It was another dreamy morning. Indie was awake before she had any right to be. Unfortunately it wasn’t so early she could go back to sleep. For Indie, a half-hour to kill was the worst kind of time, too short for a meaningful game but too long to idly waste. Except…

She rolled over toward the edge of her bed, reaching under to find the shoebox hidden away beneath. Inside, dirty pleasures she didn’t want anyone to ever know of - things too embarrassing for her sister or Scarlett to know.

She sat herself up just a little, getting comfortable, getting ready. Then she opened the box, inside her darkest, most shameful secret sat before her. A small black device, already tingling in her fingers.

Indie wasn’t normally the kind of girl that did this thing, not any more. She had grown out of it, it was childish - but it felt so good, she enjoyed it so much and if Indie was guilty of any sin, it was gluttony.

She grabbed her phone, it never helped her to look but it did make her feel more… normal about doing it. She reached down with the black device in her hand, her fingers pulling up her pyjama bottoms so she could press the thick tip of her toy against herself. Her fingers wrapped around the buttons as she scrolled through her phone looking for something to look at. She stopped her search in her usual place, tapping on a few links to watch porn-stars getting their tightest holes filled up.

She didn’t imagine she was them, even as her toy slowly penetrated her, she just watched them in semi-interest until it was deep enough to turn on. A soft buzz filled the room, no more noticeable than any of the usual sounds coming from her computer.

Indie bit her lip as it whirred deeper into her butt, gently massaging her, filling her with pulsing tender urges. She held her phone up over her head, resting back to wiggle in a little deeper - watching a tiny asian woman and a large black man, the way he held her tightly to his chest as he filled her. He was rough, but that wasn’t what she imagined feeling. Warm arms wrapped around her body, someone pressed against her.

She closed her eyes and put down her phone, her body tensing as she came, a mute climax lost in the whir of a small black device.

She snuck her way through the halls, still in her pyjamas but with a vibrator hidden in a small plastic bag in a pile of clothes. She showered and cleaned everything up before returning it to her box of shames and secrets. Then finally made her way into the kitchen, right on time and faking tiredness.

Skye was on the phone again, talking to her boss, taking orders and looking ready to break her own phone. Indie grabbed an energy drink and a pack of pop-tarts before sitting down at the table. It was raid night tonight, so she tapped away on her phone trying to organise everyone.

Indie watched the replies scroll in, she was raid leader and main tank - she needed her off-tank, at least four healers and they could make up the numbers elsewhere.

The best healer in her raid team was Fixerup, what they lacked in grammar they made up in skill.

@Fixerup: no idea, got work  

Indie chewed on her double chocolate fudge coated pop-tart as she thought. She didn’t want to replace Fixer if they were running late, but she didn’t want to risk not having all the heals they needed.

Reefer was no-where near as good a healer but they were happy to do it, if they weren’t given the option of DPS.

It would take the rest of the day to hear back from everyone, a quick message to Reefer and she was set for the day. Skye seemed to be as well, putting down her phone without screaming vitriol at it.

Skye was about to ask something before Scarlett stumbled into the room, gracefully pulling herself up on the walls and looking back at the carpet she tripped on.

“I’m fine.”

Skye sighed, “I’ve got to go, can you drive Indie to work today?”

Scarlett shrugged, “Sure, but doesn’t she normally-“

“They want me there early,” Indie tapped at her phone, another of her raiders was out for the night - illness.

“Sure, I wouldn’t mind seeing her again.”

Skye picked up her phone, “Don’t mess this up for Indie.”

Scarlett blushed, “Uh… how would I mess it up?”

Skye jabbed her friend in the chest, “Don’t-“ then it dawned on her, “Wait…”

Scarlett smiled sheepishly, “Whoops?”

“You didn’t…”

Scarlett nodded, “I did…”

“Oh for fuck sake Scar!”

Indie grabbed her can of drink and her satchel, “I’ll be in the car.”

