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“How’s that?”
“She’s been at the club looking for you every night this week.”
“She what?” That didn’t even sound like Anna Beth.
Luke gave a snort. “I’m not sure what you did, but whatever it was, she wants more. A lot more. She asked the front-desk staff for your phone number.”
“Dammit.”
“They didn’t give it to her, of course, and they let me know immediately, but either way, I wanted to let you know.”
Simon ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. He shouldn’t have gone to the club last Saturday night. For damn sure, he shouldn’t have played with Anna Beth. He should have sat at the bar and observed like he’d told Luke he was going to.
“Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate it.” He just wasn’t sure what he was going to do with the information.
“I’ll take care of her from this end,” Luke said. “I hope it won’t keep you away.”
“No, of course not,” Simon said, but in his head, he was thinking, There is no way I’m going back there.
“Good,” Luke said. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
“It’ll take more than Anna Beth to keep me away.”
“I also wanted to know if you’d be interested in doing a demo at an upcoming BDSM conference I’m working on.”
Simon bit back the groan that threatened to come out of his mouth. He had the strangest feeling he’d just been played.
“What type of demo?” Simon asked.
“Single tail.”
“Do I get to pick which type?”
“Of course,” Luke assured him. “I’m putting together a few sessions of advanced techniques and figured anyone who had a submissive that into them after the scene you did needs to be the one to lead the demo.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“As well you should,” Luke said. “And you can pick your own submissive, too. Hell, make a weekend of it and stay for the entire thing. It runs Friday afternoon through Saturday night. Most people don’t leave until Sunday.”
At least he had time to find someone. He thanked Luke, told him he’d be in touch, and said good-bye. Now, where the hell was he going to find a submissive?
• • •
Lynne turned on her laptop. She was going to act courageously again. She’d done it before and met Simon, so why shouldn’t she use the Internet a second time to find someone different?
Because she was New Lynne, she decided she needed a new username. The old one had too many ties to Old Lynne. And Simon. She picked SassySubGirl, because in her mind, New Lynne was a little sassy.
But New Lynne wasn’t that far removed from Old Lynne, because she went to the same online boards. She told herself it wasn’t so she could look for Simon, even though his name was the first she searched for. She smiled when she saw it because it hadn’t changed. SirSimon looked to be a well-respected member.
Judging from his posts, he wasn’t with anyone. His writing was informative with a touch of humor sprinkled in for good measure.
God, she missed him.
She drummed her fingers on the table. She needed a plan. He’d left her because he didn’t think she was a submissive. What if she could prove she was? Maybe if he could see that she was serious about it, he’d take her back.
She wanted to send him a message, but she didn’t think it’d be a good idea to approach him right away without any activity under her username. She needed to be patient and approach him in a few days.
The first thing she did was post a few comments on the threads he’d recently been part of. She had her location set to New York and wondered if he’d notice. Then she kicked herself. Why would he? There were a ton of people from New York.
She turned her laptop off when she finished posting. Classes started the next day, and she had a few things to get together.
The next afternoon she returned to the penthouse happy. The classes so far were just what she’d hoped for, and everyone was so friendly. Any misgivings she’d had were gone. She called Abby quickly to tell her and to once again thank her for everything she and Nathaniel had done, but her voice mail picked up so she left a message.
She had some homework to start, but at the moment she was too hyped up to sit still long enough to do it. Instead, she pulled out her laptop to check and see if she had any messages from her online postings. She’d purposely set her profile up in such a way that she didn’t get an e-mail whenever someone replied.
There were several replies to her and quite a few private messages. But her attention was drawn to one. From him. Her fingers trembled as she clicked on it to open.
SassySubGirl,
Welcome to the boards. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I noticed you’re in the New York area and wanted to invite you to the NY State board. I included a link below.
Best,
SirSimon
She leaned back in her seat. Wow. She really hadn’t expected to hear from him that fast. Granted, it was only a welcome e-mail and probably a form one at that. More than likely, he sent the same thing out to everyone who joined from the area. But still.
It was communication from Simon. And it was more than she’d had since they’d broken up. She debated whether to respond, finally deciding he was the one who had made the first move; she was only throwing the ball back to his side of the court.
She hurriedly typed out her reply.
SirSimon,
Thank you for the kind welcome and I appreciate your invite to the NY board. I’ll check it out. I’m assuming you are from the area? I’m new in town.
Best,
SSG
She hit the SEND button before she could have second thoughts and decide to delete the e-mail. She felt a little guilty at the “new in the area” line, but she justified it by telling herself that she lived in Delaware and was only in the city for the summer. It wasn’t an out-and-out lie.
Though she wasn’t sure Simon would agree.
How long would it take for him to reply? What if he didn’t reply? What if he replied and told her to leave him alone?
She turned the computer off with a sigh. She’d drive herself crazy with the what-ifs if she didn’t stop. He’d write back or he wouldn’t. It was out of her hands, either way.
The penthouse was too quiet. She got up and turned some music on, but it didn’t sound the same as Henry and Elizabeth running around asking her what they were going to play next. It hit her then that if she became a teacher, all her days would be like this. Once she got home from school, there would be nothing to greet her except an empty house.
She wasn’t getting any younger, and she wasn’t dating anyone seriously. Hell, she wasn’t dating anyone casually. Maybe she should have taken Nathaniel and Abby up on their offer to get her into their New York club.
But no, it was more than the dating she longed for. She wanted a connection with someone, a person she could call when the best thing ever happened or who would be there for her when her world came falling down.
She turned the music off and went into the kitchen to make something for dinner. Cooking for one sucked, too. At least most of the time she was able to eat the leftovers for lunch. If you looked at it that way, cooking for one was a good thing.
But deep down, she knew better.
Later that night, she turned her computer back on. She told herself not to expect anything. It had only been a couple of hours, and he probably hadn’t had time to reply to her e-mail. It wasn’t until she opened her e-mail and saw a message waiting from him that she realized she would have been horribly disappointed if he hadn’t replied.
It was short, just a few lines.
SSG,
Welcome to the city. If you’re into the local scene, I can recommend a few places for you.
Let me know,
SirSimon
