"Yeah... that was my understanding." Arthur took a sip of his beer.
"Sorry. I got sidetracked. I guess there's not an easy way to say this... She told me about you guys. About what you used to do." Selene said uneasily. Her eyes were on the table rather than looking at him, and her hands were folded on her lap.
"You mean..." Arthur paused for a moment, and then his mind caught up to his ears. "Ah."
"Yeah." Selene looked up at him.
"Look, Selene, it was between two consenting adults, I know you're from a more conservative background, but it's not like we were doing anything wrong." Arthur felt it best to go on the defensive, though it wasn't like Selene was accusing him of anything.
"No! I know." Selene lurched forward as though trying to stop him physically rather than verbally. "She told me about that, and about how much she enjoyed it, and all that. I don't think you did anything wrong, and I don't think you're like, gross or anything. You don't have to worry about that."
"Oh." Arthur was confused. If that wasn't where the conversation was going, where was it going?
Selene was quiet; she wasn't eating or drinking. She was just sitting there.
Arthur ate his pizza. He wasn't sure if she was waiting for him to say something or searching for what she wanted to say next.
"So..." Arthur prompted.
"I've always been interested in it," Selene confessed. "Well, not always, obviously, but when I was younger I found a magazine in my friend's house and well... it started the fascination, I guess. And ever since then, it's been a part of my fantasies, and a regular part of the porn I watch."
Arthur nearly choked on his pizza. "You watch porn?" He coughed.
"Rarely, but... yes. It's not like I'm doing it every day or anything, well, not usually, but y'know." Selene answered as she looked down again, as though she were ashamed.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not judging you or anything. I'm just surprised. You always seem so..."
"Naive?" Selene supplied.
"Innocent." Arthur countered. "I'm even more surprised we're talking about it."
"Well..." Selene paused again.
"Well?" Arthur asked.
"You can say no if you want to, though I hope you don't, but... I was wondering if you'd be willing to try it. With, well, with me." Selene didn't raise her eyes from the table. Her hands fidgeted with her skirt, gripping the material between her fingers.
"Try it?" Arthur repeated the phrase and then thought for a second. It took him a second, but eventually, it clicked into place. Now he knew what she was asking for. "You want to try bondage, and you want to try it with me?"
"Well... yes," Selene answered. She still wasn't looking up. "But not just that. I... want to try everything."
"Everything?" Arthur asked.
"All the B-D-S-M stuff," Selene answered. "Like friends with benefits, but..."
"But a little more twisted." Arthur almost laughed, not sure if she was screwing with him or if she was completely serious. She seemed nervous enough. "Is this a joke? Did Lori put you up to this?"
"No." Selene shook her head. "I've always wanted to try it in real life. But I've never had anyone to do it with, and I don't want to do it alone, and I thought since we were friends and have some chemistry and we're both single that maybe you'd be interested and we could give it a try, and if it doesn't work out then no one gets hurt."
He was impressed she said all of that in one breath. He looked at her for a moment, and though she still didn't try to meet his gaze, he decided that she was serious. He took another sip of his beer, swallowed, and took a deep breath.
"Let's take this back a step just for a second. You're suggesting that we become friends with benefits." Arthur stated.
"Well, yeah." Selene nodded. "We're young, fit; you're attractive. You're experienced with what I want. We like the same movies. We're friends, but I dunno. I thought maybe you'd like a little more."
"So why not just ask me out on a date?" Arthur asked. "We're both single, after all."
"I thought maybe you'd want to avoid all of that. The way things ended between you and Lori, I wasn't sure you'd want the responsibilities that came with a whole relationship, and it's not like I want to move in together or anything. I'm not even sure I want a boyfriend after my breakup with Dave - I just want... I want sex."
"And the bondage?" Arthur asked.
"As I said, you have the experience, and I want to try it." Selene answered.
"Bondage with benefits." Arthur sighed. "So we'll be what, Master and slave, Dom and sub?" Arthur asked.
"We'll be Arthur and Selene, friends, like we are now, most of the time. When play starts, we'll be whoever we need to be." Selene sounded like she'd thought about this before. Long before now.
Now it was Arthur's turn to be quiet for a long time. He looked over to her. She hadn't eaten any of her pizza since they started talking, though a few bites had been taken out of it before he'd made his way back in. He still had a piece and a half on his plate. He was distracting himself with the little details, like the fact that her skirt was still gripped tightly in her lap.
"Okay." Arthur said finally.
"Okay?" Selene looked up.
"Yeah. Let's give it a shot. If we don't like it, we stop. If it doesn't mess things up or something, we keep going. And the benefits... well, maybe I haven't thought everything through with my brain just yet, but... it's not like I can point to an obvious reason to say no."
"Do you want to start now, or?" Selene asked, finally releasing the skirt she'd been gripping.
"I want to talk first," Arthur answered. "We might not play tonight."
"Oh." Selene wilted.
"But soon, for sure. I'm... I'm looking forward to it." Arthur admitted.
"Me too. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I didn't want you to think I was weird." Selene answered.
"I'm not about to spank you for being interested in B-D-S and M." He joked. "Or maybe I am."
"That is something I definitely want to experience, but I'm not sure I'll like it." Selene said as she picked up her pizza slice. "I have no real-life experience with any of it."
"You and Dave never-"
Selene laughed. "No. Dave was not into it."
"Did you try anything?" Arthur asked.
"We had sex, but any time I suggested anything other than the basics, he didn't take me up on it. He stuck with what he knew." Selene made a face that made it clear Dave's sphere of knowledge concerning sex was obviously small.
"So what experience do you have, sexually speaking?" Arthur asked.
