Four things I could touch: my bookgami project—I peeled my fingers off of it. My notebook that I pulled out of my bag instead, my pen that I placed on top of my notebook, and the fabric of the seat.
Three things I could hear: chatter from the hallway, the hum of the air conditioner, the door as other students started to file in.
Two things I could smell: I held my notepad to my nose then brought my hair closer to smell my shampoo.
One thing I could taste, or wished I could taste, like the strawberry fruit leather I should have eaten during the last break. Oops.
“Is this seat taken?” a deep voice asked from the aisle beside me.
It was him—the guy who’d been staring at me earlier. He was objectively handsome, but too… what was it? He was too pretty for me. Interesting. But in the interest of trying something new, I went with the friendly option. “It’s available.”
He sat next to me, which made total sense, and I was instantly overwhelmed. His proximity. His cologne. His foot that crossed the line between our seats.
I pulled my bookgami project out, and folded pages until the class started. Apparently I wasn’t feeling as bold as I thought. The important thing was that he respected my sudden focus and didn’t try to talk to me—basically allowing me to undermine myself.
Did that mean he was or wasn’t the type of Dom I needed?
The instructor asked us to name activities that we do every day that could potentially be influenced or carried out by someone else. People mentioned everything from choosing what to wear to driving a car to opening doors.
The man next to me suggested feeding yourself. My ears perked. Perhaps I should have talked to him, at least asked his name, rather than retreating to safety.
While I could have understood if my stomach wanted to flutter, I didn’t understand why it chose that exact moment to grumble about not eating the fruit during the last break. Or maybe I did… traitor.
The man turned his head to me ever so slightly, but I was ducking my head to engross myself in note taking.
As class wrapped up, I shoved my notebook and pen into my bag so I could leave immediately, but the man was right behind me as I ascended the stairs to the back of the classroom.
I made it to the hallway before he said, “Hi, I’m Damon.”
“Hi, Damon, I’m Penny.” Despite an imminent rumble brewing in my belly, I absolutely could not take my food out right now. That would look too eager, and I was decidedly… confused, at best.
“Have you enjoyed the workshops?”
“I have.” And despite knowing that common decency dictated for me to return the question, I needed to eat more than I needed to talk.
“May I ask if you’ve been trying out anything you’ve learned?”
“Yes and no.”
His brow furrowed.
“Yes, you may ask, and no I haven’t practiced. I get overwhelmed easily, and being in large groups drains me.” Aperfect reason not to have a reverse harem. “So I’ve needed downtime.”
“Am I interrupting your downtime?”
How to bring this up without making it weird?
My phone dinged. “Excuse me, not very many people can break through my Do Not Disturb. I need to check it.”
Jolene:Get your kink on with anyone yet? Two days left.
Bellamie:Don’t let Jolene pressure you, she has no manners.
I shoved my phone back in my purse. Jolene was a lot, but she was also right… only two more days then back to my regularly scheduled life alone.
“Everything okay?” Damon asked.
It was now or never. “There was one thing I learned about that I wanted to try.”