It was a horrible, sunny day outside, birds chirping and the smell of fresh mown grass filled the neighbourhood. She sat in the car, window down as she waited for Scarlett to come out and drive her to work. She could hear her sister yelling.  

So what if Scarlett fucked her boss? Would that really impact negatively on her?

Indie checked her phone, trying to waste time - nothing interested her. There was nothing happening, no messages, nothing to collect in-game, nothing to look up or read. She could listen to music, in fact she would. She rummaged through her satchel and pulled out her earbuds, plugging them into her phone and popping them in her ears.

She didn’t get why Skye was so angry, angry enough to storm from the house without even looking at her. Her sister peeled out of the drive-way and sped off down the road for work. Scarlett emerged at the door, locking it behind her and making her way down the drive-way. She frowned as she climbed into the car and looked over at Indie.

“Let’s go.”

Indie nodded, turning up the music.

Kriem answered the door to the Disablot, dressed in a tight black dress and high-heels. Indie looked away as she made her way inside. Scarlett held out her arms and Kriem embraced her warmly.

“Hello again,” Kriem whispered in her ear, “I was hoping you’d come visit.”

Scarlett blushed, “Try and keep me away.”

“Why would I want that?”

Kriem called out to Indie, who had already reached the entrance to the kitchen, “I’ll be there in a minute, Indie.”

Then wrapped her slender fingers around Scarlett’s wrist, “Come, I have someone I want you to meet.”

Scarlett followed Kriem into the lounge, the pleasant memory of a few nights previous still stained the room - there were still a few other kinds of stains on those leather lounges. A younger woman sat on a stool at the bar sipping a mai tai. They were wearing a long flowing orange dress and had short, feathery orange hair. It reminded Scarlett of Skye when they were younger.

“You don’t strike me as a bar-maid,” the woman spoke with a soft but commanding voice, “too pedestrian.”

Kriem smiled warmly, her hand lightly against the small of Scarlett’s back pushing them forward, “This is Clementine.”

Scarlett took Clementine’s outstretched hand and shook it, “Scarlett.”

“I know,” Clementine smiled, “Hildie told me about you.”

Kriem held her hands against her stomach, “Clementine is a friend and my director of human resources.”

“I oversee her employees, including reading up on new hires.”

Kriem leaned in against Scarlett, “She’s your new boss.”

“I’m Hildie’s second in command,” Clementine lifted her mai tai, “If you’re going to be a manager, we should have a talk - join me for a drink.”

Indie sat at the kitchen counter, laptop already out. She was just finishing up a line of code when Kriem walked into the kitchen.

“Sorry about that,” Kriem came up beside her at the counter, “ready to get to work in the bedroom?”

Indie turned scarlet, suddenly the argument between her sister and friend forced its way back into her mind. She had entirely forgotten that she agreed to do the installations in their bedroom today.

“Indie?”

“Y-yeah, sounds good.”

She packed up her laptop and grabbed her satchel. Kriem lead her through the house, past Scarlett and a stranger no-one introduced her into a stairwell. A stained glass door stood at either entrance of the flight, the top emerging out onto a terrace. Potted plants surrounded it in lieu of railings, they had a perfect view of the city below them. Elgian Heights stood on a cliff overlooking the city itself. Kriem unlocked the intricate metal door to the right of where they were standing.

“Come in,” Kriem tucked away the key again and showed Indie inside, “mind the mess.”

Kriem’s bedroom was nothing like Indie had expected, a large, spacious room with a large white bed, a lounge, open windows with wood shutters and an exceptionally large television. Two doors on the opposite wall seemed to be a bathroom and a wardrobe, and all over the roof the in-set lighting gave the room a dimmer feel. It was a heady, drunk kind of feeling that made her feel exceptionally hot.  

Or perhaps it was the thoughts consuming her mind, the high blush on her cheeks.

