Dinnertime

It's not what I expected, Tommy thinks, trying to see everything without making it obvious she's staring. Kate brought them down through the lobby to a large dining room, the door red, the interior decor as tasteful as it can be given the place's age. There's a huge table able to seat twenty or more, but half the chairs are currently empty. There are also extra chairs set back from the table. The head of the table has small name cards, gold lettering on red cardstock. The room smells slightly musty, not enough to be offensive, and mixing with the smell of the food. There are trays of food already on the table, roast beef, roast potatoes, and pasta with various sauces. One place setting has a bowl of fruit and raw vegetables set out, another place, at the head of the table, has four cushions lined up on the floor by the wall behind the chair. When they first entered, there were a few people already there, and more came in as Kate showed them to their seats. In the back corner of the room, there's a young brunette man chatting animatedly with an older pleasant looking blonde man. Both are dressed in tasteful understated black leathers, a pretty brown-haired girl standing behind the older man, her outfit a lacey black negligee, silver chains over her swelling breasts, a leather collar with a red felt liner locked around her throat. She's looking down at the floor, hands crossed behind her back, submissive. Tommy feels a spreading warmth in her belly as she looks away and sees a severe-looking Asian woman in a full leather and latex dominatrix outfit seated on the right side of the table, a long black riding crop in her hand. At the domme's feet, a strong black man is kneeling, naked except for a tight latex pair of shorts and a full face hood. His cock is protruding from the shorts, hard enough to cut diamonds, at least ten inches long, uncut, and dripping pre-cum onto the carpet. He's licking the domme's boots, his tongue flicking diligently across the leather and buckles. Occasionally, she pushes his face here and there with the crop.

It's the submissive boy under the table sucking an older Hispanic man's cock that starts her motor revving. Without even realizing it, Tommy scoots her chair closer to Nick's, her hand gripping his thigh. He wraps his arm around her, pulling her in as close as he can, his manly smell firing through her. Suddenly, she wants to be under the table for him, to feel his thick cock in her throat, to taste him, to be his totally. Her skirt tents, and she shifts, self-conscious among these strangers. Kate catches her eye, winking, supportive, and some of the anxiety fades.

"That's him," Nick murmurs, just loud enough for her to hear. The dining room door has opened, and a paunchy man in leather pants and vest enters the room, gripping a chain that hooks back to four young blondes, all of them nearly naked, and all collared with thick leather and metal spikes. They're dressed identically, cut-off tee-shirts with the word SLUT in bold black letters, chains from nipple clamps jingling under their shirt. Each girl has a ball gag in their mouth, and each is blind-folded. King Rick is tugging them along like bags of meat, his SS cap cocked over to the side. The bulge of his crotch is almost comically big, and his silver and gold belt buckle says STUD proudly.

King Rick falls back into the head chair, staring down the line at Aden and Tommy. His eyes narrow, partially suspicious, partially annoyed. "Who the fuck brought squares?" he demands, pointing at Aden, who's still dressed in simple street clothes.

Kate smiles sweetly. "They're my guests, Rick. I apologize, they didn't have time to change."

"Maybe they should get punished then," Rick growls. Tommy feels her chest tighten, memories of her stepfather pushing up from deep inside where she's hidden them. She turns her face away from him, closing her eyes and pressing her face into his shirt, inhaling his smell, reassuring herself that she's safe.

"No need to be rude, King Rick," the domme says, casually; her tone makes the word King sound vaguely ironic. "Any guests are welcome. I'm Mistress May."

"Aden," he answers, gently rubbing Tommy's back. "This is Tommy."

"No need to hide your face here, dear. You're very pretty," May says.

"For a boy in girl's clothes," King Rick inserts, tugging the chain so all four girls behind him stumble forward.

"Don't be a kink-shaming asshole, Rick," says the Hispanic man, his eyes closed and his face flushed. He's stroking the hair of the young man, who is slipping back up into a chair next to his master. "I'm Lazlo, and this is my boy Freddy. Say hello, Freddy."

The boy stretches and smiles brightly. "Hi!" He meets Tommy's eyes as she faces them again. "I love your makeup."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," King Rick barks. "Is this still a fucking bondage club or not?"

"This is dinner, not RopeCon, Rick," says the older man from the back, striding over to hold out his hand to Aden. "Kurt Steiner. Master Kurt when we're here."

"And I'm Michael," the younger man adds. "I'm doing a rope demo later, if you wanna check it out." He sits, a slight rise in his breathing as he looks toward Tommy. "You ARE very pretty, Tommy. I don't see a collar on you. Are you-" He stops, not sure how to continue the question.

"We're a couple, but she's a free woman," Aden explains. "I don't believe in ownership."

"Your mistake. Sit, bitches," Rick barks over his shoulder. The girls scramble to find seats, banging into each other and the wall as they feel around for the cushions. Tommy catches Aden's eyes narrowing, and his nostrils flare; he's totally pissed at the way the girls are being treated.

