Because it’s always true.
“And now you’re gonna realign the class, to push us away because what?It’s the easy way out?”
“Fuck you,” I hissed.“I don’t take the easy way out.”
He barked a laugh, his eyes hard.“You’vealwaystaken the easy way out, Edge.You’ve got this idea of what perfection looks like.The perfect submissive, perfect Dom.Hell, the perfect relationship.And if it doesn’t conform, if it’s not simple, you avoid it.Not just in your personal relationships, either.”
“Bullshit.”
He cocked his head.“Have you given Parker an answer on becoming partner?”
“That has nothing to do with this.”
He snarled.“It haseverythingto do with this.If it’s too much of a complication, you nix the idea.If there’s the possibility of confrontation, you avoid it.If it’s not easy, you go the opposite direction.Hell, if I had to guess, you’re considering quittin’ either the club or Chatter because it’s too much for you.”
Damn, he’s got your number.
I focused on breathing.In, out.
“Well, I don’t much care for easy,” he said, his tone softening somewhat.“What I do care about is you and Jamie.That’s why I’m here.Not because of your stupid fucking training.I know what I need to know.And to be honest, Jamie doesn’t need formal training.This lifestyle you’ve focused on … it’s not who you are, but somewhere along the way, you lost sight of that.”He walked over to Jamie.“Stand, cupcake.”
Jamie took his hand, allowed him to help her to her feet.
“Tonight, we’re gonna take a page out of your book, Edge.We’re gonna show her what it means to tackle the hard things, to step out of your comfort zone.”He placed a hand on the small of her back and urged her toward the door.“And I hope like fucking hell you learn something.”
When he walked out, I remained where I was for a moment.
Don’t you dare let them walk away.You’re a fucking fool if you do.
Cav was right.I did take the easy way out.I ran the other direction in order to avoid it if I thought there was too much work to be done.It was the very reason I’d avoided Justin for so long.My job had been cushy, easy.Why change?Then he had beaten me down, and to avoid confrontation, I’d caved.Now I had a job that paid me significantly more than my last, and I was considering bailing on them.
Because it wasn’t fucking easy.
Take a page from your own book.
Yeah.
Cav was right.It was high time I did.
Jamie
I didn’t know what to expect when I came to the club tonight, but that … Cav’s blowup certainly hadn’t been it.
It had actually taken me a significant amount of time to talk myself into returning at all.I’d thought about blowing it off, but I knew I couldn’t move on with my life until I had some closure.
Part of me had expected Edge and Cav to avoid me.Despite the apologies, I didn’t know where I stood with either of them, but I knew I wasn’t willing to walk away.
I also didn’t know what I was willing to do.
At this point, I was confused about all of it, the Domination, the submission.Roles, rules.They were all lacking, in my opinion, despite the fact that Edge was so insistent about having the structure.Edge had once mentioned that he was looking for a full-time submissive, but I hadn’t seen any proof in the way of actions.Truth was, the man was all over the place.Was that how this really worked?
“In here, cupcake.”
When Cav motioned toward a theme room, I stepped inside without argument.
There was a large desk at the front of the room, a chalkboard on the wall behind it, a whiteboard off to the right, along with a few decorations that mimicked a standard classroom setting.Three smaller desks with chairs faced the teacher’s desk.There was a line of lockers on one wall, all closed.The other wall had four paneless, wooden window frames mounted to it, blinds hanging at different levels, while a mural of what appeared to be outside peeked through.Someone had gone through a lot of trouble to make this room look the part.
The lights overhead were bright, the floor tiled with big squares of linoleum.A clock on the wall ticked loudly, and there was a faint scent of chalk in the air.
