CONSENT: Book 1 in The Dangerous Games series

Chapter 38

When I wake the following morning the sun is spilling across my face. I can hear voices coming from somewhere in the house. I groan and wipe the sleep from my eyes. I'm not a morning person so I usually keep my socializing to a minimum until after a cup of coffee. However today I find myself wide awake. Jumping to my feet I dash to the bathroom. Once I've brushed my teeth and hair I rush downstairs to the kitchen. "Good morning." My smile is bright as I approach the counter to make some coffee. Gage is cooking bacon and eggs. Circe just polished off the last of hers and is using a piece of toast to wipe her plate clean. "Delicious as always Bubba." Did she just call him Bubba? That's new. "Please don't call me that. I've asked you a million times CeCe." I cover my mouth to hide the smirk that forms. "Haha, sorry. I'm going to shower." She puts her dishes on the counter by the sink before disappearing through the doorway. "The sink is literally a quarter of an inch from that plate you know." He sighs as we hear her footsteps on the stairs. He turns and passes me a small serving before sitting down with me. We eat in silence and my mind begins to wander.

"After this go take a shower and get cleaned up. There's somewhere I want to take you." His voice broke through my daydream and he had my immediate attention. "I know you want to talk and we will, but where I want to take you has a set time frame so we will have to talk after." He takes our plates and walks over to the sink. "Okay, where are we going? Wait, let me guess, it's a surprise right?" I walk over and start helping him load the dishwasher. "Of course it is darlin'. Now, go borrow something cute but casual from Circe."

I stepped into the living room about half an hour later. Gage is on the couch, his head leaning against the back of it, he has fallen asleep. "Hey...." I reach out and grab his shoulder, giving it a little shake. "Gage, wake up, we're going to be late." He sits up and looks around before running his hand over his face. "Hey ... .you all set darlin'?" When his eyes settle on me he breaks out into the widest smile that reaches his eyes. "I am if you are....do I look okay?" I'm wearing a pair of light linen pants with a white long sleeve top. Nothing fancy, just cool and comfortable. Gage reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear, "....perfection.... Now let's get going." He checks his pockets for his wallet. Locating his keys, he holds the front door open for me. I walk out and get into his car while he locks up the house.

"How far away is it?" I ask when he climbs into the SUV. He's barely in the car and my interrogation begins. "Not very," he replied. "It's almost lunch time and we didn't eat much earlier. I'm going to be hungry," I point out. "There's food," he assures me. "Have I been there before?" I watch him curiously. "Don't know." I'm picking up a pattern here. "Have you been there before?" He seems to be considering the question. "Just once," he admits. "Oh sweet baby Jesus, can you answer any question with more than two damn words?" I hear him chuckle as he rubs his chin. "Probably could." I fold my arms and narrow my eyes into slits. If looks could kill he would have surely burst into flames on the spot. "You're. An. Asshole." I deadpan. "I try." I completely set that opening up for him. "Aaaagggghhhh!" I let out an exacerbated growl. He roars with laughter at my frustration as he pulls into the parking lot of a local irish pub.

"Okay,okay, I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." His laughter slowly fades as he watches me pout and stare out the window. "Katya, look at me baby girl." I turned to him. No longer laughing, he reaches out and caresses my cheek and makes me smile. His eyes look on apologetically as I nod. "So, are you going to tell me about the pub?" He sits back in his seat as he pulls the keys from the ignition. "Yeah.....I made some calls this morning and it seems you got lucky. A friend of a friend is hosting her first munch and this is it." I scrunch my face in confusion. "What's a munch?" I search my mind but the term isn't familiar. "Remember I mentioned the gatherings for newbies. The sorta meet and greet thing." I swallow hard as I look at the door of the pub. My eyes are frozen wide." Oooh," I reply softly. Gage notices my face and his expression becomes concerned. "If you want to back out, now would be a good time doll."

"No, no I don't want to back out. I'm just having a little moment of nerves but it's okay. I think I'm ready." I open the door and step out. Gage comes around to me, taking my hand in his. "If you want to leave at any time for any reason, just say the word okay?" I just nod, my eyes on the door ahead of us. His low throaty laugh pulls my attention and I turn to him. "Darlin' all you will find is a room full of normal people having normal conversations. Yes, you will hear talk about D/s and various aspects of BDSM. You will also hear about someone's new car, vacation to Europe, or even divorce. I promise this will be very different from what you expect."

We enter the pub which isn't that busy considering it's lunch time. Booming laughter along with various voices carried from a room in the back corner. There's a sign on the door announcing there is a private party inside. Gage squeezes my hand before sliding open the door. "Well I'll be damned, I thought she was full of shit but here you stand. How the hell are you man?" A big buff guy with dark hair and a beard wearing a three piece suit steps up and pulls Gage into a hug the moment we cross the threshold. As he steps back he looks me up and down. "Who do we have here?" Without waiting for a response he holds out his hand to me. "Our friend here can be a little lax with his manners from time to time. I'm Anthony....and you are?" Instinctually I look at Gage, whose eyes dance with amusement, as I look to him for direction. He gestures to indicate I should respond. I shake Anthony's hand briefly with a slight smile. "Katya, my name is Katya." My voice came out a little unsure so I cleared my throat. "Now that is exotic. Katya....I like it." Gage's hand suddenly slips into mine. "I think we are going to go find seats. We will catch up more shortly." Anthony takes a step back. "Oh sure, I didn't mean to corner you in the doorway. It was lovely meeting you Katya. Let's talk more later."

With those words he moves on to speak with another guest. Slowly, Gage and I make the rounds and meet a variety of people. "Nice to meet you, I'm Zahara. I'm here with my husband Franklin. We are looking for another woman to add to our family." She is a very petite woman with flaming red hair. Her husband is a large overweight man who looks to be twice her age. Oh my!

"The name's Devon," says a young blonde man in his late twenties, "This is my third...no fourth munch. I guess they are alright, I've met a couple of people I now chill with. I don't recommend you come here looking for dates. I've met and seen some creepy fucks at these things." I'm genuinely surprised by the mix of individuals present. I would never imagine some of these people speaking let alone having actual relations.

"Hi, I'm Grace," comes a meek voice from behind me, "I'm recently divorced so this is new to me too. I've never tried anything but I've always been curious." Something tells me she's not gonna last long at all. "I'm Marleen," her friend chimes in. "I've been living this lifestyle for more years than I can remember. I'm a stay at home 24/7 submissive and I love it. I do get some down time occasionally and that's how I'm here today. I love coming to meet new faces and welcoming them to what could be the most rewarding and fulfilling part of their lives."

We stayed until the very end and I really enjoyed it. I did end up having some conversations about D/s relationships. Gage was right, it wasn't at all what I expected. "So what did you think?" Gage starts the SUV and we pull out of the parking lot. "You were right on both counts," I admit. "How so?" I look over and his eyes are on the road. "Please tell me we aren't resuming the two word game." He reaches over and laces his fingers through mine. "Nope.....promise." I shot him a slight glare and he broke into a smile. "But seriously, what was I right about?" He squeezes my hand and I feel a warm pool in my stomach. "Well, that was not what I expected but very enlightening. Plus the things I've experienced are not exactly on the same level." Some of the conversations from earlier flicker through my mind. "Meaning what?" I shake my head at his unintended two-word response. "Meaning, I have a lot to learn."