She had a point, but still. “Some people have it worse than others.”
“There is always someone who has it worse than you. Always someone who has it better. If you spend your whole life comparing good and bad, you’re going to come up short, D. And you’re going to waste what time you have. My mom had it great. She had money and love and everything a person could ask for, and she also got terminal cancer at the age of forty-six. That was her life, the good and the bad. And when she went, it was in style because my mother knew how to live. While she fought I never once heard her complain or bemoan her fate.”
“Because she knew she had it so good.”
“No, because she wouldn’t waste the time she had on fear and regret.” Tiff reached out and smoothed back Deena’s hair. “So I’m going to go and be a puppy and bark and yip like old Gucci and see if I can have some fun.”
She made it sound so easy. Deena knew she wasn’t talking about the puppy play. Tiffany was talking about Eric. Everyone seemed to talk about Eric around her these days, like they were already some established couple and she needed to run everything by him before making a decision.
She didn’t need a damn man to make a decision for her.
But wouldn’t it be better to have a real partner? Not someone who made decisions for her, but someone who helped her, who stood by her even when she made the wrong move.
“Hey, did you talk to Chef about your test?” Tiffany started to walk toward the door. They were the last two left in the locker room. If they didn’t get their butts in gear, there would be some puppy punishment in their future.
She shook her head. “It’s not his problem. It’s my shift. You’re already working and Ally and Macon have plans that night with his family.”
“What about Jenni?”
“I already asked Jenni. She’s got a concert she’s going to. Sure it doesn’t start until after the restaurant closes, but how is she going to do her hair if she has to work?”
“Selfish bitch. I totally worked a shift for her so she could go on a date. I’ll talk to her. Or punch her in the face. One of the two.”
She did not want to cause a fight. “I’ll make due.”
Tiffany stopped her. “If you don’t pass this test, you don’t graduate.”
Didn’t she know it. Her last class was being watched over by an asshole professor who seemed to enjoy making life tough for undergrads. Their entire grade was the final. No graded homework. No participation. No way to even know if they were getting the material. One test would decide if she graduated on time or had to refuse her dream job because she would no longer be qualified. Everything was riding on that stupid test and she couldn’t get anyone to cover her shift.
She could call in sick, but that would put the burden on everyone else. Or she could suck it up and study after shift when her brain no longer functioned.
“If you won’t talk to Chef, tell Eric.” Tiffany opened the door. “He can make things happen.”
That seemed too intimate. They played together. They didn’t do serious things like figuring out problems. She needed to keep it light and casual so when the time came she could walk away.
God, she already didn’t want to walk away. She was in too deep. She was bargaining and their contract wasn’t up yet. Maybe they could keep up the D/s relationship. At the time she’d thought he would live in Dallas and she would only see him on club nights. That would be cool.
But now he was going to be living near her. He would want more. He would end up wanting everything she had.
“I’ll think about it,” she murmured.
“Don’t think about it too long,” Tiffany replied as she waved to Gage. “It’s coming up fast. Hey, maybe we could put Bas in a server uniform and make him wait tables. I would pay to see that show.”
“Bas?” Surely she wasn’t talking about the very proper Sebastian.
Tiffany shrugged. “He needed a nickname to work against that two by four someone shoved up his muscular backside.”
She could see Eric on the other side of the dungeon. He was already set up with a chair. One for both of them. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so different. She sat in his lap every night. It was kind of nice. Wait. What had she said? “How do you know Sebastian has a muscular backside?”
“Is that the way puppies move?” Gage called out across the room.
Tiffany wrinkled her nose and dropped to her knees. “I swear I would chew his shoe all up but he wears them in the ER, so I could get some horrible disease. And I know about Sebastian’s backside because it was pretty much on display at my house the night you sent me home with the bastard. He wears tighty-whities by the way. Super muscular buns. He must do a ton of squats. Are you going to make me do this alone? I’ll stop talking and bark all the way across the dungeon.”
