30 Days: Prologue

I met Karen at a munch. There were probably 30 or 40 people there when I arrived. It was the first time I have been brave enough to enter the "public scene." I was amazed to find people of every age, shape, orientation, occupation, race, and creed. It felt like a cross section of the community. Oddly, almost uncomfortably, normal.

People were friendly and welcoming. I wasn't quite sure how to approach people, but for the most part I didn't have to. While there were plenty of jokes and double entendres, most of the conversation was down to earth and commonplace.

I sat down with a few new friends and we ordered some food and a pitcher of beer.

And then I heard a voice. "Is this one taken?" someone asked.

I shook my head. "No, no, please join us."

Already I was smitten. Strawberry blond hair, apple cheeks, full lips and a knockout body. She reached out and offered her hand, "Karen," she said, taking my hand and shaking it.

It was like I stuck a fork in a power outlet. Every nerve came alive. I looked into her eyes, green with little golden flecks.

"Um, ah, David," i said, stumbling from my words.

She giggled. "You sure?" she asked smiling.

"Sorry," I said, "I'm new here, this is all a bit, well, new."

She smiled back and me. "Me too," she said before introducing herself to the rest of the table.

I spent the rest of the much trying to impress her without looking like I was trying to impress her. She looked about 20 years younger than me, but I was still completely transfixed.

The guy next to me prodded her, "So. You looking for a good man?" he asked.

She smiled. "I am," she said, looking back at him.

As he started to speak again, she interrupted, "To own, of course."

He sighed and nodded, a bit dejected.

I squirmed in my seat, which was enough to elicit chuckles from the rest of the table and cause me to blush.

She leaned forward and looked at me. "Squirming and blushing, oh my," she teased, "you must be a lot of fun."

It isn't often that I find myself at a loss for words. But this was one of those times. I tried to think of clever things to say, but nothing seemed quite good enough, quite right.

As things wound down, I resigned myself to a missed opportunity. It was my first outing, I wasn't expecting much and I got more than I imagined.

As we were all paying our checks, I reached for hers and offered to pay. She smiled and declined. "That's sweet, but I can pay my own way," she told me, with just a hint of a reprimand in her tone.

She was the first to get up and leave, but before she did, she slipped me a piece of paper. "Call me" she said as she slid it across the table.

I blushes and nodded. "I will, Karen. Thank you."

The rest of the table was all smiles.

I opened the paper to find her number, well most of it. The last two digits were blank.

Somehow the challenge just excited me.

When I got home, I waited a few hours before I started calling.

38 wrong numbers later, the phone picked up and I recognized her voice immediately.

"I just needed to see if you were willing to work for it," she said. "I am glad that you did."

I was nervous and she could sense it. It seemed to please her.

"So, David. Are you going to ask me to ask me out or what?"

I stammered a bit before asking softly, "So, um, Karen, how would you feel about maybe going out on a date sometime?"

There was a long pause. Then a sigh. "I see I am going to have to take a bit of control here."

"David," she said, her tone a bit more assertive. "Friday you are going to pick me up at 7. Make a reservation at a nice restaurant. I want to see a movie after dinner. Choose one that will please me."

There was another pause.

"Do you understand?" she prompted.

"Oh. um, yes, I replied. 7, Friday. Dinner and a movie," my hands were trembling.

"I'll text you my address," she added before hanging up.

A half hour later, she sent me her address and I set about making plans for Friday. It was almost a week away, giving me plenty of time to twist myself into knots.

When I arrived to pick her up, I was dressed in a very nice pair of slacks and a nice dress shirt. She seemed to approve. She looked stunning in a white sundress and open toe shoes.

I relaxed a bit at dinner and we eased into regular conversation. Work, family, hobbies and travel history. We had quite a bit in common and seemed to enjoy many of the same things. The restaurant I picked was one she had been wanting to go to for months. We shared our dishes and found our tastes aligned almost perfectly, right down to the after dinner drinks.

By the end of the dinner, I had almost forgotten that there was a D/s dynamic between us.

All it took was a phrase to snap me back to that reality. "You've pleased me so far," she said which led to more squirming and blushing, much to her delight.

I paid the check and we headed off to the movies, where, once again, my selection met with her approval.

"I see we both like strong female leads," she teased, smiling and giving me a kiss on the cheek.

Once we were seated and the movie began, she slid her hand to my crotch and started to gently rub it.

She whispered in my ear, "I like to tease, David. I intend to send you home with a really severe case of blue balls tonight."

I felt myself stiffen and I squirmed in her grasp, making her giggle at my predicament.

She continued to tease me through the whole movie, teasing me and leaving me frustrated over and over.

When the movie was over I was feeling so incredibly desperate.

She told me to take her home and call her in the morning.

I did as she asked.

I asked if I could kiss her goodnight.

She smiled and said "Beg me."

For the next for minutes I pleaded and begged for a kiss.

She smirked and laughed. "That wasn't begging," she chided. "Maybe next time."

She turned and walked away, leaving me frustrated and humiliated.

The next day we met for brunch and she told me she wanted to discuss moving forward.

"I like you, David," she said, "I really do. So here is what I propose. For the next month, we are going to date. Like last night. I will still be in control, but we will do a lot of talking, discussing, and getting to know each other. If we decide to go forward at that point, I would be willing to consider something more formal as an arrangement with you."

I nodded.

"Sound good?" she asked.

"It does."

The next month proceeded as discussed. It was clear who was in charge every step of the way, but except for a month-long series of unfinished hand jobs, mostly what we did was talk about kinks, fetishes, and power exchange relationships.

We agreed almost entirely on every aspect of power exchange.

Much of what I was craving were also things she was longing to explore but had never felt that she had the outlet.

Our conversations grew more and more intense.

By the end of the month, I was confessing sexual fantasies and fetishes that I had never told a soul.

At the end of our month, Karen asked me to provide her with a reading list. Stories, books, writing, videos. Things that embodied all my deepest darkest fantasies and fetishes. Things she could use to control me.

If I agreed and accepted, she was willing to offer me a 30 day contract. It would begin in two weeks, which would give me time to carefully consider my decision.

If I accepted the contract, I would be her property for 30 days. I would have no rights and would be become her property. I would retain a safeword, but using it would terminate our relationship completely.

It would be all or nothing. And the next 30 days would be trial period for both of us. At the end of 30 days, she would have the option to extend the contract indefinitely and I would have the option, if available, to accept or reject it.

And so began our 30 days...