The First Date

Ben waited. He had been waiting for the past hour. He had showered from playing at the arcade in his own room and gotten dressed in a casual set of clothes, a button down and jeans. His mind tried to figure out how he would handle what was about to happen, while also trying to fend off the thoughts that crept in. There was one odd thing that he couldn't get out of his mind. When he tried to go into the kitchen to get a drink before entering the shower, he had found it locked. He had knocked, but there was no answer. Wasn't he supposed to have free reign over his own room? Why did they lock the door on him, what if he needed to get in for something important? Should he call maintenance to check on the door?

So here he sat, on the chair next to his bed, waiting. It had been an hour since he got ready at sunset. That was odd, Callie was late. Yuki had made it sound like she'd be here as soon as she could be, while Callie had done nothing to dispel that notion. Yet here he sits. Waiting, unsure if he should be happy that the 'date', as he had come to think of it, was postponed or upset that he had waited for so long.

He stands, as he hears a knock at the door. He walks over, walking through the tea room to get to the main door, opening it. Callie stood there, beautiful. Her dark hair was over her shoulder, a form fitting small black dress clung to her body. She looked beautiful.

"I'm sorry for being late... something came up, and I sort of had to get ready again." Her voice was small, barely escaping her beautiful lips. Ben felt terrible listening to it, like she was afraid that he'd yell at her or worse. Despite his fears, despite his well founded belief that every little sign was designed to draw him in, he embraces her, holding her against him, her face finding his neck. "It's ok. I'm just glad you finally made it." It was what she wanted to hear. There would be time to backpedal, to try to establish distance, but when a woman stands on his doorstep sounding like she was on the verge of tears, Ben would ease her mind, every single time.

"Ok. I'm... I'm happy that you feel that way." Still timid, her voice still barely contained, she whispers in his ear. He lets go of her, still holding her arms in his hands, looking down at her. Her slightly puffy eyes look at him. She is the one to break the tense silence. "So, uh, what are we going to do tonight? Have dinner?"

As if on cue, the door to the kitchen makes a slight noise, and both turn to see the door slightly move, as if somebody was on the other side of the door. Ben can't help but look at this with an obvious terror in his eyes. "Wait here." He doesn't think of how she is submissive, not a command to a willing listener, instead it is the simple calculus of a man approaching danger while the woman stays safe. He creeps toward the door...

Only to find the kitchen, bright. His eyes scan the room for some intruder, finding nothing. The only difference is that the table is set, fully, like at a restaurant. Candles are lit, two wineglasses are filled with red wine, and two steaks with sides sit on the table.

Ben looks back at Callie and urges her forward. While she moves, he explains. "The kitchen's been locked since a little while ago. I guess they didn't want me to interrupt the cooking." Ben says this, but at the same time he doesn't understand. What, were the hosts afraid he'd throw the food in the garbage? That he'd be scared witless by seeing fully cooked steaks appear out of nowhere or float from the stove. No, something still feels wrong. He turns the corner to the western style living room, finding nothing.

"Is everything ok?" Callie says this from next to the table, clearly ill at ease. Ben looks at her. She looked scared, and Ben hated seeing her like that. Ben wasn't even sure if he should be worried. It's not like Harem Hotel would let their star be butchered on live television, right? There would be no intruder they didn't give access, being in this other world far from reality. Right?

"Uh, yeah. I guess they must've just wanted us to come in and see the dinner. I was going to say that with the kitchen locked, we could go down to the main hall to eat with the others. But the food looks good, doesn't it?"

Callie looks at the food, thinking. "Uh, yeah, I guess. Still, uh, it seems a bit weird, doesn't it?" Ben looks at her, before trying to seem a bit more assured than he feels. "A lot of things feel weird about this show. I don't think they understand people very well."

The two stand there, the moments in the doorway completely banished from their memory. Callie ventures a few more words. "Well, uh, we should eat, shouldn't we? They prepared these steaks, and I can imagine that they were not cheap." The marbled steak simmers, clearly just removed from whatever heat had cooked it. The steak is Kobe, though neither know this at this moment, though the subtitles certainly thank the sponsors.

"Yeah. We should try to enjoy ourselves." As Ben walks back, the lights begin to dim, not to darkness, but to a dim light. The candles provide light, as Callie sits down. It doesn't feel threatening, so much as an awkward attempt at mood lighting. Ben tries to relax, as he walks back to the table, sitting down.

"They even know I like asparagus with my steak..." Callie says this as she looks at the meal. Ben looks to see his sides are mashed potatoes and a sauteed mushroom medley. Both look delicious. "I like my sides too. I've never been one for asparagus though." Ben can't help but laugh at the mundanity of this conversation after the tension that had just swept from the room. "Well, I won't share with you then." Callie crinkles her nose teasingly, as she picks up her fork.

Both decide to go for the steak first, and both are struck by how delicious it is, how the subtle spices add to its full flavor. Ben is the first to comment. "Wow, the food here has been good, but never this good. I think they might be trying to apologize for freaking us out." Callie responds, "Or maybe to make us fall in love."

Ben looks down at this, feeling the truth in her words, though she couldn't know exactly how true it was to him, how it evoked the memory of Monica a few hours earlier. But as he looks down, he looks at the food. And he decides a simple thing. Fuck it. He wouldn't try to avoid every small thing here in the worry that it's a trap. Hell, just because he was here didn't mean that he was playing into some master plan. And even if he could, what would it get him?