Tara and Cecil appear from a side door, serving food and drinks to everyone. Tara is quick and efficient, while Cecil flinches when he sees Aden; both disappear as quickly as they came in. People tuck into the meal, and for a bit, there's very little conversation. Mistress May places a plate of fruit and veg onto the floor for her sub, while Lazlo and Kurt choose what goes on their subs' plates, Lazlo even taking the step of seasoning Freddy's food and cutting his food for him. Tommy catches the obvious affection the two doms have for their subs. I could do that, Tommy thinks, snuggling back into Nick's side again. She catches Master Michael looking at her, and he grins. "Push much closer, and you'll be inside him, gurl," Michael says.

"I'd rather he be inside of me," she quips, then blushes furiously. Aden catches Michael's face, the dilation of the pupils, the elevated breathing, the quickened pulse of the vein in Michael's wrist. Attraction, says the monster. He wants your girl. For a brief second, there's a flare of alpha-male aggression, but he dismisses it easily. He's never been one to confuse sex with love.

"Hey, if you ever wanna try a real girl, I can toss you one of my bitches," King Rick sneers. "They're very pliant."

Kate's fork clatters onto her plate, and Tommy sees Aden's knuckles turn white as he grips his steak knife tight. For just a second, she sees **** in Nicki's eyes.

They're all saved from a hideous act of **** when the door bangs open and a pretty and thick-set bottle blonde enters, flustered and out of breath. "So sorry, everyone," she rattles out, still straightening the too-tight leather top she's just put on. "Traffic was a beast." She freezes as she takes in the tension in the room, and the additional guests. "Okay, what did I interrupt?"

"Possibly a ****, Annie," Master Kurt says, watching Aden carefully. "Rick being Rick again."

"Fuck you, Kurt," Rick responds. "Let the fucking guy tell me if he can't take a joke."

"Soooo..." Mistress Anne shrugs. "Are we partying tonight or not?"

"I think everyone is mostly done with their meals," Kurt says, looking around the table. "Mistress of Ceremonies?" He looks toward Kate, who places a professional smile on her face.

"The rooms are open, and there is going to be a shibari demo by Master Michael in the Spider's Garden." Kate looks to Aden and Tommy. "It's just us and staff for tonight, plus some guests of Cecil's, so I'm not sure what everyone's plans are. At our monthly, we get a few more masters and slaves, and I have a lot more planned. Of course, if we could get the money to upgrade the facilities-"

"Stop with that bullshit, we've already gone over it," King says. "My plan is to break in my new bitch tonight. Anyone who wants a turn can come by the Gym."

Kurt stands, and his sub rises with him, moving back behind him. He caresses her cheek, takes her hand, and kisses her wrist. "I think Morgan and I will drift a bit, see what we come up with. We'll take the Drawing Room." He leans across the table and grins at Aden. "There's room for two more, if you're interested."

"Pick a fucking side, Kurt," Rick sneers.

"Please tell me we're not all flying solo tonight?" Mistress Anne looks disappointed.

"You can join me in the Gym," Rick directs. To Tommy's surprise, the domme nods and takes the order without any objection.

"I think Lazlo and I were planning to play a special game with our toys," Mistress May says, her voice mysterious.

"We have a sportsmanlike little bet going," Master Lazlo explains. "You're all welcome to come see us in the Grotto."

"Ugh," Michael moans. "Why do you two insist on going in there? It stinks, and there hasn't been any water in there for over a year now."

"It has its benefits," Lazlo smiles, patting Freddy's ass as they get up and move toward the door. "Easy to clean off after playtime."

As people head for their various destinations, Aden and Tommy wait for Kate to usher everyone out. When the rest of the room is clear, she approaches them. "Okay, now you've seen the dynamic, you know what I'm working with."

"Do they all know you're trying to buy the place?" Aden asks.

Kate nods, tossing her long hair back over her shoulder and tying it back with a silk ribbon she pulls from her pocket. "Yep, but I haven't told them I'm trying to get you to pay for it." She gets a serious look on her face, frowning. "Look, Nick, I'll be honest. This seemed like a great idea when I first had it, but now that I've actually said it to you, I'm beginning to feel like a real shit for taking advantage of you. Tell me no, and take your pretty girl back home and forget about this whole thing, okay?"

Aden looks at Tommy, holding her hand. "What do you think, sugar baby? Do we hate that asshole Rick bad enough to waste our money buying up a rat-trap old bondage club just to piss him off?"

"Since I have no sense, I would say yes," Tommy chirps happily. "Do we get to stay and look around at our investment?"

Kate laughs, noticing Tommy is practically bouncing with excitement. "Of course, angel. You guys have free run of the spaces they're using tonight. Go see what kind of trouble you can get up to. But, seriously, Nick, you don't need to do this."

"Say that again, Katie, and I'll turn you over my knee and spank you. And not in the nice way you like, either." He faces Tommy, pulling her chin up to look in his eyes. "This night is yours, lover. Tell me where you want to go."

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Each of the four scenes has its own tone and events. In each, you will need to choose how the scene plays out. In order to progress in the story, you must score at least four points in the four scenes. Once you go to the Spider's Garden, you will trigger a final showdown of sorts, and be unable to go back to the Grotto or the Drawing Room, so you might want to check those out first. Good luck.)