1.
Sitting in the bar, he looked around for her. The online chat had been easy, the usual bantering flirtation and then direct talk, easier to do in this removed way. The conversation had moved to his statements about seeking a higher level of intensity, beyond the casual dating of an older divorced guy, and beyond casual romance. She seemed to understand what he was getting at, and her questions became more direct. They made the decision to meet, to demonstrate his seriousness before she opened that door for him. So here he was, sitting alone at a high top table near the bar, sipping a craft beer with an ironic name, dressed in what he thought might be casual with an upscale edge, a tweed jacket over gray slacks and a dark sweater. He was trying not to pay attention to the TV sports channel when he was tapped on the shoulder.
Swinging around, he was surprised to see two women, one of them a bit younger than he expected. The older woman, about his age, close to 60 maybe, had a thin, sharp face and wore a leopard print down vest over slim jeans, with short dark hair falling over one eye. Her companion, with a rounder face, wore a short jacket over jeans and had blondish hair in a short cut. Both of them wore the same shade of dark maroon lipstick, which seemed an odd detail for him to notice.
"Let's see, I am guessing you are David? Waiting for Ivy, I think?" She smiled tightly, her eyes narrowing.
"Yes, ah, that's right, I am David, and we said we would meet here, I didn't want to be late, you must be..."
"Yes, exactly, Ivy; Poison Ivy? Clinging Ivy, English Ivy- it depends on how you see things. This is Diane."
She did not explain the other woman, and led the way to a corner table." I find a face to face meeting is essential, to decide whether someone is worth my time and thought or not." She glanced at her watch, an expensive but no-nonsense black practical watch. "So, David, when we chatted so playfully, you told me your goals, I think 'more intensity' was your phrase?"
His face colored, as he saw the second woman watching his confession. "I think; I believe I need to be in a more intense situation, to be overwhelmed with feeling, to experience that new emotion."
"David, you're talking in circles, Diane here knows what you have said to me. It is sexual intensity, loss of control, that you want, is that right?" She leaned across the table, surprising him as she brushed open the jacket and found his nipple with her long nails, squeezing it through his sweater as it hardened. "You want to have no personal space, to be a body with feelings, not your usual careful and professional self. I think that's what you said." She held her grip there, and he did not move, as his eyes flicked first to her, then to Diane watching with a neutral expression.
"Yes, exactly; I want to move outside my usual zone, to do things I have only imagined."
Ivy released her grip, and then snapped at his nipple hard with her fingernail, painfully. He winced, and both women smiled. "My friend, Miss Sonnet, has a place in the country, and she has training weekends once in a while; you might be surprised how common this desire for loss of control can be. Here is her email address, send a polite but begging note and I will tell her you might be a good candidate for her next party. As a servant, not a guest." She smoothed his jacket as she stood up, and they both walked out without looking back at him. The scrap of paper was in his hand before they left the bar.
2.
The email exchange was simple, like a lot of ordinary social events. His begging but polite request was followed by meeting instructions, a confirmation, an acceptance form he had to sign, and a few instructions. Dress simply, wear black shoes, and bring nothing but the training fee of $200. Park in the public lot at a railroad station, near the small town an hour outside the city. Be prompt, by noon on Friday, and expect to be back late Sunday evening. Hand over phone, keys, wallet or other things to security to be returned afterwards.
It was partly sunny on Friday, as he stood by his car in the station parking lot. He seemed to be the only one here, and he realized he did not know how large this training group might be, or if he was the only one. He waited till what seemed like well after noon, when instead of the car he had been expecting an older truck pulled up, the kind of small box truck marked with the name of a rental agency. A younger man got out of the cab and came over to him, wearing gray workman's clothing. He had a folded paper in his hand, and moved his finger down the list.
"David, right?" He looked up, with no hint of a smile.
"Yes, ahhm David, I was expecting a car.."
"Yes, shut up, this is your ride. Give me the money, then hands behind you."
He handed over the folded bills, $200 from savings, an investment in new experiences, and then stepped closer to the truck, and held his wrists together behind his back as the man pushed his sleeves up and wrapped them with silvery duct tape. He was surprised when he saw the gag, and opened his mouth as the man roughly pushed it in, with a strap behind his head to hold it. The man took his arm and pushed him toward the back step of the truck, then pulled a fabric hood down over his face and pushed him up to stumble into the back of the truck, then sit down on the wooden floor. He was pushed up against what he realized was another person, as the door slammed shut.
As the truck bounced along, he realized he was sitting on the floor with more people, he assumed also bound, silenced, and eyes covered. It was not possible to tell how many, or how long it took as they made other stops and new bodies were pushed into the truck, forcing him to slide closer to others. When the truck finally came to a stop, he heard the doors screech open and several hands guided him to the back step, and down to what seemed like a paved drive. It was a sunny afternoon, and he could feel the late autumn warmth on the hood he wore. The handlers from the truck pushed the group along, shoulder to shoulder, bodies together, until he felt what seemed to be stone paving below him.
The hands pushed him forward, and cut the tape at his wrists, and he could feel the group being pushed together. A new voice, a woman this time, spoke up. "Good afternoon, slave trainees. I am Miss Sonnet, and this is my country place. I call it Haven. All of you came recommended by my guests, and all of you in your way have said you wanted this new experience. If any of you have second thoughts, put both hands up now and the drivers will get you back to your car, and you will never come here again. If you stay, let's be clear; as of now you have no personal space, no control over your own body, and no rights whatever except my own ground rules: no permanent marks or injury, adults only, and basic health. I think you will discover more about yourselves this weekend than you expect. Ready, then?"