“Oh, yeah? You think I won’t? Go ahead and keep at it. See what I do,” he responded, dropping a bit of bass into his tone.
I melted a bit. I wanted Kingston to be my boyfriend, my Dom, maybe even my Daddy if we could work out the details. But I wanted Eloise too. “I think it would be great if you and Eli became friends or maybe more.” I shrugged. It was easier to act like a brat, and maybe a bit indifferent rather than delving into my inner thoughts.
“What if I want to be more than friends with both of you?” Eloise asked suddenly as if it took her this time to push aside her nerves and confess.
“We can talk about that, Eli,” King assured her but she slid off the stool as if she decided she was going to run away from the statement she’d just made.
“Never mind. That’s not a good idea. I’m not attempting to flip-flop, I think everything is honestly too much. Maybe it’s dumb to believe I can be in any sort of relationship now.”
“I’m not like the men who hurt you, lemondrop,” I said, hoping to soothe her frazzled state of mind.
“I told you that in confidence,” she protested.
Shit. She was right. I had no business sharing in front of Kingston. I hadn’t meant to give her a reason not to trust me. “I apologize, I was attempting to prove that you can trust me. I understand now I may have negated that. Please give me a chance?”
Kingston lifted his hand. “Eloise seems to be in the sort of mood to hustle herself out the door and walk home. I’m fishing in the dark here since I don’t really know if that’s what’s on her mind. Everybody take a breath. Let’s talk about this.” He attempted to be the voice of reason.
“Icanwalk home because I’m perfectly capable of doing so.” Eloise stood up. “It’s a ten-mile trek but I’d rather–”
I took a step toward her. “You’d rather beat yourself up mentally for three hours than give yourself any chance of being happy? Are you so afraid that–”
“This isn’t productive,” Kingston interjected.
“It’s not about being happy! And I’m not afraid of anything,” she growled, her eyes flashing with anger.
Woah. This had escalated into something else entirely. I ignored Kingston. Though he was correct and her anger was justified, I was determined to get my point across. “You’re obviously scared of feeling something.”
“Who cares about my happiness anyway?” Eloise fumed.
“I do!” I took another step toward her.
“Corner. Both of you,” Kingston said quietly.
He never used such a growly tone with me before. At least not that I remembered. Eloise gawked at him. I was sure my expression matched hers. My best friend ordered me to the corner as if he had the authority to do so.
“If I have to put you there, you’re going to make me late for work,” he said calmly. “I’m not in the mood to add extra time to my shift.”
We both continued to look at Kingston as if he’d lost his mind. He held up his pointer finger on his right hand.
Shit. That gesture alone showed me how serious this whole thing had become. Another defining moment that I was wholly unprepared for. His middle finger joined the first. If he raised his thumb, he’d get off that stool and put us both in the corner himself. I’d admired the way he handled his submissives for years. We didn’t need the smoldering fire to rage into an inferno.
Grabbing Eloise’s non-injured hand I led her to a corner. “Please do what you were told to do. It might help the stifling tension swirling through my kitchen.”
She glared slightly, but placed her nose against the wall. Putting myself in the same position on the opposite side of the room, I dared not say anything else or look at my best friend.
“I’m setting a timer on my phone for three minutes. No speaking unless I ask you a question. No sighing. No stomping.” King spoke from his spot on the stool. “If it’s too much, physically or otherwise, I want you to raise your hand. Am I understood?”
“Yes, King,” I answered automatically. The corner didn’t make me spiral but I didn’t enjoy it either. I had been in a few dynamics where I was submissive to my partner, but it had been a long time. Too long.
“I don’t understand. I’m confused,” Eloise said softly.
“Go ahead, Eli. Ask me what’s on your mind.” He gave her permission to speak.
“What do you mean?”
“We haven’t established anything. I don’t know your limits, let alone your boundaries. If you get overwhelmed in the corner,raise your hand and we will talk through it. Now do you understand?”
“Yes, King. Thank you for the explanation.”
