10 Nights (5 page)

They finally made it
home, where they talked until just before dawn about things Leah had never
before considered. By the time she finally fell asleep her mind was a confused
mix of fear and anticipation. There was one thing she was certain of; she was
going to agree to share ten nights with Rhett.

3

choice

Leah and Janie slept
late, and then resumed their conversation over coffee. Some of the things Janie
talked about both surprised and impressed Leah, who had only seen the physical
part of the lifestyle in the dungeon.

As Janie explained the
other part of the lifestyle, she discovered that entering into a relationship
in the lifestyle involved a lot of discussion and working out of details. They
spent an hour going over the contract Janie had with David.

"So everything
you're willing to do is written down?"  That seemed cold and calculating
compared to the passion of what she'd witnessed the night before.

"No, honey, it's
more like a list of things you're willing to try, and things you won't even
consider. The Top, or Dom, that's the one in control, he uses the contract as a
guideline so he doesn't do something that would leave you completely unwilling
to submit to him again." Taking a sip of her coffee Janie watched her
friend's face to see if she understood everything. She felt like she was
talking to a child about sex and found it hard not to smile at some of Leah's
reactions.

"Okay, but I don't
really know what any of this stuff is, so how would I tell him what I'm not
willing to do?" For the first time in her life Leah wished she had even a
small amount of the experience that Janie had, at least then she would have
some idea about the things that were being described to her.

"Well you can ask
me about anything on this list, but in all honestly it would be better to
discuss these things with Rhett. Every master has their own way of doing things;
he can explain his to you." Janie hesitated for a moment and then said
what was on her mind. "I've got to be honest, hon; I think it would be
better for you to experience plain sex before you think about doing this."

"That's the thing,
Janie, I've never really been interested in just sleeping with a man, or a
woman for that matter," she confessed in a whisper, not wanting anyone to
hear her, even though there was no-one around to do so. Her cheeks flushed a
bright cherry red. "What I saw last night, well it excited me for the
first time in my life." She wondered what that said about her own
mentality, and laughed.

"What?" Janie
wasn't sure what was funny.

"I was just
thinking, a psychiatrist would have a field day over this, a virgin wanting to
jump straight into leather and whips."

Janie shook her head
and giggled. "Well you waited so long to have sex, maybe subconsciously
you think being tied up and fucked is easier than the normal fumbling around in
the dark that most of us did as teenagers?"

Leah took a sip of her
lukewarm coffee and nodded as she analyzed her friend's words.
"Maybe." The thought of what she was planning on doing that night
really hit her then and she felt her stomach clench.  "He won't hurt me,
will he?" She lifted her eyes to Janie's, suddenly overcome by a fear she
didn't understand.

Putting her hand over
Leah's, Janie met her gaze. "Not if he wants to live." She smiled to
put her friend at ease. "Rhett won't take any of this further than you are
willing to go. If you tell him to stop, it will end immediately, and without
hard feelings." If she didn't know that for certain she wouldn’t even
consider letting her friend take up Rhett's offer. "Sweetie this is all
about trust; before you agree to anything you need to be sure you trust Rhett,
if you don't think you can do that then don't go through with it."

Letting out the breath
she hadn't realized she'd been holding, Leah felt a little calmer. "So
what's going to happen tonight?" If they had to negotiate things, as Janie
had told her earlier, she wondered if that meant the ten nights wouldn't start
until another time.

"If I know Rhett
like I think I do, you guys will sit down and go over things for hours. After
you've come to an agreement, or if you decide to walk out the door and say no
thank you, you'll move on from there." She remembered well her first
negotiation with David. After their long debates about what she was willing to
do, and what she wasn't, she had felt as if she'd bared her soul. 

It was likely to be
worse for Leah she realized; at least she had known what she was willing to do
in the bedroom when she started her negotiations. She couldn't imagine what it
would be like to go into things as a complete innocent.

Though she was a little
disappointed that all they were going to do that night was talk, when she
wanted so much to touch Rhett, Leah was also relieved. She felt her nerves
dissipate a little at the thought that she would find out more of what was
going to happen, rather than just jumping in with things.

"You've got it
bad, girl." Janie laughed softly, shaking her head at the same time. It
was definitely something, to see her friend, who was normally in such control
of herself, so overwhelmed. "Why don't we go shopping and treat ourselves
to a girl's day out? It’s on me."

"That sounds like fun;
we need to talk about what we're going to do next month too." They had to
be out of the dorms in thirty days, and the job Leah had at the supply store on
campus would be ending at the same time. The job didn't pay much, but it was
her only source of income, and her nerves were strung tight as she thought
about the future.

"Well daddy has
made our decision easier." She rolled her eyes at the thought of the condo
she'd found the papers for in her mail slot that morning.  "With all our
talk about Rhett, I haven't showed you something." Walking over to her
purse she pulled out the papers and handed them to Leah with a shake of her
head.

"He bought you a
Condo," Janie gasped as she looked at the contract and wondered why her
friend wasn't happier about it. "Hell, Janie, I've been worried sick about
finding a place; you should be jumping up and down for joy." She had never
understood her friend's aversion to having her father cater to her every need.
She knew they didn't have a real father/daughter relationship, but she would
have been ecstatic to not have to worry about money.

"Why were you
worried?" Janie shook her head again. "You know I'd never leave you
stranded, you're my best friend!"

"You can't take
care of me forever, Janie, and it doesn't feel right mooching off you like
this." She loved her friend, but taking her charity was against everything
she believed in.

"Damn it, Leah,
what the hell would I do without you? You've always taken care of me, this
shit," she picked up the paper and waved it dismissively, "doesn't
mean half as much as your friendship does, don't you get it?"

