"Christine," she began, her voice ice cold. "As you would be aware, consent is not something limited to sexual activity. It crosses all lines. In this instance, while you've offered something that sounds wonderful, you didn't seek consent to undertake this kind of decision. It's one thing to surprise someone. It's quite another to not accept that they don't wish to do it."
There was a moment of silence from Chrissy.
I leaned forward, whispering into the microphone, "Hard burn from Mistress H. Let's see how Chrissy retaliates."
Christine slowly shook her head. "So, you're saying I've overstepped?"
"Yes."
Chrissy's eyes narrowed on Hannah. "Ex-cuse me?"
"You made a decision—"
"You told me you were up for an adventure!"
"I thought you meant one activity! One! And something that wouldn't involve touching!"
The discussion disintegrated from there. I slowly turned down their mics, allowing their bickering to become a background to my voice-over.
"And that, dearest listener, is the reason we don't surprise Mistress H. Ever. We'll be back, right after these messages from our sponsors."
I hit the play button, switching us all off record. I'd clean up our sound before uploading it to the various platforms.
"Guys," I called, trying to get their attention. "Ladies!"
They fell silent, their two-dimensional faces mutinous on the computer screen.
"What if we just give it a go?" I asked. "I mean, I could try—" I checked the list, swallowing against the bad taste in my mouth. "Zip-lining. And I could take one of the massages. Maybe between the both of us, we could just work out what we want to do."
Hannah exhaled, that familiar ice settling across her features—impenetrable and protective, safely hiding away her true thoughts.
"That will be fine."
"Except for the meat load therapy," Chrissy said, waggling a finger at the screen. "That one is non-transferable."
"Fine, I shall be decked out in meat while listening to jungle sounds. Are you satisfied?"
Chrissy, well used to Hannah's still protectionist voice, laughed. "Yep."
"And Chrissy, next time you have a great idea like this, what will you do?"
She rolled her eyes at me. "I'll ask first. Even if I think it's for your own good."
"Thank you."
The prerecorded ads ended, and I leaned back into the microphone. "Alright, so it's settled. We're off to zip-lining and meat therapy. Listeners, wish us luck 'cause Mistress H and I are pretty sure we're about to die."
2
Karen
Iglanced from my phone to the sign, squinting at the notification on the bottom, then back down to the waiver on my phone once again.
"Well shit."
I didn't know what to expect when I'd rocked up at the zip-lining place, but this certainly wasn't it.
Inherent hazardsand risks include but are not limited to:
