Page 13 of Masters of Control

How had her dad done it? He’d worked two jobs, raised a daughter by himself, and he’d never lost the smile on his face.

Logically, she knew there must have been times he’d felt like this, but she’d never witnessed it. And she really didn’t want to ask him for help now. After everything he’d done, he deserved to spend his money on him. If he was rolling in it, it might be different, but he had enough to keep him comfortable and go on a few vacations—which was all she really wanted.

It shouldn’t be this damn hard.

What I wouldn’t do to win the lottery…

Of course, she had to play to win. More money.

Her phone buzzing with a text message was a welcome distraction. Sam’s eyebrows rose at the message, which was from Noelle.

Noelle: Hey, girl! Want to go to Stronghold with me this Saturday?

Sam smiled, some of the tension in her chest relaxing. She’d never gone to Stronghold with anyone other than Morgan.

Sam: Sure, sounds good! What time did you want to get there?

After a moment she sent a second text, because now Morgan was on her mind.

Sam: Do you mind if I invite my friend Morgan, too? Or we can keep it just us. She didn’t want to step on Noelle’s toes, but the idea having a little group to hang out with really appealed. Other people went and hung out at Stronghold in groups.

Man, she really did not want to give up her membership. Maybe when she was there, she could talk to Patrick or someone about getting a paid job that would also cover membership fees. Whether that was something they did, she had no idea, but she could at least ask.

Her phone buzzed again.

Noelle: Please do. I’d love to meet Morgan!

A few minutes later, Sam had confirmation from Morgan that she would be there. And there it was. Sam was getting together with friends on the weekend. She couldn’t remember the last time she could say that.

No, leaving Stronghold wasn’t an option. She would just have to find some way to make it work.

Glancing at the clock, she saw that she had about ten more minutes before her next appointment. If she was really quick, she could type up her notes and maybe start looking at some job sites.

5

Ladies' Night

Sam

Stronghold ended up being more than just Noelle and Morgan. Sam found herself sitting in the Lounge area with a bunch of Morgan’s friends as well. She’d met them but never actually hung out with them. Noelle seemed thrilled to have found herself smack dab in the middle of a group of ready-made friends, which was about all that kept Sam from running.

If Noelle, who was completely new to all of this, could hang out with them, Sam could find the courage to as well.

She’d never been comfortable in groups of people, but with Noelle on one side of her and Morgan on the other, it was definitely easier. At least she was already friends with Morgan, and Noelle and she were in the same situation of not knowing anyone else, so that helped.

Caroline, Marissa, and Amy had been coming to Stronghold for a long time, so Sam had seen them around. They hadn’t been particularly friendly to her, but they hadn’t been unfriendly, either… though they’d snapped Morgan right up into their little group. Caroline and Marissa were both slim and stunning and gave off a kind of mean-girl vibe, which had intimidated Sam. Amy had always been super nice when Sam had run into her, but they just hadn’t hung out or anything since Amy already had her friends.

Tonight, Amy and Morgan were kind of acting as a bridge between everyone, with Caroline and Marissa sitting on one side and Noelle and Sam on the other.

“What’s the Dominance class like?” Amy wanted to know, leaning forward with her eyes alight.

“Pretty much the same as the submissive class,” Sam told her, smiling wryly. “Just from the other side of things. Master Patrick is a big believer in making sure all the Doms have experienced what they want to put a sub through.”

“Master Patrick is a control freak,” Marissa said, rolling her eyes. It wasn’t the first time Sam had heard such a thing, his own sub said it all the time, but there was something different about Marissa’s tone when she said it. It lacked any fondness or patience for his quirk.

“I think most Doms are,” Noelle said, laughing. She didn’t seem to see anything wrong, so Sam smiled. Maybe she was overreacting again. Or maybe that was just how Marissa always talked.

“That’s true,” Caroline smirked, tossing her dark hair back over her shoulder.