Date Night?

The next couple of days are a blind panic for everybody except Tommy, who maintains her relentless conviction that the four of them getting together for a double date is the most brilliant idea in history. Nick is sure that they've permanently fucked up Bailey's life, so much so that he and Tommy have another argument over the whole idea. It isn't bad enough to cause any harm, but it definitely not fun, and it's the first night in over three months that they go to bed in separate rooms. Which lasts for about twenty minutes before Nick knocks on the door and they snuggle up and forgive each other. Bailey is on the phone several times, alternately crying and manic, whipping back and forth between being worried that the date will be a disaster, and being convinced it will be. Sarah picks the place, a fancy restaurant crosstown, not too expensive, and texts Tommy the address. Nick realizes the place is close to Sarah's home, and also very public. The implication that Sarah thinks this isn't going to be good is clear to him, and he suspects Sarah will have told Bailey as well. At one point, Bailey calls him and begs him to bring her over and dominate her; he points out how Sarah would probably take that, and tells her that, until things are resolved, he's sure it's best to avoid that happening. Bailey hangs up crying.

The night comes, and Nick actually takes longer than Tommy to get ready. She ends up picking his suit and tie, repeatedly reassuring him and telling him everything will be okay. They catch the metro to the crosstown stations, hoping off to walk the last few blocks, Tommy reading Nick's nerves and realizing he needs the time to adjust. When they arrive at the restaurant, a fancy bistro called Mondial's, Nick is too distracted to notice the decor; when Tommy comments on how pretty the place is, Nick grunts, not really paying attention. When they step inside, his eyes are scanning, looking at exits, looking for lanes of fire, his mind in fight mode. Tommy can see it, and she takes his hand and kisses him, then she sees Bailey and waves excitedly, pulling him back toward the table.

As they approach, he can see Sarah has chosen a table near the front, clearly visible from all angles. Bailey's sitting to one side, dressed nicely, but not anything special. Sarah, tall and dark-haired, has a severe black top and slacks, some very understated makeup and jewelry. She's sitting in a chair to one side of Bailey, the distance between them speaking volumes. Bailey has recently been crying, and Sarah's face is tight.

Tommy doesn't wait. She takes one look at the table, and grabs a passing waiter. "Hey, hiya, we'd like to move tables, if that's okay."

Sarah's face darkens, and she shakes her head. "This is fine."

"No, it's shit," Tommy says. "We're not here for a business meeting, it's a date." She points to a back booth in a secluded corner. "That one, please."

"We're not-" Sarah starts, then stops in shock when Tommy leans forward and places one finger across her lips.

"Hush," Tommy says, then takes Sarah and Bailey's hands and pulls them up from their chairs. Without accepting any alternative, she walks them back toward the booth, guides Bailey in first, then practically shoves Sarah in next to her so they're almost touching. Tommy smiles as she slides in on the opposite side, moving over next to Bailey and tapping the seat on her right side for Nick to sit down.

"You're very sure of yourself," Sarah grunts, angry. She has moved over again, putting distance between her and Bailey, who is beginning to tear up again.

"AC-tually," Tommy chirps, "I'm fucking terrified of you."

"Me?" Sarah doesn't sound like she believes that.

"Yah." Tommy looks at the waiter, who appears very confused. "Lots of wine, please. Two bottles, and my boyfriend will tell you what's good." She turns to let Nick pick the wines while she faces Sarah again. "You're a very strong woman, I can tell. You could probably break me in half if you got mad enough."

"I don't believe in ****." Sarah pauses, then takes a cheap shot. "Or beating people you say you love."

"But you do appear to believe in torturing them emotionally when you're unhappy with them," Tommy sighs, looking at Bailey, who is still looking at the tabletop.

That catches Sarah off-guard, and she pauses, then blushes slightly. "We had a fight, and we're not quite ready to go back to being lovey-dovey."

"Sarah, are you a generally honest person? Logical? Loving?"

Sarah doesn't answer. She's staring at Tommy, looking thoughtful. Tommy continues, pressing forward. "I recently learned from my boyfriend that I am who I am, and that I can be loved and I can live my own truth, and I don't have to be hung up by anybody else's idea of how the two of us should live."

"Good for you," Sarah says, voice bitter. "That doesn't mean it's right for everyone."

"Nope." Tommy sighs again, and looks to see where the waiter is. She looks back to Sarah while taking Nick's hand and leaning back into him. "I feel like this is one of those tough-love moments, so I'm just going to lay things out for us all." She pauses, laughing as the waiter arrives with four expensive bottles of wine. "A bottle each? Geeze, Nicki, what do you think we're doing tonight?"

"I had no idea what we're eating, so I wanted to make sure I had all the bases covered." He frowns at his girl, mock-serious. "We don't have to finish them."

Tommy leans across the table and picks up a bottle. As she speaks, she opens it, pouring four glasses. "Okay, Brain Doctor Sarah, I'm going to lecture you fiercely now, dazzling you with my erudition and wisdom, and then we are going to put all the drama to rest and have a great night talking and flirting and playing around until we all go back to our respective beds with our respective lovers to fuck our respective brains out."

"You're obsessed with sex," Sarah says.

"Tell me about it," Nick moans. "She's killing me slowly. I'm worn out."

