Page 64 of Minha Dona

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Throughout the rest of the day, texts arrived as Caitlin documented her own discoveries in São Paulo… Helena had, after all, given her a lot of latitude in her instructions. And thankfully none of them had the heat of that earlier exchange.

Found a bookshop that sells English novels. Bought three. The woman at the register tried to speak English to me and I tried to speak Portuguese back. We both failed but it worked out somehow xx

Your neighbourhood has a bakery that makes pão de queijo fresh every hour (did I spell it right?). I’ve eaten four. You might need to send help xx

A man on the street tried to give me directions somewhere. I have no idea where. I smiled and nodded and now I might be committed to attending a neighbourhood meeting on Thursday xx

Helena ended up putting her phone on do not disturb mode, because if she hadn’t she’d have got no work done… each message was a reminder that Caitlin was here, she was actually here, and when work finished for the day she would be Helena’s again, willingly, to do with as she pleased. When she thought that Helena almost struggled to breathe, so intoxicating was the reality after all of those months longing for Caitlin.

When she did reply she did so sparingly. She knew she had to be so careful to maintain the dynamic without losing respect for Caitlin’s strength as a person. Caitlin was an adult in a city, not a submissive on a leash.

At two she sent: How was the restaurant? xx

Caitlin replied quickly:

Amazing. I had the feijoada as you suggested. The waiter was both charming and deeply confused by a woman dining alone who couldn’t read the menu. I don’t think they get many tourists there, but I pointed at things and hoped for the best xx

There were a few minutes where Helena could see that Caitlin was typing something else, a few minutes where any prospect of work was hopeless, then:

I hope it isn’t a problem as I know you’re a regular there, but when he asked if I was meeting someone I said my girlfriend who booked it was at work. I’m sorry if I outed you in some way xx

Helena read that message several times. Girlfriend. The thrill that came with that word was on a different level… she glanced around the open plan office to check that nobody had seen her blushing. Girlfriend. Caitlin thought of her as her girlfriend… even though it was so fast to start using words like that, it felt right, completely right.

You told him I was your girlfriend? xx

Caitlin’s reply was instant:

Was that ok? He asked if I was waiting for someone and it just came out xx

Helena thought for a moment about how to reply:

It was more than ok, Gatinha. It was perfect xx

She put her phone down and stared at her spreadsheet again, but she wasn’t seeing numbers. Girlfriend. Helena was seeing a future… Caitlin referring to her as her girlfriend, the two of them with all the weeks and months and years ahead of them to give themselves the chance to be whatever they could be.

Helena put her phone back on do not disturb and tried, mostly in vain, to focus back on her work.

Chapter 24

Helena left work at six, early by her standards. She told her colleagues that she had a personal appointment, strictly true, but she suspected none of them would have had the faintest idea that that meant I need to go home and introduce my new girlfriend to my playroom, and everything I keep inside it.

She walked through the door at precisely seven to find Caitlin obediently in the exact position that Helena had ordered, and the sight of her took Helena’s breath away… naked, her back to the door, her wrists and ankles wearing the leather cuffs that Helena had laid out for her in the box, hands resting by her side, her hair tied up in a high, tight ponytail.

Helena stayed silent as she closed and locked the door behind her. Caitlin tensed as she did… clearly it was taking every ounce of control that Caitlin possessed not to turn instinctively to check who’d just walked into the room where she was stood in such a vulnerable state.

The quiet whisper of the air conditioning was the only sound as Helena let the silence settle. She’d had all day to plan this, and she’d spent years learning how to dominate from the perspective of both the dominant and the submissive, and it felt in that moment as if it had all been building to this… to Caitlin waiting, here in her city, in her apartment, for Helena to do whatever she wanted to her.

Her heels clicked loudly on the floor as Helena walked through to the kitchen, still behind Caitlin, and opened a drawer. Inside was an item that Helena had secreted that morning. She carefully withdrew it and walked deliberately over to Caitlin, keeping behind her still, building the tension.

Helena stopped close behind her, not quite touching but only inches apart. Her heels gave her a few inches height advantage over Caitlin, and she leaned her head over Caitlin’s shoulder, brushing Caitlin’s ear with her lips.

“Girlfriend?” Helena whispered, so quietly as to barely even qualify as that.

A shiver went through Caitlin. “Girlfriend,” she replied, just as softly.

Helena moved her lips to brush Caitlin’s neck. “My obedient, playful girlfriend.” Her lips planted a gentle kiss on Caitlin’s shoulder. “My Gatinha.” Caitlin started to turn her head but Helena stopped her. “Don’t. My girlfriend only moves when I say she can.”