Date night, part 1

Nina and Theo

Nina was stuck by the opulence of the master's suite from the moment she entered. Her eyes landed on the huge bed first, but were soon captured by the painted murals on the wall. The first she saw showed a beautiful young woman, naked, bent over, her hands and head locked in the stocks, her naked ass visible and red. A fully clothed man stood next to her, but Nina's eyes were drawn to the beautifully rendered red lines and welts. Even at a distance, Nina could see which ones had been harsh, and which ones had been ‘gentle,’ as far as whippings go. She even noticed the slight, wet sheen down the woman's thighs, below a perfectly rendered cunt. She's couldn't see her face, of course, but Nina knew exactly how it would have looked, how the tears rolling down her cheeks contrasted with obscene panting and moaning, how the eyes would shine with lust and need no matter what masque of pain the rest of the face got twisted into. She'd never tried the stocks, but Theo had whipped her in front of a mirror, mocking her every moment for her lust and -

She tore her eyes from that mural to the next, where a woman was kneeling in front of a naked man, his fist closed around the hairs on the back of her head, forcing her to **** on his cock. This time she *could* see the face, the puffy red eyes bulging above a smeared and tear-streaked mess of running mascara, the look of rising panic as she choked mixing with obedience and lust. His eyes were hard and cold, but she knew that facial expression, the look of a man's mask of perfect control nearly cracking under the weight of pleasure and power. Soon, he would lose control, just a little, and fuck her face fast and hard while she choked and sputtered, and Nina knew the girl below him loved it, because that's how she -

The next mural was larger, and showed multiple figures. In the centre was a man, leaning back in a chair, casually stroking himself as a woman licked his asshole, her eyes bright and happy, one hand between her legs, rubbing her cunt furiously as she got off on her own debasement. In front of him was another woman, slowly dancing in an obscene schoolgirl outfit, her eyes fixed on his, her thighs slick as she stripped for him. Reduced herself to an object for him. She was clearly in the middle of tearing off her shirt to reveal her tits to him, and the parts that could be seen were bruised and red from some previous punishment. The artist had even captured the twinge of pain in her eyes as the cloth moved across her sore welts. In the background, through an open door, another girl was visible. She walked from the kitchen in a maid outfit, carrying a tray with a single drink on it. Nina had been all three before, maid and stripper and degraded ****, often one after another, serving him as a loyal maid before being ordered to -

The next mural showed three naked women kneeling in front of a man, two of them with their faces to the ground, the third looking up at the man in fear and anticipation. His hand was raised, but the look of anger on his face, the tension in his arm, the subtle flex of his hand, it all captured movement so well that she knew exactly what was happening - he was slapping his ****, as he should, and the kneeling girl knew it. Her want and lust was shining out of her eyes. She was being defiant, and her master was swiftly correcting her. Nina could feel heat rising between her legs at the thought, at finally being put in her place and treated like the **** she was, trained to perfect obedience with firm but loving-

Finally her eyes found the door to the garden. Safety, at last. There weren't any whipped tits or kneeling girls or beautifully rendered welts in the golden sunset filtering through the rustling leaves. The garden was beautiful and calm, with a small pavilion of carved marble and a lavishly decorated table and chairs in ornate gold and silver. The table has already been set, and a meal was waiting there.

“Hello Nina,” Theo said, just a little in front of her and to the right, where she'd seen him the whole time.

She turned to look at him - or at least, his nose. He was dressed as he had been this morning, and his face was… polite. There was very little warmth in his gaze, but neither was there cold or venom, and his tone was even.

“Hello Theo,” Nina replied, trying to keep the venom from her voice. Be polite! she thought to herself. You can do polite, at least.

“I’m not sure if you’ve eaten or not,” Theo started, sounding more than a little stiff. “but I prepared dinner in the garden. I figured it might be a little… overwhelming in here.”

“I could eat,” Nina replied, and turned to walk towards the garden. “and thank you,” she continued, several seconds later.

Theo nodded, walking with her to the garden. It was only twenty steps or so, but it might as well have been an eternity.

Nina's mind was racing as they walked. Was Theo looking at her? What did he have planned? Could she really do this, just sit down and be polite and pretend like everything was fine? Bile rose in her throat just thinking about it, and she remembered the venom in his voice last time they had a real conversation, the snarl on his face as he tossed her aside. But she remembered other dinners, too. Not the kind you would see on the murals in the room around her, but simple dinners with her boyfriend, laughing and smiling. A small part of her - a very small part, but maybe not as small as she would like - wanted nothing more than to go back to those days.

Eventually, after what felt like several excruciating hours, they sat down across from each other, and Theo dished up the spaghetti Bolognese.

It took several minutes of eating in silence before Theo spoke.

“I hope the spaghetti is okay,” he said. “It's been a while since I made it.”

“It's fine,” she replied. In fact, it was perfect - at least to her. It had been her favourite meal. He had spent many, many tries to get it just right for her, and his skills hadn't left him.

Another minute passed before he tried again.

“So… how have you been?” He asked.

“Fine,” she replied again.

The muscles around Theo's mouth tightened in annoyance despite his best efforts, and Nina immediately knew she's fucked up. Come on!, she thought. At least try to be polite.

“Really, I've been doing good,” she continued. “I got the internship I was hoping for. My boss is a bit of a bitch, but other than that it's been going fine.”

“I'm glad to hear it,” he said. He seemed sincere, and she saw no hint of deceit in his face. Theo was a terrible liar anyway.

There was another silence as they both busied themselves with their spaghetti.

“And you? You've finished your master's by now, right?”

Theo nodded. “I'm just waiting for my grade for my thesis.”

“I'm sure you'll ace it,” she replied, and she meant it. Theo had always been whip-smart and committed to his work. It was one of his more attractive qualities.

“Thank you. I'm not too worried, but thank you.”

“And… thank you for cooking, Theo. The spaghetti was just as good as always. Only a little burnt.” It was an old joke between them, but she hadn’t meant to say it, and so for a moment, she froze.

But Theo cracked a smile - a genuine smile - and laughed, his demeanor brightening and his shoulders relaxing. For the first time, Nina felt the tension drain from her, and despite herself, she smiled to see him happy.

Maybe, just maybe, as long as nothing went wrong, this evening might actually, against all odds, go well?

Just as long as nothing went wrong.