I can't say why or how I knew; I just did. Not one molecule of her body changed in appearance. She didn't shift her body posture or facial expression or anything. At least, not right away. One moment she was a thing, an object, my possession. Then in an instant, she was a person. I became immediately aware of the fact that I respected her right to tell me no, that her body was her own and not mine.
Sarah and I blinked at one another as the new dynamic dawned on us. She stood up, almost cautiously, her face a mask of **** composure.
I felt a stab of betrayal. "I didn't say you could-"
Sarah flinched and held up a hand to cut me off. "I didn't consent to any of this." Her voice was hard but she looked conflicted. "Will you give me back my phone, please?"
Unable to find a reason why I should be allowed to keep it, I placed the device in her outstretched hand. "I-"
"I don't want to hear what you have to say, Tabitha. I just want to get dressed and go home. This has been a truly terrible day."
I felt hurt. Hadn't we just shared a moment? She had submitted to me, completely. Surrendered herself, body and soul. She was mine. But I guess now that she could refuse me, she was going to.
She gathered her discarded clothing and turned away from me, embarrassed, to put them on.
"Sarah, let's talk about what just happened."
She shook her head softly without turning towards me as she reached behind herself to hook up her bra.
I sighed, but was determined to continue. "Look, I like you. I want to do more of this, but now that you're..." I struggled to find delicate words. "...normal again, it's just confusing. Do we have to start over? I don't know how this works."
Sarah had her skirt back on, wrinkled and stained. She began buttoning her even less presentable shirt, just looking absolutely dreadful. Hair and makeup, wardrobe. Caked on fluids still visible on her face... I actually felt bad for her. It would be humiliating to go outside looking like that.
I stepped forward and out my hand on her shoulder, "Sarah, let me-"
She pushed my hand away, visibly upset. "Don't you touch me! You don't care about me! You never talked to me before, and then when an opportunity presented itself, you fucking **** and humiliated me! I want you to just leave me alone!"
I respected her as a person, but I wasn't going to stand for that. I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to face me. "I didn't **** you, Sarah. You know as well as I do that you when I found you in here, you were just a wretched thing. A toy. I found you, and I played with you."
My words hit Sarah like a slap in the face. She knew they were true. I pressed on. "You liked it. I make a living reading the deepest desires of a person so I can set them free. You can tell me off, and you can shut me out, but you can't look me in the eyes and tell me you hated being my plaything. You and I both know the truth: you need someone like me in your life."
Sarah did look me in the eyes, than, her expression hard. She'd recovered some of her pride along with her personhood, it seemed. "Get out of my way. I'm leaving."
With a growl, I relented. To push too hard now would be a real crime. I had to let her go. Stepping aside and watching her leave, I noted that she had not denied my accusation.
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