"Yeah, maybe. Is it working?" He looks at her, and she nearly chokes on her food as she grabs another morsel from her fork. The candlelight dances on his face, giving an air of suaveness, a special air of romance that made the joke a bit more than a joke when he said it.

Callie for her part tries to laugh it off a bit. "Well, we'll see by the end of the night." Though as she says this, she looks away from his eyes. In the moment, Ben wonders if it's shyness or something else. "Now, try the wine. I think it's good, but I'm used to cheap garbage." Ben tries it, finding it good. Another win for the sponsors and their golden ribbon wine.

"They really spared no expense. If this was a real restaurant, I'd probably have to insist that we go dutch." To this, Callie teasingly responds, "Is that how you normally treat your dates?" Ben puffs up his chest. "No, I tend to treat them, at least on the first date. But I also don't tend to take out my girlfriends to the fanciest place in town on the first date. Though I think you probably make more money than me, given you're head of IT." "For now."

Ben doesn't even shrink back at this. He is in front of a beautiful woman, and maybe it was the good food or the slight ways that she responds, but he wants to have fun with her, to be a real partner to her on this date. A little playful banter. I mean, it was a fun date, no need to ruin it with existentialist terror.

"So how about you? Did you get treated for dates or did they make you pay half?" Ben looks at her, moving the question back to her. "Oh, well, I mostly paid half. Though I did have one boyfriend recently who paid fully, he was really into the goth thing. It was soon after I started dressing like this, so I felt that maybe it was fun, dressing to be seen. Though really it was only three guys, so maybe I was just adding a bit more meaning to my change, making me feel like it was worth it in some weird way..." Callie pokes at her food, a bit uncomfortable about talking about other men she dated. So she decides to flip it.

"...So how long did you and Wendy date?" "Oh, it was a year and a half. It was serious, but, well, you know how that ended. Or actually maybe you don't, but I guess I don't either anymore." Ben can't help but laugh, and part of him wonders if the **** was a bit more potent than it should be. Although he looks to see that he has almost completely gone through his glass at some point. That is what happens when you were having fun on a date.

"Now, now, try not to think about that." Callie playfully chides him. Ben smiles, "Fine. So what do you imagine an ideal first date is like?" "Oh, well I like normal restaurant dates, maybe after a movie..."

The two continue to banter back and forth, as Ben offers to top off her wine while he refills his. The steak soon disappears, as all of the little conversations that occur during a first date take place. And that is what it is, as the two forget the show around them, misplace any misgivings about what they should do now, in this situation.

Though that can only continue for so long. After an hour and a half, the food is gone, and the small bottle is empty. The two sit at the table, at some point Callie had reached across the table and laid her hand there, and Ben had gotten the subtle hint and placed his hand in hers, holding it.

"So what now? Do you want to go into the living room? Although, the only thing on the TV is Harem Hotel." Ben laughs, as he looks at Callie. But Callie looks down, her face heavily blushing. "Oh, well, I imagined that... well, you know..." Callie struggles with her words.

Her words are small, but clear. "I have something to tell you." Callie says this with seriousness out of nowhere. "I'm sorry that I was late, but there was a problem. It happened so suddenly, so I started crying, and I questioned whether or not I should even come."

"Shh... it's ok, we had fun, you don't need to worry about it." Ben rubs his thumb along the top of her hand, trying to soothe her as her tone turned from serious to sad, to on the verge of tears.

"No, I... I need to tell you this. So, eventually I washed my face and reapplied my makeup, but that thing is still there. And you need to know about it, deserve to know about it. I didn't ask for this, didn't want it..."

"It's ok, it's ok."

"...I was planning on trying to bring up the whole submissive thing, I've been on dates before and never mentioned it, never really experienced it, but the whole date show thing, the master thing..."

"I know, I know, it's ok, I'd have rebuffed..."

"No, well, I sort of expected that. I expected that you wouldn't become my master overnight but... but..." Ben stands at this, going to rub her shoulders as she begins to openly sob.

Eventually she speaks again, her voice a paroxysm of agony. "Why?! Why, just when we are kicking it off, when I think that you might really be the one, why me?! Why did this happen?!"

"Shh... It's ok. Maybe we shouldn't have had this much ****. I sort of encouraged you..."

"No, it's not that! You've been a gentleman, an absolute perfect gentleman! It only makes this worse!"

"I enjoyed our date too, so no more tears. I don't know why you're crying, but I can tell you that you don't need to."

Callie continues to cry. "God, you're so perfect. I just... Please, sit down. I can't say it, but I think that... it would be better just to show you."

Despite his misgivings, Ben sits back down. After a little bit, Callie stops crying long enough to stand up. She walks toward Ben's side of the table. And then she grabs the sides of her dress, lifting it... "Wait, I don't think you mean to do that, I think we're not..." The words die in Ben's throat, as Callie's beautiful thighs give way to the place between her legs. Ben would look away, except the glint of metal catches his eye. It is not normal panties that she is wearing, but instead something else.

"When I was coming to meet you, I felt a sudden coldness. When I looked down, I was in... this chastity belt."