The room was tidy and spotless, even the white carpet was perfectly soft beneath her shoes. Kriem sat herself down at the end of the bed, on a large wooden chest.

“Make yourself comfortable, there is no great rush to get this room finished. I rarely have company up here.”

Indie put her satchel down on the lounge, sank to her bottom on the soft floor and unpacked her laptop onto the short coffee table between the lounge and the television.

Maybe they hadn’t been up here together, knowing Scarlett they probably did it in the bar… closer to the booze. Her skin shivered with the thought, but then she looked over at Kriem.

Gold blonde hair, bright eyes, warm smile.

“Scarlett told me.”

Kriem’s smile faded, “Does that bother you?”

“No,” she looked back at her computer screen, before pushing herself up so she could start work hooking things up. It wasn’t until she looked around that she realised there were no boxes.

“Where are the parts?”

Kriem furrowed her brow, “They should be… oh, I put them away.”

Kriem pushed herself up and made her way to the wardrobe, Indie followed over to help. Kriem lead the way in, the wardrobe alone was as large as Indie’s room at home. To the right were clothes on racks several rows deep and on the other were shoes. In the middle, a table and several chairs. Kriem disappeared into the back, morbid curiosity drew Indie from the middle of the room and into amongst the aisles. To be rich and have choices, but even then she’d no doubt wear the same thing she always did. The last aisle was most interesting, there was a lot of soft white leather. Behind the clothes were pigeon holes filled with shoe-box sized plastic, wood and metal lockboxes. It was what wasn’t in the lock-boxes that made the aisle interesting, rope, chains, a whip, a bag of carabiners, a leather mask.

“See anything interesting?”

Kriem stood watching her from the table, a pile of boxes stacked up. Indie realised she had no idea how long she had been looking through their stuff.

“N-no…”

“Really? Nothing?”

Indie blushed, looking down at the wooden floorboards, “Nothing.”

Kriem sat down on one of the chairs at the table, watching Indie intently as she tried to slink away, “I can tell you about it if you like.”

“N-no, I should get back to work,” Indie grabbed one of the boxes, “but… what is it for?”

“Have a seat, Indie.”

Indie lingered by the chair before putting the box down and taking a seat.

“I have particular tastes in sex.”

Indie’s hands started to shake.

“Some people like being spanked, other people like things to be sweet and soft - I like to be tied up.”

Indie could feel the sweat dripping down her back.

“The feeling of having no control has an appeal to it.”

Kriem examined her as she squirmed, the colour of her skin turning darker and darker red.

“I know this makes you uncomfortable, but please don’t think that I’m some kind of pervert.”

Indie sighed, “I- I don’t think that, I’m just not… into… sex.”

Kriem raised an eyebrow, “You’re not?”

Indie looked down at her hands, in her lap, “No.”

“What about relationships?”

“R-relationships?”

Kriem smiled wistfully, “Love, boyfriends, girlfriends, being with someone romantically.”

“Uh,” Indie shifted awkwardly, “I don’t know…”

Kriem crossed her legs, leaning back, “Relationships aren’t just about sex. You can be in one just for love.”

Indie fiddled with her fingers, looking up to see her boss watching her intently, “I know…”

“They call what I’m into - B.D.S.M - it is a whole lot of different things but, what I like about it specifically is the B. It stands for bondage, being tied up, being restrained in some way. It is like all of BDSM about a relationship.”

Kriem paused for a moment, looking for a way to frame her words, “It is about… trust, making yourself vulnerable to someone else. Feeling that loss of control, or perhaps total control over someone else entirely.”

Indie grabbed hold of a box just for someone to hold, “I should get to work.”

Kriem smiled, “Of course, but… Indie, don’t worry about our relationship because of your friend. I’d like to be your friend too, Scarlett won’t ruin that.”

Indie pulled herself up, nodding tentatively, “O-okay…”

She made her way to the door, back to work… why had Kriem said ‘their relationship’?