When they nod, she looks to me. “I might need to unlock my phone again. Just give me a three-second countdown and hit record, and we’ll improvise.”
There’s a new edge to her playfulness, a kittenish spark on top of her usual charisma. I can’t get my tongue to work, so I simply hold up three fingers and fold them down one by one before tapping the red circle.
Tippi’s in her element. She talks to the camera the way she talked to me over coffee: direct, friendly, like her viewers are in on the joke. Not that she’s making fun of anything, even slightly. With professional seriousness supporting her warmth, she introduces Climax, sings the praises of local businesses, and puts the spotlight on Lianne and Rush in a way that clearly relaxes them.
In two or three minutes, she gets their origin story: business partners turned spouses, shop born from filling a gap in the market. It’s not long before she has them laughing about whether working around sex toys all day is good or bad for their relationship. It feels unscripted but as tight and polished as a BBC documentary.
“Perfect,” she says, nodding to me to stop recording. “You guys were great.” She turns to them again. “If you don’t mind, can I get some footage of the rest of the store?”
“Go right ahead,” Rush says, slinging an arm around his wife. “Best stuff’s in the back.” He nods to the rainbow beaded curtain.
“I’m sure it is.” Tippi curls her fingers around my forearm. “We’ll be back in a bit,” she calls over her shoulder, then pulls me through the curtain.
It’s like stepping into another world.
Shelves line the walls, stacked with more varieties of toy than my imagination could have come up with on its best day. Silicone, glass, leather, things with remotes, harnesses, restraints I don’t have proper names for. I can’t even think up a use for some of the goods for sale. I just know they make mewantas much as they intimidate me.
“This place is great,” Tippi says, professional awe in her voice. “And all supplied by local makers. Acommunitysex shop.”
The phrase makes me snort quietly. My amusement dies when I see the purple glass dildo at the far end of a shelf. It’s approximately the size of my forearm in both length and width.
“Bloody hell,” I mutter.
She follows my gaze and shrugs. “Not my jam. I’m not really a dildo person. If I want straight-up cock penetration, that’s what men are for. If I’m spending money, it had better vibrate or suck on something.”
I’m fairly sure my eyebrows hit my hairline. She giggles at my expression and tugs my wrist, leading me around the room.
I realise I’m not just curious about the toys in general. I want to know which onesshelikes. How they work on her.Why.
I should have made her come that night. It should’ve been the entire point. Instead I panicked, got overwhelmed by how much I wanted her, and detonated too quickly.
That needs to be rectified. She deserves it, and my pride demands it.
“Oh, cool.” She veers towards a shelf labelledNipple Clampsin enamel letters. “I haven’t tried these yet.” She holds up a packet so I can see: soft pink silicone clips that look vaguely like clothes pegs. Rechargeable. The text on the back mentions vibration.
“I’ll buy them for you,” I blurt, before I can stop myself. “My treat.”
She squeezes my hand. “No need. But thank you.”
“I insist.” I hope I don’t sound like an arsehole. “I… kind of owe you.”
Tippi’s fingers stay laced with mine. The contact feels weirdly like coming home and going on holiday at the same time.
“How d’you figure?” Her eyes are curious, not wary.
Heat rises under my collar, but I push through. I’m so tired of defaulting to silence. “I really do regret that I didn’t… on the night we… that I didn’t make you…”
“Climax?” she supplies gently, lips curving.
I give a small smile. “Yeah.”
She steps close until we’re toe to toe. When she lifts onto her tiptoes, her mouth is a breath from mine.
“Well,” she whispers, “if you want to invite me back to yours after we’re done here, we can fix that.”
My body responds so fast it would be funny if it wasn’t happening to me.
“Deal,” I manage, just before she kisses me.
