Charted Territory || BDSM

Chapter 7 ~ The Heart-Shaped Box

The soft familiarity of Sunday Brunch numbs all of last night's worries about becoming the full-time submissive to a man too handsome to put in words. A man who looks like a Lana Del Rey song that embodies kindness yet could cut me to my core with his dominant ways. 

As I sit with three familiar faces at the breakfast bar, I am reminded that Cameron is just one person in this world full of interesting people. I had already spent the last few months pining for someone, plummeting into a hopeless spiral of idealism. It was a cycle I was eager to break.

Today, however, I took my power back. After a magically sweaty twenty-five minutes of Pilates, a perfectly crafted iced coffee, and a re-read of one of my favorite novels out on my balcony on this sunny morning, I felt like I could take on any challenge the universe decided to throw my way.

Intermittently, Cameron's words continue to play in my head. All of his rules I must follow and the ways that he will enforce them.  

Must he be so hot?

I already felt like I was under the umbrella of his authority in spite of the lack of official terms for our relationship. Something about the way he stared at me on our walk last night, the way he looked when he spoke of the rules and punishments only fed my infatuation. It was like he was trying to suppress all urges to take me into his control right then and there. It lit a fire within me and it hadn't stopped burning, no matter how much I tried to carry on.

Why does the idea of being under his authority make me swoon?

"You look a bit tired," my friend Eloise grabs my hand in a motherly way as she sits beside me. "Is the depression back?"

"I may look tired because I stayed up late but I'm feeling quite energized today actually," I roll my shoulders back with a smile and smooth my napkin on my lap.

Zoe looks at me in confusion, clearly trying to determine if there's something I'm not sharing, potentially in regards to our shared little secret. She starts speaking, almost as though she hopes that her disclosure will lead to mine, "Well, I slept at my sugar daddy's house last night. It was lovely."

Sagarika, the grounded one, shakes her head at Zoe, "One of these days, you're going to realize you're in love with him and you're going to fulfill all of his dreams at last."

"No," Zoe says to Sag and then looks at me. "Robert is not what I'm looking for. I'm looking for someone much more adventurous."

Only I know what Zoe means by adventurous.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Sagarika looks at me. "Talking to anybody?"

"She's talking to Harry," Eloise interjects before I say anything more.

"No, I'm not," I look back at Eloise. "I'm done with that."

"Since when?" Eloise cocks her head and puts her mimosa down. "Everybody's been talking about how in love he is with you."

"Who is everybody?"

"Everyone from Eden Hall."

Flattery washes over me. I thought my well-crafted morning routine after a date with a handsome, wealthy man the night before had left me feeling powerful enough. But the fact that Harry might be pining over me sent my confidence into overdrive.

I ride this high as I say, "I don't care what he says anymore. It's his actions that matter."

"But you were supposed to have the romance of a lifetime," Eloise says to me with almost a look of sadness. It was a blessing and a curse that Eloise was a true romantic like myself. But a romance of a lifetime with Harry? That's a reach.