"What do you mean?" It was Selene's turn to be confused.
"I mean, did you guys just make out and do missionary? Do you have experience with oral? Anal? Anything?"
"Some oral. No anal." She with a shake of her head.
"Is that a limit for you?" Arthur asked.
"No, I'd be willing to try it." Selene said. "I don't know how good it would be for me, pleasure-wise, but I'd try it. Dave just wasn't that creative."
"Okay, good to know." Arthur had to chuckle at the frankness of the conversation so far. Talking about sex like this, he was glad that Selene's outfit was on the conservative side, or he'd likely be unable to stand up without giving her something to see. "What are your limits then? The things you definitely don't want to try."
"I don't know." Selene answered. "I've been so busy thinking of things I want to try that I haven't really thought of everything I don't want to try."
"Well, let's go down the list, shall we?" Arthur said as he pulled out his phone.
"Is that your checklist?" Selene asked.
Arthur nodded. "Yeah. Did Lori tell you about that?"
Selene nodded, difficult though it was with part of a pizza slice in her mouth.
"Okay." Arthur took a breath. "Just say yes or no to the things you want to try. We'll work out how much you like them after we try them. Alright?"
Selene nodded.
"Sense deprivation." Arthur started. "Blindfolds, headphones, stuff like that. Are you okay to try wearing them? Do you trust me enough?"
Selene nodded.
"I need you to say yes or no." Arthur replied. "I'm audio recording this for consent purposes."
"Oh, okay. Yes, sir. I want to try blindfolds, headphones, and whatever else might be involved in that kind of thing. I trust you." Selene answered. The sir was something he hadn't asked for, but he felt himself respond to it.
"Bondage with ropes." Arthur listed.
"Yes, sir."
"Bondage with restraints?" Arthur asked.
"You mean like handcuffs?" Selene asked.
"Handcuffs, ankle cuffs, thigh cuffs, leather restraints, that type of thing."
"Yes, sir, looking forward to it." Selene winked.
"Public bondage." Arthur looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"Maybe not to start. I don't want to do anything illegal or get either of us in trouble with the school."
"No, this would be like, wearing a harness or rope underneath your clothing."
Selene nodded. "Oh, yes. Definitely."
"Public masturbation? Using a remote control vibrator or something like that?" Arthur asked.
"I hadn't even thought about that." Selene confessed. "But that sounds really tempting, so... yes. So long as we don't get in trouble and so long as it's legal." She clarified.
"Gags, are you okay with being gagged?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, just no tape. And so long as it doesn't like, break my jaw. My mouth is only so big." Selene answered.
"How do you feel about full-body immobilization, like saran wrap straight jackets, that kind of thing."
"I'm excited to try it." Selene answered.
"Spanking. Do you want to try that?" Arthur asked.
"Yes, please."
"Is there anything you don't want to be spanked with?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, spanking can happen with a lot of things. The hand, the belt, the paddle, a wooden spoon, hairbrushes, whips, canes, switches, that kind of thing." Arthur explained.
"I want to try each of those," Selene said after a moment's pause. "Maybe not all at once, but, yeah. If I don't like it, can I add it to the no list later?"
Arthur nodded. "Absolutely."
"Then, yes. Please. Sir."
"What about hair pulling?" Arthur asked.
"That I like. A long sustained pull, mind you, not just a sudden jerk." She explained.
"Noted." Arthur made a note of it on his phone. "Face slapping?"
"I can't see how that would be a turn on, but... maybe? I'm not opposed to trying it. If I don't like it, I'll tell you. And not at full strength, obviously."
"Obviously." Arthur knew his upper body strength far outmatched hers. He kept in shape, and he was built like a quarterback. "How do you feel about being told to perform sexually? Hand jobs, blow jobs, masturbation, anal, sexting, phone sex, that kind of thing?"
"I thought that was part of it." Selene answered. "Yes to those. I don't know how good I'll be at any of it, but if you teach me what you like, I'll do my best."
"You don't have much experience with any of it. I take it?" Arthur asked.
"No." Selene shook her head. "But I'll try."
"Okay. How do you feel about play with toys in general? Sybians, vibrators, that kind of thing?"
"I'm into it." Selene answered.
"Orgasm denial and control?"
"I want to try it." Selene answered.
"Outdoor sex?"
Selene paused. "If it's legal and we don't get in trouble."
"Group sex?" Arthur asked.
"You mean like, a threesome?" Selene asked for clarification.
"Yes. If you're open to doing a session with another sub, or with another dom, or perhaps both." Arthur answered.
"I don't know." Selene answered honestly. "I want to say yes, but I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of submitting to someone other than you. I trust you. I might not trust them."
"Okay. You don't have to say yes, you know. The whole point of this is to find out what is or isn't okay to try." Arthur looked over at her as he talked, and she nodded.
"No, for now." Selene answered. "I may change my mind if there's someone we both trust and agree to do something with, but... no for now."
"Okay." Arthur said as he made another note on his phone. "How do you feel about abrasion play? Scratching, biting, tickling, kissing, zapping, ice cubes, hot wax, clothespins?"
"No tickling." She answered immediately. "And what's zapping?"
"Like, tiny electric shock. From a toy made for that, or from a collar, that kind of thing."
"Oh, duh." Selene shook her head. "I'm willing to try it. Just don't really electrocute me. Obviously."
"Obviously." Arthur nodded. "Breathplay? Choking and other forms of asphyxiation?"
"Choking... maybe. Yes. Anything else like that - no. I don't want, like, a plastic bag over my head."
"Humiliation?" Arthur asked.
"Privately, yes."
"Dirty talk?" Arthur asked.