important than just some kinky group sex. You know I’m game, always have been, but never with important relationships. That’s always been more straightlaced.”
“Maybe that’s why they didn’t work out,” Nathaniel said, turning in the seat so he could look at her.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“If a person is kinky, and nonstandard sex makes them happy, but they keep putting away the sex they like best every time they’re in a serious relationship, then the relationship is doomed, because no matter how much you love your vanilla, you need the other flavors.”
“You want the other flavors, you don’t need them,” she said.
“I used the word deliberately, J.J. I know for myself that if I don’t get my bondage and submission needs met I get really unhappy, my energy goes down, and eventually nothing works right. I’ve accepted that it’s a need, not a want, and once I accepted that my life worked better.”
“Like me accepting that I liked women, and recently realized that the right man was something I didn’t want to live without.”
“Like that, yes; you’ve accepted you’re more bisexual than straight lesbian,” Nathaniel said.
“Isn’t
straight lesbian
an oxymoron?” she asked.
“I don’t think so; I’ve known gay men and women who were as conservative as any heterosexual. They all try to fit into just one box, and seem to feel that anyone who wants to climb out of that box is wrong, or even evil.”
“I don’t think Jason needing rough sex is evil.”
“But you don’t understand why he needs to have it with Anita, right?”
“No offense, Anita, but no, I don’t.”
“No offense taken; are you saying that you are willing to have rough sex with Jason?” I asked, glancing back in the rearview mirror enough to glimpse her face.
“We have had.”
“How rough?” Nathaniel asked.
“Rough,” she said.
“No, honey, not by Nathaniel’s standards, and not really by Anita’s either.”
“How rough is rough to them?” she asked.
I concentrated on the road suddenly, just driving, because I didn’t know how to answer that. Not without asking them details about the rough sex they’d had that I honestly didn’t want to ask.
“It’s not just how rough to me and Anita, it’s how rough to Jason,” Nathaniel said.
“Okay, I’ll bite, how rough to all three of you?”
I heard soft movement from the backseat and knew Jason was cuddling her closer in some way. I kept my eye on traffic, but some small sounds you just know.
“I’m not allowed to bite you, remember?”
“I have to perform, Jason, and sometimes my costumes reveal most of my skin.”
“And sometimes I can’t afford bite marks on me for the same reason.”
“So why is it an issue?” she asked.
“You don’t want to bite me, and I want to bite you.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“I’m hoping you will by the end of the night.”
And that was the truth. Some things can’t really be explained, they can only be experienced, or at least observed. Tonight was about seeing the truth; I just wasn’t sure that I was happy being part of the wildlife being observed.
3
W E WENT BACK to talking about normal things all the way down the long stairs into the underground area below Circus of the Damned. We acknowledged the guards, said hi to the ones who had crossed the line to being friends, and learned more about practice for the new ballet in New York. Nathaniel talked about the dance he and Jason were choreographing for Danse Macabre, which was literally a dance club, not a strip club. I didn’t join in the work talk, because most of mine was a little too graphic or involved ongoing police cases; either way it was almost guaranteed to be a buzzkill for J.J. The men in my life were okay with me talking shop—most of the time.
Jason’s room was one of the suites complete with bathroom and epic shower. We closed the door to the main bedroom part, and the silence was just the
“Maybe that’s why they didn’t work out,” Nathaniel said, turning in the seat so he could look at her.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“If a person is kinky, and nonstandard sex makes them happy, but they keep putting away the sex they like best every time they’re in a serious relationship, then the relationship is doomed, because no matter how much you love your vanilla, you need the other flavors.”
“You want the other flavors, you don’t need them,” she said.
“I used the word deliberately, J.J. I know for myself that if I don’t get my bondage and submission needs met I get really unhappy, my energy goes down, and eventually nothing works right. I’ve accepted that it’s a need, not a want, and once I accepted that my life worked better.”
“Like me accepting that I liked women, and recently realized that the right man was something I didn’t want to live without.”
“Like that, yes; you’ve accepted you’re more bisexual than straight lesbian,” Nathaniel said.
“Isn’t
straight lesbian
an oxymoron?” she asked.
“I don’t think so; I’ve known gay men and women who were as conservative as any heterosexual. They all try to fit into just one box, and seem to feel that anyone who wants to climb out of that box is wrong, or even evil.”
“I don’t think Jason needing rough sex is evil.”
“But you don’t understand why he needs to have it with Anita, right?”
“No offense, Anita, but no, I don’t.”
“No offense taken; are you saying that you are willing to have rough sex with Jason?” I asked, glancing back in the rearview mirror enough to glimpse her face.
“We have had.”
“How rough?” Nathaniel asked.
“Rough,” she said.
“No, honey, not by Nathaniel’s standards, and not really by Anita’s either.”
“How rough is rough to them?” she asked.
I concentrated on the road suddenly, just driving, because I didn’t know how to answer that. Not without asking them details about the rough sex they’d had that I honestly didn’t want to ask.
“It’s not just how rough to me and Anita, it’s how rough to Jason,” Nathaniel said.
“Okay, I’ll bite, how rough to all three of you?”
I heard soft movement from the backseat and knew Jason was cuddling her closer in some way. I kept my eye on traffic, but some small sounds you just know.
“I’m not allowed to bite you, remember?”
“I have to perform, Jason, and sometimes my costumes reveal most of my skin.”
“And sometimes I can’t afford bite marks on me for the same reason.”
“So why is it an issue?” she asked.
“You don’t want to bite me, and I want to bite you.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“I’m hoping you will by the end of the night.”
And that was the truth. Some things can’t really be explained, they can only be experienced, or at least observed. Tonight was about seeing the truth; I just wasn’t sure that I was happy being part of the wildlife being observed.
3
W E WENT BACK to talking about normal things all the way down the long stairs into the underground area below Circus of the Damned. We acknowledged the guards, said hi to the ones who had crossed the line to being friends, and learned more about practice for the new ballet in New York. Nathaniel talked about the dance he and Jason were choreographing for Danse Macabre, which was literally a dance club, not a strip club. I didn’t join in the work talk, because most of mine was a little too graphic or involved ongoing police cases; either way it was almost guaranteed to be a buzzkill for J.J. The men in my life were okay with me talking shop—most of the time.
Jason’s room was one of the suites complete with bathroom and epic shower. We closed the door to the main bedroom part, and the silence was just the
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