"You don't ever
have to worry about me not being here for you, Janie, but sooner or later I
have to be able to stand on my own two feet." Crossing to her friend she leaned
down to hug her.

Janie hugged her back,
pouring her heart into their embrace.  Leah was the one person in her life that
loved her for who she was, not for her money or her body. She had no idea how
her friend managed to maintain a 4.0 grade point average while working a crappy
job to pay her bills. "I can't stand the thought of us not living
together, Leah, you're my rock." 

She pulled out of her friend’s
arms and blinked back tears. They had leaned on each other so much over the
last four years that she considered Janie family. Janie had never had to fend
for herself before the two of them met, having been looked after by her
family's servants, and it had just seemed natural for Leah to take over looking
after her when they met.

Janie had opened her
eyes to a life she would have never known, and Leah had become like an older
sister, doing all the things Janie didn't know how to do. "Love you,
Janie." She smiled as she stood up.

"Love you too,
Leah. Now let's go shopping and get you ready to meet Mr. Hunk tonight!"
She winked and grabbed her purse.

Leah grabbed her own
purse and followed her friend out the door, thanking whatever fates had brought
them together.

As they reached the car
Janie waved her father's gold credit card in the air. "Let's go blow some
of Daddy's money." She had no issues spending his money when she wanted to,
feeling it was her right since he couldn't even spare the time to show up for
her college graduation. 

They spent the next
four hours shopping and pampering themselves. Once they finished in the shops
Janie dragged Leah to a beauty salon, where they got their hair styled, their
nails done and their legs waxed. 

Leah had no idea if she
had the nerve to wear the outfit Janie had bought for her; it was far more
revealing than anything else she owned. She preferred her clothes to cover her
body a little more. The outfit was definitely something new for her and as they
walked back into the house, tired from their trip, she brought it up.

"Are you sure this
is what I should wear to um, negotiate." She took the dress from the bag
and held it up, noticing again how little there was to the outfit.

"That's absolutely
what you're going to wear to meet Rhett tonight, you'll have his libido on edge
and he might go easier on you." At Leah's look of panic she laughed.
"I'm kidding, honey, you're going to be just fine, and if you don't like
what he has to say, then tell him thank you but you're not interested."

Leah bit her lip until
it bled as she nervously admitted, "I'm really scared, Janie."

"Put your things
away and grab a shower, honey, I'll be back in fifteen minutes, then we'll
talk." Not giving Leah a chance to argue, Janie left the room and crossed
the hall to her own dorm room. The dorms were all single person dwelling, but
they might as well have been double-occupancy given how much time the two of
them spent in each other's room.

She could still
remember the condescension in her father’s voice when she had told him she was
going to live on campus. Denying him the right to house her then had given her
great satisfaction; the condo he had bought her was his payback, he knew she
couldn’t just ignore it because she needed somewhere to live.

Leah hung the dress bag
on the closet door and put the rest of her things away. With that done she
stripped off and stepped into the shower. She washed herself meticulously,
being careful not to get her hair wet. All the while her thoughts were on her
upcoming meeting with Rhett. Her stomach tied itself in knots, even though she
was just going to talk to him.

"Leah, unless you
want to show up looking like a prune you need to get your ass out of the
shower, you've been in there forever." Janie called out as she made
herself at home in the kitchen, taking a diet coke from the fridge. 

Taking a deep breath to
calm herself, Leah stepped out of the shower and dried off. Wrapped in a huge
yellow bath towel, she joined Janie in the kitchenette. "Maybe this was a
stupid idea, Janie."  She gripped the towel tightly, both to stop it
falling and to prevent her hands from shaking uncontrollably.

"Do you want me to
call him and tell him you've changed your mind?" She had never seen her
friend so nervous.

"No!"  She
hadn't meant to sound so vehement in her reply but the thought of not seeing
Rhett was as terrifying as actually going through with the meeting.

Janie laughed aloud at
her quick response. "So this is something you definitely want to do?"
she asked, fighting to control her mirth.

"Yes, no, oh hell,
Janie I don't know what I'm doing here." Leah began pacing back and forth,
unable to stand still. Her heart was still racing and she was confused as all
get out.

"Alright, enough
debating for you, missy!" Walking around the counter Janie grabbed Leah's
hand and led her through to the bedroom. "You're going to get that ass
dressed, and at least go talk to the man." She rummaged in Leah's drawers,
pulled out the new silk underwear they'd bought that morning and laid it out on
the bed. 

Leah didn't even
question her friend as she let the towel hit the floor and walked over to slide
the panties on. She loved how the silk felt against her bare skin. While she
did that Janie took the dress from the bag down and walked over to her.

"Let's try not to
mess up your hair." Holding the flimsy silk garment out, she carefully
slid the dress over Leah's head, then lifted her long chestnut hair out of the
small strap behind her neck that held it up.

The sea foam green dress
was completely backless, which meant it was impossible for Leah to wear a bra,
and at the front it plunged deeply, just barely covering the tops of her perky
breasts. Janie knew Leah would have Rhett eating out of the palm of her hand
the moment she walked through the door and he got his first glimpse of her.

Pulling down the soft
silk hem, Leah wished the dress covered a little more of her legs. She was only
5'2 yet it only fell a few inches down her thighs, covering her ass and nothing
more; she couldn't imagine how someone taller could wear the dress without
showing everything.

She would never have
bought anything so revealing if Janie hadn't insisted that it was perfect, and
paid for it on her father's credit card before she could protest, and she felt
more than a little self-conscious with so much of her body on display.