Page 16

CHAPTER 16

Victor

We weren’t the first ones in the classroom up on the second floor. There was a couple, a man and a woman, who I quickly sussed were our instructors, and another couple, two men.

Kayley opted to wear a sports bra and leggings, because the description had said clothing was optional for the rope bottoms.

Tucker, the male instructor and the rope rigger leading the class, and his wife, Jaimie, were friendly and welcoming. They looked vaguely familiar, and then I realized they were the couple we’d watched scene in the Dungeon. They quickly set us up with our own bundles of dark purple jute rope precut in various lengths before telling us to pick wherever we wanted to sit. Several groups of snap-together MMA mats were placed around the room at comfortable distances from each other. On each mat someone had placed a pair of rope scissors.

By the time class started, there was a total of twelve students, but only six of us were partnered to each other, while the rest had paired up for class and would take turns tying each other.

“Let’s cover safety first,” Tucker said as Jaimie stripped down to a sports bra and thong next to him. “No neck ropes today, and definitely no suspension techniques. Remember, any idiot can buy five dollars’ worth of rope at a hardware store and accidentally kill someone in just a couple of minutes, so safety is a priority. People think rope is ‘safe’ but it’s actually one of the most dangerous activities for that very reason. Personally, we classify any ropework as ‘edge play’ due to how dangerous it can be. Never leave your bottom unattended and tied up.” He held up a pair of the scissors. “You have rope scissors. You will keep them within reach at all times, and if in doubt, use them. Never tie, even basics, without them within reach…”

He spent fifteen minutes going over more safety issues, including basic rope tie safety, using Jaimie to demonstrate. There were plenty of safety considerations I’d never thought of, like rope placement in relation to various nerves, using more wraps of rope to spread out and reduce pressure on vulnerable areas, and more. I thought they’d exaggerated the dangers at the beginning, until they started explaining how even a basic tie improperly placed could quickly cause harm.

Since today’s class wasn’t covering suspension, he soon started with the demo and lesson.

Over the next two hours, we worked our way through single- and double-column ties used in a variety of ways. Honestly, I was surprised when I looked up and realized our two hours were up.

I think Kayley was disappointed to see class end, too.

“What’s the pouty lip for, sweetheart?” I asked as she helped me coil what was now our rope.

“That went way too fast. But you know what?

“What, baby?”

“I now trust and respect you even more than I did before for knowing you need training and caution, and not just blindly barging forward without keeping my safety at the front of your mind.”

I laughed. “Not like safety and anticipation and mitigation of dangers are a key component of my literal job or anything.”

She lightly swatted my arm, laughing. “Take the compliment. And I guess you could call that another green flag.”

“Green flag?”

“Yeah, instead of a red one.” She sighed. “That’s something I wish more of my clients learned how to recognize before they stumbled into bad relationships, and I’m left helping them pick up the pieces.”

Tucker walked over. “What you just practiced, you can safely do that in your room, if you want. Or, if you aren’t sure, you can always go down to the Dungeon and do it there while a DM supervises. Just remember the safety rules.”

Kayley brightened up at that. “After dinner, let’s do some more in the room!”

I knew she wasn’t a Little, but her eager anticipation made me smile because we both damn sure needed something to smile about. “We can absolutely do that.”

She ran her fingers over the fading ligature marks on her legs from the last tie I’d done on her. “I can see where this would quickly get addictive,” she noted. “If I had this much fun in a basic class, I’m guessing the more advanced stuff is even better.”

Tucker nodded. “It can get that way. But remember, never try suspending someone without proper training and lots of supervised practice,” he said. “If you don’t try to force limbs out of sockets or leave someone tied up too tightly or in a bad position, you can, for the most part, safely do basic ropework with what you just learned. Just use common sense and always err on the side of caution. We have a few classes on the TV you can follow along with, too. Stick to the beginner ties and you should be fine.”

I stashed our new rope and safety shears into a small canvas tote bag that came with the rope and which bore the Rawhide Ranch logo. Then I climbed to my feet, held my hand out to Kayley, and we headed back to our room to change.

“That was amazing!” she said on the ride down in the elevator. “I honestly went into that thinking okay, it’ll be fun, but not realizing…” She stared up into my eyes. “That was fun ,” she said. “I think my brain turned off.”

I reached up and booped her on the nose with my index finger. “That’s kind of the point,” I observed. “It’s very soothing for some people.”

She leaned against me, her head on my shoulder. “I think it’s safe to say I want to do more rope.”

“Good. Me, too.”

Inside I struggled not to let my nearly manic grin bubble to the surface. If she was already enthusiastically throwing herself into this, it gave me hope we were on the right path to a beautiful future together.