Despite her feelings, Sarah laughs, a short sharp bark. Bailey looks up and gives a tentative smile. "You poor man."

Tommy pats Nick's head like a puppy. "Stop being so good at the sex, and maybe I'll let you alone sometimes." She smiles at Sarah. "Ready to be taught?"

Sarah can't seem to decide whether to be angry or amused. "Fine."

Tommy nods. "Good girl." Before Sarah can object, she dives in. "Here we go, logically. You say you love Bailey, yes?"

"Yes."

"And she says she loves you, yes?"

"That's what she says, yes."

"Okay." Tommy leans in and lowers her voice. "Were you a virgin before you slept with her?"

"Of course not, you know I wasn't." Sarah rolls her eyes. "You'd really better find a better line of attack."

"You slept with people you didn't love. So has everyone else at this table. So you understand sex and love are two different things."

"That doesn't mean I want to sleep with you."

Tommy sits back, and for the first time, she looks angry. "Are you always this egotistical and self-centered?"

Bailey chokes on her wine, and Sarah freezes, her face wriggling. Nick stares at Tommy as if she's gone insane. Finally, Sarah manages to breath. "What the fuck did you just say?"

"You heard me, Sarah," Tommy says. "The whole time we've known Bailey, we never made her cry. Or feel like a bad person because she has certain desires in the bedroom. We never shamed her for being non-vanilla. We never assumed that you would want to sleep with us just because you love her. We never demanded she be someone she isn't just so we could be comfortable with who we are. And we never punished her by withdrawing our affection or attention just because we didn't like what she was choosing to do with her life."

"You bitch, I-"

"Shut up." Nick is amazed at Tommy's face, the use of the dom voice. He's even more amazed that Sarah actually does shut up, and that Bailey, who is blushing a deeper shade of red than a fire engine, allows Tommy to continue. "I don't actually think you're selfish, or that you're bad for Bailey. But you need a paradigm shift. Shock treatment." She reaches across the table and puts her hand on Sarah's. "I can tell you love her. If you didn't, you wouldn't be so afraid of losing her. But what you're doing right now is driving her away. The two of you don't need us in your lives to be happy. But Bailey DOES need you to learn what Pet needs, so that she can be fully happy. And I can tell that, if you actually understood what she wants, you'd be great at it. You're a natural domme."

"I- I really don't know how to take that," Sarah murmurs.

"She means it as a compliment," Bailey whispers quietly.

"The best one I know," Tommy agrees. She fills everyone's wine glasses again. "So this is what we are going to do. Nick and I are going to promise you we will never try to bed your girl again as long as the two of you are together. You are going to sit with us tonight and ask us any and every question about how BDSM really works, and what Pet actually wants. You are going to prove to Bailey that you love her by learning from us what really gets her motor running. She is going to prove to you that she really loves you by respecting your monogamous relationship and doing her very best to avoid us beyond conversation. Which you will be privy to, so you feel okay with what is being said. No secrets, no back-door meetings. And we are going to respect both of you and do everything we can to make sure you guys work. Because, aside from Nicki, Bailey is the only other person I have ever loved, and I think she's wonderful and perfect, and she deserves to be happy, and not hurt, and she deserves to be whole and complete and if she isn't I won't be happy until I know she is."

Tears are dripping down both Tommy and Bailey's cheeks. Sarah is staring at Tommy like some sort of miracle has appeared in front of them. "You really are something," Sarah says, awed.

"Damn right," Tommy says. Nick reaches up to wipe her cheek, then kisses her shoulder gently. He's aware Sarah is still staring at them, but ignores her, pulling Tommy close and brushing her hair back from her cheek, rubbing her arm and whispering to her, calming her down. Sarah picks up a napkin, and hands it to Bailey, embarrassed and unsure what to do. Tommy has torn them down, and now it's time to reassemble the parts into something new, he realizes.

"Sarah, you don't know me, and I know you don't trust me," he says, voice even. "I want to help you both right now, and I think I know what to do. I'm asking your permission to show you what you need to know. Not to sleep with you, or anything. Just to introduce you to something."

Sarah doesn't trust herself to speak, bites her lip, stares at him, eyes suspicious. But she listens, and she thinks, and then, almost imperceptibly, she nods.

Nick looks to Bailey, who is wiping her face and looking lost and alone. "Bailey, I want you to get up, go into the bathroom, and wash your face and tidy yourself up. Take as much time as you need."

Bailey looks at Sarah, then back to Nick. "I don't think that's good idea."

"Yes, it is," he says, command in his tone. "When you have yourself together, I want you to remove your bra and panties and throw them away. When you come back out here, I expect to see Pet on her very best behavior."

All the color drains from Bailey's face. Her eyes are locked on his. Gently, Tommy touches her arm, strokes it gently. "Trust us, baby," she whispers.

Bailey looks to Sarah, who seems to be waffling between disgust and curiousity. She slides out and stands, allowing Bailey to slide past her and head to the bathroom. They avoid touching each other as Bailey goes by. Sarah watches Bailey stumble through the bathroom door, then sits down heavily. "I swear to God, if you hurt her, or if I lose her because of your bullshit, I will kill you."

"Sarah," Nick says, sadly. "If I'm wrong and I'm fucking up, I will go get you the gun to shoot me with."