Not only did I intend to call my friend out tonight but I was also looking forward to yoga. It would help to clear my mind. And when it was over, I would get a chance to confront Kristen. If nothing else, she had a whole lot to explain. After all, she was the one who had pimped me out to the men who were now making my life difficult.
Then, if she was still my friend when it was all said and done, I was hoping she could give me some advice about how to proceed. I knew what I wanted; now I just had to figure out how I was going to make it happen.
•
“Well, hello there, stranger,” Kristen greeted when I walked into the yoga studio a few minutes before the class was to start. “You’ve still got the beach glow going on. Or maybe that’s just what being in love looks like on you.”
“Nobody said anything about love,” I countered with a grin.
Kristen frowned, her eyes studying my face as though the answers to all her questions were etched into my skin. “Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?”
“Something like that.”
I think she knew where I was heading. I was trying to keep my tone even, but it was difficult. I was upset with her, but it wasn’t fair to her because I had yet to explain it.
Although I didn’t know every intimate detail of Kristen’s life—such as she was a member of a BDSM club—I’d thought I knew her better than I did. I mean, I knew that she turned thirty last year, lived with her long-time boyfriend, worked as a sous chef for one of the upscale restaurants nearby, wasn’t a big fan of sushi, and drank red wine like Kool-Aid. Those were important things to know about a person.
The fact that she had obviously helped get me a job had made me believe we were good friends. The point was, I’d trusted her.
Only to find out she was a Domme, her boyfriend her submissive, and she had purposely put me in the path of my four bosses for reasons that weren’t altruistic—to use Justin’s word.
Kristen narrowed her eyes. “I guess I have some explaining to do.”
I nodded. “That would be nice.”
She hugged me again. “Let’s grab a bite after class and I’ll tell you everything. Just don’t be mad at me, okay? It’s bad for your chi.”
I chuckled. Although I felt slightly set up, I wasn’t really mad. I wanted to be, sure. But there was so much upheaval, right now I just wanted a friend who wouldn’t abandon me. I had Jordan, but I couldn’t deny that Kristen and I had once been close. I still needed her more than I was willing to admit.
I smiled. “Food would be good.”
“Perfect.”
With that on the agenda, we both settled in for class.
•
“So, first off, tell me about the job. Is it going okay?” Kristen prompted when we sat down for a light dinner an hour and a half later.
“For the most part, yes. The actual work is fantastic. They’re trusting me with more and more every day. And I really enjoy it.” Since she wanted to keep this superficial to start, I turned the table on her. “How about you? How’s the restaurant business?”
Kristen beamed back at me. “It’s fantastic. A couple of weeks ago, the head chef decided to add one of my recipes to the menu.”
I clapped with excitement. “That’s fantastic! I knew you were hoping for that someday.”
“I know, it’s great.”
It felt just like old times. It was almost a shame that I was going to ruin everything by confronting her.
We studied our menus momentarily, neither of us saying anything. The pleasantries were out of the way and the only thing left to discuss was the elephant in the room. I looked up to see Kristen smiling at me.
“What?”
“I was just wondering when you were going to tell me about…your newfound fetishes.”
I couldn’t keep from laughing. “Oh, you know me. Fetishes, smetishes. Nothing to really brag about. How’s Tim? Everything good?”
That question wasn’t easy to ask at this point in our relationship. After all, the guy’s tongue had been in my pussy. It kind of changed everything between us.
“Peachy. We’re still truckin’ along.”
“That’s good to hear.”
She put her chin on her hand. “But I really want to know more about the job.”
“It’s fine,” I finally said. “The work’s great.”
“But the relationships are a little…different, huh?”
Obviously, she knew what Landon and Langston were into because she knew them. But that didn’t mean I was ready to give up everything. I was still a little perturbed by the way things had all played out. I leaned forward and kept my voice low. “Why didn’t you tell me you belonged to a BDSM club?”
Kristen’s eyes widened and she looked around, probably to make sure no one had heard me. I had made sure no one was within earshot, so she was safe.