We changed clothes and decided to try the Mexican restaurant. I hoped that the food there would be as good as everything we’d eaten so far, and I wasn’t disappointed.

This wasn’t fast-food restaurant crap—it was authentic Mexican cooking.

For the second time today, I found myself staring at my plate and wondering if I could flag down a wheelbarrow to just roll us back to our room.

On the other side of the table, Kayley looked equally stuffed. I’d had a light beer with dinner, just the one, but she stuck to horchata. Which was delicious, but too sweet for my tastes as a side beverage. Like diabetes in a glass.

“What next?” I asked Kayley once we’d finished.

She sighed and I loved that she looked… happy.

Relaxed.

“Not sure,” she said. “I might need you to carry me back to the room.”

I laughed. “I was hoping you’d carry me .”

“They sure feed us well here.” She glanced out the window, at the deepening purple shadows slowly engulfing the landscape. “As much as I’d love for us to go back to the room right now, I’m afraid if we do, I’ll just fall over and collapse in a horchata coma. How about a slow, easy walk?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We soon found ourselves down by the stable, where a young woman with curly red hair was grooming a large Clydesdale.

She smiled. “Welcome! I’m Wren.”

“Vic and Daphine,” I said. “We haven’t explored here yet. It’s our first day.”

“Did you want to go for a ride? It’s getting too dark for the trails, but you can ride in the paddock.”

“No, not tonight,” I said. “We needed to walk off our dinner.”

“Can we pet him?” Kayley asked.

Wren brightened and waved us over to the horse in the cross-ties. “This is Atlas,” she said, holding her hand out, palm up, for the horse to nose. “Just do that and let him sniff you.”

We did, Kayley even giggling as he gently blew warm breath against our hands. “He’s really big,” she said.

“He is,” Wren agreed, pointing toward another stall where a similar looking horse’s head poked out and watched us. “So’s Hercules.”

“Oh, wow! Can we pet him, too?” Kayley asked.

“Sure!” Wren led us down the center corridor, introducing us to horses along the way, practically telling us their life stories.

Then she glanced at her watch. “I need to finish grooming Atlas, but if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask. You’re free to explore here or in the barn as well”

“Thanks,” I said. We ended up down at a pen holding goats, who eagerly congregated by us at the fence, climbing all over each other for pets.

Kayley’s face brightened as she petted them, and I focused on her.

With the unusual logistics of our relationship, I rarely had time to see her like this. No worries, no responsibilities, just enjoying the moment and having fun.

She looked up at me and her smile twisted my heart around her even more tightly. “Never had goats,” she said. “Had a dog when I was little, but he passed away from old age.”

“We could adopt you a dog,” I said. “I love animals. Or a cat.”

She shrugged, and I almost wished I hadn’t suggested it because of the melancholy that dulled her joy. “I don’t have time for a pet,” she said. “And what would I do with it when I’m traveling? I can’t fly it back and forth with me all the time, that’d just stress it out. I’d hate to adopt one and then it’s sitting at home all day, lonely without me.”

I didn’t point out that if we lived together full-time one or both of us would likely be with our pet and leaving them behind to travel wouldn’t be necessary, because we wouldn’t be traveling frequently.

Because I didn’t want to go there. Not yet. I didn’t want to get shot down, especially not after our fantastic day.

It was full dark by the time we washed our hands down at the barn and then headed back to the main lodge.

Kayley sneezed a couple of times. “Bless you,” I said.

“Thanks.” She sniffled. “Probably hay fever or something.” She sneezed again. “I’m not getting sick, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t worried, until you said something.”

It took her a moment to process that, then she laughed and poked me in the ribs. “Smart-ass.”

She sneezed a few more times before we made it back to the lodge, and we stopped by the front desk and found we could buy allergy meds in the store. With that handled, we finally returned to our room.

She kicked off her shoes. “Let me take this right now,” she said with a chuckle. “The problem probably is I’m not used to clean, fresh air.”

“We don’t need to do anything but cuddle tonight, if that’s what you feel like.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” She took the meds and swallowed some water. “I want to play with the ropes again. Then maybe we can try out the hot tub?”

God, she was beautiful. I loved the way the mocha flecks in her eyes deepened the color, made the amber stand out.

I brushed a kiss across her gorgeous lips. “That’s a deal, baby.”

She nuzzled her nose against mine. “Maybe you can even talk me into experimenting with the butt plug.”

“I think I could be persuaded to persuade you, baby.” I tipped her chin up with my index finger. “Feel like trying the ropes naked?”

Her smile widened. “I think I could be persuaded.”