“Does it help, the tea?”
Helena smiled, lifting hers to her lips.“I think rituals help.”
Ella surveyed the pink dress with cartoon dinosaurs she had waiting for her on her mannequin, needing to put space between her and her friend.
The dress was meant for her friend Kayleigh's little girl.
Her cheeks heated in embarrassment; she hadn’t meant to blurt that all out.
“Why do you think he’s treating you as if you’re fragile?”
Ella grabbed a handful of pins from her sewing cart and strode over to the dress Helena had brought her.
The shiny pink fabric with ruffles needed a lot of help.
“I don’t know if I would call this horrible but…”
“It’s a horrible dress!”Helena shook her head, her long curls bouncing on her shoulders.“And you’re a good friend to help me.Talk, and I’ll listen.I know how to do that.”
“You know how to do a lot of things.”Ella stabbed a pin in along the seam, surprised at the bitterness in her voice.
“The fragile thing, care to explain?”Helena strode back to the couch, taking a seat, curling her feet up under her.
Ella put down the pins, knowing she wasn’t going to work on the dress until her friend was satisfied.
“Annie was chosen to play at an art gallery opening on Friday.Zee bought me a ticket to go out.”
“Annie’s going to love that!Maybe you’re anxious about the trip?”
“But then the university decided to name an award after Zee’s coach, and I can’t skip the award ceremony.He didn’t realize it was on the same date when he bought me the ticket.”
“Oh!He’s a scummy bone bastard!”Helena reached over and squeezed her shoulder.
Ella laughed, throwing her head back, and the relief of tension made her relax.
“Thank you.Ever since then, he’s been treating me as if I’m going to break.”
Helena cocked a cool, elegant eyebrow at her.
“He knows how much this hurt you, and he doesn’t want to disappoint you.The man probably thought of any way he could fly you out there and get you back in time for the award thing.”
“Yeah.”That would explain why Zee still searched the airline sites.
“But he needs to bring you in close.Or you need to ask for what you need.”
The sly smile Helena gave her was definitely her Domme look.
“I want him to initiate,” Ella said as she sipped her tea.She knew she sounded petulant.
It took open, honest communication to maintain the kind of relationship they had.But to be fair, she didn’t know what she needed until Helena laid it out for her.
“Ella, the last thing the man wants to do is grab you by the throat and force you to your knees.He’s a Dom, not an asshole.”
And that’s exactly what she liked about Zee, that despite his flaws, he was a decent human who loved her, loved their family and always wanted to do what was right for them.
Their D/s relationship took on different forms throughout the years until it resembled something that flowed effortlessly.
But they still had to nurture it, to feed it every once in a while.
