On the way home, they pulled into a diner, though both were full of Helene's terrific breakfast, they both needed to talk. Over coffee, they had a heart-to-heart.
"Rose as fun as that was, I'm not sure that is the life for us."
"I'm glad you said that. I had a blast, but do I want to be given to some rando every week? I know that if you chose that for me, it would be. But if it was up to me?"
"I know what you mean. Holidays, special occasions, birthdays, those will be the days we experiment. Helene was fantastic, but I couldn't keep her happy regularly. You and I, Rose, inhabit the world of slavery, but we are currently sitting on the lip of the pool dangling our toes in the water."
"I don't mind getting wet -- once in a while."
"You are mine, Rose. There must be a damn good reason to share you, not just because there's another slave owner in the room who wants to swap."
"Rick's a terrific guy, but I prefer you, Ben."
"It's nice that we are on the same page, Rose."
They smiled at each other.
"Before we go home, let's do a little shopping. Didn't you say it was close to your kid's birthdays?"
"Ben!"
By the end of the day, the packages were on their way to Rose's old address. Included in the package was a thumb drive with two video messages. In one, Rose was dressed in mom-wear and gave Conor and Gretchen personal greetings before singing Happy Birthday and signing off by blowing them a kiss. The video message meant only for Doug, contained a dozen luminous nude photos of Rose and a short video clip that Ben had taken accentuating her new toned and shapely figure. Over these Ben stated things like, "She is mine now. She sucks and fucks on my command. She will never be your wife again." And so forth. Rose helped Ben write the script so that it would have maximum impact on Doug and multiply his sense of loss. Rose felt a new connection to Ben after that.
**
"Hey, Rose, sweetheart, this is us!"
Ben held up a copy of "The Atlantic" magazine. The article was called "Quiet Slavery" and was a profile of couples like Rose and Ben. Couples, in which one half wore a collar but who did not participate in the hedonistic slave lifestyle to any great extent. Rose read the article with rapt attention.
"At least there's a name for us, although I don't think I come across as especially quiet."
"Not between the sheets, you don't!"
"Oh, Ben!"
They exchanged kisses. Life went on.
A week or so later Ben excitedly announced, "Rose, remember that article about "Quiet Slavery? Well, a couple just like us moved in a few miles away. They are both about our age. I found them through the Master Server database on the internet. His name is Walter and hers is Michelle. They are still moving in. I thought they could use a break, so I invited them for dinner. Make something nice but not too fancy."
"Between that and getting ready, I don't have time for anything else!"
The house was spotless as the cleaners had been in the day before. Rose straightened the kids' toys. They had left that morning for a scout camping trip, leaving detritus in their wake.
She took a shower and asked Ben how she should dress.
"Casual. I want this as low-key a thing as possible."
**
She stood, in khaki shorts and a floral blouse, just inside the door, tucked under Ben's arm. The doorbell rang. Michelle was a striking blonde with hazel eyes and a distinctive nose. She wore jeans and a tee shirt and was obviously freshly showered. Walter was tall, taller than Ben, dark-haired, with a neatly trimmed beard, handsome features, and expressive large brown eyes. Michelle gawked at Ben.
"You'll forgive me for not knowing all the protocols," said Michelle humbly, "I've only been a slave for a few months."
"No problem," returned Ben softly. "Rose, show Michelle what to do."
Rose fell to her knees and liberated Walter's cock from his trousers. The big man was big everywhere.
"Oh, yeah!" stated Michelle. She squatted before Ben and gave him an almost satisfactory blowjob. Almost immediately after they were in the living room sipping coffee. There were introductions all around. Ben and Walter talked about the Atlantic article and how it had created a Quiet Slavery substack on the Master Server.
Michelle tugged nervously at her collar. To put her at ease, Rose recounted how she had gone from suburban mom to slave in a single long weekend. Michelle breathed a sigh of relief, slowly, haltingly at first, she shared her enslavement tale.
"I bet against the stock market with my body. I convinced my business partners to launch an IPO. They were hesitant and didn't agree with my sunny financials. I thought I took a sucker bet. To cover the costs of launching the IPO I used myself as collateral. I figured that since our stock was sure to be an instant hit, I'd get the money back almost immediately. Only our stock hit the NASDAQ with such a thud it was heard at the school for the deaf! "The Wall Street Journal" called it quote, "The most misbegotten launch in history." I was on the hook for quite a substantial sum with no way to pay it off. The bank came to claim me as I was sitting on the toilet next to my office peeing! Walter purchased me out of receivership."
"Yeah, I don't go to her for business advice," deadpanned Walter.
"That's certainly different from my experience," said Rose.
"Trust me, bankers are the worst! They restrained me, cut my clothes off, collared me, shaved me, and had me tattooed in one smooth operation. They kept me naked twenty-four-seven until I was sold and housed me in a cage like I was an animal!"
"That sounds awful!" said Rose sympathetically.
"The worst part was when my business partners came to the bank's holding pen to ogle and mock me in person! That was the worst part!"
Walter placed his hand on Michelle's thigh. "Michelle's company canceled their IPO but only a few months later they made a massive breakthrough in their software. They relaunched their IPO. If Michelle had only waited, she'd now be rich enough to own me!"
"Walter is a good sport and doesn't rub it in, for which I'm grateful."
"Yeah, Michelle has had a hard nine months; but she is taking to the collar well. When Ben reached out to me on the Master Server, I realized that all four of us have a lot in common. I doubt I'd own a slave if that slave wasn't Michelle. I do have to say, I enjoy being a Master."
"I've discovered my submissive side," added Michelle softly.
There was a long silence as everyone appreciated the profundity of the conversation.
"Dinner is ready to be served. Can you give me a hand, Michelle?"
The two women exited the room.
