Caroline -- Part Twenty-Five

Caroline dressed herself, frowning at the mussed condition of her attire, and departed for home to pack a few things, her mind racing at top speed all the way, feeling butterflies erupting in her belly in an aerobatic parade. She’d never dominated anyone in her life, not even in an Internet chat room, and the thrill it shot through her to even do what little dominant things she’d done to Rachel astounded her, and left her feeling a bit dismayed and awed at the tremendous responsibility this could impose on her if she decided to take up this challenge. She packed a few changes of clothes, mostly things she decided could be left at Rachel’s, and to that end, decided to stop on the way back to Rachel’s house to buy some basic toiletries, figuring that it would probably be convenient to her to have such items there, and possibly also at Allen’s house, if that also became a regular stop for her. Ten minutes and ten dollars later at a local Walgreen’s, Caroline was back on the road to Rachel’s, her mind still awhirl as she wondered after her decision.

As she was leaving Walgreen’s, her cell phone rang and she answered it. It was Rachel asking if she wanted to go out for supper or eat at home. After a moment’s discussion, they both decided that Rachel would grill some snapper fillets, and Caroline agreed to stop along the way and get some salad fixings, and poke around to see if a dessert leapt out of the cold case into her basket. Caroline hung up, amused, and not for a second fooled by the real reason behind Rachel’s call. She knew that Rachel was probably on as many, if not more, pins and needles than she herself was, and just wanted to reach out and hear her voice, perhaps to ensure that Caroline was indeed going to return. What to do about supper just made for a convenient ruse to gaining her needed reassurance, Caroline knew, smiling.

Caroline ran into an HEB and got a couple salads-in-a-bag and decided to get some oil and vinegar dressing and some ranch dressing, which seemed universally neutral, and then found a really tasty looking chocolate cake with coconut icing in the bakery section, and on an impulse fetched a couple bottles of wine, one red and one white, in case they decided to imbibe some tonight. She paid for her purchases and was at Rachel’s door five minutes later, only then realizing that she’d been so preoccupied that she’d forgotten the joy of driving this new BMW.

She smelled the smoke of Rachel’s grill, and the aroma alone had her nearly drooling as she fetched her bag and the groceries and went inside, not bothering to knock this time. She put the groceries up in the kitchen, and took the toiletries and her bag up to Rachel’s bedroom, where she set the bag at the foot of the bed, and then the toothpaste and the rest on the bathroom counter. She went back downstairs and found Rachel in the kitchen, putting seasonings on two really nice snapper fillets, and asked how she could help.

“For the time, I’d like to do this on my own,” Rachel said, sounding surprisingly shy. “Even if you’re not going to own me this weekend, you’re still a guest in my home, and besides, I kind of like getting to be Betty Crocker, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Okay,” Caroline grinned. “That’s fair enough, and thank you. I’m one of those hopeless people you hear tell about who can burn water in a refrigerator, I’m afraid.”

“Ack,” Rachel exclaimed with a chuckle that tickled Caroline. “Then one way or another, get your ass out of my kitchen! We can’t have you setting the water on fire in here, after all.”

Caroline laughed and went to the living room, and turned on the television, idly surfing the channels for something worth watching. She settled on a re-run of Saturday Night Live and laughed at some of the antics of the performers, although much of it was dated humor. She could feel her belly growling as time went by, but soon enough, Rachel announced dinner, and asked what Caroline would like to drink. Caroline decided on another Coke, tipping her hand as a Cokeaholic, but knowing with an inward smile that her dirty little secret had to come out sooner or later. She followed Rachel into her dining room, and wasn’t really surprised to see her plate set at the head of the table, knowing that Rachel was trying to do everything to prove to Caroline that she really wanted to submit to her this weekend.

The dinner was marvelous, the fish cooked and seasoned to perfection, and the corn on the cob alongside it perfectly sweet and wonderful. Caroline saw that she had wasted a couple dollars on dressing, since Rachel had made a vinaigrette dressing that was out of this world. Caroline raved over the meal, while Rachel blushed with pride that she had done so well. The cake that followed was also a little slice of Heaven, and Rachel admitted that she wasn’t worth a hoot in hell with pastry, and was glad that HEB was. All the while, they confined their talk to the meal itself and other small talk, tacitly agreeing not to discuss the important matter until supper was done and the dishes were in the dishwasher and they could focus on one another. And both women were secretly glad to have a brief respite from the nerves and wondering, but the avoidance of the topic that the meal afforded could only last so long, and then it was time to talk, and to decide what they were going to do.