Deena groaned, facing a tough decision. Dignity or gossip. Damn it. She dropped down. The floors at Sanctum were kept very clean and there were anti-bac stations all over the place. She would survive. She started crawling, matching Tiffany’s pace. “You slept with the sommelier?”
“No, but he apparently thought I was too drunk to be left alone, so he was asleep on my couch and he’d pushed off the blanket and I got a look at that butt. Gorgeous butt. Too bad it’s attached to him. Pretentious ass.” Tiffany sighed. “He got all huffy because I saw him without his legs on.”
“Legs? I thought he only lost one.”
“Nope, it’s both, and what he has left is all hot, too, but the man himself is twelve kinds of prissy. I got a big old lecture on how I shouldn’t drink to excess because it will ruin my palate and how it’s impolite to stare at a man’s legs. Or rather his non-legs. I tried to explain that I was looking at his ass, but that only pissed him off more. Did you know he’s already got Master’s rights here?”
“Wow, how did he get them but not Eric?” She scooted along, praying her boobs didn’t fall out.
“Rumor has it, he spent a lot of time at some club in London and the owner vouched for him. It’s Sanctum’s sister club. I am not looking forward to being in the same dungeon with that man. Well, I am, but I’m not because he makes me feel all crappy about stuff I shouldn’t have to feel crappy about. I told him he could look at my butt if it would make him feel better and he said something very uptight and left.”
“Look at that,” a deep voice said. “Our puppies are playing and not doing what they were commanded to do. Sit up, Tiffany.”
Her friend immediately sat up, her hands coming in front of her chest like little paws, and she made a yipping sound, but not before she’d winked Deena’s way.
Gage stood in front of her, picking up her leash in one hand while he tapped a crop against his leg with the other. “Bad puppy. Bad puppies get spanked.”
Gage brought the crop down on Tiffany’s ass and she yelped, playing her part to the hilt. She and Gage started to play. Eric simply leaned over and picked her up. She was lifted into his strong arms.
“My puppy is a lap dog. She doesn’t like to get her paws dirty.” Eric smiled down at her as he started to walk back toward the stage. “I was surprised to see you crawling. Have you changed your mind?”
Why were his big arms so comfy? He was the only man who’d ever carried her around and she liked it more than she cared to admit. “I had to crawl next to Tiffany to find out how she’d seen the sommelier in his undies.”
Eric’s eyes went wide and he stopped briefly. “She slept with Sebastian? I knew she wasn’t sleeping with Gage, but I’m shocked she’s into Sebastian. They seem so different.”
He seemed to know some gossip she didn’t. Tiffany hadn’t said much about her training Dom beyond the fact that she enjoyed playing with him. They actually made a very hot couple. “How do you know she’s not sleeping with him? Everyone else seems to be sleeping together. I’m pretty sure Althea’s doing her sub.”
“Oh, yeah, those two are fucking like rabbits. Well, one very submissive Harvard-educated rabbit and Althea. But Gage is married. His wife’s a top, too. She’s already got Mistress rights and Gage wanted to give it a try. They intend to play and top subs but without sex. It’ll be interesting to see how that works out,” Eric explained. “But I want to hear that story about Tiff and Sebastian after the class. For now, be my sweet puppy. We’re going to watch a scene and then play for a bit.”
He settled into his seat, never once showing a single sign that she weighed a thing.
Ian Taggart stepped onto the stage in front of them. “Welcome bitches.”
“Ian!” Charlotte wasn’t far behind him.
Big Tag shrugged. “It’s puppy play night, baby. I apologize. I’m supposed to be more correct in my speech. Welcome owners, bitches, and dog.” He nodded toward the lone male sub in the room. “Sorry, Keen. Male puppies are just dogs and you should be very good tonight because I’ve heard Althea’s into cock and ball torture, so you might find yourself neutered.”
“I believe I asked you to be more politically correct in your speech,” Charlotte muttered.