turns me on about being in a scene…it isn’t necessarily dominating or submitting. Humiliating or being humiliated. What turns me on is that…for that hour, we’re not on our phones or thinking about bills or replaying the worst moments in our lives over and over. I am solely, completely focused on you and you’re focused on me. We’re connected.”
“Spoken like a true middle child.”
“Do you have a preference?”
She shakes her head. “I used to. But…I like what we are. I like…feeling so protected one moment, and so powerful the next. It’s fun, it’s hot, and it’s…healing. You give me space to do both.”
“So do you.”
“And I trust you to know what I need, when I need it. But…with that said, I think we need a word.”
“Like a safe word?”
“Yeah. Or like a…we’re not speaking the same language, let’s pause and check inword.”
I nod, slowly understanding. Things have shifted. We’re negotiating again. It feels good to get on the same page. “What are you afraid of?”
“Like, what if I’m in sub-space and you start bratting? Or if you’re dominant and thenIgo dominant and we kill each other?”
I tilt my head against the back of the seat. “I like the last one.”
A grin teases her lips. “That’s only because you know you’ll lose.”
Her fingers toy with mine. Fuck. I like fucking this woman. I like playing with her. I liked holding her hand. I even likenegotiatingwith her. Just sitting here, in the back of a taxi, talking with her, is like a balm on my soul.
If my heart swells anymore, it might crack a rib.
“Kismet,” I say.
“Kismet?”
“Yeah.Kismet. That’s our safe word. It’ll remind us thateven if we’re out of sync in the moment…we’ll find our way back to each other eventually.”