“Rachel,” Caroline began. “I may as well lead off by telling you that I’m still up in the air about this, and that I still have some strong misgivings. I’m worried that I’ll fuck this up and that it will derail our happy little choochoo train here, and I think that’s the last thing we want. On the other hand, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that this proposition of yours isn’t very enticing, because I think the possible upside is a great one for us all.”

“I don’t think the risks are as great as the potential rewards,” Rachel said carefully.

“Perhaps,” Caroline said. “For the moment, let’s presume on the hypothetical situation that I’ve agreed to this. I asked you earlier to think on this, and so I’ll ask you again now that you’ve had some time. What would be your limits in this, Rachel?”

“Actually, very few,” Rachel said. “No permanent marks of your ownership on me, try not to leave scars on me, and return me willingly to Allen when he gets back here.”

“Those conditions make sense and would be acceptable,” Caroline said, keeping her tone neutral. Actually, the thoughts of any of Rachel’s specific limits hadn’t occurred to her anyway. She certainly had no intention of laying her own brand on the woman, and neither would she endeavor to leave lifelong scars on her, body or soul. And she suspected that even if she were willing to do this exercise over the next few days, she’d be only happy to return Rachel to Allen’s control. Herself too, for that matter, she reflected.

“Caroline, if you take up this offer, I’d be pleased if you didn’t lift a finger for yourself this whole time,” Rachel pursued. “I’ll serve you in every way you’d wish me to do. Your wish would literally be my command.”

“And if you failed me, disobeyed,” Caroline asked idly. “What then, Rachel?”

“Until Allen’s return, you would hold all of his power and authority, Caroline,” Rachel said, her voice betraying a bit of worry at this thought. “In fact, something else that I guess needs to be put on the table is this. I didn’t flat out tell Allen this, but I think he got the picture clear enough anyway. He doesn’t have the world’s best people skills, but he can read me like a book, and always has, for some reason. I don’t understand how he’s so good at reading me and not so good at reading other people all the time, though.”

“Rachel,” Caroline snapped, interrupting the tangent. “You’re beating around the bush again, and if that’s how this is going to be, we may as well cut to the chase and I’ll just decline now and go up to bed and get an early night’s sleep.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Rachel said, nearly crying. “I know I’m a nervous wreck, Caroline, and as much as I want this, it isn’t easy.”

“It isn’t supposed to be easy,” Caroline said. “Now what’s this other issue? Speak up now, or we’ll just call this off and go have a girl’s day out tomorrow.” Caroline was surprised by her own assertiveness, a quality that she only rarely found within herself, but was pleased with the results, that it got Rachel back on track rather than running off willy-nilly with some hope that she could avoid things all night.

“Okay,” Rachel said, and drew in a deep breath to settle herself, then laid it on the line. “Allen beat me for my little jealous tirade, and I deserved every bit of that from him, but I think I deserve for you to punish me as well, since you were really the offended and injured party.”

“So you think I could cane you on your back like Allen did,” Caroline asked, feeling a little tug in her belly that she couldn’t quite identify as fear or desire.

“I think you should punish me for that however you see fit to do,” Rachel said. “To not even consider what Allen did to me, but instead to give me the punishment you think I deserve, as though he’d never laid a hand on me. All I’ll ask there is that you punish me as your capabilities allow. If you don’t know how to use a horsewhip, for instance, please don’t.”

“I see,” Caroline said. “And that makes sense. I’d probably try to crack a whip and find myself lynched by misadventure anyway.” She chuckled at the imagery, seeing only a ghost of a smile on Rachel’s face, her eyes still wide and hopeful. “Okay, Rachel. For now, I want you to stand on your knees in that corner there, nose in the corner, hands crossed behind your back, while I decide what to do here. I’m going to go upstairs and do a bit more thinking, and then I’ll return and tell you whether or not you remain under my power.

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Rachel said, and shivered a bit as she positioned herself as ordered, at the same breath craving and fearing Caroline’s control. Altogether, it was a delicious experience.

Upstairs, Caroline undressed and got into the shower. She still smelled of the strong chlorine of Rachel’s pool, and wanted to smell a good deal more feminine than that. Besides, time in a bath or shower had always been good time for her to do some thinking. Her decision made, she went downstairs to announce it to the kneeling Rachel.