“What is it?” I ask quietly.
“Not tonight, little girl,” he says gruffly.
What?
What is he talking about?
It kind of sounds like...like he’s rejecting me.
“What do you mean?” I whisper.
He steps closer, lowering his voice so that no one can hear. There are a few people looking over curiously. They’re probably trying to figure out what kind of scene we’re going to do and if it’s going to be worth watching.
“Your head isn’t in the game tonight, sweetie,” he says. “I’m not playing with you when you’re like this.”
“I’m okay,” I tell him, but we both know that he’s right, and I hate that he’s right about this. Taylor has a lot of integrity. He’s not about to tie up a submissive who isn’t paying attention and who can’t tell him when to stop if things get too much. BDSM is all about control and communication.
There’s no place for people who aren’t paying attention.
“We both know that’s a lie,” he says gently. “Let’s go sit down and talk.”
To my relief, he doesn’t make a big deal about it, and neither does Hank.
“Change of plans?” Hank asks when we come down off the stage.
“Yes,” Taylor says. “Let’s go sit over there.”
He points to a corner with a couple of empty seats, and we make our way over silently. The music in the club is still pounding, loudly filling my brain, but I do my best to focus on what just happened.
Taylor turned me down.
In all of the time we’ve been playing together, Taylor has never – ever – said no to a scene with me.
So why tonight?
And why can’t I get my head in the game?
Taylor and I sit across from each other in two comfy chairs. Hank pulls up his wheelchair to sit beside Taylor. The three of us form a sort of little circle, and they both look at me, waiting for me to say something.
Only, I don’t know what I’m supposed to say right now, or what I’m supposed to do.
“What is it?” I ask.
“You tell us,” Taylor says.
“It has something to do with Mr. Handsome,” Hank says.
“Mr. Handsome?” Taylors asks, looking at his partner. “Is that the Dom from the other night?”
“He was here again,” Hank affirms.
“And the two of you talked?” Taylor asks me.
This is my chance to lie again.
This is the part where I deny knowing anything at all about Aaron Winters. I can make up some stupid story about how I don’t actually know him, about how Hank must have been mistaken, and about how I’m just feeling stressed with work.
But I can’t lie to him.