"Drake," she said before I even sat down, her voice sounding irritated. "I hear you and Allie ended it in a bad way. That's not like you. You should have called me sooner."
I sat across from her, surprised at her tone.
"She wanted more," I said plainly. "I can't give it."
Lara sighed and shook her head. "She told me you broke up with her in public."
"I had no choice," I said, feeling defensive. "She came to O'Riley's."
"So?" Lara said. "I've heard you play before."
"You're my friend."
"Can't you be friends with your subs?"
"I have all the friends I need. I need a fuck partner who likes a bit of kink. Look," I said, impatient with her. "I told Allie from the start that our relationship would be strictly sexual. Nothing more. She wanted to be my girlfriend, Lara. I don't do girlfriends. You know that."
"Poor Drake. Still hurting after all this time? Still have mommy issues?"
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
She shook her head and said nothing but I knew damn well what she meant. She was referring to my divorce from Maureen and the loss of my mother when I was ten.
It was after my divorce that Lara and I became reacquainted after a decade being apart, each pursuing our own lives. We met in an abnormal psychology class when we both studied sexual perversions of the sadomasochistic variety. She took the class because she was a sadist and I did because I was fascinated with those who were obsessed with pain, giving it and receiving it.
I didn't want to give pain. I wanted to cure it.
We never crossed over into being sexual partners because both of us were too dominant in personality and she felt strange that I was so young, only eighteen when we met while she was a few years older. I knew she was kinky when we were friends before, but at that time, I resisted the notion that I was as well. When I was in trouble after my marriage failed and Maureen obtained a restraining order, I ran into Lara at a café and we caught up once more. It was then she diagnosed me as a sexual Dominant.
She urged me to take training from her so I could do it properly. At that point, broken as I was, confused and wounded, I agreed. For three months, I was her submissive, learning what it felt like to be tied up and helpless, how to be safe when using ropes and restraints, how to flog, whip and administer spankings. She even used a strap-on with me so I’d understand anal sex and how to do it properly.
Once Lara felt I had learned everything there was to learn about being a sub, explaining to me why she was doing everything, I graduated into being a novice Dom, and under her tutelage, had my first subs. It made us especially close, those months after Maureen and I separated and I began to explore the world of BDSM. She felt a certain ownership of me as a result, and I felt very indebted to her. She took me when I was broken and fucked up, and fixed me. Put me on the right path, and helped me learn who and what I was.
Because of that history, she couldn’t help but interfere. If it had been anyone else, I would have not-so-politely told them to fuck off, but it was Lara. Allie was a favorite of Lara’s because she was studying to be a lawyer. I knew she’d have received an earful from Allie about our breakup.
We sat in silence for a moment, the atmosphere chilly between us. I felt her disapproval from across the table.
"So you want me to find you someone new."
I nodded, glad she decided to move on and not belabor things.
"Experienced or novice?"
"A novice. I don't want to get anyone with bad habits or expectations I can't meet. I'd rather mold their expectations."
She raised her eyebrows at that. "Isn't it better to find someone who already knows what they want? You might get someone who needs more than you want to give. Like Allie."
The waitress came and brought my order – tomato soup and a toasted BLT. I waited for her to leave and then shook my head.
"If I do, I'll move on."
"Just like that? You'll move on."
"Yes. I like exploring with a new sub. I want someone pretty vanilla but with a need for domination. Someone into power exchange, but not pain. You know what I like."
“Yes, I do.” Lara sat back in her chair and watched me dig in to my BLT. "I may have someone for you. Two students I met during a seminar I gave on finding a Dom. Neither of them are very extreme and have no real desire for pain, but both expect to be spanked, hair pulled, and one likes hot wax."
I considered. "Send me links to their photos and profiles on FetLife."
After my last surgery of the day was finished and I'd done rounds to check on how my patients were doing, I went directly to the health club a few blocks from the hospital, where I worked out several times a week.