The Flirtation Read online

  “How’s that?”

  “She’s been at the club looking for you every night this week.”

  “She what?” That didn’t even sound like Anna Beth.

  Luke gave a snort. “I’m not sure what you did, but whatever it was, she wants more. A lot more. She asked the front-desk staff for your phone number.”

  “Dammit.”

  “They didn’t give it to her, of course, and they let me know immediately, but either way, I wanted to let you know.”

  Simon ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. He shouldn’t have gone to the club last Saturday night. For damn sure, he shouldn’t have played with Anna Beth. He should have sat at the bar and observed like he’d told Luke he was going to.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I appreciate it.” He just wasn’t sure what he was going to do with the information.

  “I’ll take care of her from this end,” Luke said. “I hope it won’t keep you away.”

  “No, of course not,” Simon said, but in his head, he was thinking, There is no way I’m going back there.

  “Good,” Luke said. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “It’ll take more than Anna Beth to keep me away.”

  “I also wanted to know if you’d be interested in doing a demo at an upcoming BDSM conference I’m working on.”

  Simon bit back the groan that threatened to come out of his mouth. He had the strangest feeling he’d just been played.

  “What type of demo?” Simon asked.

  “Single tail.”

  “Do I get to pick which type?”

  “Of course,” Luke assured him. “I’m putting together a few sessions of advanced techniques and figured anyone who had a submissive that into them after the scene you did needs to be the one to lead the demo.”

  “I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

  “As well you should,” Luke said. “And you can pick your own submissive, too. Hell, make a weekend of it and stay for the entire thing. It runs Friday afternoon through Saturday night. Most people don’t leave until Sunday.”

  At least he had time to find someone. He thanked Luke, told him he’d be in touch, and said good-bye. Now, where the hell was he going to find a submissive?

  • • •

  Lynne turned on her laptop. She was going to act courageously again. She’d done it before and met Simon, so why shouldn’t she use the Internet a second time to find someone different?

  Because she was New Lynne, she decided she needed a new username. The old one had too many ties to Old Lynne. And Simon. She picked SassySubGirl, because in her mind, New Lynne was a little sassy.

  But New Lynne wasn’t that far removed from Old Lynne, because she went to the same online boards. She told herself it wasn’t so she could look for Simon, even though his name was the first she searched for. She smiled when she saw it because it hadn’t changed. SirSimon looked to be a well-respected member.

  Judging from his posts, he wasn’t with anyone. His writing was informative with a touch of humor sprinkled in for good measure.

  God, she missed him.

  She drummed her fingers on the table. She needed a plan. He’d left her because he didn’t think she was a submissive. What if she could prove she was? Maybe if he could see that she was serious about it, he’d take her back.

  She wanted to send him a message, but she didn’t think it’d be a good idea to approach him right away without any activity under her username. She needed to be patient and approach him in a few days.

  The first thing she did was post a few comments on the threads he’d recently been part of. She had her location set to New York and wondered if he’d notice. Then she kicked herself. Why would he? There were a ton of people from New York.

  She turned her laptop off when she finished posting. Classes started the next day, and she had a few things to get together.

  The next afternoon she returned to the penthouse happy. The classes so far were just what she’d hoped for, and everyone was so friendly. Any misgivings she’d had were gone. She called Abby quickly to tell her and to once again thank her for everything she and Nathaniel had done, but her voice mail picked up so she left a message.

  She had some homework to start, but at the moment she was too hyped up to sit still long enough to do it. Instead, she pulled out her laptop to check and see if she had any messages from her online postings. She’d purposely set her profile up in such a way that she didn’t get an e-mail whenever someone replied.

  There were several replies to her and quite a few private messages. But her attention was drawn to one. From him. Her fingers trembled as she clicked on it to open.

  SassySubGirl,

  Welcome to the boards. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I noticed you’re in the New York area and wanted to invite you to the NY State board. I included a link below.

  Best,

  SirSimon

  She leaned back in her seat. Wow. She really hadn’t expected to hear from him that fast. Granted, it was only a welcome e-mail and probably a form one at that. More than likely, he sent the same thing out to everyone who joined from the area. But still.

  It was communication from Simon. And it was more than she’d had since they’d broken up. She debated whether to respond, finally deciding he was the one who had made the first move; she was only throwing the ball back to his side of the court.

  She hurriedly typed out her reply.

  SirSimon,

  Thank you for the kind welcome and I appreciate your invite to the NY board. I’ll check it out. I’m assuming you are from the area? I’m new in town.

  Best,

  SSG

  She hit the SEND button before she could have second thoughts and decide to delete the e-mail. She felt a little guilty at the “new in the area” line, but she justified it by telling herself that she lived in Delaware and was only in the city for the summer. It wasn’t an out-and-out lie.

  Though she wasn’t sure Simon would agree.

  How long would it take for him to reply? What if he didn’t reply? What if he replied and told her to leave him alone?

  She turned the computer off with a sigh. She’d drive herself crazy with the what-ifs if she didn’t stop. He’d write back or he wouldn’t. It was out of her hands, either way.

  The penthouse was too quiet. She got up and turned some music on, but it didn’t sound the same as Henry and Elizabeth running around asking her what they were going to play next. It hit her then that if she became a teacher, all her days would be like this. Once she got home from school, there would be nothing to greet her except an empty house.

  She wasn’t getting any younger, and she wasn’t dating anyone seriously. Hell, she wasn’t dating anyone casually. Maybe she should have taken Nathaniel and Abby up on their offer to get her into their New York club.

  But no, it was more than the dating she longed for. She wanted a connection with someone, a person she could call when the best thing ever happened or who would be there for her when her world came falling down.

  She turned the music off and went into the kitchen to make something for dinner. Cooking for one sucked, too. At least most of the time she was able to eat the leftovers for lunch. If you looked at it that way, cooking for one was a good thing.

  But deep down, she knew better.

  Later that night, she turned her computer back on. She told herself not to expect anything. It had only been a couple of hours, and he probably hadn’t had time to reply to her e-mail. It wasn’t until she opened her e-mail and saw a message waiting from him that she realized she would have been horribly disappointed if he hadn’t replied.

  It was short, just a few lines.

  SSG,

  Welcome to the city. If you’re into the local scene, I can recommend a few places for you.

  Let me know,

  SirSimon

  Her reply was likewise brief.

  SirSimon,

  Thank you for the offer, but I’m really not a
club kind of a girl. I would like to say I’m looking for something a bit more private, but that seems very forward for me to say in an e-mail.

  —SSG

  He didn’t reply for several minutes and she thought he might have been done for the night. She was just getting ready to turn off the laptop when a message came through.

  Message me

  He’d added his private e-mail address so she could reach him privately and not have to go through the messaging system of the online site. Her hands trembled, fingers poised over the top of the keyboard, wondering what to type.

  She opened the message window using the account she’d created with her assumed name and typed in his address. Basic. Basic was good.

  —Hello.

  —Is that you, SSG?

  —Yes.

  —Thank you for messaging me. Why don’t you tell me exactly what you’re looking for?

  She hesitated. This was so similar to the discourse they had gone through the first time they had met. She couldn’t help but wonder if he did this frequently. Was it possible he went from girl to girl, finding a new online partner whenever he got tired of the old one?

  She didn’t want to think that of Simon; despite the shock of his sudden dismissal of her when they were dating, she wanted to think she was different. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.

  I’m not 100 percent sure what I’m looking for. I don’t want to do anything public, because of my profession. I understand the confidentiality aspect of play, but I can’t do it in public.

  There was a pause, and then his words filled the screen.

  I don’t play very much in public either, but I would never try to set up anything with you privately. And I suggest you don’t meet anyone privately that you meet online.

  She rolled her eyes. Did he think she was stupid?

  I’m twenty-five. I’m well aware of how to handle myself online.

  There was a pause before his reply came back.

  Just doing my part to ensure you’re safe.

  Dammit, she hadn’t meant to insult him.

  Forgive me, Sir. I just didn’t like the implication that I don’t know what I’m doing, or that I’m not smart enough to check someone or something out before jumping into it.

  Let’s start over. I’m SirSimon. No need to call me “Sir” at this time. I believe a Dom has to earn that title.

  She smiled. This was the Simon she knew.

  I’m SSG. And thank you.

  There was another moment’s pause. And she feared he was going to ask her name.

  Pleased to meet you, SSG. Tell me about yourself.

  She breathed a sigh of relief, pleased that she wouldn’t have to reveal any secrets yet.

  I’m in school, working toward getting a teaching certificate. What do you do?

  I manage an employment agency. Mostly temps.

  How long have you been in the lifestyle?

  About fifteen years. You?

  Not very long. That’s another reason I didn’t want to go public. I know a friend who met someone online and they played that way for a while.

  Is that what you’re looking for?

  She paused, not sure how to answer that. What was she looking for? What did she want to get out of this? Finally she typed:

  I’m not sure. I think it’s a good place to start.

  • • •

  Simon looked at the blinking cursor on his computer screen. What was he doing? Why was he talking to this newbie? Was this enough of a distraction? Another online relationship?

  He told himself that was a foolish line of thought. He wasn’t trying to start a relationship. He was being nice to a new person in the area who happened to share a common interest with him.

  He drummed his fingers on the desk, unable to keep his mind from wandering to Lynne. He had met her online, and the relationship had proceeded from there. For whatever reason, after her, he had never gone back to online dating or used the Internet as a way to meet potential subs. Maybe it was time he tried again.

  I think you’re right, SSG. I think you’re right. I would like to continue our conversation, but unfortunately, I have an early meeting in the morning, so I have to log off for tonight.

  I understand. Have to get ready for class tomorrow.

  He suddenly didn’t want to let her go without making sure they could talk some more.

  Chat again tomorrow night at 7:30?

  He couldn’t help but smile at her reply:

  Yes. Thank you.

  He stood up and stretched. He hadn’t lied about the early-morning meeting, but he knew it would be worthless to go to bed at this time. His conversation with the sub known as SSG had made him rethink things. But he wanted to bounce ideas off somebody first.

  He dialed a familiar number.

  Luke answered on the first ring. “Hello?”

  “DeVaan, it’s Simon.”

  “Simon, what’s happening?”

  “Can I ask you something? What are your thoughts on online relationships?”

  There was a shuffling sound from the other end of the phone. “Hold on. Let me get you off speaker.”

  Simon held back his groan and hoped only Meagan had been listening in. “Next time tell me I’m on speaker, why don’t you?”

  “Sorry, man.” There was more shuffling, and this time Simon heard a female giggle. “Had my hands full, if you know what I mean.”

  Meagan, Luke’s submissive, was obviously spending the night at his place. “I can call back tomorrow at a better time for you.”

  “No. Hold on.” There were a few whispers, but nothing Simon could make out. “Now, tell me what’s going on.”

  Simon questioned whether he should’ve called Luke in the first